Chapter 9: 9

So Yeowol enjoyed her overwhelming victory with a smile on her lips. The group she led was also drunk with the afterglow of victory.

But not everyone was like that.

Some children were shuddering with a terrible sense of guilt. Lee Min was one of them. She also killed another child today. She had blood on her small white hands.

She didn’t know how many times she had already washed her hands. But the smell of blood did not disappear and seemed to follow her.

“Hah…”

Lee Min sighed softly.

Her eyes were red and bloodshot, perhaps because she had been forcing herself to cry.

“Keke! Did you see that guy? You know the guy who I strangled to death? He looked like a crucian carp when he gulped his last breath! “

“It was really exciting!”

“Our leader is truly the best.”

The children ate the food they had stolen from the Go Yeongsan group and talked about their experiences. As if it was the most natural thing, like eating with food on their hands.

They had become accustomed to blood. Just like it’s their natural inclination. 

It was terribly disgusting.

No, the truly disgusting thing was being with them. Without knowing it, Lee Min was already fed up. 

Clang! 

Suddenly, a dull noise resounded from the underground ceiling.

“What? Is it time for food to come down already?”

“There should be another half day.”

The children looked at the ceiling with suspicious eyes. A huge basket was coming down. The children jumped to their feet expecting that the food was coming down.

So Yeowol said to the children.

“You have to secure as much food as possible.”

“Yes boss!.”

“Will do!”

So Yeowol’s group responded with equal momentum. As soon as the Go Yeongsan group disappeared, there was no group left to oppose them. Of course, some groups are still alive, but they wouldn’t dare compare and compete against So Yeowol’s group. 

So Yeowol looked around the area with sharp eyes. Her eyes were searching for Pyo-wol. Pyo-wol was the only person So Yeowol felt uncomfortable confronting inside the underground cavity.

Pyo-wol was different from other children in many ways.

He wasn’t leading a group like himself, and he wasn’t engaging in conspicuous activities. He only takes his share of food, but So Yeowol was strangely vigilant around him.

If she wanted to, she could mobilize all her members to attack him. But the reason she didn’t do so was because of Pyo-wol’s eyes.

Pyo-wol’s eyes, with a tinge of red, were strangely deep, and she couldn’t guess what’s on his mind.  Although they were living in the same space and time, she wasn’t the only one who felt this way. 

Even the people following her were reluctant to take an action against Pwo-wol. 

They were all afraid.

In particular, after killing a group of Yeom Iljung alone, the fear of Pyo-wol became increased. Not only So Yeo-wol, but most of the children in the underground cave had the same sentiment. 

At some point, So Yeowol’s eyes lit up. Because she found Pyo-wol among the children. However, the expression on Pyo-wol’s expression was somehow strange.

His expression stiffened as if he was on guard against something.

“Why does he look like th–…”

So Yeowol unknowingly looked at the basket instead of asking Pyo-wol. Because Pyo-wol’s gaze was fixated on the basket.

It was then.

Suddenly people came out of the basket.

They were all adults wearing masks.

Instead of food, they were the ones who came down to the underground cave inside baskets. Each of them had a metal bats in their hand.

“W-What?”

“Who are you?!”

The moment the children screamed in surprise, the masked people riding in the baskets began to engage in merciless violence.

“KAGH!”

“W-wwhat’s going on?”

“Kyaak–”

The iron rods of the masked men hit the children.

The children were left helpless with their assault. A few hard-headed children rushed forward, but they were not opponents they could go against in the first place. The children were far too weak to deal with the grown-up adults, more so against fighters who were trained in martial arts.

Perk! Puck!

The sound of flesh exploding resounded everywhere. No matter how poisonous they were, children were just buds that had not yet matured. Such sprouts were being trampled by the clubs of the masked men.

The masked men were merciless. They continued the brutal assault without saying anything.

So Yeowol was no exception. She had to endure the assaults of masked men with her body bent like a shrimp. It was the same with Pyo-wol. 

Pyo-wol was beaten without any resistance. He had anticipated this. He could have escaped into the darkness of the underground area if he had made up his mind, but he didn’t.

If he were to do that, there was a high probability that he would unnecessarily attract their attention. Don’t stand out or else his efforts will turn out for nothing. He’d just become a person who would be used as a consumable much sooner if he caught their attention. 

That was the reason why Pyo-wol did not resist and was beaten like other children.

Pyo-wol looked at the basket, bending over and protecting his head with both hands. The gigantic basket once again went up to the ceiling and came down with new people.

They were wearing masks like the masked people who are now assaulting,

The moment he saw them, goosebumps ran all over Pyo-wol’s body.

‘They are the real masterminds!’

There were three of them, and they had an atmosphere that was so intimidating that it could not be compared with the masked men wielding iron clubs. On their masks, the characters one (一), two (二), and three (三) were written.

They looked around the hall with sharp eyes.

Not one child remained standing in the hall. All of them were on the floor collapsed due to the overwhelming violence.

Neither So Yeowol’s leadership, the children’s poison, nor the murder experience worked against the masked people who had overwhelming power.

‘They were being tamed like this.’

Pyo-wol trembled slightly at their cruel heart. Even animals are not tamed in this way. At least if they consider themselves as humans, they wouldn’t treat people like consumables. 

They did not think of children as human beings.

Just like Pyo-Wol thought, they were being treated like a tool.

In order to raise them the way they wanted, it was necessary to kill their spirit. Hence the need for violence. 

The masked man with the number one (一) written on his face raised his hand. The violence immediately ceased. 

The masked men gathered their clubs and stood behind the three masked men.

The masked man with the number one (一) on it opened his mouth.

“I am called First Sword (一剜). From now on, I will manage this place. Your life will be mine from now on. There are no exceptions.”

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“Ugh! Who are you?

One of the children shook his head.

He was the leader of a small group. His character was also commendable. 

Thud!

But he couldn’t finish his speech.

As soon as he opened his mouth, a masked man nearby hit him on the neck.

The boy’s head was rolling as he opened his mouth. It was a great shock to the children to see a human head rolling like that.

“I never gave you permission to open your mouth.”

At the indifferent words of the First Sword, the children held back the screams that were about to come out. 

The children had a gut feeling that a new hell had opened.

* * *

The number of remaining children was forty-nine. 

The original number of children which was over three hundred has been reduced to almost one-sixth. 

Two hundred people died of starvation or suicide because they could not endure despair, and the remaining fifty people died in the end because of the food war.

In the midst of this, the children who survived to the end were poisonous among poisonous species.

Although they bowed their heads at the merciless violence of the masked people and looked as if they were frightened, the eyes of the children were completely different.

‘These bastards will die by my hands someday.’

‘I will kill them.’

‘Just you wait…’

The children’s eyes were full of poison.

They still lacked strength so they have no choice but to endure for now, but their hatred and anger towards the masked people did not diminish at all. Even the masked people were aware of  that fact.

Because it was them who raised those children that way.

“They are Cursed Poison (蠱毒 Kudoku).”

First sword murmured.

If several poisonous insects are mixed in a jar, they will eat and kill each other until only one survives. The last one remaining insect that survives after eating the other poisons would emerge as  one with the most venomous poison.

That was Cursed Poison. 

The one with the strongest survival instinct among many poisons. A monster possessing the most venomous poison.

“Among the countless children, only the most wicked and the ones with the strongest survival instincts have survived. Just as we wanted.”

Raising those children as tools is not a concern. They were full of poison. They will not be discouraged by any ordeal or training. 

The question was whether they could control the children as they  wanted.

Even so, the anti-skeletal temperament was abundant. (그렇지 않아도 반골 기질이 다분했다.)

If they can’t exert control over the children, there is a high probability that they will become a double-edged sword. Even the enemy can harm the one holding the sharp sword. The one sword’s gaze turned to the other sword. (적에게도 날카로운 검은 쥐고 있는 자를 해칠 수도 있는 법이다. 일검의 시선이 이검을 향했다.)

He asked in a low voice that children couldn’t hear.

“Which of them is worth paying attention to?”

“It’s So Yeowol as you’d expect. As she leads the largest group, she has a great influence on children.”

“Hmm…”

“If we don’t break her spirit now, she will be much harder to deal with in the future.”

“Grant her special attention, so she wouldn’t even dream of starting a rebellion.”

“Alright.”

“Who else is there?”

“Song Cheonwoo and Kang Il are also noteworthy. Although they are overshadowed by So Yeowol, they are the most outstanding in terms of their sense towards martial arts.”

The masked men were clearly aware of what had happened in the underground cavity.

Unbeknownst to the children, there were several monitoring equipment throughout the underground cavity that could observe everything that was happening inside. 

Through the equipment, the masked people were aware of all the internal affairs. 

This underground cave was not made by them. It was a secret facility built a long time ago by a certain clan full of mages.

The masked people just accidentally discovered the place and ended up recycling its facilities. All the kernels disappeared and only the shell remained, but that alone was enough for the masked people.

Except for the masked people, no one knew about this place. It was the perfect facility to avoid the eyes of the world and do something. The best thing is that it didn’t take a lot of money to run the place. 

Hence also the reason why they chose this place.

A place where they can cultivate Cursed Poison will become their weapon.

First sword asked as if he had suddenly remembered.

“How’s that guy?”

“Who?”

“The lone survivor of sector one.”

“If it’s Pyo-wol then he’s still alive.”

“Is that so?”

First sword murmured as he touched his chin with his hand.

They managed each of the ten underground sections separately. They tested each child’s ability to survive in different environments. Among them, the conditions in the area where Pyo-wol was confined was the most severe. They also provided the least amount of food.

Pyo-wol survived in such a harsh environment that even the masked himself was not sure that he himself could guarantee his survival.

His survival was enough to attract the attention of masked people in many ways.

“Keep an eye on him. He’s not a normal guy.”

“Understood.”

“There are only six years left. We must complete the quest within that duration.”

“Given that only the poisonous and strongest who will survive, six years will be enough.”

After the First Sword became silent for a moment, the other sword quietly went out. 

First sword, who was now left alone, muttered as he pulled out a finely folded piece of paper from his bosom.

“Why did the captain accept a request like this…?”

He unfolded the paper. 

[Privy only to the Blood Phantom Group Captain. 

…Requesting the assassination of.

Duration: Seven years.

Reward: 500,000 gold.

Condition: To not leave a single trace related to the Blood Phantom Group.]

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