Reaper of the Drifting Moon

A huge underground cave stretched out before their eyes.

The underground cave was so huge that if not for the torches hanging all over to light up the place, it would be impossible to even guess the size.

“Ahh!”

“Ow”

Cries coming from the children bursted from all over the place.

After being stuck in a place where there has been no light for the past few months, suddenly being exposed to a torch hurts so much as if their eyeballs were about to burst out.

It was painful for Pyo-wol too. Tears streamed down his eyes as if they were being stabbed by thousands of needles at the same time. Pyo-wol tried to adapt to the sudden bright light with his eyes half-closed.

It took him a long time to get used to the light because his eyes had already perfectly adapted to the darkness.

After a while, Pyo-wol finally managed to adjust to the light while the majority still couldn’t open their eyes. Pyo-wol paid them no attention and proceeded to look inside the underground cave.

The cave seemed to have been formed naturally. The huge stalactites hanging from the ceiling were proof. The cave’s structure was that it narrowed as it went up, like a bowl that had been turned upside down. Inside of the cave was full of buildings made out of wood.

“The buildings were made crudely as if they were modeled after a manor.

“What?”

“What is this?”

The children, who recovered their sight belatedly, were surprised to find the buildings. It was already amazing to find such a huge underground cave. But seeing the wooden buildings standing in the middle which were definitely made by human hands made them vigilant.

Pyo-wol strode towards the building.

So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo quickly followed behind him, followed by Lee Min and Go Shinok.

Pyo-wol looked into the building at the entrance, and said.

“There are no people here.”

“Really?”

A light of suspicion appeared on So Yeowol’s face. They continued to search all the other buildings, but they haven’t found anyone.

The children had bewildered faces. They were wary that they would discover another person, but they didn’t know what to do now that they’re alone.

While the children were bewildered, Pyo-wol didn’t stop inspecting the building.

The building wasn’t very old. Judging from the condition of the wood, it was clear that it was made recently. The grain of the wood and the dust that had accumulated on it made it clear that it was made during the time Pyo-wol and the children were locked up in each section.

As a result, the building itself was in poor condition.

From the outside it looked fine, but on the inside, it was terrible. Only the appearance looked okay, but the inside was so crude that it was impossible for a person to live.

It was as if they had deliberately constructed it that way on purpose.

Pyo-wol thought there must be a reason.

One of the truths he learned while wandering the world alone is that everything happens for a reason. If a beggar who was begging next to him was beaten to death, it meant that he had no eyes that could accurately judge the person he was begging from.

If someone offered food to him, they must also have a reason for doing so. Probably the figure of the beggar would have reminded them of their child or someone close to them.

So sometimes Pyo-wol was beaten to death.

The reason was simple.

Because the person he was begging for wasn’t very good.

Pyo-wol’s eyesight was already sharp as he had many experiences at a young age.

Because of that, even the slightest strange point didn’t go unnoticed. Pyo-wol came out and looked at the layout of the building. The building itself is very rough, but the layout is excellent.

Even Pyo-wol, who is not familiar with architecture, knew that the buildings were arranged intentionally. But anything beyond that, Pyo-woul couldn’t find out.

Then, someone approached Pyo-wol.

“It’s you, Pyo-wol!”

The girl who spoke in a soft voice was Lee Min he met in the third district. It was the first time for Lee Min to see Pyo-wol in person. Unlike Pyo-wol, she doesn’t have eyes to see through the darkness.

Lee Min narrowed her eyes and looked at Pyo-wol.

Eyes set under dark eyebrows, a towering nose, and tightly closed lips. Although he was very skinny and his cheeks were sunken, he still had a very handsome face. However, it was not Pyo-wol’s appearance that Lee Min paid attention to.

It was his eyes.

Pyo-wol’s pupils, with their hollow eyelids above them, were tinted with a soft reddish tint from the light. She doesn’t know if it’s because of the torch or if it’s the eye’s original color, but it felt very mysterious.

“Was it always like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your red eyes.”

“My eyes are red?”

“Yes! Looks like you didn’t know. Then, it must’ve happened to you when you were here.”

Lee Min reached out and touched Pyo-wol’s face.

Pyo-wol stood still and accepted Lee Min’s hand. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he was unaware of her touch.

‘Are my eyes red? Could it have something to do with snake bites?’

Being different from others is never a good thing.

Especially when there are so many children gathered together.

Children are accustomed to instinctively detect and reject beings different from themselves. Most of the children Pyo-wol had seen while wandering the world were like that.

Fortunately, his eyes did not turn completely red.

According to Lee Min, his eyes would appear to have a faint reddish tint when there’s a torch nearby, but otherwise it’s not very visible normally.

Pyo-wol thought that was a good thing.

Lee Min asked.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Just… this and that.”

“You are different from other children.”

“How so?”

“You just are. While we’re all here confused, you’re the only one thinking deeply.”

Lee Min stared at Pyo-wol. Pyo-wol also looked into her eyes.

“What are you two doing over there?”

So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo approached them.

“Just talking.”

“Talking?”

“Just about this and that.”

Lee Min shrugged.

So Yeo-wol looked at Lee Min-eun with a puzzled look. But only for a while and said to Pyo-wol Pyo-wol with a nonchalant expression.

“A few kids decided to group themselves together. What do you guys want to do?”

“About what?”

“You’re coming with us, right?”

So Yeowol said with a very natural expression, and Song Chun-woo, who was behind her, nodded and agreed with her.

Pyo-wol looked at them for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“We’ll see.”

“What do you mean you’ll see? Are you saying you won’t be joining us?”

“I’m just saying that I’ll wait to see how things go.”

Perhaps Pyo-wol’s answer was unexpected, So Yeo-wol was unable to speak for a moment. Song Cheowoo looked like he was about to get angry at any moment. But being with So Yeo-wol calmed his anger.

He realized that being isolated for a long time in the dark will cause someone to lose their mind.

Some have succeeded in holding onto their identity with strong mental powers, but not all of them can. What’s more is that the people who are now trapped in this underground space were only children in their early to mid thirteen years.

Since they are imprisoned in a state where their mind is not fully developed, the breakdown of their ego was particularly serious. It may not appear on the surface right now, but no one knew what trouble it would cause in the future.

Pyo-wol didn’t want to mix with them yet.

Pyo-wol did not trust the other children. He doesn’t even believe in himself.

He may have looked normal, but he can’t tell if he had already developed some kind of problem mentally. On Pyo-wol’s dumbfounded look, So Yeowol gave a confused expression for a moment.

But she quickly smiled and spoke softly.

“Come back anytime you change your mind. Our door will always be open.”

Pyo-wol just nodded his head without saying a word.

So Yeowol looked at Lee Min.

“How about you? What are you going to do?”

“Mm…”

Instead of answering, Lee Min looked at Pyo-wol and So Yeowol alternately.

Her troubles didn’t last long.

“Alright! I’ll join you. It’s much better to stay together than to be alone.”

Lee Min went to So Yeo Wol’s side.

The three went back to where the other children were, shoulder to shoulder, and Pyo-wol, who was left alone, looked at their backs.

* * *

After only a few hours of getting to know each other’s faces, the children soon found a group similar to themselves.

The group was divided into groups led by So Yeo-wol and Song Chun-woo, a group led by a child named Kang Il, a group led by a boy named Yeom Iljung, and a group headed by a boy named Go Youngsan.

The children who became the heads of each group have a remarkable and outstanding presence. Other children instinctively grouped around a leader with similar tendencies, and factions naturally formed in the underground cavity.

Pyo-wol did not belong to any faction and watched the children.

The children berated Pyo-wol and told him he was unlucky.

“You said there were no other survivors in the mouth where that bastard was?”

“Everyone else died so how did he survive alone?”

“Could he have killed them all?”

Unfounded rumors spread. Everyone knew that Pyo-Wol couldn’t kill others because they were all individually locked up in solitary confinement. Still, the rumors spread secretly.

Although there were only a hundred or so, the world of children in the underground cave was no different from the world outside. They become similar to adults who are vigilant and jealous of someone differing from the majority and pushed them aside.

He was no different. He was explicitly being ostracized, but Pyo-wol didn’t seem to care. It’s because he has been through a lot of things like this while wandering the world alone.

Above all, Pyo-Wol could not afford to care about the children.

It was because there was not enough time just to seek survival.

Pyo-wol roamed the underground cavity all day long. The first reason was to find out if there was a place to escape, and the second reason was to figure out the origin of the underground cavity. Although the structures in the underground cavity were recently improvised, it was clear that the underground space where he and his children were confined was built a very long time ago.

It took at least several to several decades for the moss to form on the wall.

There was a time gap of at least several years to decades between the room in which he was confined and the buildings here.

Pyo-wol came to a conclusion.

‘The underground space was built a long time ago. It’s already been abandoned but for some reason, someone is reusing it recently.’

The problem is the reason for reusing it.

Perhaps they were the original owners of this underground cavity, or they could have discovered it by chance. Whoever it was, it was clear that they have enormous financial power. Otherwise, it would be impossible to build such structures in such a short time underground.

Pyo-wol was so immersed in thought when suddenly,

Clang!

Suddenly, a dull sound resounded from the basement ceiling.

Pyo-wol and the children’s eyes turned to the ceiling.

A ray of light seeped in then a rope with a large basket came down.

There were various kinds of food in a basket large enough for one person to eat.

“It’s food!”

“Let’s eat!”

The children cheered. The children’s hunger was at its peak because they hadn’t eaten anything since leaving their confinements. The children rushed towards the basket like an anglerfish.

Because they had been starving for quite some time, the eyes of the children were turned upside down when they saw something to eat.

“Wait!”

At that time, So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo stopped the children and shouted.

“What the hell!”

“Get out of the way!”

The children were, of course, angry.

They growled as if they were about to attack the two of them at any moment. However, So Yeowol was not afraid and said calmly.

“Why don’t we share it equally among us?”

Her gaze was directed at the heads of each group.

Kang Il, Yeom Iljung, and Go Youngsan, the heads of each group, each nodded in agreement with her. They stepped forward on behalf of each group. And they distributed the food in the basket.

Then Pyo-wol stepped forward.

“Wait!”

“What are you?”

Yeom Iljung looked at Pyo-wol with fierce eyes. So did the other bosses.

Their eyes were full of poison to the point that even adults would shudder. The long imprisonment has turned the children into beasts.

Those who imprisoned children here created a hundred ferocious beasts.

Anyone who faced such children’s eyes would be saddened. However, Pyo-wol was no different from the children.

An animal that grew up eating poison and despair in the dark.

That kind of gaze and pressure didn’t work on him.

Pyo-wol calmly picked up the food and answered.

“I’m going to take my share too.”

“Put that down!”

Yeom Iljung grabbed Pyo-wol’s wrist. When Pyo-wol looked at him without saying a word, Yeom Iljung gave even a more ferocious expression.

“No one can take the food from the basket without our permission. Everything in this basket is under our control.”

He looked at So Yeowol and the other leaders. So Yeowol and others nodded their heads in agreement with his words.

An easy way to control the group you lead is to take control of their lifeline— food.

Although they’re still young, they knew they had to get their hands on food to ensure they had control over the other children.

In other words, food was power.

They had no intention of giving power to anyone but themselves.

This is especially true for loners who go out alone without being able to form a group like Pyo-wol.

It was then.

Puk!

“Ack!”

Something that no one had expected happened.

All of a sudden, Yeom Illjung uttered a desperate scream.

In Yeom Illjung’s eyes, Pyo-wol’s fingers were embedded. Pyo-wol pierced his left eye with his index finger.

“What did you say? Say it again.”

Pyo-wol asked indifferently, putting his finger in Yeom Iljung’s eyes.

His eyes were glowing red like when a torch was nearby.

Editor’s Notes

This is totally unrelated but– it’s my first time having someone show their support by buying me a coffeeヾ(*´ ∇ `)ﾉ I’m really so happy! Thank you so much! I’ll continue to do my best! <33