The hallway outside the barricaded room stretched ahead in dim red light, the emergency glow still clinging stubbornly to the ceiling, as if the building refused to fully give up. Jin led without saying anything, the steel pipe resting in his hand, not raised but ready.
Behind him, Min walked quieter than before, his breathing controlled now, his steps more stable. Joon-seok stayed slightly to the side, his eyes constantly shifting, like he expected something to come out of the walls at any second. Seul-ki followed last, her movement slower, her injured leg not fully healed but steady enough to keep pace.
No one spoke; after all, there wasn't anything to say.
They passed the same room they had nearly died in, but it felt different now. The broken glass still covered the ground, desks were still overturned, and blood still stained the walls and floors in dark streaks.
But unlike before, nothing moved, there were no monsters, but the silence was just eerie.
Jin didn't like it.
Silence meant something was waiting to interrupt it.
They moved toward the stairwell at the far end of the floor.
The one that hadn't collapsed.
Jin pushed the door open slowly, listening before stepping through.
Nothing.
He went first.
The stairwell was dim, with concrete walls cracked in certain places, dust still clinging to the air from whatever damage the building had taken earlier. Their footsteps echoed softly as they descended, each sound louder than it should be.
Still nothing.
No movement.
No distant sounds of monsters and no creatures climbing up to meet them.
They passed another floor.
Then another.
Each one felt the same, destroyed and abandoned.
At one point, Seul-ki muttered under her breath,
"I don't like this."
No one disagreed with her, at least with chaos; they could identify a threat, but this was just unsettling.
They reached the lower floors, where the damage was worse in some places, less in others. A few doors hung open, some completely ripped from their hinges, others barely touched, like whatever had happened didn't follow any clear pattern.
Jin slowed as they approached the lobby.
The front lobby looked like it had been abandoned mid-moment. Chairs were overturned near the waiting area, a reception desk stood unattended, with papers scattered across it, and one of the glass doors at the front was cracked down the middle, as if something had slammed into it from the outside.
There was plenty of blood, but for some reason, there was not a single sign of any bodies around, which stood out immediately.
Joon-seok noticed it too.
"…Where are they?"
No one answered because they didn't know.
Jin scanned the space once more, then looked back at Min.
"Can you feel anything?"
Min hesitated.
This wasn't the same as before.
Before, his skill had triggered on its own, dragging pain into him whether he wanted it or not.
Now he had to try using it on purpose.
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, nothing changed.
Then his breathing slowed.
His shoulders tensed slightly.
He focused on that strange sense his skill had given him.
Echo.
He waited for the pain or the pressure he would feel like the last time he used it, but this time around, nothing came.
Min's brows furrowed slightly.
He focused harder and pushed a little more.
Still, he got nothing.
His eyes opened.
"…Nothing."
Jin's grip tightened slightly on the pipe.
"Nothing?"
Min shook his head.
"There's no one dying nearby. No one is screaming or in pain so no… residue." He hesitated. "It's just… quiet."
That confirmed it; something was off.
Because after everything they had seen, there should have been something.
Jin exhaled slowly.
"Alright."
He didn't dwell on it.
Didn't try to figure it out here.
They were exposed and needed to find a new base of operations, and that mattered more.
He turned toward the exit.
The cracked glass doors stood slightly open, the outside visible beyond them.
Gray light filtered in as they moved out.
The city greeted them with silence.
The street outside looked frozen in time. Cars sat in the middle of the road, some with doors left wide open, others crashed into each other at odd angles. Glass littered the ground, reflecting dull light in broken shards. Blood stained the pavement in wide, smeared patterns, trailing toward sidewalks, disappearing into alleyways.
No bodies....
Again....
Jin stepped forward onto the street.
The air felt different out here.
Seul-ki glanced around, her voice low.
"Where did everyone go?"
No answer.
Joon-seok rubbed the back of his neck.
"I don't know if I like this more or less than the monsters."
"Less," Min said quietly.
They didn't argue with him.
Jin gestured forward.
"Stay close."
They moved along the side of the street, keeping close to buildings and avoiding open spaces as much as possible. Every step was controlled. Every movement deliberate.
No one wanted to be the reason something noticed them.
Time stretched.
And then suddenly, Min stopped.
His hand shot out, grabbing Jin's arm.
"Stop."
Jin froze instantly.
The others followed.
"What?" Jin asked quietly.
Min didn't answer right away.
His head tilted slightly.
"…Something's there."
Jin's eyes narrowed.
"Where?"
Min pointed ahead, toward the street corner just past a row of parked cars.
"Don't you hear that?" He swallowed slightly. "Listen."
It was then they heard it.
A whistle.
Soft, light, and almost cheerful.
It drifted through the empty street.
Seul-ki frowned.
"…Who whistles during the apocalypse?"
No one answered.
Because no one had a good answer.
Jin stepped slightly to the side, peering past the edge of a parked car, and saw her.
A girl.
Moving down the street like she didn't have a care in the world.
Her back faced them at first. She wore a bright orange outfit that stood out immediately against the dull gray of the ruined city. Her steps weren't cautious or careful.
She was skipping.
The whistle continued between her steps.
Joon-seok leaned slightly, whispering,
"Is that… a prison uniform?"
Seul-ki narrowed her eyes.
"…Yeah."
Min frowned.
"Why is she out here?"
Jin didn't answer.
Because none of that was the real problem.
The real problem was how wrong she felt.
They didn't move at first, but suddenly Jin spoke.
"Hey."
The word carried just enough for the girl to hear them, she stopped suddenly and turned towards them with the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face.
She lifted a hand, waving lightly as if she had just run into long lost friends.
Then she walked toward them.
As she got closer, they saw it.
Her hands were stained with blood, it covered her sleeves and even parts of her face which wasnt a problem.
The problem was that monster blood had been black but this girl was covered in red blood.
Seul-ki's posture stiffened.
Joon-seok went completely still.
Min's expression tightened.
The girl stopped a few steps away from them.
Still smiling bright as ever.
"Hi!"
She clasped her hands together, blood smearing softly between her fingers.
"Are you here to help too?"
The question hung in the air.
Jin didn't answer immediately.
"…Help?"
The girl's smile widened.
"Of course!" she said, like it was obvious. "Helping all the people who are suffering."
Her tone stayed cheerful, almost excited.
"Everyone's hurting right now," she continued, rocking slightly on her feet. "It's really sad."
Then she giggled.
"But I'm fixing it."
Before Jin could respond, there was sudden movement to the side of them.
Someone was crawling out from behind a car.
It was a man, barely conscious and covered in blood.
Dragging himself forward with shaking arms.
His mouth opened.
Trying to speak.
"Sta... aw..."
He choked.
Pain cut the rest of the words short, his body shaking as he dragged himself forward inch by inch, fingers scraping weakly against the pavement.
Jin took a step forward instinctively, but the girl moved first.
She didn't rush or react with any urgency.
She simply skipped as she had before.
Jin's body tensed.
Something about that movement felt wrong in a way he couldn't explain.
She reached him and dropped to her knees beside him, her expression softening instantly. The wide smile didn't disappear; it just shifted, becoming gentler.
"Oh, you poor thing," she said softly, her voice dripping with sympathy that didn't feel real. "That must hurt so much."
The man tried to push himself away, his arms shaking.
"G-get..."
He didn't finish.
She wrapped her arms around him carefully.
Like she was comforting him.
Her bloodstained hands moved up to his head, fingers brushing through his hair in slow, soothing motions.
"Shhh," she whispered. "It's okay now."
Seul-ki's breath hitched sharply behind Jin.
"What is she-"
Jin moved; he didn't even think. Everything in him screamed that this was wrong.
But before he could take another step-
Min grabbed his arm hard.
"Wait."
Jin turned slightly.
Min's face had gone pale.
"Just watch," he said quietly.
That was enough to stop Jin.
The girl tilted her head slightly as she held the man close. Her hand moved from his hair to his temple, and she tapped it lightly with her finger.
The man flinched at the touch.
Then his body relaxed, just slightly.
His breathing, which had been ragged and uneven, slowed.
His shoulders dropped.
For a brief moment, it looked like he felt better.
Joon-seok frowned.
"Is she a healer?"
The girl smiled down at the man, her voice soft.
"Goodbye."
Then it came, a sharp, sickening sound.
The man's skull collapsed inward like it had been struck by something invisible and impossibly heavy. Blood erupted outward, spraying across the pavement, across her arms, across her face.
Bone fragments scattered, and the body went limp instantly. He was dead before his body even finished falling apart.
Silence slammed into the street.
Seul-ki staggered back, a hand flying to her mouth.
"…What-"
Joon-seok didn't move.
His eyes stayed locked on the body like his brain hadn't caught up yet.
Jin stood completely still.
Every muscle in his body locked in place.
His grip tightened slowly around the pipe.
Min didn't move either, but his jaw tightened.
His eyes had already shifted past the shock; he was simply trying to process why the girl did that and how.
The girl remained kneeling there for a moment longer, her arms still loosely around the now lifeless body.
Then she let it fall gently to the ground, as if she were setting something down after finishing a task. She stood up slowly, brushing her hands together as if she'd just finished something small and routine. Blood smeared across her fingers, across her sleeves.
She didn't react to it; she didn't even seem bothered by it.
She lifted one hand and wiped a streak of blood from her cheek, glancing at it briefly before rubbing it against her jumpsuit.
Then she looked back at them and smiled.
"All better now."
Her tone was satisfied.
Like she had just solved a problem.
Seul-ki shook her head slightly, her voice barely steady.
"…You… you killed him."
The girl tilted her head.
"Why are you saying it like that?"
Her brows furrowed slightly, like she genuinely didn't understand the reaction.
"He was suffering," she said, her tone softer now, almost concerned. "You saw that, didn't you? He was in pain."
She took a small step closer.
"I helped him."
Jin didn't respond immediately.
His eyes stayed on her.
She didn't feel like the monsters they had fought before but she didn't feel human either.
She continued, smiling again.
"That's what I do. I help people who are hurting."
Her voice brightened.
"There are so many of them now."
Min finally spoke.
"I remember you."
The girl blinked.
"Oh?"
Min's gaze sharpened slightly.
"It was on the news a few months ago."
Joon-seok turned toward him.
"…What?"
Min didn't look away from her.
"A girl killed her entire family. One by one. Then just sat there smiling when the police arrived. They called her the Smiling Reaper."
The air shifted.
Something colder settled in.
The girl's smile widened.
"Oh," she said softly. "You saw that?"
Her tone sounded almost proud.
Jin's grip tightened further.
"…You did that."
She nodded happily.
"Of course I did."
"My family was suffering," she continued, her voice almost dreamy now. "We didn't have money. There wasn't enough food. My little brother cried every night because he was hungry."
She clasped her hands together again.
"Mommy was always sick. Daddy drank too much and forgot we were even there."
Her expression softened.
"So I fixed it."
"No more pain," she said lightly. "No more crying. No more suffering."
She looked back at them.
"And now I get to help even more people."
Seul-ki took a step back.
"…You're insane."
The girl's smile faltered.
Just for a second.
Jin stepped forward.
His voice came out flat.
"You're a monster."
The effect was immediate.
Her body jerked.
Like something snapped inside her.
Her smile vanished.
Her hands trembled.
Then...
She hit herself hard.
Her fist slammed into the side of her own head with a dull crack.
Once.
Twice.
Her nails dug into her scalp, her breathing suddenly uneven.
"Don't call me that," she hissed.
Her voice had changed.
It was raw and violent.
Jin didn't move, didn't even flinch.
He just watched her closely.
She was hitting herself for a while, then just as quickly it stopped.
Her breathing slowed.
Her posture straightened.
She wiped her face again.
And smiled.
Like nothing had happened.
She looked at Jin.
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
"You seem strong."
She took a slow step forward.
"But you're hurting on the inside, aren't you?."
Her voice softened again.
"I can help you."
Jin raised the pipe slightly.
"Stay back."
She didn't listen; she took another step as her smile widened.
"Don't worry."
Her fingers flexed.
"I'll make it stop."
And then she moved towards him fast.
Too fast for how casually she had been standing just a second ago.
Her body blurred forward, her bloodstained hand reaching toward Jin and the world snapped into motion.