The Foolish Villain Didn't Recognize the Fraudulent Protagonist (2)

Kim Changkyung had been a police officer. An utterly ordinary one. He was also a man with sharp instincts and an abundance of greed. On the very day the worlds fused, he abandoned his patrol route alongside his colleague and immediately sought out a safe place to hide. He spent the first day, when chaos was at its peak, holding his breath and gathering information through his radio. Once he learned that the police station where he worked stood empty, Kim Changkyung made what he considered a life-or-death gamble and looted the station. His target was, naturally, the power that mattered most in this new world—firepower. Guns.

His luck held. He encountered neither monsters nor mages, nor even ordinary people, on his way to the station. Most of the pistols and ammunition he sought remained exactly where they had been left. Barely two days after the world fusion, Kim Changkyung had become one of the most heavily armed civilians outside the military. Riding that wave of fortune, he eventually reached the modern university. Fearing that those around him might covet his power, he shared it with his companions. Those who received it began enslaving the powerless to satisfy their own vile desires, and thus the "Modern University Shelter" was born.

After listening to Kim Changkyung's tale, Tiasia conferred briefly with Jack and May before spinning her own story about a psychopathic mage who collected modern humans as slaves. Roughly an hour passed in conversation. When Kim Changkyung offered to guide them to the shelter, the first place he took them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the nineteenth floor.

"They were completely rotten. This place was nothing but a filthy playground filled with ugly desires."

The moment Jack finished speaking, the elevator arrived at the fifth floor.

"Shit, I thought I was dead. What the hell was so scary about that?" Changbaeksoo muttered as he stepped out first, his body trembling at the memory of what had happened on the nineteenth floor.

"...Hah." Ju Joyeon let out a hollow laugh at the man's petty backbiting now that they were safe.

"Huh? What? You just laughed at me?" Changbaeksoo glared at him, trying to look menacing.

"Just because your master is strong, you think you're something? Don't get the wrong idea, kid. That woman would die if I shot her from a distance. She only got close because she didn't know anything. It was nothing special. Got it?"

It was a pathetic threat, the kind even a high-school delinquent might not bother with. Ju Joyeon kept his mocking expression.

"Hey, have you ever killed anyone?"

"What?"

"I asked if you've ever killed a person."

"You little shit. You think I've never killed anyone? You think I can't shoot you?"

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"Goddamn it, this brat really—"

With the rotten smile typical of a delinquent, Changbaeksoo pulled the pistol from his pocket.

"You really want a bullet hole in you?"

"Guess you haven't—"

Bang!

A single gunshot rang out. White smoke curled from Changbaeksoo's muzzle, aimed straight at Ju Joyeon's thigh.

"Thought I couldn't do it? You cocky little— What the...?"

Changbaeksoo's face flushed red as he noticed an opaque notification window floating in midair.

"See? You really haven't killed anyone before."

"What? What the hell—why...?"

Ju Joyeon, who should have been screaming in pain from the gunshot, was still sneering at him. Panicked, Changbaeksoo checked Ju Joyeon's thigh. His eyes widened.

"What is that... a bone...?"

Between Ju Joyeon's thigh and the bullet floated a single pristine white bone. While Changbaeksoo stood dumbfounded, Ju Joyeon raised his right hand and formed it into the shape of a gun.

"Bang."

"W-what are you—"

Thud!

Changbaeksoo's body jerked violently. He staggered back a step as if struck by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something heavy. He looked down to see what had hit him.

"H-huh?"

At the end of his gaze was the same white bone that had blocked his bullet—now embedded in his own chest.

"What is this... Aaaagh!"

Realizing what had happened, Changbaeksoo opened his mouth to scream, but Ju Joyeon brought his hand down.

Thud!

Before the scream could fully form, Changbaeksoo collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, tumbling backward just as Kim Eunhye had earlier.

"...Interesting. Yeah, pretty fun."

Ju Joyeon lowered his hand and muttered to himself. Something inside him was on the verge of snapping. Leaving Changbaeksoo's corpse where it lay, he walked toward the classroom he had been dragged into earlier.

Creak...

The rusted iron door groaned as it slowly opened. The small classroom wasn't particularly large, and inside it swarmed a mass of pitch-black Morion Roaches. There was no sign of Kim Eunhye.

Crack... snap...

"Hah... hahaha! Ahahaha! Ahahahahaha!"

Ju Joyeon burst into loud laughter, clutching his face as he laughed like a madman. As if responding to the sound, the Morion Roaches began to writhe and surge toward him in large numbers.

"Haha... huh?"

Through the scattering roaches, Ju Joyeon spotted a small figure curled up in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a ball. He stopped laughing and stared. The figure twitched ever so slightly. Kim Eunhye had heard his earlier words before being dragged to the nineteenth floor. Even while covered in roaches, she was desperately covering her own mouth, holding on with everything she had.

"Aha!"

Light flashed in Ju Joyeon's eyes.

"Karl! Jack!"

At his call, the ground trembled as two skeletons burst forth. A pitch-black aura of death poured from Ju Joyeon's body.

Kiririririt!!

Whether by monster instinct or not, every Morion Roach suddenly charged straight at Ju Joyeon.

"Kill every last one of those bugs!!"

Karl and Jack's eye sockets glowed crimson.

Clack! "As Master commands!!"

Rattle! "We will carry out the order perfectly!!"

Ju Joyeon did not stop there. He began chanting.

"[Howl with throats you no longer possess!]"

The Book of the Dead in his inventory flew out and began glowing red.

"[Mark them with eyes you no longer possess!]"

It was the only undead buff spell Ju Joyeon could currently use.

"[Hate the lives you no longer have!]"

"[Burn only with the hatred that remains!]"

"[Flames of hatred that scorch life itself!]"

Clack-clack-clack!!

Karl and Jack snapped their jaws as if roaring. Empowered by both Death Aura and the Flames of Hatred That Scorch Life, the two skeletons—already radiating a powerful presence—charged at the Morion Roaches with blood-red killing intent, determined to annihilate every last insect.

Flutter!

Realizing they had to fight seriously, the Morion Roaches spread their wings and dove toward the skeletons.

Slash! Slash!

Whoosh!

Karl's sword cleaved the airborne Morion Roaches cleanly in two. The bisected bodies burst into flames from the cut surfaces, rendering them completely immobile. A few roaches managed to bite Karl and Jack using sheer numbers, but even with reduced defense, their mandibles could not so much as scratch the followers' bones.

There were roughly three hundred Morion Roaches. Those that sensed danger spread their wings, instinctively stirring revulsion. Ju Joyeon ignored the ones flying toward him and sprinted straight for Kim Eunhye.

Ting! Ting!

The automatically activating Bone Armor deflected every roach that managed to slip past Karl and Jack. Ju Joyeon's complexion gradually paled. The roaches themselves weren't particularly threatening, but his mana reserves were the real problem. He planned to drag Kim Eunhye out of the classroom before his magic was completely depleted and leave the rest to Karl and Jack.

"Ma'am! Get up! There are too many bugs in here—let's get out!"

He forcibly pulled the trembling Kim Eunhye along as he ran for the exit.

Ting! Ting!

"Hiiiik!!"

"Don't look back—just run! We're getting out!"

The Morion Roaches, apparently intelligent enough to recognize a losing battle, ignored Karl and Jack and swarmed toward Ju Joyeon and Kim Eunhye instead.

Clack! "Master! They're heading your way!"

Rattle! "These damned bugs!"

With the roaches now fully focused on Ju Joyeon, even Karl and Jack couldn't stop every single one from reaching him.

'It's fine! Getting out is faster than dealing with bugs!'

Just a few more steps to the classroom door. Once outside, slamming the iron door shut would end it.

Dash!

"Almost—!"

Thud.

"Ack?"

At the very moment he tried to pass through the doorway, Ju Joyeon failed to notice the iron ball caught on the doorframe. He lost his balance in an instant of carelessness. The moment he fell, it was obvious the Morion Roaches would swarm him faster than he could recover.

'Shit.'

There was nothing he could do but curse inwardly.

Thud!

"Huh?"

"Hiiiik!"

What caught Ju Joyeon's falling body was none other than Kim Eunhye, whom he had been dragging. Realizing that Ju Joyeon was the reason she could escape this classroom, she had panicked when he started to fall and desperately tried to keep him upright.

Clack! "Master! The door! Quickly!!"

"Hiiiik!"

BOOM!

Before Karl even needed to speak, Kim Eunhye slammed the iron door shut with all her strength. Ju Joyeon stared at her in bewilderment. She let out a long sigh of relief and sank to the floor, then suddenly burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

The extreme trauma from the roaches on the nineteenth floor had left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its mark, but sheer survival instinct had carried her this far.

"...Haa."

Ju Joyeon also relaxed and slowly sat down. He looked at Kim Eunhye, who continued crying in a voice that was hard to listen to.

"Yeah... this is way more fun than just killing them."