⌛ 06:42 AM – 85 Minutes Post Integration
The Butcher's roar shook the substation's reinforced windows. Ji-hoon's System flared crimson:
```
[CRISIS PROTOCOL]
» Threat: Stage 2 Aberration ("The Butcher")
» Known Tactics:
- Targets System users specifically
- Absorbs their abilities
» Survival Estimate: 6.7%
```
Officer Kang slammed the armory door shut. "You said you had a plan."
Ji-hoon's fingers hovered over the clone command. "I do. You won't like it."
---
The Trade
He activated:
```
[OMNI-CLONE PROTOCOL]
» Soul Power: -30 → 3/100
» Stability: 54% (Critical)
```
The clone materialized with severe defects:
- Missing lower jaw (No speech)
- **Left arm fused with a pistol (Integration error)
Through their neural link, Ji-hoon fed it
one directive:
Lure the Butcher into the evidence room's nitrogen tank trap.
The clone nodded—just as the exterior wall exploded inward.
---
The Butcher's Truth
The aberration wasn't just mutated.
It wore pieces of System users like trophies:
- A woman's face stitched to its chest (Her eyes still blinked)
- Fingers tipped with stolen skill orbs
```
[SCAN UPDATED]
» The Butcher is a Player Killer
» Ability: "Fate Stealer" (Absorbs victims' System functions)
```
Officer Kang's bullets did nothing.
"It's learning!"
The clone lunged, firing its fused pistol point-blank into the nitrogen tank valve.
---
The Cost
White fog erupted. The Butcher howled as its stitched limbs froze brittle.
Ji-hoon's vision doubled—the clone's dying sensations flooding his mind:
- Pain (Frostbite cracking its skin)
- Satisfaction (The Butcher's knee shattering)
- Then… nothing.
```
[OMNI-CLONE #3 DESTROYED]
» Soul Power Recovered: +18
» Memory Fragment Lost: 「First Kiss, Age 15」
```
Ji-hoon gasped.
He could no longer remember her face.
---
The Aftermath
The Butcher lay motionless…
until its chest-face smiled.
```
[WARNING]
» The Butcher has adapted to cryo damage
» New Ability: "Thermal Resistance" acquired
```
Officer Kang dragged Ji-hoon backward. "Your clones. Can they…"
"No," he lied,
fingers twitching toward another command.
The System pinged:
```
[OVERRIDE: SOVEREIGN-CLASS PRIVILEGES DETECTED]
» Execute Protocol: "Cannibalize"?
» Cost: 1x Clone Slot (Permanent)
» Reward: Target Purge
```
Outside, the Butcher began laughing with three voices.
---