Night fell heavy over Hyosan High.
The shattered glass windows glinted faintly under the moonlight, and silence pressed down on us like a weight. We had barricaded the library doors with overturned shelves, but the quiet wasn't peaceful — it was the kind that made your skin crawl.
The group slept in shifts. Cheong-san took first watch, his eyes flicking toward every sound. Nam On-jo rested beside Su-hyeok, their hands still clutching each other's even in sleep. Ji-soo and Seok-yoon guarded the back door, whispering quietly about escape routes.
And me?
I sat alone in the corner, staring at my hands. The veins beneath my skin pulsed faintly red. My kagune had receded for now, but I could still feel it — an itch under my bones, a burning whisper in my chest.
The hunger had grown worse since the fight with the rival ghoul-human. Every breath I took made the craving stronger. The scent of blood, even dried, sent sparks down my spine. I clenched my teeth, digging my nails into my arm to keep focus.
Control. You promised yourself control.
Suddenly, a soft voice broke through the quiet.
"You're not sleeping either?"
It was Cheong-san. He sat down beside me, placing his weapon on the floor. His eyes were tired but steady.
"I can't," I admitted, staring at the floor. "It's getting harder. The hunger… it's not normal anymore. It's not like before."
He nodded. "You're changing faster. The more you fight, the more your power grows — and the more your hunger does too."
"I know," I said. "And if I lose control…"
My voice trailed off, but he finished for me.
"You won't. We won't let you."
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The only sound was the wind moaning through the cracked windows. Then, a faint noise — footsteps. Not infected. Too soft, too careful.
Cheong-san signaled the others silently. Everyone froze. The air tightened.
The door handle turned once. Then again.
A sharp crash followed — the barricade trembled as something powerful hit it. Once. Twice. Then it gave way.
The rival ghoul-human stormed through, its kagune flaring like molten glass. But this time, it wasn't alone — two infected hybrids followed behind it, their movements wrong, twitching, half-human, half-zombie.
Ji-soo shouted, "It's learning! It brought backup!"
Chaos erupted.
Su-hyeok swung a metal rod, striking one hybrid in the jaw. Nam On-jo threw a Molotov, setting part of the floor ablaze. Cheong-san covered the rear, firing controlled bursts from a salvaged rifle.
I faced the rival head-on. My kagune burst out like a shadow of crimson flame. The impact shook the floor. Our attacks collided midair, shockwaves echoing through the ruined hall.
The rival's eyes gleamed with madness. "You're like me," it hissed. "Hungry. Changing. You'll join us soon."
I growled. "I'm nothing like you."
We clashed again. My kagune moved faster now — sharper, heavier, smarter. It reacted before I thought, blocking and countering every strike. For the first time, I realized I wasn't just surviving — I was matching it.
Still, hunger screamed louder, each movement draining my focus. My muscles burned, vision flickering at the edges. The rival noticed, grinning. "You're starving. You can't fight forever."
I forced a smile. "Watch me."
I spun, kagune slicing through the air with perfect precision. A tendril lashed out, cutting through one of the hybrids before turning on the rival itself. The creature blocked, but the impact sent it sprawling into the flames.
For a heartbeat, I thought it was over. Then it rose again, skin burning, kagune flaring brighter than before. "You're getting stronger," it hissed. "But so am I."
The rival lunged — and this time, I didn't retreat. I stepped forward.
Our kagunes collided one final time, and I drove mine straight through its chest. For a moment, silence. Then, with a guttural snarl, the rival collapsed. The two hybrids fell soon after, twitching until still.
Everyone froze, waiting to see if I'd lost control. My kagune pulsed, dripping, twitching like it wanted to feed — but I stopped it. Inch by inch, I pulled it back, gasping, shaking, but still me.
Nam On-jo ran to my side. "Are you okay?"
"I'm… fine," I lied. The hunger still roared inside, but I wouldn't let it win.
Cheong-san stepped forward, staring at the rival's body. "It's not dead," he said quietly.
He was right. The rival's skin was regenerating — slower than before, but still moving. We couldn't kill it permanently. It was part of the same experiment as me. A prototype.
Seok-yoon found a half-burned notebook nearby. "Look," he said. "It's a report. Government testing protocols. Says these 'subjects' are remotely monitored… they regenerate until their core mutation is destroyed."
"So we need to find its control center," Cheong-san said.
"Or destroy whoever's controlling it," I added.
Ji-soo frowned. "That means getting out of the school."
The thought hung in the air like a curse. Outside meant hordes of infected, soldiers, and who knew what else. But staying meant starvation — and eventually, death.
Cheong-san nodded firmly. "We move at dawn. We'll find the lab, the control center, whatever's left of it. This isn't just about surviving anymore. It's about ending it."
That night, none of us slept. I sat near the window, staring out at the ruined city. My reflection stared back — eyes faintly red, veins glowing.
I was changing faster. My strength was climbing, but so was the hunger. I could feel something new inside me — not just power, but purpose. The same force that once terrified me now whispered a different promise.
Not just survive.
Overcome.
The moon shifted behind the clouds. I could hear the distant echoes of movement — the rival wasn't gone. It would come again. It had to. Because we were connected now. Two sides of the same experiment, locked in a war neither of us had chosen.
As dawn bled into the horizon, I looked over the group one last time.
Cheong-san — unyielding leader.
Nam On-jo — the heart that kept us human.
Su-hyeok — the loyal fighter.
Ji-soo and Seok-yoon — our planners, our hope.
And me — the monster they still chose to trust.
I stood, letting my kagune flicker to life one last time before sunrise. It shimmered, sharper, sleeker, more controlled than ever. For the first time, I felt no fear when I looked at it. Only resolve.
"We move," I said quietly. "No more hiding."
And as the first light of day touched the ruined city, Hyosan High fell behind us — the birthplace of monsters, and the start of a revolution.