Chapter 138: The Beast’s Hunger

#138

A suffocating stillness.

Eyes fixed in place, vacant and frozen. There was no choice.

A gleaming blade piercing flesh. And the black, slime-covered monster that coated the arm holding that sword.

At the end of every gaze stood Han Dokyeom.

He stood with the blade half-buried in Wiryun’s neck, who was using his Puppetry skill.

“If you cut my throat, you’ll be devoured too.”

Wiryun lifted the corners of his mouth in a faint smile.

Dokyeom moved only his eyes to look down at the black slime covering his arm.

The arm touched by the black mass was turning a purplish-black, as if poisoned. A rotting smell stung his nose, and the slime penetrating his nerves sent excruciating pain.

It was that thing.

The grotesque monster forced to fuse. That thing was now munching on Dokyeom’s arm, trying to dissolve flesh and bone.

So that’s why he let me go easily, he thought.

As he breathed faintly, Dali’s cries rose from below, echoing in his heart. The squealing sound carried worry and fear.

In the distance, Jeong Ilun sat slumped on the ground, one arm torn and shredded, watching Dokyeom.

Dokyeom gave him a brief glance.

For a moment their eyes met, and Dokyeom whispered something as if waiting. But unlike before, when their intentions aligned, Jeong Ilun’s gaze wavered.

From his expression, he must have understood.

“Hunter Han Dokyeom…!”

Jeong Ilun immediately crawled forward on his knees, reaching out. The Chinese hunters, snapping out of their stupor as if awakened, cursed and turned toward Dokyeom.

But before their heavy footsteps could take a single step, a small word slipped from Dokyeom’s lips.

“”

The last asset and keepsake left by the witch who had been famous for a century.

It raised all of the caster’s skills by one rank.

And at the same time-

‘‘

A passive trait skill that stiffens the opponent’s body for a few seconds with overwhelming pressure.

There was a condition: the target must know ‘Han Dokyeom’ and must be of lower rank than him. But Dokyeom had already appeared in many videos and made a name for himself. Moreover, he was currently S-rank.

In that moment, fear was etched on the frozen hunter’s face.

Just as a sound, whether scream or roar, rose from Wiryun’s vocal cords, the blade mercilessly cut through flesh and dug in.

And then-

Squelch-

The blade pierced through his neck.

“Hunter Han Dokyeom!”

“Hyung…!”

Dokyeom, too, was swallowed by the black mass.

Into the mouth of that grotesque monster that had been chewing on his arm.

‘Piiik-!’

The last sound Dokyeom heard was Dali’s shrill scream.

***

It was a place dark on all sides.

Whenever another darkness appeared within that darkness, Dokyeom felt his entire body crushed by pressure and his lungs clench, over and over.

For a long time, he accepted the pain without knowing what it was. Then, at some point, something enormous loomed before him.

The monster that had swallowed him in one gulp.

His body stiffened, his limbs frozen, unable to move. Whether it was because the thing held him or because he was overwhelmed by the creature’s appearance that seemed to devour him, Dokyeom could only keep breaking out in cold sweat.

Then suddenly, an unbearable thirst rose from deep within his body.

He was sure he had used before being swallowed. That much he remembered clearly.

‘I’m hungry.’

Dokyeom felt extreme hunger. The starvation raged so fiercely it threatened to consume his reason. Saliva constantly pooled in his mouth, and a burning heat boiled up in his throat.

When he collapsed to his knees under the hunger that gnawed at his mind, he was hit by a memory that flew in like an arrow.

It was on a cliff covered in wild grass. A blue sea could be seen in the distance, and the sky was impossibly clear.

There, Dokyeom faced a man.

‘Looks like a failure.’

The man furrowed his brows as if seeing something strange, looking down. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, then nodded as if understanding.

‘Well, it’s the first time, so it can’t be helped.’

This was the monster’s memory. It was the past of someone whose reason was being eaten away, forgetting who he was. The monster merely stared blankly at the man. Without remembering who it was, who he was, anything.

And in the end, nothing was left for the monster.

Was that depressing? Was that why it was so heartbroken? He didn’t know. Dokyeom couldn’t tell where this sense of loss and resentment enveloping his entire body was directed. He just swallowed his breath and accepted it.

But one thing was certain: the desperate wish of the monster, shouting that it wanted to die now.

Soon the vision turned pitch black, like paint dissolved. A strange sensation of being sucked somewhere followed endlessly.

It felt like he was gasping and enduring. When that time of endurance passed, the surroundings gradually grew quiet.

His eyes opened. Sounds and senses came rushing in all at once. The forgotten smell of blood stung his nose, and the damp air brushed his skin.

Dokyeom fluttered his lashes and laboriously lifted his heavy eyelids. After a moment, he could open his eyes with clear reason.

And then came a strange sound and a thick liquid filling his mouth.

Crunch-

“!”

Everything hit him at once. The first thing he noticed was someone’s arm in front of him. An arm with his teeth deeply embedded, blood flowing freely.

“Looks like you’ve come to your senses?”

Startled by the voice that pierced his ear, Dokyeom shuddered and hastily looked up. As soon as he raised his head, a pair of deep silver eyes paralyzed his thoughts.

His heart pounded, his mind shattered. He gasped for breath, but his clenched jaw wouldn’t open. Yet the other person just looked down at him impassively, not even frowning.

It was Taeseongyeon.

“Ha…!”

Dokyeom, gripping Taeseongyeon’s clothes, was fiercely biting his arm. His own reflection in the other’s eyes was no longer human.

What is this.

Flame-like, writhing spots covered his cheeks and arms, crawling hideously over his skin.

Despite such exhaustion, his hand clutching Taeseongyeon’s clothes showed no sign of loosening. Dokyeom staggered, gasping.

He was hungry. All he could think about was devouring something, and he had no energy to look around.

Hungry… I’m hungry.

That was why he had swallowed the blood that came in a gulp. Gulping down the flowing blood, Dokyeom grew desperate from the unquenchable thirst, almost clinging to that arm. He pressed his body, buried his nose, and pushed his teeth between the muscles. His breath came in short gasps.

But his action stopped abruptly at the low voice that rang from above his head.

“Even after I asked, you still act like this. That must mean my words weren’t persuasive enough for you, Han Dokyeom.”

It was a voice like a whisper. Yet it sounded so menacing that it made his body flinch.

“Why do you keep acting so reckless? What’s so unsatisfying?”

His lungs constricted. A murderous intent that could cut his body came down his throat. By the time he looked up in surprise, it was already too late.

As soon as Taeseongyeon put strength into his arm and shook him off, Dokyeom was pushed back and tumbled to the ground. Scratching the floor and stopping, blood he hadn’t swallowed dripped from the corner of his mouth.

His head throbbed as if hit with a hammer. His hands and feet trembled with impatience. The blood flowing down Taeseongyeon’s forearm, the dripping drops, churned his mind into chaos.

…Hungry. Hungry.

Whether this hunger was what Dali felt or what the monster fused with him felt no longer mattered. Dokyeom drooled, blinked dazedly, then staggered to his feet.

Gulp. Sweet saliva trickled down his Adam’s apple. First… yeah, I need to eat. Something… I need to eat.

As soon as he finished the thought, Dokyeom’s feet moved toward Taeseongyeon again. He stepped heavily on the ground and thrust his arm out sharply.

But something suddenly appeared from behind and wrapped around his body, pressing him tight. An arm encircled his waist, pulling him close, stopping him.

Squelch-

“Haah… ha…”

Hard muscles against his back. A broad chest. And a cool scent brushing his nose.

It was Agon.

“…Let go… let me go… I said let go!”

Dokyeom drooled from his chin and frantically scratched at the arm around his waist. Let go, let go… I’m dying, so… just let go…!

No matter how viciously he scratched and clawed, Agon’s hand remained unmoved. Dokyeom’s actions grew increasingly violent. He thrashed and gasped, his fingertips clawing fiercely at whatever flesh they touched.

Then, Dokyeom noticed the scent of blood from his own hand and lowered his gaze.

Blue blood.

Blood was beading on Agon’s forearm where Dokyeom had scratched. Saliva pooled in his mouth. How should he interpret this?

His breath caught, his mind churning wildly. An uncontrollable appetite rose from the depths, trying to devour Dokyeom.

I need to… get a grip.

“Haah… ha…”

I need to-

But even so, his body, like a starving ghost, was already grabbing Agon’s arm and bringing it to his mouth. His blood-stained mouth opened wide, revealing teeth, just before biting down.

Yet what entered between his closing lips was someone else’s arm, hard as stone.

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