Desire

The chapel.

The place, reminiscent of a gigantic opera house, was shrouded in darkness and fog.

In a corridor on the third floor to its left, enclosed by blackout curtains and rock walls, five men gathered, panting heavily and spewing curses.

"Fuck, what the hell was that bastard?"

"I don't know. I'd never experienced anything like it before. The moment I looked into his eyes, my legs started shaking on their own."

"Damn, my heart's still pounding."

No one could explain what had happened earlier.

They had never experienced a sensation like that in their entire lives. It was the feeling of prey standing before an irresistible predator.

Still, once their pounding hearts settled down, they thought of the women and rekindled the desire that had briefly subsided.

The desire rose from their groins and took over their minds, ultimately suppressing their fear and forcing them to make sense of what had happened, even if only through sheer insistence.

"So, guys, what do you think that was?"

"Who knows? Could it have been a [Unique Ability], hyung?"

"A [Unique Ability]?"

"Yes. Otherwise, there's no way to explain something that bizarre."

"Hmm, that does make sense." Group leader Park Yongchan nodded.

Having worked as muscle for a loan shark since he was young and gone through all kinds of experiences, he prided himself on at least having a good eye for people.

In his eyes, the young man from earlier had been nothing more or less than an ordinary college student.

"It makes sense. We each obtained special abilities, so why should that bastard be any different?"

Once they reached that conclusion, Park Yongchan felt a surge in his groin.

'Yeah. I don't know where that punk crawled out of, but I can't let some brat like him make me miss out on that pretty girl.'

The moment he saw Han Sohee, he had instinctively known that she was anything but an ordinary woman.

Despite having slept with plenty of pretty-faced women from his back-alley days, he had never encountered a face that beautiful or an aura that strange.

'That haughty yet graceful bearing of hers. Gulp.'

"So what are we going to do now, hyung?"

"What else? We wait for an opportunity and take him out. We were caught off guard by an ability we'd never seen before, but what do we have to fear? Right, guys?"

"You speak the truth, hyung."

"We'll send that bastard to his grave in front of the women, then take turns with them to make up for all the time we've missed."

"Heh heh heh. That's more like you, hyung. Should we go keep watch right away?"

That was when they were plotting together and grinning lecherously.

「Aah….」

"Huh? H-hyung, it's a Specter. But there seem to be quite a few of them."

"What? How many?"

"A-at least fourteen, I think."

"Damn it, run for the entrance!"

The men fled in a chaotic rush through the chapel's main entrance. After managing to escape in a panic, they panted heavily and let out sighs of relief in the open space outside the door.

"Damn, that took ten years off my life."

"You said it. Who could've expected to run into that many right at the start?"

They killed some time before entering the chapel again. As planned, they headed toward the chapel's right staircase to kill Gang Minjun.

「Aah…!」

But before long, they had to flee the chapel again.

"Ah, shit. Why is everything going so badly today?"

It wasn't a joke; perhaps it really was an unlucky day, because every time they entered the chapel, they were chased by a huge pack of Specters before long.

It happened once, twice, three times….

"Fuck, what number is this?"

"…The twelfth time, hyung."

"This is insane. What the hell is going on? Why are they coming straight to wherever we are, as if they know exactly where we are!"

It was enough to drive them mad.

They had been going in and out for over five hours already. As a result, they hadn't been able to eat, and hunger was beginning to sap the strength from their legs.

A little while ago, the man at the very back had been caught and nearly turned into a mummy on the spot.

"What do we do, hyung?"

"Damn it. If there were fewer of them, we might be able to do something."

Every time, there were simply too many of them, leaving the men unable to move forward or back.

What could this sudden change possibly mean?

'Has something changed in the monsters' ecology?'

So suddenly?

Then why weren't the women inside coming out? Why were they staying quiet?

…Could they all have died already?

As all kinds of complicated thoughts chased one another through their minds, someone pointed at a gap in the chapel door and shouted.

"Hyung, someone is coming out over there!"

The figure emerging through the fog was a short little girl.

A girl with cute, chubby cheeks and a hime cut. She stopped as she came out the door and watched them warily for a moment.

Park Yongchan narrowed his eyes and asked,

"Who are you? I've never seen you before. More importantly, how were you moving around in there? Those Specters have been running all over the place like crazy; it must've been a madhouse."

"…I quietly hid behind a pillar until the Specters passed by."

"What? What kind of nonsense is that…."

Park Yongchan, who had been saying that, closed his mouth again.

It wasn't actually nonsense.

There were five of them, so they had run because there hadn't been enough places to hide. If one were alone, there were plenty of places to avoid the Specters' eyes.

"But what are you uncles doing here? Why aren't you going to pick up [Bardo's Remains]?"

"Of course we're… Wait, you know where the remains are?"

"Yeah, they're downstairs."

"!!"

The men opened their eyes wide at the girl's offhand remark.

"Downstairs?"

This was news to them. They had never even imagined that there could be another space like that.

"There's another space beneath the chapel."

"Ha, so that's why we couldn't find them all this time…."

Only now did the men understand the whole story: why they hadn't been able to find the remains despite searching the chapel for days.

Park Yongchan asked,

"Hey, kid. How do we get downstairs?"

"There's a hole leading down near the stage."

"The stage?"

"Yeah."

"Aren't there a lot of mobs there?"

"There are, but not while the Specters are busy going outside. Like right now, for example?"

Ah, the men furrowed their brows.

What she meant was that they could have escaped this horrible place six days ago, but they had simply been unlucky, had bad timing, and had happened to run into a large number of Specters at the stage, ending up in their current miserable state.

"Fuck, that goddamn shitty luck…. Hey, kid, what you're saying isn't a lie, is it?"

"It's not a lie."

"If you're bullshitting us, you'll pay for it with your life."

The girl then moved one hand behind her back and pulled something out.

It was a human humerus, the long upper-arm bone running from the shoulder to the elbow.

Park Yongchan and the other men instinctively realized that this was one of [Bardo's Remains].

"Are there more things like that?"

"Yeah, there are lots of them down here. Enough for each of you uncles to take one. If you need help, want me to show you the way?"

"Really?"

They could escape this place.

They had no reason to remain in this godforsaken place any longer.

That fact seized control of the men's minds. It paralyzed their thoughts. As a result, they failed to notice the eerie look in the eyes of the girl smiling brightly before them.

"This way. Follow me."

"Let's go, guys."

"Yes, hyung!"

And the result was obvious: from that moment on, the men never appeared in the chapel again.

Only the girl, looking utterly relieved, returned alone and smiled sweetly.

"This is your punishment for trying to kill Oppa. Take it like men."

***

「Aah!」

There were nine Specters in total.

I fought alongside the bastards and looked toward the women.

"Die! Die! Die!"

"Ahyeon, are you still not done?"

"Huh? I'll be done soon. I invested heavily in Vitality, so I'm a little slower at hunting than Unni."

Having just dealt with two Specters, Joo Ahyeon brushed her hair back as if she'd enjoyed a good workout.

Kim Yoorim, who had finished off two Specters much earlier, ran to one side with leisurely steps.

"Huff. Huff."

There, Han Sohee was locked in a difficult struggle with a Specter, drenched in sweat.

"Fall back, Ms. Sohee."

"Ngh. I'm fine…."

"Yeah, don't be reckless."

Whether Han Sohee retreated or not, Kim Yoorim began raining attacks on the Specter. When Joo Ahyeon joined her a moment later, the Specter met its death in an instant, so helplessly that it was almost pathetic.

"Ah."

The speed was on an entirely different level from Han Sohee's.

It couldn't be helped. The moment she was afflicted by both the fog's curse and the curse inflicted by the Specters, she had no accessory, so her movements slowed by nearly half.

Naturally, slower movements meant slower hunting.

'Of course, that isn't the whole story.'

I used [All-Seeing Eye] to inspect Kim Yoorim and Joo Ahyeon's abilities.

<Unique Ability>

Name: Critical Strike

Grade: Epic

Description: The first attack always activates a critical hit.

That was why Kim Yoorim always had the fastest hunting speed.

It was an extremely cost-effective ability that made the first attack a devastating blow against any target.

'If she invested heavily in Strength and equipped a good weapon, she could smash the skulls of most ordinary mobs in one hit.'

And that wasn't all.

With plenty of room to shine in ambushes, assassinations, and fights against multiple opponents, it was unquestionably considered one of the higher-tier Epic abilities and worked extremely well in a party.

On top of that, her base stats were good, so countless guilds would surely be making overtures to her in the future.

'She's no slouch either.'

This time, I looked at Joo Ahyeon. Unlike Kim Yoorim, she possessed a utility-type ability.

<Unique Ability>

Name: Footstep Tracker

Grade: Epic

Description: Examines the traces left by living creatures, gathers information, and discerns their identities.

'It isn't very effective right now because the mobs roaming around are ghost types.'

It was an ability that would shine in various future trials, and Joo Ahyeon would probably receive as many offers, or even more, than Kim Yoorim.

'Utility abilities like this aren't easy to survive with in the early stages.'

Such abilities were often highly valued once the trials entered their middle stages. Of course, that was only if one survived.

"Oppa! Are you still not done?"

"Mr. Minjun really is amazing. He's perfectly fine even while keeping that many of them occupied."

I gripped my sword hilt tightly and swung with all my strength in every direction. Perhaps because of my high Strength stat, a whirlwind of sword wind swept out, and all nine Specters turned into corpses in just two seconds.

As if they had been waiting for it, the two women came scampering over and clung tightly to me.

"Oppa, how about doing it again right away?"

"You did it with Ahyeon first earlier, so let me go first this time."

Even though they had obtained all the accessories long ago and no longer had any need to have sex with me, the two women still asked me to fuck them.

Perhaps it was to relieve stress, or perhaps a man's embrace was simply comforting in a gloomy place like this….

I didn't know the specific reason, but regardless, I wasn't cold-hearted enough to reject women asking me to fuck them.

"Then put your hands against the wall and stand there. I'll take turns pounding you."

"Ahh! I-I got a dick bigger than my boyfriend's inside me…!"

"Please pound me too."

I roughly thrust my cock up against their sturdy thighs and buttocks.

Their well-trained bodies gripped my cock pleasantly enough. They had good stamina too, so they didn't tire no matter how hard I pounded them.

Best of all, they accepted anything I did to them.

"Ahyeon, can I put it in your ass?"

"My butt? Hmm, I've never done it there before. But if you want to, Oppa, go ahead."

They were quite literally human fucktoys.

"Yoorim, grab Ahyeon's ass and spread her open. That's it."

I coated the small hole, which had never taken a penis before, with the Specter's natural gel, then forcibly pushed my massive cock inside.

"Gk?!"

Once the head barely made it in, Joo Ahyeon, a badminton player, clamped down hard on my cock. She bit down so tightly it felt as though she might snap it off.

"W-wait, Oppa. Please push in a little more gently. It feels like I'm tearing."

"Ahyeon, switch with me if it's too painful. I want to offer Mr. Minjun my anal virginity soon too."

That was how, no matter how painful it was, they willingly offered themselves whenever I wanted them to, and this party had effectively become my personal fuck den.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

"Aah! Aah! O-Oppa! My asshole's tearing! Please, a little more gently…!"

"Tch. I'm cumming now."

"Ahh. Sob. Hngh."

Splurt. Splurt. Splurrrrrt.

"Now it's my turn. Please pound me too."

Beside Joo Ahyeon, who was trembling as she came through her ass, Kim Yoorim got down on all fours like a cat, raised her hips, and acted coquettishly.

I shoved my cock into her plump ass, rocked my hips, and lifted my head.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

"Ahh! Nghaaah! Aah!"

"……."

The chaebol heiress still merely sat with her legs pressed together and watched us without coming closer.

But I knew. It wouldn't be much longer now.

***

"Then I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, Mr. Minjun. Go on in."

"See you tomorrow, Oppa!"

After spending the day fucking, hunting, and filling their bellies, the time came for them to end the day as well.

"Ahyeon, I'm counting on you again tonight."

"Okay."

The women began preparing to sleep in front of the chapel.

This was the only sanctuary no monster could enter. The skeletons did not come down this far, and the Specters could not leave through the door.

"Hmm."

Walking around the place that could literally be called a safe zone, Joo Ahyeon examined the clear footprints left on the floor and tilted her head.

"Unni, it's been quite a while since the men failed to return. Do you think something happened?"

Her [Footstep Tracker] allowed her to examine footprints according to when they had been made.

The five pairs of footprints belonging to the men who had left stopped abruptly seven hours ago.

'These days, we hunt even when we encounter a large number of Specters because we follow Minjun Oppa around.'

Originally, they had run away from them.

They had to go in and out through the door several times a day.

There should have been traces left at least once every two hours. But seven hours had gone by without a trace?

"If something happened, that's good for us. We won't have to see those bastards. Right?"

"That's true, but I'm worried because it feels like they're plotting something. What if they ambush us while we're sleeping?"

Feeling somewhat uneasy, they settled down by the stairs, well away from the door.

And as always, they took turns standing watch while their exhausted bodies recovered through sleep.

"Hey, Han Sohee. It's your turn now."

"……."

Taking the second watch after Joo Ahyeon, Han Sohee sat on the stairs and gazed at the light from the two statues faintly illuminating the distant main entrance of the chapel.

Whoosh.

The lights were far enough away that everything remained calm and tranquil.

Everything around her was quiet and dark, and her eyes grew cold as they settled in the darkness.

How much time had passed like that?

Her gaze was no longer on the statues.

Snoooore.

It had turned toward the two women sleeping soundly and snoring.

Toward their hands, necks, and ears.

More precisely, toward the rings, necklace, and earrings they were wearing.

Swish.

A deep shadow settled over Joo Ahyeon's head. A hand extending from the black silhouette crept closer, little by little.

Tremble, tremble.

She was close enough to snatch them all away whenever she wanted. Her target was asleep, and she was confident she could take the ring from her hand, the earring in her ear, and the necklace around her neck before Joo Ahyeon ever noticed.

"……."

However, after remaining that way for a long while, Han Sohee clenched her hand tightly and withdrew it.

Her overwhelmingly strong pride would not permit such petty theft.

She could gorge herself on monster corpses, but she could not bring herself to tolerate stealing another person's belongings simply to survive, especially when that person was weaker than her.

But she possessed a desire as great as her pride.

"I will survive. And I will prove it…."

As if making a solemn vow, Han Sohee murmured softly in the darkness. Again and again.

And the next day.

Gang Minjun watched as the chaebol heiress strode up to him and boldly made her demand.

"I'll take that accessory too."

"……."