The ruined district lay silent—a skeleton of buildings and streets torn apart by neglect and violence.
Naji Kang moved through the rubble alongside the Debt Collectors, his instincts uneasy.
One of them clicked his tongue.
"Don't slow down, kid. This is just another cleanup job."
Naji didn't answer immediately. His eyes scanned the broken skyline.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
Finally, he muttered,
"This doesn't feel like a job."
Another collector laughed softly.
"You always say that."
But Naji wasn't joking.
This mission… felt wrong.
They found them quickly.
A group of hostile figures stood among the ruins.
Former humans—now twisted into puppets.
A voice from the lead collector confirmed it.
"Virus-class contamination confirmed. No survivors."
Naji's expression hardened.
"So they're already gone… just shells?"
A third collector replied coldly.
"Exactly. Don't hesitate. Eliminate and collect the core data."
Naji exhaled slowly.
"I've seen worse."
But even as he said it, something inside him tightened.
Then Naji spoke again.
"Is this really my final job?"
The group went silent.
The air shifted.
After a pause, a voice answered through the comm-link.
"…Yes."
But it was too quick.
Too clean.
Naji narrowed his eyes.
"…That was fast."
No one responded.
That silence told him everything.
Then he saw them.
Among the infected—
Two figures stood differently.
Not fully broken.
Not fully gone.
Familiar.
His breath slowed.
"…No way."
A Debt Collector beside him frowned.
"You recognize them?"
Naji stepped forward slightly.
"They're… co-bosses."
The collector stiffened.
"That's not possible."
But Naji already knew.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then realization hit him like a hammer.
"This isn't a job…"
His voice dropped.
"It's an ambush."
Before he could react—
A Debt Collector moved first.
"Orders changed. Subdue the target NOW."
"What—?" Naji turned sharply. "Subdue who?!"
But it was too late.
A strike hit him from behind.
"Guh—!"
Naji staggered.
Another voice echoed through the ruins, distorted through comms.
"Target confirmed. Naji Kang must not leave alive."
Naji's eyes widened.
"So that's it…"
He laughed bitterly.
"You never planned to clear the debt."
Then—
A presence emerged.
The B-ranked virus-class mutant.
A massive double-headed flesh spider… with human intelligence.
It clicked and spoke in broken human tone.
"Debt… asset… eliminate…"
Naji's eyes sharpened.
"So you're the insurance."
A Debt Collector shouted,
"Don't let it speak! Kill it NOW!"
The battle erupted.
Naji fought—but he was still in his First Awakening peak state.
Not enough.
A Debt Collector slammed him into rubble.
"Stay down, kid!"
Naji coughed blood.
"Why…?"
A familiar voice responded quietly.
"Because you were never meant to leave."
Naji froze.
"…So I was just a tool."
The mutant lunged.
Pain exploded through Naji's body.
He fell.
Crippled.
Breathing shattered.
Everything dimmed.
But then—
Something deeper stirred.
A thought.
Not anger.
Not fear.
But desire.
I don't want to die.
I haven't lived yet.
I haven't even made a friend.
That will—pure and unbreakable—ignited inside him.
"Stay down!" a collector shouted.
But Naji's fingers moved.
"…No."
Gravity trembled.
"What did you say?" one whispered.
Naji's eyes slowly lifted.
"I said… no."
Then it happened.
The world bent.
Space itself folded inward.
"W-what is this pressure?!"
"He's awakening AGAIN?!"
The air collapsed toward him.
A voice escaped Naji's lips.
"…Second Awakening."
Silence.
Then power erupted.
Naji stood.
Different.
Heavier.
Stronger.
The battlefield warped around him.
One collector whispered,
"…This isn't possible."
Naji tilted his head slightly.
"You made one mistake."
He raised his hand.
"I didn't come here to die."
"GRAVITON COLLAPSE."
The world responded.
A gravitational well exploded outward.
"GAAAH—!!"
Bodies were dragged in.
Metal screamed.
Concrete shattered.
The two co-bosses struggled.
"Naji! Wait—this is a misunderstanding!"
Naji didn't blink.
"You already decided my ending."
A Debt Collector roared,
"REPULSION UNIT—STOP HIM!"
Naji turned slightly.
"…Too late."
"REPULSION BURST."
BOOM—
A shockwave detonated outward.
Enemies were thrown like dust.
The battlefield broke apart under his will.
The mutant charged.
"ELIMINATE… TARGET…"
Naji didn't move.
He simply whispered:
"Fall."
Gravity collapsed.
The creature was crushed inward—then launched into ruins with a deafening impact.
Silence returned.
Only rubble remained.
Naji stood among the destruction.
"…It's over."
Then he noticed it.
A faint glow beneath the debris.
He walked forward.
Kneeled.
And pulled it out.
A core.
Massive.
Pulsing with energy.
A Debt Collector's dying voice crackled through comms.
"…Take it… and clear your debt…"
Naji froze.
"…What?"
No response.
Only static.
Then—
Nothing.
He stood slowly.
"…So this was the condition."
Time passed.
Debts were erased.
Records wiped.
Chains broken.
The first light of dawn broke over the horizon.
Naji stood alone in the ruined district.
The wind moved through broken concrete like a whisper of freedom.
He looked at his hand.
"…Nineteen."
A pause.
Then softly:
"So this is what freedom feels like."
He turned toward the rising sun.
For the first time—
He wasn't owned.
He wasn't a tool.
He wasn't a debt.
Naji Kang stood in the light.
Whole.
Free.
And in control of his destiny.
To be Continued...