The first thing Kim Dokja heard was the sound of running feet.
Lots of them.
Echoing through the broken streets below the rooftop.
He leaned over the railing and sighed.
"…Yep. That was fast."
Dozens of incarnations were already gathering in the street. Some carried swords, others spears or crude weapons scavenged from previous scenarios. A few had glowing stigmas active, their skills shimmering faintly in the darkness.
All of them were staring up at the rooftop garden.
At Persephone.
At the reward hovering in their system windows.
20,000 coins.
Dokja rubbed his face.
"The Star Stream really knows how to motivate people."
Yoo Joonghyuk stood beside him, sword drawn but lowered.
"They are weak."
"That has never stopped people from doing something stupid," Dokja replied.
Below them, someone shouted.
"There she is!"
Another voice followed.
"That's the anomaly!"
"The reward is real!"
More incarnations appeared from the surrounding streets.
The crowd grew quickly.
Thirty.
Forty.
Maybe more.
Dokja glanced at Persephone.
She stood calmly among the blooming vines, watching the gathering hunters with mild curiosity.
"You realize they're here to kill you, right?"
"Yes."
"And you're not concerned."
"No."
Dokja sighed.
"Of course not."
Yoo Joonghyuk's gaze swept across the street.
"They are hesitant."
"That's because you're standing next to a rooftop-sized magical forest," Dokja said.
One of the incarnations below stepped forward.
A tall man with a glowing spear stigma.
His voice carried upward.
"Foreign entity!"
Dokja muttered under his breath.
"Oh good, they're announcing themselves."
The man raised his spear.
"The system has declared you a destabilizing force! Surrender or we will eliminate you!"
Persephone tilted her head slightly.
"Surrender."
The word sounded strange when she said it.
Dokja crossed his arms.
"She's probably not going to do that."
The man continued.
"You are worth twenty thousand coins! The scenario demands your death!"
The crowd behind him murmured excitedly.
Greed was a powerful motivator in the Star Stream.
Persephone stepped closer to the edge of the rooftop.
The wind moved gently through her dark hair.
She looked down at the gathered incarnations.
"You believe killing me will reward you."
"Yes!" someone shouted.
Another voice yelled.
"The system doesn't lie!"
Dokja whispered to himself.
"…Debatable."
Yoo Joonghyuk watched the crowd carefully.
"They will attack soon."
"Yeah," Dokja said. "Mob mentality is kicking in."
Persephone studied the humans below.
Dozens of faces.
Fear.
Desperation.
Greed.
Hope.
All mixed together.
She seemed fascinated.
"Your world pushes people into interesting choices."
Dokja nodded.
"Welcome to the apocalypse."
One of the incarnations below finally lost patience.
"Attack!"
The first spear flew.
It shot upward toward the rooftop like a streak of silver light.
Yoo Joonghyuk moved instantly.
His sword flashed.
The spear shattered in midair.
The fragments clattered across the rooftop.
"Bad idea," Dokja muttered.
More attacks followed.
Arrows.
Spears.
Even a few ranged stigmas.
The air filled with projectiles.
Persephone sighed softly.
Then she raised her hand.
The rooftop garden exploded into motion.
Vines shot outward like living whips.
They intercepted arrows midair.
Wrapped around thrown weapons.
Snapped spears like twigs.
The attacks never reached her.
Below, the incarnations froze.
Watching the plants move like a living army.
Dokja glanced at the scene.
"…Yeah, this is going exactly how I expected."
One brave—or foolish—incarnation activated a mobility stigma and leapt upward toward the rooftop.
Yoo Joonghyuk stepped forward immediately.
But Persephone moved first.
A single vine rose from the rooftop edge.
It wrapped around the airborne attacker gently.
Not violently.
Just enough to stop his momentum.
The man dangled there helplessly.
Persephone looked at him.
"You are trying to kill a goddess for coins."
The man swallowed nervously.
The crowd below fell silent.
Persephone's voice remained calm.
"I find that fascinating."
Dokja whispered.
"…This is the part where they should reconsider."
The vine slowly lowered the man back to the street.
Completely unharmed.
Persephone spoke again.
"I have no interest in killing you."
The incarnations exchanged uncertain looks.
Hope flickered.
Then she finished her sentence.
"But if you insist on attacking…"
The vines along the entire building began to move.
Hundreds of them.
Crawling down the walls.
Spreading across the street.
"…I will defend myself."
The crowd stepped back instinctively.
Dokja whistled quietly.
"That's a lot of plants."
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded slightly.
"She is holding back."
"Very."
Another system message appeared.
[Scenario Progress: 0%]
[Hunters are encouraged to cooperate.]
Dokja groaned.
"The system is literally egging them on."
And it worked.
A group of incarnations in the back began activating their stigmas.
One shouted.
"We can overwhelm her!"
Another yelled.
"There's dozens of us!"
Yoo Joonghyuk sighed quietly.
"They won't stop."
"Nope."
Persephone watched them prepare their next attack.
Her expression remained calm.
Almost curious.
"Humans are very determined."
Dokja chuckled.
"That's one word for it."
The first wave charged.
Dozens of incarnations rushing forward.
Weapons raised.
Stigmas glowing.
All chasing the same reward.
Persephone simply stood in the center of her garden.
Then she whispered softly—
"Grow."
The street erupted.
Vines burst from every crack in the asphalt.
Walls of flowers rose like living barricades.
Roots wrapped around charging legs.
Weapons were pulled from hands.
The attackers were lifted into the air, bound gently but firmly by twisting plants.
Within seconds—
The entire street was filled with suspended incarnations.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Completely defeated.
Dokja stared.
"…That might be the most peaceful crowd control I've ever seen."
Yoo Joonghyuk lowered his sword.
"They never had a chance."
Above them, the constellations erupted with reactions.
System messages flooded the air again.
[Constellations are shocked by the overwhelming suppression.]
[Several constellations are extremely entertained.]
[Probability distortion increasing.]
Dokja sighed.
"Well… there goes the narrative balance."
Persephone looked down at the captured hunters.
Then she glanced at the sky.
At the unseen Star Stream watching everything.
"You wanted conflict."
Her voice carried calmly through the night.
"This is the result."
High above, the administrators were recalculating.
Because their scenario—
The one meant to eliminate the anomaly—
Had just failed its first test completely.
And the goddess hadn't even tried to win. 🌑🌸⚔️📖