The air around him changed the moment he accepted it. A small wind came from nowhere, brushing his face and pushing his hair aside.
Hyun Woo wiped his tears, his palms sliding down to his chest as if he was trying to calm his breath.
His weak eyes were gone. Now they burnt with hope, shining like he had finally found something to hold onto.
He lifted his arm slowly, his palm open, two fingers sticking out while the others curled in.
When he spoke, his voice was heavy and cold.
"Punishment."
"In my eyes, this is sin."
"You broke him every day. You crushed his hope every morning. You pushed down his breath every night."
"You gave him hunger. You fed him despair. You carved shame into him."
"His eyes turned empty. His breath stopped. And you laughed."
Hyun Woo lowered his hand. Flames of golden aura rose around him, making him look taller than before.
"For this… you're guilty."
Then they gasped suddenly, like waking from a dream. Their eyes blinked fast, their lungs pulling in air too quickly.
They looked at Hyun Woo and saw his eyes glowing golden, bright and sharp.
Jin-ho scoffed first. His voice shook, but he tried to sound big.
"What the fuck is this? Hypnosis? Hah… You drugged us, didn't you? You think this trick can scare me?"
One of his friends let out a weak laugh, pride forced into his tone.
"Yeah… he slipped something in our drinks."
Another pointed at Hyun Woo with a crooked grin.
"You're still trash. Orphan trash. Don't act like you're someone now."
But then they saw it. Fear showed clearly on their faces, their teeth tapping against each other, creating a rattling sound they couldn't stop.
Behind Hyun Woo, golden chains shot out from the ground, one after another. The floor cracked open as they burst out, rattling loudly, coiling around their bodies like snakes.
The chains started to glow brighter and brighter, alive with a pulse, squeezing them from every side, pressing without mercy. Their knees shook, their breath caught in their throats, fear locking their bodies in place.
[Judgement Strike—Phase 1: Hunger—Starting]
[ Sin Detected ]
[ Hunger Beast: Limos ]
[ Effect: Eats the host's organs. Grows stronger with hunger and despair.]
Something emerged from the chains.
At first it was only light, glowing like an orb. It fell to the ground and burst, the glow spreading and shifting into shape.
The light took form and manifested into a monster. It stood on four legs but had no skin, only wet organs sliding and sticking together. Its tongue was long and thin, snapping through the air like a whip.
Then the beast split apart, breaking into four smaller ones. Each moved forward on its four legs, slowly, like starving wolves closing in.
They tried to step back, but before they could even react, the monsters leapt straight into their mouths.
The first strike hit like a punch in the gut.
A burning heat opened inside their stomachs, sharp and wild. At first it was only a growl, but it grew and grew until it felt like teeth were chewing them alive from the inside.
Kang Ji-ho grabbed his belly with both hands, scratching hard at his skin, but nothing helped. His mouth opened wide, but only a dry rasp came out.
Min Dae-ho bent over, gagging. His tongue felt thick, his throat dry like sand, and no voice was coming out. His eyes shook, his face turning pale.
Joo Sang-woo stumbled, clawing at his own clothes, pulling at pockets, searching like a madman for food. His knees gave way, breath sharp and fast.
Park Il-jin dropped first. "I… need… food…" he whispered, voice cracked and small, clutching his stomach, eyes wide and wet with panic.
The smell of food filled their heads — rice, bread, meat, soup — so close they could almost taste it. Their hands immediately reached to grab the food, but they caught nothing. It was like the food itself was made of smoke, breaking apart the moment they tried to grab it.
Their mouths went dry. As they reached, their bodies stumbled forward, almost falling.
Inside their stomachs, they felt it. Limos was moving, crawling through them, chewing at everything inside.
It ate whatever was in their bellies first, scraping their stomach walls clean, leaving them emptier than before.
Then it bit into their organs, tearing at flesh, feeding from the inside, gnawing them hollow.
Claws scraped at their insides. A tongue wrapped and pulled, chewing slowly, chewing hard, never stopping.
Kang Ji-ho's mouth opened wide, his eyes rolled back, but no sound came out.
Min Dae-ho bent forward so far he nearly folded in half, clutching his belly like something alive was tearing him apart.
Joo Sang-woo tripped forward, crashing against Park Il-jin. Both of them shook, holding their hollow stomachs, too weak to stand straight.
Limos kept eating, tearing into them without pause. It chewed through their organs, leaving nothing but empty shells.
[ Phase 1: Complete ]
Their bodies shook all over, legs giving way, arms limp like they might fold at any moment.
Their eyes were bloodshot, wide and desperate. Lips cracked, throats so dry that when they forced out a sound, it was nothing but a broken rasp.
"Stop… please… stop this…" Kang Ji-ho begged, his voice breaking like a scared child.
"Make it end… I can't take it," Joo Sang-woo cried, both hands clutching his empty stomach.
"We were wrong… no more, no more…" Min Dae-ho bent forward, his nails scraping against the ground as he shook.
Park Il-jin didn't speak. He only shook his head, his lips trembling, eyes wide and wet with fear.
Hyun Woo stood there without moving.
His golden eyes stayed cold, and his face showed nothing. He didn't speak. He only watched. He only watched their torment, their pain, every second of it.
[ Judgement Strike — Phase 2: Humiliation — Commencing ]
[ Sin Detected ]
[ Beast of Many Faces: Eidolon ]
[ Effect: Breaks pride, twists the guilty under the weight of their own emotions. ]
From the chains another glowing orb came out, brighter, crawling slowly as it stretched and dropped on the ground and manifested into another monster.
Its body was long and slim, too thin to be human. Its arms were thin and long, touching the ground.
It didn't walk straight. It wiggled left and right like jelly, its arms swaying loose. Its fingers dragged on the ground, scratching lines in the dirt as it moved closer.
On its shoulders it had one head — but the head kept changing.
One moment it was a smiling face, then crying, then shouting in anger, then twisting into laughter.
Sadness, rage, shame, happiness — all the emotions flashed over it too fast, like changing masks of different emotions one after another.
They lifted their heads and saw the faces of their own gang—their own faces—sitting on top of them, laughing, spitting, mocking.
"Look at the dog crawl."
"Pathetic… bark for us."
"On your knees, you're nothing."
And then the faces started to change again — but this time they were faces the four of them knew. The students they had bullied.
One by one, their victims' faces appeared on the monster, staring back at them, laughing, crying, mocking.
The monster Eidolon tilted its head, and the voices of those faces came out all at once, cruel and broken.
"Dog."
"Loser."
"Nothing."
"You don't deserve to live."
The voices didn't stop. They went on and on inside their heads, the same words repeating again and again, hitting them a thousand times over.
Their minds filled with it, no space left to breathe.
They clutched their temples, pressing their hands hard against their ears, but the voices didn't fade. They were still there, drilling inside.
The same cruel voices they once threw at their victims now came back to them, louder, heavier, crushing.
They slammed their heads on the ground. Again and again. The sound was dull and heavy until cracks split their foreheads and blood started running down.
Soon blood leaked from their ears too, slowly at first, then faster, dripping steadily.
Each drop fell to the dirt, making small red spots that spread wider.
The drops of blood spread slowly, each drop from their ears and their foreheads, making the soil turn darker bit by bit.
[ Phase 2: Complete ]
[Judgement Strike — Phase 3: Despair — Commencing]
…
[ Error ]
[ Host Notice: Guilty cannot proceed — All targets deceased ]
[ Cause: Unable to bear weight of sin ]
[ Verdict Closed ]
The chains rattled once, then stopped. The boys' bodies twitched, jerked, and then dropped hard on the ground.
Their bodies, one by one, fell on the ground with a thud.
Their eyes stayed wide open, but there was no life in them anymore.
Their mouths hung half open, tongues sticking out, blood still leaking from their ears, their foreheads, and their noses.
When their heads hit the ground first, the blood spread under them, soaking their own faces.
Then suddenly, the place went still. Not a sound. Not a breath. Not even a twitch from their bodies.
[ Targets could not bear the punishment of sin. ]
[ All guilty: Dead ]
[ Reward Calculated… ]
[ 400 Justice Points Acquired ]