I’m Planning to be Killed by the Heroine

───Crackle.
The memory from a year ago that had been stimulating my brain until now.
Seeing the perfectly round association mark drawn without a single crookedness, it was reviving once again.
It was enough to make me frown.
After landing on the ground and stopping my body, the air current that had been following me rapidly subsided and stopped.
Immediately, a thin wound appeared on the girl’s neck as she passed by me, flashing.
“Urghk.”
“……”
A hunter from the association, huh.
The association.
Those sticky bastards who persistently tormented me until a year ago.
“Huk, urghk.”
“Are you okay?”
Three people a day, they say.
If I kill you too, it’ll be four. I deliberately avoided the carotid artery when I cut your neck.
Looking at the blood spewing from the mouth of the girl who had collapsed with her gray hair disheveled, I first thought it was a waste.
The red waterfall gushing from the countless knife wounds all over her body also looked so delicious.
[ We’ll be swarmed if we stay long. Let’s wrap this up. ]
I clenched my hand holding the knife tightly.
[ Aureli. ]

Thump, thump, thump.
Get a grip.
I’ve killed three people and satisfied my urge.
I must endure.
I can do it, right?
[ You did well. ]
I hurriedly turned my steps and approached the man slumped against the wall.
I pulled out the knife that had accurately pierced his heart and shook off the blood.
Looking at them, no longer emanating the scent of life, I twisted a lock of my hair.
I hardly used any strength because I wanted to save blood, but I didn’t expect them to die so quickly.
After finishing this small task, I gathered the blood scattered on the floor and walls into a small, dense cube.
I took out the glass bottle I had put in my bosom again, opened the lid, and put it in.
As a refreshing sound rang out, my urges subsided and I felt better.
“Pretty.”
Two orbs and one cube.
A good harvest.
I moved my feet, leaving behind the whimpering groans.
As I passed by the man slumped against the wall, I noticed a faintly glowing flash on the ground.
An artifact.
[ It’s a device that amplifies magical power. ]
Was this person an awakened one too?
Ah, so that’s why there were three.
I see, even those with such meager power that they need artifacts are considered awakened ones.
“…….”
Me too.
I too was weak.
So very weak in body.
If only I had a body that could die from having limbs torn off or the heart bursting, how nice would that have been?
[ Aureli. Let’s go home. ]
You’re always so consistent.
I know.
I shouldn’t have such idle thoughts.
Negative thoughts lead to more negative thoughts.
They keep eroding me endlessly.
Slowly becoming needles that eat away at my mind, my body, my heart, and all of my actions.
Dyeing everything bright red.
So, shall we talk about something more constructive?
Something helpful to the world.
Something like that.
[ There’s no need for that. A trivial conversation would be good. ]
For example?
[ Thinking about tonight’s dinner would be fine. It’s already getting dark outside, isn’t it? ]
I glimpsed a few flickering lights in the darkness beyond the entrance.
“Let’s get out of here.”
[ That’s a good idea. Aureli. Just take it slow, one step at a time. ]
Before stepping out and opening the store’s door, perhaps out of habit, I lifted my head and scanned the wall connected to the ceiling.
My eyes met with a black surveillance camera precariously holding its position on the cracked wall.
“…….”
I think I’ll be fighting you again soon.
Six months, one month, this week.
I know.
At most, it’ll be within a few days.
You’ve always been like this.
Every time I was active, you were desperate to narrow down the investigation and kill me.
Association.
I’ll be looking forward to it this time too.
Unconsciously licking my lips while looking at the fallen hunter, I hurriedly turned my steps and left the store.
The outskirts of the city were certainly, with their unique quietness, making the streets eerily silent.
Therefore, it was only natural that my groans and panting breaths were heard more clearly.
“Haah····. Haah····.”
It’s been a while since I drank blood.
A while?
How long has it been?
A day? 3 days? A week?
I don’t know.
I know that my vision is completely red now and I can’t see properly.
I know that my heart is beating as if it’s about to break and my mouth is starting to dry up.
If I don’t get a grip.
If I don’t desperately hold onto my sanity.
I might degenerate into a beast that only acts on instinct, committing slaughter without a second thought.
No, even before that, I’m not human, am I?
Dhampir.
Half-human, half-vampire.
“Urp, puwahak -”
[ Aureli. We’re almost there. Just hold on a little longer. ]
It’s hard.
It hurts.
It hurts.
I need blood.
I don’t feel like myself.
What’s pooling in my mouth right now?
Saliva? Blood? Or something else?
Pshuk, pak! Thud thud.
I don’t know.
Let’s keep walking. Don’t think about anything, just walk.
Let’s overcome the urge to kill someone and drink their blood, and safely arrive home.
And let’s prove to ourselves. That I’m still human.
That at least my heart is still human.
The knife.
The blood-stained knife caught my eye.
The scent of flesh rose thickly.
“No····.”
[ Aureli. ]
My chest throbbed and my body trembled.
“No, no, no.”
[ Calm down. Aureli. ]
I couldn’t have killed. No. I couldn’t have killed.
It’s three people a day, right?
Three a day. Three a day. Three a day.
If I kill someone, it becomes four a day.
I can’t. I mustn’t.
I’ll no longer be human.
So does that mean I’m human as long as it’s three or less?
Does it mean it’s okay to casually murder up to three people?
You, are you really human?
“Ah, ah, ahhh!!”
I had no choice.
If I don’t kill someone, my body can’t endure.
What am I supposed to do with this body that craves blood every night?
I can’t even die at will. If I lose control of myself, I’ll revert to my past self again.
I’ll end up smiling like a madman in front of those who oppose me.
[ Aureli. We’re here. Take a deep breath. ]
A house.
Limping and drooling, I pressed the elevator button as if I was about to break it.
Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip.
Come up. Come up. Come up.
It’s okay.
We’ve arrived now.
We’re here, aren’t we?
I kept it.
Three.
I must have kept it.
[ Don’t worry. ]
Thank you.
Even as the door opened and we descended underground.
Enduring the pain in my chest, chewing on all the sensations in my body.
I leaned against the wall, slumped down, and squeezed my eyes shut.
The door opened, and I buried myself in the narrow, very narrow living room.
I lay down on the sofa embedded in the wall.
Unable to even think about dinner.
Unable to even say goodnight to Bloody.
I inserted a device containing red liquid somewhere near my chest.
With my whole body exhausted, I listlessly waited for the nightmarish time that would pounce on me.
With the sound of the clock hands, my consciousness faded.

“I felt you should know this, so I came to see you despite your busy schedule.”
“What on earth could it be?”
“It’s about a murder case that occurred in the Gyeonggi area.”
Following his secretary who was leading the way through the long corridor to the conference room, the Association President – Lindergel – felt puzzled.
“Gyeonggi area?”
“Yes. Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do.”
It was a natural measure to strengthen the boundaries around the densely populated metropolitan area as public safety in the cities deteriorated extremely after the incident.
The rising crime rate in the outskirts as a result was also a matter under discussion.
For Lindergel, who already had a headache from the work piling up in the metropolitan area, he had long since delegated decision-making authority for most areas of Busan and the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do to the executives.
Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do, isn’t that in the outskirts of the metropolitan area?
Bypassing all the directors and executives, a direct report to him?
Is this the secretary’s independent decision?
As the conference room door opened and he turned his gaze, he saw a girl sitting at the table.
A beautiful appearance with golden short hair, a black uniform that looked deep yet refreshing, and a glimpse of powerful energy.
“It’s been a while, President.”
“Erica, it’s been a long time. How’s your department work going?”
“So-so.”
Her face, answering calmly, was no different from her usual expressionless look.
She was still a girl with dull emotions.
Lindergel sat down in the seat next to Erica and replied.
“Even if you say that, I know you’re crushing every case that comes up.”
“You flatter me.”
“Haha.”
A ranker in the game era, work and justice, the rising star of the association.
That’s how one would describe Erica.
It was a well-known fact among high-ranking officials that after Erica joined the association, she had thrown herself into fieldwork, focusing solely on work.
Outstanding handling and judgment of cases comparable to a ranker’s skills, and the ability to lead those around her.
Since she was assigned to a ‘special’ department that handles dangerous positions that not just anyone can handle, fitting her personality, she had been steadily raising her reputation by handling all the cases assigned to her.
“It seems a special incident has occurred. I heard a bit and came to check.”
At Erica’s words, as if on cue, the secretary projected a beam. Various photo files stored on the laptop appeared on the projected beam.
It was a store in shambles with objects smashed. Two corpses beyond recognition, and one corpse leaning against the wall with its heart pierced.
And in one corner of such a crime scene, there was a presence that didn’t fit the environment. A girl with silver hair, long wavy hair. And blue eyes.
It was an appearance that seemed familiar from somewhere. Lindergel thought so but then shook his head.
“The CCTV at the scene received a big shock and most of the memory was lost. This is all we have. One video.”
The secretary said that and played a video.
That store from earlier, a blurry screen with a few men, and that girl again.
Beyond the distorted screen, a man lunged at the girl. There was no time to focus. As soon as the girl raised her knife, the man’s arm was cleanly severed as if measured with a protractor.
Crackle, crackle –
The screen broke and chaos ensued. A red attack-type build asserting its presence, and flashes of light dominating the screen.
By the time one could stare blankly, numerous scenes had already passed in a matter of seconds, and something seemed to pass quickly across the screen before its form could be made out by the readjusted screen.
A huge monstrous mouth emerging from the girl’s arm.
It was chewing on a person.
In a space filled with all sorts of screams and red blood, only the girl’s laughter was heard particularly vividly.
“……”
The room fell silent.
Lindergel clutched his throbbing head.
Hadn’t he seen a boy using such a build?
The horrific memory from a year ago started to resurface.
“Total of 4 victims, two awakened criminals and one ordinary awakened person, dead. And a hunter from the Gyeonggi branch, injured.”
The secretary adjusted the screen to show the photos again.
“This is the girl currently suspected. As you can see, she has a monster-type build that is known to be very rare and difficult to use, along with a wide-area stat structure that stands out. Although we can’t be certain due to the lack of evidence we could salvage, she appears to be at least a high-level awakened one. She might even be stronger.”

Lindergel stared at the screen again.
The store with red liquid spread all over.
The girl, snow-white silver hair and blue eyes. Red magic build.
And just like that painful memory, a twisted smile and a face completely enveloped in madness, feeling ecstasy.
Only then did he understand why the secretary had called him.
There was only one difference from that boy.
‘No way.’
Let’s stop thinking about it.
It can’t be.
Even in a world where games have become reality and everything has gone mad, a gender change was an unprecedented, absurd notion.
Moreover, it had been a year since that boy disappeared.
Would he cause such an incident now?
It was too small a scale compared to the incidents he had caused so far.
It can’t be, no. It must not be.
Absolutely not.
“The most notable feature is that when the forensics team arrived after the incident, strangely, almost no blood components were detected in this store.”
Lindergel’s hand twitched.
“After that, she wasn’t seen on CCTV in other areas either. She must be very skilled at escape as well.”
“Interesting.”
Erica opened her mouth while looking at the screen.
For a moment, Lindergel flinched at the sight.
“Don’t worry, President.”
Erica, staring directly at the girl on the screen who seemed to treat all of this as mere entertainment, was dimensionally different from her cold demeanor that had been seen so far.
Red emotions were overflowing. Her trembling fist remained tightly clenched.
“I’ll go down to the Gyeonggi branch.”
Numerous thoughts invaded Lindergel’s mind.
As much as he believed in her skills, there had never been a case that Erica couldn’t solve.
Befitting her skills, she was a lofty girl who never let go once she started chasing something.
That’s why. The mixture of trust and unease.
“To catch that psychopathic, vicious criminal.”
While inwardly repeating that it would be alright, all Lindergel could do was.
“I will surely behead her on the spot.”
With a firm voice, just watch Erica whose gaze had changed.