Chapter 276
Chapter 276
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: 112. Faith (5)
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We first learned about the user called Defender during that infamous authentication incident.
Defender had killed people who invaded his territory and posted photos of their bodies.
True to the early days of the apocalypse, the victims were holding their IDs, and Defender had laid them out neatly beside the corpses like product labels.
The shock he gave us back then was tremendous.
Even as we lived through the apocalypse, we were still stuck in the mindset of the pre-war, peaceful era.
Some of us apocalypse enthusiasts even cautiously predicted that while the war had caused massive damage, with China obliterated, Korea would rebuild in a form similar to before.
All things fade.
The shock Defender brought us was no different.
We'd seen far worse things countless times, and they cropped up casually in our daily lives around us.
As our bodies and minds adapted to life in the apocalypse, Defender, that named user, lost his past fame and became just another ordinary user.
But that was our change.
Defender, who had shocked us, hadn't changed at all.
He still killed people the old way, wherever he found them.
"...It wasn't intentional. It just happened that way."
The Legion faction had systematically massacred a group of fanatics, mostly North Koreans, in the Wonju and Chuncheon area.
Without any warning, they set fire to the quarantine zone, rained down biochemical rounds, and gunned down those who fled for their lives.
Defender had taken part in that massacre.
To him, who had already killed countless people, a few more or fewer fanatics meant nothing.
But.
"Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. So I took off my mask. If I didn't, I felt like I'd suffocate."
He said he'd felt a sense of doubt during the massacre.
He didn't explain exactly why, but I could imagine it myself.
Up until now, his killings had been to protect his territory.
Like the karma of slaughter that carnivores carry from birth, taking other lives just to survive.
But the Legion's massacre was different in nature.
It was largely political and collective.
It couldn't be equated with the desperate struggle to survive that his previous killings had been.
That's why he felt nauseous and took off his gas mask, which guaranteed his anonymity.
Just my theory.
At the very least, I hoped the doubt he felt was enough to make him confront the sins he'd committed.
And now, the price of that sin was boldly approaching us.
"SKELTON."
Defender looked at me and spoke in a faintly trembling voice.
I met his gaze and replied.
"Don't worry."
I'd promised to protect him.
At least, I'd promised to repay his debt alongside him.
"Grab your bags."
"Our bags?"
I glanced at Dajeong.
"Can you walk?"
"Of course!"
If we didn't need to run, it was best to keep our gear intact.
This was the carefully selected luggage that Defender deemed important.
In the apocalypse, supplies were generally more precious than people.
In the case of Defender and his sister, they were more precious than supplies, but that didn't diminish the importance of gear.
While Defender repacked, I asked Ha Tae-hoon.
"The fanatics?"
"They're arguing with the soldiers. But no fighting?"
"Really?"
"Oh, the soldiers are pulling back. Ah, now I get it. They've made a deal with the fanatics. Shaken hands. Nothing else explains it."
Ha Tae-hoon, watching over us from above, reported the situation accurately.
But his eyes didn't last long.
Tatata-tatang!!!
The Legion's anti-air vehicle spat fire.
The gear was crude, but under expert fire control, the bullets downed Ha Tae-hoon's drone hovering in the sky.
"Drone out."
Ha Tae-hoon said in a somber tone.
"What now? Join up?"
I told him.
"No, hold position."
To Cheon Young-jae,
"Circle south first and check."
"Alone?"
I nodded.
Over the past few days, I'd placed great trust in Cheon Young-jae's abilities, but only because he was by my side.
If Cheon Young-jae had other tasks, he needed to be able to operate solo.
In truth, that's how I'd lived.
Until now, without any abilities, I'd roamed dangerous places, fought, and escaped crises.
Looking at the worried Cheon Young-jae, I said one thing.
"Watch over everyone through your eyes."
Cheon Young-jae understood my intent and stared sharply into the darkness with his faintly glowing eyes.
I felt Defender and his sister's gazes from behind but ignored them and walked into the shadows.
The path wasn't difficult.
I'd been here once before, and I roughly remembered where people were hiding.
Thanks to that, my steps were faster than before, and my movements unhesitant.
What I wanted to confirm was the current state of the route I knew.
Like the latest update on a computer.
Just minutes ago, soldiers had formed an encirclement.
In fact, that encirclement had fully closed in on us.
But with the shockwave felt from afar, the soldiers broke the siege and began withdrawing from the area.
Vrooom---
Vehicle engines rumbled from beyond the street.
Creak-creak--
Mixed in were the tracks of tanks.
They weren't far.
Maybe 500 meters at most.
Endless rows of studio apartments blocked the view, but in open terrain, they'd be as exposed as if naked.
Fortunately, the vehicles and tanks were moving away from the zone.
However.
"Hey."
A man's shadow flickered vaguely in a third-floor window of a studio apartment.
His silhouette ominously revealed he held a firearm.
And that he was fiercely debating whether to open fire on me.
"Who are you? What the hell are you doing there?"
I answered without aiming my gun.
"Not military. Just passing through."
The man didn't reply.
He just flinched slightly upon hearing my voice.
"Like I said, just passing by. The soldiers left because monsters appeared. We're going through here too. So I hope we avoid unnecessary conflict."
Apart from that third-floor resident, no one else in firing range threatened us.
I spoke into the radio.
"Street clear. Come this way."
"Roger."
As I waited for Defender's group with the area secured, a voice came from the studio.
"Who are you? Military?"
He was still hiding behind the window.
It was comical how awkwardly he stood, unaware the darkness didn't fully hide his silhouette, but I answered seriously.
"Not military. Just your average refugee."
"Why would a refugee...?"
"Come to rescue a friend."
"A friend..."
Slide--
The window opened.
My gun twitched instinctively too.
"Mind taking me along?"
He wore a military uniform—a soldier.
With countless meaningless badges covering even his shirt pocket, he looked like a bona fide Legion soldier who'd served on the front lines since before the war.
His darkened face twisted in a pitiful expression as he spoke.
"I don't want much. Just get me out of this city and help me find Commander Kim Byung-chul's unit."
The soldier shook his gun.
"Not bragging, but I've killed plenty. I'll be useful."
Situations arise endlessly on missions.
Encounters with isolated survivors are one of them.
Like snowflakes, their demands are unpredictable and ever-changing.
My experience says: never accept unvetted third parties into your group.
Especially not those with guns.
But blunt refusal isn't wise either.
It's worse than killing him outright.
Rejection breeds grudges, and grudges often lead to impulses.
Even in this frozen hell, the art of conversation is necessary.
"We're being hunted by fanatics right now."
"Fanatics?"
"Yeah. My friend was involved in their massacre. White-robed fanatics are yelling they'll kill him."
I calmly looked up at the bloodshot-eyed man and asked.
"Still want to come?"
The man's face stiffened awkwardly.
He shook his head and closed the window.
"What? We're marked?"
From beyond the closed window, he grumbled curtly.
"Marked?"
"Hunted by Manryu Church?"
They call the cult Manryu Church here?
"You know once Manryu marks you, there's no escape, right?"
"Is that so?"
Curiosity stirred in me now, but from his perspective, no need to talk further.
He slammed the window shut.
"Fuck. Tough luck. Hurry through! Don't get caught ahead! Get lost far away!"
Just then, Cheon Young-jae's group emerged from the darkness.
I approached Cheon Young-jae.
"Seems the fanatics have a perception ability user."
Perception and detection.
One of the known low-level Awakener abilities.
Perception often gets confused with detection.
The terms sound similar.
But knowing the details, they're entirely different.
Detection focuses on scouting enemy positions within short, combat-range distances.
Perception locates a specific person or target, no matter the distance.
Detection is like radar in battle; perception is like a communicator finding distant objects.
Scholars say monsters use perception to head toward their kin—like small or infiltrator types.
"How exactly does perception work?"
I knew the basics from my time on duty.
But not the specifics.
And as an outcast from the mainstream, hated pathologically by low-level Awakeners like me, I'd get no info anyway.
"No idea. I don't have perception either. But it requires proximity. It's perception, right? To perceive a target, you at least need to see their face, no?"
I looked at Defender.
"Any perception users nearby? Or situations where you might've been perceived?"
Defender shook his head.
"No Awakeners, including Committee Leader Kim Daram."
His eyes flashed.
"Wait."
Defender's gaze turned distant.
"...There was one I let live."
"You?"
I was a bit surprised.
Defender sparing someone.
"A guy begging to spare him so he could protect his sister."
"..."
Defender looked at me.
"He might've perceived me then."
I nodded slightly and ordered advance.
"Let's go."
I didn't know the exact details.
The perception user was just inferred from the soldier left in the studio.
But the fanatics' confidence in hunting killers had to have a reason.
No harm in caution.
Bang! Bang! Tatata-bang!
Gunfire echoed sporadically across the streets.
Scattered resistance? Or lingering soldiers mopping up?
Fragmentary intel showed no one blocking our escape, so we moved swiftly.
But.
"This."
Cheon Young-jae grimaced.
"Feels real."
"...What?"
Cheon Young-jae stopped and looked back.
"Perception."
Squinting his glowing eyes at the air, he nodded.
"Straight line. No matter where we go, coming straight at us. Like they know exactly where we are."
"How many?"
"At least ten."
"I see."
Perception's scariest foe is distance.
Once caught in the net, it tracks targets tens of kilometers away accurately.
Meaning, even back at our base, we'd face these fanatic guests led by a perception user.
"SKELTON."
Defender stepped in front of me.
His face showed resolve.
"I'll stay behind."
Dajeong's eyes wavered slightly.
"Oppa."
"...Go with SKELTON."
Before her sacrificing brother, Dajeong showed no emotional shift.
She just stood silently beside her kin, taking deep breaths.
After, she spoke softly.
"Shouldn't we pay the price together?"
She chuckled lightly.
Forced laugh.
Dajeong stared at me.
"I've killed plenty too."
I knew.
"Took part in the massacre."
"..."
That I didn't know.
Dajeong calmly confessed her sins before us, a forlorn smile on her lips.
"Yeah. Just one button press, but that one button crushed over three hundred people alive in a building. Fanatics or not, they're people too, right?"
The moment I saw their eyes, their hearts touched mine.
Defender siblings.
Staying wasn't just guilt.
That was minor.
What I saw on their faces was gratitude.
Toward me.
For helping them until now, for coming this far.
That's why they wanted to stay.
To burden me no more.
"SKELTON. You seeing a nice girl?"
Dajeong forced a bright smile.
"Ha, if we'd met pre-war, I'd introduce you to someone good. Age difference? Whatever. You're a cool guy. Our SKELTON."
Meanwhile, enemies approached.
Cheon Young-jae cleared his throat lightly.
Fanatics incoming.
Ha Tae-hoon packed gear, making noise.
They demanded my decision.
But I had none to make.
"Hey."
Why, I'd already decided.
"You know?"
I asked, taking in Dajeong and Defender.
The siblings looked at me simultaneously.
"That armband I got on the forum."
"What?!"
"For real?"
I nodded with a faint smile.
"Secret armband."
"Secret armband...!!"
"And you might've seen, but I already screwed over the fanatics once."
"Y-you did?"
"Got a plan."