The King of the Blue Team was an old man.
The old man was sprawled haphazardly on the floor of the branch manager’s office.
His ribs were clearly visible through his emaciated body, and his hollow cheeks made him look like a zombie.
His eyes, which he couldn’t close, were bloodshot and red.
He had starved to death.
For the past six days, Kim Dong-gil had kept the King of the Blue Team locked in his office, preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Now it made sense why there was a lock on the outside of this office.
It seemed food had been provided.
But as Kim Dong-gil and the rest of the team members died, no one was left to help him eat.
Being an elderly man who couldn’t properly feed himself, he starved to death here.
The old man had been Kim Dong-gil’s insurance policy.
The system had chosen the old man, and Kim Dong-gil, unable to become king himself, apparently decided it was better to lock him in the office for protection rather than expose him to external dangers.
Then what about when Kim Dong-gil seemed to be looking at a status window?
He must have used a system authority like ‘delegation.’
I could confirm this through my own status window now.
Each king could delegate their system and authority to a specific person.
This explained why Kim Dong-gil couldn’t identify friend from foe during the third-floor battle.
He wasn’t the King of the Blue Team after all.
In the end, Kim Dong-gil’s thinking was correct.
We hadn’t found the king until the old man starved to death.
Just then, Kyung Soo approached the old man with their head bowed low, like someone drunk.
Their footsteps were irregular.
Then they covered the old man’s face with the small cloth they had been holding.
And came back.
One by one, everyone left the branch manager’s office, disturbed by the horrific scene.
Only Jae Hee and I remained.
The Survivors of the Red Team were huddled in a corner of the hallway, sobbing.
‘What do I do now?’
Behind me, among these 11 people, is the King of the Black Team.
One of them had to die.
The thought that the King of the Black Team was in the same space, targeting me, filled me with fear.
What should I do?
I no longer had time to waste or the luxury to hesitate.
I needed to get out of here.
If the King of the Black Team continued to hide their identity for days, it would be the worst possible situation for me.
I needed to leave this mall as soon as possible and find the King of the Black Team as quickly as I could.
As these worries converged, I came to one conclusion.
Eliminating people one by one through voting.
In the end, this was the only way.
I had come up with a method to kill teammates who had fought alongside me to survive this game.
If there was no way to deduce who the King of the Black Team was, this approach was the only option.
And by eliminating the 11 survivors one by one…!
Just as I reached that thought.
A chilling sensation crept up my spine.
“Hah…!”
Thud.
A hand landed on my right shoulder.
Startled, I violently shoved the hand away.
Slap!
There was Jae Hee, blinking in surprise.
I glared at her while breathing heavily.
“Haa… haa…”
I wasn’t tired, nor had I done anything strenuous, yet I was out of breath.
Jae Hee cautiously asked me.
“Cold sweat… are you okay?”
At her words, I wiped my forehead with my hand.
Indeed, cold sweat was streaming down.
It was from the tension.
“Haah.”
I exhaled deeply and stood up.
I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it upward.
The cool air touched my forehead, cooling the sweat.
“Let’s go back first. Let’s go back.”
After repeating myself, I trudged through the group.
As I left the branch manager’s office, people naturally followed.
At that moment, Jae Hee whispered to me as I turned away.
“Don’t worry, no matter what happens. I won’t let you die.”
I clearly heard her voice, but I deliberately chose not to respond.
* * *
When we returned to the 11th floor, Jae Hee noticed some movement and looked toward the elevators.
There, K’s baby angels were extinguishing the fire that was blazing from the elevators.
They were humming a tune as they worked.
Even in my second life, such a scene felt surreal.
Baby-like angels extinguishing a fire that was burning corpses.
Jae Hee turned her gaze away from there and entered the theater.
Everyone was exhausted and slumped down in various spots as soon as they reached the theater.
Some appeared to be in severe mental distress.
Jae Hee glanced around at them briefly before approaching where Sion was sitting.
He seemed to be deep in thought.
But standing beside him, Jae Hee could do nothing.
In his past life, Zion Kang had been a great lord commanding the largest military force.
He was a man who had risen to the highest position for humanity, someone no one could threaten.
And now, that man was thinking.
Thinking about his current situation and what he needed to do.
She shouldn’t interfere with his thoughts.
Jae Hee’s role was simply to protect him.
And to test, to verify.
That was all.
The round was now in its final stages.
Jae Hee had to watch with her own eyes how Zion Kang would conclude this round.
If he couldn’t solve even this much, then this life’s Zion Kang wasn’t the same as his past life.
Sion looked at his watch.
He soon raised his head and was about to stand up.
At that moment, Kyung Soo approached him.
“Let’s eat. Aren’t you hungry?”
Despite the concern in his words, Kyung Soo walked over with canned food in both hands.
And offered one to Sion.
Sion stared at it blankly before taking one.
It was a can of tuna, along with a bottle of water.
“There aren’t any forks. We’ll have to use our fingers.”
Kyung Soo laughed awkwardly and began scooping tuna from the can with his fingers.
At this point, no one was concerned about hygiene or proper etiquette.
Everyone here hadn’t properly bathed or eaten for days.
They all looked terrible, and some even smelled bad.
Sion stared blankly at the can before opening it.
He sucked the oil from the tuna with his mouth, then dipped his finger in and took a bite.
“Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you eat something, Mr. Sion.”
Kyungsoo, who had already quickly finished one can of tuna, asked while looking at Sion.
Sion was now working on his second can.
“I’ve been eating a little bit here and there. Beef jerky and… stuff like that.”
Plop-.
Sion put another finger-full of tuna into his mouth.
He chewed slowly, trying to feel full rather than savoring the taste.
Chewing for a long time gave a similar feeling to eating a lot.
Of course, it didn’t actually fill his stomach, but he chewed for a long time just to create that sensation.
Kyung Soo licked out even the smallest pieces of tuna from inside the can with his tongue.
Clang.
Then he tossed the can toward the left wall, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.
“Phew-.”
His cigarette smoke dispersed.
Staring absently at the burning end of the cigarette, Kyungsoo muttered as if talking to himself.
“It’s not like we can get more cigarettes here, you know.”
“……”
Sion continued eating his canned food, paying no attention.
Or rather, it was Kyung Soo who wasn’t paying attention.
He continued talking regardless of whether Sion was listening or not.
“So I take cigarettes from corpses. Damn. This isn’t some war movie. You know what I mean? War movies. Searching through piles of enemy corpses and taking their stuff… that kind of thing.”
Sion still didn’t respond.
Kyung Soo lit his second cigarette.
“But at some point… no, actually, from the beginning, I didn’t realize this was wrong. I just thought it was normal. Because without cigarettes, I couldn’t last even a minute in this place… yeah.”
Sip-, phew.
The cigarette smoke dispersed again.
Kyung Soo’s hands began to tremble.
Sion focused on his hand holding the cigarette.
At the same time, he noticed the hand hidden under his left buttock.
“You know this? Do you know what this is? Möbius. This is a brand I’ve been seeing a lot. When I was student teaching, ah, I mean in my early twenties before enlisting. Puhaha! Back then, kids were always smoking these. Behind the playground. So I wondered what was so good about them… and started smoking too, damn.”
Phew-.
“That was the beginning. Thanks to that, I’ve been a heavy smoker for 10 years now. But guess whose pocket I took this from?”
Tsk, sizzle…
Kyung Soo ground out his cigarette on the floor.
The pointless conversation continued.
By then, Sion had emptied one can of tuna and was drinking water.
He now began to look at Kyung Soo, who was rolling his third cigarette.
“Some… middle school student in uniform… That student had blood gushing from his neck, but he was still breathing. Do you know what his expression was like? It was like this. Watch carefully. Gwaeeeeek! Kuhak! Kuhak! Puhahaha! Ah, Mr. Sion should have seen that expression too!”
Kyung Soo suddenly made a grotesque face and mimicked the dying student.
It was completely contrary to the composure he had maintained until now.
From that moment, Sion sensed something was wrong and put down his can.
“Kyungsoo.”
“But you know what? Really. Do you know what I was doing then?”
At that moment, Kyung Soo’s right eye became moist.
He looked like he might burst into tears at any second.
But still, Kyung Soo wasn’t looking at Sion.
He just kept smoking cigarette after cigarette.
Sion frowned and asked again.
“Kyung Soo. What are you trying to say right now?”
“No, no! Mr. Sion. Listen to me. Please! Just hear me out. It’s the end anyway.”
“The… end?”
Sion frowned at those words.
The man before him, Kwon Kyung Soo, was extremely unstable.
His body trembled constantly, and the person who had maintained composure until now looked like he was about to burst into tears.
With a cigarette between his fingers, Kyung Soo stared blankly as if recalling something and said.
“So, what happened was… I mean… Ah. Ah…! That dying student was begging for help… and I was taking cigarettes… cigarettes from his pocket… Well, more precisely, I was rummaging around to see if there were any cigarettes. Sip- phew-. But you know what’s really terrifying? I thought this was normal…! Sip- phew-. Puhaha! But that’s not normal at all! …What’s wrong, Mr. Sion? Why… are you trembling now? Sip- phew-”
Kyung Soo exhaled cigarette smoke and turned to look at Sion.
The smoke hit Sion and dispersed.
Flinch.
Sion trembled slightly.
And Sion looked at Kyung Soo.
His eyes were bloodshot, and tears that had streamed down from both eyes were now gathering at his chin after crossing his cheekbones.
Kyung Soo showed no intention of wiping away his tears.
“But this isn’t normal, right? Right? If Mr. Sion is human!!! You know that’s not normal, don’t you?! Right?!!! Say something!!!”
“Dangerous. Step back.”
Thump!
At that moment, Jae Hee, who had been behind Sion, stepped forward and blocked Kyung Soo.
A gleaming blade was now positioned in front of Kyung Soo’s face.
The people in the theater, startled, finally began to rise from their seats one by one.
They stared at the three people.
Kyung Soo looked at the blade.
“Haa… hahaha. Oh, right. Ms. Jae Hee, you just keep… getting in the way. Can’t you just leave me alone?”
Sion secretly pulled out his gun.
And with the gun hidden behind his back, he prepared to shoot at any moment.
Only then did Kyung Soo wipe his tears with his sleeve.
“But you know… my role was only meant to go this far anyway.”
“Get up.”
Jae Hee pressed the knife against Kyung Soo’s neck and commanded.
But Kyung Soo didn’t budge.
“I am… the King of the Black Team. And my role has come to an end.”
“Then die.”
Swoosh-!
Jae Hee swung her blade.
There wasn’t a moment of hesitation.
It happened in an instant.
It was so fast that an ordinary person wouldn’t even have time to react.
But in that moment, Kyung Soo twisted his body and knocked Jae Hee down.
“?!”
Thud!
Kyung Soo toppled Jae Hee and pressed down on her chest with both legs.
Almost consumed by madness, he shouted at Jae Hee.
“You think you’re the best? No, you’re wrong!!!”
Kyung Soo glared down at Jae Hee beneath his legs, drool dripping from his mouth.
Beneath him, Jae Hee just glared back without saying a word.
She had deliberately shown an opening and allowed herself to fall.
No matter how physically weak she might be, she wouldn’t be subdued by an ordinary person.
But Jae Hee was thinking the same thing as Kyung Soo.
That her role ended here.
At this moment, Sion had to resolve this situation on his own.
He had to prove for himself whether he was worthy of winning this league.
Jae Hee wanted to confirm that.
In that moment, Sion pulled out his gun, intending to shoot Kyung Soo in one go.
But Kyung Soo was one step ahead.
Swish- Bang!!!!
Kyung Soo intercepted Sion’s arm as he tried to shoot and twisted it backward.
The bullet meant for Kyung Soo lodged into the ceiling.
There was only one bullet left.
Kyung Soo cried out in anguish.
“Mr. Sion…!!! Fuck. That’s not how you shoot a gun. Who fires a gun at such close range! Huh?! Is this a movie?!!! Everything’s been wrong from the start!!! Mr. Sion. You never served in the military, did you? I’ve been handling guns for 10 years. I could have taken your gun from you so many times by now. But why didn’t I? Don’t you want to know the answer? Huh? Huh?? Huh???”
“Kuhuk… urgh!!!”
Kyung Soo twisted Sion’s arm even further.
Sion let out a groan of pain.
Sion tried to break free from his grip, but Kyung Soo didn’t budge an inch.
The physical difference between the two men was substantial.
Kyung Soo was a former special forces soldier with a sturdy, well-built body standing over 180cm tall.
Zion Kang was just a day laborer with a thin frame, not even 170cm tall.
When the two men faced each other head-on, the outcome was obvious.
At that moment, Lee Juyeon and Se Beom rushed forward to stop him.
But in that instant, Kyung Soo held Sion captive and pointed the gun at his temple.
“Stop! Or I’ll shoot.”
At those words, the siblings stopped in their tracks.
Cold sweat formed on Se Beom’s right temple.
He absolutely couldn’t let Sion die.
Se Beom slowly addressed him.
“Don’t…”
“Why?”
“What do you want… anything.”
“What I want? Well. A lot of things.”
Kyung Soo smiled dejectedly.
Zion Kang was still cradled in his arms.
And the gun barrel was still pressed against Zion Kang’s temple.
Kyung Soo looked around at everyone and said.
“The condition for the King of the Black Team to win is to survive for 6 days inside this mall. If that happens, I win even if several other kings have survived before me. And exactly 10 minutes from now, it will be our 7th day here.”
At those words, Se Beom checked his wristwatch.
11:50.
As he said, in 10 minutes it would be the 7th day since this game began.
Kyung Soo maintained silence for a moment before continuing.
“I’ve been… thinking a bit. About whether God could forgive everything we’ve done here… that sort of thing.”
“…wait.”
Sion, still in Kyung Soo’s grasp, spoke up.
He was breathing somewhat heavily.
“In just 10 more minutes, you could have won. Why deliberately reveal your identity? It’s contradictory.”
“…”
Sion was right.
If Kyung Soo had just quietly waited out the time, he could have claimed victory.
But he didn’t do that.
He deliberately approached Sion, revealed his identity, and launched a surprise attack that might have succeeded.
This was the result.
Kyung Soo shed tears, gave a faint smile, and said:
“You’re like that till the end… haha. Yeah. Well… I’ll tell you the reason.”
That’s when it happened.
His right arm holding Sion began to tremble uncontrollably.
It was the trembling of a man gripped by fear.
Sion could feel that trembling completely.
“I told you, didn’t I? That I… don’t think I can live as myself anymore.”
He lowered the gun that had been aimed at Sion’s temple.
But the situation hadn’t changed.
The gun was still firmly gripped in his hand.
“I’ve been thinking constantly. Whether I deserve to survive. If I kill you here, all ten of you, including yourself, will die. Right?”
“K-Kyung Soo…! C-calm down!”
“P-please! Put that gun down first!”
“If Mr. Sion dies, we all die too!”
The other Survivors of the Red Team were trembling with anxiety.
But Kyung Soo addressed them.
He was smiling faintly, but tears continued to stream from his eyes.
“If I get out of here… anyway… it’ll surely just be more of the same…! And then I’ll eventually go insane…? I kept thinking about it. Whether I’m truly worthy of being the last man standing…! Huh? Mr. Sion. Do I deserve to be the last one? I told you earlier. Why I didn’t take your gun when I could have. And during the flag drawing… why I secretly went out to kill monsters… why I quickly warned you all that the Blue Team was coming… my actions were full of contradictions. But the… reason… was fucking simple. I was weighing my options. Whether you should be the one to survive here… or if it should be me!”
“…”
Sion, still in Kyung Soo’s arms, made no reply.
At that moment, Juyeon carefully backed away amid the confusion.
And picked up the crossbow.
It was a slim chance, but this was the best option available now.
Se Beom noticed Juyeon and carefully blocked Kyung Soo’s line of sight.
Juyeon loaded an arrow into the slot.
‘I have to hit the target. I must…!’
Ju Yeon silently repeated to herself.
And carefully pulled back the band.
Kyung Soo cried out to everyone through his tears.
“But… no matter how I think about it! I’m not the man who deserves to be the last one standing. Mr. Sion. You remained so calm throughout all this? Huh? Don’t tell me… you were enjoying it? This is hell. Hell. This has become hell!”
Juyeon carefully raised the crossbow.
And aimed for Kyung Soo’s head.
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
But Ju Yeon maintained her focus until the end.
This one shot.
If she missed, the Red Team was finished.
As Juyeon aimed at him, Jae Hee silently watched.
If Jae Hee wanted to, she could have ended the situation in an instant by slicing Kyung Soo’s throat.
But she didn’t.
She didn’t need to. Ultimately, Jae Hee needed to see how this situation would end.
In her previous life, Zion Kang had cleared Round 1 without her and eventually risen to the position of monarch.
If he were to die in a situation like this, it would mean that this life’s Zion wasn’t worthy of reaching the final round.
Jae Hee watched the situation unfold.
Quietly, holding her breath.
Kyung Soo continued speaking.
“So… I’m escaping from this hell. I’m… I’m getting out of here. Goodbye. Goodbye, everyone. Goodbye!!”
Whoosh-!
At that moment, Kyung Soo’s hand holding the gun was raised.
And almost simultaneously, Juyeon released the band with the arrow.
Swoosh!
The arrow flew toward Kyung Soo.
But as expected, the gun was faster.
Bang-!
A single gunshot rang out.
Soon, a notification window appeared.
[Round 1 complete.]
[The surviving team is…]
(To be continued)
