Looking at the man before him — another possible transmigrator — Luke did what he knew was the safest option.
"Selene—take the others. Go. Now."
When dealing with an unknown opponent with unknown abilities, it was better to fight alone.
If the others stayed, they'd only be caught in the crossfire. Judging by the strange aura around him, Luke had no idea what kind of power this guy hid.
"But—" Selene's voice was tight. She didn't want to leave him. Not when he was already injured, missing an arm, bleeding but still standing tall.
Luke cut her off, pride flashing in his tone. "Think I can't handle a measly insect?"
The insect-man licked his lips, the motion wet and unsettling. His twisted mouth curled into a disgusting grin as his eyes roamed over Selene, Alice, and Jill — crawling across their figures like a physical touch. His tongue flicked over his sharp teeth.
"Yes, yes… send them away. But not too far," he hissed, his voice dripping with perverse hunger.
"That pale skin… those legs… that figure. I want to hear them scream first. I want to taste every inch of them before I break them. Mmm, especially you." His eyes locked on Selene, and the way he lingered made her skin crawl.
Selene's expression hardened, her features going cold and dangerous. Jill's stomach twisted in disgust as her finger twitched near the trigger.
Even Alice, who'd faced the worst of Umbrella's monsters, looked sickened by his words.
"Disgusting," Jill spat.
Alice muttered under her breath, "I've seen worse, but not slimier."
Selene's shadows began to stir around her feet, her voice low and cold. "Keep talking like that," she warned, eyes glowing faintly blue, "and I'll make sure your death isn't quick."
Luke stepped forward, smirking. "Nah. He's mine." His voice dropped lower, calm but sharp. "And I don't share."
He didn't even turn around as he added, firmer this time, "And I'm not saying it again, Selene. Take the others and leave."
The tone left no room for arguments.
Selene exhaled through her nose, glaring at his back. "…Don't you dare die on me," she muttered, then turned away, leading the others down the broken street.
As their footsteps faded, only the wind and the faint clicking of insect legs filled the silence. Dust hung in the air, swirling between the two men.
Mark — the insect-man — chuckled. "I have to say, knowing you'll die, yet still facing me alone… hats off to you."
"Death isn't decided by someone like you," he said flatly.
The bleeding on his left arm had stopped completely now. "And my death isn't something a weakling like you can decide."
That earned another laugh from Mark, rough and rasping.
Luke tilted his head slightly. "But I'm curious. What cheat did you get dropped into this world with? Don't tell me you're another cliché."
Mark's mandibles clicked as he grinned wider, clearly entertained.
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to hand you my secret?" He leaned forward, his voice lowering.
"But… since you did me the favor of dragging her into this world, I'll humor you. I still don't know how you pulled that off — snatching a woman from the Underworld movie — but thanks to you, I can enjoy her now."
His name was Mark. Back in his old world, he was nothing more than an otaku obsessed with web novels. Never worked, never taking responsibility, until his parents gave up on him completely.
But then, fate handed him a "miracle." Mark received a cheat ability—the Evolution System. A power that allowed him to absorb traits from any creature he devoured and slowly evolve into something stronger.
At the beginning, the system twisted his body, leaving him monstrous and inhumane. Yet it promised that at each stage, he would regain a human form—only stronger, faster, and more perfect than before.
To Mark, this was proof. Proof that he was chosen, that he wasn't some loser anymore. He had been given the classic protagonist setup in the novels he worshipped. So, naturally, he embraced it all fully.
With his new system, he believed everything belonged to him—power, money, women, all of it. He strutted through this new world with arrogance, convinced that he was the main character… and that everyone else was just side characters in his story.
That's why when he saw Luke— who wasn't supposed to appear in the plot, walking beside a woman like Selene, perfectly human and powerful—it broke something in him.
How could this guy exist?
How could someone else also be chosen?
And worse—how could he look so normal, so confident, so human, while Mark had turned into this half-monster?
Jealousy rotted through him like poison. In Mark's warped mind, Luke wasn't just another transmigrator.
He was an imposter, a rival stealing what should've been his story.
He had followed Luke ever since then, biding his time. Watching. Waiting for a moment of weakness. And when Nemesis fell, that was it—the perfect opening.
"Now, little brother…" Mark said with disdain, his insectoid mandibles twitching as he sneered. "You wasted all your powers fighting that Nemesis. Right now, you're nothing but a weak chicken waiting to be slaughtered."
Luke's head tilted back as a wild, unrestrained laugh burst from his throat. "Hahahahaha!"
His eyes glowed faintly, the air around him rippling with raw mana. Sparks of reddish light crawled up his remaining hand, his aura flaring despite the loss of blood.
"You bitch," Luke snarled, his grin widening into something sharp and dangerous. "Never underestimate your opponent."
For a second, the street seemed to vibrate. The ground cracked under his foot, faint embers flickering around him like fireflies.
Mark's grin faltered.
This wasn't the reaction he expected from someone bleeding out.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, the self-proclaimed "protagonist" felt a presence that made his skin crawl, that screamed predator.
Luke lifted his remaining hand, flames dancing across his fingers, and said quietly
"You want to be the main character, huh? Fine. Let's see whose story gets deleted first."
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