BANG!
I felt little as my hand smacked against his face, the flesh rippling as a result of my action.
I’d normally have felt joy in such action.
I had dreamed of this for days on end. When it finally happened, I felt nothing. Just a simple emptiness that I couldn’t get rid of.
BANG! BANG—!
Myles didn’t even react as I punched down.
I saw the surprise on his face in the dim light. He tried to struggle, but it was too late. I was mounted over him, punching down as hard as I could. My knuckles stung, and warmth spread across my palms. I moved to strike again, but someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back, pulling me off him.
"What’s going on? What has gotten into you?"
"Squad Leader!"
I tried to punch more, but I was stopped before I could do so.
In the end, I stopped moving once I felt Min’s strong hands pressing onto my forearms. I knew that the struggle would be futile.
That was also when I turned to look at my team.
They were all staring at me with a mixture of different expressions. I calmly took in their gazes before speaking.
"Why did you all stop me?"
"That’s because you were punching him. He’s on our side..."
I sighed and shook my head.
"You should all know better. I don’t do things randomly. If I do something, there’s a reason behind it. Stopping me could very well have ruined the entire situation."
The room turned silent right after that.
Nobody spoke, though the silence said enough. They knew I was right, even if they couldn’t accept the way I acted. I could see why they’d stopped me. Myles wasn’t an anomaly, nor was he currently brainwashed. He was sane, painfully sane, and they could all tell.
That was probably why my actions appeared confusing to them.
"It’s... alright."
A certain voice shattered the silence.
With all heads turning in the direction of the voice, Myles slowly sat up, pressing his hand against his cheek. A dimple appeared right after.
"I’m fine. I... am just... a little surprised. I’m sure he also didn’t do it on purpose. He most likely got spooked by me. I also got a little spooked. You’re the same, right?"
Myles turned his eyes on me.
He was giving me a way out. Of course, I knew that it wasn’t going to be this simple. I understood Myles with every fiber of my being and knew that he was planning something. In fact, it was clear that he was enjoying this situation.
From his expression, it almost felt as though this was something that he clearly wanted from the start.
That’s why—
"No."
I shook my head, keeping my gaze fixed on Myles.
"...I wasn’t spooked by you."
I reached for my glasses and slowly pulled them out. The moment they were off, the biting cold faded, replaced by a subtle warmth. The dim candlelight sharpened, and the room came into clearer focus.
The feeling of being watched vanished as well.
It was also in that moment that the strange isignia on the floor vanished.
It didn’t surprise me. I bent down, letting my finger glide over the wooden floor, tracing its surface before stopping.
"What are you doing?"
I ignored the question that was directed at me before moving forward to reach for one of the candles on the floor.
Then—
I spilled the candle onto the floor.
"....!?"
"Are you crazy? Are you—Shit!"
Swooosh!
A large fire raged on.
Everyone’s faces changed, but I stayed still, watching the fire die down. It didn’t take long for the fire to completely die down. Just several minutes, as the wooden floor charred, revealing the insignia for all to see.
It was a unique symbol with all sorts of lines, loops, and angular shapes arranged in a compact pattern. It was hard to make out what it was.
And yet, staring at it, for some reason, it felt familiar.
Where had I seen it before...?
"Huh...?"
"Wait... wait, what is this?"
Seeing the confused looks on everyone, I pointed at the insignia before looking at Myles.
"This is why I attacked you. Not because I hold anything against you, but because your body was about to be taken over."
It wasn’t a lie. When I saw Myles standing above the insignia, it flared with a faint light. Something dark and sinister crawled up from the charred wooden floor moments later, writhing as it reached toward him.
Although I didn’t hold good feelings for Myles, I wasn’t going to let him get possessed.
That would make him even more troublesome.
"...I don’t know if I managed to shake you out of it." I turned toward the group and nudged toward Myles. "For now, keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything... strange."
I didn’t punch him because he was being taken over. I punched him exactly because I wanted a good reason for the others to keep an eye on him. I could tell from the sunglasses that he wasn’t possessed.
However, I couldn’t trust him at all.
Given the situation with the team, this was the easiest way to make them watch him and stop anything out of the ordinary. The fact that he was here, separated from his group and standing right in front of me, was concerning in itself.
’I’ll need to check up with Kyle later. I’m sure this isn’t a coincidence. Not when it involves him. There’s nothing about this person that I can trust.’
Focusing my attention back to Myles, I watched as he stared at me in the silence. For a brief moment, I felt a chilling coldness coming from his eyes. Enough to make me pause. However, such a gaze was quickly replaced by a pair of dimples as he raised both of his hands.
"You got me."
So he said, albeit the meaning of his words felt different for me compared to the others.
"I won’t move. You can have everyone keep an eye on me. I’m just extremely grateful that you saved me. I would’ve been in trouble if not for you."
I grunted and turned my attention away from him. A hesitant voice came from behind me, but I ignored it.
"S-squad Leader..."
I was in a state of hyper efficiency. I didn’t know how long it would last, and as such, I needed to make the best out of my current situation.
"Wait, Squad Leader, I—"
"Stop. Let him be. It’s clear that he doesn’t want anything to do with us at the moment."
I tuned out the conversation around me.
The first thing I did was turn toward the bookshelf in the corner. There weren’t many books left. Several were burned, barely holding together, and just barely enough to still be called a book.
I looked through all of them, hoping to find something.
’I’m on the ’eighth’ floor. The key to solving the scenario is here. I just need to find it.’
I knew it had something to do with the insignia on the ground. But I didn’t know anything about it, and it was too faded to see clearly. The answer had to be in one of the books. It had to be—
"Hm."
My hand suddenly paused on a certain book.
The moment I touched it, my whole body went cold. The voices from before returned, louder this time, scraping at my mind. A chill ran down my spine, though I couldn’t feel anything. My hands began to tingle, and I glanced back.
All I saw were the gazes of everyone around me. My lips parted instinctively, then I shut them tight as the chill in the room deepened.
Then—
I froze at the mirror. My reflection shifted, almost imperceptibly at first, until my lips stretched unnaturally, curling toward the edges of my eyes. My breathing stopped. And just when I thought it couldn’t get worse...
Fwap!
The book slammed open on its own, making my heart leap into my throat.
An empty page stared back.
No, not quite.
One mumber.
[71]
That was all the page said.
One number.