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By the time he came to, he realized he was being flung back through the air, looking down to see he was set to plummet right down into the sea of black-furred vermin.

The others–? He thought.

There was no use in wondering about that; he could hardly see it, but he realized the weight of the blow had likely blown them all back, separating him from the rest as he was the only one on the south side of the impact.

"Ngh…!"

As he readied himself, holding the feverish young man in his arms, who was still unconscious in this frightening moment, he flipped himself around to take control of his momentum for a safe landing–

The moment the soles of his boots touched the asphalt, the grotesque vermin, endless in their numbers, all set their beady, ravenous eyes on him as he moved instantaneously with a series of [Blink Steps].

There was no option of cleaving through the rodents as his hands were taken up by holding Xiaodan, but even if his hands were free, there would be no use in trying to sweep a path through the sea of vermin.

He vanished into the alleyway, using the quick nature of his instantaneous steps to hopefully lose the plague\'s focus as he slammed his shoulder against the grimy, metal door, flinging it open before slamming it back shut by pressing his back against it.

"...Huff…"

The skin-crawling orchestra of intertwined, countless squeaks from the vermin filled his ears, listening to the sounds of their march fill through the alleyway as he was forced to act quickly.

"Come on, Xiaodan, wake up…" He muttered.

The establishment he entered seemed to be the storage room of some sort of restaurant. He set the unconscious young man down before looking for anything he could to barricade the door.

"Come on…Come on…" He mumbled to himself frantically.

First, he started to move the metal rack that held a variety of spoiled meats on it, swiftly hauling it over and using it to block the door.

But, he knew that wasn\'t enough.

Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.

"--!"

He rushed out of the storage room into the main dining center of the restaurant, seeing that the vermin were already diverting their numbers in trying to break through an alternate entrance.

Frantically, he swept his gaze around, looking for anything to barricade the front door–leaving him with the unorthodox choice of ripping out one of the booths entirely.

"Rrghh…!"

He clenched his teeth, summoning his supernatural strength as he picked up the large, red seat meant for an entire group, slamming it down in front of the door just as the weight of the vermin swarm began pressing against it.

"--"

As he stopped and gathered his breath, granting himself a reprieve perhaps just that minuscule, he felt little hope coursing through his veins.

He couldn\'t even see outside any longer; against the windows, the black swarm pressed against each side of the building, skittering and squeaking relentlessly.

"...Shit…"

Walking tiredly back to the storage room, he slumped down against the wall, sitting beside the unconscious companion of his as he quietly breathed.

It was already flooding through him; a cold feeling that made his fingertips uneasy and his breaths feel inconsequential.

This feeling was the inevitability of his own death.

"...How the hell did it get to this?" He quietly asked himself.

Against the sealed doors and the walls alike, the sound of the vermin trying to break through was all that he heard, except for the uneven breaths of his sick companion by his side.

There was simply nothing that could be done now but to sit and wait, praying that by some miracle, perhaps the vermin swarm would lose interest.

Vrrrrm.

He could still hear the deep hums of the Tarnished Colossals that walked the streets as their immense steps sent vibrations through the floor he sat on.

Tell me…What should I do? He thought.

Sitting there with the constant scratching against the walls flooding his ears, some time passed as he simply watched the walls, keeping his hands by his daggers and ready.

"Hkk…"

He jumped a bit as the unconscious, sickly one beside him began coughing up.

"Xiaodan…!"

It wasn\'t just a simple cough; each visceral hack caused black fluid to spew out from Xiaodan\'s mouth.

What\'s going on…? He thought.

Sitting on his knees beside the infected companion of his, he grabbed Xiaodan by the shoulders, shaking him lightly to try and wake him.

"Hey…! Xiaodan! You\'ve got to get up!" He called out.

"Hkk…"

Xiaodan continued coughing before beginning to hack up more of the black fluid, beginning to choke on the substance.

He acted quickly, though panicking somewhat, he rolled the young man onto his side, but it hardly seemed to help as Xiaodan continued hacking up the abyssal substance from his mouth.

It leaked from the sickly adolescent\'s lips, beginning to trail down from his nose and leave his ears as well.

What\'s going on…? What should I do? Somebody, please–help, he pleaded in his mind.

"Xiaodan…!"

His mind was racing; seeing the amount of black fluid that he could only guess was blood seeping out from the young man\'s pores.

"...Xiaodan…"

Helpless, unknowing of what to do, he could only sit there and watch as his friend coughed and shivered.

Why…is the world like this? Was humanity so bad that we deserve something like this? What did I ever do? What did he do? Kamou, Myung-Hee, the siblings…they were good people. Dae-Seong, Binna…It\'s not fair, he thought.

In the face of the insurmountable plague, and the very bearers of the abhorrent infliction scratching at the walls around him, he slumped down.

"You\'re pretty pathetic, aren\'t you?"

–A raspy voice spoke to him, pouring into his ear as he looked up tiredly to see a figure crouched down in front of him.

With how defeated his heart felt in the face of inevitable death, he tried to move his arms to strike the enigmatic figure, but stopped himself from doing so.

"Well, I can\'t blame you. Humans are pretty pathetic all-around."

The figure that spoke to him had lifeless, tainted skin that was covered with blistered, sores, and scratches as flies encircled their repugnant form. They were lanky, malnourished-seeming, but hunched-over with their spine pressing against their back.

"--"

"Don\'t you have anything to say? I\'m a terrible demon, you know? At the very least, you should try attacking me," the malnourished figure pointed to his neck.

"--"

It was clear that the decrepit figure that had appeared from seemingly nowhere, appearing in front of him at his lowest, wasn\'t human, but they also looked very human for a demon.

"If you just sit here, my plague is going to consume you, you know? I don\'t mind, but at least put up a flashy last stand. It\'s boring otherwise," the pale-haired man said, scratching his own neck as his uneven fingernails dug into his putrid flesh.

When looking at the figure, the System didn\'t register them as an enemy, but rather simply as the entity they were.

[Identified: "Pestilence" | Level 90]

Ah…He must…be too strong to even be considered an "enemy"...He thought tiredly with his foggy mind.

"You haven\'t been infected yet, but you\'ve already given up. Man, talk about pathetic. Look at your friend here," Pestilence pointed to Xiaodan, who continuously coughed up blood, "...They\'re experiencing a painful death, you know? What\'s your excuse? You\'re just a coward, aren\'t you? Is that it?"

While asking him questions in his raspy, berating voice, Pestilence grabbed him by his hair, forcing him to match his gaze.

…Why is he bothering me? He questioned.

Finally, his arm moved on its own, and swiftly at that, aiming to sever the wrist of the hand that was holding his hair.

CHNK.

"--"

It was as if the edge of his dagger had slammed against unmoving steel. He struggled, trying to push the sharp side of his blade through the grotesque wrist of the malnourished, tall figure, but nothing happened.

Pestilence laughed with a small, rotten smile, "Did I upset you? That\'s good, that\'s good. I\'ve been killing a lot, you know? It gets boring just watching my plague overwhelm humans to the point that they just let it happen."

"--"

"Don\'t you have \'human spirit\', or something? C\'mon. Go out there and fight," Pestilence goaded him, "You might have a chance."

"--"

"If you make it out, I might cure that boy," Pestilence offered with a twisted grin, pressing his fingernail against Xiaodan\'s cheek.

Such an offer brought him to as he dragged himself from his helpless haze, looking at the mysterious entity straight into his split, orange irises.

Pestilence chortled, "There is some fire left in the tank, isn\'t there? It\'s a kind offer, isn\'t it? I\'m really being nice here. So, grow some balls and save your friend here."

While goading him with the odd deal, the malnourished entity continued jabbing his sharp, uneven fingernail against the cheek of the sickly adolescent.

"...Stop…"

"Huh? Are you going to do it or not?" Pestilence squinted with one eye at him.

Now, the grotesque humanoid pinched the cheek of the feverish Xiaodan, squeezing it hard enough to draw blood.

"Stop…!"

"Then take your friend and make a run for it," Pestilence told him with a smile, showing his yellow-stained teeth, "C\'mon. Save him. You can do it, can\'t you? If you don\'t, his death is on you."

Just as he opened his lips to accept the malicious entity\'s offer, he was stopped as his System spoke to him:

[Jeong-Hui.]

"--"

[Don\'t listen to him. He\'s trying to bait you into going outside. Don\'t listen to him. That one isn\'t to be trusted–any deal he offers is as flimsy as straw.]