Chapter 25: Escapee (2)

I didn’t send the whisper because I had a specific plan. My blood boiled knowing that the bastard who nearly killed my father was acting out so brazenly here. After sending it impulsively, I thought I had done something useless.

“…!”

An immediate reply came back.

What should I do? All sorts of thoughts raced through my head. I suppressed the urge to pour out curses and regained my composure.

Showing hostility here served no purpose. I decided to act interested. Maybe I could dig up some information.

I thought for a moment before replying.

…You crazy bastard. What was I supposed to do with him?

Seodongwoo suddenly made a ridiculous suggestion. An escapee and a fugitive was asking for a meeting? His mind definitely wasn’t right.

But I had no reason to refuse. As I watched the communication window with cold eyes, Seodongwoo gave his location: an abandoned school in Incheon.

“Don’t worry.”

I’ll be coming alone. I searched for the abandoned school on my phone’s map.

I closed the communication window and immediately left the house. I knew I wasn’t being rational. What was I going to do when I got there? Start a fight? What if he was stronger than I thought?

My father was alive, though he was severely injured. I could have just considered it being bitten by a mad beast and let it go. I was about to do something difficult to handle, driven by the emotions of the moment.

…Fuck, I still can’t let it go. Not unless I at least shatter that bastard’s bones.

Yes, and it wasn’t just for personal reasons. If I left someone like him alone—someone who could never be caught—who knew what kind of chaos he would cause next? More people could die or get hurt. Even just to prevent further damage, I couldn’t leave Seodongwoo alone. I called a late-night taxi and headed to the meeting point.

***

Kang Juhyuk was rushing toward the metropolitan area after receiving a report. After three days of no progress in the search, Seodongwoo had suddenly popped up in Seoul.

“How could they lose track of his location like this…” He muttered anxiously, waiting for the light to change.

The police seemed to be tracking the route, but Kang Juhyuk was extremely uneasy. Unless a SWAT team surrounded him and opened fire all at once, he thought it would be hard to catch him. The members of the Climbing Surveillance Department were all rushing, but the only one in the department who could actually face Seodongwoo in combat was likely Shin Soojin.

“And why isn’t the Team Leader answering her phone? I’m going crazy.”

But Shin Soojin couldn’t be reached, either via phone or the communication window. They needed to move as quickly as possible before losing him again. It wasn’t as if she’d be unreachable because she was sleeping, given the hour. As soon as the light changed, Kang Juhyuk floored the accelerator.

The time when dawn was slowly breaking. Shin Soojin ignored all the calls looking for her and arrived at her destination alone. An abandoned school in Incheon. She climbed over the wall and went inside. Crossing the schoolyard, she entered the old gym. In the middle of the hall, a man was lying down with his legs crossed.

“Oh, you’re here?” Seodongwoo sat up, stretching.

The gaze Shin Soojin directed at him was filled with murderous intent. “What is that name?” Shin Soojin asked bluntly.

Seodongwoo tilted his head playfully. “Huh? What?”

“Your communication window nickname… what is it?”

Seodongwoo burst into laughter. “Ah~ Soyoung? This?”

“…”

“Aren’t you happy to see it? It’s your mother’s name.”

Blood seeped from Shin Soojin’s tightly clenched fists. Ten years ago, when she was a middle school student, a robber had broken into her house. The Monster had first killed her resisting father in front of the mother and daughter, and then went after her mother. Beside her mother, who was begging for her life, Shin Soojin had frozen, unable to do anything.

And the Monster eventually killed her mother, too. Even as she was being stabbed to death, her mother didn’t make a sound.

“You remember that, right? Your mom didn’t make a single peep because I told her I’d kill you first if she made any noise. It was impressive~ Thanks to that, you lived, didn’t you? Pain isn’t exactly something you can control with your will, though.”

Seodongwoo wiped his eyes as if he were moved. “That maternal love even touched the heart of someone like me. So I decided to remember that woman forever. I never had a mother like that.”

“Shut your mouth, you son of a bitch…!” Shin Soojin’s voice trembled with rage.

Afterward, Seodongwoo was caught by the police and given a life sentence. For Shin Soojin, who had lost her entire family overnight, that was no consolation. Even when living as if she had forgotten, she found it hard to endure the sudden surges of passion. Once a week, she had a Nightmare about that day.

Then one day, she became a Climber. Hating her own weakness, she climbed the Tower. Climbing, working, climbing—she lived day by day. When she heard the news that Seodongwoo had escaped, what she felt likely wasn’t just anger.

“…Thank you, Seodongwoo. For escaping like this.” Shin Soojin took a deep breath. “Thanks to you, I can finally kill you with my own hands.”

Seodongwoo chuckled. “Ooh, scary. So much confidence. Did you bring your colleagues? I didn’t check because I thought you’d come alone.”

“A maggot like you is more than I can handle by myself.”

With those words, Shin Soojin made a Leap. The floorboards cracked. Seodongwoo also leaped back to dodge her swinging fist. Shin Soojin pursued Seodongwoo, continuing her attack. Seodongwoo repeatedly retreated, dodging or blocking.

Shin Soojin gauged her opponent. ‘His physical abilities are similar.’ If so, he was likely Level 20. Hard difficulty was divided into 4-level increments. Seodongwoo, who was being pushed back, threw a punch in counterattack. Shin Soojin dodged the punch, grabbed his arm, and threw him.

“Whoa!” Seodongwoo’s body was slammed into the gym wall.

Shin Soojin’s fists glowed with a blue light. She rushed in to finish him off, but Seodongwoo twisted his body and dodged at the last second.

BOOM! Dust showered from the gym ceiling along with a massive vibration. Seodongwoo, who had retreated with quick steps, said with a look of surprise, “That’s it, right? The Ganggi skill. You’ve got something good.”

Ganggi. It was a Physical skill considered Tier 1 among Rare-grade skills. Shin Soojin didn’t answer and lunged at Seodongwoo again. Her offensive became even more fierce. Because of the Ganggi wrapped around her fists, Seodongwoo could no longer block and barely managed to dodge the attacks.

Shin Soojin kept checking Seodongwoo’s skill usage. If he was around Level 20, he likely had at least one Rare-grade skill. But even when pushed into a corner, he showed no sign of using one. Maybe it was a Magic-type or a passive. Then she just had to kill him like this.

“Wa-wait! Spare me!” Seodongwoo shouted urgently, as if he had reached his limit in dodging.

Shin Soojin ignored him and pushed harder.

“Spare me! I was wrong! I’ll really repent!”

One hit and it was over. She was about to burst his head…? Shin Soojin, realizing there was a hint of laughter in Seodongwoo’s voice, checked his expression. He was grinning. The urgency from a moment ago was gone.

“Spare me~ I was wrong~ Aing~.”

Suddenly, Seodongwoo’s body moved much faster than before.

“…!”

Unable to react, Shin Soojin was struck in the ribs and sent flying. Seodongwoo walked over to her as she lay on the floor.

“You were excited, weren’t you? That was so close~ You could have won if you’d just done a bit more.”

Shin Soojin hurriedly got up and retreated. “You…!”

Only then did she realize. He was at a much higher level than 20. She had been toyed with from the very beginning.

“I’ve cleared up to Floor 7 of Hard. That means I’m Level 28. Let’s see, you’re probably in the low 20s?”

Shin Soojin lunged again, gritting her teeth. Seodongwoo, with movements distinctly different from before, easily dodged the attack and kicked her. Even though she blocked with her arms, her body bounced away like a rubber ball.

“With just this much, what kind of confidence did you have to come alone? You’re ridiculous.”

“Urgh, ha…”

“‘Thank you Seodongwoo~ Thanks to you, I can finally kill you with my own hands~’ Phew! What a classic line. I thought we were filming a movie.” Seodongwoo snickered. “Actually, I have another precious guest coming. I’ll play with you until then.”

Shin Soojin stood up unsteadily. As soon as she stood, a fist slammed into her stomach. A sharp pain from ruptured organs surged through her. Seodongwoo grabbed her throat and lifted her into the air.

“Gack…”

“Got anything else? If you have other skills, hurry up and bring them out~ You can’t go see your mom’s face like this.”

Shin Soojin glared at him with bloodshot eyes, as if she wanted to kill him. ‘Damn… it…’ She was so much stronger than back then, yet she was powerless again. She felt like she would go crazy with resentment. She wanted to rip the Monster in front of her to pieces, but she didn’t have the strength.

Her consciousness grew hazy under the tightening grip on her throat.

“Seodongwoo.”

A strange voice suddenly cut in. At the gym entrance, a man wearing a hoodie was standing there. Seodongwoo looked at him with delight and tossed Shin Soojin aside.

“Oh, you’re here! Person123!”

Person123…? Shin Soojin also coughed and looked at the newly arrived man. The man looked back and forth between Seodongwoo and the fallen Shin Soojin, then asked, “Who is she?”

“Ah, this~? It’s nothing. Just a Climber who came to kill me, so I was playing with her until you arrived.” Seodongwoo waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s have a fun chat. First, I’ll get rid of this bitch…”

The man cut him off. “Cut the crap.”

“Huh?”

“I came here to kill you, too.”

The man pulled his hands out of his pockets and strode forward.