Chapter 66 7. Cleanup
Aftermath
Episode 67
『A day has passed since the calamity was erased.』
『The Tower will reopen in two days.』
『Take this time to bid farewell to the world that was.』
Graves had been erected in Yeouido Park.
The wooden tombstones stood rigidly upright, their surfaces glinting under the sunset.
Each time people came to pay their respects, fresh flowers piled high before the graves. It was the only way left to honor them.
Han Hyeok-do crouched before one such grave and poured out a drink.
"I told Park Si-hyun that place was dangerous, that he should retreat... But you never backed down, did you? Even I was too afraid and fled."
A master of the Striking Sword Way, who met his end facing the Incomplete Zombie.
Beside his grave, a sword broken in half reflected the fading light of dusk.
Han Hyeok-do couldn't bring himself to say another word.
—If we retreat here, everyone dies.
Because the memory of fighting alongside him resurfaced.
Not even a single finger remained as proof of his struggle, but Han Hyeok-do remembered the way he stood his ground to the very end.
"Rest easy... You were more impressive than anyone."
The silent prayer began with Minase beside him.
Hayase, who had been wiping away tears, trembled at the corners of her eyes as she joined in the moment of remembrance.
The members of the Striking Sword Way also bowed their heads one by one.
A final tribute to a swordsman who deserved nothing less than respect.
The solemnity left everyone in silence.
The short, stout doctor Lee Jeong-don let out a bitter smile.
As a surgeon, death was something he was intimately familiar with—yet there were moments, like this one, when it still felt foreign. Yes. Moments like this.
'Useless thoughts again.'
He shook his head and glanced to the side.
In the distance, a relief tent distributing supplies was visible.
"...Thank you. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Renowned Korean actress Jeong Hye-eun and her daughter Kang So-eun were handing out food.
The little boy, Kang Han, clung tightly to his sister's waist.
Even just their appearances were enough to brighten the eyes of onlookers.
The haggard survivors, having received even the smallest comfort from them, finally managed faint smiles. A peace they likely wouldn't have known if the zombies had remained.
"...Hmm?"
Lee Jeong-don suddenly felt something off and turned his head.
Park Se-eun sat beside him, wiping her tears with a handkerchief and sniffling.
Next to her, Park Ha-rin swept her silvery-white hair back.
But the one person who should have been there was nowhere in sight.
"Hey, Se-eun. You seen where that brat ran off to?"
"Sniff, I don't know. Why would I care where that bastard—? Wait, seriously, where is he?"
Park Se-eun's eyes widened as she abruptly stood up. She quickly scanned the surroundings with a bewildered expression.
But no matter where she looked, that unmistakable figure was missing.
Hayase, whom he always leered at with those perverted eyes while stealing glances at her ample chest, was over there.
Kim Seon-hwa, who had fought alongside him, was with a group of college-aged people.
Kang So-eun, who had strangely been hostile toward him, was helping her mother distribute food...
'Huh...? Where'd he go?'
None of the women had him by their side.
Just in case, she glanced toward Lee Ji-hyeon and Oh Han-yeong.
Her suspicions weren't unfounded—those friends had always been scheming to get close to him. It was entirely possible they'd lured him away.
But the very people she suspected were sitting with their high school friends.
'No way, unless...'
Her gaze shifted toward the Holy Maiden candidates, a group of stunning beauties.
She scrutinized them carefully, but no one seemed to be missing.
122 people. Exactly as it should be.
"......?"
If he hadn't disappeared with a woman, then where the hell was he?
Just as her thoughts were spiraling into confusion—
"Leave him."
Park Ha-rin, legs crossed, propped her chin lazily on her hand. A granola bar—no one knew when she'd gotten it—was clenched in her grip as she took a slow bite.
"If he comes back, I'll make sure he walks with one leg."
She didn't specify whether that meant one leg or one of his two legs.
"......."
Park Se-eun, who had been about to protest, slowly sat back down. If her sister said so, there was nothing she could do. It definitely wasn't because the way she said it was terrifying.
Meanwhile—
'Right. So what the hell is that...?'
Lee Jeong-don, who had been staring at Park Ha-rin skeptically, twitched his eyes.
Body X-Ray Vision
Inside Park Ha-rin's pristine abdomen, free of impurities—
A small life had taken root, pulsing in time with its mother's heartbeat.
He didn't know what kind of lightning-strike-out-of-nowhere nonsense this was, but the evidence was right before his eyes.
Then—
"Ugh...!"
Park Ha-rin, mid-bite, suddenly grimaced, her fair neck flushing slightly. Judging by the muscle movement...
'...Morning sickness?'
Unbelievably, that's what it looked like.
But... was morning sickness something you could just tolerate like that?
He had no idea.
Park Ha-rin had always been a girl beyond common sense.
Even if her body underwent some bizarre change, it wouldn't be surprising. The only thing that bothered him now was... the father.
Who in the world could have possibly knocked up this arrogant, condescending, mentally unstable, and downright haughty lunatic?
'Surely not...?'
Why was that little bastard the first thing that came to mind?
Park Ha-rin's affection had always been abnormally fixated on her younger brother since childhood, but surely...
'No way, right...?'
That was the only possibility. Lee Jeong-don felt a slight dizziness.
'It can't be...'
He still trusted Park Si-hyun to have at least some sanity left.
'But where the hell did that brat go?'
Park Si-hyun remained nowhere to be seen.
#
A high-end residence in Seoul.
A woman was hiding there.
A trembling beauty, curled up in the corner of the room.
Her pale black hair swayed with each ragged breath as she hunched even smaller, as if trying to disappear deeper into the shadows.
"Why, why, why, why, why, why, why......"
Every window was tightly sealed with curtains, not a single ray of light penetrating the darkness.
Ironically, that very darkness was her only sanctuary.
Then—
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed in a place where she should have been alone. Her heart pounded in sync.
Unable to suppress her unease, her gaze darted toward the door.
Thud. Thud.
The heavy footsteps drew closer.
And then—the door was flung open.
"Disappointing..."
A massive figure loomed in the doorway, his presence unmistakable even in the dark.
A Black man. He grinned, flashing pearly white teeth.
"After all those years of effort, you just abandon everything and run?"
The woman recognized him. She let out a shuddering sigh.
"Loser."
But his next words stung with humiliation.
"...You...."
Her dark-circled eyes twisted like a vengeful spirit's. The man chuckled, looking down at her with amusement.
The woman gnawed compulsively at her nails, her thumb already bitten raw and bleeding.
Yet she didn't stop.
"Sh-sh-shut up...!"
"No matter how much you run from reality, it doesn't change the fact that the Great Peace Sect you built has fallen."
"...Shut the hell up...!"
"I'm disappointed. Honestly, I thought you were special. When you first showed me Black Magic, when everything you touched just worked... Sure, your mental state was a little—no, very messed up, but I still thought you had vision."
His hand landed heavily on her shoulder.
"But now... what are you?"
The reflection in his pupils was a broken woman.
"You're just a bitch who ran away because she was scared of Park Si-hyun."
The woman suddenly giggled. Then, as if struck by unbearable shame, her expression twisted violently. A second later, her eyes darted wildly in distress before she slumped, defeated. Soon after, her lips curled into a hollow smirk.
"...Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh."
The man tensed at her abrupt shift, gulping audibly.
"Th-th-this is why... you c-can't..."
Her face contorted as she muttered to herself. At least, even in her broken state, she hadn't turned violent yet.
The man exhaled, then leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"You put so much effort into this, didn't you? And yet, you abandoned it all and ran. I waited for you, that worthless goddess of yours, without asking for anything in return. And what's the result now? The surviving believers will brand you a coward. When they enter the Tower, they'll hunt you down. Do you really think you'll survive then?"
Her shoulders hunched further.
"I'm all you have left now. That idiot leader you abandoned, the Lawkeeper, the Advisor, even the Vice-Leader who got assassinated—they all had talent, and yet they lost to one Park Si-hyun. Hah. To the people, you're already a traitor. The only one still here is me."
"Think carefully. If even I leave, you'll be completely isolated in the Tower. Park Si-hyun? If that monstrous bastard catches you, you're dead. And yet, despite all this, I came looking for you. Oh, don't get me wrong—I'm grateful you took care of me before the Tower appeared. But that was then, and this is now."
The woman stared at him with hollow eyes. The man flinched—her gaze was sharp, but his own eyes burned with unmistakable hunger.
"Take your hand off..."
Her face twitched as she sensed his intent. Disgust flickered in her hardened expression.
"I said... take it off..."
"Huh? What are you—?"
Her teeth chattered before she shrieked wildly.
"Get your hand off my ass!!"
The man blinked in genuine confusion.
"You... what the hell are you talking about?"
His reaction made her hesitate.
The man was undeniably leering at her, but his hands—
"......?"
His right hand rested on her shoulder. His left hung limply at his side.
So then, whose hand was—
"......Oh, uh. Sorry. That's me."
The voice came from behind her—from the wall.
"!"
The man recoiled in shock. The woman, frozen stiff, barely managed to turn her head.
And then—
SMACK!
"GYAAAHK!"
The ass that had been groped so lewdly was now slapped hard by an open palm. As the woman toppled sideways—
Someone stepped out from the shadows.
"Damn, that gaslighting was so impressive I couldn't help but cop a feel when your ass was in view. Ah, but man, that was boring. Also, if you're gonna live here, at least air the place out. The hell kinda living conditions are these?"
The figure who had phased through the wall trudged over and yanked open the curtains. He even helpfully opened the window.
The evening light and fresh air poured in, illuminating him.
Park Si-hyun grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
"Remember to ventilate regularly!"
Then he turned.
Ignoring the Black man entirely, his gaze locked onto the gloomy woman.
"Long time no see."
His expression darkened as he spoke in a low voice.
"Executioner Tirpe."
The runaway's face twisted with deep distrust.
And then—
"...Or should I call you Regressor?"
That sealed it.
Tirpe, the Executioner who had fled the Great Peace Sect—her pupils shrank to pinpricks.
The gazes of the Possessor and the Regressor clashed.