The creepy sound continued as the iron pipe struck several people nearby, repeatedly and mercilessly.
The sound of flesh being torn and bones breaking rang out continuously.
"I'm already uncomfortable coming to this remote place, why is it so noisy?"
Riegrow's quiet, languid voice broke the silence.
Without distinguishing between friend and foe, the iron pipes fell down randomly, the tip of the iron pipes was covered in fresh blood flowing down. The black marks on the dark blue gloves turned completely black.
"That, that is..."
Someone muttered fearfully. But that voice was only the beginning.
Screams and shouts echoed throughout the hallway as if to overcome the fear that had spread.
"Kill him! That devil, kill him!"
But despite the loud shouts, no one dared to approach him. Even the members of the European branch took a few steps back with worried looks on their faces.
Riegrow twirled the heavy iron pipe as if he were holding a ballpoint pen. Then he chuckled and stepped forward.
Then there was hell.
Jeong Taeui could only stand there staring blankly at Riegrow's back from the end of the hallway, where people and bodies were piled up like corpses.
He wondered where such a madman could have appeared here and realized after a while.
That man, was the charming man who had just talked to him about books with a gentle smile.
***********************************************
"What a horrible sight..."
Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue as he entered the cafeteria.
After all, eating was the most important thing for the members of the branch, so the cafeteria was very well-equipped, and was always packed with people. The deserted cafeteria scene just a few days ago seemed like a dream.
The members of the European and Asian branches sat clearly separated. Even if there were empty seats on the opposite side, they would not sit together, preferring to stand and eat.
But what is remarkable is something else. It was predictable.
Each man had some kind of injury. Some had bloody bandages on their heads, others had large plasters on their shoulders and necks. Some had splints on their arms and legs.
Not even started formal training yet, the future is bleak.
There were only a few people who weren't injured because they didn't participate in last night's battle or happened to not be there. And Jeong Taeui was one of them. His path was blocked by the battle, so he couldn't participate.
"Wow... The breakfast atmosphere is great."
Morer, who entered after Jeong Taeui, muttered in frustration. Morer also had plasters all over his wrists and other places. He only glanced over when he heard the noise and was almost caught up in it, so he was lightly hit. Morer didn't intend to join the fight, but his personality didn't allow him to be beaten without fighting back, so he fought back and was quite injured.
Jeong Taeui picked up some of the buffet dishes, then stared at the forks and knives on the tray, then sighed and just grabbed a pair of chopsticks.
"I have never seen forks and knives look so ominous as they do now."
The thought that everyone in the cafeteria was armed did not leave his mind.
But when he turned back to find a seat with chopsticks on the tray, he was startled to see the man with the tray containing toast, salad and coffee holding a fork.
"If you look at it that way, your chopsticks are also weapons. In this world, there are very few things that cannot be used as weapons."
Even though his mouth wanted to say, "I don't need a weapon, just my thumb will do," Jeong Taeui held back.
He glanced at Jeong Taeui's tray of rice and vegetables, then spoke kindly.
"Is that all you eat? Have you ever heard the saying, 'Eat breakfast like a king'?"
"I've heard it, but have you ever heard the saying 'Dogs complain that cats have too much hair'?"
Jeong Taeui stared at his tray and spoke. The man burst into laughter. His low, gentle laugh rang out pleasantly. This man was the cause of countless injuries to others, but he himself was unharmed. His clothes were also undisturbed.
"Um. It's hard to find a seat... Oh, there are two seats over there. Let's go together?"
He naturally gestured to Jeong Taeui. Jeong Taeui felt a little embarrassed and wanted to use Morer as an excuse to refuse, but when he turned around, he saw that Morer had quietly sat down at another table.
Jeong Taeui was silent for a moment but then realized that saying "You're from the European branch so we can't eat together" was too silly, and saying "I don't want to be around you because you seem like a dangerous person who can cause trouble at any time" was too straightforward. In the end, he kept quiet and followed behind.
This is a bad sign.
His uncle had advised him: Don't do anything that would make him stand out. Jeong Taeui had taken that to heart. He didn't need anyone to tell him, he wanted it that way. Last night, he didn't know that the person he was sharing the room with was this man, and unfortunately he got caught up in it. But he thought that was all. Luckily, everything had passed without any major incidents - except for the fact that the noisy men in the hallway had been seriously injured - he planned to live a quiet and unobtrusive life from now on.
"Are you worried a lot?"
The man sitting across from him asked with a slight smile. Jeong Taeui didn't think he would start a conversation with him. He thought yesterday's matter would end there.
Jeong Taeui, with chopsticks in hand, absentmindedly replied to the man opposite.
"Worry about what?"
The answer was not that he was not worried. There were too many things that worried him. He did not know what the man was asking about. Was it because this ominous man had spoken to him, or because of the unexpected friendliness, or because of the cold gazes of the European branch members sitting around this table of six.
The man heard Jeong Taeui's answer and laughed.
"You have guts to sit at the European branch desk."
The man said with a slight smile. Jeong Taeui looked at him with displeasure, still holding the chopsticks in his mouth.
"You told me to sit here. And there were no other seats available."
Jeong Taeui said uncomfortably. Not only this table, but the surrounding tables were filled with people from the European branch. The gazes were like arrows piercing straight at him. Someone should have said, "Sit somewhere else," but no one dared to say anything, definitely because of this man.
The people at his table fell silent as Jeong Taeui and the madman- Riegrow, sat down. In that moment, Jeong Taeui understood this man's position in his branch.
...Maybe he doesn't just beat up people from the Asian branch, he'll attack anyone who makes him uncomfortable.
"I wonder if he acts like that in his branch..."
Jeong Taeui muttered while eating, and perhaps Riegrow heard it.
"Who?"
Jeong Taeui paused his chopsticks for a moment, then continued eating as if nothing had happened.
No, no. Can't attract attention. Best not to stand out in any situation. Finish eating and quickly disappear so you never see this man again.
While Jeong Taeui was quietly eating, the members of the European branch sitting at the same table finished eating and left, leaving four empty seats that no one dared to sit in.
"I don't think I've heard your name."
Riegrow said calmly. Jeong Taeui's heart sank when he heard that.
Oh no. The signs were getting worse. Even though they had just met, when this man asked for her name, it was no longer normal.
"Can I ask something?"
Jeong Taeui didn't answer but pretended to drink water and asked again. Riegrow raised his eyebrows, signaling him to continue.
"Do you often ask other people's names?"
Jeong Taeui thinks he doesn't care about other people. But maybe Jack the Ripper (a serial killer) would also ask "What's your name?" when he met his first victim.
Riegrow chuckled lightly at that question.
"Usually yes. Not knowing the name of the person you're supposed to call would be inconvenient, don't you think?"
"If we meet often enough to need to know the name, then I'll ask."
Jeong Taeui tried to answer tactfully, and Riegrow nodded as if he understood. Jeong Taeui looked at him absentmindedly while chewing his rice.
From a distance, he was just a young man, able to stand out in a crowd with his clean and pleasant appearance. He was very handsome anyway.
This young man, whose face Jeong Taeui saw in the video was unclear, looked even younger up close. He was probably a year or two younger than Jeong Taeui. Or did the bloodbath help him look younger?
"How old are you?"
Jeong Taeui asked the question impolitely while leaning his elbows on the table and staring at him.
Riegrow seemed surprised by the question but then smiled and answered.
"Do you often ask other people's ages? Or do you think that knowing my age will mean you won't see me again?"
Jeong Taeui didn't ask any more. He just felt worse and worse. Even if they met again, he would probably go easy on him once they got to know each other.
But my uncle once said: Don't do anything that makes you stand out.
It's too late, uncle. If I die, don't forget to burn my books too.
Jeong Taeui mumbled under his breath as he ate, and suddenly saw Riegrow's hand holding the coffee cup. Dark gloves covered his hands.
"You really like gloves. You're always wearing them."
"Huh?"
Riegrow looked at his hand and clenched and unclenched it a few times before answering.
"Not really. But it's less of a bother than to not wear it."
"So why do you always wear it?"
"I hate blood. It's dirty and hard to clean."
"Why is there blood on the cafeteria."
Jeong Taeui paused, unable to finish his sentence.
A man pushed open the cafeteria door and ran toward them.
The man, with a face full of anger and bloodshot eyes, held a 50-caliber pistol aimed straight at Riegrow.
"Riegrow! This gun is Croy's, the one you killed!"
The man shouted, raising his pistol.
Jeong Taeui's face paled. Who would be crazy enough to bring such a thing into the cafeteria so early in the morning!
"If you want to die, then die yourself, you damn bastard..."
The man blocking Riegrow's way didn't hesitate, Jeong Taeui muttered a curse and quickly dodged to the side. With such a powerful jet gun, shooting with bare hands could be dangerous to anyone, and could even injure himself, turning the restaurant into a mess.
Jeong Taeui quickly hid behind a large pillar nearby. He looked around nervously.
"This pillar, just a few shots will bring it down," he thought. "But that gun only has six bullets, he probably won't shoot at the pillar. There's no reason to aim at me anyway."
Though he wasn't completely safe, Jeong Taeui felt like he had escaped for the time being. He reflexively searched his pockets. But there was only dust in them.
"Damn," he muttered, turning to see Morer hiding under a dining table a few meters away.
"More!" he shouted and quickly ran over. The gunshot rang out deafeningly behind him. A piece of something smashed into Jeong Taeui's back, and the gunshot made his ears hurt.
"You crazy! If you're still alive, I'll beat you up!"
Jeong Taeui ran to Morer's side, who was looking around in panic. He grabbed Morer's collar and, whether Morer screamed or not, searched his pocket. As expected, he found a cold metal object.
Looking around the chaotic restaurant, Jeong Taeui saw Riegrow standing there calmly, and the other man was still aiming his gun at him.
An unbelievable sight unfolded before our eyes.
A large cedar dining table, which required at least three or four men to move, was gently flipped over by Riegrow and used as a shield. He kicked the table away without any difficulty towards the other man.
The gun went off again. The table was hit and shattered. Riegrow moved aside, leaving a pillar to block the debris.
"Four more?" Riegrow said casually, standing behind another pillar to block the attack and flipping over another table. He threw it at the man.