19. Overconfidence
We arrived at the new station. Just like the last one, it was crowded with people hiding from the poisonous fog outside. The atmosphere was tense. People stared in disbelief when they saw us emerging from the railway tracks. Apparently, someone had tried the same thing earlier... but even after a few hours, they still hadn't come back.
"Alright, just like we planned—I'll head up and try to scavenge some food," I said.
It had been hours since the scenario flipped the world upside down. Still, no matter how drastic the changes, humans always found a way to adapt. Hunger eventually trumped fear. After the initial panic wore off, people began realizing they needed to eat. And that meant risking the surface.
We didn't know how long we'd be stuck underground, so we needed to stock up on supplies. That's why we decided I'd be the one to go above ground to find rations—enough to last us a few days.
"Are you sure it's safe?" NaRi asked, still clearly uneasy. She sounded guilty for relying on me, but she couldn't exactly leave her siblings alone either.
"Yes. I told you, didn't I? I'm faster than you think," I replied casually. "Besides, my stigma lets me handle poison, so I've got an edge up there."
Bullshit, of course. But I had to sound confident.
'Constellation "Demon-like Judge of Fire" expresses her dissatisfaction with being used for all your excuses.'
...Well, at least she hadn't thrown her judgement yet.
Ever since that time, it seemed like my sponsor suddenly had her eyes on me. I didn't know why it only started now—she became my sponsor even earlier than that. But for some reason, just recently, she began sending me messages like this.
After managing to convince NaRi, I was just about to head to the surface when a group of people approached us.
"We heard you came from the railway tunnel. Is that true?" a woman in her thirties asked as she stepped forward. She was clearly the one leading the group. Judging by how the others stood behind her and deferred to her, they'd already established some kind of hierarchy at this station—or maybe she simply had that kind of charisma.
Those who used to lead people were different from the rest. She might have been some kind of big company leader, judging by her high-spec outfit. The world wasn't stable enough anymore for people to bother dressing themselves up, after all.
I turned to NaRi, curious about what she was going to do—but instead, I found her already looking at me, waiting for my decision.
I gave her a small nod, and she returned it with one of her own.
"That's right," I answered truthfully, then added a warning. "But you guys should be careful. We were ambushed by some kind of giant rat-like monster on the way. If you can't imagine what that looks like, just follow the path we took—you'll find the corpses. But I can't guarantee there aren't more of them roaming around, so proceed at your own risk."
'Constellation "Demon-like Judge of Fire" is glad to see your kindness.'
...
Wait a second—aren't you supposed to be a demon? Why are you happy about me being kind? Shouldn't you be cheering me on for setting things on fire or something?
"I see. Thank you for letting us know," the woman said, giving me a slight bow.
That actually caught me off guard. Not gonna lie. I mean, sure—I'm older than NaRi, but I'm still just a kid compared to most of the people here. She probably has her pride, too. So for her to bow to someone younger like me—and in front of her subordinates, no less…
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to eavesdrop, but we overheard your conversation earlier. Are you planning to go outside?" Her question made NaRi tense up, wary of their intentions. It wasn't just about someone overhearing—it was the implications of what they might want. The competent leader seemed to pick up on our discomfort and responded smoothly. "I take it you were able to reach the underground early," she guessed. "As a way of thanking you for the information, let me share what we know. Actually, it's not just the poisonous fog outside. There are also insect-like monsters crawling around up there. Some of us didn't make it because of them."
"I got it, thank you," I replied, my plans unchanged.
"Oppa?" NaRi looked at me, clearly affected by my words. I placed my hand on her head to calm her down. "Just trust me, okay?" I leaned in closer.
"!?" She froze at my sudden action, a slight hint of redness creeping onto her face. I felt guilty for making her flustered like that, but it might have been necessary to prevent worse things from happening. "Also, keep an eye on the two of you. They might change their stance at any moment. If I'm not back in two hours, try to hide in the tunnel we came from." I whispered, making it look like I was showering affection on her in front of everyone else. "I'm just going out for a bit, don't miss your boyfriend too much."
"~~?!!" This time, she looked completely flustered, her face flushed a deep red, enough to fool anyone who might be watching. I couldn't help but think that she was a pro at acting.
I turned my attention back to the woman and her group. "I'm Bin Soojin. Apologies for the late introduction," the woman said, offering a small bow.
"You can call me Chris," I replied.
"Chris?" It seemed my name sounded strange to her.
"Yes, I'm just a tourist who happened to be here," I said, offering the simplest explanation I could muster.
"Chris, do you have a sponsor?" She asked, her tone surprisingly direct—and the question came out of nowhere.
"If you're asking about that, then I assume you have one too?" I countered, wary of the sensitive nature of the question.
What is she trying to achieve?
"Yes, you're correct," she replied honestly, then quickly added, "Chris, is it possible to bring some of us with you?" Her request made it clear—she was trying to exploit our prowess.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible," I said, shaking my head firmly. "I can run very fast, and it'd be difficult for me to escape if I had others with me."
"We also have someone who's capable of running fast. We'll protect your comrades too," Bin SooJin pressed. Her voice was soothing and calm, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was trying to imply my allies were already under her control.
"Thanks for the concern, but it's fine," I said, flashing a bright smile. "I run fast, so I'll be back in no time. Don't worry, I won't miss a thing." My smile widened, but the unspoken message was clear: Try me — and you'll find out what I'm capable of.
"Then, take care," I said one last time before turning and heading outside.
As expected, the poisonous fog still lingered above ground, showing no signs of dissipating anytime soon.
'You're exposed to poisonous gas.'
I took a deep breath, fully expecting the result. As anticipated, the gas had no effect on me — or at least, very little. I could create poison myself, after all. It seemed almost impossible for me to be poisoned... unless it was something truly exceptional.
With one of my concerns laid to rest, I began surveying the station. Normally, there would be a convenience store or supermarket nearby, but since I wasn't familiar with this area, I'd have to check each place one by one. Still, it shouldn't take long to find what I needed.
And I found it.
It growled at me, clearly ready to make me its prey.
Yes—a mantis, three times my size—was the creature I'd stumbled upon. I knew I couldn't avoid the fight unless I gave up gathering the food behind it. So, I charged forward, relying on my speed to dodge its scythe.
Or so I thought.
I had underestimated this world, misled by the presence of seemingly ordinary humans. I barely dodged its scythe—it was far faster than I'd anticipated. One mistake, and I would've been cut in half. No, this wasn't skill—it was luck. I'd made more mistakes than I cared to admit. Somehow, I managed to break away with only a shallow cut across my belly.
I thought I was being careful. But clearly, I wasn't.
What did I know about this monster? Nothing.
Just because it looked like a mantis didn't mean it moved like one—not that I knew anything about real mantises either.
What did I know about the surrounding terrain? Also nothing.
I steadied my breath, forced my pounding heartbeat to slow, and tried to widen my narrowed vision. Running was still an option—but I wasn't out of options yet. Still, not every battle is escapable. Thankfully, I still had some room to maneuver in this one.
I released my threads—the cutting kind—trying to slice through its legs and scythe like I had done before. It was another failure.
Well, a half-failure, if I wanted to bargain with myself.
Its skin was far tougher than the humans I'd cut before. I couldn't sever its limbs, but I managed a shallow cut—just deep enough for my paralytic poison to seep into the wound.
Unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough to hold it in place. The mantis yanked me along with my thread, and if I had released it a moment too late, its scythe would've impaled me.
Instead, I was hurled into a nearby wall, and the impact knocked the rest of the air from my lungs.
Dazed, I stood up on shaky legs, watching as the mantis approached again.
I redirected my thread, looping it around one of its scythe limbs from behind. This time, I held the other end tightly—if I wanted to cut it, I'd have to pull, not push.
I didn't know if the mantis understood what I'd done, but it tried to swing its scythe at me again. Of course, if I let that happen, it would slip free from my thread, and I wouldn't be able to chop it down.
I didn't realize it at the time, but if someone had seen me in that moment, they would've been disturbed by my eyes—one of my pupils had split into four within my iris.
I pushed forward with my Evil Eye, applying pressure as I simultaneously pulled on the cutting thread. I anchored one end, yanked the other—slicing through like a taut wire through flesh.
Kshaaaa!
A shriek—the horn of success.
The mantis screamed, whether in pain or rage, I wasn't sure. But it worked. One of its main weapons was gone.
After that, dodging became easier. With more and more leeway, I began slicing through its limbs one by one—
until the mantis slowed...
and finally, stopped moving altogether.
I didn't know if the poison was what killed it. After all, the area was already filled with poisonous fog—maybe it was immune, like me.
But it didn't matter.
I won.
I killed it.
It was just a mindless beast, driven by instinct.
As I looked down at its corpse, I couldn't help but reflect on the drawbacks of relying solely on thread-based techniques. Moving around in this strange "scenario" wasn't ideal. My trap-oriented fighting style had limitations, especially in a head-on confrontation.
I'd fought it from the front instead of luring it—something I'd need to reconsider.
'Constellation "Demon-like Judge of Fire" applauds your bravery.'
…
I wanted to collapse and rest, but that wasn't an option.
There were still too many unknown threats nearby.
And too many lessons to process from that fight.
I steadied my breath, pulled one of the severed scythes from the mantis, and left the site.
Du du du dunn!
A handmade weapon.
Of course, I'd grab some actual knives later as secondary weapons, but this…
There was something about the mantis's scythe. I didn't know why, but the moment I saw it, I felt drawn to it—as if something inside me was calling for it.
After collecting what I could, I packed as much food as I could carry and headed back.