Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 76

76. Nine-Headed Rat (5)

The underground detention center was painted in a bizarre color scheme of red and black.

Inside, only conscripted soldiers and masked regular soldiers were present, so no one questioned the Sorcerer escorting Hyun-woo.

However, with the guards missing from the entrance, suspicion was bound to arise soon.

Hyun-woo needed to reach his objective before that happened. Suddenly, the corridor opened into a large space.

It was filled with red blood and silver metal scraps.

The first thing that came to Hyun-woo’s mind was a meat processing plant.

In each systematically arranged section, countless fragments of monsters were gathered or moved along a conveyor belt.

At the beginning of the process, numerous therian [animal-human hybrid] monsters he had never seen before, from werewolves to minotaurs and werebears, stood in a line with vacant eyes.

Following the orders of the Ratman soldiers, they entered a designated area en masse, and soon their corpses were being ejected from the other side.

Then, with the help of machinery and soldiers, they were meticulously separated into skin, flesh, and bones. Not a single drop of blood was wasted; it was all collected and sent to an unknown location.

Each part was divided according to its purpose.

“……President Yanok stated that only we, the most superior fangs, have the right to extract body parts from the inferior fangs.”

“Indeed… how gruesome.”

To be honest, Hyun-woo didn’t know what to say. He simply echoed the Sorcerer.

His impression was that he was looking at a butcher shop or slaughterhouse. Of course, seeing animals being slaughtered often evokes feelings of cruelty or horror.

However, Hyun-woo had also experienced dismantling Ratmen into pieces with his Disassembly skill.

The horror was just a fleeting feeling, not strong enough to evoke any real emotional response.

‘If I were to be shaken by something like this, I would have become a vegetarian long ago.’

Of course, if he thought of them as humans, he might feel something similar to the Ratman Sorcerer’s emotions. But as of now, it was hard to fully empathize.

“You don’t seem to approve of this?”

The Sorcerer didn’t answer.

Bringing Hyun-woo, practically an enemy, all the way here clearly indicated some form of discontent.

It was entirely possible to be loyal to the Fallen Empire but harbor inner reservations.

Whether they are beasts or humans, they tend to follow the prevailing atmosphere. There are countless instances in human history where people follow along even when they know it goes against their conscience.

“Good. You said the ritual extracts power through blood, right?”

The Sorcerer nodded. Hyun-woo took a step forward.

The target was easy to find.

The blood constantly flowing from the corpses of the therian monsters was all being channeled towards a massive tank in the center of this underground complex.

The waterways through which the blood flowed had a bizarre and complex structure instead of being efficient.

Above the tank filled with red blood, green flames burned in the air without any visible fuel source.

“By the way, if I ruin this, won’t your race be completely destroyed?”

The Sorcerer flinched for a moment. But he soon nodded, as if he had steeled himself.

“We are already doomed even if we don’t do this. But we are committing sins that will drag us to the deepest circles of hell.”

Hyun-woo couldn’t help but chuckle.

Hyun-woo thought that this Sorcerer might be suffering from a kind of Stockholm syndrome [psychological response where hostages or abuse victims bond with their captors or abusers].

Unable to accept the fact that he was being threatened by a mere human, he simply told himself that he was striving to achieve a greater cause.

Even if that wasn’t the case, the Sorcerer’s words were wrong.

It’s not that they are committing sins that will take them to hell; this is already hell.

And the only ones living in this hell are demons. The Sorcerer just didn’t realize it.

Anyone who doesn’t know that will naturally be devoured.

Of course, he would sabotage it enough to stop the ritual. He had to complete the quest.

But he would preserve the facility.

‘Why destroy such an efficient slaughterhouse?’

Dismantling hunted monsters and dividing them into usable parts is very important to hunters.

Monster parts are converted into enormous value and utilized throughout various industries.

Even in hell, not reality, it was important for Hyun-woo’s subordinates. There was no telling how many items he could create. Hyun-woo felt like he had stumbled upon an unexpected treasure.

The Sorcerer, unaware of Hyun-woo’s thoughts, guided him to the center.

***

The green beam soaring into the sky wavered unstably for a moment.

The president of the Fallen Empire, Yanok Marx, frowned and looked up at the sky. The green beam, overwhelming to beholders, pierced the sky and extended beyond the universe.

It was a landscape that inspired awe, but now it was clearly shaking. Something fundamental must have gone wrong.

“What happened to the underground detention center?”

“I will investigate.”

WerGil, the propaganda minister who was in a meeting with Yanok Marx, rose from his seat.

While Yanok Marx was focused on the final plan, the role of acting president was to be taken over by WerGil, the propaganda minister.

This was because the military chief and the head of the guard had fled, and the munitions minister had committed suicide.

Now, the only ones standing by Yanok Marx’s side were those armed with conviction and madness.

After WerGil left with a few guards, Yanok Marx stood at the center of the magic circle on the rooftop.

The flags of the gray forces advancing from all directions were countless. They had been wiped out several times, but their numbers were endless.

‘If I use this power, I might be able to wipe them out once more.’

Yanok Marx looked into the magic tome placed at the center of the magic circle.

It was the ‘Book with a Forgotten Title’ that had been protected with numerous sacrifices even as the empire was collapsing.

However, using this power meant that his final plan would be delayed that much more.

The plan was already delayed enough. No one could decipher this book.

Except for Yanok Marx.

Yanok, who had the ‘World Understanding’ talent, could interpret at least a part of the Book with a Forgotten Title.

That power was enough to make him the president of the empire and to dominate all the fangs.

As the war became unfavorable, Yanok invested the empire’s national power to interpret the rest.

Many Sorcerers, engrossed in the interpretation work, vomited blood from every pore of their bodies and died.

‘It was a valuable sacrifice.’

Just one day left. In just one day, the Nine-Headed Rat will appear on this land.

And they will reveal the true name of the Nine-Headed Rat that they had forgotten, their race name, and the true identity of the empire.

Surrounding the magic circle, numerous Sorcerers were chanting spells.

In the center of the magic circle, Yanok Marx also began to add his voice. A spell that made the listeners feel uneasy echoed.

The Sorcerers surrounding the magic circle felt a bizarre sensation that something else wearing Yanok Marx’s body was making the voice.

As Yanok Marx added his voice, the wavering green beam slowly began to stabilize again.

Then, at one point, the green beam faltered and shook.

Yanok Marx, whose consciousness was heightened, noticed that one of the Sorcerers had stopped chanting and glared at him.

The Sorcerer, shaking his head nervously, realized his mistake and immersed himself in chanting again.

But another anomaly occurred. One of them had misspoken the incantation.

As the rhythm became chaotic starting with one, the green beam that had been stabilizing began to shake rapidly.

Before Yanok Marx could get angry, he sensed the anomaly. Such a thing had never happened during the 100 days of chanting.

Forgetting or mispronouncing the incantation, if there had been such a person, he would have thrown them down below the tower long ago.

Weeng.

At that moment, Yanok’s concentration was broken, and he shook his head. But at the same time, his hand grabbed the cause of the disruption.

A mosquito in his hand was spitting out bright red blood and dying.

‘A mosquito?’

Mosquitoes don’t even come near this place. He had already wiped out all the mosquitoes in the area.

Before his question could fade, a scream erupted. One Sorcerer had bitten another Sorcerer’s neck. Yanok immediately realized the situation.

“It’s the enemy!”

Yanok immediately shot and killed the one who was biting the Sorcerer. But similar incidents were happening everywhere.

Feeling an intense hunger in the eyes of the Sorcerer biting his ally, Yanok recalled the starving star.

Yanok quickly deployed magic and incinerated the mosquitoes everywhere.

The mosquitoes poured down as a handful of blood, and the Sorcerers’ frenzy was quickly suppressed by the guards.

The mosquitoes belonged to the Starving Star’s faction, and the Sorcerers were clearly cursed by the Hungry One.

Yanok imagined the worst-case scenario: an alliance between the Wailing Star and the Starving Star.

Kuooh!

A chilling roar was heard. He felt the gray forces’ attack suddenly intensify.

The walls, reinforced by the magic of the final plan, were heavily damaged and shaken. Two spires standing on the outskirts collapsed simultaneously.

‘Damn it, the shaking beam is giving the enemies a signal.’

As the green beam showed an unstable appearance, the Wailing Star did not miss the opportunity.

Because the Sorcerers were dying and Yanok had also stopped chanting, the green beam was flickering as if it would go out at any moment. In this state, he couldn’t even switch to attack magic.

“The enemy is inside! Find them immediately!”

The guards hurriedly rushed out.

Yanok started chanting again, sweating profusely. Because nearly half of the Sorcerers had died, his burden was much greater.

Thump, thump. It was difficult to maintain the spell amidst the relentless onslaught of the gray forces.

How much time had passed? He saw the door reopening with a clanging sound. The green beam was stable but still unstable.

Yanok was preoccupied with maintaining the spell.

A human appeared. Yanok looked puzzled at the sight of a human he hadn’t seen in a long time.

‘Could that guy be a subordinate of the Starving Star?’

At that moment, the Ratman Sorcerer, half-dead, also appeared. The human opened his mouth.

“I’ve arrived.”

His appearance was strangely calm. Yanok felt uneasy.

At that moment, someone slammed the human’s head hard.

The human staggered and fell to the ground. WerGil, the propaganda minister, appeared, leading the guards.

“What ‘I’ve arrived’ when you were caught and dragged here? Are you crazy?”

***

Kang Hyun-woo smiled bitterly.

He thought he had almost succeeded. He planned to enter when WerGil took half of the guards underground, and then the guards went out the door to look for him once more.

His calculation was that even just disrupting the spell they were focused on would ruin it.

The problem was that WerGil had a bad feeling and returned midway.

A bad feeling. To entrust such an uncertain thing with an important decision.

But how much had Hyun-woo also relied on that feeling?

The Sorcerer tried to run away with his tail between his legs but was caught, and Hyun-woo was not much different. All he could do was prevent himself from being killed.

When he surrendered willingly, WerGil grabbed Hyun-woo and dragged him to the rooftop.

“What is that guy doing?”

“He’s the human who’s been stirring up the castle lately. Seeing him keep coming back to life, I thought he was a spy from the Wailing Star and was going to interrogate him.”

At that moment, Yanok Marx’s face twisted.

“Why did you bring such a guy here? Are you aware of how important the work we’re doing is right now?”

WerGil seemed flustered. In fact, Yanok was right. There was no need to bring an enemy to the president just because he was caught.

WerGil apologized and hurriedly tried to drag Hyun-woo out. At that moment, Yanok Marx and Hyun-woo’s eyes met.

Hyun-woo stared at Yanok and opened his mouth.

“Wait, wait! I have something to say.”

“Say what you want in the torture chamber. I’ll show the people what it looks like when you’re dismantled and let them know how foolish the Wailing Star is being.”

“Yanok Marx! I said I have something to say! If you ignore me, not only you but all your inferior rat bastards will be annihilated! You wouldn’t want that!”

The normal reaction Yanok should have shown was ridicule or disregard.

But he couldn’t. He was on the verge of finishing the massive task of the final plan, and the remark about inferior rat bastards was irritating.

Furthermore, he suspected that the guy was an agent of the Starving Star.

“Those beggars who only go around picking up trash dare to……”

“One of them said you guys are the most superior fangs, but what is that anyway?”

Gazes crossed among the Ratmen. Soon, laughter erupted. Yanok sneered.

“It’s referring to us. Although we have lost our true name and bear such a lowly name, when the Nine-Headed Rat appears, we will regain our name and……”

“No, that’s okay. What is ‘us’ anyway? Rat bastards?”

Yanok Marx’s anger soared, but he couldn’t find a suitable alternative.

That was what it meant to not find the true name. It was a humiliation to always compare or liken his superior and sacred race to other inferior beasts.

That’s why he had to regain the name at all costs.

“Yes.”

“Then what is the standard for rat bastards? A nice pink tail? Gray fur? Front teeth?”

“A rat is a rat. You can tell just by looking at it.”

“So it’s determined by appearance?”

“That’s not it.”

Yanok growled as he answered. There had already been countless people who had tried to refute Yanok in that way.

“They must not be mixed with the blood of inferior fangs. Only those pure fangs chosen in that way can regain their name and be qualified to become citizens of the glorious empire. If that happens, we can knock down all your dirty stars!”

“I see.”

Instead of trembling, Hyun-woo answered calmly.

“Then I think there’s one problem.”

“What kind of damn problem is there?”

“You’re not a rat, you’re a hamster.”