The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3)

by Con Template

From all around the neighboring balconies, a slew of twinkling silver knives flew into the air like arrows, momentarily streaking and covering the rays of the moon before they fell to the ground and landed in front of the Serpents.

  Shudders stole the Serpents’ breaths.

  They quivered and gaped at the knives that winked at them in the cold and unforgiving night. Silence and horror overtook them. They gazed at one another, glimpsed at the knives, and then stared up at her. Their eyes dawned with cursed knowledge with what they were going to have to do with the weapons.

  “I’m sure all of you have heard about me and the things I enjoy watching,” Soo Jin began in a whimsical and carefree tone. It sounded like the most tranquil music in a storm-filled night.

  As the wind came and blew the curls of her long beautiful hair to one side, she felt Ji Hoon wrap his arms tighter around her, pulling her closer. She could feel his smile against her neck as well as the drumming of his heart. It was racing in anticipation for the show to come. It matched the drumming of her own excited heart.

  “Five minutes,” she announced concisely.

  Several of her Scorpions shifted their positions on the balconies while she spoke. Some leaned their arms on the white railings while others joined their fellow Scorpions, hung their legs over the railings and sat comfortably, awaiting what was to come. While this occurred, Soo Jin’s own dark eyes gleamed in exhilaration. She was going to enjoy torturing the very men who were serving the bastard who killed her father.

  “You will have five minutes to pick up those knives, fight one another, and attempt to ride out the remaining five minutes with your lives intact,” she went on, noting that the air in the vicinity matched that of a coliseum for fighting gladiators.

  Terror emanated from the “performers” while excitement radiated from the audience. Bloodlust waltzed in the air.

  Soo Jin continued to set the law of the game like the Queen she was.

  “After which, I’ll let you go and you’ll live to see another day. You can gloat to your fellow Serpents about surviving after being captured by the Queen of the Underworld herself.” She took a moment to laugh. “I typically join in on the fights and rip a few limbs, but as you can see . . .” She spread out her hands to showcase her white dress. “I’m wearing a very pretty dress tonight. I’m about to have dinner with my boyfriend, so I’m not interested in getting it stained.”

  She lowered her hands while Ji Hoon laughed at the last bit.

  “Having said that, I think you should all count your blessings that I’m not jumping in there with you. There’s actually a very good chance that several of you will walk out of here alive.”

  “So, all we have to do is fight each other in the span of the next five minutes and you’ll let us out of here . . . alive?” one of the captives asked from below. His gruff voice was strained with hope and speculation. He was hopeful, but the “easiness” of the task at hand unnerved him. He clearly knew nothing in the Underworld would ever be this easy.

  A few chuckles bounced off the balconies where Soo Jin’s Scorpions stood. Soo Jin’s lips lifted in hilarity at the naive inquiry.

  “Give us a good show, survive the next five minutes, and I promise I’ll let you walk out of here,” Soo Jin confirmed, earning a few exhalations of relief from the Serpents kneeling on the lawn.

  All were eyeing the knives as if they were their tickets to freedom.

  “Right now, you’re no longer Serpents. You’re merely men on the brink of death,” Ji Hoon reminded them, though the tone in his voice indicated that he had no faith these Serpents would adhere to the oath they took to protect one another in the face of their approaching death. “If we see you going easy on each other, I’ll jump down there myself and personally finish you off.”

  “Ji Hoon, there’s no need,” Soo Jin appeased, squeezing his hand as if she was the most kindhearted one of the night. “Our performers know what type of audience we are. I’m sure they’ll give us a good show.”

  With this, Soo Jin inclined her head at a female Scorpion who stood on the adjacent balcony to the right of hers. The female, by the name of Anna, bowed at Soo Jin and extracted a black gun from behind her back. She raised it into the air like rising curtains before an exquisite opera show.

  “Five . . .” Anna began to count down as the bodies of the captive Serpents stiffened in preparation.

  “You’re very cruel,” Ji Hoon purred into Soo Jin’s left ear.

  Two shadows appeared from behind them after Anna’s voice infiltrated the air.

  Soo Jin smiled, both at his assessment and the knowledge that her two favorite Scorpions had appeared by her side.

  “‘Heartless’ is the commonly used term,” Soo Jin corrected with the same amusement.

  “Four . . .”

  “Do they know that you’ll be participating?” Ji Hoon asked while Anna continued with her countdown.

  Laughter issued from her lips. “They will soon.”

  “Three . . .”

  She extended her hands out and within seconds, Jae Won and Kang Min were by her side as they took out the tools Soo Jin would be using to participate in the show ahead.

  “Two . . .”

  As the world beneath them became overrun with the desperation for survival, Jae Won and Kang Min dutifully placed the renowned gold guns in the palms of her hands. At the feel of the gold surface kissing her skin, Soo Jin breathed in delight. She enfolded her grip on the guns, feeling as though her pets had been reunited with her. A gush of power flooded through her. She was ready to start her fun.

  “One . . .”

  In each of her hands, Soo Jin held the judge, jury, and executioner for the lives of the humans below her.

  She smirked, loving her godlike status in life.

  It was the way it should be.

  “Go,” Anna announced, firing a bullet into the moonlit skies.

  Cheers reverberated from the audience above, and the show began.

  Desperate to walk out of the Scorpions’ estate alive, each of the Serpents scrambled for knives. They wasted no time in cutting off the flesh of the one they used to call “brother”; there was no more brotherhood left. All that remained was savagery and the need to save one’s own skin.

  “You should know,” Soo Jin started, her voice dying out under the guttural screams, the echoes of ripping skin, and the spurting of blood from the world beneath her, “that in the course of the next five minutes . . . I’ll be firing at all of you as well.”

  None of the men heard her.

  Her amusement persevered. Their lack of acknowledgement did not faze her.

  Soo Jin knew they’d hear her soon enough.

  All eyes of the Scorpions were on her when she cocked her two guns and aimed at the Serpents beneath her.

  Before their five minutes were up, each and every one of the Serpents would hear her.

  ■ ■ ■

  “Isaac Asimov once said, ‘Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.’ When you kill someone, Kang Min, you have to make the transition as troublesome and as unbearable as possible . . .”

  While speaking, Soo Jin kicked the newly amputated fingers aside with her red stiletto heels. She took the bloodied knife from Kang Min, who was still trembling as he stared down at the moaning gang member. The lowly street gang member, who was kneeling before them, had no association with the top gangs in the Underworld. However, as he was a convenient “tool” for Soo Jin to teach Kang Min the ways of the world, he had become an unlucky guinea pig.

  “Humans respond well to death, but not to torture,” she continued to lecture, tossing the now useless knife into the distance. “It doesn’t take much to break a human being and it doesn’t take much to own their souls.”

  After having Kang Min snatch the boy, who had been in the process of beating a girl for not having enough money to pay off her debt, Soo Jin ordered Kang Min, who was still hesitant when it came to hurting people who had done no
wrong to him, to torture the boy by cutting off his fingers. To further harden his emotions, she also ordered Kang Min to stab the boy sixteen times. Despite his pleas to Kang Min to just kill him, Soo Jin ordered Kang Min to keep him alive.

  The boy was barely able to kneel straight. The assortment of stab wounds on his body had blood pouring out of him in every which way. His white t-shirt was stained crimson red and his jeans were soaked with blood.

  Soo Jin laughed faintly, not even the least bit affected by the sight of the young boy quivering in his stance. He continued to kneel before them, his eyes, though dimmed with pain, gleamed slightly as if hopeful that somehow, some way, it was possible that his captors would have enough heart to end his misery.

  “It’s just a matter of one being ruthless enough to go through all the necessary stages to make them beg for death.” Soo Jin squatted down beside the boy, the fabric of her long black slacks bending at her knees. Her red, cuff-sleeved blazer glowed under the dissipating rays of the late afternoon sun. Soo Jin’s beautiful and angelic face drew close to the boy’s paling one. “Because when they do that, that’s when you know you own their soul.”

  She reached out her hand and tilted her head. The shiny curls of her long hair wavered to one side while she inspected his face. He didn’t look older than sixteen. He was young, but that did little to inspire any sympathy from Soo Jin. She regarded him with condescending pity.

  “I’m sure you regret defying your mother’s wishes by joining some lowly street gang now, don’t you?” she asked coolly, mocking the fear that secreted from him.

  The boy nodded hopelessly. Tears mixed with his own blood as they glided down his eyes. The weight of the world’s regret laid in his eyes, yet it evoked no pity from Soo Jin, who was all but used to seeing pathetic humans cry when their lives hung in the balance.

  She stroked a finger up and down his bloodied cheeks, her manicured nails collecting the blood. The boy shuddered and tried to move away from her, but when she applied pressure into the touch, the boy stopped moving. Possibly in fear that Soo Jin would rip his cheek apart if he inched away from her, he stayed rooted in his position.

  Satisfied with his submission, Soo Jin continued to speak, her voice elevated with slight annoyance. His existence reminded her of how much she hated parasites like him. “To you, all you see about the world of gangs is that we’re a lowly world who lives in alleys, surrounds ourselves with drugs, and do drive by shootings for the hell of it. You join your lowly street gangs thinking that you’ll be a part of a highly elite world and you do nothing but embarrass the very society that you pretend to be a part of.”

  She smirked dryly, digging her nails into the open wound on his face, making him shudder even more from agony. He was pleading her to stop, yet with each plea, she dug her long nails deeper into the open flesh.

  “The media is cruel to you kids. You think you know about the world of gangs through your movies, your books, and the pathetic outlet you call your news. You know nothing about my exclusive world, yet you call yourself a gang member, reel in the rewards of being a soldier in the Underworld, and come out as nothing but a spineless fool when you meet the real deal.” Anger outlined her once calm face. “I despise little leeches like you. You embarrass my people and taint our names with your inferiority, and if I had more time, I’d pick off each and every one of you like the worthless pieces of shit you are.”

  She had always hated being in alleys for the simple fact that they were synonymous with the media’s stereotypical view of gangs. There were smaller gangs who were actually a part of the Underworld and parasitic street gangs who were nothing but trash to her exclusive society. Unfortunately, the outside world was only familiar with the parasitic street gangs because they were the only ones who were unskilled enough to be caught by the law.

  It was an unknown history to the outside world that street gangs actually derived from the Underworld gangs. As the story goes, unqualified gang members who were kicked out from the elite society formed street gangs of their own. It was a commonly misguided assumption that the Underworld crime lords were similar to the street gangs that were popularly portrayed in the media. For a prideful Queen like Soo Jin, as well as many other Royals in the Underworld, such notions offended them greatly because the ways of their world were more extravagant, business-like, orderly, and so much more superior and complex than the world of parasitic street gangs.

  The “Royals,” as some had termed this powerful group, in the Underworld were fans of drug trafficking, money laundering, and territorial wars, but their favorite pastime was controlling how the outside world worked. In short, the society resembled that of kingdoms in the modern world. Kings and Queens fought for boundless power while concurrently being politically charming enough to garner support from the other citizens in the Underworld. It was a complex structure that had all layers working together when needed. All of this ultimately led to profits that were economically pleasing to their bank accounts, flexible laws that were obedient to their way of life, power to please their pride, and finally, sustenance to uphold the bylaws of the secret society.

  As far as Soo Jin was concerned, the only ones who stood on the same level as the Underworld in Korea were the “Royals” in the Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and American Underworlds, alongside any other country that had the Underworld pyramid. They were the only other secret societies that covertly ran the lives of the people in their country and they were the only peers outside of her society that she would give any reverence to. Any others impersonating the “gang” notion from her world were leeches to her. She would love to exterminate them fully if she had enough time to do so.

  Soo Jin expelled a breath, pushing these scornful thoughts back. She focused her attention on the young boy who represented everything she was infuriated with.

  More tears flowed from his eyes. A breath later, a shuddering sob exploded from his brutally assaulted body. His own blood began to form a big pool around him, drenching him and the heels of her stilettos with his impending death.

  Her annoyance with his existence mounted, but the calmness in her demeanor remained.

  “But you should count your blessings, little one,” she appeased, pulling her nails out of the open flesh while wiping his tears away with her bloodstained fingers. “It is a rare occurrence for a parasite like you to meet someone like me and it is an even rarer occurrence for someone like you to receive any mercy from me. Yet, every dog has his days and today is yours.”

  She motioned for him to stare up at Kang Min, who was dressed in a brown jacket and black pants. The rays of the sun moved behind him, making him appear divine. He was still peering down at the young boy with profound anguish in his eyes.

  “Standing there is your God. The moment he tortured you was the moment he took your soul. He now holds your life in his hands.” She leaned in closer to the boy, who was staring pleadingly at Kang Min. “Beg your God, little one. Beg your God for death and he will grant it to you.”

  She spoke . . . and he listened.

  “Please . . .” the young boy implored, having no more desire to live. “Please just kill me.”

  “Kang Min,” Soo Jin called. She could sense his apprehension and she didn’t like it one bit. “End it . . . now.”

  Although trembling faintly, Kang Min was unable to disobey any command given by the boss who saved his life and raised him. After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Kang Min stepped forward, gazed down into the boy’s eyes, placed his hands on either side of the boy’s head and then, with the speed of lightning, snapped apart the boy’s neck like it was a dry twig.

  The cracking of bones jumped in the air and evaporated in the wind, leaving nothing behind but the soft thud of the boy’s lifeless body falling to the alleyway pavement.

  “You did well, Kang Min.”

  Soo Jin rose up and stood beside a fifteen-year-old Kang Min, who was no longer shaking, but chalk white. They stared at the lifeless body of the boy who was breat
hing only moments prior. She folded her arms. It had always amazed Soo Jin how thin the veil was between the world of living and death. Such realizations only further conveyed to her how thankful she was to be the person she had been trained to become. A Queen amongst humans . . .

  Sucks to be you, little one, she thought, gazing one last time at the boy before returning her attention to the eighteen-year-old Jae Won, who was still defying gravity by jumping off the alleyway walls while the scene before them took place.

  She averted her eyes to Kang Min and frowned when she caught the remorse that exalted from his breathing.

  “You should never feel remorse in this world,” Soo Jin lectured swiftly, unhappy with his weakness.

  Kang Min, like his older brother, had always been a talented and fast learner. If Soo Jin was the pride of the Advisors, then the brothers were her pride. They were fast learners, but the one aspect of training that they had yet to master, all of which the rest of the Scorpions she trained had excelled in, was the ability to place their emotions aside and actually become Gods amongst humans.

  “The only loyalty you owe is to your own blood and your trusted alliances,” Soo Jin went on, the coldness of her eyes burying into Kang Min’s young and innocent ones. “Everyone else is just a casualty in this world and is worthless to you. They do not deserve your remorse. You save what’s left of your humanity for your brother and the gang that raised you.”

  Kang Min nodded quietly, understanding this logic, yet always having trouble executing it.

  Soo Jin tilted her head at him when she caught another line of regret that penetrated his eyes. The guilt did not arise for the one he just killed. It arose from the disappointment that he had upset her. The thought of him chastising himself thawed Soo Jin’s typically cold heart. She was strict with their training because she wanted to protect them. As emotionally vulnerable as they were, the loyalty the brothers had shown her over the years was unmatched by any other. It was one that would instill their values in her heart forever. The bond the three shared was untouchable and it was one that helped keep Soo Jin sane in such a sadistic world. She loved them like they were her family members.