Rin the Rat: Tale of a Beloved MonsterCh68 - Korain (NSFW)

CW: Explicit language, graphic sexual assault/non-con, graphic physical assault/abuse, graphic violence & gore, PTSD flashback, anxiety attacks, non-con drugging, mentions of drug abuse/addiction.

This is the last chapter of the fourth arc! yCiKdl

 We have three more arcs remaining in this first book.

The main plot will begin in the next arc so things will be moving really quickly! I’m super excited to get into the meat of the story. I hope this arc hasn’t been too painful to read, and I aim to improve with the next one 🙂 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

For this chapter, please heed the content warnings especially for the graphic non-con in the second half (briefly from ‘The gods have a poor sense of humour…‘ to ‘His back‘.)


“You’re lying.” Jun tightens his grip on Tiger’s shirt, painfully aware of how badly his hands are shaking. “You’re lying.” 69lez0

“Why would I lie about that?” Tiger notes how shaken the lord is with a hard smirk. “The Governor is the biggest crim in Hanjuyang. In fact, the worst of ‘em ain’t even in the Slums. You just have to look at the High District, which isn’t too far for you, is it?”

Jun throws the man to the ground, blood bubbling like lava in his veins, searing him, burning him, and all he can do is pace from one wall to another, panting, sweating, unable to comprehend

A small hand snatches his own, forcing him to stop.

Jun glances at Rin blankly, sweat trickling down his fevered temples. “He is lying,” he states, flatly. “My–” A pause to catch himself. He swallows to ease the dryness in his mouth. “The Governor is not involved in this. He would never do this to his own people–”

NIHzsQ

“Jun.” The raven hesitates, worried for all the wrong reasons. He tugs the distressed lad close and wraps his arms around his waist. Pulls their bodies flush. He glances up at his little lord, chin resting upon his chest. “Jun, you know as well as I that the Slummers aren’t his people. We never have been.”

The sharp edge of Jun’s panic ebbs when he sees that single eye peer up at him, soft, warm, and depthless. He tumbles headfirst into that obsidian pool, unable to contain his unstable heart.

“Yes…” Jun breathes, cupping his hands on both sides of Rin’s head. He’s so small between his large palms, which are calloused and rough from the sword. “Yes, Rinnie. I know. But…for all his faults, the Governor could never harm people like this. Not intentionally.”

“Like he didn’t harm your mother?” Rin raises a brow. Reo3ZV

His jab strikes true. Jun flinches. Falters. “Th-there is no evidence he knew of the attack–”

“Like he didn’t harm all those Slummers he’s arrested?”

Jun’s silence speaks his defeat.

“What does it matter if the Governor’s involved?” Rin huffs. “Bluebloods always have their fingers in drugs anyway, so it’s not surprising that he’s got a stake in this too.” FdhEGe

“What does it matter?” The lord frowns tightly, expression pinching in dismay. “Does it not alarm you? If it is as Tiger claims and the Governor is spreading Bliss in the Slums…” His breath hitches. “Then not only is he unfit for Hanjuyang, but he is also unfit for the Empire.”

“Unless he’s got someone over him too.”

Jun’s pupils shrink as he stares at Rin. “The Mother?”

“Makes sense, doesn’t it?” 8UX6zi

“For what purpose would the Mother wish to do this?”

“I dunno, but whatever it is, this is way beyond us. So…I suppose we should just leave, right? Let this one go.” Rin smiles and pats the lord’s chest.

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This is bad, Rin thinks in a silent panic. This is really fucking bad. He and Jun had accidentally stumbled into, and almost destroyed, Hwan Sun’s drug operation. Whatever machinations Sun has for the Slums, Rin astutely decides to discontinue his trespass. If word gets back to the Governor, he may void their contract, thereby dashing Rin’s hopes of ever achieving a second name. And without a second name, he would have to resort to more…difficult and problematic tactics to ensure his relationship with Jun continues.

If he could avoid making Jun hate him, he would very much prefer the coward’s route. P4EI8l

Jun drops his hands from his love’s face. “How could you compromise your own values?” he admonishes. “You should be more outraged! You should not be supporting this destruction!

Rin releases the reeling lord to fold his arms. “Oh? So you’re gonna tell me what to do now?”

No, Rinnie. It’s not…I don’t…” Jun stammers, looking utterly helpless. He shoves his hand through his hair, leaving it dishevelled. “Rinnie, this has to stop. It cannot go on.”

“What are you going to do about it, then?” rqV4fc

Jun pulls in a shaky breath. He’s on the verge of being sick, nausea churning his stomach as if he’d spent hours on a storm-tossed ship. “I will…I will expose the truth.”

Rin throws a glance around the warehouse. He sees that Tiger’s long gone, and taken his wagon with him. Good fucking riddance.

He sighs and speaks openly. “By fighting your old man, you have to be ready to fight the Mother as well. Are you prepared for that?”

“I am,” Jun says, austerely. “If that is what I must do to stop this corruption.” Lobx85

Rin barks a laugh. “What big words you have, little lord! You may as well just become a rebel–

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Then I shall!” Jun snaps, anger flaring. “I shall join the Otsukis. At least they have a sense of social responsibility–”

“Ccv atgbk jkjs sbeg qglnlifuf?” Elc rcjqr yjmx, tjmxifr gjlrfv. “Tbe’gf atf cfza Xbnfgcbg, sbe lvlba! Qtja mjc sbe vb jr j rtlaas gfyfi, mbkfglcu ecvfgugbecv? Gb sbe atlcx atja’r gfji qbkfg?”

Ktf ilaaif ibgv oeggbkr tlr ygbkr, yfklivfgfv ys Elc’r kbgvr. “Qts jgf sbe rlvlcu klat atf qfbqif ktbw sbe mijlw ab gfrfca atf wbra? Ktfs tjnf vbcf kgbcu ys sbe, alwf jcv alwf jujlc, jcv sfa sbe rajcv tfgf lc atflg reqqbga!” n8JWRr

Rin locks his jaw. He reels in his scorn, his anger. Remembers why he’s defending Hwan Sun in the first place. He gives the lord a half-hearted smile. Lacklustre, like his gaze. “It’s a fine thing, to live your truth. But it’s also expensive, Jun.”

The look his little lord gives him is nothing short of appalled. Rin glances away, chest aching fiercely.

With the path ahead as uncertain as they feel, Jun hesitates when they leave the storehouse. His expression is unfathomable, yet there also lies a stoic determinism there that Rin recognises. He knows that look well. It’s one that he is utterly powerless against.

“Then I shall pay the price, whatever it may be,” Jun says quietly, before grabbing one of the sconced torches and hurling it onto the pallets. Rapidly, hungrily, the flames consume the pallets, one after the other, until within seconds, the entire structure is alight. 7W4e2p

Rin doesn’t try to save the store. He just stands there, breathless, stunned, unable to do or say anything to douse the inferno burning Hwan Sun’s operation into rancid ash. 

He knows that Jun needs to cauterise the infection in his own life in order to move forward, to be able to walk with certainty and clarity. But their idea of cauterisation looks too different to reconcile. 

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

They watch from a safe distance, the rotted building decorated with the ravenous inferno. He feels his hands shaking, even though he doesn’t feel the fear like he used to. There’s no panic. No wounds. Just an endless plane of detachment and just a flicker of fascination.

In the belly of the inferno, he can see them. Figures petrified in the blinding flames, charcoal statues preserved in their natural broken state, jaws stretched out in silent screams, their dying throes carved into scorched flesh… FuREmM

“It stinks,” Rin says flatly, feeling defeated, exhausted. The billowing smoke is tinged yellow and there’s a foul sulfuric stench that drenches the entire area.

“We should leave,” Jun says, tugging on Rin’s hand. “We may be in danger of intoxication by proximity alone.”

“I thought you were supposed to the level-headed one.”

“If that is my delegation, then we are both doomed.” 5OacD

The smile they share is fragile. Brittle. Something long expired yet they cling to from a sense of self-preservation. This world’s become a fraction darker in this hour.

It would be no surprise then, to find themselves surrounded by Hounds armed to the teeth, and the gliding figure of the Marquis come to greet them.

Mon bébé souris~” Korain sings, sweeping his arms out to the side. His elegant robe swishes around his frail figure, and under Solaris’ light, he’s like a pristine lily amongst the mulch and the shit. “Bijan Azar. My two most trusted and treasured, yet again lured to betray me. My wounds are grievous this day!”

Even from this distance, Rin can smell the bitter perfume of Slowane, seeping from Korain’s encroaching form. DPVFz7

“It was an accident–” Rin starts heatedly, but the rest of his words are lost when Korain strikes him like an angered viper.

White hot pain, sharp and jagged, explodes across the side of his head. He stumbles and would have fallen if not for Jun’s steadying grasp. Tears sting his only eye as he tries to right his vision.

Korain’s placidly smiling face swims into view. A fan flutters casually before his face.

“I am ever so disappointed in you, bébé souris,” he sighs, regarding him as one might a disobedient child. “I was convinced that this time things would be different; that we would finish our Vows of the Absolute and become one. Perhaps I should thank you for not leaving me at the altar this time.” 8C 6kd

Rin quivers theatrically in his little lord’s arms, silent tears drenching his cheeks. He tries to appear utterly broken and subdued, like a mangy dog kicked to the ground.

Jun grits his teeth and pulls the raven behind, placing himself before Korain instead. “This was a test,” he growls, not so much a question as it is a statement.

“You are a clever man, aren’t you, Bijan Azar?” Korain laughs musically, fanning himself as the caustic smoke drifts near.

“This is a rather expensive test to receive a simple answer. Was this necessary, Marquis?” Q9Ze36

“Today’s loss is but a minor one, Bijan. Following your wise advice, I have exponentially increased my stores. The stock you just destroyed will be recovered within the week.” Korain gives the blanching lord a thin smile, phoenix eyes glittering like a pair of cold, onyx gems. “So I must thank you, Bijan, for your guidance. If not for you, all my hard work would have been for naught.”

“Speak truth, Korain,” Jun brusques. “What is your intent?”

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“My intent is to better the Slums~! To initiate and coordinate a collective effort that will see the quality of–”

“What is the purpose of the drug?” Jun cuts him off, tone taking on a dangerous edge. Goldens flash in warning. “Whose orders do you follow?” 8RjBMh

“Orders?” The Marquis’ smirk tightens. “I work for no man, Bijan.”

“A woman, then. The Mother, perhaps?”

Hounds exchange wary glances as the exchange takes a sudden turn. Their boss tosses back his head and laughs, though it sounds too forced to be genuine.

“This stock of Bliss has been sitting here for months,” Jun persists, now directing his words at the Hounds. “And now that he has ousted Crow and his Flock, the Marquis has spread this foul drug by taking advantage of peoples’ desperation. Look at the Slums! Look at your home! Do you not see how your brethren suffer? They have become addicted, and now the Marquis will take advantage of this new desperation. For what? For coin?” He directs the last at Korain, his anger superseded by bafflement. d fSr6

“Do you remember the story I told you, Bijan, of that Feridalis Marquis?” Korain calmly strolls up to the lord and places a hand upon his chest.

Jun is unmoving, like a towering statue of smooth stone, glaring down at his foe with a rending glare.

Korain’s smile deepens. His palm slides over the defined chest, indulging. “The boy I was back then has become the man I am today. I will have his beautiful manor and his beautiful life and his beautiful hounds that I set loose in the Central Gardens. I will have it all, Bijan. With or without you.”

The Marquis knocks the tip of his fan under Jun’s chin. “Whatever you decide, know that there is only one path that leads you out of this derelict place. Now…” He peers over the lord’s broad shoulder and locks eyes with the snivelling figure behind. m 4Faw

“The real question is, what will you decide, my dear Marchioness?”

Rin stares wide-eyed at Korain, visibly shaking. He appears unable to form a single word, the fight entirely drained out of him.

Jun makes to grab the Marquis, but Princess’ monstrous hands land upon his shoulders and jerk him away. “Unhand me!” No amount of struggling eases the giant man’s constrictive grasp. He’s well and truly shackled, helpless to watch the Marquis approach the withered raven.

Mon amour?” Korain purrs, stroking Rin’s unmarred cheek. “We are to be wed in but a few hours. Do you wish to disappoint your husband so?” Lk2mwr

“Rinnie, you must run! Leave before they–mmrf!” At a wave from Korain, Princess coils his arm around Jun’s throat and slaps a palm over his mouth, effectively silencing him.

Rin hardly casts a glance at his little lord. His entire attention is stolen by the Marquis and his cloying touch. He seems to soften, waver, and submit. With a shivering breath, he murmurs, “I…I am yours,” and Jun feels the ground crumble beneath his feet–

“I will always treasure our time together,” Rin continues, glancing at the distraught lord. “Most especially our date at the Church. Do you remember when you tried to stop me from smoking that pipe? You were always so protective of me. I suppose some things never change.”

Jun stills in Princess’ hold, goldens widening twofold. Oh. Oh.  Ykfi7M

Korain raises a brow at the odd sentiment, though he seems too pleased with the raven’s acquiescence to give much mind. “Come, mon amour. You have failed me greatly, but there is one last thing you can do to prove your true devotion to me.”

Jun isn’t given a chance to decide his path. A cold look from Korain is all the little lord needs to know that he isn’t leaving this place alive.

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And so he watches his love get stolen away, one last time. He only hopes that he can make it in time.

*** uIrxAt

The gods have a poor sense of humour, Rin decides, as Korain forces him onto the bed. To find himself back at the Wayward Inn, and in the very same room he killed Crow in. Although, Rin reckons that his entire life is some big karmic joke, so this really shouldn’t surprise him.

He sprawls across the mattress, panting lightly and he tries to curl in on himself. Korain’s impatient hands aren’t giving him much space. They wander his body, pinching and caressing and rubbing, until he’s a squirming, sweating mess. He tries to quell the nausea in his guts, tries to become a Rose, but there’s something in the air. A haze of bitter smoke from an effuser Korain’s set alight.

When he gets hard to the point of pain, he realises what it is.

A storm breaks over the city, the rare calm of Solaris like a distant memory as torrential rain hammers the inn. Rumbling thunder and the violent flashes of lightning are the strident accompaniment to the quiet violence unfolding in the room. rDeYP7

His clothes are stripped off his drugged body, exposing him to the Marquis’ hungry eyes. And he tries to struggle out of his grasp, to crawl away from his sickening touch, but all he can do is lie there, unable to move a single inch, unable to stop those hands, those lips, from drawing out his traitorous voice.

And then, Korain gets impatient.

His touch grows more urgent, more aggressive. Instead of heat, he leaves bruises. Instead of enticing words, he speaks venom and cruelty. He strips Rin not only of his garments, but of his skin, his pride, and his personhood.

Everything slows, comes to a stop. The blur of tears becomes a tiny reprieve from his reality, but it’s too flimsy for what comes next. The inevitable. SOqBlz

The raven’s legs are forced apart. Merciless fingers tear into him, prying him open in preparation. His panicked cries are met with strikes to the face. He feels Korain between his aching thighs, the terrible scorch of his probing piece, and those greedy hands force him into coiling arms, paws at his back–

His back. 

The one part of his body that is his and his alone. This is his territory and this fucker wants to take it from him. 

The raven’s eye snaps open, red as the bloodiest dawn. He smacks the man’s chest with his palm and, with a blast of light, sends him careening into the wall. X8pYJi

Wood paneling cracks from the powerful impact. Korain drops to the ground in a boneless heap, gasping airlessly as his lungs convulse in agony.

Rin pulls himself upright, shaking not from fear, but from pure unadulterated rage.

He slips off the bed and strides to Korain’s crumpled form, not caring to cover his nudity. Rather, he wields his bare flesh like he would a weapon, a flaunted blade to threaten and taunt.

A savage kick sends the man into the wall again. More cracks skitter through the wood. s8WdSc

Even as he struggles against the tides of pain, the glare Korain sends him is one that promises death.

Rin returns with a smirk and another kick to the ribs.

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“To think that I was going to let a shithead like you touch me – I must have lost my mind.” His tone is caustic and full of disdain. His scarlet eye speaks of his rising bloodlust.

“What…do you think you’re doing?!” the Marquis spits, white with fury. Veins pop in his temples as he struggles to his feet. A well-placed slap is enough to send him back to his knees. enWM2R

No,” Rin barks. “You don’t get to stand.” He smiles coldly, grabbing Korain by his hair and yanking his head back. He forces their eyes to meet. Forces his would-be rapist to look upon his ugly, disfigured face.

“You don’t get to touch me, Korain,” he says, voice silken smooth and midnight dark. “You see, contrary to what you might believe, you repulse me.”

“That is hardly convincing,” Korain grits out. A second attempt to rise is met with a glowing palm, right between his eyes. He swallows nervously and buckles, despite his silent fury. “Your obsession is forever, bébé souris. Even if you defy me, the chains of your madness disallow your freedom. You will always come back to me. Always. And I will be here, waiting for your return.”

“There is no obsession,” Rin retorts, twisting Korain’s hair ruthlessly. The man’s throat is bared, exposing his pearl which bobs with every anxious swallow. He’s scared, Rin realises. “You should have tried harder. If you had truly changed, I was willing to give you another chance.” MztNdR

The youth hunches over, bringing his face close to the other’s. He chuckles and pecks Korain’s pale lips. “But you failed the test, Korain.”

“Do you think anyone could ever tolerate you like I do?” Korain pants, eyes wild and maddened. “I was going to make you my Marchioness, and you threw it all away.”

“I don’t have to think anything. I already have someone. Someone better.”

“Who? Hwan Jun?” Korain shrieks with laughter, the sound as ugly as his expression. “You are deluded if you think a lord like him would ever wed you. It is a mere folly! A bored aristocrat’s game. You are nothing more than a plaything, you fool! He will never accept a rat like you. The scum of the Slums. The shitstain of Hanjuyang. Allow me to save you much heartache and tell you now – leave him before he tires of you. Who knows what he does with broken toys.” 2x A8d

Rin smiles, calmly. “You talk too much.” And then he strikes. There’s a blinding argent light, and he’s holding something in his hand, a gory piece of flesh, and Korain stares, blankly, unable to fathom what he’s seeing.

He glances down at himself. Blood drenches the front of his robes. He tries to scream but chokes on something hot and foul instead, and he falls onto his hands, gagging, vomiting, and blood splatters onto the ground, pools around his palms, and then the pain hits him – head-splitting agony like no other, an inferno in his mouth and his throat, blistering him from the inside out…

Rin watches in amusement as Korain writhes on the floor. Muffled screaming, on the verge of madness, drowns out the resounding tempest outside.

“A fake blueblood like you could never have me.” He tuts and tosses the severed tongue into the fireplace. A step back to avoid the flailing limbs. “I chose Jun. He didn’t choose me. And like I once chose you, I now choose to discard you.” The corner of his lips curl. “It’s funny that you should pick this room. You and Crow have the same taste in shitty decor.” BEgpoO

The whites of Korain’s eyes flash in primal terror.

With a violent yank, Rin rips off the red ribbon and whips it around Korain’s throat. He wrenches hard. A foot shoved into his chest for leverage.

Korain’s eyes bulge in panic. In seconds, his face turned an ugly puce and the veins in his eyes burst and bleed. He scrabbles desperately at Rin’s hands, his face, anything and everything he can reach, but the raven’s been through this before. He knows the choreography. Everyone reacts to suffocation in the same way after all.

But the room is hazy with Slowane, and only one person in this room has a tolerance to the drug. GfamW

A sudden head spin sends Rin stumbling, and he hardly has time to recover when agony erupts between his legs. He drops like a stone with an airless scream, releasing the ribbon to clutch at himself. A knee snaps his head back, sends him crashing into the side of the bed. His skull cracks against the bedpost and his vision whites out.

In the distance, he hears the door slam open. Heavy footsteps rushing inside. A familiar voice shouting his name.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Rin gasps and pulls himself to his feet, using the post as support. He shakes his throbbing head, trying to clear the snow from his vision. Blurry figures are entangled in the firelight, a flurry of flying limbs and snarling teeth, and it takes him a moment to realise what’s happening.

It’s almost shocking how well Korain holds his own against Jun. The dying are the most desperate, and desperation is a dangerous drive. His strength is uncanny as he exchanges blows with the little lord, but Jun is strong. Years of diligent training and packed muscles prove an insurmountable force, and soon, Korain is on the verge of collapse. 3bXTz6

He casts a final, contemptible glare at Rin, before turning on his heels and throwing himself headfirst through the window.

Glass shatters. Lightning strikes, blinding the two youths who race after. Rain drenches their heads as they look outside, convinced they will see Korain’s broken body. Instead, all they see is the muddy courtyard of the inn, and a trail of blood already dissipating in the downpour.

A rare curse bursts from Jun and he grabs the sill, ready to jump out and follow his foe – but Rin snags his arm, stops him from leaving.

Panting, he glances at the raven. He sees his crimson eye. The proud, haughty tilt of his chin, and the malignant madness that simmers just below the pale skin. He sees the same man who turned the tide of a battle; who dared defy the imperial line; who defeated an army of mindless drones and their cruel master… gIzW2u

Jun feels his nape prickle. As he’s lashed by the stinging rain, he senses a deep power emanating from his love. And he recalls Rin’s jest about becoming emperor. Suddenly, somehow, it doesn’t seem at all that absurd.

“Let him go,” Rin says, sliding his hand into Jun’s. The sanguine of his eye starts to fade, as if cooled by the storm. “It’s not Korain I want.”

When they leave the inn, they are greeted by the Hounds, having been beaten into submission by none other than Mira herself.

The maidservant slaps the flat of her blade against Princess’ spine, causing the giant man to jolt and quake. The Hounds look more like drowned rats than rabid mutts, and Rin prefers it this way. qLNjxw

He anxiously tugs at his sodden shirt, clinging tightly to his aching body. Echoes of Korain’s violence worm their ways through his flesh, and for a moment, he finds it difficult to breathe–

Jun squeezes his hand; brings him back to the present. Those goldens fill the empty spaces within him, chasing away the Marquis’ rancid touch.

“Young master,” Mira says, coming to stand by the lord’s side. She sheathes her sword and crosses her arms, eyeing up the defeated Hounds. “What would you like me to do with them? Hand them over to the Silverswords?”

“Rinnie?” Jun turns to the raven, expectantly. N6nKJE

Rin narrows his eyes at the Pack. Fifty faces peering at him with a mixture of emotion. Mostly fear. Mostly uncertainty. Without their master, they are nothing but a bunch of lost children. Suddenly, his way is clear.

“Korain is gone,” he announces, raising his voice above the squall. “He’s turned tail and abandoned you like the coward he is.”

Hounds shift restlessly, in various states of dismay and outrage.

“You don’t work for him anymore.” Rin gives each and every Hound a hard look. He knows their faces. Their names. He knows what they want, and he knows how to give it to them. “You’ve all told me your dreams. Now that you’re no longer a Pack, this is the time to take your own path. Do what you’ve always wanted to do. But I also offer you another path. Follow me. Become my people. We can do for the Slums what Korain pretended to do. All his promises of living in the light? I can make this happen.” He grins and tilts his head to the side, eerie austerity giving way to something more amicable. Relatable. “So. You got a choice. You can follow your dreams and live in comfort, well within the confines of yourself. Or you can follow me and be someone more.” ndC2iz

There’s a long silence that follows. Each Hound caught in their own internal battle of uncertainty. But it only takes one to tip the scales.

Princess steps forward and kneels before Rin. Not a second passes and Happy follows suit. Then another. One by one, they kneel in the muck, submitting to the Rat.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Rin feels his little lord tighten his grip on his hand. He stares at his Hounds – his Mischief – in grim satisfaction.

The remnants of Korain’s blood sluices from his body in the rain. For the first time in years, he feels clean. sdCR8O

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6 comments

  1. My rinnie is such a good boy T_T jun too T_T do you best guys~ I’ll be cheering for you from here

    Thank you for the chapter!! <3