SSS-Ranked Demon Hunter: The Prodigy
Chapter 90: Aruya, Part 4

Chapter 90: Aruya, Part 4

He picked up.

The voice on the other end oozed smugness with every word.

"Mincheol speaking..."

"Ah, Mincheol. My brother. How are we feeling today? You didn’t forget, did you? Today’s your last chance."

"I didn’t forget..." he muttered, cornered in the hallway.

Children’s voices rang out behind him:

"Daddy! Who are you talking to?"

He turned to see the twins watching him from the doorway, their faces curious.

"Just work, kids... go play."

He forced a smile — but inside, everything was already burning.

"Listen, Dmitriy... I’m in a rough spot right now, so... maybe just give me one more day? I swear, I’ll find the money!"

"No way!" Dmitriy laughed through the phone, voice thick with mockery.

A black car pulled up outside the suburban house. Three men in suits stepped out.

"Dmitriy, I swear— You know I’ve never lied to you—"

Mincheol didn’t finish.

The front door burst open with a violent kick.

Mafia men filed inside. Dmitriy was at the front, smiling.

"Well, well, Mincheol! You promised me today, didn’t you?"

"D-Dmitriy?! What are you doing here?!"

Everyone in the house rushed in, startled.

"Honey... who are they?"

Their faces held only contempt. Cold, smug smiles.

The rest of the conversation took place upstairs, in Mincheol’s study. The house was chaos. His wife stood behind the door, clutching her chest in fear.

"...Was it really necessary to barge in like that?"

"You know, I was once told: always keep your clients close. That way, the work gets easier. Don’t forget who saved your business when it was about to crumble."

They sat across from each other. Two enforcers loomed behind Dmitriy like shadows.

"I’m grateful, truly... I-I promise I’ll pay everything tomorrow! I’ll sell my car, my gold — everything. Just give me one more shot!"

Dmitriy clicked his tongue.

"Spare me the bedtime promises, Mincheol. You’re not the first to think I’m some fool who buys into ’tomorrow.’ Funny, how the ones begging for mercy always spit on it when it’s handed to them."

"P-please! The day’s not over yet, right? I still have time— I swear I’ll make it!"

"Your time’s up, old friend. And every failure has a price."

Dmitriy rose from his seat and walked into the hallway.

"W-where are you going?! Don’t... don’t hurt my family! Please, not them!"

"Your whole family? You really think that low of us?" he chuckled. "Come. Let me show you how I treat clients who fall behind on their payments."

One of the mafia men grabbed his wife by the hair, dragging her across the floor as she screamed.

Dmitriy, now holding Mincheol’s child by the neck, sneered:

"You knew what this was, Mincheol! You signed a lifelong contract. In return, we lifted you out of the dirt. And now this? This is how you repay us?"

The woman was screaming, clawing at the floor. The other family members stood frozen in horror.

"No! Dmitriy, please! Not this— anything but this!"

"When we first met, I gave you a choice. So here’s another! Your wife... or your child. Who pays for your mistake?"

Mincheol froze. His mind shattered at the very question.

His wife whispered, voice trembling:

"Don’t look, darling... not my son... take me instead."

Dmitriy chuckled.

A blade slashed across her throat. Blood painted the wooden floor.

She was gone.

Mincheol collapsed in silence, all color draining from his face.

"Someone always chooses for you, Mincheol. Just like the first time."

Her body tumbled down the stairs like discarded trash. The kids screamed. The boy was dropped.

"You’ve got one week," Dmitriy said, already walking. "That’s your final chance. Next time, it won’t end with just one death."

The mafia men started descending the stairs. One of them hauled the woman’s body over his shoulder.

But then— creaking. Above them.

Steps. Slow, deliberate, heavy.

Something was moving on the roof.

They stopped.

And then— impact. Something dropped near the door.

The mafia raised their weapons, instantly on edge.

"You brought backup, Mincheol? Really?" Dmitriy barked. "Didn’t think you had the balls. Hey! Stranger! Step into the light!"

But the figure at the door didn’t move.

Dmitriy, unfazed, raised his gun — and began executing the rest of the family.

Bodies fell to the floor one by one, blood painting the carpet.

"N-no! Stop!" Mincheol cried out in agony. "Why them?! They’re innocent!"

And then— movement.

From behind the figure, something lunged.

A white blur crashed through the front wall like a cannonball.

The tiger.

The beast roared as it tore open the entryway, leaving dust and splinters in the air.

From the smoke stepped Aruya, eyes cold, burning through the scum in the room.

"Well, isn’t this a surprise," Dmitriy grinned. "Of all the things to crawl out of the dark... it had to be you."

Aruya smiled wide, teeth flashing:

"Blyat, indeed."

Their eyes locked — cold, unwavering, yet dancing with a hint of mockery. Yuma growled low, his body coiled like a spring, ready to strike.

Aruya glanced over the corpses littering the floor — children, elders, innocents. Dmitriy hadn’t spared a soul.

"You really haven’t changed at all," she said with a venomous calm. "Do you remember me? Because I’ll never forget your stench."

"Hm?" Dmitriy tilted his head. "Your scent... now that you mention it, it does feel familiar. Reminds me of a demon family I snuffed out a few years back. Pity how it ended. They were... kind people."

"Hey now. Don’t play dumb. You murdered them yourself. With your own damn hands."

Aruya drew her katana in one smooth, practiced motion.

"It’s time you paid for your sins."

A sudden creak interrupted her — from the stairs.

Mincheol stumbled downward, his eyes empty, his steps heavy.

"So this is the end," he muttered, face hollow. "I couldn’t save them... any of them."

Dmitriy burst into laughter:

"Aw, come now, my dear friend. If it weren’t for this girl here, none of this would’ve happened. You should be blaming her."

Mincheol slowly turned to Aruya.

"You... what are you doing here?"

"I figured you’d do what you always do, old man. Roll over. Pretend you’re helpless."

"If it weren’t for you... they’d all still be alive."

"Haa? Are you hearing yourself right now, you idiot?"

"Bur can I blame you?" he said, voice numb. "Because the one who pulled the trigger... was him."

He pointed to Dmitriy, who still held the revolver, unshaken.

With a scream of pure anguish, Mincheol lunged at him. His movements were wild, uncoordinated — a man with nothing left.

"You bastard! How could you?! What did they ever do to you?!"

One of the enforcers grabbed him by the arms and shoved him back.

"Let go of me, you sons of bitches! You killed them! You monsters—!"

His family lay on the ground, lifeless. Even the small hands of his children were soaked in blood.

"No... it’s me. I’m the one to blame. None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t started everything. What the hell were you thinking, Mincheol?! You stupid... greedy... fool!"

His words broke apart into sobs, and then into gibberish. His eyes rolled back. Nerves, will, hope — all gone.

Aruya remained silent, watching the broken man with a blank stare. In her mind, she saw it again — three years ago, her own family, laid out the same way.

That’s when she made her choice.

Not grief. Vengeance.

"Why do you even bother looking for someone to blame?" she spoke, her voice hollow, without warmth. "Does it even matter anymore? This world is rotten. You should know that better than anyone."

But Mincheol no longer heard her. His mind had collapsed into madness.

Without a word, Dmitriy calmly placed the revolver’s barrel into Mincheol’s mouth.

"Hold him," he said to his man.

And then he pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed through the house like a final judgment. The bullet tore through skull and ceiling alike.

Silence followed.

Aruya lowered her gaze. She stared at the corpse, but there was no sadness on her face.

"So," Dmitriy said casually, wiping the gun with his sleeve, "how does it feel? Knowing you couldn’t save a single soul? You knew this man. What now? Are you going to cry? Or do you want to kill me even more?"

"Tch," Aruya clicked her tongue. "You give yourself too much credit. Saving people from misery? What a joke. I didn’t come here to save anyone. I came here for you. And I finally found you."

"You really think killing me will bring you peace?" he asked, brow raised. "One demon’s life... is that all it takes to soothe the chaos inside you? I hate to disappoint, but I doubt I’m that important."

But to her...

Dmitriy was everything.

The reason she woke up. The reason she trained. The reason she had nothing left to lose.

"Enough talk, old man," she said, smiling wickedly. "Time to savor the last seconds of your life."

With that, Aruya lunged, her katana flashing in the dim light. Steel met flesh, and the room erupted in violence.

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