Chapter 150. Soul Reaper
【Mir-Stin】─Hmm.
While the Soul Reaper was preparing the body that contained the kidnapped soul, the Artpega Unibicorn next to me quickly finished the documentation process.
■Soul Reaper
─Actual danger level: S-class.
─Current (Nerfed) danger level: B-class.
─Ability: Soul Fishing.
［Documentation complete. It’s nice to have so many subjects to draw today.］
【Luna-chan】─ԅ|.͡° ൧͑ ͡°.|ᕤ You’re seriously addicted to drawing.
【Bubble Bubble】─You’re like Gauntlet, drawing anytime and anywhere.
【Yumi】─You’re now faster than AI at drawing, maybe…
【Mir-Stin】─Hmm. Maybe not.
By the way, I had already exchanged greetings with the Soul Reaper.
Infernos had approached and introduced us first.
It seemed the rumor that I had become famous in Hell wasn’t a lie, as the Soul Reaper seemed to already know about me.
［Hmm. I think that’s good enough.］
The Soul Reaper said as he lightly tapped the body of a middle-aged man.
He was ensuring that it wouldn’t break easily, even under torture.
It seemed he had infused it with a remarkable level of regenerative ability.
Even so, its danger level was only F-class.
All the strength of the prisoner’s body was thoroughly restricted.
In other words, a prisoner in Hell was no more than a regenerating lump of flesh that posed no threat to anyone.
【Pururu】─Didn’t they say that life sentences without parole are the standard here?
【Rizenova】─That’s right. Infernos explained it that way earlier.
【Yumi】─Most of the prisoners are like that. They don’t even bring souls who committed minor crimes.
At this point,
the prisoners’ fate was only to writhe in eternal agony.
They were trapped in a perfect vessel for receiving Hell’s punishments.
Unless the guards made a mistake in controlling their strength while torturing them, the prisoners’ bodies were said to be nearly immortal.
【Pururu】─When you say most prisoners, does that mean there are some with limited sentences?
【Rizenova】─A few, apparently.
【Mysticism】─😠 What were you listening to earlier!
【Pururu】─Sorry, I was too distracted watching the stream while drawing.
【Yumi】─Sometimes, they accidentally capture souls that committed relatively minor offenses compared to the others. Those souls also get life sentences, but it’s judged that they still have some potential for rehabilitation, so it’s not an absolute life sentence.
【Yumi】─And the length of the sentence isn’t fixed. Once the prisoner’s rehabilitation is deemed complete, the guards hold a meeting to discuss it. The prisoner can only be released if all the guards unanimously agree.
【Pururu】─Thanks for the explanation.
【Mir-Stin】─Hmm.
【Rizenova】─Why do you keep going “Hmm” since earlier?
【Bubble Bubble】─You said earlier that you think that prisoner looks like someone you know. Is that why?
【Mysticism】─🧐
Come to think of it,
when they first saw the prisoner, Hwang Mir mentioned in the chat that he looked exactly like his uncle.
Though the other assistants’ chats quickly buried that comment.
Seeing the lump transform into a human shape, Pururu, Mysti, and Ha Yumi were so shocked that they flooded the chat with comments about how creepy and grotesque it was.
【Pururu】─Right, Mir, you said your uncle passed away the day before yesterday.
【Pururu】─He does look similar.
“Maybe it’s just someone who looks like him?”
【Mir-Stin】─It’s not just a resemblance; they look exactly alike.
【Mir-Stin】─Of course, there could be someone else who looks exactly like him, so I can’t be completely certain.
【Luna-chan】─There are probably more people who look similar than you’d think. There are infinite dimensions, after all.
【Yumi】─So Mir’s uncle passed away… My condolences.
【Mysticism】─My condolences.
【Mir-Stin】─No need.
【Mir-Stin】─He was a vicious person who committed every imaginable sin.
“Did your uncle commit some crimes too, Mir?”
【Mir-Stin】─Yes, he committed a lot of them. He was a piece of trash who harmed others as easily as eating a meal.
【Mir-Stin】─So, it’s not impossible that the person over there is my uncle.
As Mir-Stin’s chat was being posted,
the prisoner, who had been standing stiffly, opened his eyes.
“Ugh…”
Groaning, the prisoner slowly regained consciousness.
He squinted, looking around to grasp the situation.
Then, his eyes met the Soul Reaper’s.
“Hiiik… M-monster…!?”
［Not a monster, but a reaper.］
“D-don’t come near me!!!”
［I haven’t moved toward you.］
The prisoner, terrified, scrambled backward.
Thud─
But his leg was severed by the Soul Reaper’s fishing rod, causing him to collapse.
“Aaaaagh! M-my leg!! It hurts, it hurts!!! Why are you doing this to me all of a sudden!!!”
［So noisy. How dare a prisoner speak like an intelligent being.］
The Soul Reaper approached the prisoner, who had fallen to the ground.
Grabbing the prisoner’s hair, he lifted his head and shoved his hand into the prisoner’s mouth, pulling out his tongue.
“Uuuurgh…!”
［Ah, there’s nothing quite like tearing out the tongue of a noisy one.］
The prisoner’s tongue was ripped out.
“AAAAAAAAGH!!!”
［Haha. Yes, yes. Remember, the only thing a prisoner can do before me is scream.］
【Mysticism】─😱
【Yumi】─That’s brutal…
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s milder than the torture in the punishment chamber.
【Pururu】─I can’t stand watching this cruelty.
After pulling out the tongue,
the Soul Reaper lightly stepped on the prisoner’s head and began listing the prisoner’s name and crimes.
It seemed to be a formal procedure.
［Ahem. Now, let me explain why you were dragged to Hell. You should at least know what wrongs you committed to end up here.］
Name: Min Seok-gu.
Human race, male.
46 years old.
Origin: Planet Earth.
CEO of a construction company in South Korea.
【Mir-Stin】─It’s really that bastard Min Seok-gu!!!
【Pururu】─It’s actually Mir’s uncle…
【Rizenova】─What a coincidence.
【Bubble Bubble】─Amazing.
Crimes: Embezzling materials and constructing unsafe buildings, endangering public safety.
Disregarding building safety in pursuit of profit.
Recklessly endangering innocent lives due to greed.
Covering up the death of a construction worker at a site.
Operating a company that launders money for a human trafficking ring.
Damaging the environment by illegally dumping hazardous waste.
Ordering the murder of an innocent person for personal gain.
Running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded tens of thousands of people of their retirement savings.
Forcing female employees to take drugs.
And more.
Dozens of crimes were listed.
【Pururu】─How many crimes are there? Damn.
【Mir-Stin】─There are things I didn’t even know about. He was worse trash than I thought.
【Yumi】─I take back what I said earlier about offering condolences.
【Mysticism】─Me too! 🤬
So, you really have to be at that level to get dragged to Hell.
While I was thinking that,
the Soul Reaper said something unexpected.
［Hmm. I sensed something different from this prisoner and thought I’d caught a big one, but the sins he committed weren’t significant enough. It seems I was mistaken, feeling that energy after such a long time.］
He had made a mistake.
He had reeled in the wrong soul.
This wasn’t someone who deserved to be in Hell.
The Soul Reaper added more words along those lines.
I was baffled and asked the Soul Reaper.
“You made a mistake bringing him here? Even though he committed that many crimes?”
【Pururu】─Right? Isn’t he here for a reason?
【Mir-Stin】─Please, don’t release him. I’m begging you. That trash needs to rot in Hell.
The Soul Reaper shook his head in response to my question.
［Those crimes I just listed aren’t enough to be sent to Hell. While they might be considered major crimes in his world, by Hell’s standards, they are relatively minor. He didn’t commit something like mass genocide against his own kind.］
Then, what happens to the prisoner?
I didn’t even need to ask that question.
Infernos had explained it earlier.
Even if a soul is captured by mistake,
if the soul has committed crimes, they still receive the same punishment as other prisoners.
The only difference is,
if they rehabilitate, they might get a chance to reincarnate.
‘Well, I don’t have a say in how prisoners are dealt with anyway. I don’t have that authority.’
By the way,
if a soul that hasn’t committed any crimes is captured by mistake, they’re compensated by infusing them with special power.
In simple terms, they’re given a perk when they reincarnate.
To ensure they face no hardships or difficulties in their new life.
Anyway,
that prisoner really was Hwang Mir’s uncle.
Not only did
he look alike,
but he came from the same world, had the same name and age, and even had the same occupation.
“Mir.”
Though I knew the answer,
I still asked Hwang Mir a question just in case.
“You don’t want to save your uncle, do you?”
I could save him if Mir wanted.
Infernos had said that with the right conversation, they could free a prisoner.
And Mir’s uncle’s crimes were relatively minor compared to the others.
But, as expected, Mir’s answer was clear.
【Mir-Stin】─Not at all.
【Mir-Stin】─He deserves this. It feels satisfying.
【Mir-Stin】─In fact, I wish he wouldn’t even get the chance to reincarnate.
“I can’t interfere with a prisoner’s release, but…”
I glanced at the Soul Reaper.
And asked if it would be possible to ban his uncle from ever being released, just as Mir wished.
［You want me to permanently forbid his release?］
“Yeah. One of my assistants was harmed by that prisoner.”
［Then you should ask the guards about it. If even one guard opposes the prisoner’s release during the meeting, the release is postponed.］
After hearing the Soul Reaper’s response,
an idea popped into my head: the ‘Nightmare’ I had tamed earlier.
Nightmare was also a Hell guard.
If I asked it, Mir’s uncle would be stuck in Hell for eternity.
I shared this information with Hwang Mir.
【Mir-Stin】─Oh! Thank you so much!!!
【Mir-Stin】─I’ll send more coins today as a token of my gratitude!!
『GOLD-tier assistant ‘Mir-Stin’ has contributed 50,000 coins!』
『Notification』
◇ Assistant Rank Up ◇
● Target: Mir-Stin (006)
● Change: GOLD → PLATINUM
【Yumi】─Wow.
【Pururu】─Welcome to the Platinum tier.
【Bubble Bubble】─Ranked up.
『PLATINUM-tier assistant ‘Mir-Stin’ has contributed 50,000 coins!』
『PLATINUM-tier assistant ‘Mir-Stin’ has contributed 50,000 coins!』
『PLATINUM-tier assistant ‘Mir-Stin’ has contributed 50,000 coins!』
『PLATINUM-tier assistant ‘Mir-Stin’ has contributed 190,000 coins!』
『Notification』
◇ Assistant Rank Up ◇
● Target: Mir-Stin (006)
● Change: PLATINUM → DIAMOND
【Rizenova】─???
【Luna-chan】─Wow!
【Bubble Bubble】─You’re rich.
【Pururu】─What the hell.
【Mir-Stin】─Haha, I turned it around in one go.
【Mysticism】─😮 The power of a chaebol’s third generation!!!
【Yumi】─Where did you suddenly get all that cash…
【Pururu】─Did you embezzle company funds too?
【Mir-Stin】─No embezzlement.
【Mir-Stin】─I just sold some real estate and stocks.
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
As I was thanking Hwang Mir for the sudden influx of coins,
［I’ll take my leave now. I need to move the prisoner to the punishment chamber.］
“Uuuugh…”
Hwang Mir’s uncle was dragged away, impaled by the Soul Reaper’s fishing rod, to face eternal torment in the punishment chamber.
【Pururu】─Phew. I better live a good life from now on.
【Pururu】─Though, I’m already living a pretty good life.
【Mysticism】─Pururu, it’s too late for you! 🤭
【Pururu】─What do you mean, too late. Damn it.
***
75th day in the Labyrinth.
After visiting Hell again today,
Infernos guided me around various punishment chambers I hadn’t seen yesterday.
During Nightmare’s break, I found it and played with it while we ate together.
Afterward,
I watched the Soul Reaper’s soul fishing for a while, then checked the hatching time for the Medical Mushroom, which was approaching. Using the warp device, I returned to the hideout.
By the way, if you use an Evolution Ticket, you can see the time remaining until hatching.
Unlike the evolution caused by Melody Fox’s buff,
『Time until evolution: 00:00:35』
“Pat pat. Please hatch beautifully.”
［Kyuah, kyuah.］
Now, 35 seconds left.
Finally, the evolution of the Medical Mushroom was imminent.