Marking (1)

Beep-boop-.

The door lock chimed for the first time in a while.

Gangnam, Seoul. A place he lived in alone, yet it still ran about forty pyeong.

"You live pretty well, huh?"

"Haha……."

Changsik scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Was this the first time anyone had said it so bluntly?

"So where am I staying?"

Changsik pointed toward the far room.

"That one's the guest room. You can use that."

His fingers fidgeted, restless and uneasy.

"What's a grown man doing looking so disgusting?"

"A-about the aftermath, how exactly……?"

Ah. So that was it.

"You're already marked. So the aftermath succeeds if you just survive tonight."

In one corner of Sunghyun's vision, Changsik's information appeared. An exception that belonged to neither animal, object, nor place.

Kim Changsik had not become a BMS himself. A parasitic-type BMS had simply latched onto some corner of his body. Most likely it had attached itself back in that Strange M-Mart.

"From now on, if you leave my side, you're dead. Before you use your phone, you get it checked by me. Don't even look at your texts. Tomorrow we go to the Control Bureau. Got it?"

Partly to see what would happen. Partly to earn coins. And partly just because — he had followed the guy home.

"Looks like sleep's out of the question tonight."

"……What?"

"If you want to die, go ahead and sleep."

Sunghyun casually pulled a beer from the fridge.

"I'm taking this as extra hazard pay."

"Ah, yes…… Could I maybe have one too……?"

Sunghyun tossed the beer he was holding to Changsik.

"Whoa!"

"Nice catch."

The moment Changsik pulled out his phone and tapped the delivery app, Sunghyun snatched it away.

Snatch.

"Confiscated. And I already told you — ask permission before you use it."

Sunghyun looked at the screen. The phone had opened something that was not a delivery app at all.

An empty lot. An ordinary vacant lot — except for what stood in it. A corpse. Something rotten and half-dissolved, standing upright in the middle of the clearing.

"Hmm……."

"Cute little stunt you're pulling."

The photo's location kept shifting without pause, changing so fast it almost looked like a video. An alley. A complex. An apartment building.

Sunghyun closed his eyes. Something was scrambling up the apartment at tremendous speed. The instant it reached the floor where Sunghyun and Changsik were —

CRAAASH!

Lightning slammed down outside the building.

Oh! Three hundred thousand coins. Not bad.

At the sudden thunderclap, Changsik sprayed the beer he had been drinking. He whipped his head around like a meerkat and shouted,

"Wh-what! Is this a BMS too?!"

"Just drink your beer. And clean that up first."

Sunghyun checked the phone screen. It had returned to normal.

So this is what it feels like.

What a ruthless world. How did anyone even live in a place like this?

Sunghyun casually opened the delivery app. It felt similar to the ones he had used back on Earth.

Pretty much like ours.

"What do you want? Chicken?"

Changsik, mopping the floor with a wet rag, lifted his head.

"That's my money anyway……."

"Hey, Changsik. Think about it. A high-class asset like me is helping you for free right now. By that logic, aren't I the one buying?"

Huh. Was that how it worked? Changsik tilted his head.

Sunghyun waggled his fingers at him.

"Anyway, I ordered chicken."

"Oh, you know your stuff. Golden Chicken, huh."

"That so."

Sunghyun smirked and settled onto the sofa. The way he sat there drinking beer looked entirely natural — the guest on the couch with a beer, the homeowner scrubbing the floor with a hand rag.

He pressed a button on the remote, and an announcer's voice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠filled the room.

"—As BMS rampage incidents continue to mount, public attention is focused on what statement the Control Bureau will issue."

BMS rampages.

"If the media's covering it, it must be pretty serious. Hmm……."

Changsik chimed in from the side.

"Right? I mean, what the hell is wrong with the world…… Honestly, looking at it, those Control Bureau guys don't seem to be doing their jobs at all, you know?"

Sunghyun's gaze settled on Changsik's face. Changsik's head jerked with a creak.

"Uh…… uh, the Control Bureau! Uh! Amazing, right?! Wow! Best in the world!"

Watching Changsik shoot up double thumbs, Sunghyun's eyes went cold.

What am I supposed to do with this idiot.

Some time later, a knock came at the door.

"—Delivery."

Hmm? The chicken shouldn't have arrived yet.

"Oh! Must be the chicken. I'll get it!"

Sunghyun moved and caught Changsik by the back of the collar.

"Stay put. I'm going out. You're a rock. Got it?"

"Ah…… yes. But is that maybe……."

"Go be a thinking chair over there."

Changsik dragged a chair into the corner. The closer Sunghyun got, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠harder whatever stood outside pounded on the door.

"—Delivery."

The same pitch. The exact same pronunciation as before. Changsik flinched visibly. It was definitely not human. On top of that, Sunghyun felt it — the killing intent rolling off whatever stood beyond the door.

Ha! Vicious.

Sunghyun activated Lightning Transformation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at once. This was no pushover. Killing intent of that density was the kind even he would struggle to produce. Only a murderer who had butchered thousands with sadistic care would radiate something like that.

"—Chicken. Chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi, chicken delivery heeereee?"

Sensing something was off, the thing poured out an even denser wave of murderous intent. It no longer seemed interested in hiding that it was a BMS.

Sunghyun's body was lightning. The door in front of him was no obstacle at all. He slipped straight through to the other side, seized the thing by the throat, and hurled it into the air.

A rather long-winded write-up.

"You a delivery guy?"

Sunghyun moved behind the thrashing thing's head midair.

Swift.

Before he knew it, blue lightning filled his hand. He swung.

In that instant, dozens of bolts engulfed the Eight-Footer.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

Its body was remarkably tough — somehow, it managed to endure the lightning.

"Wow. It actually tanked that."

Even for a single mental image, that should not have been a level of force anything could withstand.

"This world really is fun."

Only Sunghyun could look at this insane world and call it entertaining. The blue lightning in his hand had already shifted to pure white.

Ordinarily he would have used killing intent — but against this thing, killing intent would only act as a tonic. In that case —

"Die."

White lightning swallowed the Eight-Footer. Its spirit rose free. Destroy the wicked and the demonic — shortened to Exorcising Evil. Because the mental image existed solely to destroy evil, it annihilated only the Eight-Footer's soul. The body remained, but resurrection, reincarnation, any form of return was now impossible. Its very soul had burned.

It was the first time he had used the image, so he had been tense — but the correction from his S+ trait, combined with Sunghyun's own instincts, let him pour a perfect mental image into the lightning.

THUD!

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

The elongated body crashed onto a car's hood.

"Too loud."

ZZZAAAP—!

Sunghyun fried every electronic component in the car with lightning.

"Oh. Five hundred thousand coins."

After confirming the coins had landed in his account, Sunghyun headed straight back inside.

Changsik had his eyes and ears covered and was chanting the Heart Sutra.

"Maha-ba-ma-bara-mil-da…… Ashura balbalta……."

"What are you doing?"

At the sound of Sunghyun's voice, Changsik ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brightened and started to turn his head — then checked something and went right back to chanting.

"What now?"

Narrowing his eyes, Sunghyun noticed something different about the room. A strange doll was sitting on the sofa.

"Ha! You've got to be kidding me. When did this one even get here?"

At this rate, every BMS in the country was going to show up.

Rattle—.

He opened the window and immediately flung the doll out. It flew in a straight line — then stopped midair. Hovering, it locked eyes with Sunghyun. Its mouth tore open in a grotesque grin. The doll came flying back.

BOOM!

White lightning crashed down on the doll's head. It plummeted to the ground and landed neatly beside the Eight-Footer.

Stupid doll. Know your place. You should have just run.

"Hey. It's fine now. Look over here."

Whether he didn't believe it or not, Changsik kept his eyes and ears covered, still muttering under his breath. Sunghyun scooped Changsik's head up in one hand.

"Hey. I'm back. Open your eyes."

Changsik screamed.

"GYAAAAAAAH! My head! My head! Please spare me! I get it! I'm dying!"

Only then did Sunghyun set the thrashing Changsik back on the floor — not carefully, the way one might set down Armin, but simply by relaxing his grip, the way one drops trash.

Thud.

"Uwaaagh! My back!"

The moment Changsik clutched his lower back and started crawling across the floor —

Knock-knock.

"—Delivery."

"Hhk!"

Changsik scrambled back into the corner and resumed the Heart Sutra. Sunghyun checked — this time it was the real delivery.

"Hey. It's the actual delivery, so cut the drama and bring more beer."

"Ah…… aaaaah, yes, sir!"

Changsik tapped at his tailbone as he limped toward the fridge. Sunghyun opened the door and took the chicken.

"Whew. Finally some rest. Nothing else coming, right?"

Just in case…….

Clink-clink-clink.

Golden chains materialized outside the window.

"Oh, for fuck's sake — again……?"

Sunghyun clamped a hand on Changsik's shoulder before he could have another fit.

"I did that, so calm down. With those up, at least the mid-tier ones won't be able to get in."

Anything stronger than that and even I'd have a rough time.

He left that last part unsaid.

At that same moment, the Korean branch of the Control Bureau was in chaos over the sudden BMS rampage.

The Strange M-Mart. The Corpse in the Photo. The Eight-Footer. Even the Merry Doll. Every single one of them had been under Bureau management — and yet, starting from some point, they had begun rampaging one after another and slipped completely out of the Bureau's sight.

"Research Director Lee Hanshin!"

"What!"

"We've identified the location the BMS are heading toward!"

"I need to deploy agents, so spit it out!"

If they had entered a civilian residential area, it would be a disaster. A mass slaughter could break out. Lee Hanshin chewed on a fingernail.

Where?

"Gaepo-dong, the Zystance Apartment complex!"

Damn it.

There would be a massacre. Lee Hanshin squeezed his eyes shut.

"How many casualties? Deploy whatever agents are ready right now. We at least need to handle the aftermath."

Victims of a BMS became BMS themselves. That, above all, had to be stopped.

"Uh? Research Director Lee?"

"What now!"

Lee Hanshin checked the monitor of the researcher who was staring blankly. A satellite photo of the apartment complex. On the surface it looked completely ordinary — but something strange sat in one corner.

An elongated body. Stretched limbs. The Eight-Footer. It lay motionless on top of a car. And that was not all. Right on top of it, the Merry Doll lay stacked in a torn and burned heap.

They were dead. The Eight-Footer and the Merry Doll — both of them, at the same time.

"What the fuck is this."

What the hell was going on?