Chapter 8 

His tone was languid, yet Wina felt a sudden fear as if he might gouge out her eyeballs at any moment.

“I want to know, but I must be a stranger to you….”

Shin Hae-Gon spoke slowly, almost as if he were sleepy. Wina watched his lazily moving lips, thinking absently.

No, a stranger. Even if everything else is unfamiliar, he doesn’t feel unfamiliar….

“Idiots recognize each other well. Right?”

Wina was slow to understand his words, remaining dazed until he stood up and placed the cigarette he had been smoking between the lips of the unconscious man.

“Well then, shall we wake him up?”

She realized what Shin Hae-Gon meant the moment he pulled out a pistol and clicked it into place. His face was calm, devoid of excitement, as he aimed the gun at the man’s leg.

Instinctively, Wina covered her ears and scrambled to the corner in a panic.

A loud bang echoed, and her ears rang. Then came the sound of a man screaming as if waking from intense pain.

Pale and trembling, Wina bit her lip and curled up. Her teeth chattered. She was terrified. She began to understand why this man had such abyss-like eyes.

“Get up. Your god has come for you.”

“Ugh, aaah! Ah! It hurts, aah, my leg, my leg…!”

Shin Hae-Gon grabbed Wina by the scruff of her neck, lifting her trembling form with one hand. She struggled and shook her head, but his grip was unwavering as he dragged her towards the man.

He pushed her face close to the man’s, as if forcing her to greet him.

“Help me, please, help me.”

The man’s desperate breath washed over them. Wina’s eyes darted wildly.

Then it happened. The man’s eyes, upon seeing Wina, filled with a red hue. For a moment, his expression brightened as if he had reached some kind of enlightenment.

Shin Hae-Gon’s eyes gleamed dangerously at the change. In that instant,

“You devilish woman!”

The man’s mouth foamed and lunged. Even with his hands bound in cuffs, he fiercely grabbed Wina’s neck. She gasped and her eyes rolled back.

Caught off guard, Shin Hae-Gon froze momentarily but quickly pulled Wina away, delivering a swift elbow to the man’s face. The man’s nose crunched as he collapsed.

“Ugh, you, you, you demon woman, you Satan. Even boiling in the fires of hell isn’t enough for you. You should never have been born. You should never have been born into this world…!”

Shin Hae-Gon stomped on the back of the man’s head with his boot. The man crumpled, unable to fight back, writhing like an insect. Shin Hae-Gon looked down at him with a curious expression.

Satan, a demon.

He mulled over the words, fitting for Wina, when suddenly he heard a gasping sound.

“Uh, ha….”

Shin Hae-Gon glanced down to see Wina’s face buried against his chest. Only then did he realize that he had instinctively pulled her into an embrace when the man attacked.

With each labored breath, her pale cheeks twitched. A distinct line marked her neck, where she had been grabbed, deep enough to suggest it would break with another squeeze.

Her blood-red eyes trembled as she looked up, her eyelashes quivering. What would they taste like if crushed by teeth? A sadistic urge surged within him.

He stared at the small hand gripping his military uniform tightly, the knuckles white with the plea for life.

Satan. And a demon.

These were the words he had heard incessantly from Salli’s followers. The brainwashed wretches cursed the red eyes they once revered as divine, right before their eyes burst from their heads.

“You made me succumb to evil with your crimson gaze, you vile demon!”

“That devilish woman! That demonic woman!”

“Ah, cursed red eyes, those blood-colored eyes! That demon is dragging me to hell!”

“All the evil in this world started with that Satan! If it weren’t for her! If it weren’t for that demon!”

Indeed.

Shin Hae-Gon, while locking eyes with Wina, moved his gun.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

As soon as the bullet lodged in his chest, the man let out a deathly scream and collapsed. It didn’t take long for his movements to cease completely. The smell of blood thickened.

Despite having seen people die numerous times, Wina’s heart raced.

Shin Hae-Gon had been looking at Wina even as he pulled the trigger. It felt as if her own body had been pierced.

The warmth through his uniform felt as if no human blood flowed through her veins, a coldness gripping her with an unyielding calm.

“Not a god…”

Shin Hae-Gon murmured indifferently.

“A monster?”

Still held in his arms, Wina found herself lost in his deep, dark eyes.
At that moment, Shin Hae-Gon’s radio crackled.

– Major Shin Hae-Gon! Where are you?

“I’m in the interrogation room on the third basement floor.”

The voice on the radio was urgent. It was likely an attack.

– It’s a Level 3 terror alert from Salli.

“Report.”

Shin Hae-Gon tossed Wina aside like garbage. She fell to the floor with a thud and quickly scrambled away from the corpse in front of her.

– Seven men, all heavily armed, have been spotted heading towards Blue Wave Bridge ‘Cheongpa’ (청파). They appear to be highly trained and are currently engaging in indiscriminate shooting. We’re receiving numerous calls for support.

Seven men.

Salli had grown into a force that rivaled the military because the best soldier of the time, Jin Chae-Jun, had groomed his elite soldiers to become Salli’s core operatives.

Wi Shi-Kyung, who succeeded Jin Chae-Jun as the second leader, was also an outstanding soldier. Being able to decapitate his superior with his own hands was a testament to his ruthlessness.
The members who were indoctrinated and raised from birth were loyal dogs of Salli. They were not born of humans but of Salli.

Therefore, to Shin Hae-Gon, hunting these non-humans was hardly a challenge.

He spun his gun once before holstering it and then ordered the communications officer.

“Team One, fully arm and mobilize.”

The First Team under his command included Seok Do-Hwi, Yoon Bo-Ryeong, and Captain Ahn Ju-Hyung. Since Shin Hae-Gon had personally selected them, they were considered the elite members of the unit

Unless it was a large-scale battle, he primarily operated with the First Team. Salli was an unpredictable organization that could launch an attack anywhere, anytime, nationwide. To avoid wasting manpower, Shin Hae-Gon mobilized with the minimum number of personnel whenever possible.

Although the numbers were small, their individual capabilities were unmatched. Above all, it was the team he led.

Shin Hae-Gon tucked the radio inside his uniform.

“Take me with you.”

At that moment, Wina spoke abruptly. Shin Hae-Gon didn’t even glance at her. Wina crawled to position herself within his line of sight.

“Take me with you,” she repeated.

The look in her eyes was as cold as ice. Yet Wina insisted stubbornly.

“I’ll be useful.”

Wina slowly blinked, as if to emphasize her value.
Shin Hae-Gon looked down at her, pulling his gloves tight.

“Useful, indeed.”

For instance, using that pretty face and sinful body to boost the soldiers’ morale might be a good idea. Though, he himself wouldn’t partake.

“But…”

Shin Hae-Gon nudged Wina’s chin with his boot.

“That’s not for someone like you to decide.”

Then, without warning, he kicked her shoulder. Wina rolled and crashed into the wall, her head spinning.

When she came to, she heard the creak of the iron door opening. She quickly looked up, but the sound of boots was already fading away.

“I am useful…”

Wina murmured weakly. She glanced at the dead man and quickly shut her eyes. His blackened, lifeless gaze seemed to cling to her.
The voices calling her a witch echoed in her mind, refusing to leave.

After a while, a soldier arrived to dispose of the body and escort Wina from the basement.

Despite her hope, it wasn’t Shin Hae-Gon.