Chapter 3
I passed through the hospital lobby and stopped in front of the elevators.
Some had come to see family members who were dying.
Visitors were coming and going.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Holding a bouquet, I blended in among them.
Others carried flowers and fruit up to the hospital rooms.
Some had come to smile at loved ones who had just undergone surgery.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The pediatric and adolescent ward.
I took the elevator to the fourth floor.
Ding.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
My destination was the room at the very end.
Low voices drifted from the nurses’ station, and somewhere nearby, the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor echoed through the corridor.
I walked down the hallway.
Step—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
I glanced down at the trash can beside the hospital room door.
Convenience store lunch containers.
“…”
Cans of cheap soda.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
No, there wasn’t even a trace of anyone having stopped by to see them. All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com
There was no food the kids had received from their parents.
The hospital meal trays had been left on the return cart, their contents almost untouched.
Torn-open bags of snacks.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
That’s right. arcade These bastards had been abandoned.
Children who had grown up without anyone to care for them.
Children who had never known their parents’ affection.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Not every wounded child picks up a knife.
But while those words might inspire sympathy, they could never serve as an eraser to wipe away their crimes.
Children who had learned to associate an adult’s touch with nothing but violence.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Not every abandoned child stabs someone.
They were monsters who used people’s pity as a shield.
These bastards hadn’t become monsters because they were pitiful.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Having taken in the clues around me, I stopped in front of the hospital room.
“Hey, but did that cop really die?”
A familiar voice.
Then voices drifted through the slightly open door.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
It belonged to the blond-haired boy who led the group.
My grip tightened around the bouquet.
Clench.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“I’m telling you, he’s dead. timber You saw the article.”
Small and brief.
“Whoa, shit. adjust So I really did take someone out.”
Laughter.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“And that’s the worst-case scenario. arctic Didn’t he say that bastard cop beating us up is the bigger problem?”
Yet that laughter was sharper than the sound of flesh being torn apart.
“But I’m gonna be okay, right?”
“I told you, you’ll be fine. arch Remember what the lawyer said? canvas We’re under the age of criminal responsibility, so the worst we’ll get is juvie. aluminum And even then, he said it’d only be a year or two.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Victims.
They had killed someone, yet they were the victims.
“Exactly. adapt They said we’re the victims. adopt Hehehe.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
That was why they could laugh so casually after taking a human life.
“…”
Society and the law had turned these bastards into monsters.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Because I already knew.
But I didn’t feel anger rising inside me.
I knew these bastards were beyond saving.
Society and the system looked at their ages and talked about their futures, about rehabilitation.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Step.
I took a step forward.
But the moment they picked up a knife and killed someone, they had crossed a point of no return.
And that was why—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Those unexpected words stopped me in my tracks.
“Yeah, I saw them. afford He had a daughter, too.”
“Hey, did you see that dead old-fart cop’s family? orbit There were pictures from the funeral.”
But then—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
This time, it lasted a little longer.
“Whoa! arch Seriously? agent You’re checking out girls even now?”
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
Laughter again.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Slosh.
“Once we get discharged, let’s pay that house a visit.”
Somewhere deep inside me, black water began to rise.
At that moment—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“We won’t be under the age of criminal responsibility much longer. atom Gotta have fun while we still can.”
“What? atom No way. meadow You’re not seriously thinking…?”
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The blond-haired boy snickered.
“I wonder what kind of face she’ll make if I tell her her dad died by my hand. wizard I’ll record it and keep the video forever.”
I couldn’t hear anything after that.
“Whoa, you crazy bastard. orbit You’re seriously something else.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
You mustn’t do that.
Taesan Sunbae had tried to stop me until his very last moment.
I had wanted to keep those words close.
Don’t do that.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
They’ve even started talking about your wife and daughter.
These bastards haven’t stopped, even in the face of your death.
‘But, Sunbae.’
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
If the law insists on calling these bastards children, then today, I’ll look at what the law refuses to see.
“…”
Slide—
I opened the door.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Three beds.
An arm in a cast.
White hospital gowns.
The laughter inside the hospital room stopped abruptly.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“Who…?”
And the blond-haired boy on the middle bed.
A bandaged head. Visit indratranslations.com for more free chapters and updates.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
At first, he didn’t recognize me.
He looked at me.
The brim of my cap concealed my face, and I was holding a bouquet of flowers.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Then I took off my cap.
Slide, bang!
I shut the door.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The blond-haired boy’s eyes widened.
“You…”
“Huh…?!”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Yellow flowers.
As I spoke, I lowered my gaze to the bouquet.
“I came to visit you.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Pink flowers.
Flowers bought in the hospital lobby, sold to people wishing someone a speedy recovery.
But the flowers I was holding weren’t meant to wish anyone well.
White wrapping paper.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
I peeled back the wrapping paper.
Rustle.
I had hidden something inside the bouquet.
The petals trembled.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
A black handle emerged from within.
“H-holy shit!”
Click!
The kids’ eyes widened simultaneously.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
They weren’t minors.
They weren’t juvenile offenders below the age of criminal responsibility.
And at that moment, something inside me changed completely.
A short, cold metallic sound rang through the hospital room as the concealed telescopic baton snapped into view.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The bastards who had laughed beside a dying man.
They weren’t children who deserved protection.
They were the bastards who had stabbed Taesan Sunbae, the man who had been like a father to me.
The bastards who had even dared to talk about his wife and daughter.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Calling things like them children would be an insult to actual children.
Monsters who merely happened to be young.
They were monsters.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The moment I gave them that name, all hesitation disappeared.
Monsters who hid in the gaps of the law to stab people, then laughed from behind the shield of protection.
“A-are you fucking crazy?”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The bastards shouted in panic.
“If you do this, you’re seriously finished!”
“Can a cop even do something like this?”
“Yeah.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
I nodded.
The bastard in the next bed reached for the call button.
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
“I’m already finished.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The telescopic baton sliced through the air.
But I was faster.
Whoosh!
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Thwack!
And then—
The hand reaching for the call button slammed against the bed rail.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
But it didn’t last long.
I grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back onto the bed.
His scream erupted.
“Aaaagh!”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“This is a hospital, after all.”
It was my own voice, yet it sounded unnaturally calm.
“Keep quiet.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Those were the same lips that had been talking about Taesan Sunbae’s death just moments ago.
But… it was too late.
Now they twisted into the shape of a plea for mercy.
His lips trembled uncontrollably.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“Fuck!”
Apparently, one of them had chosen to fight back rather than call for help.
Everything was too late.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Scrape.
He grabbed an IV stand.
It seemed they still believed they could fight.
The metal pole dragged across the floor.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Restraint techniques.
My wrist remembered.
I spun the telescopic baton once in my hand.
Just like in that motel room, they thought having a knife, a liquor bottle, or superior numbers would be enough.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Weight.
Speed.
Distance.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Violence.
Those techniques had now acquired an entirely different name.
Everything I had learned to restrain people without injuring them.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
I twisted my body slightly.
Whoosh.
The IV stand came flying at me first.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
At the same moment, my baton swung upward from below.
The metal pole grazed past my shoulder. Read original high-quality translation at indratranslations.com.
Swish.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
His body slammed against the wall.
Clang!
The IV stand flew out of his hands.
“Keurgh!”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The tip of my baton came down swiftly.
Thud!
The air escaped his lungs, and he collapsed where he stood.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Thwack!
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
I struck his abdomen and the crown of his head with tremendous force.
Once more.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Another bastard swung a folding chair down at me.
“Die!”
After those blows, his body stopped moving.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Crash!
I twisted aside, and the chair smashed into the bed, shattering into pieces.
But—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
As he stared at me in shock—
“…”
Thwack!
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
A strangled sound escaped him, somewhere between a gasp and a scream.
My baton struck him squarely in the face.
“Krrk—”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
I concentrated my blows on his head, battering him with the baton until he could no longer run that filthy mouth of his.
Apart from a few faint, convulsion-like twitches, he no longer moved.
Thud! arctic Thwack!
Twitch. avalanche Twitch.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Only now did understanding dawn on his face.
The blond-haired boy stared at me.
“…”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
There was no Taesan Sunbae to stop me.
There was no police officer here anymore.
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The words they had trusted so completely had failed to follow them into this room.
Minor.
Below the age of criminal responsibility.
Human rights.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Those words had been left outside the door.
Protective disposition.
Inside this room, there was only me and him.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The moment his hand reached the doorknob, I seized his collar and yanked him back.
“U-aaaagh…!”
He chose to scream.
A desperate cry for help as he ran toward the door.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
As though he’d been waiting for exactly that moment, he spun around and threw a punch.
“Fuck you!”
Too slow.
Fear had made his body heavy.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Bang!
I twisted his arm.
And pinned him straight to the floor.
“Kkeugh!”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The telescopic baton descended.
He couldn’t move properly after the impact.
Toward him—
Whoosh!
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Tears streamed between his fingers.
He covered his head with his arms.
Crunch!
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“I-I’m sowwy…”
But I didn’t stop.
The mouth that had mocked Taesan Sunbae moments earlier now trembled, unable to form a proper sentence.
I’m sorry.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Thud!
Yellow petals. alien Pink petals. aspect The flowers that had made it look as though I’d come for a hospital visit.
The IV stand rattled, and several flower petals fell onto the white sheets.
This time, the bed frame shook violently.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“I was wrong…”
His words fell apart.
Thwack!
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The mouth that had mocked Taesan Sunbae and his bereaved family could no longer form words.
Thwack! This novel translation is officially hosted on indratranslations.com.
Crunch!
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Crunch! palette Crunch!
The voice that had dared to speak Yerin’s name was silenced.
The face that had hidden behind the words below the age of criminal responsibility twisted in terror as it sank toward the floor.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Then came sobs.
At first, there were screams.
After that, only the sounds of choking breaths remained.
“Kkeugh—”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
I stood there for a long time, holding the telescopic baton.
Only silence remained.
“…”
And then—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
And among them lay the monsters who had hidden behind their age to escape criminal punishment.
The bastards who, only moments ago, had been calculating how they could get away with everything.
On the floor lay torn flower wrapping, crumpled sheets, and scattered petals.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Slowly, I lowered the baton.
Monsters who believed in the law, believed in their youth, and believed the world would protect them.
Those monsters were dead.
I had killed people.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
There was no sense of relief, either.
But my hands weren’t trembling.
Minors, at that.
The anger had already passed.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Only one feeling remained.
Standing in the middle of the hospital room, I murmured quietly.
The feeling that I had finally finished it.
And the feeling that, in finishing it, I had destroyed my own life as well.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
There was no answer.
All translations belong to Indra Translations. You can find us online at indratranslations.com.
“Sunbae-nim.”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
It was stained with blood.
I looked down at the telescopic baton in my hand.
“In the end… I couldn’t keep my promise.” Indra Translations protects the hard work of translators and authors.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
I stared at it for a moment before slowly loosening my grip.
Clang.
The metal that had been black when I pulled it from the bouquet was now coated in something dark and sticky.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Just then—
My revenge was over.
The baton fell to the floor.
All that remained was to pay the price for what I’d done.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
“Doctor! admire Over here!”
“What was that noise?”
“Room 207, right?”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Footsteps drew closer.
And those footsteps were also the signal announcing the end of my life.
A commotion broke out beyond the hospital room.
Step, step—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
To show that I had no intention of resisting.
I dropped to my knees.
Thud.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
A brilliant light burst from my chest.
At the very moment I gave up everything—
Fwoooosh!
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
It was my necklace.
Instinctively, I reached toward it.
The necklace Taesan Sunbae had given me on the day I passed the police examination.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
A blindfolded face.
Scales in one hand.
The small pendant depicting Dike, the goddess of justice, was glowing.
A sword in the other.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
My breath caught.
“…!”
A light as red as blood and as dark as fire.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Blood.
Because something was flowing down the face of the goddess depicted on the pendant.
From beneath the cloth covering her eyes, crimson tears of blood streamed down.
Drip—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
No.
The metal face was crying.
Dead justice was opening its eyes upon my bloodstained hands.
Justice itself was crying.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Fwoom!
Before I could finish speaking, my vision wavered.
“What the…?!”
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The air split apart.
Letters spread across it like blood.
A window resembling black glass appeared against the hospital room’s white wall.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
[You have pursued crimes that the law turned a blind eye to, beyond the boundaries of the law.]
[You have judged sinners whom the law failed to punish.]
The letters gradually began turning red.
Then, slowly, they became clear.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
More words appeared.
[Your actions constitute punishment.]
[Your actions constitute murder.]
[Your actions constitute judgment.]
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
[The one who reclaims, in the name of blood, the justice abandoned in the name of the law.]
[From this moment onward, you are the one who discerns the sins that must be punished.]
[The one who pursues sinners who have escaped.]
The pendant glowed even brighter.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
The world stopped.
A single bloody tear fell from the face of the blindfolded goddess.
Vmmmm!
The moment that blood touched the back of my hand—
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
Even the beating of my own heart.
The footsteps.
The shouts from the corridor.
Translation of The Dismissed Police Officer is the Only Awakened One - Chapter 3 by Indra Translations.
And then the final sentence appeared.
[You are awakening as the Judgment Officer.]
Everything came to a standstill.
td-reading-probeWhat did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!