BXBX NOVEL Chapter 215
Chapter 215
Chapter 215: In the Name of Darkness (3)
It was huge.
The figure that appeared in the living room without a sound was enormous.
It seemed to reach a height of at least 4 meters, touching the ceiling of the living room.
‘A… a crow?’
At first glance, it looked like a giant crow, but upon closer inspection, it was holding a sickle with its gnarled hands under its wings.
So, the entity that the name referred to was a giant crow with arms attached to its torso.
It wasn’t something wearing a crow costume; its posture, standing on the ground with bird legs, was unmistakable.
「Please, have a seat and wait a moment.」
Every time these words were spoken, the large beak opened wide, and the eyeballs moved.
Swoosh.
The “there” the entity referred to was none other than the sofa in the living room.
“Wait? For how long? I have to pay taxes in about 30 minutes.”
Even in this situation, Yeongwoo didn’t forget that the time for tax payment was approaching.
Upon hearing this, the skeptical “unbeliever” raised its head from sharpening the sickle and looked at Yeongwoo.
「……」
‘Ugh.’
A crow. A real crow.
But the crow’s head was about the size of ten sacks of rice packed together, giving a creepy feeling just by making eye contact.
「You’re only changing the heart, right?」
“Yes? Oh, yes. Just the heart.”
As Yeongwoo quickly regained his focus and responded, the entity lowered its head again and began sharpening the sickle.
「It won’t take long. Please wait.」
“…Okay.”
Seemingly facing an impossible negotiator, Yeongwoo closed his mouth and obediently sat on the sofa.
Then, the scene of the entity sharpening the sickle became clear.
Screech, screech!
Its jet-black arms were incredibly muscular.
Although the silhouette resembled that of a human, the thick veins bulging from its forearms showed an impossible thickness for a human.
‘What species is this? A crow with muscular arms…’
And then.
Screech!
Is that sickle a surgical tool?
Screech!
“…?”
Yeongwoo looked at the massive sickle in disbelief.
The handle was about 3 meters long, and the curved blade seemed to be at least 2 meters long.
‘How can they perform heart surgery with that? Even if they slice open the chest, they might accidentally slit the throat and consider it normal.’
While Yeongwoo was troubled by the surgical tool, Jeonggu, who had come to the living room following his son, was shocked to see the doctor.
“Son of a bitch… what the fuck is this?”
“This is my heart surgery surgeon.”
“What? That crow-colored…”
Seeing the sickle in the crow’s hands belatedly, Jeonggu cautiously covered his mouth and stepped back.
“…Is that the doctor?”
Upon which the entity calmly spoke without turning its head.
「Please have a seat, guardian. The surgery will begin shortly.」
“Ah… Yes.”
Following the doctor’s instructions, Jeonggu sat beside his son.
Then, the entity gestured that everything was ready, shining the sickle blade into the sunless void.
「Please lie down now. Remove any items covering your upper body.」
Swoosh.
The entity pointed to its own chest with muscular fingers.
There was a stone surgical table waiting for the patient, placed there at some point.
“…”
Upon this, Yeongwoo briefly stared at the surgical table, then removed his cape from his shoulders and threw it on the floor.
Thunk!
The metallic cape made a heavy sound as it settled in the living room, revealing the advertisement tattooed on Yeongwoo’s forearm.
「Dogo……?」
Sure enough, the entity recognized Yeongwoo’s tattoo.
“Do you know Dogo?”
As Yeongwoo climbed onto the surgical table and asked, the entity, still skeptical, blinked its large eyes.
「The chairman is quite famous.」
‘As expected of the chairman.’
To think even a shady doctor from the back alleys of the universe knew about him.
Yeongwoo intended to ask specifically why he was famous, but due to the ominous question posed by the doctor, he missed the timing.
「Do you bear pain well?」
“Yes?”
As Yeongwoo inadvertently widened his eyes, his body floated about 30 centimeters above the altar.
It was akin to when he underwent spinal surgery.
“Um, how much does it hurt?”
Now that Yeongwoo was starting to feel a little scared, he looked at his doctor, and the entity’s large beak opened wide.
「If you’re a powerful villain, you should be able to withstand a level of pain.」
“No, Doctor… Actually, I…”
As Yeongwoo’s follow-up, denying that he was a villain, was about to continue, the doctor swung the sickle it was holding vigorously.
“Ahhhh!”
Confirming that the tip of the sickle was aimed directly at his chest, Yeongwoo screamed in terror.
And at that moment.
Swoosh!
Countless crimson spirits gushed out from around Yeongwoo’s heart, pierced by the sickle.
– Krrrrr!
– Huuuuu…
– Aaaaah!
“What…?”
As Yeongwoo watched the spirits escaping from his chest into the air, he recognized a few familiar faces among them.
“Oh! Kim, President Kim!”
Among the spirits fleeing into the sky with resentment, there was one with the face of Kim Il-sung.
But soon.
Whack!
As the doctor swung the sickle again, catching the spirits, including the Kim family, the attempts of all the souls, including the Kim family, to escape were in vain.
– Ahhhhhh!
– Kyaaaa!
Spirits wailed, trapped on the edge of the sickle.
Watching this numbly, Yeongwoo asked the doctor, without realizing that his chest had opened about a handspan.
“Wh… Doctor, what’s happening?”
However, instead of explaining, the doctor asked, pointing to Yeongwoo’s chest with his left hand.
「It seems you are quite the villain, bearing the tattoo of Dogo. You don’t even seem to show signs of pain.」
“No, Doctor, that’s… ”
Yeongwoo’s reason for not feeling pain right now was purely because of his Talisman.
「Berserker」 – Mutation Amulet
【Ignore a certain level of pain.】
The surgery currently being performed was terribly painful, after all.
The Berserker talisman had activated automatically.
「Now, we will extract the original heart.」
The entity uttered the horrific line and extended its left hand.
It intended to tear out the heart from inside Yeongwoo’s partially opened chest.
“No, this is insane.”
At this moment, Jeonggu also stood up from his seat, and there was nothing he or Yeongwoo could do but watch as sinister fingers dug into his son’s chest.
What kind of barbaric heart extraction was this?
However.
Swoosh.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Yeongwoo’s heart was smoothly pulled out.
All major blood vessels connected to the body had been seamlessly sutured.
“This… this can’t be.”
Seeing his son’s extracted heart still beating, Jeonggu instinctively covered his mouth, and Yeongwoo…
“What…?”
He looked at his own heart, taken by the giant crow.
Of course, the connection to the heart hadn’t been completely severed.
The bluish threads that flowed from the heart were still connected to the inside of Yeongwoo’s chest.
And Yeongwoo had a hunch that it was the same substance that composed the spirits he had seen earlier.
「Now, bring the new heart.」
Eventually, the family doctor clapped his hands, and the cautious golden goblin holding the metal heart of a venomous dragon approached from a corner of the living room.
– Kiiiiit…
Thump.
Finally, the metal heart of the venomous dragon was handed to the doctor’s left hand, and it was soon transferred into Yeongwoo’s chest.
「This will hurt a little more.」
The entity warned as it placed the new heart into Yeongwoo’s chest.
Upon this, Yeongwoo nodded as if it were okay, then…
“Ughhh?”
He groaned suddenly as his chest grew cold inside.
It was as if the feeling of dread had stirred inside his body, like starting the descent from the peak of a roller coaster.
「This might be a bit hard for you to endure.」
As Yeongwoo trembled, the doctor was transferring the “threads” that had originally been attached to his heart to the new heart.
As a result, the pain was inflicted on his soul, not his body.
「It’s almost over. Hang in there.」
Then, the doctor swung the sickle toward the new heart in Yeongwoo’s chest.
Splat!
At the moment the end of the sickle collided with the surface of the heart.
– Kyaaaa!
– Hiyaah!
The spirits entwined in the sickle’s blade were sucked back into Yeongwoo’s heart.
「Phew.」
Now, as if finally letting go, the doctor exhaled.
Without further ado, the doctor glanced at Yeongwoo’s chest, which was already starting to heal, then turned to Jeonggu and said a word.
「You have a sturdy son.」
“Yes? Uh, yes… He’s a bit like that.”
Jeonggu unconsciously nodded while still looking at the heart held by the doctor’s hand.
Thump, thump!
The human Jung Yeongwoo’s heart continued to beat vigorously.
Perhaps it was being transferred somewhere in the universe, just like when his spine was replaced?
「The heart transplant is done. The surgery fee is 14 million karma. We only accept full payment.」
With the procedure completed, the entity unilaterally demanded the surgery fee from Yeongwoo, who still hadn’t fully healed.
Then, with his left hand, he touched Yeongwoo’s forearm.
Tap!
And with that, the surgery fee was automatically deducted, and Yeongwoo’s balance sharply decreased.
* Available Karma: 37,348,500
Current balance: 37 million Karma.
‘Fortunately, there should be quite a bit left even after paying taxes. I should raise my abilities a bit more.’
Even amidst his distress, Yeongwoo immediately thought of the upcoming tax payment and nighttime dungeons.
After all, wasn’t the heart surgery also an endeavor to continue surviving?
“Thank you, Doctor.”
As Yeongwoo lightly bowed towards the crow-headed figure, the entity spread its large beak.
「It’s a legendary heart with fusion capabilities. It should last a long time.」
Then, while holding Yeongwoo’s original heart, which was still alive, the entity continued.
「I’ll provide enchantment processing for this heart at no cost. Please convey my story to the chairman.」
“Yes? What story…?”
「Please retrieve the Execution order…」
“Ah.”
Even without hearing the detailed explanation, Yeongwoo could roughly understand.
Though he didn’t know the specifics, this entity had undoubtedly been severely dealt with by the chairman.
‘That’s why he keeps calling me a villain.’
Could it be that the chairman, who even kills government officials, would sympathise with a single doctor’s circumstances?
‘No, wait. Even with the Executioner order, surviving until now is quite remarkable.’
The miraculous entity that could reverse even a fatal accident during surgery.
Though he didn’t know, it seemed like he had some ability to spare his own life.
“Yes, understood. Well then…”
Just as Yeongwoo was about to ask more questions, the entity glanced at the sky, let out a croak, and then melted into the dim void.
“Is he leaving work just like that?”
Jeonggu muttered as he looked around the now-empty living room.
And soon, the reason was revealed through a system announcement.
–In a moment, taxes will be collected starting from 10 p.m.
–Unpaid taxes will be extinguished immediately upon collection.