This Is the Only Way

What the hell even is Blood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Awakening?

It's a setting I've never seen in the webtoon.

But looking at those eyes, I can tell. Eyes bloodshot red like the monsters', screaming the truth at me.

This is dangerous. I have to finish this. Before this time runs out.

Whoosh!!!

As if to declare I couldn't do it, the Fake Cult Leader's fist came flying in, shattering the remaining time to pieces. It was a dangerous attack, but right now my nerves were locked on Elder Choi, who was crawling across the floor on all fours, trying to escape.

Two choices left. Kill Elder Choi, or spare him.

Killing him would be the best move in this situation. No useless variables popping up that way. But if I keep him alive, I can use him. With Elder Choi's ability, I might clear that episode even the protagonist never managed to finish.

So I spare him.

"Jaemin! Younghoon! Grab that old bastard and hold him tight!!"

Illusion skills can't be used with physical contact. Jaemin and Younghoon would cut off any variables Elder Choi could create. Of course, that alone wouldn't make the situation better.

"Mmph!!! Mmmmph!!!!"

"Shut up, you old fart!"

"Hyung! We've got him locked down!!"

Good. Really good. I wasn't just saying it—they'd pulled off something genuinely hard. Just moments ago they'd been locked in a life-or-death struggle against zombies surging in like a tidal wave, some of them collapsed on the floor screaming as if they were actually being bitten. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The illusions that made even the pain feel real had vanished in an instant, so of course they were disoriented. But Jaemin and Younghoon still reacted to my voice and immediately subdued Elder Choi—before he could use his illusion skill again.

But the real problem started now.

"It's a lie!! Those zombies are just illusions created by those demons!!! Come back and protect the Cult Leader and Elder Choi!!!!!"

"Don't be afraid! They're out of bullets! Attack!!!!"

The zombies pouring in hadn't only been visible to our eyes. The moment the wave of zombies vanished, people who decided it was safe started flooding back into the chapel under the orders of the black-robed deacons and stewards.

"Cult Leader... gah!!"

"Don't interfere!!! You lot just save Elder Choi!!"

The Fake Cult Leader drove his elbow into the bridge of the nose of the man who'd come to help, then charged at me with eyes even more bloodshot than before.

Whoosh!! Whoosh!!

Every attack was definitely faster and more powerful. But I could see them all. Which meant I could aim for the countless openings the Fake Cult Leader was leaving exposed.

Swish—

Thud!!!

I leaned forward and drove my fist straight into the Fake Cult Leader's gut. His face twisted in pain as he staggered back in a hunched posture. I took a short run-up, launched myself, and drove my knee upward.

Thud!!!!

His crossed arms blocked the rising knee in front of his face, but my body crashing in right after sent him sprawling onto his back. I tumbled with him across the floor, but I still held the initiative.

Tap—

I rolled once over the top of the fallen Fake Cult Leader's head, planted my hands on the floor, and stopped myself. Still crouched, I spun straight back and swept my right foot around. The two arms he'd been using to push off the floor and flip himself over got swept by the kick, slamming his face into the ground.

I yanked the foot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back as fast as I could and threw my body forward, slamming a fist down.

Thud!!!

Ow, that fucking hurts!! A sharp, electric pain shot up from the fist that had punched bare floor instead of the back of his head. In that split second the Fake Cult Leader rolled sideways to dodge, then crouched just like me and threw a punch.

Thud!!

It caught me clean on the cheek, but it was a sloppy punch thrown from a crouch—no real damage. Besides, my Durability stat is 6. I can take punches like this all day!

Whoosh!

I turned my head and shoved the fist still planted against my cheek away. At the same time I swung the right hand that had just punched the floor.

Thud—

I didn't strike—just rested my hand against his skull. The Fake Cult Leader's eyes wavered. He knew what was coming next too.

Whoosh—

The face I'd turned hard enough to shove his fist away now slammed toward the Fake Cult Leader's face, and I headbutted the nose that had been streaming blood ever since the fifth floor.

Crunch!!!

At this range, in this unstable stance, nothing is more efficient or stronger than a headbutt.

"Guh..!!!"

It was over. The Fake Cult Leader, who couldn't even scream properly, toppled backward like a frog hit by a rock and collapsed on the floor. I pushed off with both feet, left hand still free, and started to rise to pin him—

Thud!!!

A kick from the side caught my shoulder and sent me tumbling across the floor.

"Protect the Cult Leader!!!"

"You crazy..!!"

In an instant a crowd of people poured between me and the Fake Cult Leader. The illusion skill was gone, but they were still worshipping the Fake Cult Leader. They hadn't escaped Elder Choi's other skill—Faith.

"Take the Cult Leader somewhere safe!"

"Hurry!!"

"You devil bastard..!"

"Kill him!!"

We're fucked. If this keeps up, we're heading for the absolute worst outcome.

"Hey! Cult Leader!! You said we'd play!! Where the hell are you running!!!!"

"......"

The Cult Leader, pinching his gushing nose shut, glared at me as he retreated behind the crowd.

"That son of a bitch..!!"

"Until you kill us, you'll never get near the Cult Lea— gah!!!"

"Ah, the demon's attacking!!"

"Everyone out of the way!!!!"

This was where the penalty I'd accepted for that choice started showing its weakness.

"Hah..! Hah..! Hah..!"

With my Stamina stat dropped all the way to 3, my endurance was draining at terrifying speed.

"Gihun!!!"

"It's a mess over here too!!"

The people flooding back into the chapel were charging at the others like zombies.

"Fuck..."

"Stop them!! Stop the demons!"

"Save Elder Choi!!"

There were too many people. Way too many. Then the atmosphere shifted.

"Aaaah...!!"

A low scream from somewhere. Something had happened on the side where the Cult Leader had fled. And then I heard that sickening sound I'd heard somewhere before.

Chomp— chomp—

The sound of something tough being chewed. Screams burying that sound.

"Kyaaaaah!!!!!"

"Uwaaaaah!!!!!"

"Uwaaah!!!!"

"Uwaaaah!!!!!!"

People came surging. Like a herd of wildebeest after a lion attack, the crowd started stampeding from the Cult Leader's position toward me.

I could see it. Through the gaps in the colliding bodies—a man collapsing. A kitchen knife dripping blood in front of him. And the Fake Cult Leader chewing on a heart.

A full minute vanished in an instant. I have to stop him. I have to stop him.

"Uwaaah!!"

"Run!!!"

"Out of the way! Move!!"

"Kyaah!!"

"Uwah!!"

I couldn't push through the stampeding crowd. I was getting shoved backward as people slammed into me. But the space around the Cult Leader was almost empty.

"Cult Leader.... uhk..!!!"

A knife plunged into the belly of a woman sitting on the floor. The blade dragged sideways, splitting her gut open so blood and intestines spilled out. A hand shoved into the cavity and ripped out the heart that was still pumping blood in gouts.

Crunch!!!

Once again the heart was torn apart by the Cult Leader's teeth, and the remaining time dropped again.

No... no.....

"Get the fuck out of the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Save me...."

A man whose hair was being yanked back, head forced up, stretched a hand toward me and let out a desperate voice.

Thud!!

But the knife plunged into his solar plexus and dragged downward, splitting his belly wide open so his guts poured out. The Fake Cult Leader dropped the blood-smeared kitchen knife, shoved his hand into the open cavity, and ripped out the still-beating heart.

Grin—

Over the man's shoulder, the Fake Cult Leader looked straight at me and smiled. He let go of the hair. The man with the split belly crumpled to the floor. The Fake Cult Leader roughly bit into the massive heart he was holding and chewed with wet, grinding sounds.

People still lost in chaos kept bumping into me as they passed. The space between me and the Cult Leader gradually emptied—just like the dwindling time.

The dizzying messages floating in front of my eyes shattered into pieces—thanks to the fist that had already reached my face.

Thuuud!!!!!

Did I just get hit by a fist? Is that really what a punch feels like?

"Uhk!!"

My body bounced off the back of a man who was trying to flee, slowing me down. As I hit the floor and rolled, scene after scene burned into my eyes. The man's face was twisted with terror. He'd half-turned his head to look behind him. And then—

Crunch!!!!

A stomping foot crushed half his face and killed him on the spot.

Thud-thud-thud!!!

My rolling body finally stopped. Something was clogging my nose so badly I could barely breathe.

"Khak!! Cough!!"

I coughed like I was throwing up and my throat opened, letting me suck in the oxygen I was starving for. But before I could even fill my lungs I had to rip both hands off the floor and cross my arms in front of my face.

Thuuud!!!!!

If I hadn't blocked, my head would have flown off like a soccer ball. The force was so strong that my body, which had been face-down on the floor, flipped completely over. And once again a foot came crashing down toward my face—the same foot that had half-crushed that man's face. If it landed clean, I was dead. But the shock from the punch still had my body refusing to listen. I had to hold on somehow.

Thuuud!!!!

I caught the descending foot with both arms crossed in front of my face. But the pressure kept increasing, crushing my blood-filled nose under my arms.

"Krrrrgh..!!!! Let's play..!!!"

"You crazy bastard...!!!"

"Get that foot off him!!!!"

Gihun's gauntleted fist came flying in from the side. But the Fake Cult Leader just kept staring down at me pinned on the floor and casually raised his left hand to catch the punch.

"That's why you should've raised Agility!!!"

"Fuck... gaaah!!!!"

The Fake Cult Leader twisted his body and drove a fist into Gihun's gut so hard both of Gihun's feet lifted off the ground up to knee height—this from a guy who weighed a solid 88 kg.

Whoosh!!

He swung the left hand still gripping the fist and sent Gihun flying. But Suho and Jaeyeol, at least twice as fast as Gihun, stabbed and swung with spear and jungle knife, pressuring the Fake Cult Leader.

Clang!!!

Metal rang out. The spear and jungle knife, both aimed at the same space, had collided with each other. Meanwhile the Cult Leader had already slipped free, spread both arms wide, grabbed Suho and Jaeyeol by the faces, and slammed them straight into the floor.

Thuuud!!!!

Thuuud!!!!

Are those two dead? Their hands and feet were still twitching, so not yet.

"Elder Choi. This feels pretty good, doesn't it? Kheheheh...!!!!"

"......"

"......"

"......"

Elder Choi, Jaemin and Younghoon who were still holding him, and the women gathered with them—all of them had gone rigid, unable to move a muscle. But not everyone.

The protagonist of this webtoon, Baek Sihyeon, and the heroine Yu Eunseol.

Whoosh!!!!

Shiiik!!!

Baek Sihyeon was mid-air swinging Mingu's hand axe from the left, while Yu Eunseol had dropped low on the right and was thrusting a military greatsword toward the Fake Cult Leader's side. Of course it didn't work.

Grab— Whoosh!!!

The Fake Cult Leader slipped his raised left arm into Baek Sihyeon's armpit, locked it, and flipped him clean over, slamming him down onto Yu Eunseol's head.

"Gah!!!!"

"Player swap."

"Haa..!"

Luckily only Baek Sihyeon got planted into the floor. I yanked Yu Eunseol back just in time and saved her.

Slide—

I took the military greatsword from Yu Eunseol's hand as she sat there on her ass and gripped it in my right. Right hand holding the blade in front of my chin, left hand raised to eye level. I hadn't actually learned anything. I was just copying the poses of protagonists from movies and dramas. But I thought I understood why they stood like this.

"Yeah..! You're the one who has to play with me!!!!"

The left hand out front could react fast—whether for attack or defense.

Tap—

I shoved the charging Fake Cult Leader's temple with my left hand and thrust the military greatsword in my right toward that opening.

Shiiik!!!!

Whoosh—

But the Cult Leader's left hand rose far too easily, grabbed my forearm, and shoved it straight up. Then with his right hand he grabbed my skull the same way I had and drove his forehead in.

Crack!!!

Thud!!!!

Two impacts rang out. One was our foreheads colliding because I'd headbutted back; the other was my knee driving into the Fake Cult Leader's solar plexus.

"Aaagh!!!!"

"Guhk..!!!!"

This rock-headed bastard..!!! My vision spun. It felt like my forehead had split ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠open and blood was pouring out, but when I felt around with my left hand nothing was broken and there was no blood. If I'd actually cut my Durability stat I would've died right there..!

Anyway, nice one, Mingu.

Thud!!!

The entrenching tool Mingu swung smashed into the side of the Cult Leader's head. The Cult Leader went flying and crashed under the platform. In the brief window that gave me to recover, I twisted my body just in time to dodge the flying Mingu.

Crash-bang-bang!!

I didn't know what had happened, but it looked like he'd gone in for the finish and gotten hit instead, flying back this way.

Drip-drip-drip—

Blood streaming from the split skull covered half the Fake Cult Leader's face. It made him look even more terrifying. And right then, there it was—the mark for a critical strike. Right temple.

You're dead, you bastard..!

Tap!!

No—I was the one who was dead.

Thud!! Thud-thud-thud!! Thud! Thud!!!

One to the face, hair grabbed and three to the gut, another to the face, then a kick to the chest for the finish.

Screeeeech....!!!!

I slid across the floor like a corpse and ended up lying at attention, staring blankly up at the high ceiling.

This is bad.

"Juhan..!"

"Hyung...!"

"Kang Juhan..!!"

"Is there any way..?!"

The good news was that I could hear Gihun, Jaeyeol, Suho, and Baek Sihyeon's voices. Dying voices, sure. But then—

"Are you okay?!"

"......"

Yu Eunseol's face suddenly filled the view of the ceiling I was staring at. A completely insane idea flashed through my mind. What if it worked? No—I couldn't let even the smallest possibility slip by.

"Yu Eunseol.. help me up.."

"Get up..!"

Yu Eunseol hooked my arm around her neck and pulled me upright. And my gaze locked onto Yu Eunseol's chest. More precisely, not her chest—onto the T-shirt covering it.

"Yu Eunseol."

"You have a way, right?!"

"......"

I peeled my arm off her neck. Yu Eunseol looked at me with a serious expression. But not anymore. Now it was panic—because both of my hands had grabbed the collar of her shirt.

"What are you....."

"Sorry."

This was the only way. The reward for clearing the quest. No—the additional reward for fulfilling the hidden condition.

Riiiiip!!!!!

I yanked both hands gripping her collar left and right and tore the clothes clean open. So thoroughly that not a single scrap of fabric remained on her body.

"Kyaah!!!!"

"You crazy bastard... hey....."

"......"

Done. Exactly this!!!