This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 390

The hallway, filled with crimson and sharp things, felt like peering into the mouth of a monster from outer space.

Not just any monster, but one that had feasted on people to its heart’s content.

It was such a natural thought to have, given the abundance of sharp and bloody things around me.

Perhaps it was because there were so many of these grotesque formations.

Even though I was solely focused on dodging and not thinking about attacks, I could still feel a hot sensation creeping all over my body.

I felt something dribbling down my skin.

And accompanying that sensation was something echoing in my head?

The sound of a bell.

Given that the opponent’s talent was presumed to be blood manipulation, spilling blood was certainly not a good sign.

So, I hastily wiped away what was dripping down my skin with my hand—

Swoosh—

Could it be that not all blood can be controlled?

Even though this was an immensely lethal situation for me if I were to use what was on my hands as a weapon, the monster showed no significant movements.

‘Now that I think about it…’

I vaguely recalled hearing about a renowned villain who operated somewhere in South America and had the ability to manipulate blood that flowed from corpses.

‘What was her name…’

It had to be Bloody Shark or something like that?

I wondered if the monster’s talent was limited to only manipulating blood that flowed from corpses, just like that villain.

I had no concrete evidence, but my instincts were singing.

Honestly, if it weren’t that way, there’d be no reason to splatter blood around like this.

The floor was a given, but covering the ceiling in blood seemed a bit unnatural.

‘So that’s the case…’

Of course, realizing that didn’t particularly change anything.

It couldn’t help but be that way since, as mentioned earlier, everything around me was filled with blood and sharp objects.

Even if I wanted to move to a cleaner place, it was all the same everywhere I looked.

While I desperately scanned my surroundings, something made of blood continued to swoop in.

A spear of blood erupted from a puddle, flying toward me with a deadly force, as if it were about to pierce my body.

“Guh…!”

I hastily rolled to the side, but the spear was so fast that it barely grazed my forearm.

Thus, little by little, scratches began to appear on my body.

And as I rolled around, dripping blood from various wounds, could it be that this was making the monster quite happy?

Slither—! Slither!

It felt like sounds of joy dripped from the head made of armor-like material.

‘How annoying…’

Everything about that monster’s behavior, the fact that the scratches could turn into scars, and that my blouse—which Dogun gifted me as a birthday present, and which I had worn only five times in a year—was gradually turning into rags… none of it pleases me.

So, while I wanted to blow away that monster, which was making strange noises like laughter or crying, I held back and rolled.

And finally, when I was cornered at the end of the hallway where a window sat—

Swoosh—!

Was it displeased with my evasive maneuvers?

With a more savage roar than ever, a gigantic orb made of blood came flying toward me.

It was as if it intended to fill the hallway completely, the giant sphere of blood quickly filling my field of vision as it closed the distance.

Having experienced that attack method once before, I had previously escaped it by throwing myself back. But now, with only the window behind me?

I would end up exposing my body to the blood spikes emerging from inside the orb.

And I couldn’t just leap toward the window that was behind me.

Did this mean it judged that I was stuck?

The swiftly flying blood sphere began to slow down gradually.

Then it advanced slowly, as if trying to instill some intimidation.

That monster’s behavior seemed to imply… that it was enjoying the situation.

It felt like the monster was having a blast playing with someone in the palm of its hand.

“…Is it fun?”

I asked.

Knowing full well that it was irrational to expect a response, I locked my gaze straight at what I presumed were its eyes.

And… I decided to reveal something.

“But what about now? It won’t be any fun from here on out.”

It’s a rule never to let your guard down until everything concludes without a hitch.

The gigantic blood sphere that was narrowing the distance immediately stopped.

As if someone had forcibly made it halt.

And because of that unnatural pose, I realized.

The monster’s range limit was right up to here.

It seemed true that rationality existed somewhere within, as the creature appeared slightly flustered, hastily trying to move forward. But…

“Well, to be honest, you were blocking pretty well earlier…”

That was the end of it.

After rolling around without holding back to this point, I found that it couldn’t perform both offense and defense simultaneously, whether that was the original case or an adverse effect from its transformation.

And the attack that the monstrous creature had launched toward me?

It was currently halted just a step ahead.

“I can’t say for sure you’ll manage this one.”

With a sharp snap of my fingers, the sound echoed through the corridor.

Even from quite a distance away, did it hear that?

The creature that had been extending its body forward immediately retracted its ability—

But it wasn’t faster than the sound.

Swoosh?

With a voice that sounded as if it were a dying scream, the body of the monster that had been leaning slowly began to freeze in midair.

How long did it remain that way?

The creature that had awkwardly stopped suddenly crumbled down.

It looked like a puppet with its strings cut.

‘Phew…’

Honestly, dealing with those who manipulate liquids is a hassle…

I suppose it’s just not a good match.

Take Yoonseo, for instance.

When Yoonseo decides to drown her surroundings with water, it becomes nearly impossible for me to land a proper attack no matter how hard I try.

The technique that ‘that thing’ was using, which was now giving the cold ground a deep kiss, was quite similar.

While rolling around, I casually stabbed a few times to test it out, but each time, the blood would wrap around, leaving me with no options.

And pushing the output further to break through?

I hesitated at the thought of possibly damaging the corpses piled behind it.

So, I had played along, pretending to be trapped while attempting to keep my distance as much as possible.

Well… ultimately, it turned out well.

I guess it’s best to think positively.

‘By the way…’

I thought the cleanup of the floor above would be much easier than anticipated, leading me to believe the situation on other floors would be no different, but I was shocked to find so many casualties.

Contemplating that other floors could be just like this sent a shiver down my spine.

At the same time… I worried about the whirlwind of repercussions that would follow.

“Ha…”

I felt compelled to take that course of action, thinking of the events that lay ahead, but perhaps due to the significant amount of blood I had spilled, I felt a slight dizziness.

And it happened while I was perched against the window, taking a moment to catch my breath.

From behind me, a deep rumbling noise akin to thunder echoed—

Boom—!

It was momentary, but the building slightly trembled.

As if something enormous had flown into the building and collided with it.

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At that moment, while Baeksulhwa was flustered by the unexpected shock, Dogun and his companions, who had chosen to rush into the sealed building after realizing something was wrong upon approaching the Association, were—

“Cough…!”

“Cough, cough…!”

“Ugh… Dust…”

They were all caught up in a cloud of dust, coughing violently, without a single person left out.