Chapter 4 – Return (3)

Chapter 4: Return (3)

Woojin pulled out the spiderweb from his pocket and wrapped it around his hand. It was so sharp that it would have cut off his hand if he wasn’t wearing the Gloves of Wyvern. Woojin lowered his body and saw the 12th floor light turning on. He did not wait any longer.

He jumped out and fell on the back of the giant man who was walking up to the 13th floor. As the man turned back, Woojin fell down in front of the man and wrapped the spiderweb around his neck. The man tried to reach for Woojin, but his arms spread in opposite directions, causing the spiderweb to instantly slice off the man’s head.

As the man’s head was cut off, his entire body turned into ashes. The second giant man that followed behind threw a fist at Woojin’s chest. It was quick, but Woojin was able to dodge it with his heightened reflexes from Cocktail-B. After quickly dodging the attack, Woojin wrapped the web around the man’s wrist. He then jumped to dodge a tackle from the man as he wrapped the web around the man’s neck and killed him in the same manner as the first.

Woojin picked up their clothes filled with ashes and tapped on them. Two small red stones dropped to the ground. They were stones with spiritual power called ‘bloodstones’, which were used to create ghouls. Woojin smiled coldly.

“Ghouls…”

He placed the stones into his pocket and flapped the clothes out of the window to get rid of the ashes. Then, he went down to the first floor using the elevator and placed the clothes in a clothes donation bin. Afterward, he ordered chicken through the phone as he walked to the 7-Eleven.

He wasn’t sure what had attacked his home in the past. However, he knew that it wasn’t an avatar because it happened in so many places at the same time. If the enemy was an avatar, he would have had no chance.

Woojin bought some beer and returned home. As he leaned his back in the elevator, he closed his eyes to control his senses.

By the time he got off on the 13th floor, the effect from Cocktail-B had waned and his senses had returned to normal. He felt like he had some difficulty breathing and could see less clearly. This aftereffect was the reason why hunters took Cocktail-B repeatedly. Woojin took a deep breath to steady himself and walked in.

“Oh, you’re back early.”

“Yeah. I already ordered chicken. Here’s the beer.”

“Okay. Go get cleaned up.”

Woojin nodded and went to shower. The smell of the ghouls could be washed away with water and soap. The ghouls that came had failed. There was a possibility that the person who sent them here would try again. He needed to find that person and kill him.

Woojin looked into the mirror and thought about it. He needed to do whatever he could to protect his family.

“Woojin! Chicken’s here!”

Woojin dried himself with a towel, changed into a new set of clothes, and walked out. His mother had already finished setting up the chicken and beer on the table.

When he sat down, his mother opened a can of beer.

“I can do that too.”

“It’s okay. Let’s have a toast.”

All the members of the family each took up a can while Eunseo’s was a soda. After they toasted and drank, Woojin’s mother asked him.

“Son, tell me now.”

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

The entire family looked at him. As he looked at them, he recalled the horrific scene he saw every day during those ten years, along with the death of his sister that he could not prevent. After he remembered everything, Woojin closed his eyes and re-opened them. Then, he smiled.

“Father. Mother. Eunseo.”

He looked at them one by one as his family became silent. Then, Woojin spoke in all honesty.

“I love you.”

After he spoke, his mother dropped her can on the table. Woojin quickly reached for the can to stop it from spilling the beer.

“Was that so surprising?”

“SON! Tell me now! What’s going on?”

“Did you really quit your job? It’s not a joke, is it?”

His sister asked and his parents were shocked.

“What are you talking about?”

“Woojin said he quit his job when he came to pick me up.”

Woojin waved his hands and denied it.

“No, I didn’t, don’t worry. Let’s eat chicken.”

Woojin picked up a piece of chicken and brought it to his mouth. His parents became shocked but his sister spoke first.

“I love you too. You bought chicken today, so I love you even more.”

And thanks to her wits, his parents also laughed it off.

“Yeah. I love you too, son.”

“Mother loves you too.”

Woojin smiled, picked up some chicken, and passed it to them. His family was eating together at the table. He never valued it before he lost it, but it was different now. Woojin felt like he was going to cry and quickly began wolfing down the chicken to hide it.

The next day, Woojin did not go back to his workplace. Instead, he out to the Yeonbeon streets. Along the way, he saw news reports about yesterday’s murder incidents. There had been two murders that happened at the same time. The victims had been ripped apart as far as Woojin knew, but those details were not reported in the news. And it seemed like they didn’t know about the missing people yet.

He couldn’t stop those murders from happening, but maybe he could still find those missing people.

Woojin went to the meat shop again and went through the guards to look for the old man.

“Do you need anything else?”

“I’m here to sell you some goods.”

The old man reached out as Woojin took out a bloodstone and placed it on his palm.

“Bloodstones.”

Woojin waited without saying anything as the old man took a good look before asking, “How many do you have?”

“I have two.”

“I’ll pay two million per piece.”

It was a reasonable price. He could have made more if he’d sold it at the Hunters Guild, but he couldn’t go there yet. It was hard to get into and the guild had many limitations. It would only hinder him for now.

Woojin took out both stones and handed them over to the old man.

“Do you want it in cash?”

“I’ll take one Cocktail-B and the rest in cash.”

“Good.”

The old man then brought out a Cocktail-B and cash. Woojin asked as he put them away, “Can I buy information?”

“Price differs depending on the information. But, yes, of course.”

“Can you tell me where Dukgoo is?”

“Dukgoo? You mean Kang Dukgoo?”

“Yes.”

The old man looked at Woojin for a while and then laughed.

“What business you have with him?”

“If I tell you why, will you give me the information for free?”

The old man stopped and shook his head.

“No way. If you need his precise location, it’s one million. He usually stays at home all day long so it’s easy to pinpoint his location.”

“If I can confirm he’s at home, I’ll pay one million right away.”

“Wait a second.”

The old man then picked up his phone and made a few calls before writing down an address on a memo pad.

“I heard he hasn’t come out after going into his house yesterday. This is the address.”

Woojin handed over a million and received the address. After Woojin left, the old man again picked up his phone and made a call.

“You know about yesterday’s murders? Get the information on them.”

The old man then scratched his chin as he brought up the bloodstones to the light.

“Interesting. Very interesting.”