Belated Realization
"Uuoooooorgh..."
A zombie's voice. I turned my head toward the sound.
Ah. This one was rather unusual. No lower half. And in life, she must have been a woman who wore glasses — the half-detached pair still clinging to her face made that clear enough.
"Ah..."
Clatter!
My pupils dilated on their own. Shock loosened my grip, and the short spear in my right hand clattered to the ground.
With every inch that half-body zombie crawled closer, my heart hammered and my head spun.
"Uwooooooorgh..."
Unfocused eyes. The glasses half-covering them. Skin gone past pale into rot, and a blood-soaked outfit torn to shreds. Some people might have found something erotic in the way those rags barely covered anything — but I couldn't.
I remembered this woman. If I'd forgotten her, I'd have deserved to be called a complete idiot.
Just yesterday, I'd played the sucker, given her advice in that deranged speech pattern of mine, and...
"Uuooooooorgh...!"
Scrape, scrape...!
...she was the very person I'd handed that massive load of bags to — the ones still strapped across her back.
Ha. Haha. Hahahaha...
Hahahahahahahahaha!
Right. I'd forgotten.
This was the apocalypse.
An environment where someone you'd met yesterday could be a corpse crawling across the floor today, and no one would bat an eye.
And the world I...
"Uwooooooorgh...!"
...had to overcome and push through.
With a system different from everyone else's.
"May you rest in peace..."
I raised the short spear and aimed it at the glasses-wearing zombie's head as she drew close. Without hesitation, I drove it in with a wet thrust.
Zombie defeated!
Acquired 50 EXP!
Today, of all days, that little notification announcing experience gained looked so loathsome I could have thrown up.
I carefully recovered the mass of bags still strapped to the dead woman's back.
Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I'd be reclaiming those bags like this.
And then...
"Kruk, kuruk! Human! Male!"
...developments beyond imagination had a way of crashing in without warning.
Green skin like a goblin's. A full head taller than a human, and built of pure muscle. A grotesque potbelly jutting out, and filthy fangs to match.
A textbook monster — the kind that looked like it had stepped straight out of a fantasy world.
"An orc...!"
I spoke the name of its kind and raised my short spear.
"Kruk! Human male, no need! Cannot breed!"
...Breed!?
"Kruk, that woman! Ran away! Kruk! Still! Krruk! Not done enjoying her! Kruk! You, die! Krruk!"
...I see.
The orc raised the axe in its hands.
Larger than a man and radiating pure threat, that orc was the kind of thing any sensible person would flee from on the spot, fear driving every step.
A rational person would have done exactly that.
"I shall slay you...!"
But for me — consumed by rage and a sense of justice — that kind of common sense no longer applied.
To the orcs, the human females of this world were utterly dull.
Thud, thwack, thud, thud!
"Guh, kkh! Guuuuh!"
"Hnn, hyaah, hyaaaaah!"
"Stop, stop it... stop... please..."
At first, when they'd raided a group of humans, cut the males' throats, and hauled the females back as captives, the mood had been excellent. On the way back to their den, they'd licked their lips imagining sucking on these women's soft flesh, ramming into their cunts, and pumping them full.
But once they arrived and started taking them one by one, every single time, they couldn't help but spit out words thick with disappointment.
The humans of this world just didn't satisfy. Not physically, not in atmosphere.
For one thing, they were weak. Frail in body and spirit, already half-broken.
A little intimidation and they trembled so hard they dropped their weapons or ran — and even then they weren't particularly agile, so a short sprint was enough to snatch them up with one hand.
The bodies revealed when their clothes were torn open weren't particularly impressive either. One look at an orc's massive pillar and most of them froze in terror or fainted on the spot. When forced into those tiny slits, their eyes rolled back and they passed out — or worse, died outright.
"Kruk...! Honestly...! This world's women...! No guts...! Krruk!"
Back in the other world — their homeland, where magic and swordsmanship intertwined — human females had never been like this...!
Even the country girls kidnapped from rural villages had fought desperately, and even when they were being forcibly pounded, they never broke or fell apart so easily.
And the female knights who came to subjugate them? Everything about those women had been the best. Beautiful faces, superb physiques, fierce voices — all of it.
Pinning one of those women beneath them and slamming into her while listening to her screams had given the orcs pure ecstasy. Comparable, perhaps, to the refined symphonies humans claimed to enjoy.
Thud, thud, thud, thwack!
"Guh, guuuh, guuuuh...! Nnh... ah..."
"Krrrruk! Another one, another one dead! Kruk! Haven't even cum yet! Kruk!"
The female who'd been moaning weakly beneath him stopped breathing.
The orc pulled his massive pillar free and slumped in frustration.
That made three already.
Being a strict self-assessor, this orc knew full well that his meat pillar was neither particularly superior nor inferior to the others. Average. He prided himself on being the most middle-of-the-road orc among them all.
And even his orc cock was too much for them to handle before they died... The human females of this world needed to reflect on themselves. With guts this weak, how were they supposed to conceive children and push them out one after another? Mainly our orc children!
Muttering his disappointment, the orc lifted the woman like a sheet of paper and flung her behind him.
"Eeeek!"
"Help me, help me, help me, help me...!"
"..."
The people who watched that woman's corpse get tossed in front of them were the other captives — women who hadn't yet had their turn.
Clinging to each other, they felt pure despair at the horrific scene of rape unfolding before their eyes.
They'd carefully left their shelter in search of supplies, only to be ambushed by orcs in an instant.
The men had stepped forward bravely to the front lines and lost their heads. The women, whether they tried to run or fight, had all been overpowered and dragged to this den.
Of course, the orcs' reason for bringing human women was obvious. They were demonstrating that purpose right now, right in front of them.
Sex toys. And breeding stock.
They were using human women as tools for sexual release. And from the things they were saying — how the captives could even understand them was a mystery — it seemed they intended to turn humans into breeding vessels to propagate their own race.
In modern society, it would have been an act of pure revulsion... but these were monsters from another world, where human rights and common sense held no meaning. Expecting rational arguments or appeals from them was pointless.
"Kruk! Not expecting much... but next, you. Kruk!"
The orc who had just mercilessly raped a human woman to death pointed at one of the despairing females and barked. It was effectively an anonymous death sentence.
"Ah, aaaah... please... please! Spare me, spare me! Please, please...!"
The marked woman dropped to her knees and begged, but it was useless. To the orc, it was nothing more than a tantrum. No — he didn't even register it as that.
The orc reached out. It wasn't a matter of roughly grabbing her hand and dragging her off.
"Ghk, ghaak...! Please... ghk!"
He seized her by the throat and hauled her away like that. The other captive women watching couldn't utter a word.
Terror had completely consumed them. Some wet themselves and fainted on the spot.
Resistance? Impossible. Those who'd already tried had been overpowered by the orcs and were currently screaming in rhythm with the thrusts. These monsters were horrifyingly strong, potbellies be damned.
The orcs' stats, as the captives could see them, looked like this:
Orc Worker — Lv. 10
Status:Bored
<■■■■■>
Level 10. A number that sent chills down the spine. Survivors who were still single-digit levels — most of them not even past five — stood no chance against monsters like these.
Why? Why is this happening... What did we ever do wrong...!
April 1st. The very moment the end began, most human survivors had initially felt a kind of pride. Just for having played a game, they'd gained power completely different from before — and grown arrogant because of it.
But then... as the majority were slaughtered by zombies and monsters without even putting up a fight, or forced into hiding, the human survivors came to understand.
Ah. In this ruined world... the only role left for us is prey. Nothing more, nothing less.
Stats and systems and all the rest were nothing but a form of entertainment the world had tossed our way — a challenge to see if we could survive a little more interestingly.
To those sinking into despairing thoughts, no hand of salvation seemed likely to reach out.
At the very least, it was taken as fact that no human survivor would ever defeat such powerful monsters and save anyone.
And yet...
"Kuruk? Sniff sniff...!"
While his kin were enjoying the women deeper inside the den, one orc standing guard near the entrance on rotation caught a suspicious presence and flared his nostrils.
Their temporary den was located somewhat deep within the ruins of a large building. The interior had a complex structure and large rooms the likes of which they'd never seen before. Far more suitable as a den than any cave, the orcs had settled here to raid humans and kidnap women.
Which was why they'd assumed no living thing would come into this building except their own kind...
"Krruk... What is it?"
The guard orc tilted his head and approached the ruined railing where the presence was growing stronger.
That was the final moment of the guard orc's life.
Thud, thwack, thud!
"Kuruk, kurrrruk! Kurrrrruk! Queek! This woman good! Squeeze inside! Kuhik! Kuhiik!"
"Ah... ah... ah... aah...!"
The orcs mercilessly pounding into the soft flesh of a woman staring blankly at the ceiling, pumping her full, had no idea whatsoever what had befallen their kin at the entrance.
Roll, roll, roll...
But when a spherical orc head came tumbling past the entrance and into the den, they could no longer ignore their comrade's fate.
"Kuhik, kuhiik... Kruk? What is that!"
"Pogros! That's Pogros's head!"
A few of the sharper orcs stopped violating the women, scrambled to their feet, and frantically searched for their weapons.
But even though they'd clearly piled them all in one spot... not a single one was visible.
Misdirection.
Distracted by their comrade's rolling head, the orcs failed to realize they were already far, far too late.
"Kuruk!? Weapons, where are the weapons!"
"Idiots, kuhk! You should keep them on you like I do..."
The one orc who uniquely hadn't been busy raping raised his weapon to show off. But that boast didn't last long.
Thrust!
"Kuhiieeeek!?"
Only after the sound of a pig having its throat cut rang through the den did every orc inside finally have their guard fully raised.
The problem was, they had no weapons. Wait — one orc did find the glaive he'd been so proud of.
He found it protruding through the neck of the only orc who'd been holding a weapon.
Pssssshhh!
"Eeeek!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
The orc's neck had been pierced clean through, and filthy blood sprayed into the air of the den. In an instant, one orc collapsed dead to the floor.
Thud!
And behind him stood a single human.
A human male holding a bat in one hand, a bag slung over his shoulder, wearing a mask, glaring at the orcs with venom in his eyes.
A full head shorter than them, and yet his presence was like solid rock. The orcs flinched ever so slightly — then grinned.
"Kruk! Coming to kill us all by yourself! Krruk!"
"Kruk, kruk! Reckless, human! Kuruk! Male human! Kruk! Die!"
"Kruk! Kill him!"
The orcs charged the uninvited human in an instant. In that span, the intruder assessed the number of orcs around him and gave a small nod.
A fist came flying. Even then, the human showed no sign of dodging. And the fist never reached him.
Thud, thwack!
"Kuruk! You coward!"
"Kuruuk! Using our comrade's corpse! Kuruk! As a shield!"
Only the blade of the glaive had gone through the neck, leaving the shaft hanging from the back of the fallen orc's head. The human yanked it and used the orc's corpse as a shield.
And then he vanished from that spot.
The orcs panicked. He'd been right here just a moment ago...!? Hiding in that short a time? That kind of absurd agility, in a mere human—
"O arrows...!"
At the voice coming from a corner some distance away, the orcs' heads whipped around.
"Punish my enemies!"
"O arrows...!"
"Punish my enemies!"
⟨ Magic Arrow ⟩
From the intruding human's hands, two glowing orbs came flying.
"Kuhiik!"
"Kueeeeek!"
Two of them took the hits square in the head. They screamed in agony and crumpled to the floor.
The human — Jeong Hoon — clicked his tongue. So these were orcs after all. Way tougher than zombies. And yet that glaive had gone through just fine earlier.
"Kuhik! You bastard!"
"Slippery as an eel, kuhk! Keeps getting away!"
"Kurruk! From now on, you won't escape!"
The orcs' hostility hit a boiling point. Showing a rare flash of brains, they surrounded the intruding human, boxing him in.
But Jeong Hoon showed not the slightest hint of fear or hesitation.
One dead. Two wounded. Four intact.
He coldly assessed the situation in his head and calculated the odds. Jeong Hoon reached a rational conclusion.
Frontal assault. Kill them all.
"Come at me, you filthy pig bastards. I'll make sure you never raise your heads under the open sky again... for I shall send you straight to hell!"
"Kuhiieeeek!"
"Die, kuhiik!"
Whoosh, thwack! Whoosh, thwack!
"Kuhiik!"
"Kueeeeeek!"
"Kuruk, this guy! Too stron— kuwaaak!"
The weapon Jeong Hoon swung was a baseball bat. Dodging the orcs' attacks at speeds the eye couldn't follow, the man repeatedly cracked their skulls with the bat and slipped away.
The efficient strikes left the orcs reeling, and at the same time they were stunned by the man's astonishing agility.
But even if Jeong Hoon was fine, his weapon had limits. The baseball bat soon split with a sharp crack. The orcs realized they'd seized the advantage and grinned.
But the human didn't panic in the slightest.
Swoosh!
"Kuhik!?"
"Th-that's! Our weapon! Kuruk!"
"He pulled out another one!"
The man reached behind his back and suddenly produced a new weapon.
An axe. And a big one, sized for an orc. So that bastard had stolen every last one of them! Only now did the orcs grasp why all their weapons had vanished.
Of course, it was far too late.
Crunch!
"Kuheeeeek!"
Even a warrior who could crush a human skull bare-handed had limits without a weapon. That said, charging an orc a full head taller was still reckless.
But that kind of common sense didn't apply to Jeong Hoon. He spun the axe one-handed, swung it, and obliterated an orc's side on the spot.
"Kuhiik!"
Jeong Hoon discarded any attachment to the axe after a single use. He reached behind his back again.
This time an orc-made blade settled into his grip. The moment he had the weapon, Jeong Hoon dropped into a deep stance. And then—
Slash!
"Kuruk!? Wha—!?"
Thud!
Another one fell to the floor, cleaved clean in two.
"Ku-kuruk! Th-this human... is dangerous!"
"Al-already... two of us down. No, three!"
At this, the remaining intact orcs faltered. They actually put distance between themselves and Jeong Hoon.
For them, the worst unimaginable scenario was unfolding. The nightmare of their den being wiped out by a single human was one step away from becoming reality.
"Kurruk! You there, human! Drop your weapon, kuruk!"
"Kyaaaaah!"
But among them was one orc who knew how to use his head. One of the orcs who'd barely recovered from the magic arrows roughly dragged over a captive human.
Gripping her by the head and throat, ready to crush her the instant Jeong Hoon refused to drop his weapon.
"...You there."
Jeong Hoon, watching silently, murmured something low — words the orc didn't catch.
"Kuruk!? What are you doing! Drop the weapon right now or—"
Sleep
"Sleep."
"Ku? Rr... uugh... zzz..."
The orc holding the hostage suddenly crumpled. The other orcs, who'd been sneering, froze solid at their comrade's sudden change. What the hell? Why'd that bastard just—
Of course, they had no time to worry about someone else's situation.
Thrust!
"Ku... hi... ik!?"
Something punched through the gut of one orc who'd been staring at his suddenly sleeping kin. An orc-made blade. And of course, only one person could have done it.
In an instant, another orc crossed the river to the underworld.
"Kuhik!? W-wait a—"
"I cannot hear you."
The other one. The sole remaining intact orc collapsed into a sitting position where he stood. He thrust out a hand, thrashing as if begging for his life.
Of course, from the human Jeong Hoon's perspective, it was a sight that inspired not a shred of pity. Reaching behind his back once more, Jeong Hoon's hand closed around a familiar short spear.
"Your death throes are not worth so much as a speck of dust to my ears!"
Thrust!
"Kuhiieeeeeek!"
And so the pack of orcs in the den were all cast down into hell by the hands of a single human.
Was this spectacle the equivalent of a savior's descent?
The women who'd been captured and violated by the orcs certainly thought so.
They'd believed only a hopeless, despairing death waited right in front of them.
That no matter how they struggled, nothing would change — that the only life left for them was as playthings.
And yet...
"Haa..."
Right before their eyes stood the one who had made the impossible real.
A man a full head shorter than the orcs, who didn't even look like he'd been much of an athlete, had wiped out seven... no, eight orcs, and now stood blood-soaked and upright amid the ruins.
The women who'd been helplessly exposed to violence and sunk into despair could only look up at this absurd miracle...
...and stare, utterly captivated.
However...
"Zzz... zzz... mmm, mmm..."
There was always someone who completely ruined the mood.
Among the women who'd been grabbed by those rough orc hands and dragged here was Han Sora.
In a corner of the ruins, a beauty was snoring away in dreamland as if her guts had fallen clean out of her — and that beauty was her.