Episode 25.
"Kuh, kuhk!"
He flailed in apparent agony, floating in the air.
The source of that mysterious phenomenon was me.
"What? You thought I'd just keep taking it?"
I had experienced the middle-aged man's Trait several times before my regression.
It was such an old memory that I couldn't recall it immediately.
But after experiencing it firsthand, I realized.
"Shadow Binding."
A special Trait that bound the target by moving their shadow without moving one's own body.
The reason the bastard was floating in the air was because I had seized the shadow on the ground—the shadow of the one who had sneaked up on me.
"Kek! H-how...?"
Perhaps surprised at being seen through, he voiced his doubt.
Well, who could have imagined it?
That one could move a shadow from behind to bind someone's movements.
And that one could use that shadow to attack the main body.
Indeed, it was a bizarre phenomenon that no one who hadn't experienced the apocalypse for twenty years would notice.
"You don't need to know that."
Of course, I had no reason to explain that.
Crack—
Instead of an answer, I put strength into the hand gripping his shadow.
"Kuhk!"
A groan filled with pain burst out once more.
"You can tell by looking that I'm at an age where my curiosity is overflowing. So there's something I'm wondering—you'll answer, right?"
I didn't need to hear his answer.
So I asked immediately.
"The organization you belong to?"
"...Kek. G-get lost!"
"Right. You weren't planning on answering easily."
I glanced at Jeong Dohwan.
Even at the sudden scene unfolding before him, his eyes remained cold, devoid of emotion.
'A state where his emotions have died.'
He must have been someone with dull emotions from the start.
And the deaths of his daughter and granddaughter had completely killed his emotions.
Like a robot unable to feel anything.
To him, who had lost all emotion, what mattered was selecting the victor of this fight—the partner who would fulfill his wish.
Of course, there was no guarantee that winning the fight necessarily made one that partner, but at least for now, the only thing he could judge was the martial aspect.
Therefore, without needing to read the room, I initiated my course of action.
"So all I need to do is create an environment where you'll open your mouth, right?"
I removed my knuckle-duster.
I thrust my bare fist straight forward.
Thud!
"Kkugh!"
There was definitely quite a distance between the bastard and me.
But the fist extended into empty air left a mark on the bastard's face.
This was the downside of Shadow Binding.
It was a Trait that could secretly move a shadow to bind the enemy, but conversely, if that shadow was attacked, the target couldn't budge an inch.
A Trait that became powerless if the shadow's existence was discovered.
While keeping a grip on the shadow that served as his main body.
Thud, crack!
I struck the shadow visible on the ground in succession.
"..."
A face contorted in pain.
But among the emotions etched on his expression, fear could not be seen.
'Of course.'
On the outside, I was nothing but a high schooler who hadn't even dried the blood on his head.
What could a mere high schooler with paltry experience amount to, even if he harbored malicious intent?
But that was a misunderstanding.
Although on the outside I was nothing but a wet-behind-the-ears brat, inside I was a battle-hardened veteran who had survived the apocalypse for over twenty years.
My emotions had worn away to nothing, to the point where I could feel the chill of my own emptiness.
To someone like me, the act of inflicting pain on another—so-called torture—was nothing more than an ordinary act from which I couldn't feel the slightest guilt.
Just like Jeong Dohwan, whose emotions had gone dull.
Thud, crack!
Without any sense of guilt or change in emotion, I ruined the middle-aged man's face solely for the purpose.
Around the time one minute had passed since such indiscriminate violence began.
"Keoheuheok...."
The middle-aged man, severely swollen and bleeding.
"How about it? Feel like talking now?"
"...Kgh."
Fear was present in his powerless pupils.
He had probably realized it by now.
That I was a being different from other high schoolers.
That I was someone who didn't discriminate between means and methods to achieve his goals.
"...Ptui!"
He spat out blood-mixed saliva.
Of course, having anticipated it, I turned my head and dodged.
"As expected, it's not easy."
Through this, one thing became certain.
'They're no ragtag bunch.'
They were people who had led ordinary lives.
Yet they endured this much pain to keep a secret?
Their loyalty was quite strong.
It was also evidence that the organization they belonged to was no ragtag group.
But.
"But what should I do? I feel like I absolutely have to hear it."
I had to uncover this suspicious backer no matter what.
'It's unsettling.'
These bastards were a thorn in my side.
Like a thorn stuck in my mouth, they were nothing but irritating.
If I couldn't extract information about them this time, it felt like troublesome events would occur.
Step.
I approached closely, still gripping the shadow tight.
The bound bastard couldn't move.
Crack!
I flung the shadow aside and grabbed his main body, lifting him up.
The bastard, who had already lost his will to fight, was lifted up powerlessly and looked at me.
I grabbed his right arm.
"Keep your mouth shut."
"..."
Of course, there was no response.
But how long could he endure?
[Strengthening]
I sent the energy of Strengthening toward his left arm.
In a normal state, he could have resisted that energy, but after a minute of beating, his strength had weakened.
"Krrrrgh!"
He groaned at the alien energy suddenly burrowing in.
But that wasn't the end.
Flash!
Golden light seeped out.
But soon, that light turned black.
"Kuaaaaack!"
At that moment, a scream like the howl of a beast burst forth.
A phenomenon indicating the failure of Physical Strengthening.
'That pain is beyond words.'
Physical Strengthening.
This forbidden secret technique had an extremely low success rate, but the risk upon failure was also enormous.
Not to mention permanent physical weakening.
"Kuak, kuaaaaaaack!"
He howled again from the immense pain.
I hadn't experienced it myself, but I roughly knew.
'A horrifying pain like tens of thousands of ants devouring you.'
There was a time in the past when I had attempted Physical Strengthening recklessly.
Naturally, the result was failure.
The person who experienced that failure had told me in detail about the pain.
He had survived the apocalypse for quite a long time.
Seeing as he said it was a pain he couldn't endure, one could guess how terrible it was.
"How about it, feel like talking now?"
"Krrrrrgh...."
But there was no answer.
He only groaned and looked at his left arm.
The arm that had been fine just moments ago was now wrinkled and shriveled, as if it had aged decades in an instant.
That was one of the Strengthening failure penalties.
[Aging]
Strengthening failure penalties were not limited to one.
One of several penalties manifested at random, and what occurred in him was Aging.
His shriveled left arm, like that of an old man in his eighties, could no longer be restored by any means.
"Next is the right arm."
And I grabbed his right arm.
"After the right arm, both legs, and then both eyes."
Naturally, with a Strengthening that was obviously going to fail, he would suffer tremendous damage from the penalties inflicted on each body part and from the pain.
"Let's see if that mouth is still closed."
I wasn't just making empty threats.
The moment I tried to use Strengthening on his right arm.
"W-wait!"
His lips were torn, so proper pronunciation didn't come out.
But having grasped the meaning, I stopped immediately.
"Your mouth... is open?"
It was as expected.
Having seen his body age in real-time, how could he not be afraid?
There probably weren't many humans who could mentally endure the torture of Strengthening failure.
"I-I'll... talk. So... please, please...."
He pleaded, tears and snot streaming down.
Thud.
Having read his sincerity, I let go of the collar I had been holding.
"It'd be best not to do anything stupid. Because you're not the only one here who can open their mouth."
I cast my gaze to where the slit-eyed bastard had collapsed.
I could kill him at any time.
It was all to drive him into a corner and obtain proper information.
"...I... understand. I was... wrong...."
"The organization you belong to. Its members. And who the boss is."
I knew they weren't a ragtag bunch.
There would be more members than I thought, and what I was most curious about was.
'The head.'
The head with the capability to gather this organization and the Awakened.
I had to find out who the final boss of this organization was.
"We're the Black M... Black Moon...."
Black Moon.
The moment he uttered those words.
"...Huh?"
He suddenly opened his eyes wide.
He wasn't the only one surprised.
Whooosh!
A suspicious energy could be felt from above his head.
Click!
I immediately used my Heelys to retreat from the bastard's side.
"...What?!"
Above the bastard's head, what had formed was a black sphere.
Whooooosh!
Like a black hole, it was pulling the bastard in with tremendous suction.
"Uaaaaah!"
The middle-aged man—his body rose into the air.
"S-save... me!"
He tried grabbing stones and weeds on the ground to avoid being pulled in, but.
Screech—
Unable to overcome the suction, he was sucked into the black sphere.
It wasn't something only he experienced.
Slit-eyes.
The bastard who had collapsed unconscious was also being dragged by the black sphere's suction.
The surprising fact was.
'It has no effect on anyone besides them.'
It was a suction force strong enough to suck in a struggling human.
Yet it wasn't affecting anyone except the middle-aged man and Slit-eyes.
That bizarre phenomenon meant one thing.
'Contract!'
One of the most powerful, known as one of the top 100 Traits.
Under mutual consent, a contract was formed, and if broken, an appropriate price had to be paid.
What was unfolding before my eyes right now was precisely the Contract ritual.
'The condition is keeping the organization's secret, huh.'
I had tried to dig up the organization called Black Moon through him.
And the moment he spoke that name, the contract condition activated, swallowing him up.
Along with him, even his comrade Slit-eyes.
Swoosh.
The sphere that had swallowed them both—Black Moon—vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
"..."
At the unexpected sight, I stared for a moment at the spot where the two had disappeared.
'This...'
They might be a trickier enemy than I thought.
But right now, I didn't have the luxury to think deeply about it.
"Let me introduce myself again."
I greeted Jeong Dohwan, who maintained an indifferent expression even in this situation.
"I am Sin Yunchan."
One of humanity's strongest, who had been called Master before my regression.
Only moments ago I had thought he would be a good person to recruit, but now my thoughts had changed.
An unpleasant organization had begun its activities.
What's more, a place where someone possessing one of the top 100 Traits, Contract, was involved.
Now that the scale and power of that organization were unknown, the first thing I had to do came to mind.
'Gather powerful companions.'
A plan I had originally pushed back.
But now that the Awakening Ceremony had already begun, and those who had formed an organization had appeared, it could no longer be delayed.
"Pleased to meet you. I am Jeong Dohwan."
He returned the greeting, but his expression was still indifferent, his eyes cold.
But that very indifference was welcome.
'Master.'
In a way, the first companion I should recruit.
My first step would be Master Jeong Dohwan, who stood before my eyes.