Road Movie (3)

April 20th. 6:00 a.m.

The sun began to rise in the east.

XX-gu still enjoyed the protection of the Clean Zone, maintaining an ideal state free of monsters and zombies. But in just ten hours, that quiet neighborhood would become a place where monsters and zombies came swarming in as if they had been waiting for the invitation. And she and her comrades would have to steel themselves while watching it all unfold from this high place.

From the rooftop of the former men's dormitory — now her castle, the guild headquarters — Seo Hyejin gazed down over the panorama of XX-gu, lost in deep thought.

Absentmindedly, she brought a hand to her shoulder. Her fingers caught on a fabric that felt soft and cool all at once.

A cloak. Hardly something anyone wore in the modern world — but things were different now. Besides, this wasn't even something manufactured by modern society to begin with.

"Jeong Hoon..."

A Unique item dropped by the Skeleton King that Jeong Hoon had worked so hard to defeat. And he had handed it over to Seo Hyejin without a moment's hesitation.

Take it.

What? But this is the reward you earned by fighting so hard to take down the Skeleton King. I can't just snatch it up like that...

It suits you far better than it does me. The item's effects are one thing, but... going forward, you will have to reign over your territory as its lord, will you not? When you do, people from outside the territory will surely mock you or dismiss you, saying you're playing house. To firmly put such people in their place and bring them under you... first comes appearance. Next comes the guild's discipline. And after that, the way you treat your people. With the magical power contained in that cloak, I doubt anyone will dare open their mouth to mock you so lightly.

Even so...

More than anything, the title of lord fits you far better than it does me. It hardly suits someone like me, who always charges in headfirst.

Jeong Hoon had acted that way on Kim Seyeon's advice, but Seo Hyejin — who knew nothing of the circumstances behind it — found her heart swaying so violently it put a reed to shame.

With feelings of affection for Jeong Hoon, of course.

"Just kissing him on the cheek... really wasn't enough, was it?"

That impulsive act right before they parted had been, naturally, her way of repaying him for everything he had done for her — body and soul. He had given so much and never asked for anything in return, and she had suddenly felt that she at least owed him this much.

Truthfully, she had desperately wanted to give him something far more precious than that... but with Han Sora watching him like a hawk, she had settled for a kiss on the cheek.

Ah, Han Sora.

Just thinking of that name made a little laugh slip out. What a crafty little thing she was. Completely indifferent to the two women already right by his side — yet the moment Seo Hyejin tried to get closer, she lit up like a guard dog and treated her as a threat.

"Don't you think that double standard was a little much, Sora?"

She murmured it wistfully toward someone who could no longer hear her, gazing out at the distant ruins of the city.

And then—

"Unnie! Unnie! Hyejin unnie!"

Someone flung open the rooftop door and came barreling through. It was Jung Miju, back at the men's dormitory after wrapping up her auto-repair shop "business." She gasped for breath as she hurried over to Seo Hyejin's side.

"Hah, hah... U-Unnie! W-Wait, I mean... hah... hah...! M-My Lady Baroness!?"

"...Just call me unnie or Guild Master, Miju. Why are you starting that now..."

Cloak or no cloak, being addressed by some fantasy-world noble title was still mortifyingly embarrassing.

In any case, Seo Hyejin decided to ask what had sent Jung Miju scrambling up here in such a rush.

"So, what's going on, Miju?"

"Unnie... hah... hah... O-Over there... look at the border over there!"

Miju stepped up to the rooftop railing and pointed with a fully outstretched finger. Seo Hyejin narrowed her eyes and looked in that direction.

And soon enough, she understood exactly what Jung Miju had meant.

"So. They came after all."

Just outside the Clean Zone border, people had gathered. Survivors in all manner of clothing had even pitched ragged tents and settled in. There had to be hundreds of them.

It was a sight that hadn't existed even a few days ago. So why had people suddenly flocked here — and in such numbers?

As the Administrator had publicly declared ten days earlier, no survivors other than those originally residing in the Clean Zone could enter it. Clean Zone residents were free to leave, but outsiders could not get in no matter what they tried. Jeong Hoon's party had verified this repeatedly by coming and going themselves and observing through the Archer — Han Sora's — field of vision.

On top of that, monsters and zombies had swarmed right outside the Clean Zone border. It took enormous courage — or a death wish — for other survivors to even approach.

But over the past several days, the environment had changed dramatically. Jeong Hoon's party had taken the lead and quite literally wiped the zombies and monsters just outside the border off the map. The number of monsters and zombies in and around the Clean Zone had dropped so far below other regions that XX-gu had become a relatively safe zone compared to the rest of Gyeonggi Province.

So of course people would gather. The area near that border had far fewer monsters and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠zombies than whatever hideouts they had been living in.

And once the Clean Zone vanished, monsters and zombies would be free to pour into the emptied XX-gu. The Administrator himself had blasted that information out in a global survivor announcement ten days ago, so there was no way they hadn't gotten the memo.

Which meant the purpose of that pack of hyenas — no, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that pack of survivors — was crystal clear.

"They want to dip their toes into this XX-gu we've worked so hard to cultivate. Figures..."

"Fucking freeloaders... they haven't done a damn thing!"

"Don't be too hard on them, Miju. Those people just want to live a little more safely, same as anyone."

It wasn't as though Seo Hyejin felt no resentment of her own.

Securing the Clean Zone benefit, sweeping the surrounding monsters and zombies clean — all of it had been accomplished by the survivors from the old villa complex, now members of the Hope's Wing guild. And even the people of XX-gu who hadn't participated in any of that effort had barely been taken in under the guild's protection... and now people who had nothing whatsoever to do with XX-gu or the Clean Zone were flocking in to get a taste of the honey.

...It's also the perfect situation to expand the guild's ranks.

At the same time, Seo Hyejin was running a situation assessment in her head worthy of her Lord class. Of course, she was also keeping the instability inherent in her plan firmly in mind. Once five o'clock this evening passed, would those survivors come begging for mercy and charity — or would they come like a band of raiders looking to plunder? Who could possibly predict that?

Well, if they turned into raiders... she and her people were more than prepared to deal with them without a shred of mercy. Jeong Hoon had given her a word of advice before he left, too. If they came at them like bandits, she wasn't to hold back — she was to deliver a bandit's due punishment.

"I hope Jeong Hoon comes back soon. Ideally not in a month — three weeks, no... if he could just show his face within two weeks."

"I already miss him so much, unnie..."

Even as she listened to Miju's grumbling beside her, Seo Hyejin couldn't tear her eyes away from the far side of the Clean Zone border.

After shaking off the pursuit of the flaming horses, our party piled into the minivan and tore down the highway without restraint.

Large and small monsters made their presence known near us several times along the way. None of them, however, were as fast as those burning horses, nor nearly as aggressive, so no real combat broke out. Still, just in case, we kept our guard up and watched the surroundings with sharp eyes, ready for anything that might approach.

"It's a relief the road isn't damaged. Actually... it's almost unnaturally clean."

"Unnaturally so, you say, Kim Seyeon?"

"Yes. Jeong Hoon, how many cars have you seen? I've been counting while I drive... I've only spotted about four."

The darkness was gradually lifting, and the light of the dawn sun was arriving. On top of that we had the headlights on, so if a car had been stopped on the road ahead — and there was no way any of them would be moving — we would have seen it.

But just as Kim Seyeon said, in all the distance we had covered so far, we had spotted maybe four or five cars at most. It was hard to believe a highway into Seoul — and one heading toward Gangnam, no less — could be this desolate.

And five minutes later, we got a bone-deep reminder of the old saying that speaking of something makes it so.

"Ah... aah..."

"Th-That's why we couldn't see any..."

"Ugh..."

It was around the time the signs telling us Seoul was right ahead came into view.

We could see them. The steadily increasing, wrecked-beyond-repair cars abandoned along the roadside — a highway completely occupied by countless vehicles.

"...So this is as far as most people running for their lives managed to get."

No one contradicted my brief observation.

Not Kim Seyeon, busy watching the stopped cars along the road. Not Han Sora, who let out a startled yelp at the sight of zombies shambling near the vehicles outside. And not Park Seeun, whose eyes never left any of it.

And so, we entered Seoul.

Our first destination was already decided.

The residential neighborhood in the southern part of SC-gu where Kim Seyeon's family lived. We would have to steel ourselves to push into that densely populated hell.

And unfortunately, we would be doing it on foot.

"We shall have to get out."

"Yes."

Going any farther by car was impossible. The condition of the road made driving out of the question — corpses, zombies, cars reduced to scrap.

I suddenly found myself missing the relatively good conditions of XX-gu. We had gotten so used to peace that the true face of the apocalypse felt almost unfamiliar now. Acrid smoke rising, zombies shambling about, the occasional monster prowling the roads and the bases of buildings.

Right. Until ten days ago, XX-gu had looked just like this. A bitter smile spread across every face in our party.

We climbed out of the minivan and stowed all our luggage in the Feather Bag. Then we set foot into SC-gu.

Fweeeeng! Thunk!

Fweeeeng! Thunk!

No monsters got anywhere near us. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠All thanks to Han Sora's long-range sniping. Orcs, goblins, and anything else that tried to approach in hostile packs were instantly picked up by the sniper's exceptional vision — and just as instantly separated from their heads.

Thud! Crunch!

"Maybe it's because we were mowing down dozens at a time until recently... but taking them one or two at a time feels almost anticlimactic."

"Do not let your guard down, Seeun."

"Of course not, Hoon oppa!"

Park Seeun and I handled the mindless zombies that wandered in at close range. Now a Level 15 Warrior, Park Seeun could send zombies crumpling with something broken just by swinging a single kick. And she finished them without hesitation by stomping their heads in.

Once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again, the environment had reshaped a person.

Fweeeeng! Thunk!

"Kieeek!?"

And here was a (former) shut-in woman who had adapted to that environment so thoroughly she might as well have been flying.

Of the two goblins trying to approach, the one on the left took an unexpected sniper round and dropped dead on the spot. Its companion beside it flailed in confusion—

Fweeeeng! Thunk!

"Kihek!"

—and followed its friend into the afterlife.

But wait. When we first met, hadn't Han Sora been calling the Archer class something dismissive like "Archie" and treating it like a joke job? Was this really the class people mocked with nicknames? My chest swelled with grandeur.

...Come to think of it, all three women traveling with me were above average in the chest department. Park Seeun was the slimmest of the bunch and she still qualified as well-endowed... Han Sora after her was just straight-up stacked, and Kim Seyeon was practically in the explosive-bust tier, wasn't she?

Thanks to Lawful Good I couldn't say it out loud, but having nothing but drop-dead gorgeous figures by my side was enough to make me want to cheer—

"Ah, Jeong Hoon! Over there!"

Kim Seyeon, who had been quiet until now, whispered as close to my ear as she could while keeping her voice down. Even so, she couldn't fully suppress her excitement as she raised a hand and pointed somewhere ahead.

At the tip of Kim Seyeon's finger lay the residential neighborhood we had been aiming for.