"Such a shame."
The voice drifted across the stillness, amused, distant. Like someone commenting on a game they'd already won.
"And just when things were starting to look promising for you."
Min Jae's eyes snapped open.
Light stretched endlessly in every direction.
Beneath him was a surface like glass flooded with shallow water, perfectly clear, reflecting nothing. No sky. No walls. Just infinite vast space stretching as far as the eye could see.
*I died.*
The thought came calmly.
*I was shot. Then the monster ate me.*
He pushed himself upright, breath coming sharp. His body felt intact.
Min Jae turned.
A man stood a short distance away. Plain clothes. Plain face. Average height. He looked like someone you'd pass on the street and forget five seconds later.
"You're not in hell," the man continued, waving a hand vaguely. "Or heaven. Assuming those even exist. I've never bothered to check."
Min Jae stared at him. "Where am I?"
"Nowhere worth naming. However, you can just call this The Plain. "
The man's eyes gleamed faintly.
"You know," he said, almost fondly, "out of the hundred systems I made, I never once thought of making something called a 'Devourer System.' A system that eats other systems?"
Min Jae's stomach dropped.
"…You made the systems?"
"Yes."
The word landed lightly. Carelessly.
"And the monsters?" Min Jae asked, voice tightening.
A smile. Thin. Devilish.
The pieces slammed together in his mind. Blood. Screams. His father, running straight into danger to save him.
"You caused the apocalypse," Min Jae said.
The man shrugged. "If you want to phrase it that way."
Rage surged up his spine, white-hot and sudden.
Min Jae lunged.
His body didn't move.
It couldn't move.
Not even an inch.
Invisible pressure crushed down on him, pinning him in place. His muscles screamed uselessly as he strained forward, teeth clenched, vision shaking.
"Let me go," he snarled. "I'll kill you. YOU BASTARD !!"
The man laughed.
Not loudly. Not cruelly.
Genuinely amused.
"Oh, that's good," he said. "That reaction is so amusing. Reminds me of a silly someone."
Min Jae's chest heaved. "Why?" he demanded. "Why now? Why us?"
The man turned away, staring into the endless distance.
"Answers will come later. Assuming you live long enough to hear them."
"I died," Min Jae said. "So why am I here?"
The man glanced back. "You were killed, yes."
Min Jae's fists trembled.
"Then why—"
"My assistant persuaded me to give you another chance. " the man interrupted. "Said it might be interesting to give you another turn with your mysterious system."
He smiled again.
"And I agreed. I want to see this 'Devourer System' in action. I want to see how useful it will be in my future plans."
Silence swallowed the space.
A snap echoed through the air.
"I'll make you an offer," the man said. "Use that system. Push it. Become the strongest thing left standing."
Min Jae's breath caught.
"If you do," the man went on casually, "I'll stop the apocalypse. Turn everything back. Cities. Time. Even the dead."
Min Jae's vision blurred.
His parents' faces surfaced. His father's last smile. His mother's voice.
"Deal," he said hoarsely.
The word came out without hesitation.
Inside him, something hardened.
*I'll become the strongest.*
*I'll devour every system in my way.*
*I'll save them all.*
The man's grin widened. "So much fun."
A white door then emerged from the ground, the man walked towards it and left. As soon as he did it went back into the ground, as if it where never there.
And without warning he felt a force pulling his very consciousness, then everything went black.
...
..
.
"It doesn't. We barely survived one already." These were the first words Min Jae heard. He lifted his head. It was Hyun.
"This boy's father had to sacrifice himself," Hyun said, voice tight, "because that monster likes the smell of fresh blood, I couldn't even harm it even if I tried. None of us could. That little gun would just be a scratch. "
*This is before I was shot. So, everything was real. The System Creator, The Plain.*
A man walked up in front of the crowd. *That's him. He shot me before. I hold no grudges. Instead....* Min Jae continued.
"What?!" said one person.
*He did what he had to save the people in this very station. He wanted to save lives.* Min Jae continued.
"That's insane!"
*However, he no longer has to worry. That responsibility is mine now. I'll devour every system and save the world from ruin.*
"You can't just—"
The man stepped forward, gun raised.
"We'll find the weak link." he said. "Now. Who is the most useless here?"
*The most useless person?*
The man pointed the gun at a trembling man. "You?"
*There is no such thing. Everyone is useful. Everyone holds a system that can help my cause. Every person is a helping hand in my mission to save the world. * Min Jae thought.
The man shook his head violently. "N-no—please—"
The gun shifted towards another person.
"Or is it you?" he said, pointing at a woman clutching her child.
She screamed.
*But, to complete the mission and devour every system. I must survive. No, there is no useless person... Everyone has a use...a role. I have mine.* He continued with his inner thoughts.
"Maybe you," he added, aiming at another stranger.
Panic. People started backing away. Voices overlapped. Protests filled the air.
Hyun clutched his sword, which was at his side. He didn't want to admit it, but there was no other way.
Min Jae stood up. He dusted himself a little. He looked at Hyun's sword, which was attached to his side.
"Stop!"
"Put the gun down!"
"You're crazy!"
The man ignored all of them.
Then his gaze landed on Soo-min.
The barrel lined up with her chest
"Perhaps the young miss here. You look fragile and useless? We-"
"No." This was Min Jae. He started walking towards the man. "No one is useless. Everyone has a purpose."
Everyone went silent, heads turned towards Min Jae.
He advanced, slowly.
"Everyone has a part to play in our survival. Therefore, we need people who can contribute to the cause. For my survival, for everyone's survival."
Min Jae took Hyun's sword on his way. Unsheathing it, going straight towards the man.
"And the most useful person in this situation."
And without warning, Min Jae cleanly waved the sword.
A whoosh.
And the man's head was detached from the rest of his body.
"—Is you."
『+125 SP』
『INITIALISING.....』
『YOU HAVE DEVOURED THE HUNTER SYSTEM』
『UPDATING.....』
『DEVOURER SYSTEM』
『DEVOURED SYSTEMS:』
「Hunter System.」
「Skills:」
...
..
.
**SCREECH**
"Everyone RUN!" Hyun shouted, yanking the dropped gun off the floor.
The crowd surged forward in chaos. Min Jae's heart hammered, every sense screaming as he sprinted. The blade he had claimed from Hyun swung at the edge of panic, its steel gleaming in the flickering lights of the station.
Three hundred frantic steps later, Min Jae slowed, hand trembling, and returned the sword.
Ahead, Soo-min and Yulu Kang were sprinting beside Joon-ho. Hyun had fallen slightly behind, still covering their rear with a steady rhythm. The echoes of pursuit grew louder.
As they ran, they finally reached a point where the subway tracks split. One path plunged deeper into darkness; the other rose slightly, branching toward the station exit. Hyun skidded to a stop, chest heaving, and Min Jae mirrored him instinctively.
"We part ways here," Hyun said, pressing something strange into Min Jae's palm—a small device, smooth, black, with faintly glowing runes. Almost like a phone.
"I have to continue alone. Continue my mission." Hyun paused, checked behind them for second then continued. "Not all of these monsters are mindless killers. Some… some grant gifts. Gifts that could save you, help your survival—and your friends'."
Min Jae's brows furrowed. "How do you know this?"
Hyun's eyes met his. Calm."I just do. Trust me." He gestured to the device. "It shows the locations of the monsters I know—the ones that can help you. There may be more out there, ones I haven't seen yet."
Another shriek tore through the tunnel. Hyun's grip tightened on his sword, then loosened as he nodded once. "Stay safe, all this will be over soon." He dove into the open tracks toward the left path.
Min Jae clutched the device and the gun he had been handed, heart still hammering. He followed the crowd down the right path, underground, shadows stretching long and jagged.
Every footfall echoed, every shriek behind them a promise of what waited, and the weight of everything that had happened came down on him: The apocalypse, Devourer System and the System creator, all pulsed in his chest.
『MESSAGE: IF YOU'VE REACHED THIS PART, THANK YOU. AND I HOPE TO SEE MORE OF YOU AND YOUR COMMENTS. I'LL CONFESS, IT'S NOT THE MOST ORIGINAL PLOT BUT I'LL TRY TO PUT A TWIST IN IT. THANK YOU.』