Current time: 6:00 PM.

The ostracized duo from Seogak High launched their operation.

“I’ll go in first—keep watch inside. If you can’t get in, call me.”

“You be careful.”

Wishing each other luck one last time, the two parted ways. Bi headed for the convenience store across from the church, and Roy slipped alone toward the church’s back gate. A surprisingly tall wall stood there, but it posed no obstacle to Roy.

‘This is nothing.’

Stepping back a couple of paces from the wall, Roy sprinted, pushed off the ground, and leapt up.

Poljak!

Like a nimble stray cat, he landed atop the wall. From there he could see at a glance the wide courtyard scattered with construction materials.

‘For such tight security, the back gate seems awfully lax.’

Roy dropped silently into the yard and crouched low, moving swiftly ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) toward the building. But he was baffled: he’d never seen a building without any windows... save for one large stained-glass window about five floors up.

‘So that’s why...’

At that height, ordinary people wouldn’t dare attempt it. And it wasn’t even a regular window but stained glass—no way to enter.

‘Guess I’ll have to break that and go in.’

Roy eyed the window, weighing his options. If no one was inside, it would be fine. It seemed the only way in without using the front entrance, so he decided to try. Taking a quick breath, he ran straight at the wall and pushed off.

Poljak!

Bracing his foot between two bricks, he jumped several times until his hand grazed the window frame. Sliding the tip of his shoe into a crack smaller than a centimeter, he curled his toes and hung on. His wrist trembled under the strain.

‘I have to hold on.’

He thought standing on the frame would be easier, but sunlight might silhouette him. Pressing his ear to the wall, he checked—

‘No one there,’

he confirmed. Gathering strength in his arm, he hauled himself up and set a foot on the window frame.

‘Now to smash the window... let’s see.’

He remembered a quiz show tip: the edge of the window frame was weakest. Driving his elbow into the edge, a sharp crack rang out as shards of glass tumbled down.

“...!”

Roy’s nerves made him skittish; eyes wide, he peered inside. Fortunately, it was empty. Knocking away the remaining shards, he ducked through the opening.

Poljak!

He landed lightly and placed a small rock near the broken glass. They called this the perfect crime: even if someone found the scene, the rock would distract them.

‘Good.’

Proud, he stood and dusted his hands, surveying his surroundings. He was on the stairs between the fourth and fifth floors.

‘What’s up there?’

Gripping the railing, he looked up and saw a door at the top of the stairs. A small sign on the wall read:

[Sky Garden ☞]

It must be a rooftop garden. Such features were all the rage in new buildings these days.

‘But from the outside it didn’t look like any garden area...’

Since he’d come this far, he figured he might as well check it out before retreating. Galbi would surely time her entry perfectly with service. And there was still time before the service started. Yet—what the? The entrance was blocked. A chain coiled tightly around the doorknob, secured by a large padlock.

‘Huh?’ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The lock made it more suspicious. He shook the chain, but it didn’t budge.

‘Maybe there are medicines in here?’

He was the undefeated scammer of the wasteland; nothing was impossible. A grin curved his lips at how smoothly things were going.

‘Locked? Then I’ll just break it.’

Finally, time to show some S-rank prowess. He shrugged, flexed, and grabbed the chain with both hands, yanking with all his might.

Hup!

Nothing happened.

“....”

Awkward. Lucky for him Galbi wasn’t here.

‘Right. I’m no reinforcement-type like Anna.’

Not every S-rank is good at everything—that’d be a balance break. He shrugged off his embarrassment and considered another approach. Then he remembered: at extreme heat, even steel melts.

‘Ohho?’

And who was he? The master of fire in the wasteland! After all the Blood Fiend crises, he’d grown more comfortable with flame. Melting a bit of chain should be a breeze. He didn’t need to melt the whole thing—just one link.

‘Piece of cake~’

Confirming no one was inside or below, Roy extended his hand toward the chain.

Hwaruk!

Concentrating, a small flame sprang to his fingertips.

I can ignite fire. Awesome, right?

He might sound boastful after subduing a Blood Fiend, but that victory hadn’t been by his own will—it was a fluke. Yet doing it himself felt very different. Feeling suitably S-rank, he set his hand on the thinnest link and began to melt it.

The metal glowed red as the temperature climbed. Then,

tuk—

the link snapped, and the chain clattered down. Roy caught it just before it hit the floor, carefully unraveled the tangled links, and freed the padlock.

‘Now for the doorknob...’

It was probably locked, but he twisted it anyway.

Dalgak—

Surprisingly, it opened easily.

‘Huh?’

Lucky Roy strikes again. That’s the perk of being the protagonist. But the interior looked nothing like a garden.

‘A food-storage room?’

A cold, musty air bit at his skin. Refrigerators lined both walls in an unfamiliar commercial style. Each had only two square doors, one above the other, with dated memos stuck on them. In one corner stood a long stainless-steel table on wheels—used for hauling goods, it seemed—but it gave him an uneasy feeling.

At that moment, the Sommelier’s instincts kicked in. Approaching the refrigerators, Roy flung open a door and saw something covered with a white sheet.

‘What is that? Not a fridge?’

Tilting his head in confusion, he lifted the sheet—and underneath lay a Blood Fiend.

“Eek!”

His whole body shook. The creature’s skin was darkly discolored, its fingers stiff, and between its agape lips he saw a purple tongue.

“Ugh! I’m gonna—”

Roy, no immune to gore, gagged and slammed the refrigerator door shut. Then he glanced around again. Identical machines and the cart-table. Could this be...?

‘A morgue?’

He stumbled back, his mind spinning. The row of square doors all looked like coffins—at least twenty of them.

‘I’d rather faint. No... good thing I didn’t.’

He knew these cultists were lunatics, but not to this extent. Then—

Weeeng—

A low hum of machinery vibrating from within.

‘What now?’

Roy stiffened, clenching his fist. Ready to bolt, he sensed no living presence beyond the sound. He crouched and crept toward it. Rounding the corner, he found an iron-door elevator.

[B3▲]

‘Underground levels?’

He’d never heard of a basement in this church. That meant a secret area even the congregation didn’t know about. Perhaps only this elevator accessed it, or a hidden staircase somewhere. But he couldn’t linger—the number on the panel was moving. Someone was coming up from B3.

‘I can’t run into whoever that is.’

Hurriedly exiting the morgue, Roy shut the door behind him. He draped the chain artfully as before, grasped the stair railing, and jumped down.

Poljak!

In seconds he was on the first floor. Racing down the hallway, he made for the restroom. Thankfully, the first floor was empty.

Beep-beep-beep—

His hands trembled as he punched the code into the storeroom’s door lock. Why was it so loud?

‘Got it!’

As the door finally swung open, Roy slipped inside and bolted it.

Clack—

Only then did he exhale. He felt like he might die of heart failure. And the image from the fifth floor still haunted him. Massaging his temples, he steadied himself.

‘I need to steel my resolve.’

Why had he come this far? To protect Hojin and prevent any more victims.

‘This is just a story world, and everyone except Shooting Star is just a passing side character.’

With his mind focused, Roy finally took in the storeroom. It was ordinary enough—no crucial items left behind here. Still, he rifled through boxes just in case when—

“Eh?”

He spotted a very suspicious box in the corner.

‘...Power Ping?’