The warehouse stank of blood now. Groans echoed against the concrete walls, bodies strewn across the floor like discarded trash.
Seong Min stood in the center, chest rising steadily, not even winded. The crowbar clattered from his hand, echoing like a final bell.
No one moved.
One boy—face swollen, teeth shattered—dragged himself across the floor, smearing red as he crawled. His voice cracked. "P-please… no more. We—we'll follow you."
Another clutched his broken arm, nodding frantically, blood bubbling between his lips. "Y-yeah. You're the boss now. Forget Alpha Dog… we—we'll serve you. Just… stop."
The plea spread like a disease.
One by one, the battered thugs bowed their heads, kneeling in their own blood and spit."Please!""You're too strong!""We'll do anything—just let us live!"
Their voices shook the air, desperate, pitiful.
Crystal's eyes widened in the shadows above. Not just because they begged—but because Seong Min didn't even flinch. He stood there, calm, listening, the violet glow in his eyes dimming only slightly.
Then he crouched down in front of their leader—legs twisted, nose broken, barely conscious. Seong Min grabbed a fistful of his hair, forcing the boy's head up until their eyes met.
"You want to serve me?" His voice was low, flat, dangerous.
The leader's lips trembled. "Y-yes… yes. We'll do anything. Just don't kill us."
Seong Min's stare bored into him. For a long, suffocating second, silence swallowed the room.
Then, slowly, he let go. The leader collapsed, coughing, blood dribbling from his mouth.
"Remember this," Seong Min said coldly, standing tall again. "You don't follow me because you respect me. You follow me because you fear me."
He scanned the room, eyes sweeping over every broken body, every pair of trembling eyes.
"And fear," he finished, voice like steel, "is the only leash I need."
No one dared breathe.
Seong Min turned and walked out, leaving them kneeling in their own wreckage.
Crystal didn't move. Not right away.
She stared down at the boys who, minutes ago, had been barking like wild dogs. Now they were groveling, broken, whispering his name as if it were a curse.
Her chest tightened.
He hadn't just beaten them. He had claimed them.
Not with loyalty. Not with respect. With pure, unrelenting dominance.
And for the first time, Crystal Choi felt a flicker of something she hadn't in years.
Unease.
But beneath it, buried deep—curiosity.
What are you really, Seong Min?
Outside, under the yellow streetlights, Seong Min tugged his hood lower, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips.
He could still hear their begging. Their surrender.
Good.
Let them crawl. Let them spread his name. Let fear take root.
Because the truth was simple:He wasn't collecting pawns.He was building an army.
And Crystal had just witnessed the first piece fall into place.
End of Chapter 11 part 2(final)