Hunting Period 2

Huh?

Reyan could feel the immense aura of that figure.

"Who… who are you this time? Have you taken on a new form? Whatever you want to do, just do it already… Kill me if you have to."

"Loser… You'll always be a loser."

"Fine!! If being a loser is my fate, so be it. And I don't need you to remind me of that."

The figure laughed. "Haha… Just look at yourself. Right now, you look like an insect—sitting in one place, waiting for your death. Do you think anyone will care if you die here? You've already been erased from your world. In your world, it's as if you never even existed. Your parents, your friends… they've all forgotten you. Even if you die here, who will mourn for you? What will happen to you? Where will you go after death? Because you're not destined for heaven… nor hell."

"Shut up! You don't understand what I'm going through!"

"Then tell me, what are you going through? You're just scared. You're scared that you might not be able to defeat him. You're not even fighting for yourself. Or should I say… you've never fought for yourself in real life either? You never even learned how to fight for yourself. You've always lost. Everything you have in life—your job, your position—was given to you by someone else. And even now, you're doing the same thing… waiting for someone else to decide your fate. A life like this… is this what you were born for? Will you always let others control you? Do you think acting like a 'good person' in front of others will earn you a throne? No. The only thing waiting for you is regret. The regret of never even trying for yourself. The regret of always hiding behind others. But you still have a chance… and yet, here you are, cowering like a coward, waiting for God to fix everything for you."

"It's easy for you to say! But he's cunning… he's powerful… I can never defeat him!"

"There you go again! Talking like a coward!!! Stop thinking about the result and focus on the beginning! The better your start, the better your prediction, the better your results will be. You can defeat him."

"Really? Do you really think I can?"

"Absolutely."

Reyan laughed hysterically. "You… You must think I'm crazy! No matter what plan I come up with, he always beats me! I don't even have a chance to win! You're a complete idiot! God is just testing me… that's all."

"Oh, is that so? Tell me something… don't you want to see your parents again?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, you've been erased from the real world. No one remembers you anymore. So… don't you want to go back and see them again?"

"See them? I… I do… but…"

"But what? No more excuses! If you truly believe God is testing you, then pass this test and return to your life! Right now, this is the only thing you can do. If you give up now, you'll never get another chance to go back. The choice is yours. I can only tell you to try."

The figure behind Reyan slowly started to fade away… and in the end, Reyan was alone again.

"So… I have to try?"

He pulled out his phone and looked at a photo of his family. It was taken on his 20th birthday—his mother on the left, his father on the right, and Reyan sitting in the middle with a birthday cake in front of him. They all looked happy.

A small smile appeared on his face as he stood up.

"Alright then… I'm going back!"

Reyan decided to use his old strategy again.

"Last time when I tried facing him, he came at me with a chainsaw… But he never uses the same weapon twice. That means he won't bring a chainsaw this time… This is probably my 18th loop… If I follow the same plan as before, I might be able to defeat him… as long as he doesn't have a gun… Alright then, I'm ready again."

He took his shoe, made a small hole in it with a knife, and attached a fork to the front. Then, he put his shoe back on. Next, he used a pillow and a blanket to create a makeshift shield.

"11:35 PM… He'll be here any minute now."

He heard the sound of approaching footsteps. His breathing grew heavier. Taking a deep breath, he muttered:

"Okay… This time, he won't have a chainsaw—"

Just then, Faceless reached the door. Reyan was on the opposite side of the room.

"Huh? What is that…? No way…"

Faceless wasn't holding a weapon. He was holding… a bottle. No, this wasn't just any bottle. It was…

"A Molotov cocktail?!"

Reyan hesitated for a second before charging at Faceless. But Faceless threw the Molotov straight at him. Reyan quickly blocked it with his shield, but the blanket caught fire. He immediately cut the burning blanket off with his knife, but before he could react, Faceless threw another Molotov.

The entire room went up in flames.

Reyan dodged the fire, gripping his knife tightly as he ran toward the door where Faceless stood. But just as he was about to escape—

SLAM!

Faceless shut the door right in his face.

Reyan was trapped inside the burning room. Coughing from the smoke, he thought, "How do I escape this fire?"

Then, his eyes landed on his blanket.

He quickly wrapped himself in it, trying to shield himself from the flames. The room was completely engulfed in fire. Smoke seeped through the cracks in the door.

That's when something clicked in Reyan's mind.

He ran toward the bathroom. The fire burned his skin in some places as he made his way through the flames. Once inside, he spotted the small bathroom window.

"This is my way out."

He threw the blanket to the floor, reached for the window, and pushed it open. It wasn't locked from the inside.

"I made it…!"

He climbed out and jumped from the second floor, hitting the ground hard. His leg was injured, but he managed a weak smile.

"Hah… He probably didn't know my bathroom had a window… If I had stayed inside, I would've burned to death."

But just as relief washed over him…

Footsteps.

His heart pounded. He turned around—Faceless was walking toward him.

Reyan gritted his teeth, forced himself to stand up, and got into a fighting stance.

"Alright, motherf—, come at me!"

Faceless closed the distance in an instant.

Reyan lunged at him with a punch. "YAAAH!!"

Faceless blocked it effortlessly and countered with a devastating punch to Reyan's stomach. Blood spilled from his mouth.

Before Reyan could recover, Faceless delivered a powerful kick, sending him flying.

"Ahhh… Bitch…" Reyan groaned in pain.

Faceless grabbed him by the hair—but Reyan swiftly pulled out the fork hidden in his shoe and stabbed it straight into Faceless' face.

Faceless let go and stepped back. He pulled the fork out of his face and marched toward Reyan.

Reyan tried to strike again with his second fork—but Faceless blocked it with his arm and overpowered him.

And then…

Faceless stabbed both of Reyan's eyes with the forks.

Reyan let out a bloodcurdling scream.

His vision went black. He was blind.

Faceless grabbed him by the hair and started dragging him. Slowly, he pulled him up the stairs… toward the burning room.

Reyan knew what was coming.

Faceless opened the door. A wave of flames burst out.

And then…

He threw Reyan inside.

The door shut.

Reyan's body burned. He let out one final, agonizing scream—

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA—"

His vocal cords snapped. His screams stopped.

And then…

RESET.

Reyan woke up in his room, gasping for air.

"Damn… Burning to death is excruciating... That was the most painful death yet. I never expected him to use a Molotov… No matter how much I plan, he always beats me… But now, he won't use a Molotov… or a chainsaw…"

"This… is my golden chance."