MISS 01

Chapter 01

Prologue: The Beginning of Survival

The dazzling explosion of effects before my eyes was enough to make anyone lose their senses if they dared to blink.

But standing frozen in awe would be an even quicker path to death.

How could I be so sure?

“Run! Just run!”

“Azell Viotz! The demon of the kingdom has appeared!”

Among the screams of people fleeing, one familiar name cut through the chaos, instantly revealing where I was.

At a time when the capital was drowning in chaos and fear, Azell calmly observed the scene.

The fleeing citizens. The ruined city.

A man with red eyes, wielding crimson-black smoke across his body.

And the name I had just heard:

“…Azell Viotz.”

This was a scene straight out of a game.

No way… did I just get possessed into a game?

There was a massive problem with the possession I had undergone.

Azell Viotz—the ultimate villain of the game—was right in front of me, in the midst of his final awakening.

And I already knew what would happen next.

Destruction.

Once Azell completed his awakening, no one could stop him.

If you’re going to possess someone, shouldn’t you at least get a little time to do something?

I was staring straight into the final chapter of a game that promised the worst ending imaginable.

This was my reality now.

This is insane.

I had just made a New Year’s resolution to swear less, but faced with this unexpected twist in life, that little promise vanished instantly.

Finally, the long, dreadful end of my life was approaching.

Repeating a line of narration so many times it had become tiresome, I finally accepted this grim reality.

“Yeah… this is over.”

Though I muttered it in defeat, my mind was spinning faster than ever, racing to find a way out.

I had recently become utterly obsessed with a particularly twisted dating sim.

It wasn’t like the usual, run-of-the-mill dating games.

The root of it all was a single character: Azel Viotz.

Azel only appeared in the hidden route that unlocked late in the game—but when he did, it was impossible to ignore. Every detail of his design screamed careful, deliberate attention. He was the protagonist of the hidden route.

Azel, the ultimate villain and the enemy of the Holy Empire, was central to the story. The game followed Yulia, the heroine, who fought to save the world from Azel’s desire for destruction. Naturally, Yulia and Azel stood on opposite sides, and trying to “win” Azel’s route was anything but simple.

Yet that wasn’t what caught players’ attention the most.

“How the hell is anyone supposed to beat this?! Are the creators insane?!”

No matter what you tried, the game always ended in destruction. The world would collapse regardless of whether you pursued Azel or not. Players quickly shifted their focus—not to winning over a character, but to preventing the apocalypse.

And, of course, I was no exception.

“Ugh! This trash of a game! I swear, I’m never touching it again!”

Even after poring over the official lore guide, the bonus novels, and every scrap of community knowledge, I had still hit the destruction ending yesterday.

“If I do this again… I’m not even human.”

I finally admitted defeat and set the game aside.

“…Wait. You’re telling me someone gets possessed in a place like this?”

It seemed profoundly unethical.

“Did I write a scathing email to the developers? Leave a malicious comment filled with curses? The only thing I’ve ever truly cursed in my life is going to work! Why does it have to be me?!”

But while I was busy lamenting my misfortune, the situation was heading straight for catastrophe.

As people scattered like the tide going out, the empty plaza soon held only Azel and me.

Perhaps because I was the only human left, Azel’s crimson eyes turned toward me.

Naturally, my breath caught.

Wow… I’m actually going to die here, aren’t I?

His face was painfully beautiful, enough to make me pause—but this wasn’t the time to admire the villain’s looks.

Do something, anything, or die.

At that moment, I realized I didn’t even have time to grieve. A memory of a conversation with my younger sibling flickered through my mind:

“Still playing that?”
“I’m busy, go play outside.”
“You said you wouldn’t touch that garbage game again.”
“…This is the last time.”
“You always say ‘last time.’”

That had been around the seventeenth destruction ending. My sibling had asked me, staring at my drawn, exhausted face as I gripped the controller:

“But the main character? Azel? Why does he want to destroy the world?”

“He’s insane.”

That was all I said, flatly, with zero feeling.

“Who doesn’t know that? Of course he’s insane—he wants the world to end. What I want to know is why he’s insane.”

“Because he’s an infinite regressor.”
“Infinite… regressor? Like in those novels everyone’s reading now?”

An endless cycle of life, a spirit worn thin. Azel sought to end the world to break free from his repeated, unending existence.

“But how do you even beat an infinite regressor?”

I had no answer then.

“You can’t.”

Right. You cannot win. How could an ordinary person defeat a being that had experienced every possible scenario?

But then, from the echo of my sibling’s voice, a solution emerged.

I might not be able to beat him, but I can use him.

“Are you insane?”

I could almost hear my sibling’s praise in my head—though for a variety of reasons, it usually came out as scolding.

I already knew the truth: this was madness.

But…

Who cares? I need to survive first.

My survival instinct roared like a wild beast, insisting that this was the only solution.

I’ve already tried everything the game offers. Then I need to try something that hasn’t been done yet!

With that resolve, I turned and walked in the opposite direction from where everyone had fled.

Step by step, I closed the distance to Azel, pushing back the suffocating pressure with every stride.

Until now, Azel had watched me with the indifferent gaze one might reserve for ants on a path. The sudden appearance of someone like me was obviously unworthy of any reaction.

Indifferent or not, I was determined to shatter that expression.

I have to survive.

Finally, I reached Azel.

“Azel.”

I said his name boldly. In his crimson eyes, a flicker of surprise appeared.

“I’m here.”

A few tears clung to the corners of my eyes and slid down my cheeks. A single drop caught the wind and floated into the air, while I forced a trembling smile at the same time.

At the moment we met, at the moment Azel first recognized me, I smiled as if it hurt to even smile.

“I’m… too late, aren’t I?”

My voice trembled, and the tears finally broke free.

To confess now, I had once been the ace of the drama club.

If you want to face a madman, the only way is to go a little mad yourself.

And somehow, it felt like this was worth trying.