003. The Shackles of Fate

The date appeared again. I don't know why.

"What is this? I definitely killed someone."

Without a doubt, I had killed someone. Although it wasn't by my own will. Thanks to that, I now possess the unwanted memories of that man.

Faust clearly said that I just needed to commit murder "within" seven days. However, the contents of the contract differed from his words.

In fact, it was meaningless to argue whether it was "every seven days" or "within seven days." Complaining wouldn't change anything.

"Anyway, I don't have a choice."

The most important thing now was that I was forced into a contract, and if I break it, my family will die.

Once I organized my thoughts, I felt both bitter and calm at the same time.

Perhaps not knowing what to do would have made the situation even more dreadful. I wouldn't have had any idea how to protect my family.

"That would be the absolute worst."

Now, I have obtained abilities that transcend humans, abilities that no human can possess.

What this means is,

If I set my mind to it, I can easily kill anyone at any time. The problem is making up my mind to do so.

"But why did Faust bother to deceive me? He could have forced the contract anyway; for what reason...?"

I don't know. Let's wash up for now.

After thoroughly washing up, I lay down on the bed. I searched for any news about the murder case. There was still no news.

"Is it too early for articles to be pouring out?"

My eyelids felt heavy. Too many things happened to me today. My eyes slowly closed.

***

The Next Day.

As soon as I woke up the next day, I checked the news first. Like any murderer, I wanted to know how things were unfolding.

'If I get caught by the police, I won't be able to fulfill the contract. If that happens, not only I but also my family will die. I have to prevent that situation at all costs.'

The crime I committed was already causing a big stir on the internet.

['Bizarre Murder Case: Where Is the Victim's Head?'

 Last night, a bizarre and gruesome murder occurred near the 'Cheongsol' town office. According to police officials, the body was found severely mutilated, and the victim's head is missing without a trace.

 Currently, the police are speeding up their investigation by analyzing nearby CCTV footage. They believe that before the victim was murdered, he crashed into a bus stop. Accordingly, they are also investigating the possibility that the victim was driving under the influence...]

'There shouldn't be any CCTV except near the town office...'

My memory wasn't precise. How many people usually check for CCTV cameras as they go about their day?

I quickly scrolled down to read the comments.

 Justice served.

- The victim was a drunk driver? Then isn't it okay that he died?

- A hero who saved future victims.

- But isn't killing a bit too much?

- The guy above will understand how it feels when his family gets killed by a drunk driver.

'Why are there comments defending me?'

The reactions in the comments were a bit strange.

Growl.

Even though I had killed someone, I was still hungry. Maybe this is my true nature...

'First, I need to eat something.'

I went to the kitchen to look for ramen, but the shelves were empty.

'Oh right. I was supposed to buy some on the way back yesterday.'

I hurriedly changed into outdoor clothes and headed to the convenience store.

'Could people even suspect that I'm a murderer who killed someone?'

I was afraid of people's gazes. So I tried to walk even more casually.

"Hello."

As usual, the convenience store clerk was so absorbed in his mobile game that he didn't even hear my greeting.

His love for gaming continued even as I paid for the ramen.

On my way back home with the ramen, someone suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Come quietly."

There was a sharp edge in that voice. My heart began to beat faster. As I tried to turn my head, the hand pressed down even harder on my shoulder.

"Hey, don't look back. There are a lot of people here; do you want to be embarrassed?"

I lowered my eyes and, walking with them, counted how many legs were accompanying me.

'Excluding my own legs, six.'

All I could do was pretend to comply calmly with what they said. They would surely take me to a secluded place.

Aside from that, it was honestly hard to believe that such a thing could happen in broad daylight.

I wasn't scared. Maybe in the past I would have been, but now it didn't make sense for me to be afraid.

'For now, since there are many people here...'

As expected, the thugs naturally led me to a secluded alley. Their footsteps moved smoothly and quickly, as if following a familiar pattern.

After walking a bit further into the alley, we came to a dead end. At the end, there was a lone sofa.

'A small kingdom for delinquents.'

In that small kingdom, there were five more bullies.

'A total of eight.'

"Money."

A tall guy plopped down on the sofa and said.

Judging by his height, the one who put his hand on my shoulder must be this guy.

'So he's the leader.'

I handed over my wallet without resistance. I just wanted to get this over with quickly. I was hungry.

The tall guy checked my ID and started to snicker.

"What the hell. Your name is Cheol-su Kim?"

The tall guy grabbed his belly and laughed. The other guys around him followed suit.

"Seriously, they don't even use names like this in textbooks these days, do they?"

asked a guy who looked like a raccoon.

"I don't know, damn it. How should I know that?"

When the tall guy spoke sternly, the atmosphere suddenly cooled down. Looking closely, the tall guy resembled a giraffe.

"Then is Young-hee Kim your sister?"

The tall guy mocked me again, and his lackeys burst into laughter once more.

'They're forcing themselves to laugh even though it's not funny.'

As an adult, their conversation was truly childish.

Maybe if I were around their age, I might have been able to tolerate it.

"I don't have a sister, though."

At my words, silence fell again. Everyone stared at me. I didn't know why I suddenly said that.

"What the hell, damn it. Are you an old geezer? Can't you take a joke?"

The tall guy frowned and rummaged through my wallet again. Then suddenly, his expression hardened.

"What the hell, damn it. Aren't you an adult? The money, damn it."

He scattered the two thousand won that was in my wallet onto the ground.

'Seriously, who carries cash these days?'

I thought it would end with the two thousand won, but I had overlooked the fact that kids these days are quite cunning.

"Hey, go with this old geezer to the ATM and withdraw some money,"

the giraffe-like guy said as he tossed my wallet to a guy who looked like a goat.

'ATM. I didn't think they'd go that far...'

I was surprised to realize that today's bullies have various ways to extort money.

'They're quite intelligent.'

At the giraffe-like guy's command, the goat-like guy moved.

"Hey, what are you doing, mister? Hurry up and move."

It was bad enough to be called 'mister' at twenty-eight, but I couldn't bear the humiliation of going to an ATM.

"Let's stop here."

"We're still students and don't have money. Wouldn't it be nice if you, as an adult in society, could make a donation?"

The goat-like guy was eloquent. I almost fell for it.

'Come to think of it, they said they were high school students?'

I thought the world was going to the dogs. It was unbelievable how aged high school students look these days.

"This isn't right, guys. This is clearly a crime,"

I said, almost pleading.

The giraffe-like guy who had been sitting on the sofa suddenly stood up.

"See, damn it. This is why old geezers these days are said to be clueless and inconsiderate."

'Geezer? Am I that much of an old geezer...?'

While I was off guard, the giraffe-like guy threw a punch at my abdomen.

But what can I do? To me, his movement only looked slow. My body was already in attack mode.

Thud. Splat.

The giraffe-like guy's head burst like a watermelon.

[Absorption of the deceased's soul is complete.]

[Purification of the deceased's soul is complete.]

[Storing the deceased's 'life memories.']

'As expected, I hear this message every time I kill.'

"Damn it!"

The raccoon-like guy swung a fist at my face. I could have avoided it, but I didn't. His fist sliced through the air, and my body reacted automatically.

Swish. Crack. Splat.

'Again?'

The raccoon-like guy's face exploded with a pop.

And as always, a whisper was heard.

[Absorption of the deceased's soul is complete.]

[Purification of the deceased's soul is complete.]

[Storing the deceased's 'life memories.']

Even though they saw someone's head explode right in front of them, they still attacked... It was actually quite courageous. If it were me, I would have run away.

The remaining guys had dumbfounded expressions. It was truly unfortunate that things had come to this, but I couldn't let these guys live. They had seen my face.

Thud. Splat.

[Absorption of six souls is complete.]

[Purification of six souls is complete.]

[Storing the deceased's 'life memories.]