Published at 30th of July 2026 10:16 am

Chapter 232: New Toys And Old Friends

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Chapter 232: New Toys And Old Friends

If Min had a dick, it would've been hard as steel.

"WhereI mean... you didn't build this from scratch?"

A grin spread across the old man's face. For once, he actually looked dependable as he stood with his hands behind his back, admiring his creation.

"Course not, not completely. She's a relic. Beautiful, isn't she?"

"She?"

"Her name's Bigger Min."

Yeah... it would've been hard as diamond.

Resting before them was an old main battle tank, its thick armor scarred by decades of war and rust creeping along the welded seams. Fresh plates had been bolted over damaged sections, giving it a patchwork look that somehow only made it feel meaner. The oversized cannon dominated its low, hulking frame, while countless runic lines and puppet sigils had been carved into the steel, glowing faintly beneath layers of chipped military paint. Even sitting still, the thing carried the heavy presence of a predator waiting to wake.

"People underestimate me. Makes life easier, but their biggest mistake is thinking a puppet is just a puppet. With me, as long as I work on it and give it a soul, anything can be a puppet. Even a tank. Right, Bigger Min?"

The turret slowly rotated toward them, gears humming beneath the armored hull before the barrel dipped to point directly at Borvavich.

"Damn straightoooohhh yeah, right there. Grab some oil and"

Borvavich had reached out and began lovingly stroking the massive cannon barrel.

The tank's reaction instantly killed Min's boner.

"Grab that oil and I'll rip your nuts off."

The barrel immediately swung away from Borvavich and stopped inches from Min's face.

"Those nuts are mine, whore. Touch 'em and I'll blow a hole in your chest almost as big as your cunt... cunt."

Aura leaked from Min as she instinctively took a step back, the air around her growing heavier. Before she could fire back, Borvavich hurried between them, palms raised.

"Ladies, ladies, no fighting please. There's plenty of the professor to go aro"

A hot hand smacked the top of his head.

"Pack it up. I'm leaving."

Quickly turning toward her, Borvavich fumbled inside his lab coat, nearly tripping over his own feet.

"Y-you can't leave already! I prepared lunch. Besides, Bigger Min is staying. Nownow hold on! Don't get upset! I just mean there's no point in you taking her 'cause I'll be the one driving."

Borvavich's face cycled from fear, to pride in the span of a few breaths.

Min's did about the same, though she began with anger and ended on confusion.

"What? You're driving? What's that mean?"

"It means I'll be joining your fights against the Woons. Figured you'd bewhaA!"

Before he could finish, Min lunged forward and wrapped the old man in a crushing bear hug, lifting him clean off the ground. Behind them, Bigger Min's engine rumbled to life with a deep metallic growl, black smoke coughing from the exhaust as the entire tank vibrated.

"You wonderfully horrible, shitty, ugly, perfect little fucker! With you there, those puppets are gonna whoop some Woon ass! Hell yeah!"

She hadn't even considered asking him to come. She'd always assumed he was too much of a coward to leave the safety of his lab. With Borvavich joining them, the puppets wouldn't just reach their full potential, they'd be fighting under the professor's buffs as well.

Setting the blushing old man back on his feet, Min looked up at Bigger Min, the tank's engine still ticking with residual heat.

"See you in a couple days, sexy. Don't miss me too much."

"Suck my barrel, bitch."

"If you help us win, I'll fist the fucker. In two days, meet us by the Dead Zone on the southeastern side of the city."

Borvavich buried his nose in the front of his lab coat, taking a long, satisfied sniff where Min had grabbed him before giving a firm nod.

"The Fae one?"

"Two days. Don't be late."

Turning to leave, Min let the heavy door slide open and waved without looking back.

"If you're late, just look for the fireworks!"

A moment later, the steel doors rumbled shut behind her, sealing the lab once more.

Lowering her barrel as the engine finally idled down, Bigger Min scooted a little closer to the puppet master, her treads squeaking softly across the concrete.

"Are you sure about this, Master? Fighting yourself is too risky."

"The benefits far outweigh the risk."

Borvavich rested a hand against her armored hull, his voice calmer than usual.

"If that man ascends, there won't be anywhere left for me to run. I refuse to go down without a fight."

The dozens of tiny runic lights scattered across her patched armor flickered to life all at once, bathing the workshop in a soft glow as the tank somehow let out a weary sigh.

"You're so sexy when you're being brave. Wanna grab that oil?"

"Already did."

With an eager grin, Borvavich opened his lab coat, revealing his nudity as he reached into one inner pocket for a metal canister and another for a well-worn rag.

"Don't be gentle."

----

The rooftop door nearly flew off its hinges as Min burst through it. Her expression kept cycling by the secondgrinning one moment, nearly gagging the next, then baring her teeth as she fought to compose herself.

[Proud of you. You might want to stop leading him on, though.]

She wrinkled her nose. She could still smell whatever rancid cologne the old codger had practically bathed in to impress her. The stink clung to her clothes and lingered in the back of her throat, but the thought of rolling into battle on a tank was enough to settle the last of her irritation.

"I'm not leading him on. I'm incentivizing him."

Before leaving, she paused at the edge of the rooftop and looked toward the ruins where their old base had once stood. The night breeze tugged lightly at her hair.

"A little longer, comrade."

On the way back, she kept to the dark alleys, slipping past every gang she came across without drawing attention. By the time she reached the edge of the Dead Zone, the familiar silence had returned. Before dropping into the sewers, she stopped and glanced skyward, a faint pressure prickling across the back of her neck.

All she saw were slow-moving clouds drifting through the dark night sky. She couldn't perceive the colossal presence suspended far above the clouds.

But she knew the feeling.

"Two days. Keep an eye on things till then."

Without waiting for a response, she stepped into the sewer entrance and disappeared below.

High above, Grimm gave a small nod. His eyes burned with pale Ghostfire as he lazily slurped the struggling ghost into his mouth, the soul's muffled screams disappearing into the clouds with it.

----

Deep within the bowels of Woon Tower, inside a secret chamber known to only a handful of people, Ivan Cho stood before a vast pool of blood. His tailored black suit fit like a second skin, every crease perfectly pressed, while his equally black hair had been slicked back so precisely it never seemed to move. Everything about him radiated quiet perfection, the sort that made most people feel inadequate simply by standing nearby.

He answered to only one manthe only man he respected. For the past hour, he'd stood n silence, patiently waiting for his master to finish.

Time dragged on, but Ivan never shifted his stance. He remained as motionless as a statue, the only sign of life the slow rise and fall of his chest beneath the crisp fabric of his suit.

At last, thick bubbles rose through the coagulated blood with wet pops, disturbing the stagnant surface. As the pool churned, Ivan bent smoothly at the waist, lowering his head in a practiced bow.

The Chairman slowly emerged from the crimson pool, completely nude as black flames rolled over his body like living smoke. Blood streamed from his skin before burning away in the dark fire, and he descended to the stone floor beside Ivan without making a sound.

"Make your report."

The air stirred as Ivan lifted a hand. A neatly folded black towel floated from a nearby shelf into the Chairman's waiting grasp, and he calmly began drying the blood from his body.

"All preparations are complete. Also, there has been no reported movement from the special targets."

"Any unrest?"

As Ivan straightened, the flawless mask he wore slipped for the briefest moment.

"The gangs in the south have been making complaints about Cardinal Chelk. They fear the church intends to establish a permanent presence."

"Anything else?"

Ivan remained silent for a moment, his eyes lowering slightly as though weighing whether the information deserved mentioning.

"Big Min has been spotted back in the city. She killed a few Century Boys, but aside from that, she appears to have met with the Puppet Master."

As he slipped into his robe, the Chairman finally paused at the mention of Borvavich. The black flames around him settled, leaving only the faint crackle of dying embers.

"Do we have eyes on her?"

"No. She was spotted by the team assigned to the Puppet Master. They tracked her to Dead Zone Six before losing her in the sewers."

Tying the robe securely around his waist, the Chairman crossed the chamber to a steel door set into the far wall. He opened it, retrieved a pair of chilled drinks from the refrigerator inside, and tossed one to Ivan before keeping the other for himself.

"What's your opinion on Wohan Seo-jin?"

"Trash. Not worth your concern."

The Chairman raised an eyebrow as he cracked open the can and took a slow drink. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"I've warned you, Ivan. Sometimes the biggest threat comes from where we least expect."

With a snap of his fingers, the chamber vanished.

In an instant, both men stood inside the Chairman's office. He walked behind the polished desk and lowered himself into his chair, motioning for Ivan to take the seat opposite him.

"Wohan Seo-jin..."

He rested the cold can against the desk for a moment.

"He disappears inside a rift, then after being presumed dead, he returns. The first thing he does is wipe out a rival gang, then immediately follows it up by killing a Cherub."

He tapped a few controls embedded in the desktop. A translucent image of Seo-jin flickered to life between them, casting a faint blue glow across the room.

"The church responds by sending a Cardinal. His gang has taken in most of the unaffiliated Users in the area. Even my daughter has fallen for him."

The Chairman's gaze lingered on the projection.

"Would you still say he isn't worth my interest?"

Ivan's expression never changed.

"Yes."

"Explain."

Raising his arm, Ivan pressed a control on his watch. Lines of text materialized around Seo-jin's image, neatly organizing themselves into a detailed profile.

"I have already compiled my assessment. As you can see, his Shard is A-rank, yet his User Rank remains C. His Class most likely specializes in weapon proficiency, allowing him to wield a wide variety of weapons effectively. His strongest known subordinates are Big Min and Gregor. Big Min has Ranked Up but remains only C-rank, while Gregor was nearly killed by Cardinal Chelk, and the rest of their forces have effectively been wiped out."

Ivan looked directly at the Chairman.

"To summarize, if they do pose a threat, it is too insignificant for you to concern yourself with personally. They are a pebble. One I will sweep aside myself if necessary."

The Chairman studied the floating report in silence before giving a single nod.

"A wounded beast is still a beast. Remember that. Until the ritual is complete, nothing is too small. Send a party to Zone Six and flush out the sewers. Kill everything."

"As you wish."

Ivan shifted to stand, but the Chairman raised a hand.

"Ivan."

He paused immediately.

"Handle this personally."

Setting his drink on the desk with a soft click, Ivan stood and bowed.

"Not even a cockroach will survive."

"See to it."

Holding the bow a heartbeat longer, Ivan turned and left the office, already issuing orders through his watch before the door had fully closed behind him.

The Chairman watched until the office fell quiet again. Only then did he lean back into his chair, his eyes drifting once more to Seo-jin's face suspended above the desk.

"Wohan Seo-jin..."

His fingers idly tapped the armrest.

"Too bad. You shouldn't have touched my daughter."

As he reached toward the control panel, his neck suddenly spasmed, violently jerking him back into the chair. His jaw locked tight, teeth grinding hard enough to echo through the silent office.

Almost, human. Just a bit more...

His fingers dug into the padded armrests until the leather creaked. Every muscle in his body tensed before his eyes suddenly flew wide, black flames erupting from beneath his skin and racing over his body.

Like water striking a red-hot pan, the dark fire consumed whatever had taken hold of him. The unseen presence recoiled. A scream seemed to fill the room, not loud, not even truly audible. More a hiss that clawed at the edge of hearing before fading into nothing.

When the struggle finally passed, the Chairman slumped forward and drew several slow, shaky breaths, one hand pressed firmly against his chest. For the first time, he looked old. The overwhelming aura that usually surrounded him had vanished as sweat beaded across his brow and trickled down his temples.

"You won't win."

He swallowed another breath.

"No matter what... I still have time...still have time..."

His head slowly tipped to one side and steady breaths followed. He had fallen asleep.

As he slept, the veins beneath his skin pulsed at measured intervals, swelling black before fading back to their normal color. Like the beat of a patient heart, the corruption's rhythm remained slow.

But with each pulse...

It came a little faster.

----

Blood was everywhere.

Flaming pits scarred the earth. Charred tree stumps jutted from the ground like broken teeth, while flattened ruins stretched across the battlefield beneath a haze of drifting smoke. Wherever Bug looked, all she saw were signs of death and destruction. Gore coated her from head to toe, sticky against her skin, yet an unfamiliar calm slowly settled over her.

Throughout her long, long life, she'd fought in so many battles that she'd stopped trying to count them millennia ago. The quiet after slaughter was nothing new. This feeling was.

It hadn't existed in the beginning, when she'd first torn flesh apart with the unworthy vessel she'd been tricked into inhabiting. It came gradually. Day by day, the sensation crept into her without warning until, like a virus, it had rooted itself so deeply she hadn't realized she'd been infected until it was already too late.

The calm had become tainted by need.

An overwhelming hunger crawled through her chest and refused to leave.

She needed praise.

With the battle won and her enemies slaughtered, she basked in the certainty that the demon responsible for her transformation would see what she'd accomplished. He would look upon the carnage she'd created.

And, hopefully praise her for it.

As she recalled the last of her Vent Bugs into her body, she paused before the final one. Reaching down, she gently patted its head. The demonic face embedded in its shell stretched into a wicked grin before it burrowed into her thigh with a wet squelch.

"Stop staring."

"No."

Her ever-present companion.

Since her rebirth, Law hadn't left her side for even a moment. She still hated it, but she'd gradually grown used to the silent shadow following her everywhere. The fact he rarely spoke made it easier to tolerate.

"Move."

He gave her a shove between the shoulder blades, and the pair started up a hill made entirely of corpses. Hundreds of giant centipedes lay piled together, each nearly nine feet long and a foot wide, their crushed shells cracking beneath their claws.

When they reached the summit, both of them froze.

The valley beyond had been erased.

No trees. No stumps. No corpses.

Nothing.

It looked as though existence itself had been scraped clean. Standing alone at the center of that impossible emptiness was Seo-jin, Bloodlight rolling off him in slow crimson waves that distorted the air around his body.

"Where'd the big one go?"

"He ate it."

Bug nearly jumped out of her skin as Fang stepped from her shadow as though he'd always been there.

"You did well. Broodfather says you've earned the right to hunt freely."

Bug's head snapped back toward Seo-jin. Her aura exploded, Bloodlight surging outward with streaks of sickly green woven through it.

The feeling returned ten times stronger.

"Praise the Broodfather."

She hadn't even realized she'd spoken. She couldn't stop herself. The ancient Vent Bug Matriarch was gone. She had completely surrendered herself to her new role. With a wet rip, insect-like wings burst from her back, spraying droplets of blood before snapping open. She launched into the sky while Law immediately broke into a sprint below, matching her course without hesitation.

Her new Class had only sweetened the poison.

By the time she reached Seo-jin, every fiber of her being wanted to thank him. She wanted to tell him how grateful she was. Then she saw his face, and her blood turned to ice.

Before she could utter a word, a pulse surged through the Broodlink.

Instinct took over

She and Law wheeled around and fled at full speed.

By the time they reached the massive mound of centipede corpses where the rest of the Brood had gathered, her heart was still hammering.

Her eyes immediately locked onto Snare.

"What's happening?!"

"Enemy."

One word. It wasn't the word itself that unsettled everyone, it was the fact that Snare had chosen it. Not target or food. Enemy. A threat. And Snare didn't waste words.

Every member of the Brood stared toward the horizon where Snare's gaze remained fixed, but none possessed eyesight sharp enough to match their brother's. All they saw was endless empty land disappearing into the distance.

One of Panic's Restraints lashed out and shoved Snare.

"Speak what you see."

Snare opened his mouth to answer

Instead, he cried out, clutching both hands over his face. At the same instant, a voice echoed inside every one of their minds.

'This conversation is private.'

The world instantly went black.

Luckily Tomb had already shrunk back down. One after another, the entire Brood collapsed onto the mountain of corpses and began snoring peacefully.

Only Seo-jin remained standing.

Facing an opponent capable of putting his entire Brood to sleep with a single thought, Seo-jin did something strange. He put his blades away. As Butcher's Wrath flowed back beneath his flesh and the Bloodlight surrounding him slowly faded, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Surprised to see you here."

"It is good to see you again, little Ashkin."

Charon now stood before him, lowering the lantern in his hand, his face still forever concealed within the shifting darkness of his hood.

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