Chapter 16. CCTV evidence!

Chapter 16 - 16. CCTV evidence! That evening, after another failed day, Shin dragged himself back to the hideout. He felt like shit. He had nothing to show for his efforts, and now he was ready to finally confess to Suzune and Elena what his quest really required—something near impossible. And even if he did complete it, it wouldn't be enough to level up since it's reward offered him less than a 100XP. He was probably going to die in the next Elimination Round. So tonight, he just wanted one thing: to sit with them. Talk. Laugh. Eat. Pretend—for one fleeting moment that nothing wrong was coming ahead. But the worst wasn't waiting for him the next day when the Elimination Round begins. It was waiting for him at home right at this very moment. As Shin pushed open the creaky door of their hideout, an acrid metallic scent of blood hit him like a wall. His pulse instantly quickened. He took a cautious step inside, his boots sticking slightly to the floor. Something was wrong. Dread clawed at his throat. Then he saw it. His breath caught. The air disappeared from his lungs. And for a split second, his heart simply... stopped. "No..." he whispered, his voice no louder than a breath. He stumbled forward, knees buckling as he collapsed beside the bed. Lying there was what remained of Suzune. Or at least, the woman who used to be his grandmother. Her face was pulverized beyond recognition. A gory mess of shattered bone and torn flesh. Blood soaked the bedsheets, pooling beneath her body. "No... No... no..." he choked, trembling as he reached out with shaking fingers, hovering over what was once her gentle, smiling face. But there was nothing left. Just carnage. It wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't an illusion. It was her. Cold. Lifeless. Gone. His grandmother. The only family he had left. His anchor. His heart. Murdered. Slaughtered like an animal. Something protruded from the pockets of the dress she wore. He reached for it with trembling hands. It was a picture. A picture they took at a family vacation together. Tears burned down his cheeks— But then they vanished quickly into something else—something colder. A deep, gnawing numbness that gave way to blistering rage. Something inside him cracked, and snapped. They hadn't just killed her. They desecrated her. They made her suffer. He stood up slowly, wiping the tears from his face. "So this is it, huh?" He muttered to himself with a cracking voice. "This is what this world wants? Monsters?" His fingers curled into a fist. "Then I'll give it one." That moment marked the death of the old Shin and the birth of someone else. Someone who wouldn't hesitate. Someone who looked like they've changed from being a boy to something else. Someone who'd kill before being killed. And now... whoever did this to Suzune was going to bleed for it. Shin's eyes snapped up as he remembered the CCTV cameras! Their hideout was laced with them on the outside. A perfect trail to find the killer! Without wasting a second, he slumped into the creaking chair, the stale scent of blood clinging to his clothes. He rewound the footage to the moment he had left that morning. And then... his heart shattered like brittle glass under a sledgehammer. His throat clamped shut. No one had entered. Not a single soul. Except... Elena. No... It couldn't be. She wouldn't— she couldn't—kill Suzune just to level up, right? But the footage screamed the truth louder than any words could. She came in that afternoon. Stayed exactly thirty minutes. Then walked out... calm. Composed. Like nothing ever happened. How could she? His hands trembled violently. He clutched his chest—it felt like fire was clawing its way out of his ribs. Thick, pulsing veins spiderwebbed across his face. His bloodshot eyes were raw with betrayal. His entire body screamed with one word: revenge. After everything they'd gone through together. After all the trust. After he bared his heart and confessed his love... She didn't even flinch. Of course not. Because she never gave a damn. Rage choked his breath as he yanked open the toolbox, gripping a dagger so tight his knuckles turned white. He shoved it into the waistband of his trousers, then pulled his shirt over it, hiding his vengeance behind the fabric. But before he hunted the traitor down, he had something sacred to do. Suzune deserved more than this... He stepped toward her broken, mangled corpse. Blood had long congealed on her skin, sticky and dark. Carefully, trembling, he lifted her. Her lifeless body sagged in his arms, still warm with remnants of life. He staggered outside with her, every step heavy. Then, returning to the bloodstained room, he crouched on the soaked mattress. Bits of skull gleamed like ivory in the light. He gathered them—each shattered piece of her—wrapped them in the bedsheet, and cradled them like sacred relics. Outside, he began to dig. Dirt piled beside him as his fingers blistered. Once the hole was ready, he gently laid the bloodied sheet, pieces of flesh and bone bundled within. Then, he placed Suzune's body over them. He went back inside for another sheet— a cleaner one now and draped it over her. Then came the soil. He buried her with silent tears carving lines through the blood on his face. Then he knelt, hands muddy, heart fractured beyond repair. He whispered his prayers. Whispered his goodbyes. Then he rose. It was already dark, the sun just set not long ago. He knew exactly where to go—that filthy condom warehouse. That's where Elena had gone in the morning. That's where she could be, laughing, while Suzune lay in the dirt. He arrived there in silence within a few moments. From behind the wall, he listened. Inside, Elena strolled into the hall from Akira's bedroom. "I've done it!" she chirped, referring to finishing washing the clothes. "Good," Akira's voice rumbled. She beamed. "So... think one of your guys can show me this factory now? I'm running outta time—and I still need to grab that sexy lingerie you wanted me to wear tonight." In truth, all she wanted was the insulin. Then she'd vanish. And never come back to these damned assholes again. After all, they promised insulin that'd last for a month. "Now that's what I'm talking about," Akira chuckled. "Gerald! Accompany her! And make sure she gets a really sexy lingerie!!" Gerald groaned. "Tch. Whatever. Let's go." Outside, hidden in the shadows, Shin's fists clenched until blood oozed from his palms. Sexy lingerie... So she was fucking them? All this time? Was that what he meant to her? His rage went beyond blood now. She didn't just kill Suzune. She spit on her grave. And now... she would pay. Painfully. With every last drop of blood in her body. TBC