Stuck Between the Lines of a Tale (ORV OC)

Chapter 3: How to survive?

Corpses that were once wronged humans were now being used once again in a higher being's twisted game, forced to become inhuman pawns. (They were not able to find peace, even after death.)

I watched as the blood gurgling out from their visible vocal chords produce an aching groan, causing me to pale from the morbid scene.

Don't think about it. This was just a dream. Just a dream.

What was it that Kim Dokja said when he dealt with them? Something about how they were zombie fiends infected by black ether...?

"Yoo Joonghyuk! Can't you help me out here...!?" Either way, I was total dead meat.

The zombie fiends had me surrounded, and the inexperienced me was in no state to fight. Nicks and scratches wounded me, dimming my will to go on.

"Like I said, I have no use for people incapable of defending themselves." The man said with a tone of disinterest, slashing another zombie down with ease.

"You might as well use this as a chance to prove your worth."

Those were the last word he said, before leaving me behind to dust. Was it just me or was he faster than before?

"That jerk... he's totally treating me like I'm invisible." I cursed.

But his words strangely tickled my heart. It was most likely because I was getting the same treatment Kim Dokja did in the novel. Was it weird to enjoy getting treated coldly by Yoo Joonghyuk of all people?

(Perhaps I just wished to be Kim Dokja.)

"Krueek—!" A nearby zombie lands clean scratch on me, immediately making me hiss out in pain.

The scratch felt as if my skin had been burned by a thousand suns, but perhaps it was just me being weak and dramatic. Looking at my arm, it was as if I had been scratched by a wild rabid animal instead.

How the hell was I supposed to activate my stigma again!?

[The stigma "Po Nullification" has been activated.]

Ah!!

I suddenly felt two small holes puncture into my fingers, seeping out red blots. It unsurprisingly stung, but still I had no choice but to grit through.

Another window screen pops up, this time showing a series of lines and curves that were all be chinese characters packed in a specific position. I faintly recognized some characters such as "Deity" and "Dispel".

I was briefly reminded of the talismans I'd see in my home.

[Please apply talisman to target of choice.]

Did I have to manually use my blood to write all this...? With blood?

"Give me a break, I'm already rusty in my calligraphy skills! I don't even have paper!"

As soon as I said that, a small sheet of yellow paper manifested into my hands.

"Never mind then."

A headless zombie takes a swing at me, which I luckily manage to dodge just in time. I could have used my stigma against them, but they were not my target.

Despite my complaints of Yoo Joonghyuk, letting him go ahead first greatly helped me since it paved a clear way out through the crowd of zombies. The man had left a very obvious trail of death, with how he was ramming through everything like a bullet train.

I finally saw hope when a familiar glint of light hair peeked through from a distance. That, was the one I was after.

A zombie different than everyone else. Unlike the other headless zombies, this one in particular had managed to regenerate its previously blown up head and survived Yoo Joonghyuk's dash.

"Here it goes..!"

I leaped to face him. "Kang Namwoon, I choose you!"

"Kuweeeoooh..?!" He groaned.

A strong surge of energy possessed me, instantly allowing me to be able to draw my bloodied fingers over the paper and slap it across the fiend's face. I wasn't sure how, but writing down the characters was as easy as brushing paint over a white canvas.

(I didn't even know what this ability would do, but somehow, my instincts gave me a brief idea of what might happen.)

Thanks to me having caught zombie Kang Namwoon by surprise, he did not have enough time to react or try to stop me from applying the whole talisman. Hence, I succeeded.

"Heed my call, Kang Namwoon."

The fiend bared his sharp teeth at me, almost making me jump back from how ghostly he had looked.  Just then, the talisman characters I had applied onto his face began to emit an unnatural glow and stopped his movements just in time.

Kang Namwoon's groans slowly turned into what should be painful screams.

"It's working..?" I gulped.

It wasn't over yet though, because I had more things planned ahead.

"I offer you a contract."

To the you that did not wish to die, would you like another chance at life?

服從。

"Guaaaack!"

[The constellation "The Man whom Five Bats Dwell" finds your methods odd.]

To my backer, I had probably done something stupid.

Just using [Po Nullification] seemed to have taken a large amount of my stamina in exchange of using what should be internal energy. I was barely hanging on.

In fact, immediately using my stigma 'this' way was a huge risk.

But I also knew that whatever action I'd take from now on would cause nothing but the butterfly effect. Every choice, every move, every word.

I needed to survive. And this wasn't the sort of world where anyone could survive alone. This was a ruined world. If the talismans and 'Po' were anything alike to the things I've seen in movies then....

"Become my Jiangshi, and accept me as your master."

AN: A Jiangshi is the Chinese equivalent of a stiff zombie, with the exception of it having vampiric traits and hop around all over the place. They are usually portrayed in stories wearing robes with talismans stuck on their head.