Survival of the Fittest
"Why are people like this?"
We were squatting together in the corner of the room, peeling the lid off cup ramen, when Ji-su suddenly hit me with criticism.
"You said you were from the Anomaly Management Department. I naturally assumed you’d have some kind of solution… Oh my god. To think you’d be this unprepared."
"I did have a plan."
"Because of you, the image of that department in my head has completely collapsed. No. You really are just a jobless bum, aren’t you?"
"I came all the way here, and this is how you treat me?"
It had been two days since we’d been locked inside this unknown sealed room. The food supply was surprisingly a magical pantry—one that refilled itself every single day. The only problem was that whoever created this anomaly had apparently only imagined one person living here, because it provided exactly one portion each time.
And Ji-su, whose expectations had been utterly shattered, clearly found it irritating that I kept taking the food. In truth I had no need to eat at all, but my identity as a vampire was a secret and it felt a little shameless, so I stubbornly claimed my share anyway.
"No, I mean, I was expecting someone a bit more professional."
"Who was the one spamming me with chat messages, begging me to come faster? Where does that person live again?"
"That’s… true, but…"
Ji-su pouted.
"Still, this isn’t what I wanted."
She pushed her lips out even further, staring at me, and continued.
"Sorry for blaming you. You got dragged into this mess because of me. I was just so sorry that I…"
I wished she would put those lips away. I gave a small laugh and tapped the floor.
"So my coming here hasn’t been any help at all?"
"It has helped. Honestly, if I’d been left alone any longer I might have gone insane."
"Then that’s enough. I hurried because I figured it might come to that."
"Huh?"
Her mushroom-cut bob drooped. She hung her head, staring only at the floor. Her complexion looked terrible. I couldn’t tell whether it was from being trapped here or if she was always like this. I felt like telling her to get a full medical checkup.
"Why… did you do that? It wasn’t worth taking on that much risk."
"People can’t live alone. We’re creatures that have to form groups and live together. Yet you were forced to spend over a month interacting only through text on a screen? There’s no way that could be healthy."
"I… guess that’s true."
"Exactly. In the end it’s about saving a person. What good is saving them after they’ve already died? So I just acted. That’s the kind of thing this is."
"Hic! Wow…"
She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her long sleeve and gave a faint smile. Not bad at all.
"That was the first time you looked cool. I’ll admit it. You’re not a bum."
"Only now?"
"Yes."
"Heh heh heh. And don’t worry too much. I have one more method if it comes down to it."
"Oh my."
Curiosity bloomed in her brown eyes.
"Then… the reason you’re not using it…"
"There’s a bit of risk involved. For now, let’s endure a little longer."
"Are you planning to climb inside that monster’s mouth?"
She pointed at the grotesque maw of the monster we had hidden behind the wardrobe and shuddered. The creature hadn’t moved an inch, yet its presence constantly reminded us that this place was not reality but the inside of an anomaly.
"No, that’s not it."
"Phew, thank goodness. If that had been the method I might have cried."
Ji-su said she hadn’t even dared to approach the thing the entire time she was trapped here. She had desperately looked away and simply endured. It was an extremely wise decision. Its grotesque appearance radiated danger so blatantly that it was almost certainly as dangerous as it looked.
"I understand. I should trust the expert."
She nodded as if she understood, but her drooping shoulders looked pitiful. It probably felt like I had given her hope only to snatch it away again.
"Then I’ll wait."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Not at all. You’re the one who’s been helping me from the start. Oh! If you’re bored, do you want to play a game? That’s pretty much the only thing to do for fun in here."
What! Right, we could play games here. Perfect. While we waited…
"Ahem. Well, since there really isn’t anything else to do, I suppose it would be shameless of me to refuse…"
"That’s exactly why you can’t play physical characters!"
"What’s wrong with my computer!"
"Who cares if the computer works?! When the keyboard and mouse are this bad!"
"Ha, seriously! This is ridiculous. You lose because you’re bad and then blame everyone else?"
My teeth chattered. I had to clasp both hands together to stop them from shaking. Ten straight losses. The score that had been inches from Grand Master had plummeted. I didn’t want to blame anyone else, but it really was because of that horribly stiff keyboard and mouse. A top-tier user like me is sensitive to their tools.
Ji-su sneered at me.
"The season ends in a few days. Guess you won’t be climbing back to Challenger after all?"
"What?"
"The season. Only about two days left, right?"
My first Challenger, right there in front of me. Was this… goodbye?
"No way!!"
"You scared me. Why are you yelling?"
"We have to get out. Right now."
"W-what? Didn’t you say it was too dangerous?"
"No, this is more urgent. We’re leaving immediately."
Ji-su stared at me with her mouth hanging open.
"You… what kind of person are you…"
"Ji-su. Can you keep what you’re about to see a lifelong secret?"
Still slightly flustered, she nodded at my words.
"And I need your help."
"Ah… yes…? Huh?"
"You’re not afraid of blood, are you?"
I took one step closer. Sitting on the floor and looking up at me, Ji-su’s face fell into shadow.
"Blood… coming out is scary, right?"
"Still, think of it as a blood donation and bear with me for a moment."
"Eh?"
I ignored the way she squeezed her eyes shut as I leaned in and pressed my mouth to her nape. She didn’t seem particularly healthy, and I felt sorry, but there was no other choice. Having rushed in without any preparation, I couldn’t think of a better way. I could have explained everything step by step, but there was no guarantee an ordinary person with no knowledge would believe me. It really was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Slurp.
My body was more honest than my mind. Revitalized by fresh blood, my flesh awakened one of its most deeply hidden powers.
The Eye of Insight.
It sounded lofty, yet it was the power that reached the most instinctive realm, more closely tied to the flesh than anything else. It slept quietly while I controlled my instincts, but the moment blood invigorated the body, it was the first to awaken.
…And at the same time, it was proof that I was not human.
"Haa…"
The spiderweb of magical power enveloping the room appeared vividly before my eyes. At the same time I realized how to escape this place. Indeed, it was something that required no intervention from me at all. It would have been better to solve it more simply. A trivial little anomaly throwing a tantrum and acting all powerful.
I wrapped flames around one hand, seized the deepest point where the flows of magic crossed, and reached out with the other toward Ji-su.
"Ji-su, your hand—"
Her face had gone deathly pale. She clutched her neck and stumbled backward. Right. Since I had acted without consent, now was the time to ask for forgiveness. I smiled bitterly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Let’s get out first. I’m sorry."
Vroooom. Screeech.
"Goddamn it, what the hell are these bastards doing lying in the middle of the road! You wanna die? Huh? Lying there because you want to die?!"
Even a quiet road wasn’t free of traffic forever.
"If you want to die, go do it somewhere else. Don’t cause trouble for innocent people. Or are you part of some scam crew? Just my rotten luck. Ptui!"
The uncle in the truck rolled down his window and hurled curses. No matter how public a road might be, lying on it like it was your own living room was definitely a problem.
The gray sky just before nightfall. Had we… escaped? Then where were we now?
As I staggered, trying to push myself up from the ground, I felt a heavy weight in my left hand.
"Ji-su?"
"Mmm…"
Was she asleep? I would have preferred to leave her that way, but there was no time.
"Hey, you bastards! Move! Can’t you hear me? Or are you looking down on me? Fine, let’s see what happens!"
The car door clunked open. See, the uncle was furious now.
"Ji-su! Ji-su!"
While I shook her awake from her dazed state, a single drop of blood entered my vision. It dangled from her nape, trembling. Beneath the impudent fang marks it glistened.
The scent of blood that drove straight into my mind instantly cleared my head. Blood is life, therefore drinking blood is consuming life.
A body no different from a rag. A body abandoned by life is hollow, nothing more than a cripple that must borrow another’s life force. Therefore, drinking blood is incurring a debt of life, and it means taking responsibility for that life.
And this ritualistic act is an expression of worship toward the true ancestors passed down from time immemorial.
If so, then it is my duty to answer the prayers of those who offer proper respect.
"Just a moment… just a moment."
"Huh? You messing with me right now? Oh dear… were you rolling around with a woman? A kid with no blood on his head yet… Is this a hotel room, you bastard?"
The hand I had helplessly extended was kicked away. The shape of the world distorted. Over the road scenery, a new image of a shabby semi-basement room overlaid itself. The ordinary, somewhat fierce uncle’s face twisted completely. Half-bald head. A quirky impression mixed with spite and jealousy. Please… stop.
"This bastard doesn’t know how scary the world is and is putting on airs. Airs! What, if you say ‘just a moment~’ do I have to stop? I’m speechless, really."
Ha, Ji-su. What kind of thoughts do you usually live with?
With a touch of desperation I shook her harder.
"Ji-su! Ji-su! Wake up."
"Uh… huh? Outside? Are we outside?"
"Run. Run away right now."
"Who the hell are you to tell me to run or not? This is ridiculous."
The finger poking my forehead. I raised my right hand and seized the man’s throat.
"Not you."
"Kek, kek."
Impulses hammered my skull. Every time my vision shook, the surrounding scenery changed rapidly.
‘That bitch who ate her own mother.’
The girl kicks over the table the girl had set. The girl who is struck by the table collapses unconscious.
‘There’s not a single penny for a bitch like you.’
He spits right in the face of the girl who hesitantly asks for help. The girl’s gaze follows the spit and drops.
‘Do you think you’re something special? Ha! There won’t be a single person in this whole world who likes a gloomy bitch like you. Look at this, she’s glaring?’
Slap— He strikes her cheek. Blood from her burst lip mixes with tears. And I lick those bloody tears.
"Why do trash keep popping up no matter how many times you clean them up?"
A thick hand slaps at mine.
"Showing off, acting tough, looking down on others."
"Kuhp, kek. Keek. That’s… not exactly…"
"The father couldn’t embrace his child but swung his fists instead."
"What the hell are you talking about? I have to drive, so… move…"
I hurled the man away.
The shiny glass window of the convenience store that caught pedestrians’ eyes cracked with a sharp sound.
"Urk, ugh. My back. Uuuugh. Hey kid. You think you’ll be fine after causing a scene like this? Jail! You’re going to—"
The blabbering mouth stopped.
Blood magic using the Seal of Blood. I cleanly carved fragments from the cracked glass wall and floated them in the air. I sharpened every edge and brought them close.
Shiiing.
Blood welled from the man’s neck.
"W-why are you doing this?"
"Do not mock me. Your original sin is visible, mortal."
The red runes became shackles that bound the man tightly. He trembled like an aspen tree, unable to stay still.
Yes. This was it. Those who revered the law of the jungle were only at this level. They never imagined a situation in which they themselves became the weak. Because they believed they were the strong, they cheered for this damned logic. The pathetically weak ones.
"Stop, please stop."
A trembling voice. Ji-su, drenched in terror. The owner of the blood.
"Isn’t this what you wished for?"
I took one step closer. She took one step back.
"I never did."
"You’ve dreamed of it. That horrible human. The mouth that condemned you. The hands that violated you. The feet that beat you. The eyes that despised you."
I reached out my hand.
"To tear them all to shreds."
"..."
"Isn’t that right?"