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nChapter 55 Hanguk Hospital (3)

nHis head exploded like a broken watermelon. To prevent any blood staining his parents or belongings, Yoon-seok absorbed all that was spilled using {Bloodseeker’s Ultimatum}. Then, he checked on his parents’ condition.

nAs long as the machine wasn’t broken, their vital signs appeared normal. The bandages wrapped around his father’s head bothered him, but he seemed stable for now. Maybe they were drugged through their IV drips as they didn’t wake up from the loud commotion.

n-Hey, Kim Ik-chul! What the hell? Why aren’t you answering? Huh?

nIt was from the radio hanging on the headless body’s waist. He didn’t know, but the man’s name must be Kim Ik-chul.

nYoon-seok picked up the radio.

n“Can you hear me?”

n—…Who is it? Are you Choi Yoon-seok?

n“Yes.”

n-You crazy bastard! Do you know what you’ve done? What kind of place is this…?!

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nWas he the team leader that the challengers outside had been crying out to? Yoon-seok laughed lightly at the absurd voice coming from the radio. Did he know what place this was?

n“I know.”

nHe knew as soon as the elevator door opened. This was a place where challengers healed the old and rich with their skills. Suddenly, what reporter Yoo Hye-ri told him made sense. He wasn’t defending the public’s right to know, but he couldn’t believe these abilities were being monopolized.

nWasn’t this a little unfair?

nEven in the general ward right next door, there would be masses of people who were desperately in need of this miraculous power. While they were suffering in pain, these people corrupted by money and power survived.

nHe accepted that it was a capitalist society. But it didn’t matter if it was justified under the standards set by society or not.

nIt was just that Yoon-seok felt wrong.

n“So if these people are that important, come faster.”

nAfter saying that, Yoon-seok smashed the radio and threw it to the floor. When he opened the hospital room door, he saw challengers forming to block the hallway.

n“Don’t rush first!”

n“We just have to make sure he doesn’t run away until the leader gets here!”

nJudging by how they behaved with the carnage behind them, the leader must be trustworthy. Yoon-seok had high expectations as to what the leader would say. He didn’t know much, but it would be hard to avoid responsibility in this situation.

nComing out of the hallway, Yoon-seok closed the ward door. He didn’t intend to waste his time while waiting. Bloodseeker’s Energy seeped out of him as he moved. It felt like he discovered a new way of using the energy. Yoon-seok increased the concentration of the energy that was spreading on the air.

n‘Let’s…’

n“Ugh!”

n“Argh!”

nThe air sank heavily as if gravity was multiplied several times. Feeling pressure from top to bottom, they were forced to their knees. They were horrified, seeing how Yoon-seok didn’t even lift a finger. Currently, there was only one man named Kim Ik-chul who had died, but somehow, the metallic scent of blood filled the hallway.

nYoon-seok recovered the blood energy that was weighing them down. But, no one on their knees could ever think of standing again.

n「By the Lady’s Commandment, all beings in the realm cannot lie.」

nThump

nSuffocating silence filled the air. Yoon-seok looked into the eyes of the man in front of him and asked:

n“What sins have you committed?”

n“…W-what, what do you mean?”

n“That’s the question. Answer me.”

n“…”

nThe man was silent. It seemed like he was trying to say something, but his lips only twitched without making a sound. He was trying to tell a lie.

nYoon-seok broke the man’s finger. Due to the influence of b Torture Technician}, a piercing scream erupted from him.

nYoon-seok continued casually without his expression changing in the slightest.

n“Does anyone here have healing skills?”

nA strange atmosphere hung over the crowd, and someone carefully raised their hand. It was a man who seemed to be in his thirties. Yoon-seok made him heal the other man.

nThen he asked the man the same question again, and when his lips seemed to twitch again, Yoon-seok reached out to his healed finger. Then the man hurriedly opened his mouth.

n“When I was a student! I bullied a friend who I didn’t like!”

n“And?”

n“…That friend committed suicide. It was right before the moment I was going to quit! I’m telling you, it was a mistake I made when I was young!”

n“…”

nYoon-seok kept his mouth shut. He believed him even if he didn’t beg, as the territory of Lady’s Commandment was absolute.

nThat’s why he was even angrier. No matter how soon they tried to quit, the bullied student had committed suicide. But it wasn’t a ‘wrong’ but a ‘mistake’ he made when he was young. It meant that was what he thought.

nThere was nothing left to hear.

nCrack.

nYoon-seok, with an indifferent glance, crushed the head of the man who confessed his sins. At the same time, the splattered blood floated in the air and was absorbed into Yoon-seok’s body. Now that his magic had been replenished again, his time to maintain Lady’s Commandment was extended.

nIf many had lived a good life, it would be over before the question was asked: if not, he’d have to ask everyone the same question.

n“What sins have you committed?”

nWithout changing a word, Yoon-seok asked the next man, just as he did earlier. Then, the repertoire was similar. Was it because he saw how his colleague’s destiny changed after confessing? The man started confessing his sins only after a finger was broken for attempting to tell a lie.

nThey wouldn’t be forgiven even if they wasted time to try confessing about trivial mistakes such as throwing trash on the street or saying, “I’m sorry,” because it wasn’t true.

nBut did he use his brain? The man confessed about things he thought were a sin that doesn’t contain any weight. It didn’t take long until the money started running out.

n“…I once drugged a woman I met at a club and had sex with her.”

nMaybe he’d wanted to smooth it out as much as he could, as he said it directly. Regardless, Yoon-seok felt indescribable disgust.

nCrack!

nYoon-seok, crushing another man’s head, headed for the next in line. Without taking a break, he asked the same question to the next person. There was nothing more ridiculous than this. Rape, kidnapping, pleasure killing, financial crime, fraud…

nAlthough some misdeeds were committed a long time ago, like the first man, most of them were crimes committed after gaining strength from the Tower.

nCrack! Crack! Crack!

nThe excuse that he couldn’t survive in a brutal world didn’t work. The fact that most of them were challengers exploited by the South Korean government wasn’t important. Should he say they were cut from the same cloth?

nIn the end, the difference was if they had powers or not. It was nothing more than a fight for interests between trash. If they had power like Yoon-seok’s, the government and their position would have changed.

n“…”

nHow long did he spend judging them? A few survivors among the challengers were left. Although these were the people who were vaguely over the line, they hadn’t crossed the final line yet. Yoon-seok couldn’t find a reason to kill them.

nBut that didn’t mean the judgment was over. There weren’t only challengers who had competed against Yoon-seok here.

n“W-what?! I, I know who you are!”

n“M-my son-in-law is Park Hyun-chul! Park Hyun Chul!

n“If, if I die, hundreds of thousands of people will lose their job. Is that what you want?”

nYoon-seok pulled out the others who were hiding in their wards. Some big politicians won re-election several times and made a name for themselves, who currently served as proportional representation and wives of famous chaebol families.

nOne company CEO tried to reason with him, the image of a businessman nowhere to be seen.

n“Yes, I know who you are. No, honestly, I don’t know. I understand that you consider yourself a great person.”

nMoney, power, status, honor…

nThose were just the measures of success set by society, but they didn’t determine human nature. At least for Yoon-seok.

nSo they would have to prove it. If the man were as respectable as he claimed, he would live; if not, he would die.

n“What sins have you committed?”

nAnd…

nNo one survived the question.

n“Fuckkkkkk!”

nLee Do-sung, the South Korean Challenger Management Department team leader, threw his smartphone to the floor. After the radio stopped responding, he contacted the people in the hospital, but there was no connection. Whatever happened, this was a huge mess.

n‘You son of a bitch…do you know what kind of place that is…!’

nWhat kind of people were being treated on the 11th floor of that hospital? It didn’t matter what happened to the challengers in the team. It may be a huge loss, but they were replaceable tools. But if something bad happened to the patients, then the aftermath would be entirely on him.

n‘Do you know how much I’ve done to be in this position?’

nLee Do-sung asked the headquarters for assistance and rushed to the hospital, pressing on the accelerator. Still, his hands kept clicking nervously while holding the steering wheel. Suddenly, his resentment against the Heavens soared.

nEverything was normal until yesterday, so why did this happen? Of all things, the timing wasn’t good either. What was the point of this happening when he was out for business too?

n‘Choi Yoon-seok, I never knew you were such a crazy bastard….’

nHe might not just be an ordinary crazy bastard if he was good enough to do this. If not, there was no way the hospital wouldn’t pick up his call.

n“It was said that his arrival date was less than a month ago, are they mistaken?”’

nHe didn’t know how strong he was, but the circumstances showed that the challengers in the hospital couldn’t deal with him. At least six floors…no, maybe seven. Otherwise, he might be a dueler with an unusually fast growth rate and strength exponentially stronger than those even on the third and fourth floors.

n‘No, let’s not assume. Maybe he just had a skill like Blocking Communication.’

nLee Do-sung decided not to let his guard down or jump to any hasty conclusions. Either way, he had to go to the hospital, and it would all make sense once he arrived.

nScreeeeeech!

nLee Do-sung parked his car at the entrance of the hospital and entered the site. Fire alarms were ringing in the VIP ward, and people were evacuating outside under the staff’s guidance. Looking at this, Lee Do-sung staggered forward.

nIt was because he suddenly felt dizzy.

nHe quickly came to his senses when he realized that there was no smoke leaking out and no smell of burning.

n“Y-you can’t go in!”

nThe doctor tried to stop him, but Lee Do-sung pushed past the doctor and climbed the emergency staircase. When he reached the eleventh floor, he saw a completely collapsed stairwell. In front of it stood some challengers under the management team, unsure of what to do with the ruins.

n“S-sir!”

n“What are you doing here?”

n“The ruins were blocking the way, so we’re cleaning it up.”

n“Hey, you **ing morons! If you’re going to do this, might as well drill the floor from the roof or something!”

n“…”

nThey didn’t reply to Lee Do-sung’s words. Lee Do-sung was infuriated by their stiff attitude. It didn’t even look like they were trying to remove the debris.

n‘You **ing bastards. Trying to save yourselves first just because it might be dangerous.’

nA choice that might be considered wise. But those who had nothing to lose were different. Lee Do-sung pushed them roughly aside and stood in front of the ruins.

n“That’s enough. I’m going in alone. You guys just follow the method I mentioned before coming in with back-up.”

n“O-okay!”

n“Blink.”

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nBlink was a skill that could teleport someone up to five meters away, and it was a magic skill that he acquired during the dungeon attack on the third floor.

nWhoosh!

nWhen the activation time was up, Lee Do-sung’s body moved. The ward was filled with dozens of dead bodies and Yoon-seok.

n“S-sir!”

nListening to the cry of a challenger residing on the eleventh floor for treatment, Lee Do-sung opened his eyes.

nAnd…

n“You’re a little late.”

nHe couldn’t stand the pressure and knelt.

nThe devil covered in blood was looking down at him.

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