episode_0019

In the morning, Hayoon went missing.

“Hayoon… Where on earth did you go…”

Unnie was crying on the floor. Overwhelmed with emotions, I lost control and caused a commotion to calm her down.

I never expected this situation at all.

“…Unnie, I’ll go check the school first.”

I decided to meet Im Yuna.

“…”

Unnie didn’t respond.

Although she didn’t say anything, I was anxious that she might resent me internally for worrying about such things in the current situation. It felt disgusting that I was concerned about this in the midst of everything.

‘Hayoon…’

Thinking about Hayoon crying alone made my heart crumble.

* * *

The school was just like any other day. The floors were clean, the facilities were impressive, and the students were beautiful.

At the same time, everything had changed. The ground felt shaky as if it could collapse, the facilities seemed isolated, and I could sense the gaze of students monitoring me.

‘…Damn.’

I stood in front of the folding door, which was the entrance to Classroom 7. Ignoring my trembling hands, I pushed it open. Upon opening the door, Choryul, Park Taei, and Shim Chaea glanced at me. They weren’t important.

‘It’s Yuna.’

She was sipping tea with wisps of steam rising. I approached her without a word.

“Yuna, can we talk somewhere quiet for a moment?”

“Lead the way.”

I led Yuna to the empty rooftop of the school.

“Do you happen to know a girl named So Hayoon who was with us last time?”

“I do.”

“Well, then…”

“I have her ‘in possession.’”

She was confident.

Yuna glared at me and raised her arm. A space about 1M higher than the rooftop distorted, revealing Hayoon bound like a pig before slaughter.

I couldn’t understand. I didn’t know why she was doing this to me. It felt like facing the world’s malice.

“Swear.”

As if vines were growing from the ground, black tendrils rose. Above them, thick gray paper emerged.

“One, never leave my side for the rest of your life.”

As Yuna spoke, strange hieroglyphs appeared on the paper.

“Two, never dare to defy me.”

The paper burned, making the characters clearer.

“Three, sever all past connections.”

With a creaking sound, the skin of my right thumb peeled off. Blood dripped onto the floor.

“Stamp it.”

“…Understood.”

Entering into a binding contract is not to be taken lightly. I knew it was irrevocable. However, I couldn’t turn away from Hayoon, suffering while being restrained.

Raising my hand, I pressed my thumb firmly onto the contract. The blood spread on the document and disappeared into the darkness.

As the contract vanished, I felt the choker around my neck thicken. A deep black covered my entire neck. Yuna looked at it with satisfaction.

– [A powerful binding contract has been made. Please be cautious in your actions.]

“Kneel.”

Feeling my heart tremble, I knelt down. The contract didn’t physically force me to act, but I felt strong anxiety and resistance towards not obeying Yuna’s words.

“Stand up.”

A tingling sensation, and I sensed Yuna’s true intentions. I rose without touching the ground with my hands, using only the strength of my legs. My feeble legs wavered.

By precisely following Yuna’s instructions, the anxiety in my heart disappeared. Yuna nodded approvingly and gestured. The space rippled, and the bound Hayoon descended to the ground.

“Capture her.”

Smoke formed above my hand, creating a cold, solid object.

[Victor’s Scythe]

The scythe gifted by the blacksmith Victor to the hero’s daughter.

– It possesses the power of severing.

“Sever all past connections, fulfill the contract.”

“…I can’t do that. Why give such cruel orders…”

Rebellion sent shivers down my body, triggering a visceral response.

“I made a deal not to touch Hayoon!”

“What nonsense…”

The sky darkened.

“When did I make such a lowly promise?”

A strong malice was felt.

“But… she threatened me with Hayoon, so I jumped to conclusions and made the contract. At the very least, I should have confirmed before agreeing.”

Driven by a strong physical resistance, I unconsciously gripped the sword and approached Hayoon.

“Please… this isn’t right.”

I placed the sword in my mouth.

“I will live like a slave, obedient for life.”

Trembling, I looked at Im Yuna.

“The only valuable thing in this world is a hero. Everything else is just a mess of livestock… Your own words.”

My throat felt tight.

“Kill the livestock.”

I bit down on the sword so hard that blood flowed. Yet, my body could no longer resist Im Yuna’s command. I pulled out the sword and stabbed the restrained Hayoon. Tears fell from her eyes. I lowered the sword, cutting through flesh.

Hayoon’s breath hadn’t ceased. Trembling as if in an earthquake, I pulled out the sword to save her.

“Please…”

-[Dark Hand]

A massive hand made of darkness materialized, fingers closing around Hayoon.

Thud. Thud.

The human body split into hundreds, thousands of pieces around Hayoon.

I numbly watched Hayoon being torn apart. Even beasts wouldn’t die like this.

“Blood splattered on your chest… Clean it.”

“..Ah”

Im Yuna’s pupils trembled at the first explicit and vulgar curse she had ever heard.

Anger raised the temperature of her blood. The pounding of her heart was audible. She wanted to swing the sword immediately, but there were limits to rebellion.

Looking at the fleshy remains of Hayoon, guilt triggered suicidal urges.

Leaving Im Yuna in confusion, I fled with the sword in hand.

I rushed to the rooftop and ran aimlessly. Every student I encountered screamed. Running across the street, shopkeepers and passersby gasped in surprise.

I ran and ran, unaware of what I was fleeing from. Soon, I realized that I had been feeling Im Yuna’s gaze for a while.

My reflection in the building’s glass revealed a deep black covering my neck. I belatedly understood its nature.

“…I haven’t truly escaped until now.”

I gripped the sword in reverse.

And plunged it into my own throat.

“Screaammm!!!”

It wasn’t my scream. It was the choker’s scream.

I pulled out the sword, then stabbed myself seven times, ignoring the bursting eardrums.

Squelch… Stab stab stab!

As the choker shattered, black spiderwebs spread across my body.

– Danger Warning! Danger Warning!

[Mental Contamination Level 7]

– Catastrophic mental contamination detected. Immediate recovery seems necessary.

– Severe contamination weakens pain signals.

“Life is both a gift and a curse.”

As the choker shattered, I felt Im Yuna’s emotions. Anger at breaking the oath and absurdity at the feeble rebellion of a weak being.

From Queen Bartz Academy, thick darkness spread into the sky, obscuring it completely with a city-sized magic circle.

– How dare you… break the contract?

The ground shook. The voice echoed in my brain.

-[Blood Moon]

The bright red moon rose in the sky, its deep crimson color alone enough to weary the mind.

“Screaaam!!”

“G-gulp.. G-guulp..”

People on the street screamed in agony.

“Life is a #container and I am @its master at the same time.”

-[Death Rule]

Those who had been screaming began to bleed from every hole—eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and more.

Anyone who fell writhed like a worm before rising with lifeless eyes.

I stood unscathed.

“Perhaps it’s because darkness has already consumed them?”

The city was no longer safe.

“Let’s flee to the mountain we saw before.”

I headed towards the mountain near the public restroom where I had encountered a prostitute earlier.

“Life is a #container and I am @its master at the same time.”

Ignoring the pain of my burning soles as my shoes came off, I ran madly.

People on the street vomited. It wasn’t the usual regurgitation of food but the disgorging of slimy organs. Human innards covered the road.

After vomiting, people twisted their bodies as if it were natural. Ignoring them, I continued running.

“Life is a #container and I am @its master at the same time.”

I spotted the public restroom and the wooden stairs leading up to the mountain beside it. Climbing the mountain, ignoring the thorns piercing my feet, I ascended.

Losing too much blood, my mind grew hazy.

-[Blood Explosion]

Boom! Boom! Kwaahh!!

A massive explosion rocked the city. Buildings shook entirely with each blast. Crowded structures collapsed like dominoes.

“Life is a #container and I am @its master at the same time.”

It felt like the world was crumbling. The city was drenched in red blood, the nauseating scent of blood filling the air. Menstrual blood would have been sweeter than this.

As I climbed the mountain, hearing the city’s collapse, I veered towards a path strewn with fallen leaves. It wasn’t a natural trail but one carved through dense trees.

“Life is a #container and I am @its master at the same time.”

I saw a tree cabin where people avoided eye contact. Inside, there were chainsaws for cutting wood and thick axes that seemed fit for chopping firewood.

I sat on a tree that seemed to have been cut by a chainsaw, observing the city’s destruction.

Disheartened, I had come close to death while trying to adapt to this new world.

“Life is a #container and I am @its master at the same time.”

Nothing could save me now. Even the gods would be silent witnessing the city’s demise.

As I absentmindedly surveyed the city, I felt an unsettling gaze from the red moon in the sky.

– There you are!

Im Yuna’s hand tore through space and appeared.

“Hahaha… Can’t even die gracefully, damn it. / Life is a #container and I am @its master at the same time.”

She grabbed the chainsaw cord next to her forcefully.

Vroom vroom… Wheeeee!!

“What a messed-up world… At least death belongs solely to me.”

I dove into the spinning blade. My already severed neck met the blade.

Wheeeee!!

Cut and cut again.

My head spun like a top.

[You have died!]

[…Loading last saved checkpoint]

– [Calculating scores for this round… Im Yuna 5th level, Park Taei 4th level…]

– [You have earned a total of 190 silver coins as a round reward!]

* * *

“…Wh-what did you do?”

Lee Jiyoon’s suicide was unexpected even for Im Yuna. She stuttered, holding the lifeless body of Lee Jiyoon.

-[Death Rising]

Ji-yoon, who had become a corpse, rose with a lost expression.

“…Now, we are together forever.”

As Ji-yoon was being embraced, the sound of fighter jets could be heard nearby.

…It wasn’t long before the world turned into a land of death.