Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Apostle's Scam
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To quickly wipe out the horde of zombies swarming the apartment, I leaped up to the rooftop.
I then casually unleashed Devouring Dread, swallowing and erasing the entire mass of zombies climbing up in one go. The number of zombies was a bit disappointing, but this was more than satisfying enough.
Just as I was about to head somewhere else, more than half the people on the rooftop suddenly gathered around me. They clasped their hands together and began praying toward me.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"O God, thank you truly!"
What the hell was this?
The sudden chorus of praises left me wondering what was going on.
Then it hit me—their reaction made perfect sense.
From their perspective, the moment I arrived on the rooftop, the massive zombie horde vanished in an instant.
Anyone with half a brain would conclude that I was the reason all the zombies disappeared.
Plus, they wouldn't have a clue how I did it. I'd already confirmed through Yejin and Sohee that ordinary people couldn't see my magic at all, so these folks were no different.
That meant, to them, it must look like I'd eradicated the zombies with some miraculous, divine power.
Hence, they were praying to me as if I were some godlike being.
Honestly, part of me wanted to shove these lunatics aside and bail, but another part wondered how I could turn this to my advantage.
"Um... did you really make all the zombies disappear?"
Lost in thought for a moment, I turned to see a woman with short hair looking at me. She was wearing a camouflage gym uniform, and the compound bow in her hands suggested she was the one who'd been firing arrows at the zombies earlier.
But her expression carried a hint of suspicion, like she couldn't quite believe I'd taken out the zombies.
I couldn't blame her. Even if she didn't know how, the fact that she couldn't confirm it was me was totally valid.
So, all I had to do was prove it, right?
I deliberately adopted a dignified tone, lowering my voice to a deep bass, spreading my arms wide like some cult leader.
"Behold! I am the apostle sent down by the gods' power to save you all from the brink of annihilation in this dying world! Just now, I used the gods' might to vanquish the demonic zombies and rescue you!"
"Ooooh! Apostle!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The people who'd already bought into me as an apostle nodded along faithfully, while the holdouts looked utterly confused about what was happening.
Time to show them the real deal.
Glancing back, I spotted a few zombies that had somehow survived my earlier spell.
"It seems some of you doubt my power. Very well—I'll demonstrate the gods' might, if only a little. Look at those zombies over there!"
I pointed straight at the zombies below the apartment. The rooftop crowd followed my gesture and peered down. Once everyone had spotted them, I continued.
"Now watch the zombies closely! I'll make them vanish with the gods' power."
With that, I conjured a Darkness Arrow and fired it at the zombies. The spell streaked forth, punching clean through their heads one by one.
"Whoaaa!"
"It's real—true divine power!"
"Insane, it's actually happening!"
Each time a zombie's head got a hole blasted through it, the onlookers gasped and shouted in shock. To them, it must've looked like the zombies were just suddenly dropping dead with headshots out of nowhere—totally expected reaction.
I dispelled the Darkness Arrow after the last one and scanned the crowd. The stares directed at me weren't casual anymore. It felt like nearly everyone now believed I was an apostle wielding divine power.
Time to seal the deal.
"Did you see? This world is being overrun daily by zombies unleashed by the evil god, marching toward doom. I was chosen by the true god to save it from that fiend! And this is the god's power that will redeem the world!"
"Woooaaah!"
"O god! Apostle!"
"Save us!"
"The evil god sealed away the true god first to destroy the world, granting you humans these aberrant 'Awakener' powers as playthings—or so the god told me. Unable to stand by while humanity hurtled toward extinction, the god broke its seal and descended upon the world!"
This backstory wasn't premeditated; I was just making it up as I went.
"But breaking the seal drained so much power that barely any remains to slay the evil god. Thus, the god chose this body as its apostle to convey its will and seeks aid from you humans!"
"Our help?"
"What kind of help?"
"Offer me your coins. With the coins you provide, I can exploit the evil god's system to gradually restore the true god's strength. Do so, and you shall be saved from annihilation."
I wasn't sure if they'd actually buy this spiel.
Didn't matter if they didn't. My original goal here was just to devour the visible zombie horde, which I'd already accomplished.
Mission done—if they didn't bite, I'd just say "good luck" and bounce.
Watching expectantly for their response...
"Here—all my coins!"
"Please take mine!"
"Save the world with these!"
Wait, they actually believed it?
Everyone was extending their hands toward me, offering up their coins.
Looking at their faces, they seemed dead serious about handing over every last coin they had.
Right as I was about to accept it all, I had second thoughts.
They weren't starving to death or anything—why slaughter the golden goose now?
Wouldn't it be smarter to let them lay eggs slowly?
"Thank you all for believing in me. But even if you gave every coin you have, restoring the god's power all at once is impossible. Moreover, the humans I must protect in the god's stead aren't just you—they're scattered across this world. If I took everything now and left to save others, you might perish in the meantime. I can't accept it all."
"Then... how?"
"I'll roam the world, rescuing humans from the evil god. Whenever you face peril like today, I'll return to save you—and each time, offer me half your coins. That way, you can hold out against the zombies even in my absence."
The true believers started handing over exactly half their coins right away. Naturally, a few skeptics held back.
"Hey, you too—offer your coins to the Apostle!"
The lone holdout was the compound bow woman who'd questioned me earlier.
She approached me.
"Before I give you my coins, one question. If there's truly a god, what's its name? And the evil god you mentioned—what's that one's name?"
Her question made my devout followers glare at her like she'd uttered blasphemy.
"You, what kind of irreverent nonsense is that to the Apostle..."
"It's fine! I understand not trusting me blindly. You want the god's name?"
I cut off the guy about to yell at her and addressed her directly. She nodded.
A name, huh...
God and evil god names?
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Sorry, but I don't know the true god's name either. It lost its name—and its power—to the evil god, leading to its seal. That's why I can't reveal it to you, even though I'd like to. It's also why I call it 'the god.'"
"What about the evil god's name?"
"That I can tell you. The evil god's name is... Mir. The goddess Mir."
I named the bitch goddess who'd screwed me over. No one here but me would know she was from another world, so no issue.
"Mir... Mir?"
"Yes. Mir is the entity seeking to destroy this world—your ultimate enemy. Help me defeat her."
The woman listened, still looking dubious, but handed over her coins anyway.
"Understood... Thank you for saving us. Please save the world."
"Thank you. With your aid, the god has regained a sliver of its former power. When you need my help in the future, press this."
To the last woman who'd given me her coins, I handed over the same alarm bell I'd given Kang Jin of the Haedong Faction.
"What's this?"
"Press it, and I'll rush to your aid as fast as I can."
The others, convinced they'd been saved by a god, cheered joyfully. Some even shed tears of happiness.
I hadn't expected my bullshit to move them like this. Felt like I was some con artist fleecing clueless villagers.
But hey, if they saw it as fair payment for saving their lives, it was legit earnings, right?
Time to make my exit.
"Stay safe until the day the world is redeemed from the evil god Mir!"
With that, I activated Shadow Veil and melted into the shadows. To them, it'd look like I'd vanished in an instant.
As if by true divine power.
Now, if I dropped by occasionally, they'd probably keep offering coins on their own.
Hell, I'd already racked up over 500 coins just now. Individuals didn't have much, but enough of them added up to a tidy sum.
I didn't know if they truly saw me as a god, but for now, playing the part and sucking them dry sounded perfect.
I'd planned to head farther into Yeouido, but enough time had passed—it was time to head home.
Push on, and it'd be late night by return. Plus, with new residents at the base, shouldn't we throw a party?
I hurried back and entered my room.
"Ah, oppa, you're back?"
Yejin greeted me from the kitchen, with Sohee's mom beside her.
Both wearing white aprons—they must've been making dinner.
"You're back? I felt bad just sitting around, so I was teaching Yejin here how to cook."
"You can cook? Nah, with a daughter like Sohee, you'd have to know housework. Teach her plenty from now on—she sucks at it."
"Saying it like that makes my girl power sound low..."
Yejin pouted at my words, so I stepped close and grabbed one of her massive breasts with a handful.
"Even if you're bad at that, you've got overflowing girl power right here."
She might suck at housework, but with a body that drove men wild, I was plenty satisfied.
Sohee's mom, who'd overheard our chat, suddenly approached me.
"Um, Jaehwan? Could we talk privately for a sec?"
"Now?"
"Yes, now. While Sohee's out."
Sohee wasn't here? Probably out hunting zombies.
What could she need to say without Sohee around?
I followed her to another room to hear her out.
"So, what is it?"
"First off, this. Thank you so much for saving me and Sohee."
"Didn't you already say that today?"
"I was out of it then, so I'm saying it properly now."
I didn't really care either way.
"My name is Im Iyoung."
"Mine... ah, you heard from Yejin?"
She'd called my name earlier, so yeah—that made sense. I'd never told her myself.
Im Iyoung nodded at my words.
"And this is important. Sohee... she owes you a huge debt, right? A massive amount of coins."
"Huh? She told you?"
I recalled Sohee not wanting to tell her mom.
"No. I just sensed it. I was definitely bitten by a zombie, yet here I am, normal. Something must've happened between you and Sohee while I was out."
"Hmm... so what're you getting at? You want the debt wiped?"
"I couldn't ask something so shameless. What I want is..."
Im Iyoung trailed off.
Like it was hard to spit out.
Then, steeling herself, she met my eyes and spoke.
"Keep it secret from Sohee, and let me help repay the debt too. With my body... if that's what it takes."