Trapped in the Idol Universe

Roy, half-demented, thought only of killing the thing before him. He didn’t even consider checking Hojin’s condition—revenge consumed him utterly.

He could have torn its throat out instantly, but it felt too unjust to let it go so easily. He didn’t mind his own wounds. He wanted to inflict even half the pain Hojin had suffered. So he tore off its arm, twisted its wrist, and snapped its leg.

Though he’d unwittingly encountered blood fiends many times before, he’d never slain one directly. He’d felt revulsion—no matter what others thought, that creature had once been human, and killing it felt like murder. But now? They say the first is always the hardest. His impression after committing his first killing during the second survival trial just hours ago had been, “Not bad.”

“Keeeek!”

Even now, he felt no guilt. Seeing the fiend thrashing beneath him made him laugh. After all, if his reason for coming to the Wilderness was to eradicate these things, he felt emboldened to act without restraint.

‘Ah. But without Hojin, even that seems meaningless now...’

At the thought of Hojin’s ashen face, Roy’s breath caught. As he prepared to tear off the fiend’s remaining arm, something on its hand caught his eye.

“Keeeek!”

He noticed a glint on its finger. Roy pressed his boot into its neck and torso to pin it, then grabbed its wrist and yanked it forward. On the charred finger sat a familiar ring: a black cross. The same ring Hojin wore. The ring of Salvation Church.

‘So this bastard was a cultist too?’

He’d thought Hojin quit going after that gaslighting incident—apparently not. It seemed Hojin had snuck out to church while Roy was away, only to suffer this fate. Roy bit his lip until it bled.

‘If I’d known, I’d have knocked him over back then instead of worrying about skills.’

Regret made his fingers tremble. At the same time, Hojin’s tear-streaked face flashed before him.

‘No, this won’t do.’

Since everything was ruined anyway, he might as well die here with them all. With that resolve, heat surged from his fingertips. It felt nothing like the sensation he’d experienced at the second survival trial. The flames danced wildly in his palm—small and clumsy before, but now sharp, threatening, and swelling in size. They looked like a long spear, or perhaps Yeonwoo’s bow.

“키엑! It hurts, 키엑!”

Just as he raised the spear to plunge into the fiend’s throat, a menacing presence loomed behind him. Instinctively, Roy dodged and hurled the spear in another direction.

Kwaaaang!

It struck the ground and exploded. Through the swirling dust, he saw Kang Saeon of the Bureau, gripping his battered arm.

‘Why interfere?’

Roy couldn’t fathom Saeon’s actions—and didn’t want to. He glared at him as if to say, ‘One more disturbance and I’ll kill you for real,’ then turned back. A new spear of flame formed in his hand. As he prepared again to impale the fiend, a status window popped before his eyes.

【Ally “Kim Hojin (A)” has awakened.】

‘...Awakened?’

The spear stopped millimeters from the fiend’s neck. Yet under his furious heat, its flesh was melting.

Ssssss—

“키에에엑!”

The fiend thrashed violently, the smell of burning flesh stinging his nostrils. The stench—already horrendous—now mixed with charred meat odor, making it even more revolting. Still, Roy stood unmoving on its back, like a man possessed.

“......”

Thump. Thump. Thump. His heart thundered in his ears. Taking a steady breath, Roy read the status window again.

Kim Hojin. It confirmed the name.

‘He’s alive?’

He realized he’d charged at the fiend without even checking if Hojin lived. Hojin’s pale, blood-soaked face had looked unquestionably dead. Roy turned his gaze to the limousine roof—there lay Hojin, limp.

Thunk—

A raindrop fell on his nose. Looking up, he saw a sky clear and blue. Then droplets multiplied, turning into a heavy downpour. The cold rain snapped him back to reality—and he recalled Hojin’s ability.

“......!”

Clang! The spear he’d been gripping clattered to the ground. He lifted his foot off the fiend—by then, it lay still, its shape unrecognizable as flesh melted away. Ignoring the creature, Roy raced to Hojin. The surrounding flames still raged but didn’t deter him. He vaulted onto the hood, dropped to his knees, and scooped Hojin into his arms.

“Hyung... hyung.”

His finger trembling as it brushed beneath Hojin’s nose, Roy felt a faint breath.

‘He’s alive.’

Rain turned into a torrential downpour as soon as he confirmed it. The inferno sizzled and died under the rain’s assault. Soaked through, Roy held Hojin close, his voice trembling:

“Hyung, it’s me, Roy. Okay? Open your eyes. I was so scared.”

Though Hojin lived, he looked in critical condition. Roy couldn’t waste another second. He hoisted him onto his back, climbed down, and laid him across the limousine’s rear seat. He fastened the seatbelt securely around him.

“Hyung, you can’t sleep. Okay? Just hang on, please.”

With one last plea, Roy closed the door and sprinted to the driver’s seat, turning the key. The road was a wreck of shattered asphalt and mangled vehicles—but it didn’t matter. While Roy lost his reason, Bureau agents had already cordoned off the road. Not a single civilian remained.

His hands, as pale as Hojin’s face, gripped the wheel. He shifted gears and hammered the accelerator. The engine roared, and the car lurched forward.

Vroooom!

Crash!

The side mirror shattered as the car squeezed through a narrow gap—Roy didn’t care. All he thought was that the Awakened Hospital couldn’t be far now.

✧

Meanwhile, Shin Wonil, a new recruit of Special Team 1, had been on an external assignment with Kang Saeon. Following orders, he’d requested backup, evacuated civilians, and called the police to control traffic. Now he was heading back, but found his seniors unconscious on the ground, Saeon half-formless, and the limousine he’d arrived in tearing off in a spectacular drift.

‘What the hell...?’

All his teammates were here—who was driving that limo? Flustered, Wonil blinked, speechless. Breaking the unspoken rule against questions, he asked Saeon:

“Team Leader, what’s with that car?”

Sa eon sighed, a sound thick with frustration. Wonil recalled the fire suspect they’d been escorting was inside that vehicle.

“Gasp—Has it been stolen?!”

Sa eon pressed a hand to his forehead as if in pain. Wonil hurriedly corrected himself:

“I-I’m sorry! More importantly, are you okay? Your arm... and the others—aren’t they...?”

“Could you just shut that mouth of yours?”

Saeon glared, teeth clenched, eyes radiating threat. Yet Wonil, far from cowed, secretly exhaled in excitement. ‘Could you just shut that mouth?’ Indeed, the youngest to ever lead the Special Team—an elite’s force was on full display.

Wonil set aside his seniors behind the curb and, taking initiative, pulled out his phone to notify the Bureau.

“Hello? Special Team 1’s Shin Wonil. I’d like to report a vehicle theft.”

Calmly, he recited the stolen car’s plate number. Then a thought struck him:

‘Wasn’t that suspect a minor?’

So to summarize... A minor, arrested as an arson suspect, unlicensed, had stolen the vehicle in custody, then violated every traffic law—running red lights, driving the wrong way—while fleeing.

‘This is... insane.’