Chapter 79
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Diablo's Awakening
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Salvation Church headquarters, deep underground in a secret laboratory.
The church leader of the Salvation Church, the "Living God," Warren Jones, stared with a blank expression at his clones submerged in nutrient solution tanks. The clones lay there with their eyes closed, asleep.
He was about to turn away when—tap. Hearing the sound of something knocking on the glass, he turned his head. One of the clones had opened its eyes and was gazing at him.
Its face bore an eerie expression that could have been either a smile or a sob.
Warren Jones slowly extended his hand toward the clone that looked exactly like him. As if mirroring him, the clone began to slowly reach out its hand toward him as well.
The next moment—
The clone's eyes turned red. It ripped off the wires attached to its body and began to glow. Warren Jones muttered expressionlessly.
"A failure."
Its violence had been amplified too much. At this rate, it was no clone of his—just a mutant zombie.
"Probably a mistake in the drug mixture. My apologies."
Maxwell, the archbishop overseeing the secret lab and watching his superior's mood, quickly replied and cut off the power to the life support system. Grrgle.
The glowing clone gasped like it was suffocating. But there was no way for it to escape the tank. Its dead body floated up to the surface of the nutrient solution.
Without turning his head away, he stared at his clone's corpse and said,
"What of Clone 113's whereabouts?"
Clone 113.
The only clone born in the secret lab that was considered a success. It possessed not only his perfect memories from his human days but also some of his powers.
The power to control zombies, specifically.
Maxwell replied with a face full of regret.
"We're searching diligently... My apologies. We will find it, no matter what."
"No need. If it's truly 'me,' then of course it can't be caught."
"My apologies."
"Release Clone 37."
Clones could sense each other's presence through resonance. He planned to locate Clone 113 using Clone 37.
But Maxwell was pessimistic.
"You mean Diablo? It's dangerous. If mishandled, it could even harm our church..."
Clone 37.
The only clone among those created so far to be given a name—and still alive. A success in a "different sense" from Clone 113.
Diablo was less a clone of his and more akin to a zombie. Not just any zombie, but one based on a Devourer with the trait of "predation."
Having been directly involved in the experiments, he knew full well how dangerous Diablo was.
"Restrain it thoroughly with mithril shackles and assign bishops to it. That should allow some control."
The word "dangerous" lingered on his tongue. But Maxwell couldn't speak it.
Having watched him up close, he knew exactly how cruel the leader was. Defying his orders could mean being torn apart.
At the same time, in the "cage" even deeper underground than the secret lab, Clone 37—Diablo—opened its eyes. Before it lay prey: a specimen called a Chaser.
Diablo opened its mouth. The Chaser was sucked into that massive maw without even a death cry. After savoring the delightful meal, it turned its gaze to the door outside the cage.
After staring for a long while, Diablo sensed a presence and grinned, curling the corners of its mouth. As if it already knew what was coming for it.
The place Maria had led them to was crowded with people. Zixuan was there, along with Emily, Jason, Fed... all the current shelter leaders were gathered.
They all stared at me with grave expressions. What was this? Some major issue they needed to tell me about?
Trying to lighten the mood, I smiled and asked them,
"Why are you all looking so solemn...?"
"Si-hyun."
Zixuan stepped forward. She gazed at me with what looked like a sad expression.
"What's wrong, Zixuan?"
She approached me and—out of nowhere—"Ta-da!"—held out a cake. Huh? A cake?
"Happy birthday. You're twenty-eight, right, Si-hyun?"
The cake had two long candles and eight short ones stuck in it. Come to think of it, today's in-game date was May 27th. My birthday.
I'd lost track of time and completely forgotten.
"I made a Korean-style cake like Yuna taught me. Of course! It might not taste as good as one from a bakery... so don't expect too much."
"Thank you."
The taste didn't matter. The fact that Zixuan made it herself was what counted. I took the birthday cake.
"Leader, happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday."
Emily grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.
What was my birthday like in the real world?
Nothing special. Just a KakaoTalk message from my parents... I don't think anyone else ever celebrated it.
Makes sense. Whether it was my birthday or not, I was always holed up in my room playing games. No one to celebrate with.
"Everyone... thank you."
"You have to make a wish."
Prompted by Zixuan, I thought about it and wished for us to survive safely in this world.
"All done? I made my wish too."
Why are you making a wish? She must have gotten it wrong from Yuna... whatever. I smiled at her and blew out the candles.
Clap clap clap. Applause rang out from the crowd.
As I was about to cut the cake, singing voices drifted in from beyond the window. What was going on? The residents of Shelter Apocalypse had gathered in front of the munitions factory and were singing a hymn in unison.
"Let us pray! For our omniscient and omnipotent Leader!"
...No, Yuna, don't turn a birthday song into a hymn. She does this to Zixuan, and now to me. I thought I should grab her sometime and give her a proper talking-to...
I waved to them. My chest swelled with emotion.
Shelter Apocalypse decided to hold a two-day festival to celebrate my birthday. It wasn't much of a festival, really.
Just screening movies or TV shows in the theater, making tasty food, drinking booze, laughing, and chatting. But that alone made the residents happy.
'Sometimes, rest is necessary.'
"Wanna bet, Dresun? Who can drink more?"
"Yeah, let's drink till we drop."
Over on one side, Jason and Dresun were bonding over drinks, looking thick as thieves. Great that they're getting along, but...
"If you get drunk and cause trouble, I'll bury you."
"Haha, Leader's joking."
"Of course it's a joke."
Dresun and Jason quickly denied it. I smirked, raised my glass to them, pretended to cheers, and took a sip. The crisp beer scent filled my mouth.
Glancing around, my eyes met Bunny's. His hands were trembling. Too much booze? No, his face looked perfectly fine.
'What's up with him?'
I approached him.
"Something wrong, Bunny?"
"No, nothing in particular..."
His voice trembled as much as his hands. Staring into his shaking eyes, I said,
"You can tell me."
"...Mind if we talk for a moment?"
I went outside with him. Under the dim night sky, streetlights glowed. A cool breeze blew in from the river.
"Did I ever tell you about the Salvation Church's secret lab?"
"No. You never mentioned it."
"The secret lab... it was pure hell. I survived because they called me a success, but the other clones didn't. Most died undergoing horrific experiments."
This was backstory I didn't know from the game. Of course. Bunny—the fake Warren Jones from the April Fool's event—had appeared briefly before being deleted soon after.
"I see."
"But among those clones, there was one unusual one."
"Who was it?"
"No name, but Maxwell—oh, Maxwell's the archbishop of the Salvation Church—called it Number 37."
Number 37, "Diablo," was the boss of Scenario 3. An upgraded version of the Devourer in every way, able to use some of Warren Jones's abilities too.
Sure, veterans could burst its head before 15 minutes were up, but among scenario bosses, it ranked pretty high in strength.
"It was a monster. A clone like us, but one that enjoyed devouring other clones. Maxwell must've been wary, because he locked it in a cage underground from the secret lab."
He mimed downing his now-empty beer glass and continued.
"It was isolated, but I could always sense its presence. Maxwell called it resonance between clones, but I'm no scientist, so I don't know the exact principle."
"Why bring this up suddenly...?"
"After escaping the secret lab, I never sensed it again. Until..."
"You're sensing it now?"
"A few hours ago... yeah, damn it. Number 37 is out. Whatever its goal, it's definitely coming for me. If I can sense it, then it can sense me too."
His hands were trembling again. I realized just how twisted things had gotten. We hadn't even beaten Scenario 2's boss, and now Scenario 3's boss, Diablo, was coming for Bunny?
"It's a monster among monsters. Even if you're a psychic and have android robots guarding, against it..."
Now Bunny was breaking out in cold sweat.
"If it can sense me like I can sense it, it'll target me. I'd better leave."
"It's fine."
I shook my head.
"Bunny, where do you think you are right now?"
"Well..."
"No matter how strong it is, can it jump across that river?"
"Of course not..."
"Even as a final evolution form, impossible. Even if it shows up, even if it knows you're here on this island, Bunny, it can't set foot inside."
And if by some chance it swam over, Shelter Apocalypse's current forces could more than handle it.
Physically, it was inferior to the Tyrant I'd taken down.
"Don't worry, Bunny."
Only then did Bunny calm down.
"Thanks. Really."
"Let's head back inside."
He nodded, and we returned to the building together. I debated telling the others but decided against it. No need to ruin the mood.
Apocalypse All-Purpose Machine