Making a New Family-1
Lee Hari stared at the man's back. The sight she'd sworn never to see again in her lifetime, the one that made her teeth grind and her body tremble just from looking at it.
A massive, enormous back filled her vision. Lee Hari squeezed her eyes shut. The past began to swallow her whole.
"I love you, our Hari. You know Mommy loves you, right?"
Lee Hari had lived a blessed life. Protected by a mother's love. Born from a man's seed. Her bloodline and talents far surpassed others. Her base speed, her leveling pace—everything was quicker than anyone else's.
At six years old, that made Lee Hari overconfident. She hadn't yet grasped the immense weight behind the words "real combat experience" that she'd mocked and dismissed.
"Aaaahhh!"
It was just a zombie. Not even an elite monster. Not an overwhelming horde she couldn't defeat. The hunters had simply caught a zombie to test the kids' abilities and locked it in a small room.
The children were supposed to hunt it as trained, laugh it off, and bask in praise like, "These kids are hunting zombies alone at such a young age!" That was the plan.
But to six-year-old Lee Hari, the scene was utterly terrifying. The zombie showed her no respect. Being a big shot's daughter, the organization's promising talent—none of that meant shit to it.
The stench hit her. Rotting flesh reeked hideously. Foul breath seeped from decayed organs. Those lifeless pupils brimmed with murderous intent, jagged nails aimed straight at her.
In that instant, Lee Hari forgot everything. Overwhelmed by pain too much for a six-year-old to bear, she ran.
No one died. But her failure stood. Her father, who'd invited other organization members to brag, "Even our kids are this strong!" flew into a rage at the result.
He wanted her disposed of. Even if it was training, fleeing like a coward gave him justification. And justification or not, his word was law. No one dared oppose him.
Lee Hari's father wanted her gone. Dead. At least out of his organization. Execution or exile—it wouldn't matter to a six-year-old wandering the streets alone.
But her mother refused.
"Please... don't kill her, don't kill her..."
"This bitch ruined my face. I didn't rip her head off right there—that's mercy enough."
Her mother desperately shielded Lee Hari. She was beautiful enough to cling to the man, capable enough to prove her worth. Yet here she was, begging forgiveness like she'd committed some grave sin.
"Then what? You want me to keep the bitch here?"
"...There's an orphanage. At least let me leave Hari there."
"No reason for me to."
"Just once, please... I beg you."
"Why the hell should I go out of my way to an orphanage to save that bitch?"
The nearest orphanage was in Anseongu. And the man had no intention of sending armed soldiers as escorts just to drop off a kid.
The most practical, quickest way was his own car.
"Fine, as long as the bitch gets out of my sight... Live or die, I don't care. But why should I bother?"
"I'll do anything. Whatever I can do, just name it..."
"Anything, huh?"
Lee Hari's father loaded her and her mother into the car and sped to the orphanage. Then he dumped her there.
"Mommy..."
Lee Hari was mature for her age. She knew she'd been abandoned for her incompetence. She knew her mother had sacrificed for her. She knew she'd never see her mother again once inside.
"Ah?"
But she never imagined the parting would come this fast. Her mother was vomiting blood. Her father had stabbed her.
"Bitching endlessly over dumping one brat... Fuck, you're such a disappointment."
"Ugh..."
"What? You owe me now. You should've known this was coming... right?"
"MOMMY!!!"
Lee Hari wailed. But one look at her father's cold eyes told her even tears weren't allowed.
"Keep whining, and I'll kill you too, deal or no deal."
"..."
"Get inside."
With those final words, the man climbed into the car driven by his chauffeur. And left.
'Ah...'
That was the last time Lee Hari saw the man's back. Terrifying beyond endurance, an unbreakable sight. Just like she couldn't speak before the zombie, she offered no resistance before her mother's killer.
Because she was weak. Incompetent. A woman who could do nothing.
His back loomed like a colossal wall, filling her childish view. She wanted to surpass that wall.
After entering the orphanage, Hari trained and trained. She never wanted to live leashed to that capricious, repulsive man. She wanted to grow strong. To overcome him. Not stare blankly in fear, but stab that back without hesitation.
And now, that back stood before her.
"Whew... A bit more than expected. No stragglers behind, right?"
"None! If any sneak up, we'll handle 'em, so don't worry!"
This wasn't the man casually turning his back after killing her precious ones. This was the man shielding her friend she'd tried to kill—and now protecting her and the other women—standing with his back to them.
'How...?'
Zombies kept pouring in endlessly. Not every mass influx of survivors into Anseongu spawned darkness. But once it fell, anyone not hidden in a safe zone was doomed. No exceptions.
Yet these people fought casually.
"All this EXP is nice, but... isn't it too many? Feels like a dungeon."
"How many monsters did you take down in the dungeon?"
"Eh, who knows..."
Lee Hari's despairing group, even the Katus patrol—everyone ended up watching his back. Confident as he'd boasted, unyielding as he'd declared no one would die. A reassuring, overwhelming presence.
It wasn't a wall oppressing her. It was a massive barrier shielding these women from zombies.
'This is...'
Elite monsters flooded the mart endlessly. Bad luck, and two or three could've wiped her group. Their heads flew. Skulls shattered. No zombie passed the man in front.
Lee Hari stared blankly at his back. Feeling something different from the last man's back she'd seen.
/////
"This is getting a lot, huh? How long's it gonna keep going?"
Felt like hours of slaughtering monsters. But the procession from the darkness showed no sign of stopping.
"At least three days... We'll have to fight like this for three days. The monsters will get stronger gradually."
"How strong?"
"You're definitely strong... but even you can't protect 'burdens' like us forever."
At first, Kangyeon thought I'd collapse soon. But I'd held out far better than she expected. Hell, I was overwhelming them.
Still, she didn't believe she'd survive.
"Burdens, huh... Well, you don't have to see it that way."
I could charge ahead right now, slicing dozens, hundreds at a time. But they lacked my physical prowess.
"Hm."
Time to decide. Three days was too long. Even for me, no guarantee against escalating monsters without a single mistake. If these were just 'day one' foes, what came later?
"So, what? We escape?"
"...Pushing through the darkness is suicide. We need a light source somehow."
"Then, mind scavenging from the back?"
They weren't fighting. I didn't resent it. They hadn't wanted to in the first place, and wasting bullets on monsters fated for my spear was unwelcome anyway.
Haena, Hari's group, the patrol—quite a few started rummaging for anything light-emitting.
"Flashlights, lanterns... This glows too, but not bright enough—"
"Hold up, lemme cleave this one first!"
Hari's voice rang out. I bisected the elite zombie before me, glanced back at what she held.
"...Gimme that! Quick!"
"Huh? Sure, it'll light up here, but it's just a toy—"
"No, gimme it now!"
I caught the 'glowing plastic toy sword' Hari tossed. And light burst forth.