Chapter 16
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Way of Life (2)
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Buuung- Buuung-
“…Kuhk!”
There was a high school boy under attack from dozens of swarming bees.
The student was struggling with what looked like a shield bought from the Space Market, but his wounds were already deep. He seemed to be at his absolute limit.
Lee Min-jun immediately drew the greatsword, slung it over his shoulder, and shouted.
“While I draw their attention, please protect the student!”
“Got it!”
“Of course!”
With that, the three split up and plunged into the swarm that numbered around thirty bees.
As soon as Min-jun stepped in, his [Apostle's Nemesis] skill activated naturally, and the creatures turned their attacks on him.
The greatsword’s debut.
Kkaddeuk.
He gripped the hilt tightly with both hands.
Even in that brief moment as he prepared to swing, the bees stung his body, trying to siphon his time—but he paid it no mind.
‘Whatever they take, I’ll kill them all and get it back….’
He stepped forward and shrugged his shoulder, where the greatsword rested.
The moment the blade lifted into the air.
Whoooong- Kwaang!
He shifted his center of gravity forward in an instant and brought the sword crashing down vertically.
‘Optimized for smashing rather than slicing.’
The immense mass of the greatsword didn’t so much cut the bees as pulverize them into paste, shattering the asphalt beneath.
Of course, some dodged nimbly as flying insects should—but the vortex of air left in the blade’s wake dragged even the hovering ones crashing to the ground.
“So-hee, Uncle. Now’s the time.”
Sung Dong-gil and Jung So-hee, who had been guarding the student, smashed the fallen bees like trash on the street. Min-jun moved swiftly, stomping the rest to death underfoot.
He repeated the overhead strike another four times after that.
The bees that had once filled the sky became an unrecognizable sludge, soaking the ground.
* * *
‘This should be cleanup enough?’
As Min-jun shook the green ichor from his greatsword, So-hee approached the student to check on him.
But the boy had already passed out on the ground. So-hee began gently shaking his shoulders to rouse him.
“Kid, wake up. Hey!”
Their route—gathering intel from Garak Fire Station and safely escorting Dong-gil—could hardly be called safe by any stretch.
Moving with an unconscious boy in tow was far too dangerous for the group and the kid alike.
‘If he had enough time saved to buy a shield, he wouldn’t be out here alone without a shelter or comrades.’
To figure out where the boy had come from, Min-jun sifted through the traces around them.
That was when… a grating sound reached Min-jun’s ears.
- Chakak. Chakak.
Having completed his mandatory army service, Min-jun knew exactly what that noise was.
‘Chambering rounds?’
He immediately ripped the door off a nearby large SUV with his bare hands and positioned it to shield the group.
Right then, four thunderous gunshots echoed down the road.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
The 12-gauge buckshot hammered the car door relentlessly.
Min-jun peered from behind it toward the source of the shots.
The bullets were coming from an apartment building facing the road.
“Damn! They’re using guns, so they’ve gotta be human, right? They must’ve mistaken us for apostles! Don’t they know bullets don’t work on apostles? Hey!! We’re people!!”
Dong-gil suddenly stepped out from behind the door, waving his arms in an X shape.
Min-jun reflexively grabbed his pants and yanked him back in.
Piiing-
Buckshot ricocheted off the spot where he’d just stood.
“Hmm…. F*ck.”
Min-jun and So-hee exchanged bitter smiles at Dong-gil’s naive reaction.
It was the normal way of thinking, sure—but the two, having personally witnessed how vicious people could become in extreme situations, knew right away there was no misunderstanding.
“They’re definitely after our survival time.”
As So-hee explained to Dong-gil, Min-jun kept scanning for the sniper’s position.
The sun made it hard to spot the muzzle flash, but by tracing the direction of the gunpowder scent carried on the wind, he quickly pinpointed it.
Building 3—marked with a ‘3’ on the side—fourth-floor balcony.
That’s where they were unleashing a hail of bullets on the group.
‘What to do?’
He wished he had the [Loyal Tomahawk], but his only weapons were the greatsword and dagger.
Lacking any ranged options, Min-jun racked his brain before settling on a very simple solution.
‘Dong-gil, So-hee, hold this.’
Bullets were still pouring over the car, so Min-jun signaled for them to grab the door.
Puzzled but trusting his lead in combat, Dong-gil and So-hee pressed against the door from behind, taking over for him.
Moments later… Min-jun scooped up a fist-sized rock from the ground and gauged the distance to the sniper.
‘Can I make it?’
Could a rock reach the fourth floor? The answer was a resounding ‘yes, easily.’
The only concern was whether this crude stone could withstand his strength.
He could tear steel plating like paper now, after all.
‘Hoo….’
His thoughts lingered, but his actions were swift and decisive.
The instant he resolved to hurl the rock at that distant target, his arm blurred through a long arc.
Whooong!
The stone rocketed outward in a curving trajectory with a sharp whoosh, vanishing straight into the open fourth-floor balcony window.
Ppaak!
‘Direct hit!’
He’d felt the impact in his hand.
Assuming the halted gunfire was proof, Min-jun started to dash toward the apartment.
But….
Buuuung-
“Min-jun! Bee swarm!”
The massive helicopter-like buzzing returned, forcing him to halt.
He turned to see a black cloud of over a hundred bees approaching at a glance, interspersed with ones the size of giant larvae.
“The kid’s still out—what do we do?!”
“Damn, they must’ve heard the gunshots.”
Being flying pests, they were closing in with terrifying speed.
‘Damn.’
Min-jun glanced back at the still-unconscious student.
‘Can we escape carrying him?’
They still had a full kilometer to Songpa Police Station. Piggyback the kid and make it safely?
Alone, yes—his agility level gave him confidence he could outrun the swarm.
But So-hee and Dong-gil were the problem. Without him holding off the bees, they couldn’t escape.
‘Damn it, looks like abandoning him is the only— Ah!’
Clutching his head in frustration, Min-jun grabbed Dong-gil’s shoulder.
“Anyplace nearby to treat a patient?!”
“Huh? Other than the station…. Ah! Mang-san High School’s right next door. Their infirmary should—”
“So-hee, piggyback him!”
At Min-jun’s urgent shout, So-hee—who had a free back—hoisted the student up.
By then, the swarm had closed to point-blank range.
Buuuung-!
“No looking back now—straight to Mang-san High! Go!”
Min-jun shouted and swung his greatsword at the bees.
The other two bolted in the opposite direction, toward the school.
* * *
Fourth-floor balcony of a certain apartment.
Four boys and girls in matching gym uniforms aimed hunting shotguns they’d swiped from the nearby police station outward.
Large hanja characters on their backs read ‘望山高’ (Mang-san High).
Their eyes, visible beyond the sights, weren’t just bloodshot—they burned red, as if ready to weep blood tears.
“Everyone, step it up. Captain’s sitting this round per the rules, so we get a breather. Feels off if I hog all the wins, right?”
A brawny boy with sharp features spoke magnanimously, and the ponytail girl prone beside him—Yoon A-rin—shot back.
“Ugh, so cringey. How does Ki-hyuk sunbae always pick the most obnoxious lines? Can’t argue his skills, though.”
“Yoon A-rin, got no respect for your captain? Vice-captain means no chain of command?”
“Yeah, yeah—. You, Lee Jin-won, keep kissing the captain’s ass.”
“You bi—”
“Jin-won.”
Lee Jin-won, with his protruding lips, bristled at her words—but Baek Ki-hyuk’s single utterance snapped him back to position.
Yoon A-rin shot him a glance, then vented by kicking the hulking figure beside her.
“Hey! Yoon Doo-sik! Miss again, and you’re dead to me! Who knows when we’ll get another shot at prey like this! Sharing time’s only good once or twice.”
She let out a long sigh, fiddled with her gun, and muttered.
“…How the hell did a loser like you end up born the same day as me? Not a brother—an enemy.”
“Got it…. I’ll do good…. Sis.”
Yoon Doo-sik’s massive frame replied in a cowering voice, enough to mistake the shotgun in his hands for a tree branch.
“Focus!”
Baek Ki-hyuk, staring outside, barked the order. The rowdy atmosphere sank in an instant.
Without anyone leading, they began chambering rounds.
Chakak. Chakak. Chakak.
With each click of the members loading, the tension thickened like a thread on the verge of snapping.
Ttak.
Baek Ki-hyuk’s finger snap served as the signal flare—and flames erupted from their muzzles.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
But the target was sharper than expected, immediately ducking behind a shield to block the bullets.
“What the hell! We should’ve nailed them all at once!”
Baek Ki-hyuk yelled and yanked his own trigger.
If they fled and exposed the group’s identities, it’d be a headache.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
But the targets hunkered down like turtles in their shells.
“Pour it on that shield! It’ll give eventually!”
As the relentless flames turned their black barrels glowing red…
Shiiiiek- Bbak!!
A whoosh cut the air, followed by the crack of a skull shattering.
The members whipped their heads toward the sound…. Where Yoon Doo-sik lay sprawled, blood streaming from his head.
“Doo-sik!”
His sole remaining family, Yoon A-rin, laid him flat and shook him—but he only drew faint breaths, showing no sign of waking.
“Son of a bitch!”
As Yoon A-rin surged to charge outside, Baek Ki-hyuk blocked her path.
“Captain stays! I’ll waste that bastard!”
“And do what out there? Brawl the freak who chucked a rock that far?!”
“That’s…”
“They took the ‘maknae’ toward the school anyway. If he sticks to plan, he’ll pin them down. You know it’s our home turf. No rush—hunt ’em slow.”
He flashed his wrist’s survival time to the members as he continued.
[2022]
“Point is, as you see, I’ve got plenty of time. So I’m yielding hunt order. Who’s first?”
““….””
Lee Jin-won, watching from the side, fell silent. Even Yoon A-rin, fuming moments ago, said nothing.
They’d lunged earlier on impulse, but now knew it wasn’t an easy mark.
Baek Ki-hyuk eyed them steadily before addressing Yoon A-rin.
“A-rin. What about you?”
“Ha?! You take me for an idiot? Think I can’t see through your scheming black heart? Send me first to test their strength, huh.”
“Me? I’m being generous here. How much time you got left? Doo-sik?”
At that, Yoon A-rin checked her wrist and her brother’s: 132 hours for her, 34 for the damn fool.
Her mistake—burning most of it on stats recently.
With what they had, even sharing with him wouldn’t last four full days.
If another mark showed up, great. If not, they’d just stare at the sky till death.
Sure, if the captain lent time, it’d change things—but that dog wasn’t the type.
‘Sigh. Can’t just let him die.’
Yoon A-rin glanced at her twin brother lying beside her. Despised him, but he was her last family.
Realizing she was cornered, she met the captain’s red glare.
Then.
Cheolkeok.
She snapped her shotgun’s muzzle straight at Baek Ki-hyuk.