How to Ruin the Stage

The applause inside my head refused to stop even after we left the Central Shopping Mall. Clap. Clap. Clap. Slow, courteous applause. It wasn’t something my ears were picking up. It echoed from deep within my mind, from the very spot where the Persona's Black Stage had opened moments ago.

I clenched my teeth. A fragment of Persona. That villain’s way of thinking still lingered inside me. It didn’t see people as people. Pursuers were the audience. Collaborators were supporting cast. Heroes were potential leads. And I was the director standing at center stage. That way of dividing the world clung to my mind like grease stains.

“Ease up on the face.”

The Rat Merchant, walking ahead, spoke in a low voice.

“From behind, you look like someone about to stir up even more trouble.”

I glanced down at my wrist monitor.

It was still high. The number hadn’t dropped easily since I used Persona's Black Stage in the central hall.

“That’s not entirely wrong,” Seon Woo-rak said from beside me. He carried a heavy black bag without even breaking a sweat. For a researcher, his stamina wasn’t bad. Or maybe he was simply used to running away like this.

The Rat Merchant glared at him.

“Stay out of this. Every time you open your mouth, the situation feels even more cursed.”

Seon Woo-rak remained unfazed.

“Luck and accuracy are separate matters.”

“That precise tone of yours is what I hate most.”

“That’s a matter of taste.”

The Rat Merchant swallowed a curse. I only half-listened to their exchange as I scanned the alleys of the redevelopment zone. Chaos still raged to the east—toward the Central Shopping Mall. The place where bounty hunters, Association agents, and Black Dog forces had tangled together. Yoon Taeha was in there too.

He had probably noticed I’d slipped away by now. And he would move again. Not to tear into me like Black Dog, nor to track my scent like Hound. He would chase me because he wanted to save people. That was what made him more annoying.

The Persona fragment whispered. A fine lead.

I answered inwardly. He’s not a lead. He’s a person. I drew the line. But the line kept blurring.

“Rat Merchant.” I slowed my steps. “What’s the channel that the greediest bastards in this area check first right now?”

The Rat Merchant faltered.

“What kind of scheme are you cooking up that you need to ask something like that?”

“Answer first.”

He glared at me before finally letting out a sigh.

“Black Alley Channel. It’s linked to Black Dog’s bounty notices. One post there and half the Guro subcontractors see it.”

“Can it be done anonymously?”

“It can. My equipment can reroute it once or so.”

The Rat Merchant quickly added, “But it won’t hold long. Writing style, access location, device traces—if they want to catch it, they will.”

“Once is enough.”

“I hate that phrase most. The guys who say ‘once is enough’ always cause the biggest explosions.”

The Rat Merchant pulled a small tablet from his pocket. His hands moved quickly, but his eyes kept scanning my face. Suspicion. Fear. Loss calculations. The Rat Merchant was helping me right now, but he didn’t trust me. That was natural. Even I wouldn’t trust myself.

The Black Alley Channel opened on the tablet screen. An anonymous bulletin board. Black Dog’s bounty notice was still pinned at the very top.

The Rat Merchant’s gaze lingered on the last sentence for a moment. He bit his lip.

“Because of that last line, half my contacts are probably thinking about selling me out.”

“Half seems low.”

“Are you trying to comfort me right now?”

“It means half is actually decent for your contacts.”

The Rat Merchant looked momentarily speechless.

“Your way of talking has gotten really unpleasant.”

“It probably wasn’t great before either.”

“Before, you at least stuttered at the end out of fear. Now you sound like someone pretending to be scared while calculating everything.”

I didn’t answer. The Rat Merchant wasn’t wrong. In Kang Doyun’s memories, Copycat had been timid. He couldn’t even look Black Dog in the eye, and his hands shook when he touched money. I was different now. Because of my previous life’s memories? The black stone? Villain Manifestation? Or was I already slowly breaking?

I couldn’t tell exactly.

I took the tablet and typed a short post.

The Rat Merchant frowned the moment he saw the text.

“North Abandoned Market? That’s not the way we’re going.”

“That’s why I’m writing it.”

“They might think it’s too obvious bait.”

“With three billion on the line, they’ll go check,” Seon Woo-rak said quietly from the side. “Greed moves faster than suspicion.”

The Rat Merchant glanced at him.

“Why do you only say things that are exactly right?”

I uploaded the post. Upload complete. The Rat Merchant immediately began erasing the access traces. Multiple windows flashed and vanished across the screen. He was cowardly, but his hands were precise.

“Next?” he asked.

I pulled out my smartphone. New replies had appeared on the Association’s public tip channel temporary thread.

They were from Yoon Taeha. The sentences were short, but they struck strangely straight. He didn’t ask about the black stone’s identity. He didn’t question why I had run. He asked first if people were in danger. So like Yoon Taeha. Which made him even harder to handle.

I opened the reply window. My fingertips paused for a moment. Persona’s voice laughed lowly from inside.

Call the lead. The more spectators there are, the clearer the stage becomes.

I swallowed a short breath.

“Shut up.”

The Rat Merchant flinched.

“You weren’t talking to me, right?”

“From now on, you just need to stay quiet.”

I typed immediately.

The Rat Merchant’s expression hardened as he watched my hands.

“Wait. You just threw bait toward the North Abandoned Market, and now you’re telling the hero not to go there?”

“Yes.”

“Then that guy will try to check both places.”

“He won’t run straight north right away.”

“How can you be so sure?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t say that I knew what kind of person he was. Instead, I deflected.

“Yoon Taeha is reckless, but he’s not stupid.”

“You talk like you know him.”

“I saw it on the news.”

The Rat Merchant still looked at me with suspicious eyes, but he didn’t press further. Right now, surviving took priority over figuring out my identity. That was the Rat Merchant’s strength. His survival instinct came before pointless curiosity.

Seon Woo-rak glanced at the smartphone screen and said, “There’s a high chance Black Dog is at the Central Waterway.”

“I know.”

“If Yoon Taeha heads there, there will be a clash.”

“That’s what I’m aiming for.”

Only after speaking did I realize how cold my voice sounded. The Rat Merchant seemed to notice too. He looked at me slowly.

“Are you throwing the hero in front of Hound right now?”

I couldn’t answer immediately. The words were accurate. So accurate they irritated me more.

“I’m not sending him to die.”

“Would the hero thank you if he heard that?”

“The Association will approach the Central Waterway too. I’m not trying to make Yoon Taeha face them alone.”

The Rat Merchant’s eyes narrowed.

“What if it doesn’t go according to your calculations?”

“There’s a high chance it won’t.”

He let out a dry laugh.

“And you’re still setting up this board?”

I looked straight at the Rat Merchant.

“If I don’t, we die here.”

The Rat Merchant shut his mouth. He couldn’t refute it. It was cold. I knew that. But it wasn’t the wrong decision. There was no way to escape this board without putting anyone at risk. Someone had to move. Someone had to draw attention. Someone had to clash with Black Dog.

The Persona fragment whispered quietly. Good. The arrangement is beautiful.

I clenched my fist tightly. It’s not beautiful. It’s filthy. And I was the one arranging this filthy board.

My wrist monitor beeped shortly.

Seon Woo-rak looked at the screen.

“The number went up again.”

“I didn’t use any ability.”

“It can rise from thought alone. If you’re following Persona’s way of thinking right now.”

“I’m not following it.”

“Then?”

I slipped the smartphone into my pocket.

“I’m using it.”

Seon Woo-rak watched me for a moment before nodding.

“Don’t lose that distinction.”

“I don’t plan to.”

“Thoughts usually don’t survive longer than results.”

I didn’t answer. Because he was right.

Seon Woo-rak took out a small disc-shaped device from his black bag.

“This should work for what you requested.”

The Rat Merchant frowned.

“What did you pull out this time?”

“I modified a measurement receiver. It can faintly mimic the residual wavelength left in the black stone container.”

“If you had something like that, you should’ve said so earlier!” The Rat Merchant’s voice rose.

Seon Woo-rak remained calm.

“You didn’t pay the cost.”

“Did you learn how to flip people inside out for money?”

“Cost is always important.”

I took the disc-shaped device. It was palm-sized. A single red indicator light was embedded in the worn metal surface.

“How long does it last?”

“Three minutes. Five at most.”

“How strong is the fake wavelength?”

“It will be difficult to completely fool olfactory-type supernormals like Hound. Association detection equipment will also realize it’s fake if they look at it for long.”

“It only needs to fool them for the first few minutes.”

“That much is possible.”

I held the device.

“I’ll place it at the North Abandoned Market.”

The Rat Merchant understood immediately.

“You’re scattering fake sighting reports and fake wavelengths.”

“Yes.”

“Then the money-blinded ones will swarm north, the Association’s search will be thrown off once, and some of Black Dog will head that way too.”

“Correct.”

The Rat Merchant chewed his lip.

“What about Hound?”

“Hound will trust his nose.”

“That’s the problem.” His voice lowered. “That bastard will eventually follow the real scent.”

“That’s why I sent Yoon Taeha to the Central Waterway.”

The Rat Merchant’s eyes wavered. The words seemed to hit him again. I didn’t avoid his gaze. Avoiding it would only make me more cowardly.

Seon Woo-rak pulled a small glass vial from his bag. It contained a clear liquid.

“Take this too.”

“Is it a scent-removing agent?”

“More precisely, it’s a drug that ruins body odor. It won’t completely fool Hound’s sense of smell, but it should blur the trail.”

“Side effects?”

“It may slightly damage the skin.”

“Hearing the word ‘slightly’ from your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mouth makes me nervous.”

“It depends on the definition.”

I took the glass vial. I still didn’t like his tone, but there was no time to argue now.

The Rat Merchant pointed toward the underground passage.

“There’s a fork here. Right leads toward the North Abandoned Market. Left leads to the southern transfer underground passage. We’ll take the left.”

“The bait device goes right.”

“Yes. About eighty meters from the fork, there’s an old shopping mall distribution panel. If you attach it there, the wavelength will leak up to the abandoned market above.”

“Who’s installing it?”

The Rat Merchant stared at me.

“You.”

“Me?”

“It has to have your scent to be convincing. If you only scatter the black stone wavelength, Hound will distinguish it immediately.”

He was right. I dripped a little of the vial’s liquid onto my gloves. Onto my clothes. The backpack strap. Several spots on the passage wall. I deliberately smeared it. The areas that touched my skin burned.

“It feels like a burn.”

“It means it’s working,” Seon Woo-rak said indifferently.

“If you’re not going to comfort me, at least say less.”

I took the disc-shaped device and entered the right passage. The passage was narrow. The ceiling was low, and the walls were damp. The smell of old mildew and mold stung my nose.

Every few steps, I checked my wrist monitor.

It was high. I wasn’t even using abilities, yet it wouldn’t drop. The aftermath of the black stone’s micro-release. The afterglow of the Black Stage. And the board I was setting up right now. Everything was holding the number in place.

Scenes kept forming in my head. Bounty hunters swarming toward the North Abandoned Market. Black Dog members following them. Yoon Taeha heading for the Central Waterway. Association agents belatedly joining. And Hound moving by scent. Everyone moved with different purposes. If I twisted those purposes just a little, they would collide with each other. And in that collision, I would slip away.

It was a good plan. So good that it disgusted me instead.

The Persona fragment was quietly satisfied. I muttered lowly.

“It’s my plan.”

I didn’t know who I was saying it to. To Persona? To myself? Or to the ordinary human conscience that still remained?

An old distribution panel appeared at the end of the passage. Exactly where the Rat Merchant had described. I attached the disc-shaped device inside it. A small click sounded as the magnet caught.

Click.

I pressed the button.

Beep.

The red light came on. Ten seconds until activation. I immediately turned to leave.

That was when a very small sound came from the darkness.

Click.

The sound of a gun’s safety being released.

I froze.

“Copycat.”

It was an unfamiliar voice. A man walked out from the darkness leading to the abandoned market. Black jumper. A scarred face. A small pistol in his hand. No Black Dog tattoo on his neck. Not an official member. But he carried the stench of someone who rolled around the bottom of the black market. A bounty hunter. He must have seen my fake sighting post and searched the area, luckily finding me first.

The man laughed.

“It really was here.”

I slowly raised my hands.

“Did you come alone?”

“Why should I tell you that?”

“You’re alone.”

The man’s eyes shook for a split second. I could tell even without using the Swindler’s Joker Card. He was alone. He had come alone because he didn’t want to share the money. Greed always made people rush.

The man’s gun barrel lowered toward my backpack.

“Put the bag down.”

“That I can’t do.”

“Let’s see if you can say that with a hole in your stomach.”

I didn’t answer. The disc-shaped device’s red light was blinking rapidly. Five seconds until activation. The man noticed it too.

“What is that?”

He glanced momentarily toward the distribution panel. In that instant, I didn’t draw my folding knife. I didn’t draw a gun. Instead, I took one step sideways and said,

“Behind you.”

The man wasn’t completely fooled. But his gaze still wavered. That was enough. I kicked a rusted pipe on the floor.

Clang!

The metallic sound echoed through the passage. The man’s gun barrel reflexively jerked toward it. At the same time, the disc-shaped device activated.

Vrrr.

A low vibration swept through the passage. It was similar to the black stone but much rougher. My wrist monitor reacted instantly.

“Ugh.”

Heat flared inside my body. The bounty hunter flinched too. He must have been a supernormal, judging by how he reacted to the wavelength. He gritted his teeth.

“You son of a—”

I ran. The man fired.

Bang!

The bullet embedded in the wall. Concrete fragments grazed the side of my face. I lowered my body and charged at the man. I had no combat ability. But the passage was narrow, and the man’s gun barrel had just wavered. That small gap was enough.

I shoved him with my shoulder.

“Ugh!”

The man staggered backward and dropped his gun. I grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the wall. Once. Twice. Strength left his wrist. The man spat curses and kneed my abdomen. My breath caught. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was pushed back. The man reached for the gun on the floor.

At that moment, Viper’s memory whispered in my head. Bite. The inside of the wrist. Just a little.

I stopped as I reached for my knife. Using Viper's Fang would be faster. But the number was already at 70. Adding another ability here could push it past 80. Rampage. No. Instead, I kicked the gun on the floor far away. Then I punched the man’s jaw. It wasn’t a precise strike. But it must have been unexpected, because the man’s head snapped to the side. I immediately grabbed his neck and slammed it against the wall.

Thud.

The man collapsed. He wasn’t dead. He had fainted, or at least wouldn’t be able to move for a few minutes.

I breathed roughly.

Dangerous. I couldn’t stay any longer. I checked the disc-shaped device. Red light. Residual wavelength emitting. Good. Now I just had to get out.

Then I heard sounds from far away. Footsteps. Many of them. The ones caught by the fake sighting post were already swarming in.

I looked down at the fallen man. If I left him like this? Other bounty hunters would find him soon. If he was alive, he might tell them which way I went. If I killed him, it would stay quiet.

Viper’s memory laughed softly. Remove unnecessary risks.

The Persona fragment added. A corpse is an excellent prop. It heightens fear and darkens the stage.

I clenched my fist tightly.

“No.”

I loosened the fainted man’s belt and tied his wrists to a pipe. I crumpled his glove and stuffed it into his mouth. I made sure he could breathe. I wouldn’t kill him. At least not now.

I turned and ran.

When I reached the fork, the Rat Merchant was practically stomping his feet.

“Why are you so late! Didn’t you hear the footsteps coming?”

“I had a guest.”

“Don’t say guest. Who did you tangle with this time?”

“A bounty hunter. I didn’t kill him, just tied him up.”

The Rat Merchant’s face twisted even more.

“A tied-up guy will open his mouth later, and a dead guy will stink. Either way, it’s annoying.”

“I know.”

Seon Woo-rak looked at my wrist monitor.

“72. Not good.”

“I didn’t use Black Stage.”

Seon Woo-rak’s expression stiffened slightly.

“If it’s 72 even without that, you’ll need to be more careful from now on.”

I didn’t answer. Murmurs began to echo from behind the passage. From the North Abandoned Market direction. Someone shouted.

“Wavelength detected!”

“Copycat is this way!”

“Catch him! It’s three billion!”

The Rat Merchant laughed with a pale face.

“The bait was eaten properly.”

At that moment, from another direction—toward the Central Waterway—a dull explosion rang out.

Boom!

Followed by two gunshots. And someone’s shout.

“It’s a hero!”

The Rat Merchant looked at me.

“He’s here.”

He was. Yoon Taeha. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew. He had come after all. To save people. Or to confirm the warning I left. And now he was clashing with Black Dog. Just as planned.

Yet my stomach didn’t feel at ease. I had led him there. That fact didn’t disappear.

“We need to leave now,” the Rat Merchant said. “The left passage leads to the southern transfer underground passage. If we stop here, everything’s ruined.”

We moved toward the southern transfer underground passage. Behind us, the sounds of people swarming toward the North Abandoned Market grew louder, and from the Central Waterway came continued sounds of battle. Gunshots. Shouts. The clash of metal. We ran through the darkness, cutting across it all.

I gripped my backpack tightly. The black stone stayed quiet inside the shielding cloth. But it wasn’t completely asleep. The Persona inside me was the same. It was laughing quietly. It was a splendid first scene.

I gritted my teeth.

“It’s not over yet.”

Seon Woo-rak asked from beside me.

“Who are you saying that to?”

“Myself.”

Then my smartphone vibrated. It was a notification from the Association’s public tip channel temporary thread. I should have ignored it while running. But for some reason, I felt a strong intuition that I needed to check.

I stopped briefly and opened the screen. It was a reply from Yoon Taeha.

My heart sank. Civilians? This variable hadn’t existed in the flow I knew. No. It might have existed but simply hadn’t been revealed. This world wasn’t made only of the scenes I had read. People got hurt, died, and disappeared outside someone’s field of vision.

A second reply followed.

I stared at the screen. The Rat Merchant spoke urgently.

“What is it? Why did you stop?”

Did I know? No. I didn’t. I had led Yoon Taeha there, but I hadn’t known civilians were being held. I had meant to make Black Dog and the Association clash, not send him to a place with hostages. But the result was the same. I had put him on stage, and on that stage were people tied up whom I hadn’t known about.

The Persona fragment whispered. The audience has grown.

I almost smashed the smartphone.

“Shut up.”

The Rat Merchant flinched.

“I’m choosing to believe you weren’t saying that to me.”

I quickly typed a reply.

Sent. A reply came up immediately.

I didn’t answer. Yoon Taeha was trying to save people. He would try to hold out until the Association arrived. In the meantime, we would escape. The plan would continue. Yes. That was the most rational choice.

Yet my feet wouldn’t move.

I closed my eyes. A stage appeared in my mind. The Central Waterway. Bound civilians. Yoon Taeha standing in front of them. Black Dog moving in the darkness. Hound approaching by scent. The Association closing in from afar. Everyone was arranged. A perfect scene.

Persona’s emotion rose again. It’s beautiful.

I gritted my teeth.

“No.”

The Rat Merchant spoke as if swallowing a scream.

“That ‘no’ just now sounded incredibly ominous, you know?”

I looked at the southern passage. The path to survival. Then I looked toward the Central Waterway. Danger. Logically, I should run. Even if I went, I didn’t know if I could help. My body was broken, and my supernormal reaction rate was at 72. Using more abilities there could cause rampage. Yoon Taeha wasn’t someone who would die easily, and the Association was approaching. They might hold out somehow.

But there were civilians. Even if I hadn’t known, people had been dragged into the board I created. If I ran away now? It would be no different from Persona’s stage. Arranging people. Driving them into danger. Using only the results. And slipping away behind the stage.

I had said I wouldn’t wear that mask. Not yet.

The Rat Merchant read my expression and stepped back.

“Copycat. I think I know what you’re thinking right now, so please tell me I’m wrong.”

Seon Woo-rak spoke lowly.

“I advise you. The chance of dying if you go back now is high.”

“I know.”

“Your supernormal reaction rate is at a dangerous level too.”

“I know that too.”

“And you’re still going?”

I adjusted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my backpack strap.

“It’s the board I made.”

My voice sank low.

“So I have to ruin it.”

The Rat Merchant clutched his head.

“You were acting like a villain until a moment ago, and now you’re going to imitate a hero?”

“I’m not a hero.”

I turned my body toward the Central Waterway.

“I’m a villain.”

I drew my pistol. The magazine was light. Two bullets left.

The Rat Merchant asked in a trembling voice.

“What are you going to do with two bullets?”

I didn’t smile. It felt like I shouldn’t. Because I wouldn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be able to tell my smile apart from Persona’s.

“Two bullets are enough.”

“What can two bullets solve?”

I stared into the darkness toward the Central Waterway. Another explosion rang out from beyond it. Someone screamed. I couldn’t tell if it was Yoon Taeha, a civilian, or Black Dog. I took a step.

“It’s not enough to kill people, but—”

My wrist monitor rang again.

The Persona fragment raised its head from inside. The Black Stage was trying to open again. I gritted my teeth and said,

“It’s enough to ruin the stage.”