Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 39

EP.39 Auction House Part 1

“Why did you kill Erie?”

That single, short question. The moment Regina heard it, she instantly understood what Jeong-hyeon wanted.

‘Responsibility for everything and the consequences that come with it.’

Though somewhat vague, it was exactly what it sounded like. He wanted her to take the fall for all the problems and the long-standing feud that began with the berserk incident.

Realizing this, Regina couldn’t help but laugh hysterically. She finally understood that he had planned to pin everything on her from the start.

‘This monster…’

When had he started planning this? When they encountered the Execution Squad? Or during the chaos in the clubroom? Or perhaps when he first heard her name? She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, but one thing was clear: he always made sure that his enemies bore all the responsibility for any actions taken.

‘….’

As the entire situation unfolded in her mind, she could see the process, the conclusion, and the repercussions. But despite her clear-headedness, her body betrayed her, trembling in fear and begging for mercy. It was the first time she had experienced such extreme violence.

“Why aren’t you answering? Why did you kill Erie?”

She knew that admitting to it would mean facing consequences worse than death. She tried to keep her mouth shut, avoiding the answer, but he just smiled and twisted the sword in her thigh.

“Does this raise my stats? Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you don’t talk. Your confession isn’t what’s important here.”

With his words came a searing pain. It was so intense that she momentarily lost consciousness, her body overwhelmed by fear. But even though the pain was excruciating, she knew he wouldn’t kill her. Determined to endure, she tried to resist giving him what he wanted. However, the growing fear and pain began to erode her resolve.

“Please… I… I’m sorry… AAAAAH! UGH!”

The unbearable agony transformed into terror, gnawing away at her reason. As the torture continued, her mind became increasingly foggy, and instinctual words began to spill from her lips without her realizing it.

“Please… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… AAAAH! UGH.”

He looked at her with an indifferent expression, almost admiring her resilience.

“Wow, you’re really tough. Still not talking? Fine by me. Shall we move from the thigh to the calf? Or maybe the arm? The stomach? What’s your preference?”

“Stop…”

“Oh, the arm? I like the arm too.”

A new wave of pain surged through her. Trembling uncontrollably, she could only hope for the torture to end. But then, from the side…

“Heal.”

A powerful healing spell restored her body, allowing the torture to continue.

“Seriously, Jeong-hyeon… You shouldn’t stab here. If you do, she might die.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So, you should stab here instead.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Hearing their conversation, Regina could only close her eyes tightly. She had thought that the saintess would at least try to stop the torture, but instead, she was actively participating by suggesting more effective methods. Realizing that the healing was only prolonging her suffering, Regina felt herself sinking deeper into despair.

After a while, Jeong-hyeon seemed to grow tired, stretching his arms.

“Well, you’ve worked hard today. Take a rest… Or actually, that doesn’t make sense since time stops in the subspace, right? Anyway.”

Clapping his hands like calling a dog, he pointed to the subspace pouch.

“Time to go in.”

He grabbed her by the hair and tossed her into the pitch-black subspace.

***

After putting Regina into the subspace pouch, Jeong-hyeon stretched contentedly. The notification of a stat increase had significantly lifted his spirits.

‘Who would’ve thought Regina would be useful one day?’

Feeling pleased with his new training dummy, he smiled broadly. Lucia, who had been watching him, sighed and spoke up.

“You shouldn’t torment people too much…”

He looked at her in disbelief. She had been the most enthusiastic during the torture, and now she was telling him not to torment people?

‘Of course, Lucia didn’t stab anyone herself.’

But she had been the one to specify exactly where to stab. Knowing this, he found her comment quite ironic. Deciding not to argue, Jeong-hyeon brought up a more important topic.

“Anyway, Lucia, have you heard any rumors about the Bishop Lea? She should be making some moves to find the rosary, but it’s strangely quiet.”

Recalling the previous incident in the infirmary—beating Lea and obtaining the Rosary—Jeong-hyeon brought it up. Lucia blinked in confusion, showing a flustered expression.

“Rumors about Bishop Lea? Uh… hmm.”

It seemed she hadn’t heard anything noteworthy. Feeling disappointed, Jeong-hyeon almost let it go but then remembered that Lucia, being somewhat of an outcast, had no other sources of information. He gave her an awkward smile, realizing he had asked in vain.

‘I shouldn’t have asked.’

Realizing he might have unintentionally hurt her feelings, Jeong-hyeon decided to only ask Miria for such information in the future. Shifting his thoughts, he focused on the next steps.

‘Lea should be making her move soon. I just need to be prepared for that.’

Deciding to quickly extract and absorb the power contained within the Rosary, he smirked. Once the power was drained, the Rosary would be meaningless to him but not to Lea.

‘It’ll be an excellent tool for leverage.’

He planned to dangle the powerless rosary in front of Lea to prevent her from escaping. Smiling at the thought, he glanced at the still-open entrance of the subspace pouch.

‘Should I put Lea in here too once I capture her?’

It wasn’t a bad idea. He could use her as a training dummy whenever he felt bored.

‘Even training dummies need a break.’

Jeong-hyeon decided that once he caught Lea, he would alternate between stabbing her and Regina. The thought already made his mouth water.

‘Not bad. Torture and stat-boosting all in one.’

Believing this to have many advantages, he set a new goal: to capture those who had inflicted such pain upon him and keep them in his subspace.

‘Pocket Master of Another World.’

Though he said it jokingly, it made practical sense. Keeping them alive in the subspace pouch would allow him to hold them as hostages indefinitely, making it difficult for their factions to act against him. If he died, the pouch would remain sealed forever, making assassination attempts less likely.

Realizing this gave him a clearer sense of purpose and direction. He decided to head to the auction house first to absorb the power of the Rosary.

* * *

The next day, Jeong-hyeon brought Miria to his dormitory and asked her to provide information about the auction house and how to enter it. Miria plopped down on his bed and began to explain.

“There are two types of auction houses: the regular auction house and the one in the black market. You, Jeong-hyeon, need to participate in the black-market auction.”

Hearing an unfamiliar term, he asked for clarification.

“Black market?”

Miria gave a brief explanation.

“It’s an underground market where illegal goods are bought and sold secretly. Think of it as a shady marketplace.”

He nodded, indicating that he understood, having encountered such things before. Miria continued, crossing her arms.

“While anyone can enter the black market if they know about it and have the code from an information broker, not everyone can participate in the auctions held there.”

When she mentioned that not everyone could participate, Jeong-hyeon showed her the token he had received from Asiris, but Miria shook her head.

“What the black-market auction demands is personal credit. It’s not about having a token from a group like Asiris. They value the reputation and credit of the individual.”

In other words, being part of a renowned group wasn’t enough. The participant themselves needed to have a personal reputation. He sighed, realizing this was a tricky condition.

“So, is there no way for me to participate?”

Miria grinned mischievously and replied.

“Of course, there is. Even if you’re not that person, you can participate if you’re accompanied by someone who meets the criteria.”

“Like Regina, for example?”

“Exactly. If it’s Regina, she’d definitely get in… Wait. Aren’t you enemies with her?”

Jeong-hyeon didn’t respond to Miria’s startled question, only smiling. Miria looked at him with a peculiar expression.

“Well, anyway. First, you need to earn 100 million gold. Honestly, it’s not money you can earn by working diligently, but with your abilities, you could probably make it in about ten years.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. As for the conditions for entering the black market… Well, it’s not feasible right now, but in about ten years, I’ll probably be quite successful, so I’ll take you there myself. Don’t worry.”

At her words, Jeong-hyeon chuckled, then poured out 100 million gold and Regina from the subspace pouch.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got everything ready.”

Miria, hearing his words, looked at Regina, who was rolling and twitching on the floor, then stared at Jeong-hyeon with a bewildered expression, as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.