Read Novel Full Chapter 593
Chapter 593: The Party’s Over (2)
Crunch!
“…!”
The dark red string pierced through my leg. My white pants were instantly soaked red. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming. The smell of blood, gunpowder, the growls of beasts. My mouth dried up. All I could do now was basically thrash around to no effect. No matter how hard I racked my brain, there was no answer.
‘…I’d been prepared for this from the start.’
Ever since I’d turned Chatterbox’s target toward me. I’d been prepared for the possibility of ending up captured by him with only my life barely intact. I’d also guessed it would be hard to wring out anything better than that. So this situation right now wasn’t quite the worst–case.
Anyway, I’d at least made it so Chatterbox couldn’t lay hands on anyone but me, and I’d be keeping my life. I’d also dodged getting overwritten by the King of Harmless. For what it was, I’d done about as much as I could.
“It’s not too late yet.”
Standing in front of me, Chatterbox gestured around him, as if indicating the viewers outside.
“Let’s sign another contract.”
“…Contract?”
“Yes. As a reward for Han Yujin’s stubborn endurance, a contract that the King of Harmless I created will also be unable to harm your precious ones.”
His voice softened, coaxing. The pressure weighing on my body eased a little.
“So give up on yourself, even now.”
“Why the hell would I─ gkh!”
The heel of his shoe ground into the wound in my leg. I barely swallowed the scream that ripped up on its own. Cold sweat ran down the back of my neck.
“You’ve already felt it, haven’t you. There won’t be any pain.”
“You son of a… ngh─.”
“Only the Han Yujin inside that body will be erased. The ones watching you will suffer less that way as well. No, I’ll make sure they don’t see it at all.”
Under his sweet, tempting tone, the tip of his shoe pressed into the wound and pried it open. My mouth tasted sweet. I was clenching so hard not just my molars but my whole jaw ached. In the middle of that, a stray thought flitted by about whether I was going to need a dentist after this.
“Even though I’ll be gone. How is that…”
“Even like this, Han Yujin will not be unharmed. You may keep your life, yes. But will you be able to protect your mind?”
…I couldn’t hope for something like anesthesia. Look at the crap he was already pulling. There was no way Chatterbox would let me keep my sanity.
“A Han Yujin overwritten by the King of Harmless and a Han Yujin shattered into a blank sheet… there won’t be much difference. But the process will be much more agonizing in the latter case. For you, and for your people.”
“…You’re right.”
It would be hard to watch. If Chatterbox actually kept the contract, it might be the safer way.
“It’d be painful. Even if I can deal with it, I don’t want to make them suffer.”
“If you only give up on Han Yujin.”
“The example you’re using is wrong, though.”
I stared straight at Chatterbox. My face had to be drained of blood, but I still forced the corners of my mouth up.
“It’s a Han Yujin overwritten by the King of Harmless versus a Han Yujin who holds out to the very end. Why the hell would I be the one to break. You’re the one who doesn’t amount to much anymore, but you’re the one brimming with confidence. What, were you, the channel owner, watching some other show? You’re just.”
No matter what he did to me, no matter how he raged.
“Just going to be another crappy thing that happened. ‘That was rough for a while, he was a nasty bastard.’ That’s probably about as much as I’ll feel about you.”
It was hopeless; there was no answer. He was far stronger than I could handle. But it wasn’t like that hadn’t happened to me before, more than once.
“You’re going to end up meaning nothing to me. I might forget you entirely. You’re not actually that important. The sparrows nesting in my rooftop garden are more─ aaagh!”
A string whipped toward my uninjured leg. My flesh tore and blood spattered. It felt like it had cut down to the bone. This time I couldn’t hold it all back and a scream ripped out of me. My breath surged up my throat in a single rush.
“It’s surprising. I thought those were terms you’d want.”
“I… don’t particularly… hoo. It’s true I don’t value myself all that much. But I’m disgustingly hard to kill, you know. And the people I care about know that.”
They’d worry. They’d hurt. But it was better if they still had hope. I looked at Chatterbox with a mocking gaze. The King of Harmless was petting a monster’s head, like they didn’t care about us at all.
“Besides, your terms are way too stingy. ‘I promise not to attack first~’ and I’m supposed to give up Han Yujin for that? Hey! Do you have any idea what I’m worth! At bare minimum, I should be getting, like, five hundred years of world peace!”
I mean, seriously. I’d captured two Transcendents myself, and he knew that, and this was what he was offering? At the very least it should be something like, ‘I’ll make sure your people can live safely for the rest of their lives’ before I’d even start listening.
“You hosted the party and watched everything, and you’re still lowballing me with no shame! I’m expensive! Even half a year ago, you had to be, like, number one in the world just to get a chance to bid! I’ve gone up since then!”
Of course, that just meant a chance, not a guaranteed sale. Like I was going to let myself go that easily.
“How much?”
The jellyfish riding on the monster’s back asked. …Not for sale. Chatterbox just looked quietly down at me. The lack of reaction was even creepier. Quiet crazies were always the scariest ones.
“Let’s start by cutting off your legs.”
The pressure bearing down on me grew heavy again, weighing on my shoulders. I clenched my teeth and didn’t look away from Chatterbox. It’s fine. …Honestly, it wasn’t fine at all. I’d hurt my legs plenty of times, but I’d never had them completely chopped off and replaced with something else.
My breathing sped up on its own. I’d declared I could endure it, but there was no way not to be afraid. Wasn’t there some other way. Any other way.
“W–wait a second!”
“At this point─.”
“You can’t interfere with my inventory, right!”
Chatterbox lifted an eyebrow like, what are you talking about. None of the Transcendents I’d met so far had been able to rifle through my inventory. Chatterbox, who wasn’t even a Transcendent anymore, definitely wouldn’t be able to.
“Don’t you want the King of Harmless’s drawer I showed you before?”
Ru Ga Pheya’s last keepsake. I’d thought about using the drawer to escape, but the odds were high it would get snatched away the second I pulled it out, before I could even use it. That was why I’d tried to put as much distance between us as possible, but the teleporting strings had made that pointless. At my words, the dark red strings wavering around Chatterbox went still. He tilted his chin, just barely, as if to say go on.
“If I lose my mind, I won’t be able to use my inventory. It’ll be buried forever.”
“Didn’t you say it wouldn’t break.”
“You never know, you never know! Besides, that drawer is stuffed full of Ru Ga Pheya’s keepsakes. There are traces you’d like in there too!”
Like No. 71, for example. If Chatterbox became the drawer’s new owner, would No. 71 turn into the King of Harmless. …Or maybe take on Chatterbox’s form.
“It’s the smallest drawer, but I treasured it~ I’d often rest in there.”
So it was basically a portable villa. At Ru Ga Pheya’s words, interest flickered in Chatterbox’s eyes.
“Not just a simple storage, then.”
“If you negotiate with me, you could get full ownership of the drawer.”
“Is it a suitable place to display you.”
…I really didn’t want to say this out loud.
“Of course it’s perfect. It’s the meaningful place the King of Harmless originally stayed.”
“State your terms. I cannot let you go, of course.”
I swallowed a dry gulp. Even if it was a keepsake, I mattered more, so there was no way he’d set me free. Maybe I should ask him to turn off the broadcast instead. So they couldn’t see me. Once this negotiation was over, Chatterbox would cut my legs off right away. Asking him to stop at just makeup instead of surgery was something he definitely wouldn’t accept.
Just as I was wracking my brain for terms Chatterbox might accept that would still be as favorable to me as possible—
[□▲□□□■■◇◇◇■]
A message window appeared. I shifted my eyes as little as possible to look at it. I couldn’t tell what it said, but one thing was clear.
‘Someone outside is trying something.’
Chatterbox didn’t seem to notice the message window at all.
“…You’re not going to agree to preserving my body as–is, are you?”
“I am not.”
[□금■■◇▲□이□□▲■▽]
Was that Rookie. Myungwoo might be with them. I furrowed my brows tightly.
“Damn it, can’t you just take the keepsake and call it a day?”
Chatterbox only smiled in reply. I made sure to look as anxious as possible.
“I went through hell to get that thing. …Just wait. I’ll think it over some more.”
“What are you trying to do? How are you going to do it?”
The King of Harmless drifted back over and clung to my back like they were hanging off me. They peeked toward the message window too, so it seemed they could see it as well. Please, don’t give it away.
[Fairy▲□□■▽over there▲□□□]
…Huh? There couldn’t be another fairy, so did they mean Gyeol? Were they saying they’d send Gyeol here?
‘Gyeol’s technically F–rank, so they can teleport him, maybe.’
And if I used Gyeol’s power, it would put a strain on me, but I could go above S–rank. Even so, I’d still be way weaker than Chatterbox.
[Signal]
[˚▽˘]
Oh, a signal… looked like they wanted me to close one eye. So they were going to teleport the fairy dragon.
[What? What is it?]
Ru Ga Pheya asked inside my head. If I answered, they’d notice.
“How about we do this fair and square. If you win, you keep me, but if I win, you let me go and promise never to touch me again. You drop your stats to F too.”
“What a trivial proposal.”
[Tell me! I won’t say anything. I swear on my name. Come on, just bring the words up to the surface of your mind. It’s easy. Besides, I came inside you, remember. Even if you’re clumsy, I can read your memories and figure it out!]
“How about you use that head of yours a little more.”
It was noisy on both fronts. I couldn’t fully trust Ru Ga Pheya, but maybe they could help.
“Would your brain be working great right before getting tortured?”
[They said they’ll send the fairy dragon.]
[Oh? That won’t be easy, that’s surprising. It’s not even a simple teleport.]
Ru Ga Pheya’s words made a bolt of worry shoot through me. Rookie or Myungwoo, or maybe Elder, weren’t overdoing it, were they. Still, even if I just ended up in Chatterbox’s clutches like this, those three would suffer anyway. It might actually be less of a burden if we somehow got out now.
“Then how about A–rank.”
“I am the host of this party.”
“So stingy. You’ve definitely got more items than I do. Fine, S–rank.”
“There is a chance you’ll break down and beg, offering up the drawer from the pain.”
So he’d rather torture me and take it than risk an uncertain bet. Of course he wasn’t going to give in easily. Even if I escaped here, Chatterbox would keep that power and stay in our world. Indirect threats against us would be nothing to him.
Chatterbox raised one arm. He twisted his wrist to look at his watch. …I still needed to pick up the watch I ordered. They’d said it’d be ready for pickup soon, too.
“I’ll give you ten more minutes.”
“Thirty!”
No answer, what a cheap bastard. I bit my lip in my impatience. If we brought Gyeol into this situation, wouldn’t he just become another hostage. Should I take out the drawer, pretend to hand it over as payment, and use it. …He’d definitely snatch it away instantly.
[You used Diarma’s power that one time.]
Ru Ga Pheya suddenly spoke.
[Want to try using mine too?]
[…What?]
[The power to swallow memories.]
[…I could use Diarma’s power because it was connected to my own skill.]
Ru Ga Pheya’s power had nothing to do with me. It was a mental–type ability, so maybe my Fear Resistance would help a little at best. But the Dragon Slayer title hadn’t been something I was born with either.
[The fairy dragon can come, they said.]
[Still─ ah.]
No way. This, no way. The King of Harmless giggled in my head.
[Even if he’s F–rank, it doesn’t matter! I was just a tiny scrap myself this time~.]
And—
[The seeds are already scattered, my memories.]
I’d felt Ru Ga Pheya’s power directly. Almost blended into them. With Gyeol’s help, I’d experienced it enough to use it properly.
And those memories existed in overflowing amounts all over the world. My memories linked to the King of Harmless, the memories of my existence.
“Fine, then make it hurt less. I’m guessing you’re not going to agree to full anesthesia.”
“To the point where you can keep your mind, you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“That will give your loved ones hope. Even if only pieces of Han Yujin’s flesh remain.”
Chatterbox nodded. At the same time, my legs were healed. The pain vanished, and I slowly pushed myself up and spoke again.
“Throw in about ten minutes to mentally prepare as a bonus. During that time, don’t lay a finger on me. Don’t touch my belongings, don’t threaten them either.”
“As you wish.”
A contract appeared. I checked the terms and signed. Now I had ten minutes.
“By the way.”
I looked at Chatterbox and closed one eye.
“If the contractor dies, you don’t have to pay the price, right?”
That drawer was way too valuable to hand over to someone else. Before Chatterbox could even look puzzled—
–Daddy!
Space warped, and the fairy dragon appeared.