Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 038
Chapter Title: Yohan's Bizarre Vacation (6)
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“Aaaah—!”
Edward howled as the cascading light engulfed him.
He had prepared a decoy corpse to block the enemy's magic, but it was useless.
This wasn't just about shattering flesh.
It destroyed enemies, obstacles blocking the way.
It shattered bodies and crumbled consciousness in pursuit.
Shaaa—
It even struck the main body's soul.
There wasn't even a moment to react.
The slightest lapse in focus meant total annihilation!
“Kuhuk— Aaaah!”
He tried to hold out, but it was impossible.
His outstretched arms had already crumbled into dust and vanished.
As the deluge of light pulverized the corpse body into scattering powder...
“Aaaaaah! Ah!?”
Edward and Yohan both winced simultaneously, though for entirely different reasons.
Zzzzzt—
A crack formed in the pentacle parchment serving as the magic's medium, spiderwebbing across its surface.
Yohan's spell hadn't failed.
The magic had deployed perfectly. And that was exactly the problem.
Tzzzzzt—!
The parchment crafted by Kim Mireh couldn't withstand the power of Yohan's pentacle magic.
He could have dialed back the output.
But it was his first time using it, so Yohan didn't know how.
Besides, he had intended to kill Edward outright from the start—no holding back.
In the end, the parchment tore under the overwhelming light.
Edward seized the opening without hesitation.
“—?!”
To survive, he severed his connection to the decoy body.
The fake body immediately collapsed to the floor, crumbling into dust.
Crunch...
‧
‧
‧
“Aaaah— Hah! Heuk!”
Edward bolted upright in his hideout, gasping for breath.
Cold sweat poured from his entire body.
If that gap had come even a moment later...
Terror twisted Edward's face.
“...No, that's not it!”
He shoved the fear aside, filling the void with rage.
‘It was close... but the bastard's magic failed... He's still just a novice wizard after all.’
If he were truly that novice, Edward wouldn't have been pushed this far.
The usual Edward would have judged the situation that way and retreated immediately.
But greed overshadowed even the terror in his eyes.
If only for a fleeting moment...
The image of that grimoire in the bastard's hands was seared into his memory.
The necromancy Edward practiced was demonology magic from Gamigin's line of spirit-summoning arts.
Gamigin—the fourth of Solomon's 72 demons. Appears as a donkey, teaches arts of necromancy and spirit conjuration. It's said to stay by the summoner's side until their wishes are fulfilled.
If he could subjugate the 72 demons, he could rise even higher.
His eyes glazed over with desire for that great grimoire, that treasure.
And yet...
Terror and murderous intent flashed savagely in Edward's eyes.
He recalled Yohan's face. Though the spell had failed, the sheer power of it made his body tremble.
He gritted his teeth at the chilling sensation.
Fine, he'd admit it. For a greenhorn wizard who'd only recently gotten his hands on a grimoire, the bastard was impressive.
‘...He's dangerous.’
You had to kill a beast when it was still young and immature.
If he didn't kill him now, it would be too late.
With that, Edward recalled all the zombies he'd stationed on the outskirts to guard against intruders, sending them straight to the auditorium.
The spell that turned those zombies to dust had been powerful, but with the parchment medium torn, it couldn't be used again.
Now that he knew the enemy's numbers, he wouldn't approach any magic circle.
...He won't catch me off guard this time.
Edward moved to kill the young wizard, his eyes blazing with murderous greed.
Inside the auditorium.
I stared at the powdered remains of the corpse on the crude paint magic circle where the light had faded.
‘This is...’
Sua snapped out of her stunned daze at the astonishing sight and asked,
“D-Did you get him? Ah!”
She clamped her mouth shut after saying it herself.
I stepped out of the magic circle and peered outside through the shattered auditorium doors.
The zombie horde surrounding the auditorium seemed completely turned to dust.
But that foul, hazy mist still lingered.
My eyes narrowed.
‘...The bastard—the wizard behind this—is still alive.’
Sua scurried up behind me and cautiously said,
“Um... I didn't mean by saying ‘Did you get him?’ or anything, right?”
“Doesn't matter. The dead stay dead, the living stay alive.”
“Uh... so you did get him?”
“Nah, he ran.”
I casually replied and shook the hand holding the parchment.
The painstakingly made pentacle parchment crumbled like singed paper, scattering away.
“Tch.”
Should I have made the parchment myself after all? But I didn't have butchering skills, and skinning is a pain...
Kim Mireh, that woman should've focused on making decent parchment instead of eating people.
...Well, it wasn't something I bought with money; I killed and took it.
Complaining about quality was pretty ridiculous.
No point dwelling on the already broken thing.
Next time I make a pentacle, I'll use durable metal.
At that moment, the people inside the magic circle hesitantly emerged, glancing at me nervously before speaking up.
“Um, excuse me—so, what should we do now?”
The zombies around the auditorium were gone, but the mist was still thick, so nothing was truly resolved.
I figured they'd whine like, ‘You started this mess! Why can't you fix it?!’ and try to make me Grizzly chow, but they were surprisingly polite.
And their speech was a bit archaic.
Well, if some random guy starts invoking God and blasts the zombies to dust with a destruction beam, even I'd get polite.
I gazed at the drifting powder.
Definitely need better prep all around, and I can only use it on Saturdays.
Even factoring in the weekly cooldown, it was a solid spell.
No wonder it bore Solomon's name.
Anyway, I gave the people a vague answer.
“The door's busted too. This place isn't safe anymore. Escape if you want, do whatever.”
“...Pardon?”
Now wasn't the time to worry about others.
Then Ellie stepped forward.
“Everyone, Yohan is right—this place feels too dangerous now. The mist is still there, but the zombie numbers have dropped.”
“Since we can't wait safely for rescue, how about heading to the parking lot to find a vehicle?”
The mist carried a stamina-draining curse, it seemed.
The adults were holding up, but the kids looked rough.
“...We were gonna tough it out here.”
With the situation like this, Sua spoke up.
“I didn't mention it since it seemed pointless, but when we got off the bus, I saw the keys still in it.”
Looks like the bus driver had just left them plugged in.
But that's beside the point—I asked Sua,
“Anyone here know how to drive a bus?”
“I've played Euro Truck Simulator.”
Brave? Or just crazy?
“Euro Truck... tabled for now.”
Ellie timidly raised her hand.
“I know how to drive large vehicles.”
“...Pardon?”
Unexpected words drew everyone's stares.
Ellie blushed slightly and explained,
“Well... Mom taught me. Just in case.”
Mom, huh...
Curious, I asked Ellie,
“That fighting style you used against the zombies—was that from your mom too?”
“Yes, she taught me.”
Heavy vehicle driving and breathing techniques? Disaster prep training or something?
Anyway, what a versatile nun.
“Don't get the wrong idea. ...I'm just curious what kind of woman Ellie's mom is.”
“Haha~ No misunderstanding.”
Ellie smiled softly, then looked at me cautiously.
“Yohan, come with us—”
“I'm staying. Got things to do.”
I judged quickly.
“Situation's like this. Better survival odds solo.”
Zombie numbers had visibly thinned.
But herding everyone to the bus was still risky.
At my blunt refusal to join, Ellie simply nodded.
“...I see.”
Her gentle, warm voice expressed gratitude.
“Yohan, thank you so much for today. Without you, so many more would have died.”
“Sorry we can't even give proper thanks after all your help.”
She looked at me with concern.
“...I know you're amazing, Yohan, but please don't push yourself too hard.”
Then Ellie handed one of the sickly kids to Sua.
“Sua, carry Minhee.”
“...Got it.”
Sua glanced at me and said,
“Thanks for fixing my leg. ...See ya whenever.”
The people murmured and hesitated, but with fewer zombies and the auditorium door broken—no safe spot left—they followed Ellie's group.
Finally alone in the auditorium.
I recalled Ellie's figure leaving with the sick child in her arms.
Ridiculous. Not just any kid—a sick one, no less.
Covered in who-knows-what. Who's worrying about whom?
I stared into the mist.
Whether my skills fell short or luck was bad.
Either way, I'd failed to kill the wizard behind this.
No regrets or pity. That's for when you have the luxury.
What's done is done—wasted time. What I needed now was the next plan.
...Not that I had much of one.
My eyes narrowed.
Find the bastard and kill him. That's it.
Just annoying to redo what could've ended in one go.
Gazing at the mist, I spotted something.
My eyes widened briefly, and a laugh escaped.
“Ha!”
It was a horde of zombies approaching from afar.
I'd worried he might flee.
Guess he had the same idea as me.
“..........”
...A sweet taste filled my mouth.
Red bean bun flavor. A hint of peanut sandwich too.
“Yeah... two birds with one stone.”
Cold red bean bun—no microwave—but tasty enough. Stomach full.
Fine, I got a bun, so I'll do the job. Overtime, basically.
“John Constantine my ass...”
Half a bun and I'm working. Doraemon much?
I turned and headed to the sound equipment at the back of the auditorium.
Powered on the nearby laptop.
No internet due to the mist, but saved songs were there. Checked the playlist.
“Hmm... this one's here?”
[Green Day – Holiday]
Ellie felt she'd made a mistake in judgment.
No—she had.
And the worst part was that her decision might get everyone killed.
“Aaaah!”
Zombies she'd thought gone swarmed in massive numbers, charging at them.
“Everyone, keep running!”
Thwack—
Ellie smashed the head of a lunging zombie while cradling the child, but the situation was dire. One of the running kids tripped.
Thwack—
“Aaaah!”
“......!”
Ellie was alone; the zombies outnumbered her.
Thwack—
A zombie pounced on the fallen child—then abruptly halted.
Twang-twang— Twang-twanga-twanga—!
Electric guitar riffs utterly mismatched to the chaos.
“Aaaah...”
Every zombie's head swiveled toward one spot.
The sound system's volume cranked to max.
The song blasted through the mist.
"Hear the drum pounding out of time!"
(Hear the off-beat drums!)
Through gaps in the mist.
Yohan gripped a mic on the auditorium rooftop, belting out the song.
“Another protester has crossed the line—!”
Ellie stared blankly at the incomprehensible scene.
‘Eh? Eh? Why? A song? Huh?’
Reacting to the massive sound.
“Aaaah—!”
Every zombie here ignored everything else, fixated on Yohan atop the auditorium.
“To find the money's on the other side!”
"Can I get another Amen?"
(Can I get another Amen?)
Zombies rushed past the fallen child, past the people.
All the malice filling this place.
Teeth and claws meant for them.
Now aimed solely at Yohan. Converging on him.
“Aaaah—!”
Zombies brushed past Ellie.
To her—that was—
Like witnessing ‘salvation’ itself.
Blaring electric guitar, shrieking zombies, Yohan singing.
For Ellie, raised in the Order, it was salvation too stimulating by far.
More astonishing than the wondrous magic circle Yohan had shown.
...Words failed her.
Ellie's lips parted slightly, her blue eyes fixed on Yohan alone.
What emotion should she feel? What words to say?
Nothing came. Just her heart pounding.
She became part of this moment, listening to Yohan's song.
Sua grabbed Ellie's wrist.
“Sis! I get it's absurd, but run!”
“...Eh?”
Ellie snapped back.
“R-Right... yeah. But what about Yohan!?”
“That old guy's got it! We're just in the way!”
Sua used the quick thinking Yohan had taught her.
Seizing the opening, she dragged Ellie by the wrist and ran.