Chapter 63 4. Incomplete Zombie
Incomplete Zombie
Episode 64
Grrroooaaar!
Demonic energy.
A violet glow emanated from her snow-white grasp. An aura that could never exist on Earth.
Anyone observing Park Ha-rin would have sensed that much in common.
But the shock I felt was fundamentally different from theirs.
...That was something far more familiar to me than anything else—to me who had played the game.
Craaack.
Like shattering glass, purple fissures spread above her silver hair.
Through those cracks, what emerged was a single blade.
An oversized greatsword—no, a demonic blade—too large for any human to wield.
But I, if no one else, could never forget that sword's form.
Park Ha-rin's beloved weapon, the 「Depraved Demon Sickle Blade」.
A sword from the early 14th floor—one of the initial zones with almost no late-game items—that grew endlessly stronger by draining people's blood and souls.
That was the wicked armament recognized by Park Ha-rin alone.
A desolate crimson hue spread through Park Ha-rin's golden eyes.
"......"
Eyes like a demon's.
The moment I met those terrifying eyes, a fresh shudder ran through me.
Throughout my time playing the game, I'd always wondered:
Park Ha-rin's ability to summon the Tower's unconquered pieces.
Could its true nature possibly be...
「Summoning」
Something like this?
"They kept pestering me to summon them. I think this should be enough, don't you?"
The demonic blade, exhaling ominous power like steam, was fully drawn. Its violet-glowing edge emitted an eerie wail.
In that instant, the air surrounding my sister transformed. A ravenous violet energy voraciously devoured the space around her.
Amidst it, my sister crouched. The explosion came in a flash. A silver streak pierced through empty air.
Fine threads formed beneath my sister's feet as she soared. The taut threads supported the soles of her shoes as her momentum began to wane.
Piiiiing!
Her moderately fleshy thighs expanded to their limit—then burst through the air with violent force as she launched herself again.
Fwoooosh!
The air split sharply as Park Ha-rin's leap stretched toward the sky. Simultaneously, the tip of the <Depraved Demon Sickle Blade> flashed. Its trajectory ended with the Lord of Corpses' neck in its path.
The Lord of Corpses reacted by extending a finger.
Kwaaaang!
A circular burst of light exploded between them.
Then,
<Hehe...?>
The light concealing them dissipated. The Depraved Demon Sickle Blade radiated a seething demonic energy. Yet its blade was caught between the Lord's fingers.
The Lord of Corpses tugged the blade closer, abruptly thrusting her face toward Park Ha-rin.
<...Human, are you truly human...?>
"Why bother figuring that out? You rotting corpse. You reek, so piss off."
Park Ha-rin retorted with a twisted smirk.
Immediately after.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Lightning erupted from the zombie giant's crown—the foothold Park Ha-rin had used.
Purple ghost energy burrowed into the giant's body like roots.
Kwa-ruuung!
Its mountainous frame was torn apart and incinerated by the demonic energy. Yet not the slightest tremor reached the two women suspended in midair.
<...Ominous... Perhaps... you...>
As the Lord of Corpses drowsily narrowed her eyes—the shadows in her pupils shifted sideways.
"Gyaaaaah!"
The cult leader in that direction violently convulsed.
Trembling uncontrollably, the holy sword embedded in his chest was forcibly ripped out by black magic power.
Thunk!
The massive holy sword was yanked out by a dark hand and hurled elsewhere, embedding itself into the ground.
Darkness, writhing incessantly, infiltrated the cult leader like veins.
Oooooooh!
As if synchronized with its pulse, the black clouds above throbbed. The mutated zombies were being devoured by the cult leader's darkness.
<This time... it won't be so easy...>
Bang!
The Lord flicked her finger, sending my sister flying.
As she spun mid-fall, my sister frowned. But the moment she bent her knees, she had already landed. There was no intermediate process—no sound, no impact.
Yet this wasn't the time to dwell on that dissonance.
Grrrroooowl!
Darkness took root in the ground.
Taking the form of a heart made of darkness itself.
My sister's brow furrowed subtly.
She must have realized it too.
<Kehehehehe...>
The power of that heart, pulsing through the surroundings.
'Damn it, fuck...'
This is insane.
A product forged by using the 'cult leader' as a medium to grind Earth's zombies.
The production efficiency would be abysmal, but it was a monstrosity forcibly birthed by sacrificing most of the zombies.
Though vastly inferior to the Tower's zombies...
「Incomplete Zombie」
That's a mid-game monster.
Kreeeee—
Even if adjusted for the Tutorial, its sheer presence was polluting the very air of the surface.
One of the highest-tier zombies born from organic matter...
The perfected form of a zombie—one that could never be complete, forever tormented by unquenchable thirst.
Crrrrrack.
The blackened body gleamed with a slick, eel-like sheen.
—Ggrrk?
Its slimy head tilted along with its master's.
<Hehehehehe.>
"...."
Only one zombie remained.
But it was on an entirely different level from any we'd faced so far.
A ferocious power radiated from it, incomparable to the others.
The thought that we might struggle even more than we already were sent waves of unease through me.
I pressed my shoulder tightly against Noona's.
"Noona, your stomach... is it okay?"
"No. It's not."
Startled, I turned to look—only for Noona to pull her hand away from her lower abdomen.
But for some time now, she'd been giving me a very indecent look.
"Later, when this is all over, you'll have to check for yourself, won't you?"
"...."
Even as the oppressive aura of the Incomplete Zombie pressed against our skin, Noona casually tossed out that hopelessly inappropriate remark.
But because she did, I could laugh it off just as lightly.
Mimicking her nonchalance, I spun the Holy Sword in a juggling motion before stepping forward.
"Then let's go see what that bastard's got in store for us."
Just then, someone wedged themselves between us.
"...Why are you leaving me out?"
It was Park Se-eun, her face smeared with dust, blood, and sweat.
The legendary Holy Sword of Judgment, something money couldn't buy, scraped pitifully against the ground as she dragged it forward.
"Kids should stay out of this."
"...No. I can't stay out."
Park Se-eun stubbornly planted herself between Noona and me, raising her sword.
"I started this. I'll finish it."
I studied her in silence.
「Park Se-eun's Mana - 25 / 56」
Even with some recovery, her reserves were pitifully low. But Park Se-eun's ability was broken even among broken skills.
She might not have much mana left, but she'd still be a huge help.
Slowly, the people who had collapsed behind her began to rise.
"We'll... help too, Oppa."
Oh Han-yeong and the other three high school girls.
"We just have to take that thing down, right?"
Kang So-eun wiped blood from her forehead.
"I'll lend my strength as well."
Hayase gripped her broken sword, gasping for breath.
"Ugh, I'm gonna die."
Kim Seon-hwa staggered to her feet.
"Now this is what I call a world-ending crisis."
Han Hyeok-do, Minase, Yu Yeon—everyone I knew stood behind me.
We might have been nothing but ants compared to the Monarch, but none of us had given up yet.
And then—
『The gap between 「Survivor Who Never Gives Up」 and 「Incomplete Zombie」 is being 「Adjusted」.』
The disparity between us and the Incomplete Zombie shrank.
"Ghk... Cough!"
I turned to see Professor Jang Hye-jeong spitting blood.
She collapsed onto the ground, her exhausted gaze fixed on us.
"I'll leave... the rest to you."
She had conserved her strength solely for this moment.
No one had surrendered yet.
Not just to survive—but to fight and win.
"Leave it to us."
My words were steady, but my breathing was ragged with tension. Noona squeezed my hand.
Her unwavering eyes told me it would be okay.
Right. Then there was only one thing left for me to do.
Win.
Crrrrk.
The Incomplete Zombie's obsidian-like skin rippled.
At the same moment, we lunged at the last remaining zombie.
The final battle between corpses and humans had begun.
* * *
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GANG!
An explosion of force greater than any bomb flipped the underground on its axis again and again.
A single monster and dozens of humans rampaged below.
KWA-AANG!
The zombie's fist tore through the earth at speeds too fast for the eye to follow.
Like a TNT detonation, the entire area caved in. The terrifying shockwave rippled through the ground, shaking even the feet of those who had fallen out of the fight.
The underground, now devoid of zombies, had been gouged down to the bare earth before collapsing entirely.
Yet there were still those who refused to retreat.
Even as the ground beneath their feet crumbled, even as shockwaves from the zombie's strikes ravaged them, these battered fighters rose again and again.
'God...'
A young boy, forced to watch from a distance, prayed. Tears streamed down his face as he clasped his hands together.
He wasn't the only one. His mother, other youths, an elderly couple gripping each other's hands—the powerless.
Those who could offer no aid in this fight could do nothing but pray.
They fought, battered and broken, to save those bound by the contract. To turn away and flee now would be to forsake even the barest shred of humanity.
KWA-AANG!
But even to the boy's eyes, the situation was hopeless.
Just the zombie's movements alone sent shockwaves erupting. With each one, blood sprayed as people were sent flying.
The others were no better.
Covered in dust and dirt, their eyes burst capillaries from explosions like bombs. Their eardrums had likely ruptured from sonic booms, blood trickling out. Wounds from flying debris were the least of their worries.
Out there...
Even the silver-haired Noona, who had displayed such overwhelming divine power.
Even the handsome guy wielding a sword that shone like a Hero's.
Likewise, the gray-haired noona swinging her radiant greatsword,
The noona who had been controlling the giant zombie,
The swordswoman noona who had cut down that ghost,
The noona disguised as the deputy sect leader—
None of them could handle that single zombie and were struggling desperately.
...So why weren't they giving up? Even though it must hurt that much, why keep fighting?
Nothing would change no matter what they did...
The zombie's tail lashed like a tentacle. Its darkness-dripping tip lightly devastated the ground, yet the remaining people still charged forward.
KWAHAAANG!
"You fucking bastard!! Do you have infinite stamina or something!?"
If the handsome hyung hadn't desperately diverted the zombie's attacks, everyone else would have been brutally slaughtered by now.
But even he had his limits. His movements had noticeably slowed.
...The defeat I'd refused to acknowledge was finally approaching.
But did they not realize that? Why were they still fighting to the end?
"HAAAAAT!"
The gray-haired noona closed in on the zombie and swung her glowing sword upward. But the zombie merely rolled its pupil-less eyes and effortlessly deflected the strike.
It flew toward the handsome hyung again.
The swordswoman noona slashed the zombie's flank. The wound healed instantly.
"Ugh!?"
The zombie passed by the swordswoman noona and kicked off the ground. The mere shockwave of its leap distorted the air.
Then—
A violet lightning flashed.
The silver-haired noona, gripping a long blade, cleaved through the zombie's path.
Its left arm was severed. But darkness oozed from the cross-section, and the severed limb reattached itself.
The hyung who had been the target gritted his teeth and immediately flung himself to the left.
KWANG!
The zombie's new form pierced through the spot where the hyung had just stood. The very air was torn apart, triggering a sonic boom.
"Don't stop!!"
Multiple weapons left wounds on the zombie. But none were fatal.
Its pitch-black body, which didn't even retain injuries, relentlessly pursued the hyung.
"... "
Meanwhile, death itself seemed to whisper. Like the goddess floating leisurely above, murmuring—
—Nothing is more comfortable than death, child.
They had only joined the Great Peace Sect to survive, yet death was drawing nearer. All that remained was the certainty that everything had gone wrong. Sobs erupted from all directions.
The fleeting glimpse of hope tipped back into despair.
Then—
"It's not over yet."
Kim Seon-hwa, who had been sent flying by the Incomplete Zombie, staggered to her feet.
The hair tie that had held her ponytail must have snapped—her hair was disheveled, and her entire body was smeared with wounds and dirt.
But her gaze remained clear.
"...Please help me. None of you actually want to die here, right?"
I don't want to die. That simple statement reverberated in their eardrums, sending tremors through their hearts.
Yet those who couldn't even assist in the fight lowered their heads.
Against such a monster, there was nothing they could do.
"...What could we possibly do?"
A believer already swallowed by despair.
Everyone watched the battle in desolation.
The shockwaves from the monster's rampage, exploding the air, reached even here. With their pitiful physical abilities, stepping into that battlefield would turn them to dust instantly.
Help? Even if they wanted to, they couldn't. It would be a miracle if they weren't just a hindrance. Because we were weak...
But.
"You can do it too."
Kim Seon-hwa spoke in a firm voice.
"If you lend me your mana."
Amidst the urgency, she carried out her plan.
#
For a moment, the crowd didn't understand her words.
"Mana?"
At someone's questioning murmur, Kim Seon-hwa nodded.
"Yes. The mana you all possess right now. Please, lend it to me!"
She bowed her head in request.
For a brief moment, her torn deputy sect leader robes revealed a glimpse of her pink bra. Some of the men gulped, but the others were too preoccupied to even notice.
No—Kim Seon-hwa was simply,
'Just wait a little longer, Park Si-hyun.'
Desperate to save Park Si-hyun.
Mana.
A power they hadn't been able to use during the Tutorial. It was such an abstract concept that they were at a loss.
But a young boy, Kwon Han-sol, stepped forward.
"Please use my mana, noona."
Even a child like him was bravely offering himself.
KWAGAGAGAGAGANG!
A series of explosions shook the ground.
Time was running out.
Yet the adults only exchanged hesitant glances, reluctant to step forward.
Seeing this, Lee Jeong-don trembled with fury. Uncharacteristically agitated for someone who always prioritized safety.
"You goddamn bastards...!! Can't you see my grandson and granddaughter are fighting that monster to save your worthless hides!? If they fall, who do you think is next!? It's you! That thing could kill us all just by running past us, and here you are hesitating over what little you might lose!? You fucking pieces of shit. You don't even deserve to live! Too old to set a decent example for a kid like this, and all you can do is hesitate!? No wonder you fell for a damn cult. You worthless, subhuman trash!"
Lee Jeong-don's nostrils flared as he glared wide-eyed.
"If you've still got something left to hoard, then I'll make sure it won't go to waste—I'll call my grandson over and let that monster sweep through here first!"
The crowd flinched at his words. If that earth-shaking monster who made the ground tremble with every invisible punch came here, total annihilation was inevitable. None could outrun that zombie's speed.
"Don't expect others to clean up your mess—at least take responsibility for the shit you've made, you damn bastards!"
The crowd fell silent under the withering fury of the small-statured Lee Jeong-don.
Then.
Student Council President Jang Tae-seok walked up beside Kim Seon-hwa.
Kim Seon-hwa gave him a startled look.
Jang Tae-seok grinned fiercely and raised his voice.
"Everyone, lend us your strength! We can win this!"
Other university alumni moved beside Jang Tae-seok and shouted.
"Lend us your strength!!"
At that moment.
A bespectacled high school student, An Dong-min, burst through the crowd.
"Unni! Quick, take my hand! This is my ability—「Emergency Replenishment」!"
Kim Seon-hwa's eyes widened as she reached out. An Dong-min, flustered in the presence of a beauty, hastily grabbed her hand.
『Kim Seon-hwa's Mana is being 「Emergency Replenished」.』
『Kim Seon-hwa's Mana - 37↑ / 237』
"Hahk, hahk..."
"Hey, hey, are you okay?!"
An Dong-min, having pushed his ability to the limit, clutched his head and forced a grin.
"I'm fine, unni. I'm a man, after all."
He was live-updating his personal history of embarrassing moments in front of everyone.
When Kim Seon-hwa giggled as if finding him cute, An Dong-min's face flushed bright red.
Then.
"Ah, to think adults would act like this—how disappointing."
Jeong Hyeon-su of Seongmun General High School stepped forward beside An Dong-min.
"Seems there are too many adults who never learned what's truly important. If you're going to imitate greedy opportunists, at least stake your own lives on it, you pathetic bastards!"
"...You little brat..."
Lee Jeong-don pointed a rigid finger at the old man who had just spoken.
"You—I'll remember your face. Prepare for a meeting with my grandson after this fight's over."
Park Si-hyun, fighting that monster...?
The old man, paling, scrambled back into the crowd.
"I never forget a face. I'll remember every coward who tries to slip away and tell my grandson all about them. Even now, with his life on the line, if there are people trying to run... he'd be furious, wouldn't he?"
The frightened adults hesitated no longer. No—there had never been anything to hesitate over in the first place.
"If we die, we can't use our power anyway. Might as well give it all."
"If this is how I can help... then absolutely."
Kim Seon-hwa, lifting her head sharply, flushed with emotion.
"...Th-thank you."
The believers could only smile bitterly. Those were words they should have been saying. They had resolved to contribute whatever strength they could, if only to repay their debt—yet they had hesitated.
Lee Jeong-don looked displeased even at that.
"Please, all of you—resolve to give me everything you have."
Kim Seon-hwa's gaze turned to Park Si-hyun, still desperately evading attacks. Then to the blackened zombie relentlessly pursuing him.
If you were born from numbers... then we'll fight back with numbers of our own.
Kim Seon-hwa stretched out both hands. And she felt it—the power of those who had resolved to give her everything they had. Soon, she grasped those threads of energy.
『Kim Seon-hwa borrows 「Mana」.』
"Ah—!"
"Huh?!"
A radiance of Mana unlike anything they'd felt before surged from the people. All of it converged upon Kim Seon-hwa.
Light gathered and gathered, pooling into a single point.
The moment Kim Seon-hwa shone like a saint descended upon the earth—
『「Holy Power (Common)」 is 「Amplified」 into 「Holy Power (Rare)」.』
Kim Seon-hwa opened her eyes. They blazed like molten gold.
『Borrowed Mana is converted into Holy Power.』
Light bathed the faces of the crowd.
Crackle—zzzt!
The borrowed Mana coursed through her body, transforming into Holy Power.
Then.
Someone landed soundlessly from above.
A stubborn-faced beauty with fluttering brown hair.
"My eyes hurt just looking at you, sunbae. Are you ready?"
Kang So-eun's gaze at Kim Seon-hwa was icy. But beneath it burned far greater urgency.
Kim Seon-hwa's irritation surged, but she kept personal and professional matters separate.
Both of them were moving now for one reason only—to save Park Si-hyun.
"Yeah. The power's gathered."
『Borrowed Mana is 「Mana Transported」.』
The Holy Power, compressed into a sphere, blazed with dazzling light.
Kim Seon-hwa collapsed weakly, her face deathly pale. She had poured every last drop of her remaining strength into this.
"...Then I'll finish it."
Now it was her turn.
The moment Kang So-eun's eyes shimmered with multicolored light—
『Kang So-eun uses 「Control」 on 「Holy Power」.』
『Through 「Primordial Energy Control」, she delves into a more fundamental power to efficiently operate 「Mana Transport」.』
Holy Power whirled at Kang So-eun's fingertips.
Hold on, Park Si-hyun.
This was the moment their desperate wishes forged into a miracle.