## Chapter 331 – The Martial Artist Bastards
“What, what are you doing! How dare you hit a child!”
“Huh?”
I modulated my voice to sound like a good-natured barbarian uncle. I wanted to find out a few more things, so I decided to postpone the detailed interrogation for a bit.
“W-what? Who, who are you?”
He stumbled backward, flustered as soon as I charged at him.
Anyone would be taken aback if someone like me, practically a heavily armed thug, suddenly jumped out. Perhaps sensing my fear, he turned and tried to run away.
I shouted again at that moment.
“I asked you what you think you’re doing, hitting a child! Have you no decency? Stop it right now!”
—Saying something that sounds reasonably sensible.
“…Ha? Decency? What’s this old geezer talking about? Hey, hey. Get lost before you see blood, you little shit. Don’t meddle in our business. Didn’t you learn that meddling in other people’s affairs in the slums gets you killed?”
His attitude changed instantly, and he started shouting.
These kinds of guys always see you as a pushover and start yelling if you treat them with respect. What a dumbass. Did he really fall for that?
Seeing my chivalrous attitude, he abandoned the option of running away and started acting tough. I decided to keep up the act for a little while longer.
“You fucking bitch! You’ve made things troublesome!”
No sooner had I thought that, than—whack! He kicked Lina again, knocking her over. “Eek!” Lina cried out in a childish voice, struck once more.
Shit.
—Trembling.
For a moment, my sword almost burst from its sheath.
Suppressing it, I shouted.
“Stop hitting her! What did this child ever do to deserve this!”
Like someone who would never resort to violence, I didn’t touch him despite Lina being beaten, and instead argued with words. The demon bastard seemed to gain confidence from that attitude.
“Haa, annoying. I’m hitting her because she didn’t pay her protection money. Why? Is the old man going to pay it for her?”
He spat out the words as if he couldn’t even imagine getting hit himself. He was contracting his facial muscles and shoving his face right up to mine.
I was becoming more and more convinced that he was a demon cultist.
“P-protection money? You mean you’re collecting protection money?”
“You have to pay to live in this area.”
I pretended to be flustered, and he sighed deeply. Like he was pissed off at seeing a kid who didn’t know anything.
“I don’t know where you crawled out from, but there are rules here. It’s obvious, so if you’re not going to pay instead, mind your own business and get lost. Or I might just kill you.”
You should start by learning how to read people, you little shit.
That’s all I wanted to say.
“…If I pay the protection money, you won’t hit her?”
“What? Are you actually going to pay?”
He reacted to the mention of money, blinking like a frog. But watching him was kind of fun.
“…How much is it?”
“Are you really going to give it?”
“I asked how much.”
“Ummm…”
He pondered for a moment at those words.
“Well, if you give me 1 silver, I might let it slide. That was her quota in the first place… But mister. Do you perhaps have ‘those’ kinds of hobbies? You looked like a vicious person? I like it.”
Holy fucking shit, is it even possible for a kid’s quota to be 1 silver? Even kids collecting coffee beans in Ethiopia don’t have that kind of quota, you unrealistic bastard.
“If you like, I can introduce you to a good place… Of course, I’ll have to charge a referral fee separately. It’s a place for men with wonderful hobbies like yours.”
It seemed he was not only a murderous robber but also a pimp for illegal prostitution. This was no longer enough to call him a demon cultist.
This guy, who would make even Satan cry, was a genuine Demon.
Under international law, it’s not a crime to make these kinds of guys into stew. The UN even recommends killing these individuals. They even hold quarterly campaigns to that effect.
“Don’t give it to him, mister! He took 5 silver from me last time!”
“You fucking bitch! Hey! Shut up?! Or I might just sell you to a brothel!”
At that moment, Lina chimed in with perfect timing.
“5 silver…? Is the protection money that high?”
“Shut up and give me the money, mister. I’m in a really bad mood right now. You’re not thinking of changing your mind, are you? I don’t want to imagine what will happen if you do; you won’t leave here alive.”
This bastard… he’s even resorting to extortion now.
You dumbass. Do you think I’d lose to you? I want to tell him to look at my body and equipment. But if he were capable of thinking that far, he wouldn’t be robbing people here.
And he wouldn’t be walking around shirtless either.
“…I’ll give it to you if you explain about the 5 silver.”
“Haa, this bastard, really.”
This was the most tense moment.
—I had been acting entirely for this.
“Yeah. I took it. What are you going to do about it?”
Answer.
“Found you, you son of a biiiitch.”
“Huh?”
If you heard it.
“Heavenly Demon Shattering Palm.”
—Crack.
“Kuheok… Ugh?! Keheok! A, aah…? Ah, grrr…!”
There was no need to see more.
I immediately slammed the Heavenly Demon Shattering Palm into his abdomen.
His back arched like a shrimp, and he knelt down, burying his face in the ground. The Heavenly Demon Shattering Palm was not a martial art that bastards like him could endure.
Especially since the Saint’s effect would have added extra damage to demons.
“Geheuk? Gek… Gegek… Kulheok!”
The demon rolled his eyes back and spewed blood foam from his mouth… Was this a necromantic ritual!
I reflexively grabbed his ankle. Now I just needed to get him somewhere suitable, interrogate him, figure out the flow of the money, and get it back.
Finally, I’d be able to get my money back.
The end was in sight.
The cost of my moving around for a week would be very high.
“O-Oppa…”
As I was dragging him by the ankle, Lina caught up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes… I’ve been hit so much that this is nothing… But…”
“Tsk, you’ve had a hard life. Anyway, let’s go. I need to interrogate him now.”
“…”
—Drag, drag, drag.
“Jong—”
I instinctively reached for Teacher Seol Woon-do’s compass but stopped myself and closed my mouth.
What I was about to do was to judge this demonic bastard and ask about the whereabouts of the money. I couldn’t sing a sacred song while doing such a task.
“…Geuk… Gaheuk… Geheeeek…”
“This bastard’s in bad shape.”
I might have hit him too hard and ruptured all his internal organs.
I tried to control my strength, but since he was a demon, I thought he’d be a bit more durable than a human, so I hit him a bit harder.
It seemed like a wrong judgment.
“—Keheok!”
He was even spitting blood from his mouth.
Shit, is he going to die?
Then I’d be losing the fish I’d already caught.
I should try to interrogate him as much as possible before he dies.
I had to get my money back no matter what.
—Murmur, murmur.
Because I was dragging a demon around like some kind of hector, all the eyes on the street were on me. Seeing all sorts of trash gathering as if a good spectacle had occurred made me unable to not get pissed off.
“Gaaaaah!”
“Eek!”
“M-monster!!”
“Serial killer!!!!”
I let out a loud, angry roar, and they all screamed and ran away.
Such pathetic bastards.
“Lina, is there an empty building nearby?”
“A… I think there is. Please follow me.”
“Okay.”
I followed Lina’s guidance, dragging the demon endlessly. The fact that nothing happened despite this commotion was just the quality of the slums.
“…Oh, Jeepers Creepers.”
That inhuman quality suddenly reminded me of a demonic song.
“Where’d you get those eyes.”
It was very… it was so fitting for the current situation that I couldn’t help but sway my shoulders and sing.
“W-what kind of song is that?”
“An ominous… demon’s song.”
From now on, I had to judge the demon.
—Drag.
Following Lina, I rummaged through a secluded alley, and a small, empty warehouse-like building appeared. Thinking about it, I seemed to have found places like this when I interrogated Elise and the cultists.
—Thwack!
“Kuhuk!”
I threw the demon against the wall. He screamed, so it seemed he wasn’t about to die yet.
Then now.
I had to make him pay the price for touching my money.
“Lina, keep watch outside.”
“Yes…”
She seemed scared, so I decided to have Lina keep watch. It wasn’t a sight that kids should see. Kids should only see pretty and happy things.
—Swoosh.
I drew my knife and approached the demon sprawled on the floor.
“Then shall we start a sincere conversation? Do you know about the Mouth of Truth?”
“Kkeueue…!”
“The mouth that only speaks the truth is called the Mouth of Truth.”
“Keuhak…! Haa… Haa… P-please don’t do this…! I’m sorry! I was wrong for acting out of line! Please spare me!”
“Bastard. You’re quick on the uptake.”
Holding the knife upside down, I brought it close to his face.
“You’ll be able to live a long time. Right? You want to live a long time, don’t you? Hehehe.”
“Yes…? Yes, yes! Of course! I want to live a long time… He, hehe. Hehehe…”
“Hehehe.”
“Hehehe…”
“Hehehe.”
“Hehehe.”
“He—”
“—Don’t fucking laugh, you bastard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Suddenly, he started cackling, and I completely lost my temper, slamming the knife into the back of his hand.
—Thwack!
“Kaaaaaaak!!!!!!!!”
His hand was immediately pierced, and blood spurted out.
“You son of a bitch, there are times to laugh and times not to laugh, you dare make fun of me!!! This is a challenge to me!!!”
“Keuheuk…! Kaak! Kkeueheueueueueuk!!!”
“Be quiet!!!!!!!!!!”
As a follow-up, I gave him a gauntlet knuckle sandwich (disguised as a strong blow), and the demon burst into tears with a scream. It was an unpleasant sound, like a newly born monster falling into the abyss and wailing.
“Keheok!!!!”
“Speak! Why did you steal my money? That money contained the blessing of the god of order, Ijzermart, the grace of Hwanung, and even the souls of me, Elise, and Lina! Why did you steal it!!! I can’t understand!!!”
I tried to hold back and interrogate him, but I couldn’t contain my anger with the culprit in front of me. I grabbed the demon, who was holding his hand and crying, and randomly kicked him with taekwondo kicks.
—Thwack!
—Thwack!
“Kehak! Kkeueok! Kkeuehaaak…! S-steal money! I don’t know what you’re talking about…! Keheok!”
“This fucking testicle bastard is still playing dumb? You said you took it earlier!!!”
“Th-that’s, well, that’s because… I don’t know what you’re talking about!!!”
“You fucking bastard!!! Do I look like a joke to you!!! You parasite!!!”
He kept denying it, so I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Give me your hand!”
I shouted, intending to cut off his fingers.
These kinds of conscienceless bastards immediately develop a new conscience as soon as you cut off a few fingers.
Today, I would become the conscience injector, Kim Katt.
“W-wait a minute! Just a moment! I was wrong! I stole the money!”
“You said you didn’t just now!”
“Th-that’s, well, just now…!”
“You changed your mind again!!!!! Aaaaaaa!!!!”
—Rage.
“Give me your hand!”
“Eek!”
I violently pulled his arm, and red blood spurted out of his hand like Iron Man.
“Give me your hand! You need to be spanked!!!!”
“Noooooooo!!!!!”
“No? You fucking criminal!”
—Thwack!
He wouldn’t give me his hand, so I impulsively stabbed his forearm with the knife. A scream of pain erupted along with bright red blood.
“Kaaaaaaak!!!”
Good.
Now I can have a proper conversation.
Before starting an interrogation, you have to rattle off nonsense like this and completely break their will to resist.
Otherwise, they might lie.
In other words, the Mouth of Truth.
This is probably the regulation of the British Army Intelligence Department during World War II.
“Kkeueueueueheup…!”
“I’ll count to three, so be quiet until then. You want to go home alive, right? You have a mother, don’t you?”
“Hoo, hooo…! Hoo! Hoohoo…! I-I’ll be quiet…!”
“Good. You thought well. Take slow, deep breaths.”
As expected, after being stabbed a few times, he immediately started cooperating with me.
Conscience had been injected.
He suppressed his pain with fear and started taking deep breaths as I told him to.
I said to him, who had finally calmed down.
“What’s your name?”
“Ki… Kisson… Hoo.”
The demon’s name was Kisson.
“Okay, Kisson… No, wait, your name is fucking awful? What did your mom see you as to give you that name?”
“…”
“She must have really hated giving birth to you. Seeing how big you are, I don’t think any mother in the world would have wanted to give birth to you. I’m not lying, even the Holy Mother’s mom would pass.”
I was talking about the Holy Mother.
Even if the Holy Mother’s mother came, I couldn’t imagine her giving birth to Kisson.
“…”
Good.
He didn’t react even when I insulted his parents, so it seemed his will to resist was definitely broken.
Then, the interrogation begins.
“Hey, Kisson. You said you extorted 5 silver from that girl earlier, right?”
“Yes… Th-that’s right…”
Kisson answered obediently.
His confident and cocky tone from earlier was long gone. He had become a polite young man, with an excessive amount of conscience injected.
“Why did you do it?”
“…”
“Why did you do it?”
I wiped the blood from the knife on his shoulder, and he immediately opened his mouth.
“Th-that’s… well… actually, I have to pay protection money to the organization too… Th-that’s why I extort money from kids like that… to get the money.”
“I see. Yeah… I can see that. Protection money is important.”
Protection money, huh.
“Of course, of course.”
Protection money is important.
“That’s right.”
I pointlessly strung out my words while watching Kisson desperately try to stop the bleeding from his arm and hand.
“Protection money is important.”
“Of course, of course.”
While I was doing that,
“P-please… please let me get treatment… I-I’ll answer anything, okay? Please…”
Kisson pleaded with me, realizing the meaning of my words.
He sensed that he would die from blood loss if things continued like this. The bleeding wasn’t that bad, so he would have lasted a long time, but he got scared.
What kind of coward does robbery, holy shit.
The world is ending.
“Then explain how you stole that 5 silver that day. Ah, I’ve already heard the story, so don’t even think about lying. If you really lie, I might turn you into a pirate roulette game.”
—Chop, chop, chop!
I used the knife to perform Nine Dragons Severing in the air.
“Th-that’s, well…”
Thus, the Mouth of Truth opened.
