"So, does this mean the random gate teleportations are finally over?"
Jongsik, loyal enough to die for Sayoon if asked, had grumbled endlessly before eventually driving over. No one could complain quite like him.
As Sayoon settled into the car, he reflected on the past month.
The quest to kill beginners had forced him into gates every single day. He hadn't been thrilled, but refusal wasn't an option. Whenever The True Evil of Humanity triggered, the quest window appeared without an accept or decline button.
That much was nothing new.
He'd long since gotten used to it, choosing to focus on completing the quest rather than wasting energy on anger. The real problem was the kill count system.
Killing newly awakened from hostile guilds didn't count. Regular gates didn't either.
Only beginners encountered in the gates the system forcibly teleported him to would register. And that was the headache.
Beginner gates were, by design, only accessible to newly awakened individuals. After clearing three, they were locked out permanently. So no matter how much he ran around, unless the damn system forcibly moved him, the quest wouldn't progress.
What choice did he have? Resignation was the only option.
Resistance wasn't even possible.
Because of this, he'd been teleported mid-meal, mid-shower, hell! even naked once.
"..Fucking ridiculous."
The memory made his brow twitch. He glared at the back of Jong-sik's head, which looked particularly rough today. The biggest victim of Sa-yoon's forced teleportations was undeniably Jong-sik.
As the only one who knew about the system's interference, he had to drop everything and play chauffeur whenever Sayoon returned from a gateno matter the time or place.
Sayoon had suggested delegating the task, but Jongsik, refusing to leave any room for suspicion, stubbornly insisted on doing it himself. The type to suffer by choice.
Today was no different. Dark circles under his eyes, hands gripping the wheel, Sayoon clicked his tongue at the sight.
Jongsik's suffering wasn't limited to driving.
If Sa-yoon disappeared mid-guild business, Jong-sik had to work overtime to clean up the mess. If he vanished during a meeting, Jongsik had to smoothly explain the guild leader's absence and steer the discussion. A month of this routine had understandably made him cranky today.
"Should've let someone else drive."
Leaning back, legs crossed, Sayoon muttered under his breath.
It wasn't like his behavior had been normal for just a day or two.
As long as he didn't push his luck, no one would suspect anything. Delegating pickups once or twice wouldn't have hurt. But Jongsik, obsessed with secrecy, insisted on doing it himself even though it wasn't his secret to keep.
Exhausting loyalty, but admirable nonetheless.
"It's really over?" Jongsik asked, eyes reddening with relief.
"Yeah."
"The system didn't say anything else? If another quest comes, let me know. I'll prep the others."
Sayoon smirked. His distrust of the system had apparently rubbed off on Jongsik. After three years by his side, even a dog would learn to recite poetry Jongsik now understood just how vile and manipulative the system could be.
The fact that someone got it warmed Sayoon's heart. He nodded in response.
The System.
A divine blessing, guiding awakened ones with virtue and righteousness in troubled times—or so the World Awakened Association claimed.
But Sa-yoon's system was different.
Virtue? Please. It employed every underhanded, ruthless method to push him toward evil. No, mnipulation was a better word.
And over time, Sayoon had become exactly what it wanted a human rotted from the inside out. The proof? He no longer lost sleep over killing. No nightmares, no trauma.
I've gone completely insane, huh.
There'd been a time when guilt kept him awake. Now, he only wished his victims had put up more of a fight. Life was dull and fleeting—he craved stimulation. For the first time in his ten years as an awakened, he understood the madness of those movie villains who sought out the strongest opponents.
"Nothing else interests me these days."
*"Huh?"
Jongsik reacted to the muttering. Sayoon kicked the back of his seat.
BANG.
"Ah, boss!"
"'Ah, boss'?"
"...Y-you'll break the seat."
"Want me to break your spine instead?"
Jongsik grumbled about his temper, but Sayoon ignored him, lost in thought again.
He hadn't always been this deranged. Kicking chairs? Sure, even ten years ago. But back then, he hadn't gone around massacring people or committing terrorism.
The guilt that had once been so sharp was now just a distant memory.
His gaze drifted to the scenery flashing past the window, eyes darkening.
Everything had started ten years ago.
Back when Sa-yoon was still a green, naive middle schooler.
---
Ten Years Ago.
The first gate that opened the year Sayoon turned sixteen threw the world into panic.
Appearing without warning, its eerie glow stirred something primal—human curiosity, perhaps. Those foolish enough to enter never returned, their last words often being, "It's fine, I won't die."
Disappearances skyrocketed daily. When the number hit triple digits and public anxiety peaked, the government finally deployed the military to investigate.
People had hoped for answers.
Reality was cruel.
Even the special forces sent in vanished without a trace.
Every. Single. One.
Scholars argued was the shimmering space a portal to another world? A teleportation device? Something akin to a black hole, trapping those who entered?
Baseless debates raged. The military's absence fueled political strife. Amid the chaos, as the world dubbed these anomalies "gates," news broke: the first soldier had returned.
Doompa, team leader of the special forces deployed to a gate in India.
Missing a leg, drenched in blood, on the verge of death he'd widened his eyes and uttered one phrase to the world before collapsing.
It was hell.
Then he died.
The media and public reeled. Fear and excitement clashed. Calls for immediate gate research surged, and some ventured in themselves.
It wasn't until gates worldwide exploded simultaneously that people understood what Doompa had meant.
Monsters straight out of fantasy novels poured out. Some resembled demons, others grotesque abominations beyond description. None were friendly.
They rampaged mercilessly, painting the world in blood.
No, strictly speaking, it was a war.
A battle for survival between humanity and these sudden, monstrous invaders.
Screams never ceased. Hundreds of orphans were made daily. Military weapons proved ineffective. Even America's nukes failed to wipe them out.
If some survived nuclear blasts, humanity stood no chance.
The death toll soared. Within a week, 10% of the global population was gone.
Experts, hopeless, predicted total extinction within a month.
But as the saying goes, in chaos, heroes rise.
Even in the most one-sided wars, a counterattack is inevitable. For humanity, that came in the form of blue windows.
Appearing before a select few, they introduced themselves as the System,granting humans the power to fight back. Those who awakened wielded abilities so extraordinary they barely seemed human anymore.
With them at the forefront, humanity pushed the monsters back, cooperating until they achieved annihilation.
A hard-won victory, at the cost of 20% of the population.
The world rejoiced.
But as hope returned to most, one person lost it entirely.
Sayoon.
The System.
The entity that had brought hope during the crisis.
When the gates first erupted, Sayoon had received a system window too.
Just... a unique one.
< You have been selected as Humanity's Evil! Oppose the saviors and lead Planet 9180, "Earth," to destruction. (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b>