He's the One Who Set the Fire

There are two kinds of zombies.

Ones that used to be human, and ones born from a Zombie Queen.

Right now, everywhere you look, it's nothing but the infected kind. But that was about to change.

Soon, zombies with no clothes, no hair, no genitals — skin that looked like it was melting off their bones — would start showing up among the human ones. Those things were faster and stronger than anything we'd fought so far. They just weren't as solid as a human body. More dangerous, but easier to kill.

There were exceptions, though.

The special zombies listed in the quests. Those were genuinely dangerous — especially if you ran into one with zero information. They broke every rule you thought you knew.

But for a while, we wouldn't be running into monsters like that in Yeouido. Because the Spawning Ground was disappearing today.

Splash— splash— splash—

Every time the clear liquid hit the ground, the reek of gasoline punched straight up my nose.

"Ugh, my head…!"

"Everyone watch your clothes and hands. Don't get oil on yourselves."

We'd hit a gas station during the day and stocked up hard. The station's own containers hadn't been enough, so we'd filled empty water bottles too. Of course, without Nari's inventory, we never could've hauled this much.

"Oppa."

"Yeah, Nari."

"What do we do now? We pulled all the food out to make room for the gas… it's going to spoil soon…"

"Don't worry. Once we finish here, we're just farming for a while."

"Farming?"

"Ah… gathering what we need, taking it easy for a bit."

"Really??"

"Then let's hurry up and go…! This place feels wrong…!"

For Jihye, with her danger-sensing protective instinct skill, this was an uncomfortable spot. Dangerous enough that warning messages were popping up. But we were almost done.

Even with all the gas we'd brought, soaking the entire building was impossible.

"Stop pouring and head up."

"Okay."

We didn't need to drench everything. Just enough kindling to let the whole place catch.

Still, burning this place feels like a waste. It's a hospital — there should be plenty worth taking. Problem is, you have to know what you're looking for.

"Nari, your inventory's pretty empty now, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then grab this."

"What is it?"

"No idea."

"You're telling me to take something and you don't even know what it is?"

"Just take it. This is a hospital. It's probably good for you."

"Hey! Let's grab this too!"

It was a ridiculous thing to say, but he wasn't wrong. Starting with Jaemin and Younghoon, anything that looked like medicine or seemed useful went straight into the inventory. Once we emptied out all the gas, it was going to be hollow anyway.

"Hyung, where's the Zombie Queen?"

"Beats me. First time I've been here too."

"Ah… right…"

"Then how did you know there was a Spawning Ground here?"

"……"

Under Suho's question and Jaeyeol's uncomfortably sharp stare, I coughed and threw out a half-assed cover.

"Look at this. There was some of this stuff sticking out of the outer wall too."

"We've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never even come this way."

"You know my skill? Enhanced Vision. Saw it from a distance."

"……"

We were on the complete opposite side from Seogang Bridge — a place we'd never set foot in. Originally there should've been a broadcasting station here, but in this webtoon a massive university hospital had taken its place.

And in the webtoon, the protagonist's party and the soldiers who came looking for this hospital never even got a glimpse of the Queen's heels. The second they stepped into the lobby, zombies poured out from inside and outside the building, and they had to run for their lives. At a terrible cost.

"Hey!!"

"……"

But it looked like we'd already found her. The place where the Zombie Queen was.

"Th-this is weird…! Over there… it feels awful…! I'm scared…."

Naturally the protagonist and the soldiers had come to this building too, and anyone looking would have assumed she was in the biggest, tallest main wing. She wasn't.

As Jihye kept walking toward the place that made her feel sick, a sky bridge connecting to the next building came into view.

Clench…!!!

Both of Jihye's hands twisted hard into my clothes. She pressed herself tight against my back, trembling, and I stepped into the connecting corridor that felt especially wrong.

"This place is no joke…"

"I'll pour some gas."

Spawning Grounds had a signature look. Floor, walls, ceiling — none of it was spared. Sticky, mucus-like cellular tissue clung everywhere. Those things were a kind of egg. A Zombie Queen claimed a territory, spread them all over, and later they swelled up and zombies burst out.

In this corridor, those eggs covered the floor and ceiling so thoroughly that not a single scrap of moonlight came through the windows on either side.

"Nari, take Jihye."

"Okay. Unnie, my hand…"

"I really hate this..!!"

Nari held out her hand, but Jihye was so rattled she stuck to me like a combining robot, body locked against mine. We needed to finish this fast and get out. At this rate she was going to wet herself.

"Jaeyeol."

"Yes."

Jaeyeol stepped forward and swung his machete at the cellular mass blocking the path like a wall.

Slash!!!

Thinner than I expected. The split tissue fluttered open to either side — and at the same moment, it rang out.

The Zombie Queen's roar, tearing through the air like something being ripped apart.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!"

"Hyung!"

"Run! Gihun! Light this place up!"

"Got it! Give me one bottle of gas! A water bottle!"

This never showed up in the webtoon…!

Apparently the tissue blocking the path had been an alarm system.

Whoosh!!!

We left the burning sky bridge behind, pushed into the next building, and scanned the surroundings.

Where? Where? Which way am I supposed to go!!

"Th-there!!"

"Thanks."

I took off in the direction of Jihye's outstretched finger.

"Hyung!"

"Juhan!"

"Handle those while you come! And keep pouring gas!"

I knew. The cellular tissue on the walls, ceiling, and floor was starting to swell. I left that to the others and kept running.

The problem was…

Thud-thud-thud!!

Hurried footsteps, not far off.

"You bitch..!!"

The Zombie Queen was running. Buying time until her soldiers arrived to protect her.

Stat Amplification.

Agility all the way up to 17.

So…

Be a good girl…

And die.

Whiiip!!!

CRAAASH!!!!!

The steel rod — over ten kilos of it — smashed into the floor, and shards sprayed in every direction.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!"

The Zombie Queen spun toward me, sliding across the ground, and at last we were face to face.

Tap!!

No time for introductions. I kicked off the floor and closed the gap.

Whoosh!!

THUD!!!!

Close. If it had been pointed, it would've punched through. The blunt tip of the rod drove into the Zombie Queen's gut like it meant to go clean through.

She's filthy huge, by the way.

I'd had no choice but to aim for the stomach instead of the face — the Zombie Queen stood nearly three meters tall. A skeletal, emaciated frame, but those massive hands with their long thin fingers and those absurdly long arms generated force that ignored her build entirely.

SCRAAAPE!!!!

SCRAAAPE!!!!

A second later and my body would've been shredded.

"Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

And she was tougher than expected. The counter came right back, like she'd taken the hit on purpose. Those pointed nails at the ends of her long thin fingers were especially nasty — hard and sharp enough to tear up the floor.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But nails were still just nails.

Tap-tap!!

When I stepped back, she must have taken it as confidence, because this time the Zombie Queen charged first.

Whiiiiip!!!

Her arms were so long the hand came swinging from a range my rod couldn't even reach.

But the Zombie Queen made a very big mistake.

Tap—

Not the attack.

"You should've kept running."

"……"

The Zombie Queen was strong. Her own combat power was considerable — through the mid-game, at least. But I was strong now too.

Whoosh!!!

The moment I slipped into her guard, the left hand she'd deliberately left free stabbed in like a spear. I was probably the only person alive who could dodge that attack. An Agility of 17 was an absurd number at this stage of things.

Swoosh—

Of course, speed alone wasn't enough to take her down. A gun might have done it, but to land ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a hit that actually worked on a Zombie Queen, you needed Strength too. Mine was sitting at 10. That might fall ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little short.

But that was what my steel rod was for… ah, the name's a bit much. It's black, so… Mook.

Short and clean.

Mook would make up for the Strength I was missing. Solid steel, over ten kilos. And with user-only Level 2 Weight Reduction applied, I could swing this ridiculous weapon at ridiculous speed.

CRAAASH!!!!

CRACK!!!!

The descending Mook bent the Zombie Queen's bone-thin arm at a grotesque angle. Not a simple fracture — that was a compound break.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!"

The Queen screamed, her broken arm dangling loose, and tried to run. But the distance was already closed. I'd closed bigger gaps than this. There was no way I was letting a fleeing Zombie Queen slip away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!!!"

My voice right behind her made the Zombie Queen whip around, swinging her good arm.

Whiiiiip!!!!

If it hit, I was dead. But it wasn't going to hit. I was faster.

Swoosh—

I dipped my waist, let the swinging arm sail over my head, and in the same motion whipped Mook into her ankle.

CRACK!!!!

That horrible bone-sound again. The broken ankle folded, and the Zombie Queen's body toppled sideways.

Now she's at the perfect height to hit.

"Kyaaa…"

"Shut up."

CRUNCH!!!!!!!

Mook came down and split the Zombie Queen's face in half, burying itself deep.

Queen handled. Now just destroy the Spawning Ground…

The cellular tissue plastered everywhere began to swell. Zombies started pouring out of the tearing tissue.

"Kraaa…"

"Grrraaaah…."

"Kraa..!"

"Krrraa…"

"Gas!!"

"Oppa!!!"

I caught the flying water bottle, twisted off the cap, and sprayed oil in every direction. The others, arriving late, started dousing the zombies dropping from the ceiling, bursting from the walls, crawling out of the floor.

"Gihun!"

"Coming!!"

Gihun ripped an arm off a crawling zombie, dumped the gas from his bottle over it, and lit it. Then he hurled it over my head as I ran.

The burning zombie arm hit the floor, and a massive wall of heat blasted up behind me.

WHOOOOSH!!!!

Now we just had to get out.

"Elder Choi!!"

"Hurry!!!!"

You hurry. I can't leave with you yet.

"Oppa!!"

"Hyung!!!"

"Kang Juhan!!!"

"Where are you going?!!!"

The sky bridge connecting to the main wing would be engulfed in flames by now. And those flames would have followed the gas we'd poured all the way to the entrance. But not this building.

"Kraaaaaaa!!!!"

"Kraaaak!!!"

"Kraaa!!!"

"Kraaaaaaak!!!"

The ones tearing out of the tissue before their bodies were even finished — those I could ignore. Some of them were coming out without legs. The ones flooding in from outside were a different story.

Thud!! Thud-thud! Thuuud!!!

Mook swung like a dull blade and split a zombie's head open. I dropped the intact ones as I went, racing down the escalator.

"Kraaaaaaa!!!!"

"Kraaaak!!!"

"Kraaa!!!"

"Kraaaaaaak!!!"

"Kraaaaaaa!!!!"

"Kraaaak!!!"

"Kraaa!!!"

"Kraaaaaaak!!!"

When the zombies surging up made it impossible to go any further down—

Whoosh—

Thud—

I jumped sideways and landed on the floor. Then I ran. With one zombie I'd grabbed along the way.

"Kraaaak!!!!"

"You first."

I hurled the zombie I was holding by the scruff of the neck. It smashed through a big glass window and fell, and I threw myself out into the hard wind after it.

Onto the tangled cars in front of the hospital.

CRAAASH!!!!

Second floor. I lived. Of course, if it hadn't been the second floor and there hadn't been cars underneath, I wouldn't have jumped.

"Uuuugh..!!!!"

A jolt shot up from the soles of my feet. I shuddered, shoved myself upright, and bellowed.

"FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!"

That ought to make the zombies packing the entrance open a path.

"Kraaaaaaa!!!!"

"Kraaaak!!!"

"Kraaa!!!"

"Kraaaaaaak!!!"

"Kraaaaaaa!!!!"

"Kraaaak!!!"

"Yeah~ yeah~ the guy who set the fire is right here, so come eat me already~"

I was up on a crumpled car roof, whacking the climbing zombies like a game of whack-a-mole, when the others — Elder Choi in the lead — came spilling out of the building entrance.

And who the hell are these people?

"N-no..!!!"

"Why is it on fire..!!"

"Fuck!!!!"

"Keep your voice down..!!"

"……"

Whatever business they'd had at the hospital, they were screaming at the sight of it burning. And somehow our eyes met.

"……"

"……"

"……"

"……"

"……"

This feels ominous.

So I pointed a finger in a very specific direction and said:

"He's the one who set the fire."

It's true, isn't it?

Gihun lit it.