I turned the phone so she could see the screen. We were far apart, but with her demonkin body, she could see it clearly. It was her schedule, acquired by Ea. The timetable was packed without a single gap, a testament to how she had carved out every spare moment to better herself. Entering grade-1 dungeons, visiting training centers, practicing mana control, meditating, studying theory—I could feel the blood and sweat she had poured into her efforts.

"I just thought you had too much pride to accept help."

But that wasn't it. The interest on her loans over the past few months amounted to thousands of dollars, all of which she'd invested in training. She constantly visited the student council, trying to get noticed. She worked as a 'scavenger,' collecting monster byproducts to get accustomed to dungeons and learn how to fight. Hundreds, thousands of times, she had bowed her head to others. But she never once let me see it.

She didn't want my pity. She didn't want my help. She fought to remain my equal. That was her last shred of pride. And if I had to guess why…

"Hey… did you have a crush on me or something?" I truly had no idea, so I just took a shot in the dark.

"Die, you bastard."

A volley of purple beams erupted from her. I hastily used Devastar to escape the concentrated fire, then relied on Deva's Eye to dodge the follow-up projectiles on foot.

"Envy, jealousy, inferiority—even resentment, alienation, and hostility. These are feelings anyone who's been at the bottom has." I threw up a shield to block an explosion, and the force of it whipped my hair wildly. "You kept avoiding me, so I thought maybe you felt that way toward me. Because I did. That's exactly how I felt looking at my successful friends!"

My intense focus, my stubborn grit—it might all stem from my own inferiority complex. I, too, had constantly compared myself to others, suffering and struggling. So now, I could finally understand her. An official rank-4 hunter and a non-combat player. We had spent the same amount of time, but our results were worlds apart. When I became a rank-4 hunter to the applause of others, she probably couldn't congratulate me sincerely. It was too painful to compare her situation to mine, to feel the gap between us widening. But that feeling isn't something to be ashamed of. It's normal. It's natural.

I activated Devastar on my right foot and charged through the storm of light she was firing.

"Hey. So what if we're not equals?" My body closed the distance in an instant. She had anticipated my approach and swung her arm to counter. "I'm your friend. That's the only thing that matters. My status, your status—none of that crap matters." After dodging her frantic swings, I activated Devastar again and pressed closer. "Even if you feel inferior or insecure looking at me, I don't care."

I appeared right before her wavering eyes and pulled her into a hug. I felt not the warmth of human skin, but the cold, hard touch of her shell.

"I don't give a damn! I just want to be your friend. No, I'll beg you to be my friend if I have to. What the hell are you so worried about?"

She was sincere, uncompromising, and full of life. Just being around her made you feel better. She was a valuable person in her own right. Anyone who knew her would agree.

"I swear."

'You don't need to feel insecure. You don't need to be afraid that I'll leave. Because…'

"I'll always be on your side." I hugged her as tightly as I could.

A deep silence fell between us. I could feel her mana shifting against my skin.

"…And, uh, as for being a couple… let's think about that later."

"Pfft!" I looked up at her face. The crimson eyes, the horns, the shell-like skin—it all began to melt away, revealing the human underneath. "…Are you playing hard to get? You, of all people." A small tear formed in the corner of her eye as she smiled faintly.

I smiled back. "I don't care that you're a demonkin. But if we dated and broke up, we couldn't go back to being friends."

"…You really know how to kill a mood."

We said no more and just held each other.

-Tower Master. Yoonjeong's demonkin influence is weakening. Her pulse is returning to normal.

'Thank God.' I was so relieved that I had managed to fix this.

"…But I…" She spoke, her voice trembling. "I killed so many people."

He fell silent.

Reality came crashing back, its hands closing around my throat. An indescribable emotion slammed into my heart, seizing my entire body. Images of the students lying in pools of their own blood flashed through my mind.

"I don't know… why I did it. I just lost control, and when I came to my senses, people were dead. And I remember killing them so clearly…"

I swallowed hard. The indiscriminate murders in Seoul—it had been her. But it seemed her mind hadn't been completely consumed. She regretted what her demonkin self had done. Still, her sins were too great. Even if she wasn't in her right mind, the crimes remained. If the Enforcement Bureau found her, she'd be executed on the spot. Turning herself in wouldn't be much better. She was a demonkin, and in Korea, public opinion of them was at an all-time low. What was I supposed to do? What was my next move?

"Yusin… why me?" Large tears fell from her eyes. "I just… I just wanted to be a hunter. Why did I… have to become this?"

The Disaster was a system that so easily toys with and destroys human lives. I was sick of it. Disgusted.

"Have I really… become a monster?"

"Stop. Don't think about it. I'll figure something—!"

A sudden chill shot down my spine. Over her head, a human hand rose, palm open.

"Yoon—!"

It clamped down on the back of her head.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Yoonjeong shrieked in agony. Something like a soul began to drain from her body, flowing into the stranger's palm.

'When did he...?!'

A third party had appeared out of nowhere. Neither I nor Ea had sensed a thing. Worse, I couldn't move. Some kind of paralysis ability? Yoonjeong could only scream, unable to resist.

"So, there you are. The murderer who was imitating me." The voice was gloomy and phlegmy. An old Western man with a hood pulled low over his face came into view.

-Tower Master! That's the serial killer, Armin Walter!

'What?'

Armin Walter let out a sinister laugh and removed his hand from Yoonjeong's head. The soul-sucking effect vanished.

"…My safety was compromised because of you, young lady. I came to see who was drawing so much attention, and what a coincidence. Or perhaps, it's fate? A vessel containing the core of a Disaster." A terrible greed flickered in the old man's eyes. "The perfect body! I can't let this one go, even if it kills me!"

A blade shot out from inside Walter's sleeve. "Hand over that body, vessel!"

'Ea!'

-Right!

I manually activated the Light Devastar that Ea had placed at my feet. Still holding Yoonjeong, I slammed into Walter.

"Agh!"

The impact sent Walter sprawling, and we tumbled to the ground with him.

"Ugh! Aaaaaaaaargh!" Yoonjeong's skin was once again being covered by the demonic shell. The violet mana of a demonkin rose from her body like smoke.

'I just managed to calm her down!'

Enraged, Yoonjeong unleashed her killing intent and swung her arm. Several beams of mana flew fiercely, but Walter dodged them with simple footwork and once again reached for her head.

<Devastar>

With a flash of black light, my leg appeared before Walter's face.

'BAAANG!'

Walter blocked the kick and retreated. I landed, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Don't interfere, young hunter."

"You're the one who interfered, you psycho!"

<Ice Javelin>

I thrust my arm out, and six high-speed Ice Javelins shot forward. Walter bent his arm into an L-shape. The incoming javelins stopped dead in their tracks, then crumpled like crushed cans.

While we exchanged blows, Yoonjeong's body, unable to withstand the rampage, began to mutate again.

'Crack! Snap!'

Her flesh swelled as reptilian scales covered her body. Her human form vanished completely, replaced by a massive, snake-like creature.

"Y-Yoonjeong!"

She didn't respond to my call, instead tearing through the ground and burrowing deep into the earth. Both Walter and I stared after her.

"You're not getting away." Walter was the first to move. He kicked off the ground, launching himself forward like a missile. I used Devastar to intercept him, blocking his path with an outstretched leg. Foot and arm collided once more with a deafening roar.

"Agh." Walter was pushed back, his feet carving long trenches in the dirt. "I believe I told you not to interfere."

"You look like you need a good beating."

I retracted my leg in mid-air as four gauge-like magic circles ticked to life beside me. A large magic circle unfolded before me.

'Go.'

<Prometheus>

'FWOOSH!'

The fiery body of a massive giant descended upon Walter. But as he raised both arms, the colossal form stopped as if hitting an invisible barrier.

'You've got to be kidding me!'

It was one of my most taxing techniques, and he blocked it with ease. My concentration wavered as I landed, and in that split second, Walter's arm burst through the smoke.

'He's fast!'

My eyes widened with Deva's Eye. I calmly grabbed his charging arm with my left hand, pulling it down as I threw my right fist.

'Thwack!'

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my knee. It buckled, shattering my balance, and before I could react, two consecutive blows struck my chin and chest.

'Whoosh!'

The world spun, and my back slammed into the ground. Walter was on top of me in an instant, his hand clamped around my throat.

"Gack!"

I was completely outplayed. His grip was incredible. Just one hand on my neck, and I couldn't breathe.

"Foolish, young hunter."

'Thump!'

My vision wavered.

'Thump!'

For the first time in my life, I had an out-of-body experience. My consciousness floated up as a transparent spirit, looking down at my own body being choked by Walter.

'Thump! Thump!'

I tried to move, but my body wouldn't respond. Worse, my spirit was being pulled toward Walter.

'No!'

I rejected it with every fiber of my being. Just that single, defiant thought. And with it, my spirit snapped back into my body.

"Hmm."

Walter looked down at me as if he'd expected it, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smirk. "You possess a strong will."

'Flash!'

A brilliant light blazed from the sky. Walter clicked his tongue, sensing the attack, and leaped back. I rolled away just as a giant cross of light slammed into the ground where we had been.

'BOOOOOOM!'

"Hahahaha! Halt!"

A series of crosses materialized, cutting off Walter's escape routes. I pressed a hand to my throbbing head and looked back. Men in white robes had surrounded the area.

'Those people are…'

I recognized them from the news. The Vatican's 'Holy Knights.'

"Heretic Armin Walter," said their leader, Marcello, a broad smile on his face. "In the name of the Holy One, I shall pass judgment upon you."

Seeing Marcello, Walter clicked his tongue. "It's been a while, Marcello. Did you come all the way to the other side of the world just to catch me?"

"Of course. I would follow you to the ends of Hell to deliver my judgment."

Just then.

"Judgment, my ass."

Stone statues rained down from the sky. The bombardment of mass weaponry overturned the very ground, sending waves of Earth surging outwards. They clearly had no regard for my safety. I hastily deployed a shield and leaped into the air to escape the blast zone.

"That is my prey, you cockroach."

The Pharaoh from Egypt, Menes, raised her staff. Behind her, dozens of 'Gravekeepers' stood at the ready. What in the world was happening?

"Interfere, and I'll kill you first," Menes snarled.

"My, how terrifying," Marcello retorted.

After a tense staredown, Menes and Marcello raised their arms toward Armin Walter almost simultaneously.

"Seize him."

"Kill him."

The host in white priestly robes and the hunters in revealing golden armor charged onto the battlefield as one.

* * *

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