The rain in Neo-Seoul didn't wash away the sins; it just diluted the neon blood staining the gutters.
Han Seo-Jun spat a mouthful of copper-tasting grit onto the pavement. Above him, the floating monitors of the Aegis Corporation flickered with the faces of the "Ascended"—warriors who had reached the Gold-Tier of the Soul-System. They looked like gods. They looked like targets.
"Target identified," a synthesized voice grated.
Three Enforcers in matte-black power armor shimmered into existence, their blades humming with $40,000\text{ Hz}$ vibration frequencies. The air smelled of ozone and impending slaughter.
"Han Seo-Jun," the lead Enforcer boomed, his voice amplified by a mechanical larynx. "By decree of the Heavenly Council, your existence has been flagged as a System Error. Prepare for manual deletion."
Seo-Jun wiped his lip and laughed. It was a dry, hollow sound. "Deletion? I haven't even finished my cigarette."
[WARNING: HOST STAMINA AT 4%]
[WARNING: INTERNAL BLEEDING DETECTED]
"End him," the Enforcer commanded.
The first attacker moved like a blur of refracted light. A mono-molecular blade swung for Seo-Jun's neck, fast enough to ignite the oxygen in its wake.
Time slowed. Not because Seo-Jun was fast, but because his mind was breaking.
If the world is a program, he thought, then I'll be the malware.
[CRITICAL TRIGGER MET]
[HIDDEN CONDITION: 'DEATH'S DOOR' ACTIVATED]
[INITIATING... BLACK-HOLE LOGIC...]
SHINK.
The blade stopped an inch from his throat. Not because Seo-Jun blocked it, but because he had grabbed the glowing edge with his bare, bleeding hand.
"What...?" the Enforcer gasped.
"My turn," Seo-Jun whispered.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: THE 'GLITCH-KING' HAS AWAKENED]
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: 'FORCE-QUIT']
Seo-Jun's eyes didn't glow blue or gold like the heroes on TV. They turned a void-like, static-filled black. He twisted his wrist, and the Enforcer's $500,000$ credit alloy sword shattered like cheap glass.
In a single, fluid motion, Seo-Jun stepped into the Enforcer's guard. He drove his palm into the chest plate.
[EXECUTING SKILL: 'FORCE-QUIT']
An explosion of dark energy rippled through the alleyway. The Enforcer didn't just fly back; his digital signature disintegrated. The armor collapsed into a pile of hollow scrap metal. No body. No blood. Just... gone.
The other two Enforcers froze. Their HUDs were screaming.
"His power level..." one stammered. "The System can't read it! It's—it's $0$! No, it's negative!"
"Wrong," Seo-Jun said, his body vibrating with a terrifying, jagged aura. He felt the "System Error" spreading through his veins, turning his pain into raw, unadulterated power. "It's not negative. It's the end of the script."
He vanished.
A second later, he appeared behind the remaining two. He didn't use a weapon. He simply reached out and touched their helmets.
"Format... C:/"
BOOM.
The shockwave blew out every window in a three-block radius. When the smoke cleared, Han Seo-Jun stood alone in the rain, his tattered coat fluttering.
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
A screen floated in front of his face, glowing with a malevolent violet light.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONSUME THE DIVINE DATA OF YOUR ENEMIES?]
[YES / YES]
Seo-Jun smirked, selecting both. "Let's see how many gods I have to delete before this world starts making sense."