"Cleaning Protocol Activated"

Chapter 3 - "Cleaning Protocol Activated"

A monstrous growl shook the cave walls.

Seojin's breath hitched as he gripped his new iron sword, the cold steel pressing against his palm. Around him, the others scrambled to their feet, weapons drawn, faces grim.

[SCENARIO CLEANERS DEPLOYED TO CLEAR THE ANOMALY] [NUMBER OF TARGETS: 10]

The notification hovered in Seojin's vision, but he barely had time to process it before-

THUMP!

A black, insect-like creature lunged out of the shadows, its grotesque limbs scraping against the stone floor. Its hollow, featureless face twisted unnaturally, locking onto Seojin.

Then-it attacked.

SLASH!

A flash of steel.

Ji-ho intercepted it mid-air, his curved blade slicing through one of its legs.

The creature screeched as black ooze splattered against the rocks.

"Move!" Ji-ho barked. "They're fast, but they go down if you cut them deep enough!"

But then-something strange happened.

Instead of attacking randomly, the remaining creatures turned-every single one of them-toward Seojin.

Their twisted, hollow faces twitched, as if recognizing something.

Then-they all rushed him at once.

"What the hell?!" Ji-ho cursed. "They're ignoring us!"

Chae-won's eyes narrowed. "They're only after him?"

Seojin had no time to think.

The creatures came from all sides.

The first one lunged.

Seojin barely lifted his sword in time-CLANG! Sparks flew as claws met steel. The impact knocked him backward, his feet skidding against the dirt.

Another creature lunged.

Seojin twisted, barely dodging as a clawed limb slashed past his face, missing by inches.

"HAAA!"

He swung wildly. The iron sword connected, slicing through the creature's side. Black fluid sprayed across the ground.

It staggered.

But two more took its place.

FWOOOM!

A sudden wave of fire erupted, blasting one of the creatures backward.

Seojin turned in shock.

Aera.

The quiet girl stood firm, her hands still glowing with lingering embers.

Before he could react, Chae-won moved like a blur, her daggers flashing through the air. She sliced through another creature, black ooze spraying across the dirt.

Ji-ho slammed his sword into the ground, a burst of energy forcing three of them back.

Seojin gasped for air. His arms felt like lead, his heartbeat hammering.

But the creatures kept coming.

All of them.

The other guy in the group, a sharp and observant warrior, furrowed his brows.

"Why are the creatures only attacking the new guy?"

Before he could say anything, his eyes widened in horror.

"Seojin, behind you!"

Seojin spun-too slow.

A clawed limb lashed toward his throat.

SHING!

A bright arc of light flashed past him.

The creature's head separated from its body before it could reach him. Its lifeless corpse collapsed onto the dirt.

Chae-won stood beside him, her dagger dripping with black ooze.

She clicked her tongue. "You're too slow."

Seojin swallowed. He knew that.

But something about the way she said it pissed him off.

Before he could respond-

A loud, inhuman screech echoed through the cave.

Everyone froze.

The remaining Scenario Cleaners stopped attacking. Their twitching bodies straightened, as if receiving some kind of command.

Then-

[SYSTEM ALERT: SCENARIO CLEANERS ADAPTIVE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]

[MODIFYING TARGET THREAT LEVEL...]

[ESCALATION: ELITE CLEANER UNITS DEPLOYED]

[TARGET: ALL HOSTILE PRESENCES IDENTIFIED]

[PRIORITY TARGET: ANOMALY CONFIRMED - SEOJIN]

A new presence emerged from the shadows.

Then another.

And another.

The Scenario Cleaners had changed.

They were bigger.

Faster.

Deadlier.

And this time, they weren't just after Seojin.

The creatures split up, attacking everyone.

One rushed Ji-ho. He barely dodged as its claws ripped through his cloak.

Chae-won vanished into the darkness, her daggers flashing as she fought two at once.

Aera's hands glowed as she launched a storm of fire and wind, trying to hold back the wave of monsters.

The battle had truly begun.

But amidst the chaos-

One creature did not join the fight.

It was larger.

Its body was twisted, pulsating with a strange red aura.

Its hollow, shifting face locked onto Seojin.

Unlike the others, it did not attack randomly.

It only moved toward him.

Seojin felt a chill crawl up his spine.

This one... was different.

Then-

It charged.

Straight for him.

Seojin barely had time to react-his instincts screamed RUN!

He bolted out of the cave, his feet pounding against the earth as he ran blindly into the forest. The cold night air burned his lungs, but he didn't dare stop.

Behind him, the sounds of battle echoed-screams of his teammates, screeches of the creatures. His chest tightened. He wanted to turn back.

But then-

Silence.

Seojin froze, hiding behind a tree, gasping for breath.

The creatures stopped fighting.

Then, they came out of the cave and their heads twitched unnaturally -and all at once, they turned toward him.

Seojin felt his blood run cold.

They had locked onto him.

[Target Acquired: Anomaly Detected]

His body shook under their gaze. He reached for his sword-only to realize it wasn't there.

I left it in the cave.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears. He needed to run again.

But before he could move-

CRASH!

The biggest Elite Cleaner bulldozed through the trees, its massive form tearing through the forest like paper.

In an instant, it was in front of him.

Seojin barely had time to let out a strangled breath before-

SMASH!

A massive arm collided with his side, sending him flying. His body slammed into a tree, pain exploding through his ribs.

The world blurred. His breath came out in shaky, broken gasps.

And then-everything went dark.

Thee Morning Arrived.

The first thing Seojin noticed was the warmth of the sun.

Then-a scream.

"AHH!"

It was Aera.

Do-yun jolted awake, heart racing. He was still in the cave-his body aching, his vision blurry. The last thing he remembered was...

The scream.

It hadn't been human.

He forced himself up, stumbling toward the cave entrance. When he reached the others, what he saw made his stomach churn.

The entire battlefield was covered in blood.

The Elite Cleaners were dead.

Their bodies were ripped apart-limbs severed, their insides scattered across the destroyed trees. It looked like they had been slaughtered.

And at the center of it all-

Seojin lay on the ground, completely drenched in their blood.

Aera rushed to Seojin's side, panic on her face as she tried to heal his wounds. Her hands trembled, but she didn't stop.

Do-yun, still staring at the scene, felt his throat tighten.

"What kind of monster... is capable of doing this?"

Then he remembered.

• The unnatural scream from last night.

• The way Seojin had killed a Scenario Cleaner earlier-with just his bare hands.

His eyes widened in realization.

He took a sharp step forward and shouted,

"Aera, get away from him! He's a monster!"

Aera flinched. The others turned to him, shocked.

"Look at this!" Do-yun gestured toward the shredded corpses. "Who else could have done this? You saw what he did earlier-he killed one of those things with his bare hands!"

Aera hesitated. Her hands froze mid-air.

But then-she shook her head.

"He might be a monster..." she whispered. "But I don't think he's evil."

Do-yun stared at her.

"He's too clumsy to be a demon," she added, her voice quiet but firm.

Ji-ho exhaled sharply. "She has a point. He's never tried to hurt us."

Chae-won folded her arms, her usual smirk absent. "He also literally pissed himself in fear last night."

The group fell silent.

Eventually, they all sided with Aera.

Do-yun clenched his fists but said nothing.

A New Change

Seojin stirred.

His eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was Aera's worried face.

He blinked, confusion clouding his expression.

"What... happened to me?"

Then, his mind snapped back to the fight.

He sat up suddenly, panic in his voice.

"Where are the Cleaners? Are you all safe?"

His voice was genuine, filled with concern.

Ji-ho placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're fine. Relax."

Aera gently pushed him back down. "You're still injured. Don't move too much."

Seojin exhaled, still onfused.

But then-Do-yun noticed something strange.

A portion of Seojin's hair... had turned stark white.

"Your hair... what the hell happened?" Do-yun muttered.

Seojin's eyes widened. He reached up, grabbing a few strands of his hair-his heart pounding as he stared at the pure white strands.

"I... don't know."

And then-a notification popped up.

[Scenario Cleaners Defeated - 1]

[Elite Scenario Cleaners Defeated -50]

[Reward: 25,000 Coins]

[Total Coins: 25,130]

Seojin stared at the number.

Fifty?

Had he... done all of this?

Another notification appeared.

[Stable Demonic Synchronization -4%]

Seojin felt his breath catch in his throat.

Demonic Synchronization?

What... was happening to him?

TO BE CONTINUED-