Chapter 5: Livestock and Breeders
The sun had completely set, and darkness had fallen.
The headlights of the SUV brightly illuminated the surroundings.
“I asked where you guys are going.”
Yoo Gongsik, the math teacher known as Ultralisk, looked at the students and demanded an answer.
At that moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly passed through Kang In’s mind.
“Yes, I was on my way to the police station.”
At the mention of the police station, Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol’s expressions tightened slightly.
“What? The police station? Why?”
“It’s a bit complicated. It’s a family matter… And there’s only one police station around here anyway.”
Yoo Gongsik looked confused.
“Even so, you’re going to walk all the way there? There must be a bus that goes up this way.”
“……”
Kang In deliberately kept his mouth shut.
He lowered his eyes and put on an expression that suggested he had some difficult circumstances.
“And what about you two?”
“Oh, we were just passing by.”
“From behind, it looked like you two were talking to him.”
“We were just having a conversation while we were on our way.”
Oh Mincheol answered bluntly, as if he found the whole thing annoying.
Yoo Gongsik’s eyebrows twitched, clearly displeased with Mincheol’s attitude.
Then he looked down at the motorcycle they were riding.
“Haah… A motorcycle… You little bastards. Are you trying to get yourselves killed?”
“……”
“Just go home. You two, come to the teachers’ office as soon as you arrive at school tomorrow. And you, are you Kang In?”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’ll drive you to the police station. I’m heading home anyway.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Kang In secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, his guess had been correct.
He had thought that, since Yoo Gongsik was a teacher, he might give him a ride.
Vroom.
Oh Mincheol immediately drove the motorcycle away.
“Are those bastards crazy? They didn’t even say goodbye.”
Yoo Gongsik stared at the road where the motorcycle had disappeared for a while before turning back to Kang In.
“What are you waiting for? Get in.”
“Yes.”
The moment Kang In got into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt, the tension in his body began to disappear.
He leaned his head against the headrest and let out a deep sigh.
“I survived—”
Clunk.
“What? You said you survived?”
“Ah, no, sir.”
Vroom.
The black SUV smoothly glided down the road.
Streetlights passed by outside the window.
“……”
An awkward atmosphere filled the car.
It was the first time Kang In had ever ridden in a teacher’s car, and he had nothing particular to say, so he simply continued staring out the window.
“Are those guys bullying you?”
“Huh?”
“I mean those two from earlier.”
“Ah…”
Should I tell him or not?
For a moment, Kang In wondered if Yoo Gongsik might actually be able to improve his situation, even if only slightly.
But soon, Kang In shook his head.
If the situation hasn’t improved until now, that means this teacher hasn’t been able to fix it either.
“No, sir. I’m fine.”
“It’s okay. Tell me. You never know. Maybe I can help.”
“……”
Can he really?
Kang In was already filled with distrust.
If he brought it up for no reason, the situation could become even worse.
For now, Kim Hyunsu’s group had not done anything serious enough to constitute a major threat or physical violence.
If the teacher suddenly stepped in and tried to mediate, it might only provoke them even more.
Unless the school expelled them completely.
No.
Even if they were expelled, those guys would definitely find a way to track me down and continue bullying me.
“……”
Still, somewhere deep in his heart, Kang In wanted to trust this teacher, even if only a little.
“Sir.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Do you know a student named Hyunsu well?”
“More or less. I’ve been keeping an eye on those bastards anyway, so if you have something to say, just tell me honestly.”
“Ah… no. It’s nothing.”
“Seriously, what a pointless kid.”
A small ripple passed through Kang In’s heart.
“Um… Sir, would it be okay if I told you later?”
“Sure. Fine. Whenever you’re comfortable.”
Yoo Gongsik did not ask any more questions.
Soon, they arrived in front of the police station.
“Thank you, sir.”
Kang In bowed his head politely.
“Alright. Take care of whatever you need to and get home quickly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yoo Gongsik glanced at Kang In, who was standing there blankly, then turned the car around and drove away.
“Phew.”
Kang In glanced toward the police station, which was faintly illuminated behind him.
There was no one inside.
“Let’s just go home.”
Eventually, Kang In took a bus home.
By then, it was already past 7 p.m.
Colorful neon signs and the headlights of passing cars flashed across Kang In’s face.
As he absentmindedly stared out the window, something caught his eye.
In an alley nearby, he briefly saw Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol smoking cigarettes and laughing with some flashy-looking female high school students.
They must have lived somewhere around this neighborhood too.
“Ugh. Those guys are creepy as hell.”
Kang In shuddered and simply hoped he could get home quickly.
9 p.m.
Kang In dragged his exhausted body onto his bed.
He stared up at the ceiling while moonlight streamed through the window.
After thinking about something for a while, he turned over and started watching YouTube.
Videos about self-defense techniques, fighting techniques, and various martial arts skills played one after another.
He was watching YouTube because he felt that he needed to learn something, but no matter how many videos he watched, he couldn’t really understand what he was supposed to do.
Would watching this even change anything right away?
Most of these videos were made for people who already had some degree of physical training.
Then Kang In discovered one YouTube channel that taught methods of fighting in a particularly realistic way.
The channel was called Modern Life.
[The smartest thing you can do is avoid fighting and run away as quickly as possible.]
A young male YouTuber with bright, alert-looking eyes began speaking.
In some ways, it was an extremely obvious statement.
But compared to the flashy yet practically useless advice given by many other YouTubers, his words felt much more realistic and meaningful.
Kang In straightened his posture and began focusing on what he was saying.
[But there are situations you simply can’t avoid. When you have no choice but to fight, you need to know how to protect yourself as much as possible. That’s what we’ll be learning today. I’ll show you several techniques that even ordinary people can use.]
The light from the phone flickered in the corner of the dark room.
Before he knew it, Kang In had become completely absorbed in the video.
His fatigue had disappeared a long time ago.
And so, the night slowly grew deeper.
The next morning.
“…Huh?”
While changing into his school uniform, Kang In discovered a mark on the upper right side of his chest.
The number 9 was engraved into his skin.
“Wh… what is this?”
It did not hurt at all.
It was reddish, almost like a scar.
Somehow, it felt like a message Prosephrin had left for him.
“9? What does the number 9 mean?”
Kang In was lying there absentmindedly when his eyes slowly widened.
Suddenly, he remembered what Prosephrin had told him.
“That’s right! Is it the accumulated number?”
He had used his regression ability only once yesterday.
He had four uses remaining.
Did that mean he now had a total of nine uses available, including the ones carried over from yesterday?
“If I save these as much as possible…”
Every cell in his tired body gradually began to awaken.
This clearly meant that the more carefully he saved his uses, the more chances he would have.
If that was the case, he could approach situations more boldly.
Nine uses were more than enough to give it a try.
There was no doubt that Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol would somehow continue to bother him.
That meant he could not avoid fighting forever.
Kang In remembered the YouTube videos he had watched throughout the night.
Whether it was Kim Hyunsu or Oh Mincheol, today he was determined to use what he had learned against them.
Of course, he would have to keep running simulations through his head while going to school as well.
“I’m off.”
After taking a cold shower, Kang In ate a hearty breakfast and energetically greeted his family before leaving the house.
For some reason, he had a good feeling that today might not be such a bad day.
An unfamiliar confidence rose inside his chest.
“Phew.”
Kang In took a deep breath.
The cold morning air passed through his lungs.
Let’s try.
I hope I can make it through today safely.
“That’s right. I sincerely hope you make it through today safely.”
Prosephrin, wearing a black suit and red tie, was watching Kang In’s back as he headed to school from the office of a high-rise building.
Knock, knock.
“Yes, come in.”
A tall, silver-haired male secretary poked his head through the door.
“President, everyone has gathered.”
“Oh, really? Alright. I’ll be there shortly.”
Click.
Prosephrin opened the door and confidently entered the conference room.
Men and women dressed neatly in suits were seated along both sides of a long table.
“Thank you all for coming.”
Prosephrin sat naturally at the head of the table with a bright smile.
“Has everyone been doing well?”
Everyone nodded.
“Have you been doing well too, President? How is business these days?”
An older middle-aged man sitting directly beside Prosephrin spoke in a gentle voice.
“Yes, there haven’t been any problems. The liquor business is always doing well enough.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Prosephrin was also working in the human world as the CEO of a famous liquor manufacturing company.
She briefly looked around at everyone seated at the table.
They were CEOs of companies representing various human desires, such as tobacco, adult products, coffee, snacks, and more.
Some of them were even involved in politics.
And just like Prosephrin, all of them were demons.
“I heard your tanghulu business has been doing very well lately. It seems that putting in the time is finally paying off.”
“Haha, not at all. The worse something is for the body, the more delicious it tends to be. We’ve already sent instructions to our Chinese branches, and we’re actively using YouTube Shorts and Insta Reels as well.”
The middle-aged man who had spoken to Prosephrin first was a famous demon businessman named Foras, the CEO of a mid-sized company primarily involved in snack manufacturing.
Prosephrin nodded with satisfaction.
“Good. In East Asia, we need to make active use of China. That’s where our influence is strongest.”
Prosephrin placed her interlocked hands on the table and continued speaking.
“How is everyone doing with the new regression project we’re conducting?”
The demons nodded casually.
“As you all know, we need to somehow regain our influence little by little. Our power is gradually disappearing as time passes. These days, humans are even better at creating weapons of war than demons, and they commit evil on their own without even needing our ‘whispers.’”
“……”
The demons silently waited for Prosephrin to continue.
Her expression became serious.
“And the angels are making some suspicious moves.”
Someone raised his hand in the distance.
He was a tall and handsome man.
He was the demon Judith, who worked as the representative of an entertainment agency called O.R.G.
“Do you think they’ll attack us first?”
“It’s certainly possible. That’s why we need to increase our strength in preparation for the worst.”
Prosephrin continued.
“There is a limit to how much we can infiltrate everyday human life like this. According to Heavenly Law, it is illegal for either angels or demons to directly influence humans. That’s why, in order to use our ‘whispers,’ we still need plenty of ‘ordinary humans’ whose souls are relatively pure.”
The demons glanced at one another, carefully watching each other’s reactions.
They lived by consuming the energy of evil.
And the more they consumed, the stronger they became.
So one might think that if humans committed evil on their own and willingly became corrupted by evil, that would be a good thing for the demons too.
But demons could not consume pure evil energy that was created entirely by itself.
That would be cannibalism.
It was the same principle as humans needing meat but not killing other humans and eating them for meat.
Humans ate livestock such as cows, pigs, and chickens.
And to obtain high-quality meat, they raised and fattened their livestock.
To demons, humans were no different from livestock.
And only by consuming the evil they had personally cultivated did it truly have meaning.
For example, the Demon of Envy had to gradually make an otherwise normal human become consumed by envy and then feed on the evil energy generated from it.
The important point was that the person could not already be envious from the beginning.
The energy had to be pure energy that naturally emerged from an emotion that had not existed before.
“As you all know, ordinary humans who are neither too good nor too evil. Those humans are the only prey we should be targeting. Please take good care of the livestock assigned to each of you.”
After the meeting ended.
Prosephrin remained alone in the empty conference room, deep in thought.
Angels and demons.
They survived by consuming the good and evil of humans.
And the highest concept above both good and evil was blind faith.
But as civilization and science developed, that faith gradually weakened.
Humans no longer depended on them.
Angels and demons were slowly fading from existence.
And now, with their deaths approaching, they were preparing for war.
For some reason, the angels were claiming that humans were becoming evil because of the demons.
Prosephrin raised her hand toward the sunlight shining through the window.
Her hand trembled slightly.
For a moment, her hand became transparent before becoming solid again.
Is it because I’ve become too deeply immersed in human society?
There was a time when she had tried to calmly accept the possibility of disappearing.
But somehow, even that was not easy anymore.
She gave a bitter smile.
Were we also nothing more than fleeting beings who feared death?
But they had a greater purpose.
They could never forget that purpose.
Ding!
When an alarm sounded, Prosephrin looked at her phone.
On the screen was an image of Kang In arriving at school.
He was currently behind the school, facing Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol in a tense, explosive situation.
Prosephrin watched the scene with interest.
“Well then, let’s see how he’ll get out of this one.”
