Minutes after the flames erupted inside the building, the front gates opened.

The figures that emerged were people wielding fire extinguishers.

"Probably the people who were watching the school building," Seongho thought.

Unfortunately for the cannibal camp, the situation didn’t unfold as they had hoped. The people didn’t manage to extinguish the fire.

Seongho had attacked them and knocked them out cold.

Afterward, he casually laid them out in a corner of the building.

When the people who noticed the flames arrived, he subtly blended in with them.

In the chaos of the fire, they began carrying dirt to the school, as if it was just another task.

Minutes passed. 

After a brief wait, Go Ji-hoon appeared, leading his dolls in tow.

As expected, the dolls did not approach the building where the fire had broken out. They were focused on digging dirt on the field.

Meanwhile, Go Ji-hoon was furious, cursing at the sight of the fire.

With most of the dolls leaving Go Ji-hoon’s side now, and the camp members subtly distancing themselves from his fury...

**‘Now’s the chance.’**

Blending in with the people, Seongho changed his direction towards Go Ji-hoon.

One step, then another.

With every step closer, Seongho’s heartbeat quickened.

And then, Go Ji-hoon, sensing something, suddenly turned around.

- There was no guilt in the retreating figure, which shielded dozens of lives as it fled from danger.

The vivid sentence echoed in Seongho’s mind, clearly from the original text.

Without hesitation, Seongho hurled a basket of dirt straight into Go Ji-hoon’s face.

“Ah! You bastard, what the hell is this?!”

Go Ji-hoon screamed and rubbed his face, dirt spilling into his eyes.

In the meantime, Seongho took out an axe he had tucked inside his padded jacket, keeping the lighter in his hand.

Click.

The small spark immediately engulfed the oil-soaked blanket, rapidly growing.

Almost at the same time, Go Ji-hoon flinched, shaking, and quickly stumbled backward, as if to fall.

Whoosh!

The flaming axe narrowly missed the spot where Go Ji-hoon had been standing.

The fire spread rapidly, licking the air.

The flames traveled up, touching the people scattered across the field.

“Grrrgh...!”

“Haah!”

Those who had lost control of their bodies collapsed, clutching their heads.

This moment revealed why Go Ji-hoon refused to let his dolls anywhere near the flames.

It was because the threads he created with his ability were vulnerable to fire.

“Eeeek...!”

Go Ji-hoon, sensing his threads burning, forced his bloodshot eyes open.

In that moment, the mixed emotions of confusion, suspicion, and malice surged in his gaze.

Seongho’s mind raced through the events and sights he had witnessed so far.

His emotions, fueled by anger, escaped in a mocking tone.

“Still not done with your confession, Father?”

Go Ji-hoon’s expression twisted violently as he realized who was speaking.

“You bastard...!”

His eyes, once filled with shock, quickly filled with rage.

The change was utterly ridiculous.

The same person who had crushed the hope of dozens who thought they had found a safe place...

The same person who had enjoyed pushing the camp members to the brink of despair, now fuming over being hit once.

Clenching his teeth, Seongho swung the flaming axe faster than before.

Go Ji-hoon hurriedly threw himself to the side, but this time, even more threads burned away.

The faces of the man locked in the priest’s residence and the people trapped in the church's basement filled Seongho's mind.

Seongho quickly closed the gap, following Go Ji-hoon, who was trying to retreat.

Then, once more...

Whoosh!

Though invisible to the eye, the threads clearly burned again.

Go Ji-hoon, who had tumbled and skidded across the field, frantically shouted.

“Everyone, capture this bastard!”

He was trying to rally the people who were still under control.

But no one came.

“Stop him!”

“Yun, snap out of it!”

“Enough! Stop playing around!”

Those who had broken free from control were holding onto those who hadn’t yet been freed.

Some were sitting, crying helplessly.

Others, tangled up with those who had committed cannibalism, vented their fury.

“Die! Die! You damn devil!”

“Ahhhhh!”

The arena was filled with desperate screams and venomous shouts.

Soon, dozens of people gathered in the school yard, writhing in chaos, with Go Ji-hoon and Seongho at the center.

Go Ji-hoon looked around, defeated.

Seongho, swinging his axe from side to side, taunted him.

“Not calling anyone else?”

“Eeek...! You damn bastard...!”

Go Ji-hoon ground his teeth at Seongho’s mocking tone.

“Where did you come from?! Why the hell are you doing this now?!”

“And where did you come from?”

“What?”

“Where did you come from to do this disgusting thing, eating people like some fucking dog?”

Seongho’s voice was calm but laced with anger.

“Didn’t you think that if you did something awful to others, it could happen to you too?”

Seongho closed the distance, and Go Ji-hoon flinched back, stepping away.

Then, suddenly, Go Ji-hoon rushed at Seongho with wide eyes.

Seongho immediately twisted his waist and shoulders.

As Go Ji-hoon missed his target, losing balance and stumbling forward, the burning axe grazed his face.

“Ugh!”

Once again, the threads burned, creating a long gash from Go Ji-hoon’s chin to his eyes.

The axe, hidden behind the burning blanket, had cut him deeply.

Go Ji-hoon rolled in pain, thrashing on the dirt.

‘This bastard, who ate people and murdered, is throwing a tantrum just because he’s scratched on the face.’

Seongho, as Go Ji-hoon tried to crawl away, stomped on his back with his foot.

“Cough!”

“You thought I’d just fall into your trap and get caught by your ability?”

“Y-You... know about my ability...?”

“You don’t know how to disconnect, but you’re trying to connect.”

Earlier, when Go Ji-hoon had rushed at Seongho, it had been to use his ability on him.

Just like Seongho’s virus-purging ability, Go Ji-hoon’s puppet master ability required skin-to-skin contact.

That’s why Seongho had avoided touching Go Ji-hoon, only striking him from a distance.

And of course, Seongho would never let Go Ji-hoon grab him.

“AAH! Hah!”

Go Ji-hoon screamed as Seongho started beating him in earnest.

The smell of burning clothes, hair, and flesh filled the air.

As the flames continued to spread in the empty space, those who had lost their control and had their bodies taken from them were freed.

How long did Seongho continue to strike him?

When the flames on the axe finally began to die down, there were no more threads left burning.

‘Is it over?’

He wasn’t sure, so he decided to double-check.

If Go Ji-hoon died while the connection still existed, the dolls would remain under control, discarded as empty husks.

That’s why when the protagonist killed Go Ji-hoon, hundreds were left mindless.

If Seongho didn’t want to turn them into mindless puppets, he would have to burn all the threads before killing him.

Fortunately, Go Ji-hoon had already lost consciousness.

Seongho grabbed his hair and ran his body through the flames to check.

After some time, he was certain.

Just as he was about to finish the task, a presence suddenly caught his attention.

He turned, and a person covered in blood appeared before him.

The person’s aura was so ominous that even Seongho, who could easily subdue civilians, instinctively hesitated.

A large rock, dripping with blood, was held by another man who approached, and beside him, someone wielding a weapon joined them.

Only then did Seongho realize how eerily quiet the surroundings had become.

As he glanced around, he noticed that all the people who had been shouting and rushing around the fire had disappeared.

Instead, most of the figures were sprawled on the dirt ground, fallen.

They were the members of the cannibal camp.

‘...The ones under control won.’

The outcome didn’t surprise Seongho.

There were nearly twice as many controlled people compared to those who weren’t.

‘But I didn’t expect such a brutal sight.’

Looking at it, no one would think they were the victims.

‘They look more like demons or asuras now.’

As Seongho silently observed them, the first man to approach him asked in a grating voice.

“Aren’t you going to kill him?”

His gaze shifted to Go Ji-hoon, still lying there.

Seongho could clearly see the malicious intent in his eyes.

It seemed like they knew that Seongho had freed them.

If not, they would have charged at Go Ji-hoon immediately.

Seongho calmly spoke.

“I’ll kill him.”

He had already confirmed multiple times that there were no more threads.

Now, killing Go Ji-hoon wasn’t a problem.

So, he intended to finish the job himself.

"Wait."

The man who had approached Seongho suddenly stopped him, his voice sharp.

"How?"

"What?"

"I asked how you're going to kill him. You can't be planning to finish him off with that, can you?"

The man pointed to the axe, where the flames had nearly died out.

"Is that how you're going to end it?"

The man seemed unwilling to let it end so easily.

There was an intense, almost suffocating feeling of deep hatred and resentment in his gaze.

Seongho glanced between the charred axe and the nameless man, trying to process this unfamiliar emotion.

"I don't know what your relationship is with that bastard... but if you're going to kill him, just hand him over to us."

The man’s voice dripped with excitement and malice, showing no intention of hiding his bloodlust.

Seongho could already imagine what would happen if he handed over the unconscious Go Ji-hoon.

Objectively speaking, it wasn't Seongho's place to intervene.

‘I did save them, but that's all.’

In terms of grudges, those people had far more personal connections to Go Ji-hoon than Seongho did.

No matter what their current state was, they had every right to seek revenge on Go Ji-hoon.

And Seongho had neither the right nor the desire to stop them from doing so.

Besides, the verification process related to his ability was already complete.

The only issue left was the quest specific to the "Destiny Pioneer."

‘But there’s no condition attached that I must kill him.’

The quest simply stated that Seongho either had to kill him or directly contribute to his death.

After some thought, Seongho made up his mind and shoved Go Ji-hoon forward by the collar.

"Please, hand over the corpse."

To Seongho, Go Ji-hoon’s cause of death was irrelevant.

What mattered was that Go Ji-hoon was dead.

And yet, the man’s interest was exactly the opposite of Seongho’s.

"Once that bastard is dead, we’re not interested."

The man, who had grabbed Go Ji-hoon’s limp body from the ground, had a strangely twitching smile at the corner of his mouth.

Seongho silently observed the face of the nameless man.

Eyes filled with deep malice and resentment.

Eyebrows twisted in sorrow.

Even as his mouth twisted downward in sadness, his lips curled up toward the sky with an endless, creeping grin.

The man’s face was complex, full of emotions Seongho couldn’t easily decipher, but as he tossed Go Ji-hoon’s body toward the others who looked like him, he spoke.

“Start.”

That day, Seongho witnessed what vengeance in a ruined world truly meant.