“So you’re saying you want to cosplay as me?”

Defender’s sister’s proposal sounded surreal.

The idea of someone else impersonating me—acting as if they were me—felt completely disconnected from reality. To mimic Park Gyu? The Professor Park Gyu?

“That… wouldn’t be easy.”

It wouldn’t. It was far from simple.

“What’s so hard about just borrowing your account?”

Well, when she put it that way, it did sound a bit easier.

“...Hmm.”

“Let me explain why I’m bringing this up all of a sudden. Oppa, you’re okay with it, right?”

“Yeah. Skeleton, listen to what my sister has to say.”

But as usual, when it came to Defender’s sister, listening wasn’t enough. It was more about watching.

Message from Defender:
Did you know our Viva! Apocalypse! accounts and gear are being traded on PaleNet? They keep popping up on the secondhand boards. Probably from people who died ages ago. Looters or scavengers must have kept them without knowing what they were, and now they’ve figured out their use and started selling them.

Message from Defender:
One of the buyers is watching us.

Defender’s sister showed me a message from the suspicious individual.

Message from JUSTICE_MIN:
Hey, Defender. You’re that crazy bastard from Viva! Apocalypse!, right? Killing people left and right and posting proof of it? Lol. What the hell, man. Lololol.

Message from JUSTICE_MIN:
Well, now I know who you are. The Warrior of Justice knows you. From today onward, I’m hunting you down. I’ll track you, expose you, and “certify” it. Wait for it. It won’t take lo-o-o-ong...!!!

“What the hell is this? Is this guy a middle schooler?”

“I wish,” Defender’s sister sighed.

“But if someone’s capable of getting their hands on our gear in today’s world...”

“They’re no ordinary person,” Defender added.

Both siblings seemed to take this situation pretty seriously.

“They could be part of a looter gang or even a pioneering squad.”

“That’s not out of the question.”

“In a situation like this, it’s dangerous for people to know that we’re a two-person team. You understand, right? That’s one of our weapons.”

“Hmm...”

“Don’t just hum. Listen to the rest!”

Defender’s sister’s plan was straightforward: she would record a beatboxing video, upload it using my Skeleton account, and draw attention away from us.

“It’s bound to go viral,” she said confidently.

“I used to upload videos to PickTok all the time, you know.”

“Ahem...”

I had to admit, it could get some views. After all, there were plenty of guys on the forum who wouldn’t admit it, but they’d flock to anything with a girl in it.

But me turning into a girl? That would, how do I put it… damage Skeleton’s image.

Skeleton is Skeleton.

I have my own reputation. Sure, the forum doesn’t see me in the best light, but I’m the guy who always steps up for the forum’s sake, who occasionally soothes his loneliness with beatboxing, and, most importantly, the last user of Viva! Apocalypse!

“You don’t like it, do you?” Defender’s sister asked cautiously.

“Not really.”

Before I could elaborate, Defender himself jumped in.

“Skeleton, someone like you is bound to be recognized. Don’t you think?”

I couldn’t help but nod.

He was right.

“One look at your old beatboxing video, and anyone could figure out your identity if they paid attention. You’re just lucky it was so shoddy that it wasn’t worth anyone’s time.”

“That’s... true.”

If I had indulged myself and revealed even a little more of my face or body in that video, Woo Min-hee would’ve discovered my identity long ago.

“With PaleNet creeping into our forum, it’s best to stay as ambiguous as possible. You know, strategic ambiguity?”

“Strategic ambiguity, huh...”

“Isn’t anonymity our best shield? One day you’re a girl, the next you’re a guy, and the day after that you’re an old man—or even a bastard like Umchang.”

“...Hmm.”

While I wasn’t thrilled about the siblings’ suggestion, I had to agree with their reasoning.

In a world where anonymity was as crucial as survival, being identifiable was a liability.

Defender was being threatened by this Justice Min guy, and I could just as easily be targeted by someone like Woo Min-hee or anyone else who knew the old me.

“You don’t like the idea of being seen as a girl, huh?” Defender’s sister asked suddenly.

“It’s not exactly appealing.”

“Then digitally distort it, make it look like a fake, or create some family resemblance—there are ways to preserve Skeleton’s identity.”

“But there are people who know my face.”

“They might recognize you, sure. But even they’d start to doubt themselves.”

“Fine. Let’s do it. Whatever it takes.”

M9 had picked a fight, and while winning or losing didn’t matter much, this could be the opportunity Defender’s sister had mentioned.

If I uploaded another beatboxing video on my own, it would probably suffer the same fate as before—forgotten and buried. But with M9 stirring the pot, people would watch.

We wouldn’t even need to force it with viral marketing. People would spread the video naturally.

And if it wasn’t me but Defender’s sister in the video? It could have a real impact. It would amplify the “strategic ambiguity” the siblings wanted.

Just as I was about to end the call, Defender interrupted.

“Oh, Skeleton. Don’t hang up yet. I’ve got something to discuss too.”

Defender rarely spoke up, so his sudden insistence piqued my curiosity.

“What is it?”

“You remember those Legion guys camped out near our old place when we moved?”

“Yeah. What about them? They were stockpiling troops like they were about to start a war.”

Though they hadn’t made any moves, their concentrated firepower in this apocalyptic landscape felt like a ticking time bomb.

“What are they up to now?”

“They’re making contact with the fanatics,” Defender said grimly.

“What?!”

I bolted upright.

“Their territories were right next to each other, weren’t they? I can’t confirm anything, but I saw a group of fanatics heading toward the Legion camp. The soldiers didn’t stop them.”

“You’re sure?”

“I saw it from a distance, but yeah.”

“That’s... no small matter.”

This was potentially far more significant than the chaos surrounding the Jeju evacuation fleet.

If the Legion and the fanatics were joining forces, it meant a militarized army led by Awakened was being formed.

That could change everything.

Countries like Korea and the rest of the Western world maintained a strict separation between hunters, including the Awakened, and the military. Meanwhile, China had always categorized the Awakened as enemies until its eventual downfall.

According to international agreements, hunters—including the Awakened—are not considered “soldiers” under the Geneva Conventions. While they perform similar tasks and operate in military-like ways, they are legally regarded as civilians or civilians with special statuses.

Hunters like me, relics of an older era, are no different from regular soldiers. However, the Awakened possess a terrifying potential to change the very nature of warfare, akin to nuclear weapons.

The military applications of the Awakened are practically limitless.

Their abilities remain largely unknown, so their potential is virtually boundless.

If they were to turn their weapons on humans instead of monsters, their threat level would surpass even that of monsters.

Even those deemed “useless,” with abilities below Level 5 that are ineffective in combat against monsters, could transform into the most challenging adversaries when pitted against humans.

I recalled the time I visited Lee Sang-hoon’s memorial. A young junior hunter had tracked me down.

She didn’t say she “found” me; she said she had sensed me.

Her sensing ability was entirely useless against monsters.

Monsters don’t hide, take cover, or ambush like humans do.

That’s why sensing abilities are often dismissed as worthless in monster battles. But in human conflict, it’s a completely different story.

No matter where you hide or how you set up an ambush, as soon as you enter the sensing range of such an Awakened, you’re exposed.

A so-called “useless” Awakened with nothing but a sensing ability might seem harmless. But pair that Awakened with well-trained soldiers, and...

You’re facing a danger unlike anything encountered before.

“How did you find out? Did you see it yourself?”

Hoping it wasn’t true, I asked Defender.

“I forgot something at home and went back to grab it. On the way, I saw a group of fanatics heading toward the Legion’s base. The soldiers didn’t stop them.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“I watched from a distance, but yeah, it’s real.”

“That’s... not something to take lightly.”

“I was already planning to go check again.”

“Isn’t that risky?”

“Honestly, this neighborhood is so quiet it’s nice, but the lack of activity gets boring. So, I might as well check it out.”

“...Be careful.”

That was the only advice I could give Defender for now.

With my leg injury, I wasn’t in any condition for active reconnaissance. For now, Defender seemed better suited for such tasks.

“Oh, by the way, my sister and I are dropping by your bunker first.”

“What?!”

“We need to shoot the beatboxing video, Skeleton!”

*

It must have been since elementary school that I last invited a friend over.

A memory of my beloved sister, the sister who can no longer return, flashed through my mind.

“Hey, Park Gyu! You’ve got a friend coming over, and you haven’t even cleaned your room? This place looks like a pigsty!”

My sister was a nagger.

But she was also someone who cared for her reckless little brother.

I could vividly recall the image of her helping me clean my room. Picking up trash strewn about and throwing it into the bin, tidying up the books scattered across my messy desk, and dusting off the plastic model kits abandoned on the shelf, lying covered in dust, before carefully standing them up again.

Now, my sister is no longer by my side.

While tidying up my dimly lit bunker, half-submerged in darkness, I allowed myself to think back to those bright days I could no longer return to.

The peaceful, uneventful days before the flames of hatred began to burn in my heart.

"…"

The flames within my heart still burned strong.

Unavoidable circumstances had exiled me here.

But the greatest cause was my own helplessness.

“Damn it! I can’t move my body!”

Even recalling it now made me feel utterly wretched.

“Telekinesis! That bastard’s using telekinesis!”

The monster I faced within the rift was something I could do nothing against.

The creature I had named myself, the one I had set out to hunt.

The General Type.

The axe that had slaughtered countless monsters was useless against it.

No, it wasn’t just useless—I couldn’t even move it.

The seemingly infinite, formless power it wielded crushed my pathetic strength, my blood, and my tendons as if they were mere pebbles.

I had hoped to kill it and prove my worth, but instead, it passed judgment on the threadbare potential I clung to.

“Gah!”

“Captain!!!”

From that day on, the Professor was dead.

Though I, Park Gyu, somehow survived, it didn’t mean much.

In the end, I left the battlefield and was buried here, in this darkness.

That was how my life seemed destined to sink, like sediment accumulating at the bottom of a river, settling forever.

But the world is vast.

Far vaster than the narrow scope of my own vision could ever grasp.

“Wow. It’s huge. Really huge. But what the hell?! Why is there a toilet in the middle of the room? And on a raised platform, no less?!”

“I know this! What’s it called again? That thing where they put a toilet in an art museum? Dada or something?”

“Was this a Western artist’s work?!”

I made a friend.

For the first time since elementary school.

What would my sister say if she saw this?

She’d probably be utterly astonished.

Especially since the one who came in with me was a girl—a rather pretty one, at that.

“…Welcome to Skeleton’s Proud Supreme Castle.”

*

Using my bunker as a backdrop, Dajeong began her beatboxing performance.

To be honest, her beatboxing was so bad it was almost unbearable.

“Boom-tss-boom-tss chikichiki boom-tss!”

“...”

But her experience on the internet was no joke.

“I’m going to apply digital aging to this. That’ll create confusion!”

With deft hands, she applied an aged effect to her video, added layers of noise as if it were a vintage recording, and even altered the metadata to make it seem like the video was shot before the war.

“Sure, people will still call it a fake, but, well, that’s your problem to handle, Skeleton.”

“Don’t worry. There’s nowhere lower for me to fall.”

“You never know!”

Dajeong flashed me a mischievous smile and tapped on her tablet, showing me the caption she added:

[Could our Skeleton become a legendary name~ ♥]

“Alright, let’s do this!”

And so, Skeleton’s latest masterpiece was uploaded to the Viva! Apocalypse! forums.

SKELTON: (Skeleton Video) Skeleton’s Beatbox (4)

The Defender siblings sat nearby, happily raiding my food supplies, as we monitored the forum’s reactions together.

At first, there wasn’t much of a response.

But then...

unicorn18: ?

One of them took the bait.

Dajeong, crumbs falling from her snack, burst out laughing.

“Hey, it’s Unicorn! That otaku creep!”

Soon enough, Unicorn sent me a direct message.

Message from unicorn18: Skeleton noona? Noona… you’re a woman...???

“Wow, look at this DM! This otaku is so shady!”

Although Dajeong was laughing, I noticed a hint of concern in her gaze.

She was probably worried about me.

But it didn’t take long for her concern to morph into shock—maybe even a touch of disdain.

Click-clack-click.

“S-Skeleton?”

SKELTON: I’ll leave it to your imagination~ ♥

“Wow…”

“You said you hated pretending to be a woman…”

The Defender siblings, unified as always, turned to look at me simultaneously.

“...”

This is strategic ambiguity.