The first to bolt was Yoo Jin-woo. He shoved Kim Yong-tae aside roughly and let out a strange cry as he began dashing up the stairs. Caught off guard, Kim Yong-tae stood frozen for a second, stunned by the sudden turn of events. But soon enough, he too scrambled after Yoo Jin-woo, rushing up the steps.
But Baek Tae-beom and I remained still. We already knew what was going to happen. After a moment of silence, Baek Tae-beom suddenly asked,
“Is it okay if I come a bit closer to you?”
“…Closer?”
His unexpected question left me flustered. Baek Tae-beom replied, a little sheepishly,
“…I don’t know why, but I feel calmer when I’m near you, Ga-hyeon. So I thought maybe it’d be nice if I stayed closer.”
What kind of guy says that to another guy…?
Still, I couldn’t deny that I was strangely drawn to him. Maybe it was because I already knew who he was, or maybe it was because we had a contract as Constellation and Contractor. Either way, I couldn’t bring myself to outright reject him. So, reluctantly, I gestured for him to come closer.
Baek Tae-beom cautiously reached out and took my hand. His fingers slid gently between mine, palms pressed together as he interlaced our fingers. His hand was much larger than mine, the calluses distinctly rough against my skin. I found myself wondering—do taller people always have bigger hands? But I didn’t have much time to dwell on it, overwhelmed by how suddenly he’d grabbed my hand.
“What the—”
“Ah. Sorry.”
Realizing what he’d done, Baek Tae-beom quickly pulled away in a panic. And then—
“Ugh, aaaaaah!”
The two who had rushed ahead were now scrambling back up from below us. When they spotted Baek Tae-beom and me, their faces turned ghostly pale, staggering in disbelief. Yoo Jin-woo shouted, his voice high-pitched and nervous.
“What the hell is going on?! We definitely went up those stairs!”
It was obvious now—they had thought of the dungeon as nothing more than a quick way to make money. And truthfully, in chaotic times like these, the idea of striking it rich didn’t seem so far-fetched. Still, I turned to see Baek Tae-beom speaking in a firm, serious voice.
“This seems to be a simple form of… a labyrinth.”
“Labyrinth?”
“A maze designed so that no matter how far up you go, you never actually progress. We’ve been climbing the same spot over and over this whole time.”
“Shit, then what the hell are we supposed to do?!”
Kim Yong-tae ran his hand through his hair in frustration. I didn’t raise my hand dramatically like before; I answered calmly.
“I think I might have an idea.”
[Dungeon <Invasion of the Crimson Mist> ]
[Escape the Crimson Mist within the time limit.
Reward: 15,000 Coins
Penalty for failure: Death
Time limit: 13 hours]
“If you look, there’s no mention of climbing the stairs within the time limit. It just says to escape the Crimson Mist.”
Even as we spoke, the red mist crept closer, now visibly approaching. Yoo Jin-woo nodded, clearly growing anxious.
“So, in other words, maybe we’re not supposed to go up—we should be going down?”
“What?”
“I mean, if we want to escape the mist, we’d have to go down through it, right? If we keep going like this, we’ll just keep running until we’re eventually overtaken. But maybe… maybe the exit is somewhere below us.”
“I agree.”
Baek Tae-beom spoke with sudden conviction. Gone was the timid demeanor from earlier—he was assertive now. It filled me with a strange sense of pride, as his Constellation.
…Still, what was with the hand-holding?
My mind was a mess.
“What kind of bullshit is that? If we go down, we’re screwed!”
“Are we really? Have you touched that mist? Are you sure it kills you?”
I responded to Kim Yong-tae’s angry protest, my tone deliberate. His face twisted in irritation, flushing red and pale in turns, as though about to explode. Just as he stepped back in hesitation, his hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder roughly.
“Then YOU go first, you bastard!”
“Wait, hold on—!”
In the next instant, my body was airborne.
I was shoved violently down the stairs. My shoulder and back slammed against jagged stone steps, pain jolting through my body. Instinctively, I curled up to shield my face. The impact throbbed through every inch of me, and a ragged breath escaped my lips. I couldn’t help but scream.
The crimson mist engulfed me in an instant.
It felt as if something was lifting me off the ground—I flailed, arms stretching out for anything to grab onto. At the same time, pressure closed around my throat. It was like a massive giant’s hand had seized my neck, hoisting me upward. Red eyes glowed within the mist. I struggled to escape, but it was useless.
Is this how I die?
The thought flashed through my mind. If I die like this, would I finally escape this damned place that feels like a scene out of a cursed novel?
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Knows of Destruction,’ synchronizes with the Holy Vessel.]
“Ga-hyeon!”
A flash of white carved through the mist—a blade’s arc cleaving it in a single motion.
The mist, once thought intangible, was sliced apart in thick chunks. With a wet squelch, the severed pieces fell to the floor, followed by a cacophony of shrill screams. Just as I was about to collapse, a firm arm caught hold of my body.
At some point, I had ended up in Baek Tae-beom’s arms.
“Tae-beom…?”
“Are you alright?”
Baek Tae-beom asked urgently, checking me over with worried eyes. Judging by the sensation of something warm trickling from my head, I had probably cracked the back of my skull. His alarmed expression made the possibility all the more convincing.
“How did you…?”
“I don’t think it’s just mist—it seems like a mass of monster entities clumped together. Just now, I cut through it with my sword. You were right, Ga-hyeon.”
Baek Tae-beom casually flicked his sword, crimson blood flinging off the blade. Then, still holding me, he swung his arm once again. As the approaching red mist was slashed through, it solidified into chunks and thudded to the ground like jelly.
With my face now pressed embarrassingly against his chest, I could only roll my eyes around awkwardly.
‘Contractor Information.’
[Displaying Contractor information.]
[Contractor – Awakened: Baek Tae-beom]
[Title: Awakened
Status: Rage
Contracted Constellation: One Who Knows of Destruction
Coins Held: 3,000
Skills: [Sword Aura] [Hermit]
There are additional skills that have not manifested due to unmet conditions.]
‘Rage,’ really?
I looked up at Baek Tae-beom’s face. It was as calm as ever. His golden eyes, too, were steady—no sign of agitation or turmoil. Nothing about him looked remotely angry.
Then, suddenly, our eyes met.
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“…Ah, yeah! I’m fine! I think I’m just bleeding a little!”
“Most people wouldn’t call that ‘fine.’”
Baek Tae-beom chuckled and pulled me in a little tighter.
“We’re going to head down the stairs like this. Hold on.”
Why does he feel so… reassuring right now?
Still holding me securely, Baek Tae-beom began stepping down the stairs, cutting through the mist as it approached. The red fog parted like gelatin, vanishing into the air with each swing of his sword. His movements were so fluid, so practiced, that I found myself wondering about his proficiency—until a notification popped up, almost as if answering my thoughts.
[Your Contractor uses a skill. Skill: Sword Aura]
[Your Contractor’s sword mastery is temporarily enhanced.]
A brilliant white light radiated from Baek Tae-beom’s blade.
In that moment, he looked like someone holding aloft a sacred flame.
[Your Contractor feels rage.]
[Your Contractor is contemplating killing Kim Yong-tae.]
‘What the hell?’
I must have misread that, right?
There’s no way sweet, innocent Baek Tae-beom could be thinking something like that. I probably hit my head too hard—definitely hallucinating.
Baek Tae-beom calmly sliced through the mist, step by step, until we reached the bottom floor. But neither the door we came in through nor any visible exit could be found. The crimson fog hovered around us, as though it were testing our next move.
“What now? There’s no exit. Was the first floor not it? Should we have gone up instead?”
No, that couldn’t be. In The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World, unless otherwise stated, scenario dungeons were always resolved through unconventional means. I slipped out of Baek Tae-beom’s hold and scanned the area. That’s when I spotted something unusual.
“Look over there.”
I pointed to an open window. The red mist was still flowing into the room through it.
“It didn’t say to avoid the mist—it said to escape it. Maybe we’re not meant to get away from the mist, but to go through it. That’s the only strange area here.”
“I’ll give it a try.”
Baek Tae-beom tightened his grip on his sword and stepped forward, cutting through the fog as he advanced. Each swing seemed to knock something solid to the ground, but there was no time to worry about that now.
As he reached the window, Baek Tae-beom grasped his sword more firmly and thrust it into the stream of mist pouring in.
Squelch.
The sword sank into something soft—too soft. Then an eerie sound erupted all around us. Where Baek Tae-beom had stabbed, a new door appeared. And just like that, the mist that had filled the space vanished completely.
[Congratulations on clearing the dungeon! Reward granted.]
[Reward: 15,000 Coins]
[You’ve earned a new title for clearing Invasion of the Crimson Mist.]
[You have exited Channel #70jj5.]
When we stepped through the door, we emerged back at the entrance to the building, able to walk out naturally. Baek Tae-beom looked around curiously, then froze when he glanced behind me.
“You bastards…”
There stood Kim Yong-tae and Yoo Jin-woo, panting heavily, having just barely escaped the dungeon.
“Couldn’t you slow down a bit?!”
“Slow down? After what you just did, you have the nerve to say that?”
Baek Tae-beom growled as he stepped forward, pulling me protectively behind him. Only now, outside the dungeon, did I realize what kind of mess I was in. My ankle throbbed as if sprained, my wrist was swollen, and my head had probably been bleeding profusely. It made sense why Baek Tae-beom had been carrying me like a damn kangaroo.
But that wasn’t the issue right now.
“Hey. You—mister.”
I pointed to Yoo Jin-woo’s bulging pocket.
“Why don’t you go ahead and hand that over?”
