The Collector was gone.
But the scars he left weren't.
I could still hear the way my own name had screamed from that sack. Still feel the teeth in the air.
But the System didn't wait for trauma to settle.
---
[NEW MISSION – DEVIL HUNT: CLASS C]
Target: "The Forgotten Butcher"
Location: Reconstruction Zone – Kitchen 319
Path Influence: Neutral
Combat Type: Team Engagement
Support: Harper (Devil Hunter - Initiate)
Status: Lethal Engagement Authorized
---
Adrian looked up from the system notification, pale.
"Kitchen? That's the location?"
Harper muttered, "It won't be just a kitchen. The zone mutates based on guilt."
I stared at the text again.
The Forgotten Butcher.
Somehow, I already hated that name.
---
We arrived seconds later.
The "kitchen" was no real kitchen.
It looked like one from a cooking show—perfectly polished counters, spotlights above, clean tiles, modern gear.
But everything was too still.
Too quiet.
No warmth. No smell.
Just cold steel and old blood that hadn't dried right.
And hanging from the ceiling—
Dozens of aprons.
Blood-soaked.
Twitching.
One of them turned on its own.
Harper stepped forward, blade in hand. "Eyes up. This thing isn't passive."
> "Trial Conditions Confirmed."
Sin Theme: Gluttony + Erasure
Devil Manifestation: Active.
Mission Start.
---
The lights went black.
Then flickered back on.
And he was standing in the center of the kitchen.
The Forgotten Butcher.
Massive. Over six feet tall. Wearing an apron made of stitched-together name tags. His arms were cleavers. His face was a mess of burn scars and melted eyes.
But it was his voice that chilled me.
> "Order up," he said in a cheerful tone. "Who's ready to be served?"
He charged.
---
Harper moved first.
She slashed at his side—metal sparked, blood sprayed. But it didn't slow him. His arms twisted unnaturally, both cleavers spinning in circles like meat grinders.
Adrian screamed, dodging just in time.
"HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT THIS THING?!"
The system flashed in my vision:
> Kai – Combat Option Available: "Namebound Strike"
Requirement: Target must be named.
I clenched my jaw.
"What's his name?" I yelled.
Harper ducked a swing. "He has none. That's the point!"
The Butcher roared.
"I had a name once. But you people forgot me! So now I'll slice your names off too!"
---
I stepped forward.
My hands burned. The symbol of my own name etched itself in glowing white on my wrist.
I screamed back, "Then I'll give you one."
And I remembered something—
A lunchroom. A kid alone. Everyone laughing. Someone dared me to take his tray and dump it.
I didn't stop them.
That kid?
His name was Benny Ryker.
And this thing…
Was what he became.
I yelled his name.
> "BENNY RYKER!"
The Butcher froze.
His cleavers dropped an inch.
> [Namebound Strike Activated]
Emotional Anchor Confirmed. Target Vulnerable.
Deliver final strike within 10 seconds.
---
Harper didn't wait.
She surged forward and plunged her blade into his gut, slicing upward through bone and memory.
The Butcher let out a gurgled laugh.
"…you remembered me…"
Then he exploded into ash and rot.
---
[MISSION COMPLETE]
Devil Vanquished: The Forgotten Butcher (formerly Benny Ryker)
Team XP Gained: +4 | Harper – Bond +1 | Adrian – Bond +1
Kai: Emotional Resonance Increased
New Trait Gained: "Sin Slayer – Lv. 1"
Kai's Path: Neutral (Leaning Silver)
---
Afterward, we sat in the ruined kitchen.
Adrian was shaking. "We… we killed him."
"He was already gone," Harper said. "The system just let us free what was left."
I looked at the apron I'd taken from the wall.
It still had Benny's name on it.
"I could've said something," I whispered. "Back then. In school. I saw them mock him. Push him. Make him feel invisible."
Harper looked at me.
And for once, her voice softened.
"You didn't make the devil. But you fed it. The system remembers every time we look away."
I stared at the name on the apron again.
Benny Ryker.
> I wouldn't forget again.