What God Desires (6)

The low, resonant hum vibrated against my eardrums. My heart hammered wildly as I staggered to my feet, eyes locked on the rising variant. In the corner of my vision, the information window still floated there.

Agility of 1. Reaction speed was painfully slow. It wasn’t on the level where it could slice bullets out of the air. There was a high chance it wouldn’t even dodge my attacks properly. The problems were two—no, three. Its absurdly high Perception. The possibility that it could track my attacks through pure awareness. Then there was this.

The second issue was the Master-rank Heavy Swordsmanship tied to its Kendo. And finally, Tadol. I already knew it meant a charging rush. The description sounded even more horrifying. Step forward and slash. The simpler and clearer an effect, the more powerful it usually was.

A childhood memory surfaced—back when I still had a few friends who weren’t really friends, playing games together. It reminded me of a spear throw that simply dealt physical damage. Simple, yet deadly.

I leveled my machete and steadied my breathing. My body was fine. The recoil from slamming into the machete had been brutal, but I’d been thrown back in time and absorbed most of the impact. As I watched my sister rise with her shotgun aimed, one thought filled my mind.

Running was impossible. Whether the entire bunker was a holy ground or just part of it, the fact that this thing had appeared behind us had a reason. That left only one choice.

Fight. And win.

My attacks would be read. Its Agility was low, but its Perception was monstrous. Every slug from the shotgun had been completely blocked by its body. In that case—

BOOOOOOM!

I stomped the ground hard, then kicked off with explosive force. A small chunk of concrete and tile shot into the air. I planted my foot on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it mid-flight and twisted my body.

SWOOOOOOSH!

The stone flew like a bullet. The Crusader stood perfectly still. Even to my eyes, Tadol was almost impossible to track. By the time I saw it coming, it would already be too late. So I decided the moment of acceleration myself.

The instant the stone was about to hit the Crusader—

Crack. The stone shattered. The Crusader accelerated. Tadol. It was coming.

I swung my machete on pure reflex, aiming for the head. At the very least, the eyes. Or I’d just crush the skull entirely. But my attack never landed.

CLANG!

A jarring impact ran up my arm. The flat of my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blade was forced back, bending the entire trajectory of my swing. In return, a milky-white arc hurtled toward my head. A perfectly straight downward strike born from the rebound of deflecting my machete. Kendo.

The moment my body froze—

BOOOOOOOOM!

My sister’s shotgun roared. The Crusader staggered. It didn’t fly back. Its bony blade glanced off course. I immediately twisted and unleashed a spinning kick.

CRAAAAAASH!

Despite the sickening impact against its ankle, the Crusader was sent flying, smashing into the wall. As debris rained down, Kang Ahyeon pulled the trigger without hesitation. Again and again.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BOOOOOOM!

A relentless storm of bullets. The bolt clicked forward with a metallic clack. I sprinted through the empty chamber’s sound and the scattered shell casings.

It was coming. Tadol. I drove my leg toward the distorted milky-white arc.

KWAAAAAAAANG!

“Ugh…!”

I cut in with a front kick. The moment it slammed into the wall, it twisted and swung its sword. I spun out of the way. But it followed. The moment I thought I’d dodged, the arc that had been swinging suddenly halted in midair and came crashing down again. Once more at my head—faster than I could raise my machete to block.

BANG!

The revolver Ahyeon had drawn spat fire. She kept pulling the trigger without pause. The Crusader was forced back. I slammed a side kick into it.

CRACK!

The impact was solid. It flew. The creature rolled across the floor. Distance opened up. Too far for a single Tadol to close. Ahyeon quickly flipped her revolver, loading fresh rounds one by one, then brought the shotgun back to the front and chambered a shell.

I caught my breath. My body burned hot. At the same time, I was certain.

This thing was a genuine Master.

Even with Agility 1, its Master-rank Heavy Swordsmanship let it trade blows with both me and my sister. It was completely different from the Preacher, which had simply overwhelmed us with raw power and almost no technique. This monster was covering for its lack of speed with pure skill.

“Fuck.”

If Ahyeon hadn’t been here, I would’ve died. The same went for her—if I hadn’t been here, she would’ve died too.

The staggering Crusader didn’t have a single visible wound. But it seemed to have felt a sense of danger. Two humans who refused to run and stood their ground. It raised its sword.

Ah… That stance looked familiar. I’d seen it in a manga once. Kendo’s middle stance—sword extended forward, tip aimed at the throat.

A chill raced down my spine. This was completely different from how it had been loosely holding the blade before. This was a proper stance. We couldn’t win by simply trading hits.

Then how?

“Kang Ahyeon.”

“…Yeah.”

“You know what to do, right?”

What we lacked was firepower.

“Yeah.”

There was only one thing we needed.

I sucked in a breath.

“Run!”

I spun around. The instant I tried to sprint, a sickening crack of splitting concrete exploded behind me. Tadol. It was coming.

I twisted back, machete raised. I couldn’t see the arc at all. Could I block it completely? I didn’t know. I braced my arm against the flat of the blade.

CRRRRIIIIIIING!

The ear-splitting metallic screech made my bones vibrate, but I held firm. The moment I kicked off again, a wave of dread washed over me. Shit, it’s going to cut me.

The bony blade that had struck my machete had been pulled back and was now slicing toward my ankle. I lifted my pivot foot completely and launched both legs forward. A dropkick straight out of pro wrestling.

CRAAAAAANG!

With a ringing impact, the creature was blasted away. I scrambled to my feet. Ahyeon was getting farther away. The monster was looking at her, not me. My attacks weren’t effective enough. But I couldn’t let it go after her.

Focus.

I stared at the creature’s feet, covered in bony armor. Every technique began with the feet. The insight I’d gained from Advanced Hand-to-Hand Combat, the athletic knowledge from Basic Track and Field, and the stolen knowledge from others. The moment I read its preparatory movement, I threw myself forward.

SWIIIIISH!

CRRRRRRRRRRRK!

The blade split the exact spot where I had been standing, cutting my waist-level in half. A few strands of my hair were sliced clean off and fluttered away. If I’d been even a fraction slower, I would’ve been bisected.

But there was no time to feel relieved. The creature planted its foot on the wall without releasing the swing. I realized what it was about to do and quickly twisted my head.

Tadol. Again.

KWAAAAAAAANG!

This time it was a thrust. The instant I dodged by twisting my head, the blade smashed through the bulletproof glass door of the armory and buried itself deep. Before I could even react, the sword edge tilted sideways. It was aiming for my neck.

“You son of a—!”

The blade tore the door in half as it came screaming toward me. I raised my machete to block, and the pressure nearly shattered my wrist. An overwhelming weight. It felt like the creature was trying to crush my entire body along with the blade.

Clenching my teeth, I gripped the machete tight and charged inside its reach. I had Advanced Hand-to-Hand Combat. It wasn’t Master-rank Heavy Swordsmanship, but if I could tackle it and drag it into a grapple—

Crack!

My thoughts were cut off. A heavy impact slammed down on my spine. My eyes widened as the breath was forced out of me. In that brief moment my body stiffened, the Crusader took a step back. It raised its sword high.

From above to below. A strike that looked like it would split the world itself. Upper stance.

KWAAAAAAAANG!

The instant I blocked with my machete, the weapon was ripped from my grip. And still, it didn’t stop. It planted its foot and charged again while holding the lowered blade. Tadol.

KWOOOOOOOOOONG!

My feet were dragged across the floor from the sheer force. My shoes tore apart. I twisted desperately and barely avoided it. Thanks to reading the preparatory movement, I had been ready. Adrenaline surged. I tried to grab its arm, but it didn’t move. Instead—

“Ah, fuck—!”

It swung its entire arm. My body flew. Since it had used its whole body to throw me, there was no way to resist. So Master-rank Heavy Swordsmanship included close-quarters counter techniques too. How ridiculous.

BAM!

The moment my back slammed into the wall, the air was forced from my lungs. My bones ached. Breathing hurt. Through my blurred vision, a milky-white shape took aim at me. Tadol. It was coming.

“Ugh…!”

I scrambled up and ran. The sword strike came right behind me, smashing into the wall I had just been thrown against. The creature had its feet planted on the broken wall.

“Goddamn it—!”

It used Tadol from wall to wall. Bouncing continuously. It looked like one of those old pinball machines I used to see at run-down arcades. Thud. Thud. The violent impacts as it ricocheted between walls made my body tremble. At the end of it all, a horizontal slash aimed at my waist. If it hit, I was dead. I couldn’t block it. I didn’t have my machete anymore.

Then I would dodge.

I applied the Track and Field knowledge floating in my head. I performed a somersault in place. The moment I twisted mid-leap and landed, the blade that had barely grazed me changed direction and came down again. Another horizontal slash aimed at my head. It swung from point-blank range. I bent my waist back as far as it would go. The milky-white blade that passed right before my eyes was perfectly honed. It was a weapon that could slice through bone and flesh without resistance. So I absolutely could not get hit.

I straightened and flipped backward through the air. The moment I created distance, I felt blood trickling down my forehead. I hadn’t completely avoided it. Would I get infected? I really hoped not. But looking at how clean that milky-white blade was, it didn’t seem like I needed to worry about infection. Probably.

Still, the situation wasn’t completely against me. My guess had been right. Its Agility wasn’t actually that high. Thanks to its Perception, its ability to read movements was incredible, but once a sword had already been swung, it couldn’t change its trajectory. Tadol, outstanding cognition, and the Master-rank Kendo that remained in its body even after becoming a zombie were simply covering for that weakness.

Even taking that into account, Tadol was insanely fast, its strength was greater than mine, and its weapon was longer than mine. If I got cut, it was over. It probably wouldn’t even be a clean cut—it would be more like getting hacked apart. In other words, the best strategy was to not get cut at all. And if I had to get cut, it had better be a clean cut. The only surgeons who could reattach a severed limb were back in the village, and there was no guarantee they’d cooperate with us. Unless my sister used Precocious to learn medical techniques at Master rank, that is.

I wiped the blood from my forehead and watched the Crusader assume upper stance again. It didn’t seem to be looking at me. The bony armor didn’t even have eye holes in the first place. But it felt familiar to it, as if it had vision, because it was clearly watching what was behind me. It was paying attention to my back. It was definitely wary of where Kang Ahyeon had gone.

Just as I thought. The ‘Holy Ground’ effect of the sanctuary covered the entire bunker. Even though I was certain of it, I didn’t retreat. My role was to buy time. To hold out until my sister returned with the rifle, extra magazines, and enough firepower.

I steadied my breathing and took a stance. I bounced lightly in place, staring the creature down. It must have reached a similar conclusion. Kill me before I could buy any more time, then go find and kill Ahyeon. That was its goal.

I exhaled the two deep breaths I had taken and focused on its feet. The moment the floor cracked open with a crack, I twisted my body.

SWOOOOOOOOSH!

A powerful downward strike. The speed was no joke. I could feel the wind pressure. But I had already dodged. I twisted my head, realized it was aiming for my shoulder, and twisted my entire body. Then I twisted even further and fired off a kick.

BAM!

A counter spinning kick. The Crusader’s head snapped back. The instant it froze, I moved first with my superior Agility. I shouted as I leaped, driving a knee strike into it. I slammed it into the wall. Amid the flying debris, before it could move, I swung my elbow.

CRAAAAAASH!

I didn’t stop. I pulled my elbow back and kept moving. I clenched both fists and hammered them into the creature.

BAM! KWANG! CRACK!

Two body blows. I leaned back to avoid its frantic counter swing and threw a low kick.

CRACK!

I twisted my whole body into an oblique kick. It stopped after taking the knee. While it was frozen, I raised both fists. What I used was a relatively tight one-two combination. I threw a jab, mixed in a straight. After landing several blows to its head, I twisted sideways again to avoid the thrust that came at me. The grazing arc. I raised my fist to throw a hook, but a sudden chill ran through me. I leaned my upper body back.

The milky-white blade passed right in front of my chin. It had turned the thrust into a slash. Since there was no power from the hips, it was closer to a slicing cut. I kicked it in the side to push it away. The creature staggered back to its feet from where it had fallen. If I had gotten greedy and tried to stomp it, my leg would’ve been cut off.

As I caught my breath, our eyes met.

…Eyes?

“Ah.”

Pieces of the bony armor had broken off and were rolling across the floor. Part of its face. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Part of its side. Yeah, my Strength was 9. There was no way it wouldn’t take any damage. All that pounding had been worth it.

As I watched the bone fragments clatter down and bounced lightly in place, something rolled across the floor.

It was—

A familiar yet strange name. It was a bottle-sized container that had once held the zombie virus, NECS-1. And I recognized the face of the Crusader who had been carrying it.

“...What the fuck.”

It was a face I knew. A Kendo practitioner. One of the cult leader’s closest aides. The cult leader’s former husband. The man who had stood up for me when I first met the cult leader and called her “auntie,” and when she beat me, he had defended me. A middle-aged man.

I froze, then the puzzle pieces clicked together.

The Twenty-Four. The Twelve Apostles and the Martyrs. While the Twelve Apostles had gone overseas to spread the zombie virus, these were the ones tasked with spreading it domestically. They were said to have never returned. They had either become zombies on the spot, been captured, or caught up in the chaos. No one had come back.

But one of them had returned. As a Crusader. As a variant. Left alone in this bunker that could only be accessed from the cult leader’s penthouse. Carrying the aerosol canister that should have been left behind.

It was a mystery. Why had the cult leader become a regular zombie, while the Crusader had become a variant? There had to be a reason why only the cult leader—the one who should have been the safest—had turned. Someone must have infected her. And that someone was probably the person she trusted most.

Was it his conscience? Like how he had defended me in front of the cult leader and helped me survive? Even though it was his wife’s order, had he found it impossible to do? Had he gone so far as to use the virus on his own wife and cult leader?

I didn’t know. But I did know it wasn’t impossible. Because humans were creatures who could do anything for love. After all, this entire disgusting cult had brought about the end of the world in the name of love.

So I felt no sympathy.

I simply glanced at the message that had appeared in the corner of my vision. That was why my sister hadn’t returned yet. Of course—she had a status window too.

She was coming. As if it knew that, the Crusader once again took up middle stance. I looked at the long, Japanese-sword-like bony blade. And above it, glowing text overlaid the scene.

I let out a dry laugh and spat out the blood-mixed saliva that had pooled in my mouth.

“Let’s wrap this up. I’m getting sick of it.”

Hearing the crack of another Tadol stomp, I charged forward.