Leo's grip tightened around the knife. Almost like he had been possessed by a demon that pushed him to move.
He began walking toward her, each step heavier than the last.
She finally noticed him and turned, but too late.
The knife was already raised when his mouth started forming words.
"If I can't have you, no one can!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
SHWIP!
The blade sank into her shoulder before he ripped it out.
She bolted toward the door, but Leo tackled her to the floor.
Pinning her down, he stabbed again.
"Hyaaaa!"
She screamed louder than before, but that didn't stop Leo from stabbing her again and again and again and again.
Until she stopped screaming.
After his anger dissipated, sanity returned.
"Min Hae?" Leo whispered. "Min Hae?"
His voice grew louder, but even then he knew. He knew she wouldn't answer his calls.
He had murdered the love of his life.
***
TWO HOURS EARLIER.
South Korea. Somewhere in a complex building in Seoul lived a young man of twenty-one, practically still a boy, who had left home early to chase his dreams and freedom.
He dreamed of becoming a world-class painter, creating something as iconic as the Mona Lisa one day.
But plans rarely went as planned. Nothing ever really went according to script in this cursed world.
After only six months of chasing that dream, Kim Lee Ho completely gave up. He could barely remember what holding a paintbrush felt like anymore.
His friends called him Leo, the nickname his mother had used since his childhood, and it stuck.
When he left home after watching motivational videos on YouTube, he had a massive fight with his father. That was when he promised himself he would not return home until he made real money.
Now, the past and all his regrets crashed over him in relentless waves. He had just finished another shift at the convenience store, where the pay was as terrible as his current life.
He was mentally drained from dealing with customers all day. What a perfect time for every bad decision he had ever made to rush back and haunt him, especially wheen he was also having a fun, relaxing elevator ride.
There were only three things holding his mental state together now.
First, elevator rides. He never outgrew the thrill of them. In that regard, he still had the mind of a child.
Second, entertainment. Mostly rap music and anime, but also anything that piqued his interest. He learned English at a young age from his mother, a hardcore rap fan, and the love for the genre passed on to him. Anime was another escape from reality that kept him sane.
Third, and most importantly, his girlfriend, Min Hae. She was one year older than him. They met in high school and had been together ever since. Anyone could tell she wasn't satisfied with their current situation, but Leo loved her with all his heart.
Aside from his parents, Min Hae was the only person he would both die for and kill for.
Ding!
The elevator ride ended on the eighteenth floor. Apartment 3124.
'What a lucky apartment number, while I stay unlucky,' Leo cursed silently.
'Well, it is what it is.' Those were the words he always used to console himself whenever life went astray, which was pretty much always.
He slid his key into the lock and gently pushed the door open.
"Babe, I'm home."
Min Hae sat on the couch staring at her phone, laughing. She didn't even look up.
'Is she talking to her parents? Mmh, whatever.' Leo brushed it off.
He dropped the groceries he bought from work onto the kitchen table and headed to the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes.
Bags stood upright near the wall.
'Huh? Is she starting a bag business or something?'
The closet looked different too, but Leo couldn't quite tell what was off.
He returned to the kitchen to find Min Hae still on her phone, still smiling at the screen.
'What could be so funny?'
The TV was on. The news lady reported on a man nicknamed the "Gun Psycho" who had mysteriously escaped from prison.
Leo picked up the remote and turned the TV off.
He was hungry as hell, but didn't want to interrupt her while she looked like she was really enjoying herself, and certainly not for something as tedious as cooking. He was exhausted, but sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and decided to handle it himself. She didn't seem interested in cooking tonight.
He began slicing vegetables at the counter.
Min Hae suddenly walked into the kitchen.
"We need to talk." Her blunt tone was as dull and heavy as the back edge of a knife.
Leo's heart jumped.
'Uh-oh. Never a good sign when the lady says that,' he thought.
"I'm listening."
"This isn't working anymore. I can't keep living like this, hoping that tomorrow will be better, then waking up the next day feeling more miserable than the last. So this is it."
Leo struggled to breathe, but he kept slicing the carrots, harder and faster than before,until he ran out of carrots to slice. His eyes burned red from the pressure, but he swallowed the tears and said nothing.
"Are you listening to me?" she snapped.
"You can't do this," he finally said. "Not to me. You can't just walk out after everything we've been through."
"Don't you understand? We're through. You should go back to your parents. Maybe then you'll finally get your life on track."
Her words dripped with venom.
"You were one of the reasons I left home in the first place, and now you're telling me you won't stay?" Leo roared.
Min Hae stormed into the living room, flinging her arms frantically.
"Well, I can't. I just can't. What we had was never meant to last. We should go our separate ways. Me and you? We're over."
She dropped back onto the couch like nothing had happened and resumed laughing at her phone.
Leo's head filled with mad thoughts instantly.
'Is she seeing someone else? Was that why she was laughing? She's betraying me, after all I did for her? This fucking bitch!'
To Leo Min Hae leaving leaving him for someone else was ten times more worse than her just leaving him.
Leo's grip tightened around the knife. Almost like he had been possessed by a demon that pushed him to move.
He began walking toward her, each step heavier than the last.
She finally noticed him and turned, but too late.
The knife was already raised when his mouth started forming words.
"If I can't have you, no one can!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
SHWIP!
The blade sank into her shoulder before he ripped it out.
She bolted toward the door, but Leo tackled her to the floor.
Pinning her down, he stabbed again.
"Hyaaaa!"
She screamed louder than before, but that didn't stop Leo from stabbing her again and again and again and again.
Until she stopped screaming.
After his anger dissipated, sanity returned.
"Min Hae?" Leo whispered. "Min Hae?"
His voice grew louder, but even then he knew. He knew she wouldn't answer his calls.
He had murdered the love of his life.
'What have I done?'
He dropped the knife like it burned his fingers. Blood covered his hands.
He cradled her body and sobbed, calling her name.
"Min Hae! Min Hae!"
Each cry louder than the last.
After two hours passed, the shock finally began to wear off.
'I killed her. I'm going to jail. Maybe even the death sentence. Is that still a thing? I'm going to spend the rest of my life locked behind bars.'
'Can I hide her body? Can I throw it away? This is the eighteenth floor. I'm dead.'
Panic consumed him.
'Wait. What am I even thinking?'
He stared at her lifeless body and down at his blood-covered hands.
'I did this?'
"Yes, you did."
A voice answered from nowhere.
His heart froze.
'I've been discovered? Shit.'
Before he could speak, a blue holographic screen appeared before him.
[ CONGRATULATIONS ]
YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE TITLE: « GUILTY KING »
{ DO YOU ACCEPT THIS TITLE? }
[ YES ] [ NO ]
{ PLEASE SELECT YOUR DESIRED OPTION.}
Leo stood frozen, trying to comprehend what in the name of Solo Leveling was going on.
A figure materialized from thin air.
It had his face.
His height.
His build.
It was a perfect copy of himself, like staring into a living mirror.
"Since you don't understand what's happening, I'll explain briefly," the copy said. "The only way you're getting out of this alive, without prison in your future, is by accepting the title granted to you by the gods."
Leo barely understood the words, but he understood the choice.
Accepting meant survival.
And survival was the only thing he wanted.
He raised his trembling hand and touched the screen.
[ YES ]
[ CONGRATULATIONS ]
{YOU HAVE NOW UNLOCKED: USER PROFILE}
WELCOME TO THE GAME OF: « KILL X KILLER »
{ TASK 1: SURVIVE }