Predators of the Seoul Night

The cold wet wipe had gone stiff again as it diligently cleaned my newly hardened cock.

I watched Lee Jiwoo, eyes round with concentration, scrubbing away at the world's most earnest job of dick-polishing.

"......Ah!"

Another moan burst loudly from her lips against my length.

"......Cult Leader-nim."

Deep fanaticism and craving shone in Lee Jiwoo's eyes as she gazed up at me.

A bittersweet smile settled at the corner of my mouth—I couldn't give her everything she wanted.

To be honest, I was brimming with the urge to see this through to the very end, savoring a pleasure I hadn't felt in far too long.

Hahahahaha—

The laughter of my drunk, hooting believers drifted up from below.

The stadium's design hadn't spared a single thought for soundproofing.

No—come to think of it, soundproofing a stadium built for fervor and cheering would have been the truly absurd choice.

Which meant Lee Jiwoo's moans, spreading wide through that stadium, probably weren't landing so pleasantly on the ears of the new citizens still warily watching me.

Religion and sex had never made for a harmonious pairing, not since ancient times.

Thanks to that, sexual scandals had always sparked enormous controversy for leaders of faith.

I saw no need to stir up an itch just to scratch it.

Holding myself back one step like this was enough to soothe the heat of the flesh.

Besides, I wasn't the sex-crazed maniac I'd been in my old life.

Of course, if she'd been a top-tier beauty who drove my lust to its absolute limits the moment I laid eyes on her, that would have been a different story.

Unfortunately, Lee Jiwoo wasn't quite at that level.

Well—if we'd retreated into one of the sky boxes prepared inside the stadium, that too would have been a different story.

But not today.

"I'm terribly sorry about it too, Jiwoo."

"Do you think... someday I could receive your grace too, Cult Leader-nim?"

"Of course. Rewards always return to those who strive."

"Then what should I do from now on? I—I'll truly do anything! Whatever effort it takes, I'll do it all!"

I calmed her down as she raised her voice, all worked up.

I kept stroking her head like a puppy, and her expression softened back into docility.

"Prayer."

"......Aaah!"

"Today and again tomorrow. Pray to me, my daughter."

"Aah—yes! Yes, Cult Leader-nim!"

Devoted hands retied the knots of my cult robe that she'd undone earlier.

Watching her focus on tidying up after me, I turned my head away.

"If you hadn't said something, Cult Leader-nim, I'd have thought he was really dead."

Lee Jiwoo, following my gaze, spoke as she looked at the kid.

The little boy—seasoning for her arousal and a spectator to the fellatio—was still fast asleep.

Now that I thought about it, this kid was a boy too.

Nearly every child I'd rescued so far had been a boy.

The only girl had been Areum, Kim Cheolsu's daughter.

Was it simply that, in the apocalypse, even among children, boys had the survival advantage?

Raising ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a girl with clearly top-tier beauty potential exactly to my taste.

Playing the puppet-master over an awakened one had always made a man's heart race—but apparently not today.

Well, it would happen eventually.

It was one of the rewards that would inevitably follow as the Church of Salvation grew, so I wasn't in any hurry.

Softly brushing the boy's hair, I spoke to Lee Jiwoo.

"Jiwoo. Will you look after this child well while I'm away?"

"It would be my honor."

"Good. I'm always grateful for your devotion."

"Aaaaaah—! Cult Leader-niiim—"

At my single sentence, Lee Jiwoo's body jolted hard as she walked toward the boy.

I watched her hips as she walked, rubbing her thighs together in a peculiar way, then rose slowly.

My house in Guro-gu was nearly complete now—it was time to explore the night of Seoul.

As I exited Gocheok Dome, a message appeared.

It was the first Sanctuary management message I'd seen in a long while.

A wave of unbidden nostalgia washed over me, and I lifted my head to look at the sky.

Densely studded stars and a full moon.

I renewed the Supply Depot while thinking of those back in Incheon, gazing up at this same night sky.

Drinking in the crisp night air, I lifted off while gazing at the stars and moon.

Shwaaaaaaah—!

The Supply Depot renewal meant exactly one month had passed since I first left the Sanctuary.

Slowly.

I'd have to pick up the pace.

Kkieeeeeeeeeek—!

A wide field of view carries a wealth of information.

Footfalls and roars reverberating through the city itself.

Watching a swarm from high above Seoul was on an entirely different level from seeing one through a window.

Long black-stained rods, clumped and clumped again into masses, were probing Seoul this way and that.

Not one but several swarms were roaming Guro-gu, quite literally like waves.

"Kkieeeeeeeeek—!"

The moment I paused to check my surroundings, mutants came hurtling at me like missiles.

I casually extended a hand and seized control of their movements.

Sinewy tendons writhing in the thighs of the flailing creatures.

"Just how much leg day have you bastards been doing?"

It was definitely the same mutant that had ambushed Lee Gyeongmin at the library.

A mutant whose heat-reactive legs were abnormally developed.

"That's not a frog, that's a damn flying squirrel!"

Chjjjjiik—!

I ripped out the Frog's throat as I complained.

It wasn't just once or twice—every single time I paused, those bastards swarmed to intercept me like demons.

So this was the 'Night of Seoul'.

Meaning the skies, not just the ground, were far from safe.

But I couldn't climb any higher either.

A black membrane lay just a bit further up, and ascending wasn't exactly ideal for my purpose of scouting anyway.

"Kkieeeeeeeek—!"

Flinging away another arrow-like Frog with telekinesis, I swept my gaze across the city.

Hidden Pieces.

A magic phrase that made any gamer's heart pound at the mere mention.

No—rather, I could see how the name 'Night of Seoul' itself had been crafted to softly stoke the urge to explore.

Then, as the vanguard, it was only right that I devour it all for myself.

"Ah—honestly, whatever comes out, I think I'll be happy."

Any genuine item would do.

For someone who unconditionally rescued citizens in regular missions—and planned to keep doing so—every single item was precious.

And since it was a hidden element, surely they wouldn't hand me neighborhood junk?

"Finally—does this mean I can do things like telekinetic weapon-throwing, the thing everyone thinks of?"

I imagined a scene of weapons embedded with various special abilities floating around above me.

A parade of premium weapons launched forward at my every gesture, like the legendary flying swords wielded by supreme masters in martial arts novels.

It was, after all, the quintessential image people pictured when they heard the word 'telekinesis'.

Of course, unless an item was truly, truly exceptional, it was simply more convenient to rip a throat out with telekinesis.

Still, there was no law saying there'd never be a second Seo Joowon.

"Kkieeeeeeeek—!"

This time a Frog charged at me, predicting my flight path like a lead shot. I froze it midair.

Chjjjjjiik—!

Ripping throats like a machine, I scanned the ground below at speed.

"Nothing much to see on the western side."

I'd examined the west first, since it was mostly filled with my territory, but nothing unusual caught my eye.

Boooom—!

Accelerating again, I crossed the Anyangcheon, the stream dividing Guro-gu's west from its east.

As I gazed at Gohyeon High School, sitting beside the Western Arterial Road that ran parallel to the Anyangcheon, a smile crept onto my lips.

Found it!

A vivid red glow on a high school drenched in darkness.

Since moonlight and starlight were the only lights around, it stood out all the more starkly.

Boooom—!

Plunging straight down, I treated myself to the time-honored 'hero landing'.

Kicking the asphalt in front of the cracked-open main gate, I pinpointed the exact location of the red glow.

The classroom to the left, right beside the central staircase on the third floor.

Kkieeeeeeeek—!

Zombies cried out, apparently moved by my dramatic entrance.

Judging by the echoing distance, I still had plenty of time.

Even if the swarm came huffing and puffing after me, I could simply soar back into the air.

Should I fly up?

I debated briefly, then shook my head slightly.

My mana was more than sufficient, and this doubled as reconnaissance anyway.

There was no situation demanding a quick eat-and-run time attack here.

This time, let's do it properly from the entrance.

The moment my course of action was set, I entered Gohyeon High and clapped thunderously.

My body, hardened by the Mimic Holy Body, unleashed a terrifying roar that spread through the building.

Clap—! Clap—! Cla-aap—!

"Daddy's heeeeeeere!"

A fantastic collaboration of clapping and bellowing.

Kkieeeeeeeeeek—!

I could see it without looking: the things inside the building shrieking at my voice.

They were probably sprinting toward me, eyes-off-the-road, like kids rushing to greet their chicken-toting dad.

Rather than wading in deep and wrestling with them, it was far easier to just kill them all right here before going in.

Ssssasaasak—!

The sound of something lightly skittering across tile rang out endlessly, drawing nearer.

The flashlight I'd long since pulled from my inventory illuminated the ceiling, as a matter of course.

"Kkieeeeeeeek—!"

A horde of Sound Stalkers closing in fast, like cockroaches.

Frogs bounding—no, flying—down the corridor came into view too.

Kiiiiiiiing—!

The familiar whine of activation rang out, and my whole body spewed white light.

The dark school flashed once, and then the sound of mutants dropping to the floor tolled like dominoes falling.

Thud—! Thu-ud—! Thud—!

Listening to the collision of flesh and floor, I powered through the central staircase.

Up to the third floor, immediately to the left, right?

Just as I'd memorized, the red light shimmered through the window of the classroom directly to the left.

Screeech—

"......What the?"

"Kkieeeeeeeek—!"

The zombies, who'd packed the classroom to an unusual degree, welcomed me inside.

Perhaps because the door had been shut, or as a final obstacle guarding the Hidden Piece.

A zombie horde that had lain in ambush, unresponsive to my noise, waiting.

Chjjjjjiik—!

I snapped every last one of their necks on the spot, then fixed my eyes on the source of the red glow.

"......It's exactly the same as the special mission reward."

It had felt like it would be, ever since it was just a red light.

Consoling my suddenly deflated spirit, I walked slowly toward the jewel.

Still, there could always be some other peculiarity hiding in it.

Stepping over the zombies' corpses, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reached the center of the classroom—and at that very moment.

"Kkieeeeeeeeeeek—!"

The dead zombies rose in unison.

The narrowed distance meant their outstretched hands slammed right up to my face.

Thung—!

I floated lightly off the ground first, batting away their grasping hands.

Even as my head was being torn loose, I calmly watched the ones leaping at my hovering body.

Kiiiiiiiing—!

Telekinesis sank into the bodies of the ones flying skyward.

The overcharged force sheared their upper halves clean from their lower halves.

Only after arms and legs alike had been ripped free did the things collapse back to the floor.

"......"

This time, waiting without letting my guard down, a message appeared before me.

"Insane."

A mutant running the very ragged edge of malice.

So basically, anyone who skipped the confirmation kill could be assumed about 100% dead?

I could picture it vividly, no imagination required: ordinary survivors walking past dead-looking zombies and getting blindsided by a surprise attack.

Tuk—!

Well, having gained the mutant knowledge, I supposed those bastards were now certainly, definitively dead twice over.

Steadying my rattled nerves, I extended a hand toward the jewel floating at the end of the classroom.

A two percent rise in domination rate.

Identical to the special mission's reward.

"......That's it?"

Even if it looked the same, I'd believed it would give something better.

No—give me at least a regular mission reward if nothing else. Since when was two percent domination ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rate a Hidden Piece reward!

Vuuuuuum—

As I frowned and stared at the spot where the jewel had been, a strange sound rang out.

Along with the drone, the left side of my face was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flooded with brightness.

As if something on the classroom wall was glowing vividly.

The brief message ended, and the inscription carved into the wall glowed even brighter.

Well, look at that—there really was more.

My eyes gleaming, I examined the record at leisure.