"Sihoo!"

I turned my gaze toward the direction of the voice calling for Sihoo.
It was a silver-haired girl.
Her hair gleamed even in the darkness, which spoke volumes about how remarkable her hair must be.

She’s still young, which probably explains her lack of sense.
Instead of joining the attack, she just called out his name.
If she had ambushed me, I might have been killed on the spot.

No matter how heightened my senses are, my body’s physical abilities couldn’t keep up.
Unless someone like Han Sihoo deliberately spared me…

"But what’s that? A monster?"

Monster?

"Is it a person? Why is the magic black?"

She spoke while drawing her sword.
Just because the magic is a bit dark, does that make me a monster?
I understand.

The novel did mention that monsters have dark-colored magic.
It also mentioned that people strengthened with special drugs could wield black magic.
I’m using drugs, but I’m no monster.

"Rena, wait for a moment."

"Huh, you’re not fighting? I came here to help."

"We’re in the middle of a conversation."

"Really?"

Rena.
Her full name was longer, but I couldn’t remember it.

Rena was close to Han Sihoo even before the main story started.
She’s like a little sister to him, a lively character.

"Oh, that? Got it. I’ll stay quiet."

I have no idea what "that" is, but it seems like she decided not to interfere.

Besides Rena, I could see more academy people approaching.
Probably because of Han Sihoo.
The doctor won’t be able to hold off all the distractions.
He’s already let one slip by.

I need to finish this quickly.
If I don’t, I’ll never be able to kill Han Sihoo.

He’s a monster.
An unkillable monster.
Han Sihoo is a monster.
People accept it because he’s the protagonist, but from anyone else’s perspective, he’s a pure monster.

For good people, it’s better if monsters like him don’t exist.
Killing him from the start would be for the benefit of humanity.

My bloodlust flared up.

But to be honest, the bloodlust came first, and I added the reason afterward.
Even without a reason, I would still want to kill Han Sihoo.

Wait, does that make me the real monster?
Wanting to kill someone for no reason?

"...My head hurts."

My head throbbed.
Even that pain turned into pleasure, which was absurd.

I have to fight and win quickly.
I adjusted my grip on the sword in my left hand, ready to strike at Han Sihoo.

"Seoa."

"What?"

"I’ll get you the drugs."

It was something I hadn’t expected to hear.

"Huh?"

"I’ll find a way to get them, so let’s not fight. Put that down."

"Drugs? How?"

I lowered the sword to the ground.
There seemed to be room for negotiation.
If not, I had planned to try mimicking one of the protagonist's skills.

"I’ll find a way, somehow."

Could he be serious?
If that’s true, half of my reason for fighting disappears.
I still wanted to kill Han Sihoo, but this level of impulse was something I could control.

"Hmm."

But how would he get the drugs?
It’s already beyond the level of standard hospital medication.
It doesn’t seem possible.

The drugs I’m using now can only be obtained through the doctor.
He said he made them himself.

But maybe Han Sihoo could take over the doctor’s organization and steal the drugs?
Or maybe he’ll find another way to manufacture them.
He’s the protagonist, after all.
Protagonists can always achieve whatever they set their minds to.

"I’ll manage. Don’t you want to give me a chance to make things right?"

He spoke with a determined look in his eyes.
When the protagonist says something like that, it’s hard not to believe him.

"Make things right..."

Why did I come here in the first place?

To get drugs.

I came here to kill the protagonist.

If I can’t kill him, I won’t get the drugs anyway, so maybe it’s better to side with him?

In the end, justice always wins.
And here, justice is the protagonist.
But victory itself doesn’t interest me.
What matters is whether I can keep taking the drugs.

"We don’t need to fight. Please, put that down."

Why does he keep asking me to lower the sword?
He’ll block any attack I make, anyway.

"Are you really going to get me the drugs?"

"Yes. If that’s what you want."

"Hmm..."

The doctor said he’d provide me with shelter and food.
Even if Han Sihoo brings me the drugs, it won’t change the fact that I’m completely broke.
The 5 million won in the bank isn’t mine.
I have no steady income.

[80 hours 33 minutes]

What happens when I run out of time?
I’ll just become a beggar.

"Then, can you give me a place to live... and food?"

I couldn’t help but laugh at myself for asking such a question.
Still, I decided to rely on the kind-hearted protagonist.

"Of course. As much as you need."

"Really?"

"I promise."

I was swayed.

As we talked, my desire to kill Han Sihoo faded.

Why is it fading?

It must be because of the protagonist’s ability.
He has a passive skill that removes all sorts of debuffs.
Later, the story brings in divine power and spirit magic.

The drug’s effect on my judgment seemed to lessen.
In fact, maybe this is the clearest I’ve been in a long time.

[79 hours 53 minutes]

Time was flying by.
It must be because I’ve been using the drug to maintain the magic sword.
I want to enjoy the effects of the drug for as long as possible.

"You’ll really get me the drugs?"

"I swear. So let’s go together."

I was truly torn.
If I can’t kill the protagonist anyway, maybe I should just join his side.

"You... you won’t abandon me, right?"

"I’ll never abandon you."

"We’re friends, right?"

"Yes."

There was certainty in his voice.
Looking at Han Sihoo, memories of the old Yuseoa came flooding back.

Back then, whenever something went wrong, Han Sihoo would always tell me to trust him.
And somehow, he always came up with a solution.
I started feeling the same way Yuseoa had felt.

"I’ll trust you."

Thud.

I dropped the sword I was holding.
The ominous black sword vanished as soon as it hit the ground.

"You did well."

"Haha."

Being praised felt nice.
It was a new feeling.
Positive interaction with another person brought me pleasure.

"Now, can you get rid of that magic around you? You’ll be fine."

"Okay."

I released all the magic surrounding my body.
It fell away like dust being brushed off.

[79 hours 52 minutes]

The rate at which the drug was being consumed slowed dramatically.
So, I can still enjoy this feeling for about 80 more hours.
I didn’t want to waste the drug’s effects either.

"I did well, right?"

Just as I was about to smile brightly,

Thud.

Something pierced through my body.
A blade.

"Huh?"

Thud. Crack.

It kept tearing through me.

Why was I stabbed?
I thought everything was fine.

I lost strength and collapsed.

Thud.

My head hit the dirt ground.

"As expected of Sihoo oppa. You really made her drop her guard with just words!"

Rena, who had been standing behind me, spoke.
I hadn’t even noticed her approaching.
Now that I thought about it, her abilities were always hard to detect.

"Rena!-"

"What? Wasn’t this the plan?"

I could hear Han Sihoo saying something, but it didn’t reach me clearly.
I tried to open my eyes, but my vision blurred.

I’d been betrayed.
He had reassured me, made me feel safe, only to stab me afterward.
I should’ve known from the start that the promise to get me the drugs was nonsense.
I had been fooled by the protagonist’s charm and abilities.
Damn him.
I should have killed him.

It was all a setup from the beginning.
I walked right into an obvious trap.

"Heheh. Haha."

Laughter bubbled up again.
Even in this moment, I felt joy.
The sensation of dying was turning into another wave of overwhelming pleasure.
My survival instincts and the drug’s effects battled each other.

"Gah, cough."

Blood dripped from my mouth.
If I could enjoy an expensive wine, would it taste like this?
I could taste the earthy flavor of the blood.

I never expected this to happen.

The drug was always right.
But Han Sihoo made me let my guard down and then betrayed me.

Didn’t you say you wouldn’t abandon me?
You said we were friends.
Didn’t you say it was okay?
Even though we had broken off ties before.

Of course, he wouldn’t keep me as a friend.
I’m a drug addict with a broken mind.
I wouldn’t want someone like me as a friend either.

I get it.

All I do is sit around high on drugs all day, useless to anyone.
I’ve lost the ability to live like any normal person.
Han Sihoo must’ve seen it that way too.

So, I should just die.

[56 hours 25 minutes]

The drug’s effect was dropping at an alarming rate.
Of course, it was—it’s only natural when your body is bleeding out.
Thankfully, I still couldn’t feel any pain.

Drugs are great.

"Ugh, cough, cough."

I couldn’t even laugh anymore.
It was getting harder to breathe.
How did it end up like this?

As the drug’s effects faded, my usual mental state came back.

Oh drug,
please grant me a blade.

A black dagger appeared in my hand.

Who am I supposed to stab?
The protagonist, Han Sihoo?
Or Rena, who stabbed me from behind?
Who am I supposed to stab?
Who do I need to attack?

Of course, it’s me.

In the novel’s story, Yuseoa should’ve died by now.
This was the problem—I tried to defy the natural flow of the story.
I was about to die, and yet, I wanted to survive.

It wasn’t the protagonist’s fault—it was my very existence that was wrong.

After all, it’s just a story.
Once I close my eyes and reopen them, I’ll return to the world I came from.
Right?

"Ah."

I tried to stab myself in the neck with the dagger, but someone grabbed my hand.

If you weren’t going to finish me off, why stop me from doing it myself?
If you wanted to kill me, do it properly.
Why try to save me now?

[22 hours 8 minutes]

With every second, chunks of time were being drained away.

I formed a sharp spike with my broken right hand.
It didn’t need to be a blade anymore.
I managed to bring the spike up to my throat, but my arm was grabbed again.

"Hah..."

Even now, I’m still feeling pleasure.
What kind of torment will I experience when the drug finally wears off?

No one even brought me more of the drug.
Not that it would’ve been enough anyway.

I could feel the blood pouring from the wound in my abdomen.
My mind recognized the seriousness of the situation, but my emotions didn’t align.
I was being consumed by an unprecedented feeling of pleasure.

I want to die.
Someone’s hand kept gripping me, stopping me from moving.
It seemed like they were trying desperately to keep me alive.

"I’m sorry, cough, cough."

I apologized to the person stopping me, spitting up blood.
I must’ve done something wrong for things to end up like this.
It had all been wrong since I started relying on the drug to survive.
I made some terrible mistake to end up in this situation.

Even if I didn’t do anything wrong, I’d still beg for forgiveness.
Just let me die.

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry."

I mumbled between fits of coughing up blood.
Someone was still holding me tightly.

Voices echoed around me.
I couldn’t understand a single word.

"Please, kill me. I’m sorry."

Why are they trying to keep me alive like this?
Do they want to toy with me, like a plaything?
Do they enjoy watching me suffer?

[Exhausted.]

There’s no more time left.

For real.