3. Signs in the Sky

Han Juho rushed out of the apartment, knowing it wouldn't be safe to stay there for much longer. As he started to head towards the central city of Seoul, where the area would be more expansive.

Around him, buildings started crumbling, but not in the way he had expected. It was because of the long distance structures that had been struck by monsters, fallen, and dragged the ones beside them down in a chain reaction.

Though, to Juho, the reason was unclear; all he could see was concrete and dust that threatened to bury him alive at the moment.

Several police officers were present, trying to calm and evacuate the civilians to a safe place, but as the crowd grew larger, their efforts became increasingly difficult.

"Kyaaa-!"

A sharp, sudden scream from nowhere immediately snapped Juho out of his thoughts.

He stopped running and turned his head, following the onlookers' gazes. Then spotted a young woman frozen in fear, clutching her grandmother, while a monster was heading straight... towards them?!

His heart was racing. The monster loomed large, its bloodshot eyes and twisted appearance quickly sending shivers down his spine.

Yet, despite all the problems. His mind are spun with questions.

A monster, like the one from the novel? The thought was ridiculous, impossible, even. Such things don’t exist… do they?

A police officer rushed forward to move the woman, while others backed up, shouting and waving their batons, but even they hesitated when the creature bared its fangs to intimidate them.

...

"Hey! Move!" Juho can't help but shouted too, stepping forward and waving his arms to get her attention. Still, there was no response, the woman seemed completely blank, while the grandmother...

His expression stiffened for a moment, he also wasn't sure why, but something about her unsettled him. Shouldn't she be panicking?

Then he gripped his knuckles, tighter. As he glanced repeatedly between the woman and the monster, which was slowly getting closer.

"Ah, what should I do?" he mumbled under his breath, worried. He should have gotten out of this place quickly, but the situation seems to have held him back.

'Wouldn't it be easier to just drag them out of the way?' he frowned. That's what he perhaps thought in frustration.

'Why does it have to be so complicated?'

Still, despite that, deep down he knew he had no right to say it since he hadn’t done much to help, at least not yet.

Especially in this current situation, perhaps running was a more fitting choice. But… Juho nervously brought a finger to his lips, tapping near them in anxiety. Somehow, something inside told him to help, even as his instincts urged him to flee.

He also knew stepping in might put him in danger, but he wanted to try.

Juho looked around, searching for anything he could use against the monster.

Of course, he’d probably find nothing. Let’s be honest, perhaps he would just wander off, like most people would.

But after scanning his surroundings, he finally found a piece of debris he liked and picked it up. He took a few deep breaths first, then threw it as hard as he could at the monster.

Thud

Juho widened his eyes in surprise. "Woah!"

Despite the distance, he managed to land a headshot. He wasn’t sure if the debris had any effect on the monster at all, considering its massive size. Still, a small smile tugged at his face, he’d never felt so proud of himself until now.

Then, without a word, he turned and fled the scene. Who cares? He had already done what he could. Now, the only thing that mattered was running first!

He ran in the opposite direction from the woman and her grandmother, shouting to the people around him, urging them to get away as quickly as possible.

While doing that, he grimaced slightly, as if the simple act pained him. He hated doing things that attracted attention to himself. However, he quickly pushed the thought aside.

Surely they wouldn't mind, he just wanted to warn them for their own good, that's all.

Juho had no idea which way he was running. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins. This was probably the craziest thing that had ever happened to him.

"Huff..." He let out a shaky breath, his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode, and his legs were starting to get hurt as he forced them to keep moving.

How far along is he now?

While running, his mind couldn't help but wander back to years ago. Back in 11th grade, he had been known as the fastest runner in every school event, a title he had held since joining the track club in middle school.

Especially this one time when he skipped school with his friends to go to an internet cafe... only to get caught by the school's disciplinary team, who apparently had a friend who worked at the cafe. (Professional only, don't try.)

But even with that past experience kicking in, he was on the verge of exhaustion. Does the monster have a grudge against him?!

... Oh well, if you think about it, it actually makes sense. Considering he hit it on the head, even a human would hate to experience that.

After some time, Juho risked a glance over his shoulder, and his heart sank even further as he saw the monster still trying to push through the crowd, its bloodshot eyes locked onto him.

A resigned smile crept onto his lips as he dramatically wiped invisible tears beneath his eyes. If he got caught… at least he gave it his best, and somewhere out there, his parents would probably be proud of him.

He was sure of it.

Fortunately, after what felt like an eternity, the sound of heavy footsteps slowly faded away.

Juho's breathing was shallow and rapid as he stumbled into an alleyway, leaning against the wall to steady himself. The dust in the air irritated his throat as he struggled to inhale.

"Did I really outrun it?" He mumbled to himself as he looked back to check, relief washed over him, though his heart still pounded harshly in his chest.

Unfortunately, that relief doesn't last as long as he hoped. A sudden loud crash erupted from above, making him flinch on the spot.

He groaned softly and straightened up, running a hand through his hair as he also adjusted his glasses. He didn't even have time to enjoy the moment; it felt like trouble was following him wherever he went.

But that thought was immediately replaced by shock. A swarm of drones flew past him, slamming into buildings. Some targeted civilians, spreading chaos wherever they landed.

"...Ridiculous," he muttered bitterly.

For a moment, his face turned grim, a wave of helplessness washed over him as he facepalm. 'Don’t tell me it’s going to be a zombie apocalypse next…'

He shook his head slightly, a headache already threatening to set in, and looked up to scan the drones and the chaos around him.

As if the monster weren’t enough, now the drones had joined in on the destruction. It almost felt like some kind of coordinated attack.

Debris rained down dangerously close, forcing him to weave through the chaos with quick, unsteady steps.

After a while, once Juho was far from the place he had just left, his body stiffened slightly every time he got too close to a crowd of people, an instinctive reaction from the chaos he had just escaped.

To make matters worse, wherever he went, small fires burned across the streets. And the drones had smashed into buildings with a loud boom, scraping the surface and setting the chaos ablaze.

What about Juho? He was currently lost in thought, even as the situation around him grew more dire. His body continued to move on instinct, but his mind wandered.

Where did these drones come from? They couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere, someone had to be behind this. But how could he be sure?

The air was thick with dust, and the sound of siren echoes everywhere. People shoved past each other as some fell and tripped, crying for help.

He couldn't stop running, at least not yet. With every step he took, his expression became more solemn, fear creeping at the edge of his mind as he wondered if his family was safe or not.

-Half an hour later-

The chaos had disoriented his head so badly, he didn't even realize he'd arrived near the center of Seoul. Suddenly, dizziness hit him, accompanied by a strange pressure that seemed to appear out of nowhere, making it harder to breathe.

Juho stumbled forward, his knees nearly buckling as his vision blurred. He coughed, one hand supporting against his knee to steady himself.

For a brief moment, everything stopped. The drones in the sky, which had been attacking relentlessly just moments ago, abruptly came to a stop. Then slowly, they began to withdraw, moving toward another part of the city.

Juho watched in bewilderment as he followed their movement until the drones disappeared from view. Were they... retreating? That didn't make any sense.

He stood still for a moment, catching his breath. Then he slowly straightened up after steadying himself, brushing the dust off his clothes with a quick pat.

With a sigh, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head slightly. To him, moments like this always meant one thing:

Something worse was coming.

Nearby, a man's panicked voice broke the silence. "What the hell is happening?!"

His friend stepped in, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "You need to calm down, people are looking at us," he said, trying to reason with him.

But the man shoved his friend away. "Get off me!" he snapped, his eyes darting around in panic.

The sharp tone caught Juho's attention. Curious, he cast a glance at their interaction. The man looks like he was too shaken to register help, and honestly, who could blame him?

For some reason, the sun shone brighter than usual, casting an almost unnatural light over the burning city. Juho shielded his eyes and squinted against the sunlight. But despite the brightness, he noticed that the atmosphere seemed to grow heavier.

A faint murmuring brought him back to his senses. He looked around and saw several people whispering and pointing nervously to the sky.

"Look! Up there!" One of them shouted.

Juho followed their gaze, trying to see through the thin fog as well, adjusting his glasses. At first he thought it was a drone or some kind of monster. But then he froze.

It wasn't like what he thought about. It was... a person?

No wings, no wires that are usually used in a movie, and no machine to hold it up. Just a figure floating in the sky, dressed in a flowing white-black robe with intricate patterns on it, untouched by the chaos below.

Suddenly, a rich laugh reverberated across Seoul, and people who were shocked by it turned their heads toward the source of the sound.

A haunting smile spread across their lips as they examined the chaotic world like a twisted stage created especially for them.

Their skin was so pale, almost glowing, contrasting with the shoulder-length black hair that framed a captivating-like face.

Then, out of sudden, the nearby billboards buzzing without warning.

Bzzt-bzzt-zzrrt.

The sound of the disturbance was like a surge of electricity before it finally stabilized. And there it was, that same face, now displayed on every glowing panel that still survived the flames and havoc.

Hundreds of identical faces flashed across the city's screens, each of their smiles are all the same. Mocking.

Juho widened his eyes, his heart skipped a beat. It wasn't out of admiration, but fear. Though something about the sight kept him from looking away.

The figure above tilted their head slightly, surveying the chaos with what looked like amusement. Even from this distance, their presence was magnetic and... otherworldly.

The figure clapped their hands to catch everyone's attention and spread their arms wide. "Welcome, my dear guests," he hummed, his voice sounding strangely pleasant in one's ears. "Before we begin today's... activities, it would be rude of me not to introduce myself."

He paused, letting the silence make everyone hold their breath. With a graceful motion, he placed a hand over his chest, savoring the moment. "Lucian Caelum," he finally said, smiling with his eyes. "A pleasure to be your host in this delightful pandemonium."

Juho froze. Hold on a second... He looked up at the man once more. Lucian Caelum? He gulped and instinctively took a step back. Something about that name felt eerily familiar to his ears

Isn't he the main antagonist of Villain Overkill?!

The sound of birds flapping their wings passed through the sky. With that, Lucian chuckled, a low, sinister one. A lazy smile tugged at the corner of his lips as his gaze swept across the crowd. "I trust the journey has been... thrilling."

"But this," he said, gesturing to the confusion around them, his head tilted ever so slightly in amusement. "Is only the beginning. Shall we dive deeper into this beautiful nightmare together?" His chest rumbled with a dark laugh, relishing the fear he was causing.

It is him. Juho clenched his fists, frowning. A sense of dread churned in his stomach. He had a really bad feeling about this.

Lucian's dramatic entrance, the chilling aura. It was all too familiar, like what he'd read in Villain Overkill. Especially that unforgettable entrance that had captivated both the characters and the readers.

And now, Juho realized that he wasn't just a reader anymore, but part of the story he had once read on his phone.

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