Jin Seori had seen more blood than a child ever should.Born into the Demonic Cult's breeding pits, he wasn't like the others.
He was faster,sharper And cursed with something no one else seemed to have:
Awareness.
He could read people like books — every flicker of thought, every crack in their voice, every lie.
It made surviving easier. It made betrayal predictable and it made the truth unbearable.
He still remembered where he came from.
That place.
The Nine Hells Pit.
A walled nightmare named after the Buddhist realms — not out of irony, but accuracy.
A Dark,Endless,Screams louder than thought,Children smashing each other's skulls just for a crust of moldy bread,Cannibalism,Crying,Silence.
Time didn't move there.
There was no day. No night. Just endurance.
The only reason no one tried to escape was because of the centipede coiled around every child's heart — ready to bite at the first thought of rebellion.
Like puppets with broken strings.But Jin… was different.
He used people. Aligned himself with stronger kids.
He survived by being useful.
First, he teamed up with a fat brute of a ten-year-old — became his errand boy.Then Cho Gwan came along and crushed them all.
Jin read him immediately: ambition, rage, emptiness.
That's how he met Rak and Yuri, too.Together, they were unstoppable. A golden squad. Efficient. Deadly.
But one child stood out,not because he was strong.But because he was alone.he was Skinny,Quiet and Unfriendly.He didn't beg for survival and He didn't even make eye contact but survive through cowardly tricks.
Most cowards tried to survive with flattery.
But this kid…His pitch-black eyes didn't beg — they felt threatened like he had no soul left to lose.
That made jin wanted to play a hero and let him join his group.But Jin tried to read him first,Tried everything but Nothing no matter how much he talk or get closer to him the kid will always give him a cold shoulder or ignore him.
And that infuriated him.
Who the hell survives without friends? Without a group?
Until one night, he saw that same boy, half-starved, silently burying the bodies of other children.
Whispering something under his breath.
Prayers?
Regret?
He never knew But that night… Jin decided.
"I'm going to be his friend."
That's how he got closer and help him bury the kids maybe this kid has the same mid set and he's not brainwashed like the rest of kids.
That strange, unreadable, dark-eyed kid had a name.
Mae-Bi.
And no matter what happened in this cursed cult —
He'd stick with him until the end.
But Surviving in the Demonic Cult was never simple.
Even after their group was promoted to an official squad under the Blood Blade Sect, nothing got better.
Cho Gwan was made their leader — unstoppable, cold, and fanatical.
That was when Jin first saw what this cult really did to people.How it twisted kids into weapons.
How it broke minds until only obedience remained.
Their first mission as a unit was straightforward — or so they thought.A simple village purge.
Ten-year-olds pretending to be lost orphans.
Blend in.
But that village…
That small, nameless place tucked between mountains and rivers…It was the first time Jin saw what a family looked like,they were Laughter,Warmth, a mother brushing her daughter's hair and a father carrying his son on his back.
Something cracked inside him.
"Who was my mother?"
"What did her voice sound like?"He didn't know. None of them did.The realization hit hard:
Their purpose… was to erase that kind of happiness from the world.
And then came the slaughter.
Men. Women. Children.All dead by their hands.Jin remembered standing in the center of that village, blood dripping from his blade, bodies all around.
And all he felt was emptiness.
He whispered to himself, over and over:
"Why? Why do I have to live like this?"
But he couldn't ask out loud.Couldn't resent the cult.
The centipede in his heart would kill him on the spot.And the worst part?
This wasn't the end.
The killings would continue.Again. And again.
A circle of torment that never stopped.Some of the team flinched.Some looked away.Yuri didn't say a word for days.But most of them adapted.
They had to.
As for Cho Gwan, their proud leader…He was long gone.Brainwashed. Loyal. Empty.And Jin hated him for it.
And then there was Mae-Bi.
Unpredictable. Lazy. Detached.
During the slaughter, Mae-Bi didn't fight.
Didn't kill.He hid.
A coward?
Maybe.
But Jin always felt it was more than that.
It was Mae-Bi's quiet rebellion — his only way of resisting.He wouldn't follow the cycle.He would survive in his own way.
Years passed. The missions piled up.The blood never stopped.
Jin became numb and there was not hope left for him until Mae bi decided to change he didn't understand why this lazy friend of his will change suddenly was he going the path of Cho Gwan ?was he brainwashed?but Jin knows something happened the answer was clear
Maybe Mae-Bi killed Cho Gwan it was obviously him that day but Maybe he can't prove it…
But if it's true?
Then maybe Mae-Bi is doing all this…To protect him and for that, Jin is grateful — even if he never says it out loud.
But This bastard of the demonic cult —Poisoning him, humiliating him, threatening his life in front of the team?
Meanwhile,Mae-Bi had had enough but before he could make a move—
"Mae-Bi, move!"
Jin's voice tore through the chaos as he sprinted forward.
But someone got there first.
"I won't let you touch my leader!"
Dol-Gae.
He leapt at Mun-Jae, reckless, wild.
"No! Don't—!"Mae-Bi's warning came too late.
A flash of silver.A burst of blood.The sound of bone cracking.
Mun-Jae impaled Dol-Gae through the ribs, then tossed him aside like trash."Tsk. Stubborn fly."
"NOOOO!"Jin hit the ground next to him, catching his body before it could hit the dirt.
The others rushed over, shouting his name, eyes wide in panic.
Dol-Gae coughed, blood pouring from his mouth.
Green veins were spreading along his neck.
Poison. Fast. Deadly.
Yuri screamed, eyes brimming with fury.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
But Mae-Bi's killing intent erupted like a detonation."That's it. Don't blame me for what happens next."
He charged.
Two assassins moved to intercept—Their heads dropped before they even saw the Qi blade coming.Steel sang.Blood hit the ground.
In the middle of it all, Dol-Gae lay dying, his face twitching in a bitter smile.
"Sorry for stepping out of line," he rasped, eyes dimming.Guess this is it for me."
"No. Shut up. Don't say that!" Jin's voice cracked. "Just hang on, I'll fix it—I'll heal you—"
"It's too late."Dol-Gae's voice was soft now."The poison's spreading. I can feel it. Cold… in my lungs."
Yuri couldn't breathe. She was shaking, eyes locked on Dol-Gae.Tears spilled down her face.
"Yuri! Snap out of it!"Rak grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to stay grounded.Then Rak turned.His glare locked on Mun-Jae.And without a word, he charged into the fight.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Mae-Bi shouted, parrying a blade.
"Tsk. Helping you, idiot!"
Dol-Gae's bloodied hand clutched Jin's sleeve.
"Save the leader, okay? If that guy wins… we all die."
"Dol-Gae!"Yeon-Mi dropped to her knees beside him, hands trembling.
Dol-Gae looked at her, his grin soft despite the blood.
"Don't cry for me. We're assassins… We were meant to die."He coughed again, weaker now."Still… if I get a next life, I hope I meet a cute girl."
And then his eyes closed.
Jin stared, frozen."No…"
The fight raged on around them—But something in him shattered.