Zone Zero. Neo Seoul's 'Zone Zero' was called that.

Beyond the beautiful flower fields. In stark contrast.

Quiet, dark, foggy, and eerie ghost towns were the landscape of Zone Zero that people knew.

It was a strictly closed-off area, officially known to be uninhabited.

This was because of the pervasive miasma from monsters and radiation that contaminated living organisms.

Neo Seoul is a safe land.

A few places in the world are safe from monster attacks, thanks to the mercy and blessing of the Golden Sheep, and Neo Seoul was one of them.

However, Zone Zero was officially outside the boundaries of that safe land, a common knowledge widely spread in society.

It was said that the boundary of the Golden Sheep's blessing was unclear, and such a mistake occurred during urban development.

…This was a false common knowledge.

Zone Zero was also a land blessed by the Golden Sheep.

Only a few people in the city knew this fact.

“Ah…, it hurts….”

The medical facility was located in the middle of the desolate city center.

It was an abandoned hospital, and only the subordinates of the Grand Principal resided there.

Moon Chae-yeon lay in bed, chuckling to herself.

She was receiving treatment and resting. However, the continuous pain was unavoidable for the time being.

'That guy is ridiculously strong...'

Chae-yeon recalled An Woo-jin, the head of the student council at Asong High.

She couldn’t forget the moment the Iron Dragon Staff hit her abdomen squarely.

It had been a long time since she experienced a warning in her head saying 'dangerous.'

'He's definitely not just a Fifth Rank. At least a Sixth Rank.'

To inflict effective damage on her, at least upper Fifth Rank level magic was needed.

With this level of powerful force, it had to be at least Sixth Rank or higher.

She turned her head and looked out the window.

The dull gray city landscape came into view.

'Is this the result of being careless...?'

Chae-yeon chuckled to herself.

“I didn’t want to come to such a dreary place again.”

The sky was also gloomy as if it was about to rain.

It could be described as an ashen city.

“How unpleasant...”

The lack of electromagnetic waves made it difficult for her to fully utilize her abilities.

The scenery itself was chilling and filled her with repulsion.

Moreover, being here inevitably reminded her of her childhood.

Babies classified as top-grade after being measured for innate magic were sent to facilities in Zone Zero. Chae-yeon was no exception.

She could never forget the things she experienced afterward, even if she wanted to.

'Still, I like the quiet and the lack of surveillance.'

Zone Zero, being an abandoned area, rarely had security robots.

If someone found security robots in Zone Zero, they would undoubtedly be suspicious.

While she was lost in her thoughts.

“You shouldn’t be here...!”

Whack! Thud!

The guards outside the hallway who were protecting Chae-yeon seemed to be caught up in some commotion, but she didn’t care.

Click. Creak.

“What’s happening?”

Chae-yeon asked without turning her head.

“Huff, huff…”

The person who entered the hospital room was a woman with cherry blossom-colored hair.

She was panting heavily and bleeding profusely.

Blood was smeared on her fresh-colored hair.

It was Kim Dal-bi, one of the Six Criminals.

“Judging by the look of you, you must have defied the Grand Principal?”

Chae-yeon spoke, looking at Dal-bi’s reflection in the window.

“What’s the reason? Because you messed with the Asong High student council president?”

Chae-yeon asked nonchalantly.

Dal-bi approached Chae-yeon without answering. The sword in her hand faintly reflected the dim light of the room.

Chae-yeon turned her head towards Dal-bi and smirked.

“You came here to deal with me because you couldn’t have a proper conversation? Then you should have killed the guys outside first. Don’t tell me… you’re still holding onto that ridiculous non-killing principle?”

Chae-yeon shrugged provocatively.

Dal-bi’s eyes had a murderous coldness.

“I’m not going to kill you. I just want to make sure you can’t fight anymore.”

“What’s your plan? Touching me now is a clear act of treason, isn’t it?”

“If it comes to this, I have to commit treason.”

Sring.

Dal-bi raised her sword.

“You broke your promise.”

She swung the sword.

Swish!

At that moment, black particles rose up and formed an arched mechanical shield to protect Chae-yeon.

It was a defensive measure shaped by the reserved electromagnetic waves.

Clang!

The sword and the shield collided with a clear metallic sound. A strong wind blew around due to the clash of magic.

As if she expected it, Dal-bi tried to launch another attack.

Then Chae-yeon swiftly got off the bed and engaged in a brief but skillful exchange of blows with Dal-bi.

After a short scuffle, they ended up in a deadlock, their arms locked together.

“Ah, it hurts...”

Chae-yeon groaned.

The harsh movements made her abdomen feel like it was about to burst. She openly showed her pain.

It was clear that if the fight continued here, Chae-yeon would lose.

However, Chae-yeon provocatively glared at Dal-bi.

“Hey, don’t you think it’s too much to target a patient?”

“……”

“You always have this problem. You’re like a beagle. Selfish and an expert at causing trouble for others, right?”

Dal-bi snorted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’d be the type to cling and obsess over everything in a relationship. Doesn’t the Asong High student council president hate you too? Oh, yeah. I heard you guys had a big fight last time? You keep getting close to someone who already avoids you? What? You’re just protecting someone you like? You’re the one who dealt with all the idiots approaching An Woo-jin, right? Wow! Amazing, Kim Dal-bi!”

“What do you know?”

Dal-bi’s face, covered in blood, showed a mocking smile. But her eyes were far from smiling.

“Don’t you get it? That’s stalking, stalking. You’re just a criminal, a pathetic stalker.”

This time, Chae-yeon laughed.

“Dal-bi? Do you think only you want to pursue love and dream of a happy life? We were out of place from the moment we were dragged to the Grand Principal, no, from the moment we were born.”

“…I can’t listen to this anymore.”

Dal-bi snorted and tried to push Chae-yeon and swing her sword.

Whoosh!

“!”

In an instant, a man entered the hospital room and kicked Dal-bi in the head.

Already exhausted and solely focused on Chae-yeon, Dal-bi couldn’t react in time.

Bang!!

Dal-bi’s body flew and crashed through the hospital wall, falling outside the building.

The man who kicked Dal-bi jumped out through the broken wall and flew towards her.

In midair, Dal-bi barely held onto her fading consciousness and gripped her sword again.

“Safe, aren’t you?”

Shortly after, a girl in a nun’s habit entered the hospital room. It was Spartoi Son Ye-seo.

“Sigh…”

Chae-yeon sighed deeply and leaned against the wall. Ye-seo bent down and looked at her.

“Are you okay?”

“Almost died. My ability is highly dependent on the situation. Here, I’m practically the weakest.”

Chae-yeon grumbled.

The wind crawled in through the broken wall. Outside, the howls of goblins and the sounds of battle could be heard.

“Why don’t you just get rid of that beagle?”

“I heard she’s a top-grade. Unfortunately, Dal-bi is more valuable than you, Chae-yeon.”

Chae-yeon fell silent at the mention of top-grade.

“Chae-yeon?”

Ye-seo called out in suspicion, and Chae-yeon looked nonchalant, gazing at the broken wall.

“She’s not even using her ability? Look. Tsk. She’s already beaten. She looked exhausted from the start.”

“That’s understandable. She was chased by Hong-gyu and had a fight with our strongest member before that.”

“Seo Gang-jin?”

“Yes.”

A man known to be the second strongest in Neo Seoul after Goliath.

It was Spartoi Seo Gang-jin.

“No wonder she’s in that state.”

Just knowing she fought Seo Gang-jin explained why Dal-bi ended up in such a mess.

“He wouldn’t have let anyone go…. Right after leaving it to Hong-gyu, Dal-bi must have escaped?”

“Exactly. But she can’t run away anymore.”

Outside the building.

The ground and buildings around were disjointed.

Several goblins were pinned against rocks, covered in blood.

In the midst of it, Dal-bi was shackled to a rock structure, in tatters.

A red-haired man glared at Dal-bi with furious eyes.

One of Neo Seoul’s Six Criminals.

One of the twin glutton siblings, Hong-gyu.

“Kim Dal-bi.”

Hong-gyu stared at Dal-bi.

Dal-bi hung her head, blood dripping down. All she could do was cling to her consciousness.

“Do you think I’m a pushover?”

Hong-gyu spoke irritably, raising his trembling hand.

“If you’re going to resist, you should give it your all, right? You haven’t given up just because you’re weaker than me, have you? Huh? Right now! Transform into a goblin!”

“I... won’t.”

“……”

Thud!

Hong-gyu punched Dal-bi’s abdomen.

Then, he grabbed her hair and lifted her to meet her eyes.

“Cough...!”

“Still afraid of the penalty? Just for such a trivial reason?”

Hong-gyu’s fiery rage turned icy cold.

“I’m wasting time that I could spend with my sister on someone like you…? Because of your stubbornness. Shouldn’t you at least show some sincerity?”

“……”

“Hah.”

As if tired of it, Hong-gyu released the magic that formed the rock structure and kicked Dal-bi.

Thud!

It sounded like kicking a soccer ball.

Crash!

Dal-bi’s body flew and crashed into an abandoned building.

Dal-bi, already exhausted after confronting the Grand Principal, had no strength left to resist Hong-gyu.

“The Grand Principal has a message for you, despite everything. You’re not being abandoned. Your mission remains. Merciful, isn’t it?”

Hong-gyu scoffed and pointed at Dal-bi.

In the rising dust, Dal-bi leaned her head against the building’s exterior wall, coughing and gasping for air.

“Tch. Reflect on your actions. I’m leaving now.”

Hong-gyu spat on the ground in disgust and walked away.

Meanwhile.

“Is there a need to leave her like that?”

Chae-yeon spoke as she lay down on the new bed Ye-seo had arranged.

“No matter how good her ability is, it’s useless if she doesn’t use it, right? And she keeps defying the Grand Principal, so is it worth keeping her alive? She’s not even a double-edged sword.”

“Dal-bi will eventually use her ability.”

“How?”

Ye-seo clapped her hands lightly and put the back of her hand to her cheek.

“The Grand Principal has plans. Especially for someone as emotional as Dal-bi, she’s easy to handle.”

“Huh…”

There was nothing more to say about the Grand Principal.

Chae-yeon stared at the new hospital ceiling.

“…But what kind of penalty does Kim Dal-bi have that she restricts her ability so much?”

“Well, you see.”

Ye-seo briefly explained the penalty of Dal-bi’s inherent ability.

“Ah…, if it’s her, that makes sense.”

Chae-yeon responded indifferently, turning her head toward the window.

Raindrops began to fall on the window one by one.

……

Heavy rain pounded the pavement.

Kim Dal-bi clutched her broken arm and dragged herself forward. Blood and dirt were washed away by the rain.

It was already dark.

The ashen city was enveloped in darkness, and Dal-bi relied on her adapted vision and senses as she walked.

“Huff, huff…”

She had lost a lot of blood.

After fighting the strongest among the Grand Principal’s subordinates, she had exhausted almost all her magic.

Yet her heart still beat.

Her nose and mouth still breathed.

Thinking that all these life activities were maintained by the Grand Principal’s mercy, Dal-bi felt humiliated.

But she had to survive now. Only then could she achieve her plan.

So she just kept walking.

While passing through an alley, the shortest route to escape Zone Zero.

Thud.

Her legs gave out.

Barely crawling on the ground, she propped herself up against a building wall. She decided to wait there until she regained her strength.

“Huff, huff…”

Dal-bi panted.

In the meantime, Chae-yeon’s voice echoed in her head.

─ ‘You’d be the type to cling and obsess over everything in a relationship. Doesn’t the Asong High student council president hate you too?’

─ ‘You keep getting close to someone who already avoids you? What? You’re just protecting someone you like?’

Dal-bi snorted.

“Ah, that hit a nerve…”

Clinging.

Could there be a word that suited her more?

She couldn’t deny it.

“Sigh…”

The sound of the rain.

The sound of wind escaping through her lips broke the silence.

Dal-bi looked up at the dark sky pouring rain. Soon, a wry smile formed on her lips.

“What am I doing…”

She would someday bring the Grand Principal to ruin.

That determination would not change.

If so, what if her plan succeeded?

What then?

The image of Woo-jin and Oh Baek-seo looking affectionate naturally came to mind.

Blessed by the heavens, the two were dazzlingly bright together.

Unlike them, she remained in dark and gloomy places.

Woo-jin had Baek-seo.

He had the student council, students who admired him, and many friends.

There was no place for Dal-bi by Woo-jin’s side.

There was nowhere to return to.

At that moment.

Splash, splash.

The sound of footsteps splashing through puddles.

A deliberate, intentional sound turned Dal-bi’s head.

Sring.

A sword was drawn from its scabbard, and the blade caught the rainwater.

The one holding the sword was a woman who once sided with the darkness.

A short-haired woman.

Oh Baek-seo approached Dal-bi with a cold gleam in her eyes.

“The heavens are indifferent…”

Dal-bi’s lips curled up.

I had a nightmare.

As soon as I woke up, the content of the dream faded from my memory, but it was clearly a vivid nightmare. Somehow, my consciousness was searching for Baek-seo and Dal-bi.

Wiping the cold sweat off my forehead, I looked around.

Ha Ye-song was sleeping with her head down on my bed.

Park Min-hyuk was sleeping on the other side of the room.

Baek-seo was nowhere to be seen.

‘Where did she go?’

It was 2 a.m.

I felt bad calling at this hour, but a sense of foreboding made me dial Baek-seo’s number.

The ringing continued for a while until the voicemail message blared in my ear.

[The number you have dialed is not reachable. Please leave a message after the beep.]

I ended the call and shook Ye-song’s shoulder.

“Ye-song.”

“Uh, um, just one more bite…”

“Ye-song.”

“…Yes?”

Ye-song woke up, rubbing her sleepy eyes and looking at me.

“Chief…? You’re awake…?”

“Where’s Baek-seo? Where did she go?”

“She said she had something to do… She asked me to tell you she won’t be around for a few days if you woke up… Seems like something urgent came up…, oh? Chief!?”

I pulled out the IV and used space leap to exit the hospital room.