Chapter 117

“…”

Kang Yuseong, Kim Do-jin, and Gil Hyeok-jun remained silent for a while after listening to Park Cheol-gwon’s story.

Seoul was already a hellish landscape, but hearing Park Cheol-gwon’s account made it clear that other regions were truly living hells.

Kang Yuseong had been somewhat aware of the situation, but he hadn’t realized how dire it truly was. Seeing it firsthand, he understood how difficult their lives had been and how fiercely they had to fight to the point where their emotions had become so blunted.

The military units that had defended Busan were gone without a trace.

And the large guilds that operated out of Busan were now torn to shreds.

According to Park Cheol-gwon, there were several buildings like the Sejin Building where Hunters and civilians lived together.

Fortunately, they seemed to be in contact with each other.

However, the once-great city of Busan was now utterly devastated and ruined, a shadow of its former self.

In such a situation, it would have been impossible to fend off a large-scale surprise attack from Japan’s Tsukuyomi Attack Unit.

Thinking of the remaining forces being wiped out and the countless Busan citizens who lost their lives in the brutal massacre, a pang of sorrow shot through Kang Yuseong’s heart.

And the most serious problem was the very incident that brought Kang Yuseong here.

The discovery of bodies with their hearts gouged out.

Kang Yuseong spoke in a low voice.

“How long ago were those bodies discovered?”

Park Cheol-gwon looked at him and replied, “I’m not sure exactly… but it’s been about a week. The doctor who travels with us said so, so it must be true.”

“There’s a doctor, then.”

Having a doctor in such circumstances was somewhat hopeful news.

While it was difficult to expect a proper operating room or emergency medical supplies, at least receiving proper first aid meant things weren’t at their absolute worst.

And when putting the bodies into the many coffins over there, it was likely the doctor had prepared them for burial. Despite the large number of bodies, there was hardly any smell of decay, suggesting some kind of preservation measures had been taken.

Because of this, even with so many people gathered, no epidemics had broken out.

That was at least one positive.

“Can I see that doctor?”

Park Cheol-gwon readily nodded.

“Of course. Hey, Doctor Jeon, could you come over here for a moment!”

He shouted loudly towards the group of people.

From among them, a tall man with long, unkempt hair slowly stood up and approached them.

“Why are you calling me back and forth? I’m exhausted.”

The doctor, wearing glasses with one lens half-broken, didn’t seem like an ordinary person.

As he said, his face was etched with fatigue, and the dirt marks showed how long it had been since he’d last washed.

But behind the hazy lenses, a sharp glint shone in his eyes.

To have survived this long in such a chaotic time meant he was no ordinary individual.

Despite his words, he seemed like a man who was stubbornly meticulous about his duties.

Kang Yuseong faced him and spoke.

“I’d like to hear the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the bodies.”

The doctor frowned sharply.

He then adjusted his glasses slightly and asked, “Why do you want to know that?”

There was a hint of challenge in his tone, but Kang Yuseong responded calmly.

“So we can prevent more innocent lives from being sacrificed.”

Kang Yuseong’s unexpectedly calm response seemed to surprise the doctor slightly. But after a moment, he spoke softly again.

“Do you think you can stop it?”

Kang Yuseong sensed a strange nuance in his tone.

He slowly met the doctor’s eyes.

The doctor’s gaze, which had been ordinary moments ago, now held a sharp intensity once more.

The doctor was no pushover, but Kang Yuseong saw a slight tremor in his body at that gaze.

“Something…”

Kang Yuseong spoke in a low, yet heavy tone.

“You know something, don’t you?”

The doctor wrinkled his nose and pressed his lips tightly together.

Park Cheol-gwon, standing nearby, frowned and looked at the doctor.

“What is it? Doctor Jeon, is there something you haven’t told us?”

The doctor glanced at him, then suddenly let out a long sigh.

Park Cheol-gwon, seeing this, spoke in an agitated tone.

“No, what is it? Why didn’t you say anything!”

“Well…”

The doctor looked conflicted.

After a moment, he looked around and spoke in a low voice.

“They didn’t die a natural death.”

He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue and pushed his glasses up again.

His sharp gaze once again emanated from behind the lenses.

“Their hearts were torn out while they were still alive, and they died with their blood completely drained. A death that cannot be explained medically… that was their death.”

“Blood… drained to death…?”

At that, Park Cheol-gwon trembled.

“O-Our Hye-jin… she died… like that?”

The doctor closed his eyes tightly at his words.

Kang Yuseong also looked at Park Cheol-gwon with a slightly surprised expression.

“Hye-jin, you say…?”

“She’s Mr. Park’s daughter. She was also… found that way. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything, but…”

“Ugh! Hye-jin! Hye-jin!”

At that moment, Park Cheol-gwon collapsed to the floor, weeping.

“Mr. Park!”

The men nearby rushed to Park Cheol-gwon, looking at him with worried expressions.

“Oh, Hye-jin… Hye-jin!”

But Park Cheol-gwon only cried harder.

“This won’t do. We’ll take Mr. Park to calm down, so you two continue your discussion. Hey, you guys! Help Mr. Park up!”

One of the older-looking middle-aged men said this, then, with the help of the other men, supported Park Cheol-gwon and moved away to a distant spot.

The doctor watched Park Cheol-gwon with a heavy heart and let out a long sigh.

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke again.

“The problem is… the number of people dying like that keeps increasing. I’ve tried to keep it a secret until now, but I’ve reached my limit. Damn it, why is this happening!”

Kang Yuseong listened to his words, nodding silently.

“So… medically, it’s an impossible death.”

The doctor shook his head at that. “No. It’s possible, but there’s no reason to kill someone like that. Yet, not only was their heart gouged out, but all the blood in their body was completely drained. It’s incredibly cruel and malicious. Beyond imagination.”

“Could it be the work of a monster?”

The doctor shook his head again at that.

His headshake conveyed his firm conviction.

“Absolutely not. If it were a monster, the bodies would be torn to shreds, making them difficult to recover. But these bodies were perfectly intact, with only the heart and blood missing. This… this…!”

The doctor gritted his teeth and continued.

“This is the work of a demon! Children who wear human skin… like demons!”

Kang Yuseong fell silent.

At first, he had recalled Chinatown in Incheon from long ago.

The organ trafficking by the Chinese.

That was what came to mind.

But hearing the doctor’s words, the fact that only the heart was gouged out while other organs were intact, and all the blood had vanished, seemed like a completely different matter. Moreover, this was the time of the Second Shock. China was also in a similar state. It was hard to believe they would come all the way to Busan to commit such atrocities in such a situation.

‘A demon…’

Kang Yuseong knew many monsters, but he had never heard of a monster that killed people in this specific way.

‘Then it must be the work of humans! But who on earth would do such a thing…!’

Kang Yuseong bit his lower lip tightly.

Many thoughts came and went, but in the end, only one possibility remained.

Sacrifice.

He could only conclude that someone had offered a human sacrifice by taking out the heart and draining the blood.

But who would calmly commit such an act during this period of immense chaos?

“Can I… see the bodies?”

At Kang Yuseong’s words, the doctor glanced at the people nearby, then nodded heavily.

“Please follow me.”

He stood up and led the group somewhere.

It was a large room past the rows of coffins.

A musty smell combined with the scent of incense suggested it was a room for preparing bodies.

Several coffins were laid out there.

They weren’t proper coffins, but makeshift ones cobbled together from wide wooden planks.

The doctor opened the lid of one of them.

Inside was the body of a young man.

As the doctor said, the place where his heart should have been was empty, and his entire body had turned as white as alabaster. Strong evidence that his blood was gone!

Seeing the sight, Kim Do-jin frowned sharply, and Gil Hyeok-jun gritted his teeth.

“As you can see…”

Just as the doctor spoke.

Suddenly, Kang Yuseong felt his heart pound violently.

“Captain!”

‘…!’

The shock was so great that Kang Yuseong momentarily lost his balance and staggered.

‘W-What was that!’

Following the shock, cold sweat poured down him.

Kang Yuseong couldn’t believe it.

All the hairs on his body were standing on end, cold sweat was streaming down him, and his chest was pounding as if it would burst.

‘I-Impossible! Me, I…’

It meant only one thing.

Looking at that body, Kang Yuseong had felt fear.

And not just any fear, but a primal, instinctive terror.

An immense fear, as if encountering a powerful predator face-to-face, had momentarily struck and passed through Kang Yuseong.

Kang Yuseong had seen countless bodies, witnessed many deaths, and even inflicted such deaths himself.

So why did he feel such fear from that body?

Suddenly, a powerful will flowed into his mind.

‘Blood!’

It was the will sent by Blood.

He was now…

‘No!’

Kang Yuseong involuntarily whipped his head towards the direction Blood was guarding.

‘Blood, stop!’

Kang Yuseong’s eyes were shaking wildly.

Blood was now…

…fading away.