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The blue moon and the cloud-covered sky.

Looking down from the buildings, countless people had disappeared, leaving only the empty road.

I raised my head to look up.

Two staircases came into view.

One staircase on the right and one on the left.

“…What is this?”

Aileen’s words seemed to echo my own feelings.

What in the world is this?

I glanced at the stairs reaching up into the sky.

A translucent window appeared before my eyes.

[Name: Stairs to the Moon]

[Age: -]

[Specialty: Stairs]

[Talent: Stairs]

[Background: To reach the sky, humans built stairs. Of course, no one knows when those stairs might collapse.]

[Weakness: If too many people try to climb the stairs, they will crumble.]

If too many people climb the stairs, they will collapse.

What could this possibly mean?

“By the way, can we actually walk to the moon using these stairs?”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

Ignoring Yu Da On and Song Ah Rin’s chatter, I turned to Aileen.

“Aileen.”

“Yeah.”

“You haven’t heard anything about these stairs, have you?”

“Not at all.”

Aileen shook her head.

“I only just learned that such stairs exist.”

“…”

I looked up at the staircase.

The stairs, stretching endlessly towards the sky, had an unknown destination.

“Well then, let’s go.”

It’s not like worrying will solve anything. It’s better to move fast.

I began walking toward the stairs.

-Thunk!

As I stepped on the metal stairs, the familiar sound of metal echoed in my ears.

Soon, Aileen and Yu Da On followed behind me.

-Thunk!

“Ugh…”

Jang Chae Yeon, who was following Yu Da On, seemed to hit something with her head and crouched down, holding her forehead.

“Chae Yeon?”

“…I’m fine…”

Still clutching her red forehead, Jang Chae Yeon mumbled.

“…”

Noticing her, Song Ah Rin walked toward the staircase and began tapping the steps with her fist.

“It’s blocked.”

“…Huh?”

-Thunk!

As Song Ah Rin punched the entrance of the staircase, a clear sound made the transparent wall shake.

“See? It’s blocked.”

“…Oh, you’re right.”

At her mumbling, Yu Da On punched the wall on the other side, but it was clear she couldn’t get out.

“…”

“…Do you two want to stay here?”

My question made Jang Chae Yeon and Song Ah Rin exchange glances.

“No.”

“I don’t want to.”

They answered simultaneously.

“We’ll take the opposite staircase.”

“…Isn’t that dangerous?”

“They wouldn’t have built two stairs for no reason.”

Song Ah Rin replied nonchalantly as she turned away.

“And, wouldn’t it be better for you if we were there?”

“That’s true but…”

“Then I’m going.”

Song Ah Rin walked toward the staircase, and Jang Chae Yeon looked at me.

“Be careful.”

“I will.”

“…Please take care.”

“Got it!”

“Even this one knows how to take care of herself.”

Yu Da On cheerfully replied, clenching her fist, and Aileen shrugged before drawing her gun.

“Everyone be careful, and um, let’s meet alive on the moon.”

“Do you really think we can walk there? I read somewhere that it takes about ten years to walk to the moon.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“That sounds like a long time…”

We all fell silent, watching Song Ah Rin, who muttered with a flustered expression.

“…Why? …Oh, no way. Do you think the Management Agency is crazy enough to make us walk for ten years…?”

Song Ah Rin’s words grew slower.

“…If that happens, it was truly a joy to be with you.”

“Should I say what I couldn’t say earlier?”

Song Ah Rin mumbled, while Jang Chae Yeon stared at me, tilting her head.

“…Let’s climb up first.”

Yeah. The Management Agency wouldn’t have built stairs meant for walking for so long.

At most, it would be a few hours.

*

“…”

“Are your legs hurting? Should we take a ten-minute break?”

“I’m fine.”

I recalled the events so far.

Now, we had been climbing the stairs for two hours.

If it was just walking, I could manage for two hours easily.

“…”

My legs felt like they were going to burst.

How are those two walking so well?

As I looked at Yu Da On and Aileen with a mix of awe and disbelief, Aileen noticed me and calmly replied.

“I was once trapped in a factory filled with killing machines.”

“…”

“One of the conditions for escaping in the manual was to run up the stairs without getting caught.”

“Yeah.”

“There were two hundred floors.”

“…”

So, that means she ran up two hundred floors?

That makes sense, but what about Yu Da On?

“My legs hurt too…”

Yu Da On trailed off, looking at me.

“But when my legs hurt too much, they suddenly feel fine again.”

“Oh…”

So she’s treating muscle pain like a wound and regenerating it. I’m truly envious.

In the end, I was the only one without experience or regeneration, so I had no choice but to keep walking.

“We’ve come quite a way.”

Aileen turned around and looked outside.

She gazed at the precarious landscape beyond the railing.

The road had long disappeared from sight.

Now, all that was before us were clouds at our level.

We had climbed extremely high.

“I wonder if Chae Yeon and Ah Rin are okay?”

“They’re probably further behind us.”

Song Ah Rin doesn’t have regeneration, and Jang Chae Yeon has the least stamina among us.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

-Thunk… thunk…

As I walked, something suddenly came to mind.

“By the way, Aileen.”

“Yeah.”

“We fought against the ‘church’ a few weeks ago.”

-Thunk!

Upon hearing my words, Aileen’s steps halted, and she turned to look at me.

“Tell me in detail.”

“…”

I explained the experiences I had with her.

The priest, what had happened, and finally, the prophet.

“…Prophet.”

She murmured while looking at me.

“They called you a prophet?”

“…”

Her voice was serious, and before I could respond, Yu Da On stepped between us.

“…”

I couldn’t see Yu Da On’s expression, but she quietly looked at Aileen before finally speaking.

“Jae Heon is fine.”

“…I know.”

Aileen mumbled before turning her back.

“When this incident is over…”

“Huh?”

“When this incident is over, grant me one wish.”

Aileen turned back to look at me.

“Please. I’ll do anything. I’ll grant whatever you ask. Even if it’s something I can’t do, I’ll make sure to do it.”

Her gaze.

“So, could you please grant my request just this once?”

She was so desperate that I had no choice but to nod.

*

We passed through the clouds.

Soon, the sky began to darken, and more stars became visible.

“We’ve ascended.”

Aileen murmured, looking around, and Yu Da On reached outward in wonder.

Shouldn’t it be hard to breathe by now?

During this moment, I spotted an old metal sign attached to the middle of the staircase.

<Do not lean over the railing.>

<You will die from lack of oxygen.>

“Seems that’s the case.”

“We should be careful.”

I quickly turned to Yu Da On and asked,

“Right?”

“Are you planning to stick your face out over the railing to breathe or something?”

“Jae Heon! I’m not a child!”

“Just wanted to make sure.”

After chatting lightly, we kept climbing the stairs.

-Thunk…

“Whew… Hah…”

We finally reached the end of the staircase.

“…Hah… Hah… How long… have we been climbing…?”

“Uh, it took 9 hours and 14 minutes!”

“…”

I’m going to die.

I collapsed onto the floor and looked up at the sky.

The moon was now close enough to see directly in front of me.

The blue light was bright enough to illuminate my face.

“…”

The moon glowed in a bizarre hue.

-Kiing…!

Tinnitus rang in my ears, and a sharp headache swept through my head.

“Ugh…”

Soon, a translucent window appeared.

[Name: Moon]

[Age: -]

[Specialty: -]

[Talent: -]

[Background: The moon has been revered or feared by everyone for long ages. It wouldn’t have happened without reason.]

[Weakness: -]

I hurriedly glanced at Yu Da On and Aileen.

“…”

“…”

The two were fixated on the moon.

The blue light reflected in their eyes made their irises seem to turn blue as they stared at me.

“Jae Heon.”

“…”

“Did you see that light?”

“Are you suggesting the moon is beautiful?”

“No.”

Yu Da On murmured, looking at me.

“How can we possibly defeat something like that?”

“…”

“This is a fight we can only abandon.”

“Exactly.”

Aileen nodded in agreement with Yu Da On’s words.

“I’ve realized. Humanity cannot overcome something like this.”

“…”

“It’s just… easier to give up.”

“Everyone snap out of it—”

“You’re the one who needs to snap out of it.”

At that moment, Yu Da On lightly bounded over to me.

“Don’t worry! I’ll protect you! From the moon and from foolish choices!”

“Damn—”

I quickly pulled out my gun, aiming at Yu Da On to shoot her,

“Oh dear.”

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed from above.

-Thud!

Something fell from the sky, crashing onto Yu Da On and pinning her to the metal floor.

“…!”

-Bang!

Aileen drew her gun and immediately shot at whoever had pinned Yu Da On, but,

“Oh dear.”

That person simply waved their hand and ‘caught’ the bullet.

With their hand outstretched,

-Clang…!

The crumpled bullet dropped to the ground.

“It’s technically a disciplinary issue to shoot your superior…”

A familiar voice permeated the air.

The blue moonlight illuminated the ground brightly.

“Since you have issues with your sanity, I’ll consider this mitigating circumstances.”

Brown hair fluttered in the wind, and the half-closed eyes looked at me with a playful grin before—

“You really never listen to me, do you? You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

The Branch Chief’s red eyes sparkled as they gazed at me.