Simulation Swarm ? Kang Dae-ho ╱ 388

THIRTEEN Devil's Advocate

Her chest heaved, her breath short, as she turned toward the room, eyes locked onto the door she'd seen only in dreams ━ the one that would free her, but not before she made her mark on the world that had tried so hard to break her.

Behind her, Player 238 was still alive. Still breathing. Still yearning to dominate her like a ravenous wolf who had tasted the scent of blood. He was no lamb, despite the illusion he'd tried to create. No, he was a predator ━ a soulless beast driven by hunger. And the lambs did not fight back.

Minseo's head spun as she glanced over her shoulder. His bloodied figure rose from the ground, a grotesque symbol of the endless cycle of violence they were both trapped in. His teeth gritted, his eyes narrowed, and his hands balled into fists that dripped with a mix of his own blood and hers. He would not stop. Not until one of them was nothing but a memory. Minseo's breath slowed. Her heart beat with purpose now. She had to finish this.

In the silence of the room, the only sound that remained was the faint hum of the lights overhead, like the echo of God's judgment. The flood of violence was its own baptism, and only one would be cleansed.

"Come on then," she whispered under her breath, a prayer born of desperation and strength. Player 238 moved, faster now, charging at her like a devil himself. His footsteps thundered against the floor, the echo a warning in the air, a pulse that synchronized with the blood in her veins. Minseo stood firm, bracing herself.

The moment before impact stretched in the air like a divine pause, the world holding its breath. He came at her with the force of a storm, his body a blur of fury. But Minseo was no lamb. Her instincts rose, her body moving with a fluidity that only years of survival could foster. She sidestepped, her foot lifting as she evaded his savage grasp.

The hunter had become the hunted. With the precision of a serpent striking its prey, Minseo spun, her knee colliding with his ribs. The sickening crack of bone shattered the air like a prophecy fulfilled.

Player 238 gasped, a strangled cry escaping his lips. His body faltered, and for the first time, Minseo saw fear in his eyes ━ a glimmer of weakness where there had once been only the dark hunger of a predator. But Minseo was no lamb, and she would not be swallowed by this wolf.

With a final surge of strength, she drove her elbow into the back of his neck, the sharp impact sending him crashing to the floor like a fallen angel, broken and forgotten. His breath was shallow, his body limp, as he gasped for air that would never come. She stood over him, panting, her hands trembling.

The fight had ended. The room was still, and the walls, once so welcoming, now felt like the tomb she had just sealed for him. Minseo turned, her steps slow but resolute. She crossed the threshold of the door, leaving the bloodied corpse of Player 238 behind her, and into the next chapter of her fight for survival.

The lamb had killed the wolf.

As she stepped through the door, Minseo pulled the wolf's tattered cloak around her shoulders, the weight of it no longer foreign ━ now it was hers, and she wore it as a second skin, the lamb no more.

Minseo hadn't bothered to acknowledge the other two players in the room as she shut the metal door forcefully. The second the door shut, bullets sliced the air.

Minseo didn't look back, forcing herself to ignore the still sobs of the players behind as she watched, waited through the slip of the door.

Bodies after bodies collapsed, but Minseo couldn't shake it ━ they weren't dead. The shots scarred their legs and shoulders, sometimes their stomachs, but they were alive. They were breathing, sharply but still, breathing. Their voices lost through the pain, but minds still moving, the little limbs of their fingers or feet twitched and flinched to show ━ to prove ━ they were alive.