At the end of the hollow words of the male student, who was drenched in blood in an instant, I smiled faintly and asked him.
Asking why he wasn't laughing when this was the scene he desired so much. But the answer that returned was—
"Ah, aaah…?"
Trembling pupils and heavy breathing, showing he couldn't comprehend the current situation.
At that absurd appearance, I was about to approach him slowly and ask kindly, but—
-Kwa-aang—!!!!
I was momentarily taken aback by the tremendous explosion sound that rang out instantly and the power that shook the hull.
What is it? What on earth is back there? Is there perhaps someone behind us who, like me, realized the Attribute Window early on and used a skill?
Certainly, it wasn't an entirely preposterous thought.
However, my mind couldn't focus on just that one place.
"What? Uh-uhk!!"
As soon as the hull shook, someone rushed out, pushed the male student away from the grandmother, and a man began to look around.
"…What is that, really."
That man ran forward as soon as the train shook and quickly pushed the male student away.
It was a moment too impeccable to simply call it good timing.
Right, as if he knew this moment would come.
"Everyone stop. Even if you kill that grandmother, you cannot live."
That wasn't all.
In the temporary silence following the explosion, he didn't miss the opening and began to say what he wanted to say.
Holding an insect collection case containing insects—when did he get that?
"…."
He continued speaking incessantly.
Although the male student interrupted him midway, he smiled faintly as if he had aimed for that very point and recited the main content of the scenario.
Not 'Kill a person.' But the content that said 'Kill one or more living things.'
"Insects! It's insects!"
At that moment, those whose bodies had been rigid began to move one by one.
Just as the grandmother had instantly become a target at the male student's words, the insects the man was holding instantly became the target at his words.
"…."
Strange. From one to ten, everything is strange.
Let's say striking the male student at the exact moment the train shook was simply good luck.
Then how should I explain this now?
A person died right in front of his eyes.
Despite clearly witnessing that scene with his two eyes, he naturally continued speaking without changing his expression one bit.
He didn't breathe heavily even once, didn't stutter, and furthermore, his fingertips didn't tremble at all.
And he even accurately recognized the scenario presented by the Dokkaebi, inducing the situation to his advantage.
Perhaps that is why my interest shifted abnormally from the male student who had adapted to this ruined world, to the man who was responding to this world with abnormal calmness.
"Let's introduce ourselves. I am Kang Yuhyeon. And you?"
"I am Dokja."
"…Dokja (Reader)? Are you an only child (Dokja)?"
"I am an only child, but not that 'Dokja'."
"Then?"
"My name is Dokja. Kim Dokja (金獨子)."
His name is Dokja….
Rather than being fascinated, I'm curious why he was named with such a meaning.
…It sounds a bit strange to say, but since the meaning of my name is also a bit like that, it's simply out of curiosity.
Well, let's figure that out gradually….
"It's fascinating."
"…What is?"
"This mess has occurred, yet you don't seem nervous in the slightest, Dokja-ssi."
I continued speaking, pointing behind me with my thumb.
The rear was in a desperate state, fitting the description of total chaos.
People were fighting and beating each other to survive, not stopping even at pleas to stop.
The soldier who tried to calm the citizens had long since frowned in guilt, and the young kid who was the original owner of the insect case was shaking his pupils violently. And what about the woman with him? She was struggling to cover her mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit.
But as I just said, the man in front of me was the only one who was different.
He didn't frown, nor did his pupils shake. He didn't particularly avoid looking at that scene either.
"Isn't that the same for you? You even killed people yourself."
"That is not an answer to my question, Dokja-ssi."
He even acted to naturally change the subject to escape the interrogation directed at him.
Indeed, the more I think about it, the more this man seems to be a very strange existence.
"Who knows? If I don't like your attitude, I might blow your head off just like I did to them."
Of course, I said this, but I wouldn't actually do it.
It feels a bit awkward to say this, but this man seemed helpful in this perished world. In short, he seemed like someone who would be useful.
So, giving a little scare like this to see the reaction….
"Then why don't you try blowing it off?"
…Ha?
"Are you serious right now?"
"Yes. If you can blow it off, go ahead and try."
"Ha!"
A man showing an audacious attitude, telling me to try it even though I hold the power over his life and death.
Somehow, the more I dig into this person named Kim Dokja, the more I seem to like him.
It's a strange thing. For me, who was tired of boring daily life and kept a distance from people, to harbor such emotions and thoughts.
[0:59]
[0:58]
[0:57]
.
.
.
Perhaps because talking with Kim Dokja was more fun than I thought, the time limit was now less than a minute.
However, it seemed there were quite a few people who hadn't found insects in the meantime, as they began to express their emotions violently and move urgently.
And watching them….
-Paaaah…!!
I scattered my Cursed Energy inside the subway.
One of the pieces of information I gained when I realized the 'Jujutsu Sorcerer' attribute. That is the fact that all living things emit Cursed Energy.
Because I knew that fact, I couldn't help but smile bitterly while watching them struggle.
The insects he scattered were already all dead.
So no matter how hard they tried to find them, it was natural that they couldn't.
It's a pity. Truly a pity.
As time decreased, it was obvious they would gradually despair and eventually die while begging for their lives.
"Aaaah, please!!"
"Where on earth are they!!"
[0:30]
[0:29]
[0:28]
.
.
.
"Save me!!"
"Uwaaaaaak!!"
What can I do for people like them?
….
Hmm, no matter how much I think about it, there seems to be only this one thing.
"Any, anyone, do you have anything!?"
"Ah, please just once. Just save me on—"
[0:15]
[0:14]
[0:13]
.
.
.
"Dismantle (解)."
-Seo-geok—!!!!
That is, for me to kill them quickly before they despair any further.
They died without even realizing they were dying, so they are happy, and I gained things called Coins because of them, so it's fortunate.
It's a win-win for each other, so isn't it good for everyone?
[The time limit has expired.]
[Paid service settlement will begin.]
There is no one whose head exploded and died because the time limit ended.
Because everyone had already become cold corpses.
However, because of that, there were many who reacted in various ways.
Those looking at the corpses with dead eyes, those turning their heads as if they couldn't bear to watch, those retching at the gruesome scene.
And someone looking at this scene calmly, with a mix of slight delight and slight guilt.
[You have massacred a total of 59 living entities.]
[Massacre History: 59 Humans]
[You have acquired a total of 5,900 Coins.]
[You have achieved the achievement 'Mass Murderer' due to excessive slaughter.]
[You have achieved the achievement 'Psychopath' due to cold-blooded slaughter.]
[You have acquired 300 Coins as a basic clear reward.]
[100 Coins have been deducted for the channel usage fee.]
[Additional reward settlement begins.]
-Rattle, rattle…!!
As the scenario window updated, the subway shook roughly.
I gently closed my eyes at that sight and fell into appreciation.
Watching one world perish, and a new world being born.
[Wow, amazing. What on earth happened? While I was looking at another carriage for a moment….]
With a chi-ji-jik-! sound, the Dokkaebi appeared again.
Its expression was a mix of delight and shock, quite explicit.
As I watched it quietly, I saw something sparkling above its head.
Are those… stars? One, two…, a total of 21? What does that mean?
[For a whopping 21 people to connect to my channel…, haha, will things go well today? Oops, thank you for the sponsorship. Constellations. Haha, everyone! You must have really earned your keep?]
Is the number of stars the number of those called Constellations?
By the way, what are Constellations? What kind of existence are they that makes that guy act so servile?
[My, my, the number of survivors is quite significant too? The guy in the next carriage was a lunatic too…. You are making things quite interesting today.]
As the Dokkaebi grinned and snapped its fingers, something floated up with a chi-ji-jik-! sound.
That is….
"Is it the survivor list?"
[Bulgwang-bound Train 3434, Carriage 3807 Survivors: Kang Yuhyeon, Kim Dokja, Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, Kim Namwoon, Han Myungoh, Lee Gilyoung. Total 7 survivors.]
7 people. That's more than I thought.