Little Pink Starfish

After scouting the set, Han Iro and I had dinner together and worked out our strategy.

For the Halloween Festival, CYB had converted an entire floor of the Bichang Guild’s central headquarters into a set.

It was such a large building that even a single floor could accommodate a variety of horror-themed concepts:

An abandoned hospital, a shadowy forest, a creepy basement, a dark school, an old castle…

As part of the offense team, we needed to pick one of these zones to hide in and prepare to scare the defense teams.

“Normally it’s best to wait near the entrance,” Han Iro muttered, studying the layout.

“…But I guess the judges anticipated that.”

Indeed.

Each offensive zone had its own separate entrance for the defense teams.

“So, basically, the defense team will enter simultaneously through five different doors.”

Han Iro nodded at my words. After a brief pause, he offered a solution.

“Then we should wait in the zone that best fits our costume theme.”

That made sense.

I munched on a sandwich, recalling Han Iro’s costume.

“…The old castle.”

It wasn’t a hard decision.

“Why that one?”

Han Iro asked.

“Well, you can fill the area with blood-red bubbles, right? The effect has a surreal, dreamlike feel to it. So the old castle suits it. Your outfit can match, too.”

“Fair enough. What about you, Eunyul? How are you dressing up?”

“…As a monster.”

“What?”

Han Iro narrowed his eyes.

“You’re dressing as a monster?”

I shook my head.

“Technically not dressing up—transforming.”

“No way. Seriously? My old constellation had transformation powers too, but five minutes was the limit. And your constellation can keep you transformed for an hour?”

Han Iro’s former Constellation was The Usurper of Tarnhelm.

It granted a transformation ability for five minutes.

From his perspective, my claim probably sounded ridiculous.

…Which was good.

“It’s possible,” I said firmly.

“…”

Han Iro stared at me in silence.

<Creature, is it wise to share this information? That brat will surely become suspicious of this body’s true title.>

‘It’s fine. That’s the whole point.’

Of all the CYB participants, only Jeong Noeul knew the Star’s true identity.

Han Iro had already shown curiosity about the Star after it exposed his burn scar, and he’d likely grow even more suspicious in the future.

But I didn’t mind.

Keeping the Star’s name secret until the final stage wasn’t hard.

If there were more people like Jeong Noeul, they would’ve stepped forward already.

‘I’m sure Han Iro will make it to the final stage.’

Even if Aiden was pulling strings behind the scenes, Han Iro’s talent and popularity guaranteed his survival.

‘…And I’ll make it, too.’

If we ended up competing in the final stage, Han Iro would be forced to strategize without knowing what the Star really was.

The male idol final stage in CYB always followed the same format:

The top 10 were split into two teams to perform a group song, followed by solo performances from each of the top 10.

All of it was done as a live concert in front of an audience.

That’s how the final rankings would be determined, and the top five would debut as a project group.

‘When the time comes…’

I’ll have to give everything I’ve got to defeat Han Iro.

‘I’m ranked 5th now, but my goal is still 1st place.’

Which meant I had to keep him in check.

<You’re revealing this body’s powers to make him nervous—clever.>

‘Exactly.’

<Hmph. You’re finally starting to act like this body’s contractor.>

For some reason, getting that kind of praise from the Star felt annoying.

“…Just trust me, Han Iro. I’ll transform into a monster for a whole hour. That kind of creature suits an old castle theme too.”

“It’s not you I don’t trust.”

Han Iro said softly.

“I trust you, Eunyul. But I don’t trust your constellation. I’ve seen how powerful its abilities are—and they’re toopowerful, which makes me worried…”

His eyes drifted away.

“…What if there’s some kind of penalty—like it’s draining your lifespan?”

“…Ah.”

That caught me off guard. My mind went blank.

“You collapsed during the third preliminary, didn’t you?”

Han Iro grabbed my wrist firmly.

Clatter. The spoon I’d been holding fell to the floor.

“…Even though ‘The Savior Who Is One and All’ suppresses the power of other constellations, what if yours is secretly leeching off your life behind your back?”

He was too serious—it left me rattled.

“That’s not it.”

That was a lie. Violin of Tainted Blood really did operate by consuming my life force.

‘…Why?’

I wondered.

If Han Iro found out how it worked, I could imagine him going berserk trying to destroy the Star.

But that wouldn’t matter—he wouldn’t be able to touch the Star anyway.

‘…Then why?’

Why was he so concerned about my life?

Why did he look so terrified?

I couldn’t understand.

---

There wasn’t much time left before the Halloween Festival began.

[Offense teams, please finish your preparations.]

The offense teams were listening to staff instructions through earpieces.

Han Iro and I were hidden in the old castle zone, just as planned.

“Eunyul…”

Han Iro looked at me.

“…You seriously look like you could eat a person alive.”

“Was that… a compliment?”

“I’m saying that because I’m genuinely terrified.”

“…Thanks.”

I’d fully transformed into a monster, thanks to the Star.

Other offense team members in our zone couldn’t stop staring at me.

That’s how shocking my appearance was.

I suddenly remembered what the Star had said earlier:

<Hehehe… I shall transform you into a hideous beast above all others. Its name—God’s Dung.>

‘…What?’

Why was the name that?

God’s Dung.

It was said to be the fate of a race punished by a god.

Cursed by the divine, they lost every identifying trait that once defined them as a species.

Humans are humans because of shared traits. Birds, fish—each species is defined by its unique characteristics.

But not these creatures.

“Dude… why does he have fingernails where his eyes should be?”

“Wait, is that really makeup?”

“Those eyeballs on his legs… I swear they just moved…”

“Whoever that guy is, he’s a total lunatic…”

Whispers spread all around.

‘I guess this was inevitable…’

Not entirely unexpected, but the monster’s form was way beyond my imagination.

[Everyone, the defense team will begin entering in five seconds. Five pairs per phase.]

A staff voice came through the earpiece.

Han Iro and I exchanged glances.

[5…]

“At this rate, we’re guaranteed to win.”

Han Iro grinned.

[4…]

“Still too early to relax.”

I replied.

[3…]

Constellations had all kinds of powers.

If someone had one that numbed fear, we could be in trouble.

[2…]

Whatever the case…

[1…]

Let’s do our best!

[Start!]

“AAAHHH!”

Right on cue, a scream rang out in the distance.

“Let’s go, Eunyul.”

“Okay.”

Han Iro and I moved toward the entrance.

We couldn’t play too passively—points would matter later on.

Better to dominate early and hold the lead.

“…This is kind of creepy.”

“Come on, we know they’re all just people~!”

The defense team began entering through the doors.

“Ugh! What the hell is this?”

They were met with Han Iro’s crimson bubbles.

“…It’s just bubbles?”

“Isn’t this that Han Iro guy’s constellation?”

“Gross. They’re sticky when they pop!”

Step one: Use Han Iro’s bubbles to create tension.

“W-Wait. Hey… look…”

Then Han Iro waits for someone to spot him.

“Baby, my baby.”

He speaks in a chilling voice.

“I’ll place you in a tree and pray. I’ll tear your body and wet my lips with your blood. I’ll soak your corpse in the tub and hum a tune.”

With twisted joints and a haunting monologue, he creeps closer to the defense team.

That was our first strategy.

“AAAH!”

One of the defense team screamed at the sight of Han Iro.

Beep. The heart rate monitor caught the spike.

“Hey! You weren’t supposed to get scared there!”

His teammate shouted.

Slide…

Han Iro raised a hand and pointed.

“Look, baby. That’s the giant who’ll bite you piece by piece.”

…His acting was disturbingly good.

Even the still-standing teammates turned to look where he pointed.

There I stood.

“Guh!!”

“WHAT THE HELL?!”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Alarms went off on the monitors.

‘…They’re not just scared. They genuinely look disgusted.’

I started to feel a little down.

‘They’re probably gonna censor or blur me out of the broadcast, huh…’

All the defense team members were eliminated at the sight of me.

‘And I didn’t even do anything.’

I had practiced roars just in case no one reacted…

<KAHAHA! Truly, you are the Dung Forsaken by God!>

The Star roared with laughter, mocking me.

‘Damn it…’

I tried to bite my lip—

Only to realize the lip had been replaced with a finger.

‘…My finger tastes salty.’

After phase one, we had a short break before phase two began.

Given the number of participants per round, phase three would likely be the last.

Because we wiped out the defense team in phase one, the other offense teams waiting in our zone moved elsewhere.

‘For the points, I guess.’

Han Iro and I watched the new defense team enter from behind a pillar.

“Same plan as before.”

“Got it, Eunyul.”

We used the same strategy and again decimated the team.

…Or so we thought.

“W-What the heck was that?! I think everyone else is out…”

A participant trembled, face buried in his teammate’s back.

He seemed terrified, but the monitor didn’t beep—his vision was blocked.

The real issue was his teammate.

“…Heejae-hyung? What’s going on? Say something!”

The teammate screamed desperately into Min Heejae’s back.

‘Of all people, why did it have to be him…’

I wanted to curse The Savior Who Is One and All.

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Min Heejae gave me a smile.

‘I’m screwed.’

No matter how monstrous I looked, Min Heejae would probably say:

“Ah, your instrument’s really playing something unique today, huh?”

That’s just the kind of guy he was.

‘Is this how it ends…?’

Then it happened.

THUD—!

Min Heejae collapsed.

[Hey! One participant just fainted!]

[Medical team!]

Staff voices came through the earpiece.

‘He was standing up while passed out…?’

He’s more of a scaredy-cat than I thought…

Heart rate actually drops when someone faints.

‘…But this is obviously a DQ.’

Right then, staff rushed over to carry Min Heejae out.

“AAAGH!”

And then they saw me and screamed in terror.

“U-Uh…”

I awkwardly raised my voice.

“He fainted, so his monitor didn’t go off… Are we still disqualified?”

I tried to sound polite, but my voice was pure nightmare fuel.

“J-Just do whatever!!”

One of the staff shouted, carrying Min Heejae away.

“This is insane! Winning is one thing, but this?!”

His teammate mumbled, glancing at me.

‘…I’m starting to feel kinda bad.’

But it couldn’t be helped.

I had to win.

At this rate, victory seemed certain.

Or so I believed.

…What I didn’t know at the time—

“Why… do you look like that?”

—was that Madojin, who asked with genuine curiosity,

“And hey, ghosts don’t look like that.”

—and Jeong Noeul, who casually complained about accuracy,

—were next up as the final defense team.