BXBX NOVEL Chapter 85: Around Louisville (5)
‘Don’t think of it as killing a human.
Think of it as vanquishing a monster that devours people.’
It feels like this voice is echoing within me.
Should I affirm this voice?
A surge of anger stirred in my heart.
It was the same anger I’d felt since the Pyeon Station.
The rooftop is now coming into view.
What will I see from up there?Will I see a hidden path leading to the nonexistent district? Or will I see monsters lurking in that nonexistent place?
Will I encounter killers who only find thrill in “agonizing” murders, unable to feel any emotion from ordinary killings? Or perhaps the crazed games of lunatics who fancy themselves gods?
“Help, please… someone save me.”
“No! No!!! My baby!!!”
The memories of that delivery to the nonexistent district surfaced.
My heart grows cold.
“I am… I am actually…”
‘I’ll kill them. I’ll definitely kill them.’
My mind goes completely blank.
“Do you hate psychics?”
Yes, is this my essence?
Is my hatred toward psychics my core vow?
“Is this my essence?”
My core murmured.
Even if I stain my hands with blood. Even if I get devoured by Mara’s enlightenment. Even if I someday regret this path, kill them.
The shaman’s hand that performs incantations, sever it. The shaman’s tongue that utters bizarre words, slice it off. For the necromancer who’s shed their human guise, strip away their filthy hide and end them.
Thus, I ascended to the rooftop.
Now, witness it. The Heavenly Demon of the Last Days…
.
.
.
In front of me was the sight of the wicked psychics.
And then I saw it.
A boy, dressed as if cosplaying a hero, standing against hundreds of gangsters blocking the alley.
The boy was drenched in blood, but he didn’t stop forming seals.
****
Cho Heuk-seok, Director of the Black Stone Clan, mercilessly beat the boy with all his might. Yet, the boy wouldn’t easily fall.
“You seem to have talent. And guts, too.”
Cho Heuk-seok spoke, barely containing his rage. For this random brat to block the path leading to the nonexistent district…
With every second crucial to the success of the operation, he had to somehow coax this kid into leaving.
“You’re too valuable to die here. Why don’t you join us?”
“…Justice does not compromise with evil.”
As the brat said that, the kids they had brought as offerings cheered from behind.
“Booster Man!”
“Sniff… Booster Man really exists!”
Cho Heuk-seok’s face twisted in irritation. Even he knew about those so-called “heroes.” They were the psychics who gained popularity with the public through NewTube.
However, the Director of the Black Stone Clan, Cho Heuk-seok, knew that even the most famous so-called “heroes” ultimately became “VIPs” at Big Hand Casino.
In the end, all those heroes were merely actors. Just content creators making money off views, subscriptions, and ads in psychic exorcism content.
Feigning calmness, Cho Heuk-seok spoke.
“With all that fighting, you should have enough footage for decent content. Edit it well, and you might finally escape being a small-timer. Just back off now.”
“Justice doesn’t vanish before evil is eradicated.”
The brat struck a pose again.
“Booster On!”
With those words, the power levels of nearby machines either spiked or plummeted. The power surge affected the cars parked along the street, while the power drop hit the computers and TVs maintaining the hidden path to the nonexistent district.
“Damn it!”
A car revved up and lunged at Cho Heuk-seok.
Of course, Cho Heuk-seok tore the car apart with his bare hands, shouting as he did so.
“Then die. Divine Resonance.”
Cho Heuk-seok resonated with the black stone.
Even the asphalt paving the road could resonate with black stone. And black metal was also a target for resonance.
This was why every gun owned by the Black Stone Clan was black.
The asphalt writhed as if alive and swiftly transformed into sharp tendrils. The entire road, stretching for dozens of meters, was now under Cho Heuk-seok’s control.
If a shaman could exert a consistent power of 1, a psychic could fluctuate between 1.5 and 0.7, depending on their instinct that day.
And a divine medium, like Cho Heuk-seok, could range from 3 to 0.3, depending on their environment.
Even Nayu, known as the strongest shaman, could lose to an upper-tier Celestial Immortal in a place completely severed from the sky.
But if she fought in the vast skies, overlooking the earth, she would be the strongest among the Three Revered Ones.
Even Kim Sojin, regarded as half a step ahead of the other Three Revered Ones, had no choice but to remain on the defensive, searching for an opening in such conditions.
And a paved road was an ideal environment for Cho Heuk-seok. So much black stone surrounded him here.
He could tear that brat apart in an instant.
“Urgh, grrr!”
As the boy withstood the assault, Cho Heuk-seok retrieved a gun, crafting a black blade from it. A storm of black blades and whips made of black asphalt rained down like a torrent.
Booster Man evaded using boosters all over his body, but he couldn’t dodge everything.
The boy’s body began to tear apart.
It was like witnessing an ancient punishment where a body was slowly cut piece by piece. Booster Man’s fans turned their heads, some closing their eyes, sobbing, yet cheering for him.
“I, too, like that person…”
The boy known as Booster Man thought of a man.
A man who, to save his sister, didn’t hesitate to swallow an entire bowl of curry, a man who had stormed into a terrifying hideout and discovered a cure.
A man who saved people in life-or-death situations.
A hero.
Still holding onto his childlike innocence, the boy looked up to that man, eyes sparkling.
Having always believed that kindness beyond his sister’s was pure fantasy, this unexpected kindness hit him deeply.
He wanted to be someone like that.
He wanted to risk his life, just like that man did.
But risking his life was terrifying.
“I… I’m not like him…”
As the boy fled the relentless assault of asphalt whips, Cho Heuk-seok smirked and said.
“That brat calls himself a hero?”
“He ‘is a hero’, so shut your mouth.”
“Who the hell dares to talk back to me?”
Cho Heuk-seok turned around, and there stood a man.
The man’s face was mostly obscured by a mask.
“What the hell are you doing? Aren’t you gonna take down that punk?”
But none of Cho Heuk-seok’s subordinates responded.
****
How stupid, melting a gun to make a sword.
Typical of those psychic bastards.
The moment they lost their guns, I laid into them, hitting every one of them with a one-punch knockout. Sending people to the shelter while I beat up the gangsters.
Just a bit longer.
Booster Man!!!
I know there are good psychics in this world like you!!!
But seeing Booster Man in shambles, I realized I was too late.
“That brat calls himself a hero?”
“He ‘is a hero’, so shut your mouth.”
That man looked at me and laughed.
Not out of amusement but anger.
It’s humiliating to feel anything remotely similar to this scumbag.
“A damn epidemic of crazy punks.”
Then he, who looked like the main leader, formed a seal.
With it, a rain of asphalt whips poured down.
Without hesitation, I opened my bulletproof umbrella.
This umbrella could supposedly withstand the impact of a heavy machine gun. And this rain of asphalt whips didn’t have nearly that much force.
“How do you plan to stop me with an umbrella? You’re not even a master.”
I pushed through the rain of asphalt, moving closer to Cho Heuk-seok.
“Justice doesn’t get pierced.”
“You’re one of those damn hero-preaching punks too!!!”
With a final outburst, Cho Heuk-seok condensed the black asphalt into a single point. Then he fired it like a bullet.
“Divine Resonance. Black Spot!!!”
The force behind that asphalt bullet was probably stronger than an anti-materiel sniper round. It tore through my bulletproof umbrella in an instant.
But to Black Sheath, it was nothing more than a stone rolling on the ground.
The stone fell with a thud the moment it touched Black Sheath.
“This… This can’t be. I used up all my psychic power in that attack.”
“Justice always triumphs.”
I struck Cho Heuk-seok’s limbs with genuine force.
His limbs shattered in an unreal way, breaking apart like brittle crackers.
“Aaaargh!”
See? That’s what happens when you use up all your psychic power.
If he hadn’t, his limbs might’ve just been moderately broken.
Or maybe they shattered like that because he’s always been weak?
Not my concern.
“Oh, look beyond that path. I can see that cursed nonexistent district, can’t I?”
“Urgh… no…”
“Just look at those mad cannibals wandering around on the streets there. Now that your limbs are busted and your psychic power’s drained, I wonder how much a psychic’s meat fetches?”
“W-what the hell are you saying?! Y-you’re a hero! You’re supposed to turn me over for lawful judgment!”
A hero. What nonsense is he spouting?
I’m a killer who slays any psychic.
A Heavenly Demon, the villain of villains.
What’s this supposed fundamental vow, anyway?
Roughly translated, it means a vow etched into the very essence of one’s soul.
<Destroy all psychics.>
But I’ve never made any such vow.
If he doesn’t like it, he can bring a contract for me to sign.
After all, there are good psychics in this world, like Booster Man.
I spoke as I dragged Cho Heuk-seok along.
“Now, why don’t you go find out how much you’re worth as meat, yourself? That’s your homework, Black Stone-kun.”
“You… y-you crazy bastard!!!”
I threw Cho Heuk-seok into the nonexistent district.
The men there, who looked like butchers, turned to him. Enjoy your stay.
“Hah.”
It was both satisfying and dissatisfying.
Satisfying because I’d ruined a psychic, dissatisfying because I hadn’t ended him with my own hands.
My core vow felt weak at this moment.
If it could shake my will so much even at this low intensity, what kind of being would I become if this vow grew stronger?
“…”
I lifted the fallen Booster Man.
As I did, his mask slipped off.
Booster Man was none other than Gujeon, the boy I had once saved.
“I knew you’d come,” he said, smiling despite being covered in blood.
“...”
“My hero…”
Then the boy fainted.
With him slung over my back, I spoke.
“I’m no hero…”
And then I ran with him on my back.
The wounds inflicted by asphalt, a tangible substance, didn’t heal well with Black Sheath.
It seemed I had realized too late that this was real psychic damage.
To treat him, I’d need to head to the side-dish shop.
– – – The End of The Chapter – – –
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