Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-------------------------------------------------
Translator : M.N 1391
Title: The Awakened Ones (6)
Chapter: 21
-------------------------------------------------
“Will you really protect us?”
The look in Dae-shik’s eyes as he stared at the fat man was truly desperate and servile.
His slightly bitten lip, his trembling hands clasped together, and the way his eyes darted nervously from side to side… Even Hyena, who had witnessed his combat skills and bravery firsthand several times, almost mistook him for a genuinely pathetic coward.
‘Wow... He’s a damn good actor. Did he learn this at the National Intelligence Service or something?’
Thinking about it, it made perfect sense. This was the same Kim Dae-shik who had fooled even the ever-watchful eyes of the Observers for 200 long years.
In a living hell where deceit, betrayal, death, and killing repeated daily. Whether the opponent was a criminal or a cop, no one could possibly see through an act honed through two centuries of life-and-death theater.
“Can I see what your ability is?”
The fat man looked down at Dae-shik and asked.
Contempt, arrogance, complacency.
All emotions one should never allow in an apocalypse flickered through his eyes.
‘Hmph, so you’re still alive after all.’
Dae-shik knew instantly that his act had worked.
“I have to see how useful you are if I’m going to accept you as a comrade, right?”
No sooner had the fat man finished speaking than the zombies took a step toward Dae-shik.
It sounded polite, like “Let’s see what you can do,” but in truth, it was no different from a threat. Don’t try anything stupid. Don’t even think about lying. That kind of warning.
‘So he’s trying to establish the pecking order while he’s at it, huh.’
Having read that pathetic intent, Dae-shik deliberately made his hands tremble as he pulled out his crowbar. He looked every bit the frightened coward.
Then, as he moved his fingers busily, the crowbar began to change shape little by little.
“Hmph, not bad.”
Watching that sight, the fat man chuckled faintly and nodded his head.
He didn’t guard himself against Dae-shik in the slightest.
Of course, that didn’t mean the fat man was some naïve fool incapable of suspicion. On the contrary, he was among the most suspicious of men. And yet, the reason he felt no need to be wary of Dae-shik was simple.
He was certain the man couldn’t kill him.
‘Takes some time to transform, huh.’
A coward, whose ability wasn’t combat-related.
On top of that, the activation speed was slow, and there seemed to be some limits to how much he could change shape. There was no way this guy could stand against his zombie horde. But his ability did seem rather handy.
A skill that was useful, but no threat to him.
What better slave could there be?
‘Ha! Look at this lucky bastard, a total pushover just rolled in.’
And to make things even sweeter, the guy had brought along a female doctor, a woman he normally wouldn’t have even dreamed of approaching.
No wonder he felt good.
Having decided to accept Dae-shik as a subordinate, the fat man turned his gaze toward another man, Kim Ji-hyuk.
“Alright, you pass. But the lady doctor over there will have to stay in the holding cell until we can be sure she isn’t infected.”
“Yes, understood.”
The man quickly nodded and walked over to Hyena.
At that moment, Hyena couldn’t help but gasp inwardly once again.
‘Wow... It really played out like he said it would.’
Before entering the police station, Dae-shik had already predicted this very outcome. And his prediction had hit the mark perfectly.
— “They’ll probably try to lock you in a holding cell, Hyena. Don’t resist, just go quietly. I’ll let you out after the fight’s over.”
— “Okay.”
Hyena obediently followed Dae-shik’s plan.
In truth, it was the best she could do. Their enemies were a zombie-controller and a paralyzer. As if that weren’t enough, they also had guns and tasers.
If a fight broke out, she’d only get in the way. In the worst case, she could even end up as a hostage. Better to quietly stay in the cell, it was the most helpful thing she could do.
‘Whatever happens, I will NOT be the annoying side character who ruins everything!’
That was Hyena’s firm resolve.
Of course, that didn’t mean she wasn’t anxious.
If the two of them lost, she couldn’t even imagine what kind of awful fate awaited her.
But she trusted Dae-shik. Not because of his fighting skills, but because she knew he wasn’t the kind of man to throw himself into danger without a plan.
‘Fighting!’
With that in mind, Hyena forced herself to stay positive and followed Kim Ji-hyuk down to the underground holding cells.
* * *
“Hey. That woman, is she your thing?”
Once Hyena left the lobby, the fat man lifted his pinky and asked.
“Excuse me?”
Dae-shik kept his frightened expression as he replied.
“I said, is she your girlfriend, you little punk.”
“We’re not like that.”
“Yeah? Then you mind if I hit on her?”
And once Hyena was completely out of sight...
“Think you can actually pull that off?”
Dae-shik’s eyes changed instantly.
“What?”
“I asked if you can actually pull it off.”
“Ha, look at this guy. You mention a woman and your eyes light up. Don’t tell me you’ve already marked your territory or something?”
At that pathetic question, Dae-shik couldn’t help but chuckle.
“But where’s the other one?”
“What? Why the hell are you suddenly speaking informally to me, bastard?”
A brief silence fell between them. Instead of answering, Dae-shik glanced casually around.
“Whatever. You should’ve taken their weapons first, you idiot.”
Then the crowbar in his hand began to dance.
Whoosh!
“Huh?”
Crunch!
“Aaaaargh!”
A scream burst from the fat man’s mouth. His arm bent at an angle no arm should ever bend.
‘Ten.’
Dae-shik began counting silently in his head.
“You son of a—!”
The fat man, swearing and thrashing, came at him, but Dae-shik swung his crowbar again.
‘Nine.’
Thud!
But the heavy iron bar didn’t meet the fat man’s soft flesh, it struck a zombie’s shoulder instead.
“Kill him!”
The five zombies surrounding them all lunged at Dae-shik at once.
‘Eight, seven.’
Stab!
Dae-shik drove the crowbar straight through the mouth of the zombie in front of him.
‘Six.’
Then he spun around and smashed the skull of another.
Wham!
As the blow connected, Zombie #2 staggered back.
‘Five.’
Having opened a gap in their formation, Dae-shik immediately activated his new skill.
『Activating Agile Movement.』
『Movement speed and agility increased.』
As his body grew lighter, he darted forward, breaking through the encirclement.
Then he widened the distance between himself and the zombies.
‘Four, three...’
Suddenly, a stiffening sensation spread through his limbs, and his movements began to slow.
‘There it is.’
The paralyzer had activated his ability.
‘Just as expected.’
From his experience in Achaia, Dae-shik knew paralysis took a moment to manifest.
If the user’s trait level was high, it could happen in a single second, but there was no way this one had that much power yet.
Dae-shik had estimated between five to ten seconds, and sure enough, his body began to freeze right on cue. Pouring every bit of willpower into his muscles, he forced himself to retreat once more.
He could still move, but it felt as though invisible chains were tightening around his limbs.
When he finally came to a stop, the fat man shouted furiously.
“You bastard! You dare pull this kind of crap!?”
The fat man raised his hand and pointed at Dae-shik.
At once, the five zombies began to slowly advance toward him.
‘Now, where are you...’
But Dae-shik, far from panicking, merely rolled his eyes upward.
After all, only his eyes and head still obeyed him.
One step, two steps, the zombies drew closer.
‘There you are.’
On the third-floor balcony, a small head was poking out.
Dae-shik’s gaze met that of the paralyzer hiding behind the railing. Thinking his prey completely immobilized, the hawk-eyed man smirked.
“Heh, can’t even handle a guy like that, huh...”
But before he could finish his sentence, Dae-shik’s lips curved upward.
“Huh?”
Then came a sudden, sharp scream.
“Aaaaargh!”
Before anyone could grasp what had happened, the paralyzer’s body tumbled over the railing and plummeted to the first floor.
Thud!
With a heavy crash, he hit the ground and convulsed violently. Behind him stood Juhun, who had just deactivated his invisibility.
‘Tsk, landed head-first. Yeah, he’s gone for sure.’
Dae-shik looked down at the dying man with a detached gaze.
Then he flexed his fingers lightly.
‘There. It’s gone.’
The paralysis had been lifted.
Five zombies remained.
Dae-shik’s crowbar sliced through the air.
Wham!
He shattered one zombie’s head,
Thump!
and shoved another back with his shield.
The boost in strength he’d gained from defeating the Abnormal Glutton meant he was no longer the “pathetic office worker with lousy stamina.”
In the blink of an eye, he dispatched three zombies. The fat man, clutching his broken arm, turned and bolted.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
Five seconds of Agile Movement remained.
Dae-shik caught up to him in an instant.
“Hey there.”
The crowbar came down on the fat man’s collarbone.
* * *
“Hey, nice work.”
Returning to the lobby after smashing the zombies’ skulls in quick succession, Dae-shik looked at Juhun.
But Juhun only stood there, staring down at the fallen paralyzer with a dark expression, saying nothing.
Dae-shik knew why.
“Don’t let it eat at you.”
He himself had worn that same expression the first time he killed a person back in Achaia.
Thinking about it now, it was almost funny. There wasn’t much difference in appearance, yet killing a human instead of a zombie or an infected felt entirely different. It left you feeling dirty, like you’d done something you shouldn’t have. A sickly, sticky discomfort clung to your hands, your stomach soured, and reality felt distant.
Calvertian had skipped his first meal that day, vomiting even though he hadn’t eaten a thing.
‘Well, compared to me, he’s taking it well.’
Maybe it was a naïve, foolish reaction. But to Dae-shik, people who could feel that kind of remorse were the ones worth trusting.
“Haa...”
After staring silently at the paralyzer for a long while, Juhun finally let out a long sigh and turned to Dae-shik.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Nah, I probably couldn’t have handled it alone either.”
“I doubt that, honestly...”
“Well, okay, I could have handled it alone... But hey, slow-paced stories aren’t very popular these days, right?”
At Dae-shik’s joke, Juhun couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“The early-stage villains are supposed to exit fast, that’s just good manners.”
Dae-shik said this as he patted Juhun’s shoulder.
Then he pressed down lightly on the fat man’s shoulder, the one whose collarbone he’d shattered.
“Gaaaah!”
“Hey. Where’s the food and the guns?”
The fat man, who’d been about to spit out an insult, froze the moment he met Dae-shik’s eyes. He nearly pissed himself.
There was no emotion in those eyes. They were cold, indifferent, like looking at a pebble on the roadside.
That alone filled him with unbearable terror. No need for lengthy threats. Just one look told him everything. This man could, and would, inflict pain beyond imagination.
“I-I’ll tell you everything. Please, just don’t kill me...”
He dropped to his knees.
It was the only way he could think of to buy even one more minute of life.
“First, let’s check the holding cell.”
Dae-shik shrugged, almost bored, and started down the stairs.
“Oh, and just so we’re clear, don’t try anything stupid. Unlike that cop over there, I don’t feel guilt when I kill people.”
And as he descended into the underground holding area, a desperate voice echoed in his ears.
“Dae-shik! Hurry, hurry and open it!”
It was the most urgent tone he’d ever heard from her.