The Knight from the Ark
The moment I laid eyes on her, I thought, What the hell is this girl? Dressed in what looked like cosplay you'd see at COEX, strolling through a park path in the dead of night—she was seriously suspicious. But then I remembered that I was the one parading around three near-naked women on leashes, and suddenly I felt a solemn hush fall over me. My buzz vanished in an instant.
I was mortified, wanting nothing more than to turn tail and hole up at home right then and there. Why had I been indulging in this unhealthy, borderline illegal thrill without a shred of shame? As those thoughts swirled in my head, the knight in silver-white armor raised her hand high, summoning a massive greatsword from thin air. She gripped it and swung down hard.
It all happened so fast I couldn't even process it—just stood there dumbfounded, staring.
"Watch out!"
It was Erin who shouted. She leaped to her feet, stepped forward, summoned her staff, and threw up a barrier in front of us. The sword qi blasting from the descending greatsword slammed into the shield, shattering it to pieces and hurling Erin far away.
"Whoa?!"
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Grrr...!"
Ea and Serica surged forward to shield me, summoning their swords and bracing for combat. Even though we had the numerical advantage, the knight charged without hesitation, swinging her blade. At first, it seemed evenly matched, but as time dragged on, I could see us getting pushed back.
Sure enough—
Clang, kaching.
With sharp metallic rings, Ea and Serica's swords snapped and vanished.
"Ah!"
"No way...!"
"Hah!"
A powerful feminine grunt echoed from inside the helmet. Sword qi erupted from the greatsword, slicing through Ea and Serica. The moment it touched them, they vanished without a trace.
"Ea! Serica!"
As terror gripped me, the armored knight turned toward me. In that instant, our eyes met—hers, ashen gray within the visor, unnaturally calm. No emotion, no sentiment. Like an executioner carrying out official duty.
"One question. Did you steal creations from the Ark?"
She asked in fluent Korean.
"The Ark? What's that?"
"...I thought it was too easy. Just a pawn being used in ignorance, after all. Regrettable, but since you're involved, I can't let you live. Farewell."
With that, she strode toward me, raising her sword high.
"W-Wait a second!"
I yelled in panic, but by then the blade was already arcing down toward my head.
"Aigoo!"
I squeezed my eyes shut in horror. But even after several seconds, no pain came. They say if you die instantly, you don't feel a thing—is that true? When I opened my eyes, everything was pure white. Had I died and gone to heaven already? Nah, no way I'd end up there. Still, pretty high odds it was the afterlife.
"Collector."
Someone spoke amid it all. I turned toward the voice and saw a stunning woman with horns, dressed provocatively, a pair of brown wings sprouting from her back. She looked familiar. Since I'd only ever seen her SD character version on my phone, it took me a moment to realize this was Succumea in the flesh.
"You..."
"Succumea here. First time seeing me like this, right?"
"You actually exist?"
"'Actually exist' has some semantic issues. To say that, we'd need a clear line between real and fake."
Succumea extended her hand to the side, projecting an image onto the white space. It showed me right before the silver knight's greatsword struck.
"This is the current scene in reality. As you know, while the app is active, you exist outside of time. That's why I brought you here."
Her words jogged my memory of the rule: Time doesn't pass inside creations while you're in them.
"So this is inside the app?"
"Yes. More precisely, a temporary nowhere space I've whipped up. It'll collapse and vanish once it's served its purpose."
"Hold on. It's hard to wrap my head around—explain step by step."
With all these surreal events piling up, even accepting it felt exhausting. Hell, maybe I was dreaming. I'd dealt with plenty of unreal stuff since getting the app, but this was on another level.
"You must believe everything I say from here on."
Succumea stated firmly.
"Got it."
"There's a place called the Ark. A repository holding all the world's creations. It operates much like the app you have. In fact, the Bad Ending Collector is just a minor copy of the Ark."
"Operates the same way... meaning?"
"It can interfere with creations, extract supernatural powers from them, or summon their characters."
"So that attacker was..."
"Summoned by the Ark, most likely."
"Why's she after me?"
"Because you're the app's owner. The creations collected in the Bad Ending Collector originally belonged to the Ark. Every time you twist a creation's ending, it vanishes from the Ark and registers in your app instead."
"So basically, she's here to catch a thief? Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"...I planned to eventually, but I thought it was too soon. I didn't expect them to move this fast."
"Too soon? This is the most critical info! I could've died—hell, I almost did."
As I accused her, Succumea smiled sweetly and replied.
"But it's not set in stone yet. You have a chance."
"A chance?"
"Your attacker is a summoned entity from a creation—which means you can interfere with her via the app. We've already identified which creation she's from."
"In other words... make her one of my collectibles?"
"Exactly."
Success means survival; failure means death. This was the most brutal mission yet. But no other options seemed available. Still, one thing nagged at me more.
"What's the Ark's goal?"
"Its goal... you mean?"
"Something that grand must have some epic purpose, right?"
I wiggled my fingers in the air as I spoke.
"What would you do if you got your hands on it, Collector?"
Succumea countered.
"Hm... well, do whatever I want and live happily ever after."
"Exactly. We're the same. Just different pursuits. Some want to control the world; others just want to enjoy life. Some spin tiny tales, others epic sagas."
It was a bit vague and slippery, but I got the gist. While some summon superhumans from creations to fuck and snap lewd pics, others aim to dominate the world with them.
"Which side are you on?"
I pointed out what she hadn't revealed.
Succumea had always spoken as if I owned the app, but that wasn't true. Like the knight said, I was just a pawn. She was the real manager and owner.
She hesitated for a split second, then smiled intriguingly.
"I'm the system. Systems don't pursue anything. They just interpret and define. But if a system had will, it'd stem from what it affirms and denies."
She gazed into the distance as she spoke.
"A world that's all noble and beautiful... wouldn't that be boring?"
Her seductive smile was pure succubus.
"One more thing. Are you from a creation, or do you actually exist somewhere?"
"We can save that for later. More urgent business now. This space can't hold long. All app interventions in reality consume 'fuel.'"
She meant the Bad Ending Gauge, probably.
"Oh yeah—Ea and Serica okay?"
"Yes. Collectibles are bound to the app. As long as it's intact, they're indestructible."
"Good... that's a relief."
They vanished shielding me; it'd feel off if they'd actually died. I'd have had to give them a funeral or something.
"...You're unusual, Collector."
Succumea looked at me with genuine surprise.
"How so?"
"I thought you treated them without attachment because you knew they were just collectibles."
"What're you talking about?"
That was dead wrong.
"You can defile them because you love them. If you didn't care, this stuff would be too much hassle."
Same reason I don't give a damn if male characters fall.
"Then you're endlessly twisted, Collector. Feeling love for ruined worlds—like the ones you've broken, defiled, and toppled."
Her words carried a scolding tone, but no blame.
"That's why you suit me. I hope you survive."
She said it like she didn't care either way. And honestly, she might not. If I die, the app just finds a new owner—no big deal.
Thinking that way made it all feel so cold. But I couldn't blame her. She was like that, and deep down, so was I—a villain. Not some grand dark lord or mafia boss, just a worthless extra mook. To survive, you use whatever you can. I'm using her, and she's using me. Maybe I should be glad our interests still align.
"Well then, shall we begin? A fight for your life."
"Let's do it."
"Please defile their arrogant world to the fullest."
Succumea bowed politely. Then my vision faded to white.