Chapter 310: Come Out, Uncle

Zeri stood in the middle of the ruined street, his eyes moving from one shattered building to another. Yuuta and Raven had disappeared completely, leaving him surrounded by wreckage and the faint groans of the Shadow Corps soldiers who had somehow survived his earlier attacks.

"Captain? Oh, Captain..." Zeri called, almost singing the words as his tentacles slowly moved around him. "Where are you?"

There was no answer.

Zeri tilted his head before one of his tentacles suddenly slammed into an overturned car. The vehicle collapsed beneath the impact, its metal frame crushing against the pavement as shattered glass scattered across the road.

"Not there."

Another tentacle swept across the side of a damaged building, tearing through concrete and sending chunks of the wall crashing onto the street. Zeri watched the dust rise for a moment before looking elsewhere, growing increasingly irritated by the silence.

"Where are you, Captain?"

Something moved near the entrance of a sewer.

Zeri’s eyes immediately snapped toward it.

"There you are!"

Four tentacles shot toward the opening at once, smashing into the ground with enough force to tear apart the surrounding pavement. Zeri’s expression brightened for half a second before he noticed several frightened rats rushing from another crack in the sewer.

He stared at them.

"Oh, my..."

His shoulders dropped in disappointment.

"Just rats."

Zeri sighed and scratched the side of his head, clearly becoming bored with the search. Raven’s ability to disappear into shadows had been amusing at first, but after repeatedly losing sight of her, the technique was beginning to irritate him.

"Captain, this is getting really annoying," he complained. "You should act like a man and come face me properly."

He paused.

Then lightly smacked his own forehead.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry. You’re a woman, aren’t you?" Zeri said, sounding genuinely apologetic for a moment. "I shouldn’t use that to provoke you. My mistake."

He waited.

Still nothing.

His smile twitched.

"But seriously, where are you?"

Zeri slowly turned around, scanning the windows, alleys, vehicles and every patch of darkness he could find.

"This is unfair. I’m standing right here while both of you keep hiding." His gaze wandered toward another ruined building. "At least you, red-eyed Uncle. You’re a man, right? Come forward."

Silence answered him again.

Zeri puffed his cheeks in annoyance, but just as he was about to destroy another section of the street, something in the distance caught his attention.

His expression changed.

There were people hiding among the wreckage.

Several surviving members of the Shadow Corps had dragged themselves away from the main battlefield during the fight. They had taken shelter behind collapsed walls and destroyed vehicles, trying to remain out of sight while tending to one another’s wounds.

Their condition was terrible.

One soldier sat against a broken wall with his leg crushed beneath the knee, another had lost an arm and was desperately trying to stop the bleeding, while several others were covered in wounds that made even standing impossible. Those still capable of moving were quietly helping the others, hoping Zeri remained too focused on Yuuta and Raven to notice them.

Unfortunately, he had noticed.

Zeri stared at them.

Then his lips slowly curled upward.

An unpleasant idea had entered his mind.

"Oh..."

One wounded soldier noticed where Zeri was looking.

His face immediately paled.

"We’ve been exposed."

The others turned.

Zeri’s smile widened.

"Captain! Uncle!" he called loudly, deliberately making sure his voice carried through the surrounding buildings. "If you two really want to keep playing this hiding game, then I guess I’ll have to change your minds."

The surviving Shadow Corps members immediately understood what he intended.

"Everyone who can move, run!" one of them shouted. "We’ve been exposed!"

Those who still had functioning legs tried to scatter. One soldier grabbed his injured companion and attempted to pull him behind a collapsed wall, while another forced himself upright despite the blood covering his uniform.

But many couldn’t run.

Some couldn’t even stand.

Zeri’s tentacles moved.

Four of them shot across the street before the wounded soldiers could escape. One wrapped around a soldier’s neck and lifted him from the ground, while another caught a second man as he tried to crawl behind the wreckage. The remaining two seized other injured members who were simply too badly wounded to get away.

The soldiers who could still move turned back instinctively.

"Don’t!" one of the captured men shouted. "Keep moving!"

They hesitated only for a moment before forcing themselves to retreat. Trying to rescue their comrades in their current condition would only give Zeri more hostages.

Zeri didn’t chase them.

He didn’t need to.

The four captured Shadow Corps members rose into the air as his tentacles tightened around their necks. Their hands immediately grabbed at the fleshy limbs, struggling desperately to create enough space to breathe, but none of them possessed the strength to break free.

Zeri slowly pulled them toward the center of the street.

One after another, the wounded soldiers were dragged from their hiding places until all four hung several meters above the pavement around him.

Zeri looked at them with satisfaction.

Then he raised his voice toward the surrounding buildings.

"Captain?"

His eyes moved toward one dark alley.

"Uncle?"

Then toward another ruined structure.

Zeri’s smile became colder as the four soldiers struggled helplessly above him.

"Now let’s see how long you two keep hiding."

The four Shadow Corps soldiers hung helplessly above the ruined street, each trapped within one of Zeri’s tentacles. Their bodies were already badly injured from the earlier battle, but Zeri wasn’t simply holding them in place.

He was deliberately making their injuries worse.

One tentacle shifted around a soldier’s damaged leg and tightened directly over the crushed flesh. The man’s entire body jerked as a scream tore from his throat.

"AAAGH! It hurts! It’s—it’s hurting!"

Another tentacle pressed against the injured shoulder of a female soldier. She desperately grabbed the fleshy limb with her remaining strength, trying to pull it away, but Zeri only increased the pressure.

"Please...!" she cried, tears running down her face. "Please, stop!"

Their screams echoed through the empty street.

Zeri smiled as he listened.

He knew exactly where each of them was injured. Instead of killing them quickly, he squeezed those places just enough to keep the pain unbearable without immediately finishing them.

Inside the unfinished building, Raven watched everything.

Her entire body trembled.

Her fingers tightened around the handles of her swords until her knuckles whitened, while the black aura surrounding the blades became increasingly unstable. Those weren’t nameless soldiers hanging out there. They were members of her Shadow Corps, people who had followed her orders and stayed behind because she had told them to protect Yuuta and Elena.

Now they were screaming while she remained hidden.

Raven took a step forward.

Zeri’s voice carried across the street.

"Oh, Captain!" he called cheerfully. "Can’t you hear them crying?"

One of the soldiers screamed again as a tentacle tightened.

"Come on, come out already! I promise I’ll leave them alone."

Raven’s jaw clenched so hard it hurt. Every instinct inside her demanded that she move, disappear into the nearest shadow and put her sword through Zeri’s neck before he could hurt another one of her soldiers.

She shifted her weight forward.

A hand suddenly closed around her wrist.

Raven turned sharply.

Yuuta was holding her.

"No."

Her eyes widened behind her mask.

"Sir, let go."

"Not yet."

Another scream came from outside.

Raven’s expression twisted.

"They’re my soldiers."

"I know."

"He’s torturing them because we’re hiding!"

"I know."

"Then let me go!"

Raven tried to pull away, but Yuuta didn’t release her wrist. His crimson eyes remained focused on Zeri through the unfinished section of the building.

"Trust me."

Those two words stopped her.

Raven stared at Yuuta, breathing heavily as anger and guilt fought against her judgment. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t understand what he was asking of her. A captain wasn’t supposed to hide while her people screamed for help.

But Yuuta’s expression hadn’t changed.

The plan was still in motion.

Raven slowly lowered herself behind the concrete wall again, although every muscle in her body remained tense. Her grip around her swords never loosened, and the rage in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Yuuta noticed it immediately.

He didn’t blame her.

Outside, Zeri waited several more seconds.

Nothing happened.

His smile gradually faded into disappointment before his attention returned to the four soldiers hanging around him. By now, tears covered their faces. Their training and discipline hadn’t disappeared, but there was only so much pain a human body could endure without reacting.

One soldier was openly sobbing as he struggled to breathe.

Zeri tilted his head.

"Well, that’s disappointing."

The soldiers looked toward him.

"I really thought your Captain would come save you."

His voice was almost sympathetic, which only made the words more cruel.

Zeri brought the four soldiers slightly closer, studying their exhausted faces.

"But she didn’t."

The female soldier gritted her teeth and glared at him through her tears.

Zeri smiled at her.

"It looks like your Captain doesn’t want to save you, Aunty. Uncle doesn’t seem interested either."

The four exchanged exhausted glances.

Then Zeri’s expression brightened.

"But don’t worry. Unlike those two, I’m merciful."

None of them believed him.

Zeri loosened the pressure of his tentacles slightly, giving the soldiers just enough relief to breathe properly again. After several seconds of unbearable pain, even that tiny reduction felt enormous.

Their desperate gasps filled the street.

Zeri watched carefully.

"I’ll give you a very simple choice. Tell me where the Captain and red-eyed Uncle are hiding, and I’ll release you."

The soldiers went still.

For a moment, even their breathing seemed to stop.

Zeri had deliberately chosen the offer after breaking them down with pain. Their bodies were already destroyed, they had watched their comrades fall around them, and now they were being given an apparently simple way to make the suffering end.

All they had to do was point toward the building.

Zeri’s smile widened as he watched their faces.

He expected fear.

Desperation.

Maybe hesitation.

He wanted to see how long their loyalty survived once the choice became their own.

"Come on," Zeri whispered. "Just tell me where they’re hiding."

The tentacles shifted slightly around their wounded bodies, reminding them exactly what would happen if they refused.

Zeri spread his arms and smiled.

"Let’s see how you refuse an offer like that."

The moment the Shadow Corps soldiers heard Zeri’s offer, all four of them fell silent.

For several seconds, none of them answered. They simply looked at one another while hanging helplessly above the ruined street, their bodies trembling from injuries and exhaustion. The pain hadn’t disappeared. Zeri’s tentacles were still wrapped around their damaged limbs and wounded bodies, ready to tighten again whenever he wished.

But now there was a way out.

All they had to do was tell him where Raven and Yuuta were hiding.

The silence became suffocating.

Zeri waited patiently, his earlier irritation disappearing as he watched their expressions. He could see the hesitation in their eyes and mistook it for temptation. After everything they had suffered, he was certain their instinct to survive would eventually overcome whatever loyalty they still possessed.

The four soldiers exchanged another glance.

No words were spoken, yet something passed between them.

One gave the faintest nod.

The others followed.

Zeri’s eyes brightened immediately, and an eager smile returned to his face.

"Oh?" He leaned forward slightly. "Uncles, Aunty... are you finally going to tell me?"

One of the soldiers slowly raised his head.

His face was pale from blood loss, and tears still remained around his eyes from the pain Zeri had inflicted on him. He took a shaky breath before looking directly at the High Demon.

"We won’t tell you."

Zeri’s smile froze.

"Eh?"

The female soldier beside him lifted her head as well.

"We said we won’t tell you."

Another soldier managed a weak grin despite his condition. "Even if you kill us."

The fourth nodded.

"We won’t tell you anything."

For a moment, Zeri genuinely looked confused.

He stared at them as if their answer made no sense whatsoever.

"Why?"

The soldiers remained silent.

Zeri’s confusion quickly turned into frustration.

"Why are you throwing away your lives for them?" he demanded. "Your Captain abandoned you. She’s hiding somewhere while you’re hanging here screaming. Even Uncle didn’t come out to help you."

"We know."

That answer made Zeri pause.

The wounded soldier swallowed painfully before continuing.

"We know she’s still hiding."

"Then why protect her?"

"Because you don’t know our Captain."

The soldier’s voice was weak, but there was no hesitation left in it.

"You don’t know how she trained us, how she raised this unit, or how many times we’ve fought together. We didn’t become Shadow Corps because we expected our Captain to throw away every mission the moment one of us got hurt."

The female soldier closed her eyes for a moment, struggling against another wave of pain before forcing herself to speak.

"If our deaths give Captain Raven even a little more time to protect the Supreme Commander’s family..." She opened her eyes again. "Then I’m glad."

The others nodded.

"It would be an honor."

Zeri stared at them.

"But you’ll die."

"Then let it be."

The soldier who had spoken first looked directly into Zeri’s eyes.

"And when you eventually get sent to hell, you little bastard, we’ll be waiting there to take our revenge."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Zeri’s expression slowly changed.

The amusement vanished from his face, followed by the childish curiosity that had been there moments earlier. His jaw tightened as he stared at the four soldiers who had just rejected the one opportunity he had given them to survive.

"I was giving you a chance."

Nobody answered.

Zeri’s tentacles twitched.

"I was actually going to let you choose," he continued, his voice becoming colder. "But you people really don’t understand your situation at all, do you?"

The soldier gave him another weak smile.

"Go to hell."

Zeri’s eye twitched.

"Fine."

The tentacles tightened.

"Then I’ll grant your wish first."

The pressure increased directly around their existing injuries.

The soldiers screamed.

The tentacle wrapped around the first man’s damaged leg constricted like a giant snake, forcing the already broken limb inward. A sickening cracking sound carried through the street as damaged bone gave way beneath the pressure.

"AAAAAGH!"

The female soldier cried out as the tentacle around her injured shoulder tightened as well. Blood began seeping through the torn fabric of her uniform, running down her arm while she desperately tried to pull herself free.

Another crack echoed through the street.

Then another.

Zeri didn’t stop.

He watched their faces while slowly increasing the pressure, deliberately refusing to finish them quickly. Their screams grew hoarse as the tentacles continued crushing the places where their bodies were already damaged.

Inside the unfinished building, Raven’s entire body trembled.

She couldn’t watch anymore.

Her soldiers had chosen her over their own lives.

The black aura around her sword flickered violently as rage overwhelmed whatever restraint she had left. Raven shifted forward, ready to ignore the plan entirely—

Then a voice came from beside her.

"Enough."

Raven froze.

Zeri heard it too.

The tentacles stopped tightening.

His head slowly turned toward the unfinished building.

Someone was walking out.

At first, only a silhouette could be seen within the darkness of the entrance. Slow footsteps echoed against the concrete as the figure moved closer, emerging from the shadows one step at a time.

Zeri’s eyes widened slightly.

Two crimson eyes glowed within the darkness.

Yuuta continued forward.

His exhausted body was covered in cuts and dirt, and one arm still ached from blocking Zeri’s earlier attack, but his pace remained steady. The darkness gradually slipped away from his face as he stepped through the entrance and onto the ruined street.

His eyes never left Zeri.

Zeri stared at him for a second.

Then his anger disappeared.

A smile spread across his face.

"So..."

His tentacles remained wrapped around the four wounded soldiers as he turned fully toward Yuuta.

"You finally decided to come out, Uncle."