Scrape... Scraaaape...
Kim Jin-seo was the only one left, dragging the tip of her sword across the floor with a ka-gak, ka-ga-gak.... She should have gone back to the classroom ages ago, but she just couldn't muster the will.
She wandered aimlessly across the athletic field, peeking into the building Do Seon-woo had entered, then aimlessly poking around in structures she'd never visited before. The school was vast. She vaguely remembered exploring every corner with her mother in tow behind her father back in the day, but somehow it felt even bigger now. Did the school grow as I did? Ridiculous thought. She let out a hollow laugh.
The school's eerie silence wasn't just because classes were in session. It was as empty as it was expansive, and the students' chatter couldn't fill the void. That's why it was so vast... and so quiet. In that wide, silent space, she was alone.
"......"
The air was cold, the sky low. It felt desolate. Terrifying. She gripped the sword hilt tight to still the trembling in her fingertips. She walked, but without destination, circling back to the start. Exhausted, she squatted down and stared at the ground.
Five ants marched in a tidy line.
Crack.
"Ah."
Someone's foot came down, crushing them as they approached her. Four of the five died. The survivor circled the corpses of its kin.
Kim Jin-seo jerked her head up. He gazed down at her with a faint smile.
"What're you doing?"
"......Watching ants."
"Ants?"
"You just killed them."
At her words, Do Seon-woo hopped back and lifted his foot.
"Oh, shit. Sorry, I didn't realize..."
"Not like you owe me an apology."
Kim Jin-seo smiled. His flustered panic was ridiculous. Cute, even. She pushed up from her knees and stood, eyeing him. He was still staring guiltily at the spot where he'd crushed the ants.
"What'd the principal say?"
Kim Jin-seo nudged his shoulder with her head, probing slyly. Do Seon-woo, who'd been alternating glances between his shoe and the ground, started walking as if shoved. She fell in step beside him.
He stared blankly up at the sky before speaking.
"Not much."
"Like what?"
"This and that. ...Seemed like there was some misunderstanding. About the Satanists."
Do Seon-woo said it casually. Kim Jin-seo nodded slightly. She'd half-guessed it involved Satanists. Because of that line: "Non-compliance will be deemed treason against the Romanica Church." That's why she'd hovered anxiously around the buildings. Anyway, from what he said, the misunderstanding seemed cleared up—which also meant he wasn't a Satanist. She'd never doubted him, but hearing it still brought relief.
Do Seon-woo glanced at her fondly, like she was adorable, and spoke.
"Were you waiting?"
"......No."
"Really?"
"Didn't... wait."
Kim Jin-seo shot him a narrow-eyed glare. He grinned.
They walked in silence for a bit. Suddenly, she realized her grip on the sword hilt had loosened. Her body had stopped shaking. She looked up at his throat. The wound hadn't fully healed; a scab remained.
"Almost better."
Her fingertip brushed the scar. Do Seon-woo gently brushed her hand away.
"It was shallow to begin with."
"Your hand?"
"Uh... that one went deeper."
He clenched his fist to hide it. Didn't want to show it. She wouldn't have minded seeing it, but she got it—sort of—so she nodded and looked away.
Something poked out of his pocket, jiggling with each step.
"What's that?"
"Oh, this."
Do Seon-woo pulled it out casually. A demon-warding mask.
She'd once heard from her father where it was kept. Kim Jin-seo tilted her head. Why was something from the chairman's office in his pocket? Suspicious? Not really. He was showing it off so brazenly.
He tucked it back in.
"Chairman told me to hold onto it. Said if it stayed in his office, Satanists might snag it."
"Aha."
She nodded. Do Seon-woo, who freaked out over squashing a few ants, wasn't the type to steal from the chairman's office. And he wouldn't have even known it was there, so yeah—her father must've given it to him personally.
Silence again as they walked. They'd nearly lapped the whole school. Walking with him made it feel small. Like those childhood days wandering with her mother.
"......Hey, where we going?"
Kim Jin-seo finally spoke up when she realized, mid-trance following him, that his steps were veering toward the fence.
Do Seon-woo wordlessly donned the mask, peering at her through the narrow slits.
"Gonna run."
"Run?"
He nodded, eyes on the sky. Dark clouds gathered. The darkening heavens felt ominous. Chilling.
"Principal said... school's in bad shape. So, gotta run."
"......What about the others?"
"I gotta survive too, y'know."
He strode off toward the fence without waiting. She hurried to catch up with short steps. He walked fast. She realized he usually matched others' pace.
"Wait—then why the mask—"
"Demonic energy on the fence. Can't cross without it."
"......You're really running?"
"What else? You staying?"
Do Seon-woo asked at the fence. It was tall, but not insurmountable. Especially for him.
He pressed her, hesitant as she was.
"What'll you do?"
"......Me."
"Let's just run together."
"......"
"I'll hop over, toss the mask back. Then you can too."
He extended his hand. Kim Jin-seo hesitated, head bowed, before taking it. A million thoughts swirled.
School's dangerous—got it. But something off in his words. He wasn't the type to run, no matter how dire. He'd save everyone and die alone first. She wished he'd be selfish sometimes, prioritize his own neck over others'. But even accounting for that, this Do Seon-woo felt... wrong. Unpleasant. Unfamiliar.
Like he wasn't Do Seon-woo at all.
"C'mon. Hurry."
His urging tone was ice-cold. Half-turned to leave, impatience surged. She grabbed his hand—running together didn't sound bad.
Then she remembered: this morning, Jeong In-ah's taxidermy doll lunging at Do Seon-woo. Sawdust and cotton spilling instead of blood.
Kim Jin-seo drew her sword.
"......Sorry."
"Huh? Sorry for wha—"
Do Seon-woo stepped back, face paling in confusion. She advanced two steps.
Stab.
Biting her lip, she pierced his palm clean through. He writhed in agony, too shocked to scream. She panted raggedly. Heart pounding like it'd burst free.
She'd pegged the Do Seon-woo before her as a taxidermy doll. No hard proof. Just... off in manner, personality. That was it.
Yet she'd stabbed without hesitation. Certainty that she, at least, could tell real from fake.
"What the hell are you—! Aaaagh!"
"......"
Her face hardened coldly. Sawdust poured from his writhing palm, not blood.
Doll, confirmed. Good it wasn't real. And pathetic, that she'd briefly thought it was.
Slash!
She yanked the blade free, cleaving his palm in two. Sawdust rained down. She stared coldly at it, then met the doll's eyes.
Terror flickered there—made her falter. But fake, too.
Lips bitten bloody, she gripped the hilt. Blade arced for its neck.
Chop—its left wrist severed, blocking futilely. She pressed for the head in one stroke.
"......"
But the blade halted at the neck. Her shoulders shook, eyes rimmed red.
"Ah, sob. It hurts. Hurts... please, why. Why're you doing this...!"
Tears streamed through the mask's slits. She knew it was a doll. Knew the tears were fake.
Grinding her teeth, resolve firmed. She swung.
Slash, slash, slash....
Arm limp, she hacked like chopping wood. Finally, the head tumbled free, rolling across the ground.
Soon, black smoke billowed skyward.
His clothes and the mask remained. She pocketed the mask and staggered off. No destination.
Arm useless. It was just a doll mimicking Do Seon-woo, but that face tormented her. Tearful eyes pleading in hallucination.
"......Wha... run...."
"......Save... what...."
Students poured out before aimless Kim Jin-seo, faces twisted in terror, shouting incoherently. Speakers blared announcements schoolwide. But sounds swirled and faded from her ears.
Thud.
Shoulder bumped a fleeing student. Legs buckled. She wanted to collapse.
She'd killed a Do Seon-woo doll with her sword. Where was the real one?
No sign amid the crowd. Kidnapped by Satanists? Missing? Or the broadcast a trap—he got caught, died?
Her father? The doll had the chairman's mask. He might be dead too.
"Ah......"
Head throbbed. Steps veered randomly. Lost. School too vast. Students' screams couldn't fill it.
Shhhh....
Rain. Soaked uniform, hair. Cold slickness clung clammy. Steps heavy as lead.
Consciousness blurred.
Kieeeek—!!
A massive demon appeared on the field—from nowhere. Neither human nor beast, an unearthly shriek snapped her awake.
Six legs chased fleeing students. Faces unseen in panic. Do Seon-woo might be among them, but impossible to spot.
Hairs stood on end. Body screamed danger.
Yet she kept walking—toward it.
"Just... fuck off......"
She advanced, muttering. Six eyes fixed on her, filthy teeth bared. Heart thundered.
Each step sank the field. Like sinking into earth.
Demon charged. She raised her sword.
Three heads. Couldn't take all at once. She aimed center—easiest target. No reason.
Kieeeeeek—!
Blade swung at the shrieking beast.
Boom—!
Lightning flashed, blinding her. Vision whitened, then cleared. Demon lay felled before her—center head pulverized.
Kiek, kieek....
It writhed, sparks dancing. Another bolt struck. Still.
Ashes melted in rain, blackening ground.
Craaack—!
Not over. Another bolt split its belly. Eerily like Eden Hill, surrounded by new demons. Difference: Do Seon-woo was there then. Not now.
She scanned. Felt him watching secretly.
"Where are you......"
Nowhere. Wishful thinking, obviously. She just wanted him watching.
"......"
Head bowed silently. Raindrop hit nape. Plip, plop. Trickled down hair.
Kieek, kiek....
Demon groaned faintly. Guts spilled as smoke. Rose—then sank, coiling around students.
Kim Jin-seo snapped to, regripping sword. Finish it.
Kieek...... Gack!
Last breath. From maw: gold chunks in bile and saliva.
"G-gold! It's gold...!"
"Real gold? For real?"
"Gotta be! Boss kill reward! Gold from the demon!"
Smoke-inhaling students approached boldly. Even others edged closer at "gold."
Only Kim Jin-seo shunned it.
"See? Real gold! Sell this and..."
"Hey! That's mine!"
"The fuck? You retarded shit—gold's got you blind..."
Guts spewed endless black smoke. Pupils dilated, focus gone.
(Continued next chapter)