Passion Novel - Volume 2 - Chapter 32

Dangerous. The best thing would be to get out of here and run. But then what? If he pushed this man aside and got out of here, those two guys glaring at him over there would join forces and attack. Anyway, if he could just get out for a moment, he could bolt up the stairs.

If there wasn’t much time left, he could just stall for time like this, but unfortunately, there was still plenty of time left for that man to stab him multiple times.

Troublesome, troublesome.

It was when Jeong Taeui was swinging his steel pipe around, clicking his tongue. Through the glass door, he saw a familiar face going up the stairs. Even from the back, there was no mistaking that man. Ilay Riegrow.

Just like in the video from that day, with nothing in his hands, his movements light, he was leisurely going up the stairs, still wearing his black gloves. As he lightly touched the railing and went up, black traces in the shape of his hand remained in dots wherever his hand touched. Those gloves were still soaked with blood.

He wasn’t looking this way and was going up with a somewhat intrigued expression. The floor above here was the 4th floor, where entry was prohibited and the door was locked. Above that was the 3rd floor. Where the martial arts room was.

Suddenly, the conversation he had overheard earlier came to mind.

—I’ll somehow drive that bastard over there, so we can finish him off inside. —But will it be okay? Even so, if they use a cluster, the entire martial arts room will be blown away. —It’ll be hard to kill him without going that far… It’s the only way. To get rid of that guy.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. Ilay might be going there. Or it could be somewhere else. But the men’s words weren’t lies, and it had already been planned beforehand. Ilay was going there.

Would it have been better to tell him? But if he had told him, that man would most likely have massacred the guys who plotted it. Still, they were acquaintances, he shouldn’t just watch him walk into a death trap like that.

Suddenly, a faint sense of guilt sprouted. Seeing his figure in person made the realistic sense of crisis even stronger, changing into a dark regret in his heart.

Yes, if he chased after him right now and changed his direction, if he could just stop that man from going to the martial arts room on the 3rd floor, that would do it. There was no need to say any more unnecessary words. He just had to make sure that plan didn’t come to fruition.

Suddenly, he felt a sense of urgency. The man holding the knife in front of him was incredibly bothersome.

“Hey, sorry, but could we maybe meet up again later? I suddenly remembered something urgent.”

“What the hell are you talking about, you unlucky Asian bastard!”

But the man didn’t seem to be listening. The grip on the knife tightened even more menacingly.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. Even while this was happening, Ilay would be going up. Would he be passing the 4th floor now, heading for the 3rd? Maybe he had already reached the 3rd floor and was walking towards the martial arts room.

His heart grew anxious. He had to lure that man away somehow. He didn’t know if he could make it in time even if he ran now. If things went according to their plan, even that man wouldn’t be able to survive. No, he couldn’t survive.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. This was really going to be a situation where he would have to give up his own flesh to scrape away at their bones. He had thought about it briefly a moment ago, but he had only intended it as a joke, he had never actually wanted it to happen in reality.

Jeong Taeui sighed and aimed the end of the steel pipe at the man’s neck. The man frowned and readjusted his grip on the knife. He would give up his own flesh and crush that bastard’s neck bones…

Amidst his grim thoughts, he shook his head and simultaneously lunged forward. He had pressed down on the man’s neck and charged. The man flinched and quickly dodged. The steel pipe missed, but that was expected. The problem started now… where would he have to sacrifice some flesh?

The length of the weapon was advantageous for Jeong Taeui, but the limited range of motion was a clear handicap. The one with the knife could move more efficiently, while the one with the long bar had difficulty maneuvering.

The man in front of him wasn’t a fool. As Jeong Taeui began to move to get out of there, he also tried to take full advantage of that. Aiming for Jeong Taeui’s weakness—being able to swing the steel pipe only from above or in a nearly vertical diagonal line—he lunged for his side.

“Tch… if I let him cut my side, it’ll be tough for a long time…”

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. But if he had to give it up… he wanted to say that, but his side was definitely out of the question. An injury to his torso would make things difficult for a long time. With at least another week of this ordeal left, being unable to move properly would be a disaster.

He couldn’t avoid it. In this narrow space, it wasn’t easy for either Jeong Taeui or the man to dodge. Jeong Taeui narrowly avoided the knife with slight movements, 고민ing. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to defeat this man, and time would just pass.

Waiting for the attack time to change was what he had wanted, but not now. He had to go up quickly. Yet this bastard kept aiming only for his body. Naturally, this guy also knew where an injury would be most damaging.

What should he do? While he hesitated, 고민ing, time flowed by. He gradually became anxious.

Just then. A loud explosion erupted from above.

Startled, both Jeong Taeui and the men momentarily froze. Following that, another continuous explosion echoed. And faintly, he could hear shouts and screams.

“……!”

Jeong Taeui gritted his teeth. His heart sank.

“Damn it. This is all because you bastards were blocking the way, get out of here, you idiots!!”

Jeong Taeui roared. His chest darkened, and anger surged. Anger towards no one in particular, or perhaps towards everyone. For a reason he couldn’t understand.

Jeong Taeui swung the pipe down as if to smash the man’s head. The man hurriedly bent over. And he lunged into Jeong Taeui’s chest, swinging his knife.

Jeong Taeui offered his arm. Blood spurted from his long, torn upper arm, and a burning pain struck, but he didn’t care about that. The moment the man’s knife tore through his arm, Jeong Taeui slammed the end of the pipe into the man’s exposed crown. With a choked sound, the man collapsed, and behind him, two more men rushed in.

But the narrow path was already over. There was nothing to restrict Jeong Taeui’s movements as he swung his body. And in his hand was the perfect weapon.

He didn’t like fighting and would choose to avoid it if possible, but not now. Even though one had fallen, the other two didn’t try to get out of his way.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. And in one swift motion, he slashed sideways at the position of the men’s necks. Thwack, a rather harsh impact sound rang out. In the meantime, Jeong Taeui also took a blow to his waist, but it was light compared to the other guy who had been hit in the solar plexus.

“See? If you had just moved when I asked, you wouldn’t be in this mess, you morons.”

Jeong Taeui spat roughly at the men sprawled on the floor and, wiping the blood streaming down his arm haphazardly, bolted towards the stairs.

Since the stairs were right next to him, he quickly reached the 3rd basement level. Moreover, the martial arts room was just a stone’s throw from the west staircase. Jeong Taeui turned the corner at the stairs and ran towards the approaching martial arts room, cursing under his breath.

Damn it. It didn’t matter to him whether that bastard got hurt or died—no, if he died, Jeong Taeui would only feel relieved—so why was he going through all this trouble and getting hurt?

No matter how he thought about it, there was only one conclusion. This was all because of his uncle.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like a deep cut, but the blood wouldn’t stop easily, probably because a blood vessel was damaged. Well, it was foolish to expect the bleeding to stop when he was running around swinging his arm like this without even tending to the wound.

He might see a gruesome sight when he reached the martial arts room. The entire interior blown away, blood splattered all over the walls, torn flesh clinging everywhere, and a human form unrecognizable, like the video he had seen during school education a long time ago.

He hadn’t been able to eat that day. Many guys had rushed to the bathroom to vomit. Jeong Taeui hadn’t gone that far, but he had skipped his meal that day and hadn’t been able to eat meat for a while.

If he were to see that sight again. And if the victim was a familiar face.

“…….”

Jeong Taeui emptied his complicated thoughts and just ran. Even the faint lingering of the image made his spine chill. His chest felt cold.

As he got closer to the martial arts room, he didn’t see anyone. It seemed no one had rushed over yet. But with such a loud explosion that could be heard two floors down in a building with thick walls and high ceilings, it wouldn’t be long before people gathered.

The surroundings were a mess. Blackened, scorched walls, and fragments of shattered pieces were scattered everywhere. One wall of the martial arts room was completely blown out, and nothing seemed to be intact. Nothing was moving.

Complete silence.

Jeong Taeui clenched his cooling fingertips into a fist and approached. Crunch, crunch, scattered stone fragments were crushed under his feet. The inside of the martial arts room finally came into view.

There was nothing inside. Other than the shattered fragments and pieces of unrecognizable objects, nothing remained intact, and nothing living moved. And the walls were blackened and blood-red. Streaks of what looked like black blood flowed down the soot-covered walls, as if dark red paint had been poured over them. And pieces of flesh were scattered here and there.

Something squishy was under his foot. Jeong Taeui lowered his bloodless face. A piece of flesh, charred black and severed, was under his foot. He couldn’t even tell which part of the body it was. A piece of flesh the size of a child’s fist was crushed, drawing a trail of blood on the floor.

Could this be a fragment of Ilay? This small piece, now unrecognizable and even gruesome to touch.

He didn’t feel nauseous. Torn pieces of flesh were scattered everywhere, but he didn’t feel nauseous or want to vomit. His mind seemed to have stopped.

“……Ilay.”

Jeong Taeui murmured softly. No answer came back. Staring at the piece of flesh under his feet, Jeong Taeui suddenly felt a surge of anger and this time shouted loudly.

“Ilay!!”

Just then. A low, dull sound reached his ear. Jeong Taeui flinched and stopped moving.

He could hear the sound of people rushing over from a distance. But the sound from a moment ago wasn’t that. The sound that came from closer…

Then, once more, a thudding sound. This time he clearly heard it. Next door, in the room next to the martial arts room. It was a small break room. He could hear something moving in there.

Jeong Taeui then broke into a run. He went over the collapsed wall to the break room next door and flung open the door, which stood unnaturally intact compared to the martial arts room.

And he saw it.

A man was standing inside. He was soaked in blood from head to toe. With no part of him unscathed, he stood there, gripping the body of another man with one hand. Crunch, crack, thud, a chilling sound came from where his hand gripped the neck each time he tightened his grip. That neck was already bent at a strange angle, and red drops of blood flowed down the bone that had pierced through the flesh.

The man slowly turned to look at Jeong Taeui. And he casually threw aside the body he had been holding, which had already become a corpse. Jeong Taeui could recognize that corpse. It was one of the men he had encountered in the restroom earlier.

“Did you call me? Do you also have business with me?”

The man said lowly. As he opened his mouth, the drops of blood that had gathered at the tip of his nose and lips went into his mouth. His mouth was stained red inside.

He looked like someone who had emerged from a sea of blood.

It was Ilay. With scarlet hair, scarlet hands, a scarlet body, with no part of him untouched by the color of blood, he took a step towards Jeong Taeui.

Ilay tilted his head as if stiff and rubbed his neck. As he did so, he slowly approached Jeong Taeui.

Jeong Taeui could tell immediately. That blood wasn’t just that man’s blood. No, perhaps quite a bit of it was his own blood mixed in, but most of it was the sacrifice of others.

Not just one person—three or four. Or more.

Only then could Jeong Taeui see behind Ilay, who had been blocking his view with his broad shoulders and tall frame. Behind him, besides the corpse from a moment ago, lay two more men sprawled out. They were already corpses too. In such a惨状 that being dissected alive would have been better, they lay in the middle of a pool of blood.

Jeong Taeui slightly frowned, recognizing the face of one of them.

Kipenhan. The instructor he had faced and listened to lectures from numerous times was lying dead there. He, who had probably orchestrated this incident first, hadn’t seemed to predict this outcome.

“You called me, Taeui. Did you also come looking for me with the same business as these guys?”

Ilay whispered. Jeong Taeui, who had been staring at Kipenhan’s face, raised his gaze again.

He wore a faint smile. A face he had seen several times before. An expression as calm and ordinary as ever. He stood before Jeong Taeui with the same demeanor as a few hours ago.

“Is your business also the same as theirs, huh?”

Ilay asked again. And at that moment, Jeong Taeui suddenly realized.

He had said before that he wasn’t in the mood to fight right now, that it wasn’t the time. But his capricious mind could pull out Jeong Taeui’s heart whenever he felt like it. And now was that time.

If Jeong Taeui gave a single affirmative word, he would smile and pierce Jeong Taeui’s neck.

“……No. I came to see if you had become a corpse or not.”

Jeong Taeui spoke curtly. That fickle human heart of his – just moments ago, he had been determined to pull this man out of this mess, yet upon realizing the man was unharmed, regret washed over him. Especially after witnessing several corpses.

“You called my name. Then you must have known I was here.”

Ilay spoke again, his voice somehow both pleasant and chilling. Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue. If he stayed like this, he’d surely be misunderstood and end up with his neck snapped. Telling the truth was the best course of action. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to avoid the accusation of knowing but pretending not to.

Lost in these thoughts, he felt a surge of anger. He hadn’t orchestrated this; he’d just unluckily overheard it beforehand. Why did he have to face this situation?

“I accidentally heard it in the bathroom. About killing a man who’d accumulated a mountain of grudges. So I came to help, even if I was late. …You even killed Kippenhan. I thought you’d just take the cluster and pretend not to know, but you came all the way here, didn’t you?”

What a foolish man.

He hadn’t felt any particular fondness for him, but seeing him lying there as a corpse made his stomach churn. And anger welled up. At those few bodies who had left the land of the living due to their clumsy actions, at the man standing before him, and at his own unlucky self.

“Well… that’s a relief. I would have been terribly sad if you had actively participated in killing me too.”

Ilay murmured languidly, as if relieved. Jeong Taeui frowned and snorted.

“Since when have you trusted me that much?”

“No, it’s not about trust. It’s just that I think I would be sad if you died.”

Jeong Taeui made a face as if he’d bitten into a bug. A murderer who feels sad while killing someone – he wouldn’t mind seeing that spectacle once. Even if he died while watching. …But this man wouldn’t be sad even if he killed him.

Just as Jeong Taeui muttered, “I shouldn’t have come,” and was about to turn around, Ilay said with a sigh of relief, “Then you can be my witness.”

Jeong Taeui stopped his half-turned body abruptly. He only turned his head, looking at Ilay suspiciously. Only after a few seconds did he understand what the man was saying.

“The witness for self-defense?”

“Of course. This time was quite dangerous for me too. I almost ended up lying there in pieces, a pool of blood. Fortunately, my instincts are good…”

Ilay shrugged and rubbed his upper arm. Jeong Taeui looked distastefully at the man whose whole body was soaked in blood. He might have survived by pushing someone else in his place thanks to his good instincts, but the fact that this man was a monster remained unchanged.

Then, he suddenly raised his eyebrows. Among the bloodstains that had already started to dry, the area around his right shoulder was particularly wet. A thin stream of blood continued to seep out, flowing down his arm. Could that be…?

“Are you hurt too?”

No way, he thought, but Jeong Taeui asked just in case. Seeing Ilay’s wide-eyed, incredulous expression, Ilay let out a couple of dumbfounded chuckles.

“With a cluster exploding right in front of me, do you think there’s any way I wouldn’t get hurt?”

Jeong Taeui didn’t answer his rhetorical question. It’s not just that there’s no way you wouldn’t get hurt, there’s no way I’d survive either. Any normal human would feel that way. You seem to have transcended the normal and abnormal, you’re beyond human. He just grumbled to himself like that.

Suddenly, all the strength drained from his body. And the gloom returned. Jeong Taeui looked at the corpses with a feeling that all the gloom in the world had gathered here. To have to testify to this man’s self-defense when so many corpses lay there – it truly went against his will.

However, Jeong Taeui, who had neither the means nor the ability to refuse, stood blankly amidst the carnage. People who had rushed over at the sound of the explosion gathered, and there was no way to escape anymore.

The only comfort for the endlessly depressed Jeong Taeui was that the training for the day was immediately suspended.

The incident that day was unprecedented.

Casualties due to accidents during joint training between branches were common – at least on the surface – but using explosives to deliberately kill a specific person had never happened before. Especially if an instructor was involved.

People’s reactions varied.

The European branch intended to hold the Asian branch responsible for the deliberate murder of a branch member. However, that was just their official stance. Even the European branch members who usually detested the Asian branch like a sworn enemy couldn’t criticize them so boldly. They had seen how gruesome the dead bodies were.

The Asian branch expressed deep regret that an instructor and members had caused such an incident, but in reality, the Asian side had suffered more damage. A section of the building was damaged and collapsed, requiring repairs, and the actual casualties were on their side. Moreover, looking at the state of the corpses, there was no shortage of ethical condemnation.

In this situation, the headquarters, having received the report, soon reached a conclusion. It wasn’t entirely satisfactory to either side, but it was a vague conclusion that was hard to argue against.

It was acknowledged as self-defense, but the person responsible for the excessive force would be confined to the disciplinary facility for a short period as punishment.

Of course, there were opinions that sending someone to the disciplinary facility for only killing four people was too lenient, but the investigation revealed that the deceased were the ones who had caused the incident, so strong opposition couldn’t arise.

Within the organization that operated under internal regulations, far removed from the laws of general society, the matter was concluded in that way.

Those who had directly witnessed the incident and experienced the individuals involved agreed that “only the dead were pitiful,” but they had no way to actually express that opinion. However, while the dead might be pitiful, they had no reason to feel wronged.

In this situation, there was only one person who vehemently claimed to be truly wronged, unreasonable, and absurdly treated.

“Why do I have to go to the disciplinary facility too? What did I do wrong?! I just got caught up in it by bad luck!”

There was a young man who insisted on this. And there were many people who knew he was right but were powerless to help him. There was also one more person who might have had the power to help but seemed to have no intention of doing so.

“That’s why I clearly told you. The best thing is to not get involved. I clearly told you to just stay out of sight no matter what, so why didn’t you listen to me?”

They say that if you listen to your elders, you’ll even get rice cakes while you sleep. But Jeong Taeui, who didn’t seem to have gotten any rice cakes from listening to his uncle, couldn’t recall ever regretting not listening to his uncle in the past, but this time he did.