Chapter 25: The Escapee (2)

[Person123: Seo Dong-woo]

I hadn’t sent the Whisper with any real plan in mind.

The bastard who had nearly killed my father was out there strutting around in plain sight, and [N O V E L I G H T] the thought made my blood boil.

I had acted on impulse, and I was just beginning to think the message had been pointless when—

“...!”

A reply came almost immediately.

[So-yeong: Are you really that person?]

[So-yeong: You’re the first person to clear Nightmare, right? I think you are?]

What should I do?

A thousand thoughts raced through my mind.

I swallowed the torrent of curses threatening to burst from my mouth and forced myself to remain calm.

[Person123: Yeah, that’s me]

[So-yeong: Oh shit]

[Person123: And you’re Seo Dong-woo?]

[So-yeong: Well, duh. Obviously]

[So-yeong: You wanna talk? Why’d you Whisper me?]

[Person123: You’ve got the whole country in an uproar. I’m interested in what you’re planning.]

Open hostility would accomplish nothing right now.

I would pretend to be interested in him. With any luck, I might be able to draw out some useful information.

[So-yeong: Hold on]

[So-yeong: Wait, don’t tell me you’re Korean?]

[Person123: Who knows]

[So-yeong: Whoa, no way. The first Nightmare clearer was actually Korean?]

[Person123: So what’s the plan from here? Are you just going to keep running?]

[So-yeong: Hmm~ What should I do? Should I tell you?]

[So-yeong: You’re not some government stooge, are you? Like, trying to lure me into a trap or something?]

[Person123: I’m an Unregistered Climber, just like you]

[Person123: I’m hiding the fact that I’m a Climber too, so why would I do that?]

[So-yeong: Then why are you hiding the fact that you cleared Nightmare? That’s a huge deal]

I considered the question for a moment before replying.

[Person123: The government could use it as leverage against me]

[Person123: I actually agree with what you’ve been saying. Climbers should rule the world]

[So-yeong: For real? You’re on that side too?]

[So-yeong: Hahaha, man, that’s great to hear]

[So-yeong: Right? I knew someone like you would understand. We’ve got all this power, so why should we just sit around and play nice?]

[Person123: Exactly. That’s why I’m interested in you. You’re doing what no one else had the guts to do]

[Person123: So what’s next? You must have more planned, right?]

[So-yeong: Oh, hell yeah! I’ve got too many plans—that’s the problem]

[So-yeong: What should I do for fun next? Maybe go wild somewhere packed with people?]

[So-yeong: Or maybe take over a building and hold everyone hostage~ I’ve always kinda wanted to try that]

...Crazy son of a bitch.

What the hell was I supposed to do about this guy?

[So-yeong: Oh, hey. Why don’t we meet in person and talk? What do you say?]

[So-yeong: I’m dying to know what the first Nightmare clearer is like]

[So-yeong: I’m really interested in you too, you know. I’ve read all your posts. They were insane. How the hell did you clear it?]

Without warning, Seo Dong-woo made an absurd proposal.

The man had broken out of prison, gone on the run, and now he wanted to meet me in person?

He was clearly out of his mind.

[Person123: Sure, let’s meet]

But I had no reason to refuse.

I stared coldly at the Communication Channel as Seo Dong-woo sent me the location.

An abandoned school in Incheon.

[So-yeong: We’re already friends, right? You’re not gonna show up with a whole posse, are you?]

“Don’t worry.”

I’ll be coming alone.

I opened a map on my phone and searched for the school.

[Person123: By the way, what Level are you? You seem pretty high]

[So-yeong: Curious?]

[Person123: If your Level’s too high, meeting you would make me a little nervous]

[So-yeong: Fair enough. All I’ll say is that it’s somewhere in the twenties. The exact number’s a secret~]

I closed the Communication Channel and headed straight for the door.

I knew I wasn’t thinking rationally.

What was I going to do when I got there? Fight him? What if he was even stronger than I expected?

Father had been badly injured, but he was alive.

I could have written it off as an attack by some rabid animal and let the matter end there.

Instead, I was allowing the heat of the moment to push me toward something I might not be able to handle.

...Fuck it.

No. I couldn’t let this go.

Not until I had shattered every last bone in that bastard’s body.

And it wasn’t only personal.

There was no telling when he would be caught. If I left him alone, who knew what kind of rampage he might go on next? More people could be injured—or killed.

If nothing else, taking Seo Dong-woo down was necessary to prevent further bloodshed.

I called a taxi in the predawn darkness and headed for the meeting place.

***

Kang Ju-hyeok had received the call and was now racing toward the capital region.

Three days of searching had produced nothing, only for Seo Dong-woo to suddenly appear in Seoul.

“How do you lose track of someone this badly...?”

He muttered anxiously as he waited for the light to change.

The police were apparently tracing Seo Dong-woo’s movements, but Kang Ju-hyeok had a bad feeling. Unless a special forces unit surrounded the man and opened fire all at once, capturing him seemed nearly impossible.

The rest of the Tower Monitoring Division was scrambling as well, but Shin Su-jin was probably the only person in the division capable of facing Seo Dong-woo directly.

“And why isn’t Team Leader answering? This is driving me insane.”

Yet Shin Su-jin herself was unreachable—not by phone and not through the Communication Channel.

They had to move before they lost Seo Dong-woo again. There was no chance she had simply slept through the calls at a time like this.

The instant the light changed, Kang Ju-hyeok slammed his foot down on the accelerator.

***

[So-yeong: Bahahaha! You’re that girl from back then? Seriously? This is, like, total destiny or something]

[So-yeong: Wanna know where I am? Should I tell you? Or nah?]

[So-yeong: Alright, alright. If you wanna see me that badly, come find me.]

[So-yeong: But keep it a secret from everyone else, yeah? If you don’t come alone, I’m gone~]

The first pale traces of dawn were beginning to brighten the sky.

After ignoring every attempt to contact her, Shin Su-jin arrived at her destination alone.

An abandoned school in Incheon.

She scaled the wall and slipped onto the grounds.

Crossing the schoolyard, she entered the dilapidated gymnasium. A man lay in the center of the main hall, his legs crossed casually before him.

“Oh, you made it?”

Seo Dong-woo stretched before sitting up.

Shin Su-jin stared at him, her eyes seething with murderous intent.

“That name. What does it mean?”

She went straight to the point.

Seo Dong-woo tilted his head with feigned innocence.

“Hm? What?”

“Your Communication Channel nickname... What does it mean?”

Seo Dong-woo gave a derisive snort.

“Aah~ So-yeong? You mean this?”

“...”

“What, you’re not happy to see it? It’s your mom’s name, isn’t it?”

Blood seeped between Shin Su-jin’s tightly clenched fingers.

Ten years ago, when she was still in middle school, a burglar had broken into their home.

When her father tried to resist, the monster killed him first, right in front of his wife and daughter.

Then he turned on her mother.

Her mother begged for her life while Shin Su-jin stood frozen beside her, unable to do anything.

The monster killed her mother too.

Even as she was stabbed to death, her mother never made a sound.

“You remember, don’t you? Your mom. I told her that if she made even the tiniest noise, I’d kill you first—and she really didn’t let out a single sound. Pretty impressive~ That’s the only reason you survived, you know. Pain like that isn’t something a person can normally suppress through willpower alone.”

Seo Dong-woo brushed a finger beneath his eye as though wiping away a tear.

“That kind of motherly love was enough to move even a piece of shit like me. So I decided I’d remember that woman for the rest of my life. I never had a mother like that.”

“Shut your fucking mouth, you piece of shit...!”

Shin Su-jin’s voice trembled with rage.

Seo Dong-woo had later been arrested and sentenced to life in prison.

For Shin Su-jin, who had lost her entire family overnight, it had offered no consolation.

She lived as though she had moved on, but the fury would surge up without warning, violent and impossible to contain. At least once a week, she relived that night in her dreams.

Then, one day, she became a Climber.

Disgusted by her own weakness, she began ascending the Tower.

She climbed the Tower, went to work, and then climbed again, drifting aimlessly from one day to the next.

When she heard that Seo Dong-woo had escaped, the emotion she felt could not have been rage alone.

“...Thank you, Seo Dong-woo. Thank you for escaping.”

Shin Su-jin drew a deep breath.

“Now I can finally kill you with my own hands.”

Seo Dong-woo grinned.

“Ooh, scary. Someone’s confident. Did you bring backup? I figured you’d come alone, so I didn’t bother checking.”

“For a maggot like you? I’m more than enough.”

The instant the words left her mouth, Shin Su-jin activated Leap.

The floorboards cracked beneath her feet.

Seo Dong-woo avoided the incoming fist and sprang backward.

Shin Su-jin closed the distance at once and continued her assault. Seo Dong-woo steadily retreated, dodging or blocking every blow.

Shin Su-jin assessed her opponent.

‘Our physical abilities are roughly equal.’

That likely placed him around Level 20 as well. On Hard difficulty, Levels increased in increments of four.

Driven backward, Seo Dong-woo threw a counterpunch.

Shin Su-jin slipped past his fist, seized his arm, and hurled him away.

“Whoa!”

Seo Dong-woo flew across the gymnasium and crashed into the wall, his body becoming embedded in it.

Blue light flared around Shin Su-jin’s fist.

She rushed forward to finish him, driving her fist toward his body, but Seo Dong-woo twisted aside by the narrowest of margins.

BOOM!

A tremendous shockwave rattled the building, sending dust cascading from the gymnasium ceiling.

Seo Dong-woo scrambled away, surprise flickering across his face.

“That’s the one, right? The Aura Blade skill. Nice skill you’ve got there.”

Aura Blade.

A physical-type skill ranked first among rare-grade abilities.

Shin Su-jin said nothing. She charged again, her assault growing fiercer with every strike.

With Aura Blade enveloping her fists, Seo Dong-woo could no longer afford to block. He was reduced to narrowly evading each attack.

Shin Su-jin had been waiting for him to reveal his skill from the very beginning. At around Level 20, he should have possessed at least one rare-grade skill of his own.

Yet even with his back against the wall, he showed no sign of using it.

Perhaps it was a magic-type skill or a passive ability.

In that case, she only had to kill him before he could use it.

“W-wait! Please, spare me!”

Seo Dong-woo cried out desperately, appearing to have reached the limit of his ability to evade.

Shin Su-jin ignored him and pressed the attack.

“Spare me! I’m sorry! I’ll change—I swear!”

One clean hit would end it.

She was just about to smash his skull apart when—

She heard it.

Laughter woven into Seo Dong-woo’s pleading voice.

Shin Su-jin looked at his face.

He was smirking.

Not a trace remained of the desperation he had shown moments earlier.

“Spare me, I’m sorry, okay? Pwease~”

In the next instant, Seo Dong-woo moved at a speed far beyond anything he had displayed before.

“...!”

Before Shin Su-jin could react, his blow struck her in the ribs and sent her hurtling across the gymnasium.

Seo Dong-woo strolled toward where she had crumpled to the floor.

“Got your hopes up, didn’t I? What a tease~ You were so close to winning. Just a little more.”

Shin Su-jin scrambled to her feet and staggered backward.

“You...!”

Only then did she understand.

His Level was far, far higher than twenty.

He had been toying with her from the very beginning.

“See, I’ve cleared up to floor 7 on Hard. That makes me Level 28. And you’re... what? Somewhere in the low twenties?”

Shin Su-jin ground her teeth until they creaked and charged him again.

Seo Dong-woo now moved with a fluidity worlds apart from before. He effortlessly slipped past her attack and kicked her away.

She raised both arms to block, but her body still went bouncing across the floor like a rubber ball.

“You came here alone with only this much strength? Where did all that confidence come from? Honestly, kid.”

“Ngh... Hah...”

“‘Thank you, Seo Dong-woo. Now I can finally kill you with my own hands.’ Pfft! What a killer line. Seriously, I thought I was watching a movie.”

Seo Dong-woo snickered.

“The thing is, I’ve got another special guest coming. So I’ll play with you until he gets here.”

Shin Su-jin staggered back to her feet.

The instant she straightened, a fist buried itself in her stomach.

Agony tore through her as something inside her ruptured.

Seo Dong-woo seized her by the throat and lifted her off the floor.

“Gkh...”

“Got anything else? If you’ve got more skills, go ahead and pull ’em out~ You can’t go see Mommy like this, can you?”

Shin Su-jin glared at him through bloodshot eyes, her gaze burning with hatred.

‘God... damn... it...’

She had become so much stronger than she had been back then.

Yet here she was, every bit as helpless as before.

The frustration was maddening.

She wanted to tear the monster before her into pieces, but she lacked the strength to do it.

The grip around her throat tightened.

Her consciousness was beginning to fade when—

“Seo Dong-woo.”

An unfamiliar voice cut through the gymnasium.

At the entrance stood a man with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head.

Somehow, he had appeared without either of them noticing.

The moment Seo Dong-woo saw him, his face lit up. He tossed Shin Su-jin aside like a discarded rag.

“Oh, you’re here! Person123!”

Person123...?

Coughing and gasping for breath, Shin Su-jin turned toward the newcomer.

The man glanced from Seo Dong-woo to Shin Su-jin, who lay sprawled on the floor.

Then he asked,

“Who’s she?”

“Oh, this~? It’s nothing. Just some Climber who came here to kill me. I was having a little fun with her while I waited for you.”

Seo Dong-woo waved dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s have ourselves a nice, long chat. Just let me get rid of this bitch fir—”

The man cut him off.

“Chat, my ass.”

“Huh?”

“I’m here to kill you too.”

The man drew his hands from his pockets and strode forward.