"Strike now."
Without warning, Ha-jin surged forward. His body moved before his mind could catch up, as if the demon had taken full control. The others barely had time to react. The man with the pipe turned toward him, his eyes wide with shock.
Ha-jin didn't hesitate. He drove the shard of glass into the man's side with brutal precision, feeling the blade slice through muscle and bone. The man gasped, staggering backward, his face twisted in pain. He tried to swing the pipe at Ha-jin, but Ha-jin was already moving, faster than the man could react.
The second strike was even more vicious than the first. Ha-jin yanked the shard free and stabbed again, this time driving it deep into the man's chest. Blood sprayed from the wound, splattering onto the tiled floor as the man's body crumpled beneath him.
The others stood frozen, too shocked to move, their faces pale with horror.
Ha-jin stood over the fallen man, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath. His hands, slick with blood, trembled slightly, but his expression remained unreadable. Inside, his demon smirked.
"See? It was easy."
The Fourth Wall shielded him from guilt, from the weight of the murder he had just committed. He didn't feel remorse—only the cold satisfaction of survival.
Ha-jin turned slowly to face the others, his gaze sweeping over the terrified faces of the remaining survivors. They backed away from him, their makeshift weapons falling limp in their hands. No one dared to challenge him now. He had shown them what he was capable of.
As he looked down at the body of the man he had just killed, Ha-jin couldn't help but feel a strange sense of power surging through him. He had acted first, before anyone else could. He had taken control of the scenario.
The Dokkaebi's voice rang out again, filled with glee. "Congratulations, survivor! You've completed the First Scenario!"
The shimmering barrier over the supermarket doors vanished, signaling that he was free to leave. The others stood there, still too afraid to move, their eyes locked on Ha-jin.
He bent down, wiped the blood from his hands, and calmly walked toward the exit. No one followed him. No one even spoke.
As Ha-jin stepped outside, leaving the others behind, the demon inside him whispered one final time.
"This is only the beginning."