Chapter 338
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 338
Chapter Title: Candle (2)
Woo Min-hee sent a vehicle.
And riding in that vehicle was none other than my disciple, whom I'd thought was dead.
"Instructor Park. Hello?"
Song Yujin greeted me with a more mature tone to match her grown-up appearance.
I wanted to ask what had happened, but since we weren't alone in the vehicle, I held my tongue.
The journey went smoothly.
Smoothly enough to make our meticulous preparations beforehand seem pointless—even boring at times.
"Ambush ahead. Stay sharp."
That was the only hiccup: a group of raiders lying in wait midway. Otherwise, no threats at all.
The raiders fled into the mountains the moment we stopped and stood ready.
"There are a lot of fanatics around here."
Song Yujin spoke as she watched the raiders with her faintly glowing eyes.
The vehicle crossed the Han River via one of the few remaining bridges.
On the far side, smoke rose hazily from the distant bridge.
"Refugees. They set up camp on the bridge."
Sure enough, tents and makeshift structures dotted the span.
The northern approach was severed, leaving only the southern side intact, with a small island below where they farmed.
It was more fortress than bridge, built over the river.
Looked pretty solid.
Water and food right below, easy to defend.
But against superior invaders, it'd just be a nicely wrapped present.
"That's Gimpo Bridge."
Valentine, who'd been watching, chimed in.
"You lived nearby?"
"Spent a short time in Gimpo right after we got married."
We sped past the people on the bridge.
Beyond it stretched a palette of colors that sickened my heart.
The erosion zone.
"......"
Already spread this far?
Last time I'd passed through Woo Min-hee's territory, the erosion hadn't reached the Han River yet.
Things were different now.
No nation, army, or people to halt the monsters' advance.
Unimpeded, erosion spread at an astonishing rate.
By sunset, that bridge camp would probably be grayed over too.
Following the endless sickly hues, we hit a fork.
A bent-and-welded-back-together sign pointed to the nearby Paju Rift.
[Restricted Area – Authorized Personnel Only]
[Proceeding Further May Result in Death]
Been a while since I'd seen one of those.
It brought back a memory from the old days.
YouTubers used to cross these forbidden lines all the time.
Not bravery—more like a desperate bid for survival.
They lived off attention from others.
Problem was, they disrupted military ops more than monsters did.
Monsters could be handled per field manuals by organized units.
But these reckless attention-seekers? Unpredictable entry, unpredictable antics.
One slip in, and the whole base flipped out.
They'd even shove phones in faces for live streams, chasing more views.
Before China went berserk, such antics got some leeway.
But trade cutoffs and looming war killed the tolerance.
By the time I left the front, the military ran "Internet Clown Extermination" squads.
Simple method: Spot one, send elite snipers to pick 'em off from afar.
Bang!
Rat-tat-tat!
Gunfire from the rear? Hundred percent, clowns.
One episode I remember: Five idiots snuck in snapping selfies and videos.
Five snipers blew their phones first, then gut-shot 'em to drop writhing.
Two died instantly; the other three thrashed in agony before croaking.
We crossed that storied line.
No big deal.
We'd entered the gray erosion zone long ago anyway.
"Rift zone starts here."
The vehicle halted.
Time for maintenance.
Three came with us.
My disciple Song Yujin and two men who hadn't given names—probably Awakened, I figured.
All early twenties, but they carried veterans' gravity and a casual disregard for life.
Probably survived countless brushes with death.
During maintenance, Song Yujin beckoned me aside.
Away from the others, she sighed deeply, then launched into the world's most aggrieved rant.
"Teacher. Seriously. I thought I'd never see you again. For real!"
"......All I heard was you got kicked out by Woo Min-hee."
"I went back. After seeing the world's ugliest sides. Begged the station chief on my knees to take me back. Said I'd do anything. Lucky for me, she did. But instead of my old spot, she stuck me on recon......"
Up close, I saw the toll: faint scars on her cheek, among others.
"You did well."
No need to pry for details.
Everyone goes through it.
Nothing special.
But Woo Min-hee sending Song Yujin out of all her underlings? Had to be a reason.
My guess hit the mark.
My disciple hit me with an innocent question, her face unreadable.
"Heard the rough situation from the station chief, but what's the exact reason for heading to Overland?"
Probing my true intent again.
She'd share more intel than most, so she was the pick.
Nothing to hide, so I laid it out straight.
"Capture signals from the rift?"
Bittersweet seeing my once-pure disciple turned into a fine tool, but as her teacher, I saw it as progress.
Stayed pure? Woo Min-hee never would've taken her back.
Good news too.
"Just need to get close to the rift?"
"Yeah."
"Then follow us. We have a regular patrol route."
My junior Woo Min-hee wasn't slacking, after all.
She'd holed up near Incheon to Paju outskirts, but carved out her turf effectively.
Blazing a safe route through Overland? Took serious will.
Seeing that patrol route, I couldn't help a wry smile.
A massive snake skeleton sprawled before us.
Barricades of vehicles, steel beams, and scrap formed a long, perforated tunnel straight to the rift.
"Woo Min-hee's handiwork?"
I asked Song Yujin, eyeing the crude, slapped-together sections.
She nodded gravely.
"Yes. The chief took a few crew members and built it."
Song Yujin donned her gas mask.
Pointless, maybe, but everyone else did, so I followed suit and offered one to Valentine.
"How's it looking?"
Valentine held a tablet linked to an antenna and assorted electronics—a signal detector per Deadman Walking's specs.
"Not sure yet."
He chuckled and corrected himself.
"Honestly, no clue. Not sure what that guy even wants."
Deadman Walking's orders: Approach within 10 meters of the rift, record detectable signals with the custom rig. That was it.
No explanation on fluctuating waves' meaning or Necropolis principles.
Valentine was just a recorder.
We advanced along Woo Min-hee's path.
Long service, but the landscape was unrecognizable now—no human traces.
A silent world of death.
This was the erosion zone.
Twisted plants everywhere, like prophecies of our inevitable doom.
"......"
Sweat poured down Valentine's brow like rain.
Probably his first time in an erosion zone.
This blatantly earthly yet alien place hits like no other stress.
Countless people vanished here.
No one knows why.
Suddenly insane, transformed, or whatever—long-timers just disappear.
As if they never existed.
"Remember Kyle_Dos?"
Tried chatting to ease his tension.
"No. Who?"
"Oh, old YouTuber."
"Ah......"
Valentine's eyes darted anxiously.
Not listening.
Already lost to erosion's terror.
Got Song Yujin's okay and halted the march.
"If it's tough, hand the gear to me. I'll measure."
Leaving someone shaky is unwise.
Visible nerves mean high odds of trouble—and trouble breeds more.
"No. I have to. I must. What else can a guy like me do without powers?"
Extreme stress has upsides.
Slips truths you'd never say otherwise.
Despite my checks, Valentine had felt insecure even in our safe zone.
"No need to downplay yourself. You're a full member of our group, Valentine."
"......I'll go to the end."
Valentine had grit, for sure.
No grit, he'd have ditched John_nenon ages ago—no joint adventure with us.
"......Good. Steel yourself. It only gets worse."
No sooner said than Song Yujin spoke curtly in a dry voice.
"Two o'clock. Two."
Click-click.
Weapons raised.
Sure enough, something grotesque slithered from the gray beyond.
Centipede—no, closer to millipede.
Thousands of legs rippling rhythmically, gliding over the ground.
Size said otherworldly creature, not monster.
"Fire?"
Song Yujin nodded.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat!
Guns blazed.
One shot per, shattering presumed heads.
Gruesomely, the otherworldlies flipped backward, legs twitching like bugs we know, convulsing into dissolution.
"......Getting more lifelike."
"More coming. Move fast."
Woo Min-hee's tunnel sloped steeply upward.
Now I remembered.
Over that ridgeline: Paju Rift.
Humanity's famed front line.
Trained troops, high-tech gear, optimized kill zones, barracks, hospital, ammo depot, volleyball court, baths, helipad, rear sniper nests, hunter lounge.
Little of my old view remained.
Even if intact, the gray tint would feel wrong.
"Huff! Heave!"
Fast pace.
Easy for me, but taxing on Valentine's stamina.
His stubborn lips said stopping would bruise his pride.
I ignored it, tailing Song Yujin's group.
A skull dangled at the ridgeline's end.
Probably rotted against the tunnel structure.
"Over this, and it's the rift."
Song Yujin's voice trembled faintly with tension.
Her shoulders shook—just a moment.
Invisible to the others.
Forced into this to avoid exile.
Her brief quiver synced oddly with Valentine's gasps behind.
"......"
Shook off the dark thought and pressed on.
Down the steep incline, past the blind corner, an open plain appeared.
Just as I remembered.
Everything frozen in place.
Positions, barracks, observation post, opposite hill—and at center, the world's tear, lake-still, occasionally rippling eerily.
The rift.
Time stood still.
Minus the gray overlay.
But that discoloration? The biggest, irreversible change.
Monsters below the rift.
Twenty mid-sized visible at a glance.
Small types I'd never seen, statically arrayed like corpses amid the mid-sizers' fortress, patrolled by countless repulsive otherworldlies.
And capsules.
Capsules blanketed the far hill like a mountain.
Mission failed.
No—impossible.
Can't approach point-blank.
Not about trying; pure feasibility.
"......What the hell is that?"
Shocking enough.
Korea—Seoul suburbs, at least—done for soon. Fact.
But expected scene.
One we'd braced for.
What stunned me wasn't beyond the rift.
"A person?"
Humans.
In that otherworldly place.
Standing blankly, soulless, unmoving.
Like monsters.
"Yes. Humans."
One of the silent men spoke.
Deep, steady baritone.
"Fanatics."
He eyed the figure on the gray plain with dimly glowing eyes.
I nodded instinctively.
"Yeah."
That's right.
True Manryu Faith followers.
Assimilating in monster turf, no resistance.
Madman's creed, but original Manryu started—and ended—that way. Only doctrine known.
Embellished and twisted, it sparked China's endless revolutions and rebellions.
What we call fanatics now? Heretical offshoots of the heresy.
Oddly, the otherworldlies that hated us ignored the humans standing placidly in their midst.
"......So? Instructor?"
Song Yujin asked.
"What?"
"Chief wants your take on them."
"Insane."
No more, no less.
Madness.
Best spin: "nicely crazy"? No higher praise.
"Huff! Heave!"
Valentine caught up late.
"Whoa."
His exclamation rang out.
We ignored it, but his mutter continued.
"Someone's coming."
Then we noticed: approach from the flank.
A woman.
Disheveled hair, faint smile.
Eyes gleaming softly.
Click.
Awakened.