18th Death - Rage

"No, no, no!!!" Amelie screamed, her voice frantic as she struggled against Marcel's iron grip, every inch of her resisting. Tears welled in her eyes, and her heart raced with the realization of what had just happened. She kicked, clawed at Marcel's arms, but his hold on her waist was unwavering. His strength easily overpowered her, lifting her slightly off the ground as he hurried toward the emergency hatch at the opposite end of the 9th floor.

"JIHO!! JIHO IS STILL OVER THERE!!" Her voice cracked. The distant growls of the horde filled the stairwell, the wet sounds of undead feasting echoing faintly. Jiho's shocked expression flashed in her mind—his wide, disbelieving eyes as Marcel had shoved him straight into the mass of zombies.

"We need to go back!" Her breath came in ragged gasps, her struggles growing weaker as her voice lost coherence. "LET ME GO!! LET ME GO!!" She beat her fists against Marcel's back, but he pressed on, his face a mask of grim determination.

At last, they reached the emergency hatch near the window at the end of the hallway. Marcel's heart pounded as he looked at the cold metal handle.

'I knew this hatch existed… It was one of the first things I checked when I brought my lady here, over a week ago. The blueprints… they marked this spot… But to think it was a garbage chute!'

Amelie thrashed again, but her strength was failing. "Stop it! You can't do this!" she screamed, her voice breaking. 'Jiho... we left him. How could we?!!' The thought ripped through her mind as she struggled to process what Marcel was doing—how he could be so heartless.

Marcel turned, his face pale but resolute. He grabbed her again, "Forgive me, my lady," he muttered as he lifted the hatch using his injured arm, wincing at the pain.

Her protests turned into panicked sobs as he forcefully dragged her toward the opening. "No, no, no!!!" Her screams echoed down the narrow metal shaft as Marcel shoved her inside.

'This might be a garbage chute... but I know it can be used as an emergency exit in extreme cases—fires and the like. It's not meant for human travel, but... this is an emergency!' Marcel's thoughts raced as he hurled himself in after her.

The cold metal walls of the chute scraped harshly against Marcel's sides as they plummeted down, the narrow passage twisting painfully with each jarring turn. Marcel curled his body tightly around Amelie, shielding her from the sharp edges and brutal impacts. Every collision sent shockwaves of pain through him, but he grit his teeth, determined to keep her safe no matter the cost.

"Mar... Cel..." Amelie murmured, her voice faint, as she felt the violent tremors coursing through his body—each hit he absorbed on her behalf.

They hit the ground with a hard, bone-jarring thud, landing amidst the foul stench of garbage that filled the dimly lit basement. Marcel groaned, his body aching, but his arms remained wrapped protectively around Amelie. Above them, the hatch slammed shut with a deafening clang, sealing them in with no chance of turning back.

Marcel gasped for breath, his chest rising and falling heavily as Amelie scrambled toward him, her hands trembling, ignoring the filth and grime that clung to her.

"Marcel! MARCEL! Are... are you alright?" Her voice cracked with fear as she hovered over him, her eyes wide with panic.

"Yes, my lady... Do not trouble yourself," he murmured, struggling to sit up, his movements slow and deliberate as he gathered his strength.

Amelie's tear-streaked face hovered above his, her hands shakily examining him for injuries. When she was satisfied he wasn't mortally wounded, she stumbled to her feet. Her fists clenched tightly, trembling as the weight of what had just happened bore down on her.

"How could you, Marcel...? How could you leave him?" Her voice was raw, breaking under the strain. "Jiho... he saved... He saved us! He saved YOU!!" Her legs threatened to give out, but Marcel caught her, his expression carefully controlled, even as the guilt gnawed at him from within.

"I know," Marcel whispered, his voice taut with restraint. "But I did what I had to... for you."

Amelie shook her head, unable to comprehend. "Jiho wasn't just a sacrifice," she sobbed, her voice trembling with anger and grief.

Marcel knelt beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder, his voice soft but resolute. "You may hate me for this, my lady. But I will bear that burden. All of it... as long as you are safe."

Her sobs intensified, but she leaned into him, her trembling frame pressing against his chest as he whispered, "Remember... we will honor Jiho's bravery. His family will know of the brilliant son they raised."

Amelie's sobs intensified, her lips pressed tightly together as Marcel's words settled over her like a heavy shroud.

She looked up at him through tear-blurred eyes, forcing herself to nod, clinging to the fragile thread of hope in his words. "Yeah... WE WILL. WE WILL!" Her sobs echoed against the cold, damp walls.

Marcel watched her, his gaze distant.

'... It is deeply frustrating,' he mused, 'Oh, how old I've become. I cannot read people the way I once did, not as I should have. This generation is more cunning, and I've grown slow, weighed down by time...'

His eyes darkened as he thought of Jiho, his heart conflicted. 'Monsieur Jiho... If you were truly our enemy, it was the right choice. But if you were an innocent boy, a mere victim of my incompetence, then it is my fault... entirely my fault. I pushed you because of my fear, my uncertainty... If I was wrong, we will honor your family. I swear upon my name, they will be safe. I will see to that.'

Marcel lowered his head slightly,

"Now... my lady. Let us climb to the lobby from here... and leave." Marcel murmured, his voice gentle yet firm as he supported her trembling frame. He stifled a wince, silently enduring the searing pain from his injured arm and the bruises he accumulated all over his body from the fall, refusing to show any sign of weakness. His focus remained on Amelie, on keeping her safe—even if it meant concealing his own suffering.

==== BACK ON THE 9TH FLOOR ==========

His throat was torn open, a savage bite ripping through flesh and cartilage. Blood gushed out in thick streams, drenching the horde around him as they clawed and bit at his exposed body.

His guts spilled onto the ground, eagerly snatched up by the ravenous zombies surrounding him, each shred of flesh torn away with ruthless efficiency.

[Your condition is critical!]

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE YOUR RAGE MODE!!?]

The words blinked before his eyes, floating in his diminishing vision as his mind began to fade.

'I thought... you needed me to accept you for this system to work...' Jiho's thoughts sluggishly formed, slipping away into the darkness.

[You can't accept me if you're dead.]

'Hah... so you've been reading my mind all along?'

[Didn't want to spook you, Boyo. I needed you cooperative, and impressionable still.]

His body convulsed as more teeth sank into his flesh. His face was chewed, bones cracking under the pressure, his limbs broken, but still covered in torn clothing that clung to his ruined body.

'So... you haven't given up on me? 'The thought barely flickered, a wisp of awareness in the blackness.

[Honestly? I wanted to. You stubborn prick.]

'Pshe... roundabout answer...' Jiho's vision darkened, his mind slipping further into oblivion.

... Activate... this Rage Mode... of yours... he thought, the final trace of his consciousness slipping into the void.

Images flashed.

The horde was blown back, like an explosion emanating from his body. Jiho stood, towering over the undead, their bodies flung like ragdolls, catching fire as they hurtled through the air.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed, primal and full of fury, tearing through the air.

Blackness.

Then, a vivid image—Jiho, his hands wrapped around a zombie's spine, tearing it from its body with savage force. The bones snapped like brittle twigs, the creature collapsing into a heap of gore.

[ZOMBIFICATION: 67% (ACTIVE!)]

Blackness.

A runner zombie charged at him, its speed unnatural, its hunger insatiable. Jiho's hands shot out, crushing its skull between them like a vice, the zombie's brains splattering across his face, the walls, and the horde behind him.

Blackness.

A heavy punch struck his face—a zombie with brute strength. Jiho barely flinched, the hit like a gust of wind to him. In a fluid motion, he mimicked the strike, driving his fist straight through the zombie's skull. The creature fell, its head now a gaping crater, slumping lifelessly to the ground.

[ZOMBIFICATION: 31% (ACTIVE!)]

Blackness.

More zombies came—runners, swingers, larger ones with bulging muscles—but they all fell, one after the other. Some were torn apart in a blur, others crushed beneath his feet, their bones snapping like twigs as Jiho stood over their bodies, unrelenting.

[ZOMBIFICATION: 1% (ACTIVE!)]

Blackness.

Once more, he was back at the rooftop. 

This time, he was watching her leave, with Daniel waiting for her on the other side. It was after the confession.

The environment then shifted. He was back at the classroom, slapped and berated by Daniel over something he never did.

Say, Eunhee, Daniel.

Why did you say that the way you did? Why, in those moments, did you act as if we hadn't known each other for the past 10 years?

Jiho returned to the present, staring ahead blankly, his body covered in dark, congealed blood. His clothes hung in tattered pieces, barely clinging to his form, as he stood on the stairwell landing. Surrounding him were piles of zombie corpses, their twisted, broken bodies strewn across the floor, testament to the carnage that had unfolded.

Slowly, Jiho lifted his gaze toward the top of the stairwell, where Marcel and Amelie had stood only moments before—right before Marcel had shoved him.

Were you really no different than two strangers at the top of these stairs? 

[ZOMBIFICATION: 0%]

Jiho exhaled deeply, stepping onto the fallen bodies, the sound of crunching bones and flesh barely registering in his mind. He no longer flinched, no longer avoided their mangled remains, as he began his slow, deliberate ascent up the staircase.

'Why am I even going up the stairs, when I could just leave—keep going down and be done with this place?' he thought as he continued his slow ascent, each step feeling heavier than the last. 'After all... There's nothing left for me up there.'

As Jiho moved, his mind drifted back to Amelie—her face burned into his memory, filled with sadness and distress as she watched him fall.

'Why couldn't you look at me like that, Eunhee?' he wondered, nearing the final stretch of the climb. His thoughts drifted back to her gaze in class—the disappointment written all over her face. His brows furrowed. 'Did you really believe I was capable of manipulating you? That I could do something like this?'

'Did you just trust Daniel that much, then?'

'Or maybe...' Jiho's steps slowed. 'Maybe I really am the manipulator Daniel said I was. Maybe that's who I've always been, and you knew it. Maybe that's why you believed him so easily instead of just talking to me, like we always did when something bad happened.'

'Well... You and Daniel knew me better than anyone. So who am I to say you were wrong for thinking that...?'

'For believing that,'

He reached the end of the stairwell and tumbled his way into the apartment Amelie had opened earlier to bring the bandage. He removed his school clothes and entered the nearby shower, turning it on; letting ice-cold water wash off all of his blood.

'... I guess this is just who I am.'

'A bad person. A manipulator.' He thought as he opened his eyes, looking up at the shower head; as the black blood flowed down into the shower drain from his body.

"You finally start to get it, Jiho." Daniel murmured as he leaned on the wall nearby. "It's time you face reality."

'... Yeah.' He thought as he took a deep breath, looking down as he took a nearby towel and dried himself.

'Then, if I find that girl; I'll do what I'm supposed to do,' He thought as he dried his body and hair.

'... Kill that butler discreetly, and have her for myself.' He decided as he looked at his reflection, noticing his muscles, and chiseled abdomen.

'I guess I got this body from that system, right? Well, she won't be sad for long being with someone who has a body like mine, that's for sure. She doesn't understand Korean, but that's hardly matters when you look like the current me. And... This bathroom's kinda small... I'm taller too? Nice,'

He let out a forced chuckle as he walked out of the shower, the apartment was cold, damp and dark. He walked to one of the rooms, and picked up a pair of jeans that surprisingly fit, and a slightly oversized black shirt, coupled with fitting shoes and socks.

He steadied himself as he turned to the apartment's exit. Just before he left, something caught his eye— a red blood mark on his palm.

'... Missed a spot,' he thought, narrowing his gaze as he stared at it. He lifted his fingernail to scratch it away, but the mark remained, stubbornly clinging to his skin.

He paused, feeling a strange tug in his chest, like something familiar, something comforting... But he shook it off. It doesn't matter.

"Jiho," came a calm, familiar voice—his mother's voice.

He froze.

"Promise mommy you'll try your best, okay?"

He took a deep breath, but his expression remained blank, his eyes staring into the empty, cold apartment. The blood mark refused to fade, a silent reminder. He tried again to scratch it off, harder this time. It wouldn't budge.

'Try what, Mom? Not be who I truly am?' he thought, his jaw tightening. He responded as he looked down, seeing his deceased dog bloodied visage beneath him, whimpering and wheezing.

'Both you and father knew who I am. That... That I'm just a bad son, a bad person in my heart. Ny problem?' He then raised his foot, aiming it on the visage's head.

'I actually trusted that I was anything more than that. I'm... I'm sorry.' He thought as he stomped on the image's head, crushing its skull.

'I'm not the son you think I am... No...' He then recalled her terrified expression as she looked at him as he wielded the hammer above the whimpering, pained dog the day his father left.

'... I am exactly the son you feared I was.' He thought as he raised his gaze, the visages both disappear as he stepped out of the apartment, glancing one more time on the persistent blood-mark on his palm that he failed to cleanse away.

'... I'll remove it later.' 

==== ELSEWHERE ====

The tall, black-haired Jang Seung-Jae paused as he reached the 5th floor, his sharp ears catching a faint noise from the garbage chute.

"Someone went down the chute, huh?" He sneered, his lips curling into a twisted grin.

"Has to be a human." He muttered aloud, turning away from the sound and making his way toward the stairwell, "Only a human can be this rat-like; using these disgusting ways just for an escape route...!"

"Humans... I fucking hate them more than anything else," he growled, teeth clenched in anger. "Don't think you can escape me so easily. If you're still breathing by the time I get there, I'll have to see if you're worth letting live!" He stalked past his zombie horde that crowded the hallway, their decayed bodies shifting with mindless obedience. "The rest of this building can wait."

[ZOMBIFICATION: 70%! You are going to become a mindless zombie if you don't kill a zombie soon—]

"Shut the hell up!" he barked at the system message, irritation flaring in his chest. "I know what the fuck I'm doing, you stupid piece of junk!" His gaze flicked toward a nearby zombie under his control.

"Pakman! Come here." His voice was laced with venom as he gestured for the zombie to approach.

The undead stumbled forward, but Jang's eyes narrowed in disgust as he watched its slow, clumsy movement.

"You took two fucking seconds longer than you should've, you worthless trash!" With a sudden outburst, Jang slammed the zombie against the wall, his fingers curling around its throat. Without hesitation, he ripped the zombie's jaw off with brute strength, a sickening crack filling the air.

"You useless piece of shit! WASTE OF SPACE!" His voice echoed through the hallway as he punched the zombie relentlessly, venting his pent-up rage with every blow.

"NOBODY—"

"IN THIS WORLD—"

"WILL EVER—"

With each word, he smashed his fists into the zombie's skull until its head was a mess of pulp and gore, the once-mindless creature collapsing under his assault.

"EVER!!!" 

"EVER!!!" 

"DEFY ME!!!" He roared, driving his knuckles through what was left of the zombie's brain.

[Zombification: 60%]

[EXP GAINED: 50! (50% Exp reduction due to the zombie being your minion!)]

[YOU LOST A MINION! Currently you have: 11 zombies under your control!]

Panting heavily, Jang stood over the shattered remains of the zombie, his chest heaving with adrenaline. He sneered down at the lifeless corpse.

"There. Now look how fucking pretty you are," he growled, wiping his bloodied hands on his clothes, a twisted satisfaction spreading across his face.

Jang turned to face the rest of his undead army, their dull eyes watching without comprehension. His smirk widened as he stalked toward them, his presence domineering.

"You all saw that, didn't you? You worthless bags of rotting flesh!" He bellowed, his voice filled with contempt. "Anyone who dares—dares to even think about defying me—will meet the same fate!" He slowly approached the largest zombie in the group, Doom Baby.

"That includes you, Doom Baby," Jang spat at the massive zombie's chest, grabbing its pinky finger with a twisted grin. "If you even THINK to think about thinking about daring to dare to dare to dare to dare to dare to dare to dare to dare TO DAAARRE!!!! TO FUCKING DARE TO THINK about crossing me, I'll tear you apart like the rest!" With one sharp motion, he snapped the zombie's pinky backward, the bone cracking audibly.

Jang exhaled deeply, his rage subsiding as he stepped back from the silent, unmoving horde. His twisted smirk returned.

"Good. Now that you understand, let's go see what these humans are all about," he said darkly, turning toward the stairwell. The zombies followed in silence, their lifeless obedience trailing behind their merciless leader.