The World Does Not Exist for ■■

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: ford53
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< Chapter 3: The Unlucky Day (3) >

Listening intently, the footsteps became even clearer. Was he wearing heavy boots? The footsteps sounded weighty.

As the steps drew nearer, Dung Beetle realized it was not one set of footsteps but two.

“Ah, finally over.”

As expected, two men emerged from the darkness.

Familiar gas masks, familiar outfits… they were undoubtedly cleaners from the same guild.

“Damn, even cleaners are cleaning up other cleaners these days.”

The two were dragging a body, dressed just like them, each holding onto a leg, leaving a long trail of blood in their wake.

…Were these the guys who had dragged the bodies here?

Dung Beetle held his breath and moved out of their line of sight.

As he narrowly escaped the cleaners’ view, they casually tossed the body they were dragging into the heap of corpses.

Squelch!

Blood and filth splattered amidst the pile. It was an act devoid of any gesture of respect for the dead.

Dung Beetle frowned and continued to hide, remembering what the Player had said before killing him… that their boss had sold them out.

If that was true, these cleaners were his potential enemies.

‘…I’ll hide here until they leave and quietly tail them out.’

While Dung Beetle was formulating his escape plan, the cleaners switched on their flashlights and approached the pile of bodies, surveying them carefully.

And, of all places, they headed towards where Dung Beetle was hiding.

‘Could they have spotted me?’

Fortunately, his worry was unfounded. The cleaners stopped just short of spotting Dung Beetle and began a conversation.

“Hey, got some time left, right? Should we hit the leftovers once?”

“Leftovers? Well… yeah, about 40 minutes left.”

“We came out for overtime, we should snag something.”

At the word “leftovers,” Dung Beetle stifled his gag reflex.

Leftovers. That was the cleaners’ own slang for stripping valuable items off bodies.

‘Leftovers, my ass, despicable people.’

This was an act unforgivable both legally and ethically.

Even the name was distasteful. Leftovers? An euphemism disguising the vile deed as something trivial, innocent.

And that’s why those outside of this profession had a different name for it.

Maggot work.

Due to a filthy few, the image of cleaners was deteriorating day by day. In life, the Team Leader and his crew never partook in leftovers. They were cleaners, not maggots.

In that sense, these two guys were maggots.

Disrespecting the dead and blinded by greed, abandoning their last shred of humanity.

‘How can creatures like them live while we are dead…?’

Dung Beetle bit his lower lip, feeling something churn in his chest at the thought of his fallen comrades, but now was the time to endure.

Hold on.

Wait to think about everything else until after leaving this place.

Escape, revenge…

Whatever comes next, he needed to hide for now.

As Dung Beetle focused on staying hidden within the darkness, the cleaners began searching the bodies for loot.

“Jeez, these punk-ass jerks. How come there aren’t any gold teeth?”

“The rich ones don’t hang around Incheon causing trouble. If they had the means, they’d be off in Gaeseong or Busan. The only things that gather in this cursed city are scum and corpses.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

As if it wasn’t their first time, they deftly rifled through the chosen corpses. They pried mouths open for gold teeth, stripped bodies to pillage pockets…

Before long, they approached where the bodies of his comrades lay.

‘Please, just pass by.’

Despite Dung Beetle’s silent pleas, the maggots did not skip over his friend’s bodies.

‘No, these filthy maggots in a cleaner’s guise.’

“Ah, this dear man stayed clean until the end.”

Standing before the Team Leader’s body and shining their flashlight on it, the horrifically mangled body was illuminated, but they displayed no sign of propriety or respect, only ridicule and mocking laughter.

“Tsks, the boss harped about not doing leftovers. Look at how he’s gone now. Totally butchered to mincemeat.”

“He nagged until he met his end. Don’t you know the whole team was on the upper management’s list?”

“Upper management? Still, the dude did good work, what happened?”

“The boss told him to take a few bodies home but he refused, saying we shouldn’t disrespect the dead or something.”

“Wow, a real high and mighty one, huh? Thought he was some kind of priest or something? Disrespect? Corpses are just corpses.”

Watching this scene, Dung Beetle clenched his teeth. His blood ran cold, his head boiled with rage.

“Didn’t that guy have some savings though? He had no family, right?”

“That all goes into the boss’s pockets, so don’t get any ideas. You wanna end up down here with them?”

“Sigh, what about the other guys? Who was that other guy on their team… Deokbae? Didn’t Deokbae have that hefty gold ring?”

“Gold ring?”

At the mention of Deokbae’s name, Dung Beetle closed his eyes.

If he watched the maggots rifle through and dishonor his colleague’s bodies, he might not be able to control himself.

‘Don’t look. Don’t look and hold on… I have to.’

Dung Beetle curled up and sought the angel in his mind.

Angel, Angel. Why is this happening?

Why does a madman who sees people as experience points proudly roam this world?

Why did a despicable boss who sold his subordinates for 250,000 won go free while my colleagues lay dead?

Why are my colleagues demeaned and mocked even in death?

Angel, oh God beyond the dimensional gate, please answer me.

If there truly is good in this world, why is it so unjust and cruel?

…No answer came. Just as it always had been.

“Ah, found it. The gold ring!”

“Wow, finally got something worthwhile.”

As Dung Beetle desperately averted his gaze, the exuberant voices of those maggots reached his ears.

Unable to resist, Dung Beetle raised his head.

‘… Ah.’

The sight of them twisting off Deokbae’s gold ring and carelessly throwing his body aside filled his vision.

Plop!

Deokbae’s upper half rolled on the floor. For a fleeting moment, Dung Beetle’s gaze met the rolling eyes of Deokbae.

His uncle’s eyes were streaming with bloody tears.

…At that moment, something inside Dung Beetle snapped.

“Why the hell did this kid who never married wear a gold ring?”

“Maybe he wore it to give leftovers to us?”

“Huhu, you’re right. He must’ve been wearing it just to fill our pockets.”

Unaware of the unfolding events in the dark, the maggots kept rummaging through other bodies, laughing and joking around.

“Hey, we haven’t got much time. Let’s finish and go.”

“Weren’t there some elves, too? You check the elves; I’ll search through some more cleaners.”

The cleaner who took the ring from Deokbae started to approach Dung Beetle’s location, while the other one moved further away toward the elf bodies.

Instinctively, Dung Beetle realized this was his opportunity. He silently took off his blood-soaked work clothes.

The cheap work clothes, known only for their durability and toughness, were of no real advantage.

But at this moment, that was enough for Dung Beetle. He rolled the clothes tightly like a rope.

Gripping the twisted clothing in both hands, he crept silently, stealthily… toward the cleaner who had pocketed the gold ring.

Then…

“What’s one more thing to snag before we go—gack!”

He wrapped the twisted cloth around the cleaner’s neck and tightened it. Using all the strength in his arms and his legs wrapped around the man’s body, he ensured no escape.

“Ugh, g-ack, ack.”

Caught by surprise, the cleaner struggled, twisting and kicking, flailing his arms, but it was all in vain.

The vile maggot, capable only of dishonoring the dead, couldn’t break free from the snare.

Soon, the man’s body went limp. Dung Beetle swallowed hard, looking down at the maggot lying at his feet.

‘Ah.’

The strength drained from his hands, and his mind went cold. Murder… yes, this was murder.

‘I’ve killed someone.’

But… something was odd. For some reason, he didn’t feel any emotion.

No sense of achievement, no guilt. Just like drinking water when thirsty or stomping a maggot when seen, it felt like he did nothing more than what was natural.

Still, murder was murder, and this numbness to his own action shocked Dung Beetle in return.

‘Why doesn’t it affect me?’

Suddenly, the voice of the cleaner searching the elf bodies echoed out.

“Hey! I’ve hit the jackpot! There’s a necklace on this elf corpse!”

The one calling his partner naturally shone his flashlight this way…

“Uh, shit…?”

Under the beam of light, Dung Beetle’s act of choking the maggot to death was exposed.

When Dung Beetle turned to the light, their eyes met through the masks. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, right? Even with gas masks on, they immediately knew what the other was thinking.

‘Kill.’

‘This is insane.’

A brief silence filled the gap between them before dissipating.

The first to move was the maggot. Without hesitation, he turned and ran. Dung Beetle threw the dead maggot aside and chased after the fleeing one.

The pursuit did not last long.

“Ah, damn it!”

Crash!

The man stumbled over the same body the maggot had thrown earlier.

Though the dead know nothing of injustice and the sky remained silent, he reaped the consequences of the disrespect he had committed.

“Damn it! Don’t come! Stay away!”

As the man flailed in the filth leaking from the body, Dung Beetle pounced.

The maggot struggled not to be pinned down by Dung Beetle but couldn’t hold out for long after losing the high ground. Dung Beetle sat on the man’s upper body, pressing down with his knees between his shoulder and sternum.

“Wait, gack, wait, ugh!”

Once he secured his position, Dung Beetle rained down punches. There was no hesitation in beating someone. This was the man who had scoffed at the Team Leader, the one who had defiled Deokbae’s body.

“Please, spare me! I beg, please gack! Stop it!”

The man cried desperately, flailing his arms, but the punches never ceased.

Thump, thump, thump!

His gas mask shattered, blood splattered, and finally, the sound of something breaking resounded.

Dung Beetle surrendered his body to primal violence and instinct.

He couldn’t tell anymore whether what he was pounding was someone’s head or if it was the pent-up emotions he had suppressed all along. He didn’t want to know.

He kept swinging until he could no longer raise his fists.

And it was at that moment that Dung Beetle ceased his assault…

『Finally.』

‘It’ spoke up.

『You’ve crossed the line.』