Chapter 60
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Preliminary Battle (5)
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From my childhood, I had always been alone.
In the orphanage, at school—no one ever gave me their heart.
Or, thinking back now... maybe I was the one who never thought to let anyone get close.
Back then, I was.
Huddled up tight, terrified that if I made a friend for no reason, if I opened my heart for no reason, I'd just end up abandoned again....
‘Why did I live like that? When I had something this good....’
With people who trusted me and followed silently, even with a life-or-death battle right ahead, there was nothing to fear.
Some truly believed in me, others were tied by shared interests—but it didn't matter.
Just the sight of everyone banding together for one goal filled me with satisfaction.
Hoo—hoo—
Even though my speed easily shattered the 10-second barrier of the 100-meter dash's nightmare wall, the excess endorphins made the world around me crawl by slowly.
The morning humidity, usually clammy, rushed refreshingly into my nose, jolting my still-sleepy brain awake.
And the abandoned toy plane, looking just like the ones I played with as a kid, stirred an odd sense of nostalgia.
‘I could do it now.’
Reviving the sensation from destroying the Sicarius core, I repeated to myself endlessly that the greatsword was an extension of my body, like my arm.
And then.
With a smooth push of holy power, what should have blazed like roaring flames instead drew out in a clean form, like refined sword steel.
In the gray sky and the heart of the city, my blade alone gleamed pure white.
“Hoo—hoo—”
My heartbeat raced faster.
The urge to rampage surged to the brink, but a sliver of cold reason crushed it down.
‘What are we doing right now? What do I need to do? What's the most effective attack I can make for that?’
As excitement faded, a brief Q&A flashed through my mind....
And soon, I arrived at the answer.
‘Thrust.’
I needed an ultimate thrust to carve a path to the destination.
Having climbed the first step, I could climb the second.
This wasn't a hunch—it was certainty. Strong certainty that I could pull it off now.
Even as hundreds of spiders, spotting us before we set out, surged toward us like a tidal wave.
I didn't slow down—instead, I put a little more power into every step.
‘...Inhale!’
With a deep breath, I focused my charging momentum on a single point.
Gripping the greatsword with both hands after holding it in my right, I pulled it to my chest.
Then, mid-stride, I twisted my body sideways, unleashing the coiled spring of my crouched form—the greatsword fixed in both hands shot straight forward.
Krrrggh—
The stench of scorched rubber from my boots grinding the cement stung my nose.
And just like that.
The black sea squeezing in from the front split apart.
* * *
People tend to second-guess their decisions endlessly.
Sure, there are those who charge ahead without looking back once they've decided, but how many have hearts of steel like that?
Ordinary folks usually waver or hesitate, and the three Myeong brothers were no different.
They weren't cut out to be that kind of person, and even after deciding to attack together, they agonized right up until heading to meet that young man named Min-jun on the day of reckoning.
“Bro, we made the right choice, right?”
“Without magic stones, we're stuck in place anyway. You felt it hunting so far. At our level, even securing minimum survival time is tough. Extra stones from hunting beyond that are survival time itself—extra stats we can raise stably. We need to get stronger. If we stall, those spiders will keep powering up bit by bit.... And at the end of that? Death. You know it, so why keep asking.”
“I'm anxious, that's why.”
“You think you're the only one? Me too—”
“...Quiet.”
As the youngest and second brother bickered, the eldest, Myeong Jeong-ho the team leader, shut them down.
Nearly thirty team members watched the three brothers with uneasy eyes.
Now, the brothers were leaders of a group, responsible for these lives.
They couldn't waver.
“Has the world gone how we expected since it all fell apart? It's necessary, and we have to do it now. Stopping means we're screwed either way. And that young man? He's our highest-odds gamble to lean on.”
“....”
“So, we do it. No—we have to make it work to survive.”
A leader needs conviction, no matter the path.
People don't follow one without it. The stakes here were their lives.
Myeong the team leader knew this from years in the workforce, so he hid his anxiety and projected false conviction.
Meanwhile, he channeled and released holy power into his familiar [Shattering Monkey Spanner] to ease the tension.
As they waited for Min-jun's team to descend, Myeong ordered his team to check their gear.
They needed focus.
“Everyone, let's double-check combat readiness.”
No one came here on half-hearted resolve, but anxiety gripped them all.
Team members readjusted turtle-shell shields on their backs, then checked weapons one by one to mask their nerves.
With armor and weapons secured tight, they fiddled with shield grips.
Rectangular aluminum shields sprayed white with ‘POLICE’....
Today, they had to become ancient Greek phalanxes. It was the only way to survive.
“Good morning.”
As the roughly thirty Myeong brothers' team members finished prepping.
Min-jun's team came down from the apartment.
The tall, rugged southern-looking man's face showed no anxiety—only pleasant tension.
He doesn't wear it on his face. Qualified as a leader.
Myeong Jeong-ho, shaking hands as the thirty's rep, led his group to face the rainbow gateway.
‘Now, it begins.’
Spiders spotting them charged madly, and as promised, they formed a wedge formation.
“If we get swept, we're dead—stick tight!”
Hell began.
* * *
Thud thud thud—
The spider horde's footsteps echoed through the city, syncing with their heartbeats.
Hoo—hoo—
Forced deep breaths.
Body trembling like an aspen—pre-battle terror or excitement, who knew.
““....””
In that silence.
They licked parched lips, all awaiting Min-jun's signal.
“Charge!”
With the lead youth bellowing and surging fearlessly at the oncoming monsters, those lined right behind him pounded after.
Thud thud thud—
His team had come to Min-jun with do-or-die resolve from the start.
So amid the crashing fear, not one broke formation—they hurled themselves at the spiders as one.
The monsters' attacks poured mostly at that young man, Min-jun.
He accelerated, soon pulling far ahead alone.
The group, holding formation, couldn't support him.
“Danger.... Hoo.... Hoo.”
Disrupted formation meant getting swept in the clash.
He tried calling out, but breath choked his throat.
‘No, pointless worry. Danger's on us if formation breaks. Not him.’
That's the path.
To live, the group had to hustle after the road he carved, his greatsword bathed in white light.
Among them, those who could unleash holy power—including Myeong Jeong-ho himself—numbered fewer than three.
Yet even he, the fastest grower, could only muster a faint glimmer.
That thing? Straight out of a sci-fi flick—a lightsaber.
And then.
As Myeong Jeong-ho snapped out of the dazzling glow's trance, realizing monsters were nearly upon them.
Fwoooosh—
The lead youth met the insect wave first, thrusting his sword.
““Th-this is...?””
The lead youth stood like Moses before the Red Sea.
* * *
Humans, apostles—all froze.
In their place, the spider swarm vanished like mist, leaving a massive wedge-shaped clearing with only the gateway.
“What are you doing?! Push through!”
Again, the youth's shout snapped everyone awake.
“...Huh...? Uh.... Uh.... Charge!!”
Propelled by Myeong the team leader's bellow, the followers roared and charged.
Waaaah!!
Sky-piercing morale turned them fearless berserkers against the spiders.
Follow him, and we live.
That belief took root.
And the sprawled, defenseless spiders ahead? Chunks of survival time.
No reason to stop.
“Run, don't stop!”
Myeong Jeong-ho urged the group.
Kill them now. Grow now. Prove the group's worth now.
That way, next time, that youth would deal with them again.
He fought conserving stamina for the Fraus battle, yet he felled the most spiders.
Ripping apart web nets spraying from all sides.
Slicing massive web orbs flying like flails.
When that failed, he bisected spiders body-blocking entry.
‘Insane....’
Combat looked as natural to him as breathing.
Anyone would mistake him for someone dropped alone into the apocalypse, surviving years.
He became our beacon in the dark night.
“Hah.... Hah....”
Bodies heavy as wet cotton, but no stopping.
The gateway loomed.
In a way, the real fight started now.
“Circular defense formation!!”
Everyone circled the gateway, drawing aluminum shields.
They were civilians, not drilled soldiers—sloppy—but others filled the gaps.
Min-jun's team dashed about, smashing spiders, buying formation time.
Two burly ex-firefighters swung axes and crowbars, pulverizing spiders; the woman with the huge shield led from the front; the girl at the rear blasted explosions, carving openings.
Boom!
Layered shields from behind blocked the spider wave.
“That side! Push harder!!”
“Injured fall back—others fill in!”
As second and third brothers darted, tuning the formation, the circle stabilized.
“Can't promise we'll hold long.”
“Haha, guess I better hurry back.”
The youth prepping to enter the gateway got that reply and just grinned.
“Go on. Time's tight.”
“Yeah, then.”
Rainbow swirls churned behind at the gateway.
But no need to look.
“Hoo....”
We just had to do our jobs.
Myeong Jeong-ho trusted Min-jun without doubt.