A short while later, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few bills.
"Here," I said, handing the money to the girl. "For the trouble."
She looked at the cash for a moment, then back at me. "You don't have to—"
"I'm not giving you a choice," I said flatly. "Take them, and don't tell anyone about me—not your friends, not your enemies. No one."
Her smile vanished quickly from her face as she took the money without another word.
Stepping past her, I pushed open the laundromat door and slipped into the dark streets beyond.
This time, there were no thugs waiting for me.
The city was alive with its usual late-night noise—car horns blaring, distant shouting, streetlights flickering—but none of it reached me as I walked through the streets calmly, my top, gloves, and bat now clean and dry.
My hotel wasn't that far off.
Just a few blocks of cracked pavement and rusty streetlamps stood between me and the rundown building I called home—for now.
The clerk didn't even look up at me as I passed through the lobby.
"This hotel sure is weird, man," I thought as I climbed the hotel's narrow stairs, the floorboards creaking under my boots.
After a while, I finally reached my room on the fourth floor and shut the door behind me with a quiet, final click.
Exhausted, I dropped my metal bat, top, and gloves against the wall as I collapsed onto the worn-out mattress with a tired grunt.
But I didn't close my eyes just yet.
"System," I whispered. "Can I use Devour… on myself?"
There was a pause. Then, as always, the blue text appeared.
---
[Processing request... Formulating response...]
[Yes. It is possible for Host to activate Devour on your own body.]
[WARNING: The process of using Devour on yourself consists of repeated cycles of your body breaking down and rebuilding itself through your ability. The pain sustained during this process will be extreme; as a result, Host is advised to bite a towel to avoid screaming during the process.]
---
I stared at the message, my eyes narrowing.
"So… I can trade pain for power. Even if the process is long and arduous."
I exhaled sharply through my nose, the corner of my mouth twitching.
"Good."
I closed my eyes.
But only for a moment.
Then I sat up, my jaw tightening.
I wasn't going to procrastinate.
It was either all or nothing.
I grabbed a towel from the bathroom and bit down on it.
"System, activate Devour," I thought. "Target: self."
---
[Processing request... Formulating response...]
[Command accepted.]
[Starting Devour — Internal Cycle Mode.]
[Warning: High pain detected. No backup system available.]
[Begin.]
---
The sensation hit me right away.
A burning heat spread inside my chest, flowing like fire through my veins.
My fingers shook. Skin began peeling. Muscles spasmed.
Then came the pain.
Not just stabbing or burning—it felt like my very soul was being scraped from the inside out.
My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth would break. Veins popped under my skin as black mist poured out of my pores, wrapping around my arms and torso.
I fell back onto the bed, shaking violently.
My cells screamed as they broke apart and rebuilt over and over—my body turning liquid, then solid again, stronger, thicker, more efficient.
But each wave made the pain worse.
My vision blurred. Blood dripped from my nose, ears, and the corners of my eyes.
"Tch… so this is what it takes… to get stronger?"
My thoughts floated like echoes in a storm.
"Pain's nothing new to me."
"I've starved on the streets, fought with broken bones, slept in alleys covered in bruises."
"But this…"
Another wave of pain hit me. My spine arched as I bit hard on the towel.
The bed groaned under me.
"This is different. This is pain with a reason."
"This pain is mine. I chose it. I control it."
"If I can take this, I can control everything."
"No one will ever look down on me again."
My heart pounded like a drum—thump, thump, thump—as the mist carved lines into my skin, drawing invisible patterns that glowed faintly before fading beneath the surface.
---
[Devour Cycle: 37% Complete.]
---
My mouth opened in a ragged gasp, my lungs barely keeping up.
Sweat soaked the sheets. My fingers dug into the mattress, ripping the fabric.
But through it all, I kept my mind sharp.
"The world is cruel."
"People like me don't get power."
"So I'll take it."
"Even if I have to tear my own body apart to build it stronger."
"This pain is the price for my freedom. Something I'll pay in full."
---
[Devour Cycle: 68% Complete.]
---
More bones cracked.
Flesh twisted.
My pupils widened, catching glimpses of shapes behind my eyelids—flashes of memories, hallucinations, or something in between.
Faces. Screams. Darkness. My own past.
None of it mattered.
Only the next step forward.
Only the next second.
Only the next heartbeat.
---
[Devour Cycle: 91% Complete.]
---
"Just a little more…"
"Come on…"
"Hold on…"
"Hold on…!"
---
[Devour Cycle: 100% Complete.]
[Rebuilding complete.]
[Status window updated.]
[Host's body has surpassed human limits.]
---
I lay still, my chest rising and falling fast, eyes wide open as I stared at the cracked ceiling.
The pain was gone.
But my body felt different.
Stronger.
I slowly sat up, moving smoothly and steadily—almost too precise, like I wasn't quite human anymore.
My muscles surged beneath my skin, now perfectly clear and unscarred.
My body wasn't tired anymore—it was overflowing with raw, endless energy.
I flexed my hand, watching the residual black mist flicker at my fingertips before fading away.
"…Worth it," I whispered.
Then I dropped back onto the bed—not because I was weak, but because I was completely worn out.
My mind, after hours of non-stop torment, finally demanded rest.
The pain had stopped, but its echo still hummed deep in my bones.
My vision dimmed.
My breath slowed.
And before I could think again, darkness took me.
I slipped into unconsciousness—quiet, still, and alone.