1 Prologue: Golden-Tailed Dragon

How long had it been? Days? Hours? The entire party was battered and exhausted. They had finally reached the 999th floor. They were so incredibly close to conquering the tower.

Jeong Sa-ook was panting, using his dagger to draw more blood from his wrists as he efficiently traced a rune on his body. Too tired to feel the dulled pain of the incision, a stark yellow light shone from the rune, healing both his mana, internal injuries and stamina. He stammered to do the same to rest of the wounded party, despite the amount of blood he was losing.

Feeling lightheaded, He drew another rune on himself, this time directly carved into his forehead. He dubbed it 'Rune of Invulnerability', a rune he had designed himself. His eyes turned a bright red, his pupils, his irises even his sclera. He looked almost grotesque with dark blood running down his arms and face. As a player, Sa-ook had heightened regenerative abilities, but even then they weren't fast enough to close his self-inflicted wounds. Sa-ook just learned to bear with the bleeding.

After quickly tying his coarse hair into a ponytail, he rushed onto the battlefield to join his comrades. Park Tae-Hwan, the leader of the Golden-Tailed Dragon Party, was fighting rigorously with his longsword, shouting commands at the other party members. The High-Demon was so close to dead, and now that Jeong Sa-ook had healed up, he was determined to deal the final blow. The High-Demon's crimson skin was cracking and leaking black blood. Half of it's face seem to be singed.

Using runes of speed and strength he swiftly made his way through the wide range of powerful attacks the High-Demon threw at him. Dual-Wielding, Sa-ook threw the twin daggers both square into its heart.

There was a small pause before it fell to its knees, a pile of black blood encasing it's corpse. After that brief moment of silence came cheers-- albeit bittersweet. Tae-Hwan seemed to loom over the Demon's body, his expression darkening. Sa-ook merely brushed it off as Tae-Hwan being sentimental. Many had died, and after this would be the final floor.

Sa-ook flinched when he felt Tae-Hwan clap his back forcefully. "Good job out there." He says flatly, staring Sa-ook's disheveled face.

Sa-ook's eyes were still entirely red, faintly glowing. The rune he etched onto his forehead essentially made him invulnerable to physical attacks for about 10 minutes. It had been a new rune that Jeong Sa-ook had developed, using blood rune techniques that are usually frowned upon. (Of course taboo never really mattered to Sa-ook.) Jeong hadn't imagined that one of the side effects of the rune would be the perpetually red eyes, but appearances matter little in battle.

Tae-Hwan seemed to scrutinize Sa-ook's face.

"You... you really look like a demon..." He mutters to himself, his expression still dark. Sa-ook begrudgingly smirks, slightly pissed. "And you look like an ogre, your point?"

Tae-Hwan's hand grabs the hem of Sa-ook's shirt, suspending him in the air. His fingers slowly enclosing around the Runeswielder's neck. "Wha-What are.. you doing! Bastard...!" Sa-ook manages to choke out.

The other party members watch in silence, seeming to have expected this.

"Jeong Sa-ook." Kim So-Yeong says. She was the head of public affairs in the party, and was now wearing a solemn look as Tae-Hwan silently held his throat. Before Sa-ook can answer, she continues.

"You have never suited our party, Sa-ook. You wield strange blood rune arts that are too similar to demonic magic. We can no longer overlook this." She says, raising her staff.

"HEY!! What are you doing?!" Sa-ook shouts, watching as So-Yeong prepares a spell. She raises her now-glowing staff and points it at him.

"We cannot have you sully our name any longer. Because of your years serving us, to the public, you'll have merely died in battle. That is the last mercy we will grant you." She says. "Goodbye Jeong Sa-ook." She says, as Jeong feels his body rip apart into pieces.