Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: 77. Merry Christmas
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Christmas had arrived this year as well, right on schedule.
No cakes, no carols, no motels in this world—but our message board had its own event that we'd been holding steadily ever since the war broke out.
The Virtual Christmas Tree Decorating Event.
Every Christmas season, the board's artisan Foxgames would set up a tree site, giving users a chance to hang ornaments on each other's trees, filled with heartfelt messages. Unfortunately, there was no sign of it happening this year.
Foxgames had gone silent.
After his ambitious project, Monster Park, literally turned into a mountain of corpses, he seemed to have lost his spirit. He'd expressed that he could no longer run it, and hadn't posted since.
Given that the graves scattered throughout Monster Park were being relocated to a communal cemetery, Foxgames was probably still alive—but it felt like his heart had been broken.
Some grumbled that people dying every winter was an annual event, so why show such weakness now? But I understood Foxgames.
Hearing about a bunch of deaths was one thing; watching countless people die right in front of your eyes was something else entirely.
It wasn't just Foxgames whose heart was weakening.
Mine felt a little uneasy too.
The Defender siblings' move had been finalized.
I heard the news right when I was posting a popular thread, firing the signal flare of my return.
Defender contacted me.
"Sorry, it got decided suddenly."
They hadn't set an exact date yet, but they'd definitely be gone before the year was out.
Less than a week left.
Without a door, they could leave tomorrow if they wanted.
The schedule was up to the Legion faction, not Defender.
"......"
I'd known it was coming, but the emptiness and helplessness of people around me leaving hit harder than I'd imagined.
My old comrades would be shocked if they saw me now.
Park Gyu, who used to carry out missions stoically without flinching even when a teammate died right beside him, was hurting over something as minor as a move—not even a death.
Some might say I'd gone soft.
Others might call me old.
But what could I do?
My heart really was unsettled.
No point denying it.
In a world where everything was falling apart, it was okay to show a weak side.
Pretending to be strong wouldn't ward off the disaster anyway.
And it wasn't just the Defender siblings leaving.
Rebecca and her daughter would soon be heading off to join their own kind, though nothing was set in stone yet.
There was an intact U.S. military base near Daegu.
About 150 people—soldiers who hadn't escaped in time and their families—had formed a camp there.
Not only was it sizable, but their combat strength was considerable too. They were in close coordination with the city government and even ran their own school.
That last part probably swayed Rebecca.
Everyone around me was drifting away.
I'd once thought being alone was natural, but now that I was facing solitude again, I wasn't so sure of myself.
I hadn't chatted much or interacted deeply with my neighbors, but having someone to occasionally open up to—even briefly—made a world of difference compared to not having them.
I pleaded desperately with Viva_Bot, but this heartless black-haired foreigner had no intention of helping me.
After hesitating several times, I finally reached out to Rebecca.
"Skeleton, what's up?"
"Hey, Rebecca. It's Christmas today."
"No."
"?"
I was caught off guard for a moment.
Her tone was colder than usual.
"Hey, wanna grab a quick bite or something?"
"No, Skeleton. Don't contact me anymore today."
The connection cut off.
What the hell?
Had I done something wrong?
Wasn't our thing to at least meet up lightly for tea on Christmas?
Even as acquaintances, we'd known each other for three years, practically neighbors who'd accepted each other.
I considered calling again but decided against it.
My mental resilience was already fragile; confirming something hard to accept would leave lingering aftereffects.
Especially if Rebecca had decided to betray me—it'd shake me pretty bad.
Back in my professor days, people whispered that I had a heart of steel.
How could I stay so calm when a teammate died?
Operate without flinching even as people dropped?
Truth was, I was thicker-skinned and more selfish than most.
No denying that.
But even I felt the shock when a teammate I'd talked to yesterday became a cold corpse carted away in front of me.
I had a heart too.
I just refused to think about shocking events unfolding right in front of me.
Like flipping a mental switch to turn it off.
I first discovered that switch when monsters wiped out my family.
At the funeral home, hearing relatives scream over the scraps of inheritance my parents left behind—I flipped it for the first time.
Escapism, maybe, but it worked well.
The key was not to waver.
React only to what's happening now; don't dwell on the past or reasons why.
I was the priority.
As long as I didn't shake, no problem.
As I sat there, mind emptied, letting time drift by, a commotion erupted on the board.
Foxgames was back.
He had something to say.
Foxgames had lived a turbulent life too.
Not many in our doomsday crowd were unscathed by the world.
I sipped my coffee and nodded.
Yeah, this was it.
This connection was why I'd joined Viva! Apocalypse! and stepped into the board world.
I logged straight into the Christmas tree site and decorated Foxgames' tree.
A boot full of heart would be good.
Hang in there.
Short but strong, with SKELTON's name attached, and send.
After sending, others had already decorated it.
<Anon - Hang in there Foxgames!>
<Anonymous 458 - People die sometimes, looking forward to good games next year too!>
<Monster Park God Game!>
<Make a battle royale>
<Anon - You're the bastard who stole my booger money! lol Forgiven!>
<Idol buff for the battlefield>
All ten slots filled in an instant.
All wholesome fan service.
The weight of a liked named user.
I smiled faintly, admiring them, when a notification pinged.
Ding~
Tap tap tap—
I rushed over.
- SKELTON's Tree (1)
"?"
<Depression>
<Cold>
<Hardship>
<Hunger>
<Trials>
<Disease>
<Pain>
<Despair>
<Betrayal>
<Solitude>
This wasn't right.
And sure enough, like a named user, a second tree had decorations too—different from last year.
- SKELTON's Tree (2)
<Liver Cancer>
<Rheumatism>
<High Fever>
<Myocardial Infarction>
<Hemorrhoids>
<Food Poisoning>
<Trigeminal Neuralgia>
<Cavities>
<Stroke>
<Pulmonary Embolism>
"No."
This was definitely one guy's doing.
No doubt.
Someone with a grudge had terrorized my tree.
"......Ha."
What an unfair world.
Strength drained out.
I'd just drawn power from Foxgames, and now it all leaked away.
Notifications kept ringing, but I ignored them.
Seeing more bad stuff might shake me.
Averting my eyes from the monitor, the heavy, silent darkness surrounding me finally came into view.
The darkness I'd chosen—had no choice but to choose.
The fateful shadow that had stayed with me since the war, always at my side, now unveiled itself before me.
I knew well how it drove people mad.
Those who couldn't endure had died long ago.
Having survived years in the hell called the battlefield, I wouldn't falter before mere darkness—but I didn't want to acknowledge this unwelcome housemate.
I wanted to put off noticing it.
Until everyone else was dead, and I alone could become legend.
But since it'd shown itself, I'd have to accept it.
Finger on the mental switch, I stared quietly at the bunker’s shroud of darkness.
"......"
The darkness tried to swallow me.
I let it.
Even if it did, nothing would change.
Tomorrow, I'd still be alive.
Whether that life was fun or meaningful, who knew.
Vroooom—
Suddenly, vehicle noise.
Direction: southwest.
No ordinary car.
A heavy one with serious displacement.
Current time: 6:10 PM, temperature: -14°C.
Click—
I grabbed my gun and peered through the periscope.
Vehicle lights visible.
Too dark at 6 PM to ID the type, but looked military.
Just one.
I donned snow-camo poncho, slung the recoilless rifle, and stepped out of the bunker.
The vehicle approached with headlights on.
"......"
Did they know my position?
Snow blurred road from open ground, yet it followed the unpaved path straight into my territory.
One name flashed in my mind.
Kim Daram.
She'd finally come to kill me.
I'd never wronged her directly, but she'd earned my grudge.
Taking the first shot fit her junior's personality.
She was sharp like that.
But on Christmas, of all days.
With a bitter smile, I moved to ambush position and aimed the recoilless rifle.
No need for talk.
When in range, fire and end it.
The vehicle drew near.
Chain tires rumbling, vibrating, lights glaring.
But that engine sound.
Faded, but familiar.
Humvee.
U.S. military.
The word triggered images of Rebecca and Su flashing before my eyes.
Just association, but thinking of them stung a bit.
I hadn't confirmed their true feelings yet.
Whatever, it'd play out.
Prone on cold snow, I waited for the target.
Target in sight.
Pull trigger, threat gone clean.
But wait.
"......"
Would Kim Daram be this sloppy?
I never taught her that.
If it were me—or her—we'd set a death trap where realization meant it was too late.
We preferred that.
I held fire, let it approach.
Not like me, but with foolish hope, I watched.
"Skeleton!"
A young voice carried on the wind.
Su's.
The vehicle stopped before my bunker.
No doubt.
Rebecca's Humvee.
"Skeleton! Where are you? Why no response?!"
Rebecca's voice.
Awkwardly, slowly, weapon raised, I emerged.
"Skeleton!"
Rebecca's eyes went to the recoilless rifle.
"Are you insane?!"
"Ah, no. Heard a car suddenly."
"Why ignore comms? I called!"
"......"
I dodged, eyed the Humvee.
"What's this?"
Su hopped out, stood proudly, patted the engine bay.
"Mom and I fixed it."
"What?"
"Looked it up online."
"You fixed it from the internet?"
"I fix my bike too."
Su beamed up at Rebecca proudly.
"Even fixed Mom's precious internet."
Rebecca looked embarrassed, averted gaze.
"We only received from you, Skeleton. We're leaving soon, so we had to give something back. Christmas present."
"A juicy surprise gift."
The mother-daughter duo said it together toward my blank face.
"Merry Christmas, Skeleton!"
"......"
For a moment, I hesitated.
Flip the mental switch, or leave it?
"......Merry Christmas."
Leave it.
Let my heart shake.
One holy day celebrating a savior's birth couldn't hurt.
*
After squeezing the heavy-armored, 12.7mm machine gun-equipped Humvee into the cramped garage and heading inside to shut down the computer—
A notification popped.
Probably more curses.
Check what they wrote, at least.
Click—
"Hm?"
Defender siblings?
What's with the heart? Hearts?
A bit more.
"......"
This bastard.
The troll on my tree.
Not just m9.
More below.
heartfelt ones.
And.
Merry Christmas.