Chapter 2
Thirty stories is a long drop, but the sudden stop at the bottom is what kills you.
Siwoo hit the roof of a parked Association transport van. The impact sounded like a bomb going off. His spine shattered instantly. His ribs collapsed into his lungs, and his vision swam in a sea of red and black. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't scream. He was just a pile of broken meat on dented steel.
But his mind was still awake. And so was the blue screen floating inches from his ruined face.
[Host physiology fatally compromised.]
[Time until brain death: 42 seconds.]
Figures, Siwoo thought, his consciousness fading. Even in death, I'm on a deadline.
[Scanning Ledger...]
[Karmic Debt Detected: Unprovoked Murder.]
[Debtor: Association Sovereign Guard (S-Rank) & Kang Min-ho (Deceased).]
[Total Debt Value (DV): 8,500,000,000]
[System Warning: Host is too low-level to Foreclose on S-Rank Debtors. Emergency alternative required to halt brain death.]
Footsteps echoed in the dark, rain-slicked alley.
"Fucking mess," a voice grunted.
Through his one working eye, Siwoo saw a man in a black Association raincoat approach the van. It was a 'Sweeper'—an E-Rank Awakener whose only job was to bag the bodies the higher-ups threw out the window and hose down the concrete.
The Sweeper climbed onto the hood of the van, boots slipping on Siwoo's blood. He didn't pull out a body bag. Instead, he reached into Siwoo's ruined suit jacket, rummaging for his wallet.
"Ten years as the Association's attack dog, and you're still carrying cheap plastic," the Sweeper scoffed, pulling out Siwoo's ID card and a handful of crumpled fifty-thousand won notes. "Guess I'll take this as a tip for the night shift."
The blue screen flickered violently.
[New Debt Detected: Theft of Assets. Defiling of a Corpse.]
[Debtor: Lee Chul (E-Rank Sweeper)]
[Debt Value (DV): 450]
Forty-two seconds, Siwoo thought, his fingers twitching. I just need to touch him.
[Time until brain death: 12 seconds.]
The Sweeper leaned in closer to pry a silver watch off Siwoo's limp wrist. "Shame. You were a real pain in the ass, Han Siwoo. But gravity doesn't care about your ledgers."
Siwoo's bloodied, shattered hand shot up and clamped around the Sweeper's wrist.
The Sweeper froze, his eyes widening in shock. "What the—you're still alive?!"
Siwoo couldn't speak. His lungs were full of blood. But in his mind, he screamed the command.
Foreclose.
[Initiating Total Liquidation on Debtor: Lee Chul.]
A sickening, neon-red light erupted from Siwoo's grip. It didn't look like the pure, holy mana of the Heroes. It looked like a virus. It crawled up the Sweeper's arm, sinking into his veins.
"Argh! Let go of me! What is this?!" The Sweeper panicked, trying to pull away, but Siwoo's grip was like a vice, locked in place by the System.
The Sweeper raised his free hand, charging a low-level mana bolt to blast Siwoo's head off, but the red light surged. The mana bolt fizzled out.
[Asset Seized: 15 Points of Endurance.]
[Asset Seized: 10 Points of Strength.]
[Asset Seized: Life Force (E-Rank).]
The Sweeper's skin turned gray. His muscles withered, shrinking against his bones as his vitality was violently siphoned down his arm and into Siwoo's broken body. He opened his mouth to scream, but only a dry rasp came out.
Beneath the Sweeper, Siwoo's body was undergoing a horrific reconstruction. Shattered ribs snapped back into place with loud cracks. His ruptured lungs cleared, inhaling a massive, ragged breath of cold alley air. The severed nerves in his spine reconnected, burning like liquid fire.
In three seconds, the Sweeper collapsed onto the roof of the van, nothing more than a dried, unconscious husk. He wasn't dead, but his Awakened core was completely destroyed. He was less than human now.
Siwoo slowly sat up.
He cracked his neck. The pain was gone. In fact, he felt better than he had in ten years. He looked at his hands, clenching them into fists. The physical strength humming through his veins wasn't his own—it belonged to the man lying next to him.
[Foreclosure Complete.]
[Host Level Up! Level 1 -> Level 2]
[Stat Update: Strength +10, Endurance +15]
[Skill Inherited: [E-Rank Mana Reinforcement] - Can harden skin to deflect small-caliber fire.]
Siwoo stood up on the roof of the van, the rain washing the blood off his face. He picked up his wallet from the Sweeper's limp hand, calmly slipping it back into his pocket.
Then, he looked up. Thirty stories above, the penthouse window was still shattered, a gaping black hole in the glittering Seoul skyline. The S-Rank Guards were up there. The people who owned the world.
A new notification pinged in his vision, glowing blood-red.
[Pending Debt: Sovereign Guard 'Aegis'.]
[Current DV: 8,500,000,000]
[Notice: Uncollected debt will accrue 10% daily interest.]
Siwoo pulled a crushed cigarette from his pocket, sparked a cheap lighter, and took a long drag. He exhaled a cloud of smoke into the rain, a cold, predatory smile spreading across his face.
"Keep the change, boys," Siwoo muttered to the sky. "I'll be back to collect the principal."