“Ah, right. Kid, did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Dukbae got rejected again.”

“…Again?”

The smell of garbage and disinfectant. The smell of my family.

“This time, I really thought he’d get married… wasn’t it going well?”

“It was.”

“Didn’t he even buy her… that really expensive bag?”

“A bag? She walked off the moment he told her about his job.”

“…Ah.”

“Where would she find someone like Dukbae again… being a cleaner is a sin. A goddamn sin.”

A somber face and a broom moving idly.

“…So, kid.”

“What now?”

“Is there nothing else you want to do besides cleaning?”

“Well… uh, no. Nothing.”

“Really? Not even one thing?”

“Yeah, I think being a cleaner is my calling.”

“A calling? You haven’t even served in the army yet.”

“What? What’s wrong with being a cleaner? Sure, it’s hard work, but the pay’s steady, and it feels rewarding to see a place cleaned up…”

“…And you can’t date anyone.”

“Dating? If I don’t, that’s fine too.”

Raised eyebrows. A paused vacuum cleaner.

“With that face of yours, not dating is practically a crime against women.”

“…Hyung, stop slacking and just do your job. I’ve got a documentary to watch tonight.”

“Another damn documentary? Hey! Don’t you think about the captain?”

“What does the captain have to do with this?”

“Look, we’re done for, but you… you’ve gotta show the captain a grandkid someday.”

“…”

“Don’t worry about the money. Just find yourself a nice girl. We’ll pay for the wedding, and the captain will take care of the house.”

“What…”

“You know, right? The captain’s secretly loaded.”

“…Why would I spend that money? It should go to his daughter.”

“You fool. A son raised in the heart is better than a daughter who ran away.”

A wrinkled brow. A small realization.

“…Hyung.”

“What?”

“That’s not your idea, is it?”

“…Is it that obvious?”

“The guy who only ever talks about cars suddenly saying that? Of course it’s obvious.”

Chunsik-hyung sighed deeply.

“Honestly, big bro told me to say it.”

“…Big bro? Why?”

“Apparently, some fortune teller told him he’ll be harassed by women all his life unless he gets married quickly.”

“….”

“They said he has the face of… what was it? Yang So-yu?”

“Who the hell is Yang So-yu? Stop with the nonsense and—”

James-hyung’s voice interrupted from across the hall.

“Hey! Kid, Chunsik! Are you still not done over there?!”

“Almost done!”

“Finish up quick! The captain says we’ll wrap it up here today and hit the pub!”

Pub? Dung Beetle’s hand instinctively gripped the broom tighter.

 

Yeomyeong loosened his grip on his sword.

Belatedly, he realized he was panting heavily. His legs trembled, and a sharp ringing buzzed in his ears.

Hoo—

Taking a deep breath, he quietly looked over the scene he had created.

The Player’s body lay sprawled in a pool of blood.

The injuries carved into his flesh recreated exactly what he had done to the cleaners.

Dukbae’s chest split open. Chunsik’s arm severed. James-hyung torn in two. The team captain, brutally stomped. And… Dung Beetle with his head severed.

Ironically, the emptiness sages and saints spoke of after revenge was nowhere to be found. Instead, he felt a small sense of accomplishment.

Were the sages wrong?

Or perhaps it was because the revenge wasn’t over yet.

No, it had to be. Killing the Player was only the beginning.

There were still so many left to kill. To restore the dignity of the cleaners who could never return…

“…Ah.”

At that thought, Yeomyeong realized he was crying.

Tears heavy with joy, sorrow, blood, and ash ran down his cheeks.

The same tears he had shed when building the cleaners’ graves.

Now’s not the time.

Wiping his face roughly, Yeomyeong turned toward the dimensional gate.

Or he tried to.

At that moment, as he stepped forward and his tear fell into the Player’s pool of blood,

Fwoosh!

A blinding light filled his vision.

Reflexively shielding his eyes with his arm, Yeomyeong squinted into the light.

For a brief moment, he saw nothing. But then, as his eyes adjusted and his mana tensed with anticipation,

He noticed it.

A small, dazzling orb of light floating in the air.

It was familiar. The same orb Miginium had shown him in his dream on the way to North Manchuria.

Back then, Miginium had spoken of fate. At the time, he hadn’t understood, but now, he thought he might.

The Player’s fate?

He wasn’t certain, but no other explanation came to mind.

Cautiously, Yeomyeong examined the orb. It floated quietly, unchanged, as if waiting for him.

Reluctantly, or perhaps instinctively, he reached out.

The moment his fingers touched the orb,

Crack.

It shattered into dust.

Yeomyeong instinctively waved his hand, but before he could react, the glowing dust swirled through the air and poured into his chest.

What… is this?

Panicking, he unbuttoned his uniform, checking his body while channeling mana through every vein.

But no matter how thoroughly he searched, nothing had changed. It was as if the dust had never been there.

An illusion? No. Am I turning into a second Player? Or…

His thoughts were cut short as the dimensional gate thundered again.

Rumble…!

The stone altar and the sewer itself shook violently.

Yeomyeong buttoned up his uniform and headed for the gate.

As he climbed the stone steps, mana surged around him, whipping his hair and clothes.

The dimensional gate, warped with corrupted mana, was collapsing.

Up close, it resembled a black tear in space, its depths filled with nothing but darkness.

Spreading his mana, Yeomyeong scanned the void beyond the gate, biting his lip.

The bastard was right.

If the gate collapsed, the mana backlash would obliterate the sewer’s barrier, destroying everything above it—Academy included.

Yeomyeong hadn’t rejected the Player’s offer without thought.

He had a plan.

The Golden Imperial Seal.

A magical artifact capable of unlocking and opening any seal in the world.

He wasn’t sure why, but he felt certain the seal could reopen the gate.

Unlocking a gate and breaking a seal are the same thing, the seal seemed to whisper to him.

Pulling the artifact from his inner pocket, Yeomyeong channeled his mana into it.

The whisper became reality.

Golden magic circles surged from the seal, engulfing the gate and drawing in the runaway mana.

But not everything went according to plan.

The mana required to open the gate far exceeded his expectations.

Fwoooosh!

Barely a minute after the magic circle activated, blood trickled from the corner of Yeomyeong’s lips.

+++++

 

BOOM!!

The sewer floor cracked under Seti’s hammer, the sheer impact blasting apart a cluster of zombies.

The destructive force left even Seongnyeo and Soemiri, trailing behind her, momentarily speechless.

A few surviving Fiends lunged at Seti, but Seongnyeo’s bullets tore through their heads before they got close.

“…There’s no end to this.”

Seti gritted her teeth as she heard more footsteps echoing from deeper in the sewer.

It had been over twenty minutes since they had followed the sound of the dimensional gate. But the sudden horde of zombies and Fiends had pinned them down just short of their goal.

Given the party’s skills, it was only a matter of time before they broke through, but an unsettling sense of urgency gnawed at Seti.

“Soemiri. Can you pull off a wide-area spell?”

“A wide-area spell? Yes, I can, but…”

“Then get it ready. Let’s blow them all away with one big hit and charge through.”

It was a risky plan that could leave them surrounded, but no one voiced an objection.

As Seti silently received their agreement and began summoning the power of Red Thunderclap,

Soemiri, who had been staring into the distance, suddenly raised her hand to stop her.

“Wait. I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“…What?”

Before Seti could ask what she meant, the advancing zombies and Fiends froze in place. Their bodies began to tremble violently.

What’s happening?

Narrowing her eyes, Seti carefully studied the monsters just as a sickening, wet sound echoed through the air.

With an explosive squelch, the zombies and Fiends’ bodies burst simultaneously, splattering foul sludge across the sewer floor.

Seti was momentarily speechless at the grotesque sight.

Soemiri frowned and muttered.

“We need to run. Right now.”

“Run?”

“Now!”

Soemiri didn’t wait for an answer. She bolted deeper into the sewer.

The sudden sprint left no time for hesitation. Seti and Seongnyeo immediately followed, their boots splashing through the blood and gore.

They ran.

The stench of blood thickened, and the warped mana clung to their skin as they approached the dimensional gate.

That’s when it came into view.

A brilliant golden light flooded their vision.

“The Golden Imperial Seal?!”

Seti immediately recognized it. Before Seongnyeo could ask what the seal was, Seti shot forward with a burst of Flash Step, outpacing the others.

Fwoosh!

Like an arrow, she streaked toward the source of the golden light.

In the chaotic clearing where the explosion had torn through the hideout, Seti landed.

There, atop the ominously stacked stone altar and before the black, rippling dimensional gate,

Yeomyeong stood.

He was right in front of the gate, clutching the Golden Imperial Seal.

There was no need for explanations. No time for questions.

Seti leaped onto the altar and landed beside him.

“Yeom—!”

She started to call his name but froze as soon as she saw him.

Yeomyeong stood there, eyes closed, blood streaming from his mouth, eyes, and ears.

The veins across his face and hands had burst under the strain of channeling mana, his body clearly unable to bear the overwhelming flow.

Without hesitation, Seti placed her hands over his and poured her mana into the seal.

In an instant, a dizzying torrent of mana surged through her, flowing directly into the Golden Imperial Seal.

Yeomyeong, sensing her presence, turned his head slightly.

“Seti? How did you…?”

“With all this chaos, of course I came.”

“…Ah. That makes sense.”

Yeomyeong forced a faint smile, pretending to be calm. But the tears of blood streaking his face made it look more like a grimace of pain.

“…Seti. Don’t stay here. Step back for a while. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

It was a line filled with gentle consideration, reminiscent of her sister.

Suppressing the swell of emotions threatening to burst from her chest, Seti simply poured more mana into the seal and replied.

“No.”

“….”

“In fact, I’ll make you a proposal. We live together, or we die together. Which one do you prefer?”

Before Yeomyeong could respond to her question,

A familiar, flippant voice cut in.

“Obviously, you live together. What kind of nonsense is that?”

Seongnyeo appeared, dragging Jeon Yunseong behind her as she climbed onto the altar.

Glancing between Yeomyeong and Seti, she placed her hand on the seal and added nonchalantly,

“Although… dying with Seti wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

“….”

“…It’s a joke. Why are you both glaring at me?”

Seongnyeo’s polished mana joined theirs, amplifying the golden magic circle. The dimensional gate began to widen further.

Finally, Soemiri stepped onto the altar and rested her wand atop the seal, her voice calm.

“I think living sounds like a better idea. We’re still young. It’d be a waste to die now.”

“….”

“What about you, Yeomyeong?”

Despite the blood that blinded his eyes, Yeomyeong felt as though he were looking directly at all three of them.

And maybe that’s why, for once, he held back the honest answer in his throat and chose the safest response.

“…No comment.”