The night should have been peaceful. After the last battle, after the bloodshed, the exhaustion, the pain—Seojin thought, just for a moment, they could rest.
He was wrong.
> [ALERT: SCENARIO CLEANERS DEPLOYED.]
[NUMBER OF TARGETS: 50.]
[WARNING: ENHANCED SCENARIO CLEANERS DETECTED.]
The moment the notification flared across his vision, Seojin knew the night was over.
The flickering fire, which once cast a warm glow across the clearing, now seemed feeble against the crushing weight of the darkness beyond. The night was still—too still. No wind, no rustling leaves. Only silence.
The first sound that broke it was a slow, inhuman chittering.
Seojin's body tensed as his fingers curled around the hilt of his sword. The others reacted just as fast. Ji-ho shot up from where he was seated, already unsheathing his blade. Chae-won's grip tightened around her daggers, her stance shifting like a panther ready to strike.
Aera, pale and still injured from the last fight, swallowed hard but raised her hands. A gentle glow flickered at her fingertips, a barrier spell forming around them.
Misa was frozen, her wide eyes darting from Seojin to the trees. "They're coming," she whispered.
And then, the trees shifted.
---
The first cleaner dropped from the canopy. A twisted, insectoid horror, its elongated limbs cracking as it adjusted to the light. It stood twice as tall as before, its bones stretching unnaturally beneath its thin, decaying skin. Its hollow sockets—where its eyes should have been—turned toward Seojin.
Then another appeared. And another.
Within seconds, dozens of them stepped into the clearing, their slow, deliberate movements synchronized in a way that sent chills down Seojin's spine. The enhanced Scenario Cleaners didn't just move—they calculated.
They weren't mindless. They were learning.
And they had come for him.
"Formation now!" Ji-ho barked, raising his blade.
Seojin didn't hesitate. The moment the first cleaner lunged, he was already moving.
The impact shook his bones. The sheer force behind the attack sent vibrations through his arms as he parried, twisting his body to the side. But before he could counter, another shot toward him.
Too fast.
A burning pain tore through his shoulder as claws raked across his flesh. Blood sprayed across the dirt, and Seojin gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move despite the injury.
Aera gasped. "Seojin—!"
"I'm fine!" he snapped, even though he wasn't.
The second cleaner lunged again, its mouth splitting open unnaturally, revealing rows of jagged, insect-like teeth.
Seojin barely dodged.
Chae-won's dagger flew past his head, embedding itself in the cleaner's skull. It shrieked, convulsing before slumping forward.
"Stay focused," she said, pulling another blade from her belt.
Seojin exhaled sharply. He had no choice.
---
The battle turned chaotic. Ji-ho fought two cleaners at once, his strikes swift and brutal. Do-yun, always sharp, positioned himself near Misa, deflecting any creatures that got too close.
Aera, despite her injuries, held her own—until she didn't.
One of the enhanced cleaners broke past the frontline, its sights locked on her.
Seojin saw it too late.
The thing's arm shot forward, claws piercing through Aera's side. Her body jerked as blood splattered onto the ground.
Seojin's vision blurred with rage.
"AERA!"
She collapsed.
Time slowed.
Everything else—the battle, the sounds of clashing metal, Ji-ho's shouts—vanished.
Seojin moved.
He didn't think. He didn't hesitate. His body simply reacted.
One step. Then another.
Then he was running.
A pulse of dark energy surged through him, and before the cleaner could strike again, he was there.
His sword plunged through its chest.
The force behind the attack sent shockwaves through the clearing. The creature let out a gurgled screech as its body began to convulse violently.
Seojin didn't stop. He twisted the blade.
Then ripped it free.
The cleaner fell.
Seojin was already kneeling beside Aera, pressing his hand against her wound.
She was pale, her breathing shallow. Blood seeped through her robes, her fingers twitching as if trying to summon healing magic but failing.
She was too weak.
Seojin's heart pounded. He had seen injuries like this before. He knew what happened when someone lost too much blood.
She wouldn't last.
No.
Not her.
---
A notification appeared.
> [Stable Demonic Synchronization: 15%]
[Healing Effect Activated: Regeneration Operating at Low Efficiency]
[New Sub-Skill Unlocked: [REDACTED]]
Seojin's breath caught.
A warm sensation spread through his body. At first, he thought it was a hallucination. But then, he felt it.
His wounds—the deep gash on his shoulder, the cuts along his arms—were closing.
Slowly. But undeniably.
And then—Aera's wounds began to heal too.
Her breathing stabilized. Her bleeding slowed.
It wasn't his doing.
It was his power.
His synchronization was healing her.
---
When Aera's eyes flickered open, Seojin released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
She looked at him, dazed. "I—"
"You're okay," he said quickly. "Don't move too much."
Aera's gaze dropped to where her wounds had been. She blinked, confused. "How—?"
Seojin didn't have an answer.
Ji-ho and Chae-won, bloodied but alive, approached cautiously. "What the hell was that?" Ji-ho asked, staring at Seojin's still-glowing hands.
Seojin swallowed. He didn't know.
But before he could process it—
Another notification appeared.
> [New Sub-Skill Unlocked: [REDACTED]]
The screen glitched.
For a brief second, unreadable symbols flashed before disappearing entirely.
Seojin's chest tightened.
The system was hiding something.
Something had changed. And it wasn't just his healing.
Something inside him was waking up.
And the system wasn't ready to show him what it was.
---
As the party sat in the wreckage of their battle, tending to wounds and catching their breath, Seojin found himself looking at his reflection in the shallow stream nearby.
His hair.
More strands had turned stark white.
More than before.
He clenched his fists.
Was this really his power?
Or was it something else entirely?
As Misa walked over and quietly placed a hand on his shoulder, he let out a slow breath.
He wasn't alone.
But deep down, he knew one thing:
The system had marked him. The Cleaners had recognized him.
This was just the beginning.
And whatever was coming next—
He wasn't sure if he would be strong enough to face it.
TO BE CONTINUED…