Chapter 53
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 053
Chapter Title: The Best Choice (2)
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“Hoo….”
So-hee’s judgment had been spot on.
While she bought that time, Min-jun had pulled out the ‘Branded Bamboo Sword’ from amid the debris shrouded in darkness and was twisting his body to escape the building’s ruins.
What Min-jun needed right now was just a gap to get out of here and a bit of time.
Those two things.
‘That was close.’
It had been an ambush at a timing he truly hadn’t anticipated…. Fortunately, thanks to the one he’d purchased not long ago, he’d minimized the damage.
Min-jun burst through the debris and stood, surveying the situation.
The massive spider that had newly appeared was unscathed even against Sun-woo’s flames and Kim Geon-ho’s blazing fire axe.
It was relentlessly hounding his comrades alongside dozens of spider minions.
It seemed to possess some command authority. However.
‘It doesn’t look like the type to lay double- and triple-layered traps like this.’
Their brain had to be somewhere.
And it would have to be at least a Sicarius-level entity for that to make sense.
‘First, put out the urgent fire.’
Min-jun immediately activated [Strength to Uproot Mountains and Overwhelm the World] and [Time Gap].
[Borrowing the power ‘Strength to Uproot Mountains and Overwhelm the World’ from the owner of the divine tool.]
[Time limit: 00:00:05]
Once his star power exceeded level 10, the best improvement was that he could now control ‘Strength to Uproot Mountains and Overwhelm the World’ to some degree.
In other words, he no longer had to worry about passing out from exhaustion or harming allies.
Kwa-duk!
Min-jun smashed the giant spider wielding its web flail like it was crushing it to pieces, then checked the proficiency of the [Ownerless Great Sword] while shaking off the blue ichor staining his body.
‘62% proficiency…. So, about half as much more as what I just used, and it’ll reveal its new form?’
Even if he tried buying new items, the ridiculous ‘upgrade pending’ rank still wouldn’t show anything above advanced grade.
So what could he do? Use the time earned from hunting to invest in stats or save for later.
The message said it would reveal a new form once proficiency reached mastery.
Time to test that set effect description.
‘It really upgrading to rare grade, isn’t it?’
That would be ideal, but even if not, it didn’t matter much.
It was certain the divine tool’s performance would improve in some way once it revealed its new form.
“Min-jun, you okay?”
As the battle wrapped up to some extent, people gathered again, starting with So-hee.
She’d yelled not to worry about her during the fight, but she was the first to check on him.
‘She said trust and worry are separate, right?’
It was possible because they weren’t just companions forced together for survival or maintaining a formal relationship—they’d truly grown close.
“Of course I’m fine. How about everyone? If anyone’s hurt, use a potion and rest a bit before we head out.”
“Thanks to you, Boss, we’re good.”
“Uncle, you’re the best!”
Uncle Jeong Jin-ho and Sun-woo gave thumbs up in gratitude.
After going through life-and-death together these past few weeks, their distance had certainly closed a lot.
And because of that, I could read the faint worry showing on Dan-woo’s face as he stood silently lost in thought amid the group.
“Dan-woo, something bothering you?”
After hesitating several times at my question, Dan-woo cautiously shared his concern.
“Um… Uncle, didn’t you feel it? Something off about the spiders today. They felt stronger than usual? Ugh, and for one strong enough that you had to use that power to appear in the first place…”
As expected of someone with keen senses, he’d pinpointed exactly what I’d felt.
I nodded in agreement with his words.
“I felt it too—something fishy. If they got stronger by catching survivors and eating their time, that might explain the power, but I’ve never seen them lay traps this meticulously before. And the ones we fought this time didn’t seem any smarter…. So either the gate guardians changed their hunting methods, or they’ve got a brain now too.”
“A brain?”
“An entity that’s gained demon-level or at least human-level intelligence.”
At my words, everyone fell silent, lost in their own thoughts.
But this wasn’t something with an immediate answer, so I cautioned that it could happen and was about to head toward the mart again.
Then, sometime later, I sensed someone approaching from far off.
The sound of human footsteps.
‘A survivor?’
After battles, ones begging to join our camp or share some survival time.
Terrified survivors approaching us wasn’t a rare occurrence.
However, knowing the state of the survivors we’d seen at the base camp and how, even with the blood poison antidote provided, they’d been too listless to flee.
I’d naturally rejected their requests every time.
They were just thinking of hiding behind our fence and leeching food.
People who had no intention of fighting monsters or saving others.
If talking didn’t work and they kept following, I planned to drive them off with force if needed, as I watched the direction they approached from.
Thud. Thud.
A moment later, the one who appeared from behind a concrete pillar with its outer layer peeled off.
Was a face I knew.
“…”
Worn suit, shoes with the toes sticking out. Kitchen knife stained with blue ichor tucked into his belt.
And the bloodshot red eyes only a murderer would have.
“…Do you perhaps remember me? Here I am greeting you like this. I was truly grateful back then. I’m Jeon Byung-chul… and these are my wife and daughter.”
He was the man—and his family—who’d survived the longest among those the Sicarius had driven to kill each other.
* * *
How desperate a person with something to protect could become. I could see it from watching this man fight right before my eyes.
‘But.’
How could I point fingers at him, who’d had to commit murder for his family? Even I hadn’t shied from killing to survive….
I was just angry at the situation that forced such an absurd choice.
Just like now.
‘….’
I drew my sword-off shotgun and aimed it at the man who’d introduced himself as Jeon Byung-chul.
Not because he was a stranger, or because he’d killed others at Jamsil Girls’ High and gained red eyes.
Simply because the situation required me to aim at him… I had to stay wary of him.
‘Why did a family man striving to protect his kin have to become a demon?’
The [Shotgun Infused with Star Power] vibrating in response to the man since earlier made my heart heavy.
“Don’t come any closer. What do you want?”
“Wait! Just a moment!”
“…”
“Please, hear me out first. I get why you’re doing this, but look. I’m unarmed right now. Whether you kill me or capture me, can’t you do it after hearing my story?”
“If you make any suspicious moves, I’ll shoot immediately. Got it?”
“Yes, I understand.”
He did seem a bit different from other demons, for sure.
Calm, composed, serene.
Still, no reason to lower my guard….
Deciding to hear what he had to say, I gestured for my comrades to calm down and nodded.
“Speak.”
“…Ahem. Before the apocalypse, I wasn’t a good head of household. Work always came first, and I didn’t devote time to my family—”
“One second. Get to the point. You said you know why, so I won’t say more.”
“Sorry. It’s been so long since I talked to anyone outside my family that words just spilled out.”
“…”
“After that day. Thanks to your grace, not only my family but other survivors too were freed from the Sicarius, but because of my karma…. We were openly shunned by the others and had to wander near Garak Market. It was tough, but I endured because of my family who understood my ‘actions’ back then.”
I looked at his family in his story, at his daughter trembling in fear behind Jeon Byung-chul.
After a moment’s conflict, I holstered the shotgun I’d aimed at him, and he gave a bitter smile while fiddling with his glasses.
As if afraid they’d disappear.
“If it’s you, the benefactor, you must be trying to get out of this Maze Garden…. Right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then I came to the right place. Calling it a deal feels too cold, so how about this: I’ll help you with one of your matters, and in return, grant me just one wish?”
“First, hear what your wish is and if I can grant it. Even if you’d be helpful, if it’s something I can’t do, it’s meaningless.”
“…Help my wife and daughter until they can stand on their own. That’s my wish.”
As expected, his long preamble wasn’t just because he was glad for a conversation partner after so long.
He’d been trying to earn my sympathy and pity to protect his family.
‘Then he succeeded….’
His request wasn’t a difficult condition.
But a question arose. As a demon, earning survival time should be easier than as a normal human.
So why wasn’t he supporting his family himself?
“…With that power, why leave your wife and daughter to us?”
Seeing me wary of him, the others who’d vaguely sensed something also started catching on one by one.
Probably because they’d learned about demons recently from hearing my and So-hee’s survival story.
Jeon Byung-chul looked no different from a normal person at a glance, so they seemed uncertain.
‘Right, Baek Ki-hyuk was the same at first. But.’
Not this stable.
Baek Ki-hyuk had been explosive, irrational, unable to hide his hostility and murderous intent toward humans.
He’d lost his humanity to the point of viewing a cherished junior as prey.
What surprised me about him wasn’t that he was a demon, but that he could view that fact objectively, as if observing himself from a third party.
“I can no longer gain time by killing apostles. Instead, killing humans gives me twice their survival time…. But I have no intention of gaining more than I have now. I don’t want to be a disappointing father or husband anymore.”
“…I get the reason. So, what’s the help you’re offering?”
Truthfully, the reason didn’t matter. The benefit we’d gain from granting his request.
That was most important, and what came from his mouth was unexpected.
“I’ll tell you about Fraus.”