The top of Namsan Tower in Seoul.
A dozen or so Rakshasa had gathered at the spot where Kang Woojin had died.
The rooftop still cordoned off with yellow police tape.
One Rakshasa standing at the center bit its thumb.
*Swaaaaa...!*
As blood sprayed, a shape began to rise.
*'What a clumsy one.'*
Watching the scene, the 8th Fang Lanzets curled the corners of her mouth.
The fact that shapes kept appearing meant there were that many traces left behind.
If this was the pursuit squad the Queen herself had assigned, they'd find him soon enough.
*'It won't take long. I'll catch him and make him spill everything.'*
She had no intention of killing him.
No, she couldn't do that in the first place.
There was too much to ask.
What was his identity? How did he kill Kang Woojin, who possessed hundreds of souls?
Did he know anything about the oracle the Rakshasa prophet had received—about the natural enemy born in this small country?
What was his relationship with the Traitor?
And after all of this, she planned to enjoy a feast.
*Swish.*
She turned her gaze down toward the base of Namsan Tower.
Crowds of people packed together, as if it were some special day.
Lanzets licked her lips.
Daily bread, lying around so defenseless. What a wonderful country this was.
"Not yet?"
Her urgency grew from taking in the sight of food.
She'd been trying to restrain herself until they found the target.
But she couldn't hold back anymore.
Let's eat first.
"I asked if you were—!?"
Lanzets, who had been about to retort, stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes widened as if they might pop out.
When had he arrived?
She hadn't sensed a thing.
Not until he was right beside her, draping an arm over her shoulder.
"It's been a while."
At the voice that reached her, Lanzets's body began to tremble.
Cold sweat poured down her back.
She knew who it was without even turning around.
The being who had killed more Rakshasa than anyone else in history.
The one the Rakshasa dismissively called the Traitor, but who was in truth regarded as their natural enemy.
The steel demon tempered in darkness, Rengya.
*'H-how...!!'*
Even seeing him with her own eyes, she couldn't believe it.
He couldn't be here.
He should be pinned beneath the mountain, under the watch of the 3rd Fang Kalik. How in the world—
"You remember. Your name was Lanzets, wasn't it? You crawled on the ground begging for your life back then."
Lanzets gritted her teeth.
A long time had passed since then.
She was far stronger now than she'd been back then.
And yet, her instincts were rejecting it.
The very act of defying this being.
"Where is the Queen?"
"Do you really think I'd tell you...?"
The honorific slipped out on its own.
Utterly humiliating.
"Is that so? Then that won't do."
"Kill me if you want. Though I wonder how many times you'll have to repeat it."
She barely managed to force the corners of her mouth upward.
Rakshasa possessed something demons didn't.
Hundreds, thousands of souls that could revive even a dead body.
That was why they were superior.
Overwhelmingly superior to demons who refused to feed out of some empty conviction.
"It was about souls, wasn't it? The reason you think you're superior to me."
"You know well. You can't kill me. Maybe if you repeated it for years, but—"
"Indeed. Still the same, you Rakshasa. To think that's all you have to rely on."
Rengya nodded and continued.
"I'm looking forward to it. The expression on your face when that belief of yours crumbles."
"You've changed. I didn't know you were this talkative. In the past, I'd have been split in half by now."
"Then I wouldn't get to see it."
Rengya's lips stretched wide.
"The spectacle of your face twisting up."
"Nonsen—"
"Before you say nonsense."
Rengya jerked his chin as if telling her to look ahead.
Lanzets's gaze shifted there.
She'd been wondering why there was no reaction even though the Traitor had appeared long ago.
Someone was standing among the pursuit squad.
Realizing it was a human, Lanzets shook her head.
"You're making the same mistake again. Bringing another useless burden along."
"Kill him."
"What?"
"Give the order. Tell them to kill that human."
Lanzets's eyes wavered.
What was this Traitor even saying?
Kill the human he'd brought himself?
"I promise. I won't move until he's dead."
She didn't know what his scheme was, but this was a chance to easily eliminate one variable.
There was no reason to refuse.
"If you wish."
Lanzets turned her head.
"Kill that human. Tear him apart so he can never be found."
"Yes!"
At the command, the Rakshasa surrounded Jinhyuk.
Lanzets, standing at a distance, didn't know.
That cold sweat was pouring down their backs.
They could have attacked at any time, even before Lanzets's order came down.
But there was only one reason they hadn't.
Their instincts were warning them.
That the being before them was extremely dangerous.
In fact, none of the Rakshasa had even noticed Jinhyuk's approach.
*Tok. Tok. Tok. Tok.*
Whether the Rakshasa surrounded him or not, Jinhyuk tapped the ground with his toes.
Death was staring him in the face, and he was gauging rhythm? Rage surged.
"KILL HIM!!"
Desperately summoned fury pushed past the instinctual warnings.
The Rakshasa rushed at Jinhyuk all at once.
Watching this, Lanzets frowned.
What was this?
Why were ten of them going after a single human?
Unlike other lifeforms, Rakshasa possessed countless lives.
That was why they instinctively considered themselves superior.
It was also why they didn't hunt in packs.
But all of them were charging at just one human?
What had suppressed their nature and arrogance?
"There's no need to wonder."
As if reading Lanzets's mind, a smile formed at the corner of Rengya's mouth.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Before the demon's voice had even fully faded.
A dozen or so explosions rang out in succession.
The Rakshasa crumpled mid-charge, exactly as they'd been lunging.
Lanzets's eyelids began to twitch.
One incomprehensible thing after another.
What kind of mysterious magic was this?
"Hey, coward. How many times did you see it?"
"Wh-what..."
"I asked how many times you saw it. That human's attack."
Was it because her answer was slow?
He continued without waiting.
"If it's under five times—if the Rakshasa's evolution during my imprisonment was only at that level, if all you did was give up on getting stronger and just gathered lives—"
A chilling smile spread across Rengya's lips.
"You'd better prepare. From your perspective, an absurdly powerful calamity is coming your way."
"N-nonsense! Either way, we don't die—"
"Open your eyes properly."
Rengya pointed forward with his chin.
Only then did Lanzets realize something was wrong, and her mouth fell open.
Something was strange. No, something was wrong.
They weren't getting up.
The fallen Rakshasa.
*'D-dead?'*
She knew it was impossible.
But she couldn't deny it either.
Because they were empty.
The souls of every Rakshasa that couldn't rise.
"Lord Lanzets!!"
The three or four surviving Rakshasa sought out Lanzets.
They knew the 8th Fang Lanzets couldn't come to help.
And yet they still sought her.
That was how desperate the situation was.
Jinhyuk raised his head and looked around.
The Rakshasa no longer charged.
They only backed away hesitantly, widening the distance.
*'Is this enough?'*
He looked at Rengya, who was sitting off to the side.
Rengya nodded as if it was sufficient.
Before coming here, Rengya had said it.
He wanted to plant despair in them.
So show them a gap they couldn't deny.
That was why Jinhyuk had roughed them up a bit.
If he'd just sliced them up right away, it would have been hard to demonstrate.
*Sreung.*
He drew the Soul Reaper.
First activation.
Behind him, the form of a reaper appeared.
Seeing this, the Rakshasa's heartbeats quickened uncontrollably.
What in the world was that ominous black blade?
Having finished gauging the distance, Jinhyuk lowered his stance.
**[Nazebek Style Draw, First Sword - Night Crow Hunt]**
The Soul Reaper swung, spraying dark red aura.
The retreating Rakshasa stopped in their tracks.
Their faces were full of confusion.
What just passed by... *Puhwaaaak!*
Parts of Rakshasa bodies fell along with sprayed blood.
It was the same as the Rakshasa who had died first.
They didn't get up.
Watching this, Rengya clicked his tongue.
*'Damn fast.'*
Even Rengya hadn't perfectly seen the draw just now.
If he was within the range of her fighting spirit, she could dodge easily, but outside it, she couldn't be sure.
*Ding!*
**[The Soul Reaper harvests 671 souls!]**
**[Harvested souls: 1,210]**
*'What.'*
Jinhyuk's eyes widened.
This was after meeting Kalik in the Myth Tower.
He already knew Rakshasa were soul warehouses.
Even so, he was surprised because the Soul Reaper's level hadn't gone up at all.
He'd thought it would need a considerable number since it was a transcendent weapon, but even 1,210 wasn't enough.
At this rate, unless it was Rakshasa, soul leveling was a pipe dream.
"Tch."
He turned and walked toward Rengya.
The Rakshasa was trembling like an aspen leaf, forcibly arm-in-arm with Rengya.
Why did Rengya look like the villain here?
Jinhyuk crouched in front of the two and opened his mouth.
"Hello."
He greeted politely, but no answer came.
Lanzets was now chattering her teeth as she trembled.
She had no choice.
The concept of death, which she'd believed she'd never have to face, had come right up to her nose far too early.
Never opening her eyes again. Rotting away and scattering into a handful of ash.
Just imagining it was terrifying enough to drive her mad.
"Lanzets."
Rengya, wearing a sneer, whispered to Lanzets.
"Beg. It's what you're good at, isn't it?"
Lanzets didn't hesitate.
She didn't even think about whether this would mean anything.
More precisely, she couldn't.
Her mind, swallowed by fear, refused to function enough to think or judge anything.
"Sp-spare..."
"I'll spare you."
Jinhyuk smiled.
"So tell me everything you know. If I judge it to be truthful, I'll let you go. Without touching a single hair on your head."
Lanzets nodded frantically.
She didn't want to die.
Whether she had to crawl on the ground or give up her limbs, she wanted to live no matter what.
"Good. I'll wait, so calm down and talk. But if I think you're lying—"
Jinhyuk brought the Soul Reaper to Lanzets's throat.
"—that's the end. Of course, Lord Lanzets won't even register death. I'm not the type to give warnings."
Lanzets nodded frantically again.
Fear that felt like her mind would shatter at any moment.
How could anyone dare to lie in the face of such terror?
"M-my name is Lanzets. I'm called the 8th Fang."
Lanzets barely calmed herself and began to speak.
As her story progressed to a certain point—
*Ding!*
**[You have heard the past of the Rakshasa!]**
**[The epic promotion quest of Rengya , the steel demon tempered in darkness—'The Unfinished Grudge'—begins!]**
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T/N:
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