Chapter 65
Chapter 65
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Explode, Crush, and Plunder - 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Whiiiiine—
The lingering echo of an explosion remained in his ears.
Surrounding noises were drowned out by the ringing, rendering him unable to hear anything.
"Son of a bitch..."
Something had exploded.
Was it a bomb?
He didn't know.
Just moments ago, he had been drinking whiskey with a woman wrapped around his side when two Awakened members of the Central Association burst into the conference room.
Their hands held long fireworks, and just as they seemed about to say something, the explosion occurred.
As a result, more than half of the executives drinking in the conference room were killed instantly.
Especially those near the entrance where the men had run in—they were unrecognizable, reduced to mere shapes.
"Fuck..."
Moon Geun-wo rose from his seat.
Bits of flesh from the woman he had used as a shield were stuck to his hand.
The moment he sensed the crisis, Moon Geun-wo grabbed the nameless Non-Awakened woman pouring drinks beside him and used her as a shield.
The woman, who had been useful in blocking the flying shrapnel and the blast's aftermath, ended up dying as scorched meat.
"Hey. Tae-seok. Hey! Wake up!!!"
Several pieces of wood were embedded in the stomach of his right-hand man, Kang Tae-seok.
Realizing that Tae-seok likely wouldn't make it, Moon Geun-wo cursed endlessly.
"Fuck... Fuck. Fuck, fuck!!!!"
They were either dead or dying.
There wasn't a single normal person left. The guys in the executive conference room were all smashed up.
"Hoo..."
Moon Geun-wo sighed as he looked at the bracelet on his wrist.
If he hadn't bought this bracelet from the Peddler back in the day, if he hadn't quickly used the woman beside him to block the explosion, if he had been sitting near the entrance. If any of that had happened, he would have been swept up and killed too.
Of course, that didn't mean Moon Geun-wo was in a normal state.
His skin stung with burns all over his body, and his eardrums seemed torn from the blast, making it hard to hear sounds.
Moreover, because he had lifted the woman to block the explosion, several fingers on his right hand were broken, and his wrist was twisted slightly, causing pain so intense tears welled up.
"Those fucking bastards... attacking us..."
Though he was furious enough to tear the intruders apart right now, he was also afraid to go out alone through the smashed entrance.
The Demagogue class, whose main specialty was crowd control, was not suited for combat.
If he hadn't run into a group of survivors he was familiar with from the Neighborhood Association early in the apocalypse, he would have been killed by a Special Zombie long ago.
Demagogue was a class with such low combat capability. Even leveling up resulted in low stat increases, and the skills were far from combat-related.
'Did the attackers come here intending to kill everyone in this room...? I don't know... I heard one of the executives didn't show up yesterday... and we sent three more after him, but they never came back... Damn it... If the enemies are the kind of bastards that can devour four demonic possessors... I'll just get cut down.'
Moon Geun-wo decided to head to the panic room located in the basement of the annex inside the building. He planned to hide there silently, and if the intruders were all killed, he would go out; conversely, if the Central Association members lost, he would escape through the emergency exit.
"Hey, hey. Wake up. We have to go quickly."
"Ugh... Ugh... Head Priest..."
"We have to go quickly. Hurry and wake up..."
Even if he moved alone, he had no means to survive continuously with his weak self, so he tried to wake up Kim Yul, one of his closest aides, to drag him along.
Although Kim Yul wasn't an Awakened, he was the demonic possessor most fascinated by Moon Geun-wo's skills in the current situation, so he judged he would be useful.
Also, above all, he was afraid of being alone right now, and although his forehead was torn and bleeding profusely, Kim Yul looked relatively better off than the others, so he decided to take him.
Having helped Kim Yul to his feet, Moon Geun-wo cautiously stepped out of the executive office.
"Hoo... Hoo... Head... Head Priest... Slow down a bit..."
"Hey, we have to go fast. You bastard, you don't even know what's come here right now!"
As they said this and headed toward the panic room, someone approached them, waddling.
The figure walking toward them was closer to a zombie than a human.
His face was familiar, but he couldn't remember the name. He looked like a Non-Awakened he had seen in the auditorium earlier.
"Uh, hey. You, what the hell are you! What's wrong!"
Without answering Moon Geun-wo's question, the man just trembled and approached.
His limbs shook violently, and he even drooled yellow foam from his mouth before collapsing onto the floor with a thud.
"Th... This fucking... What the hell is going on..."
His mind couldn't keep up with the situation. The sudden explosion was enough to make him lose his mind, but for a human who should have been in the auditorium to crawl out here and have a seizure and collapse...
Moon Geun-wo just wanted to get out of this chaotic situation quickly.
He tried to avoid the collapsed, convulsing man. He didn't want to get into trouble by getting too close.
Then, the man convulsing on the floor ignored Moon Geun-wo passing by, but as Kim Yul tried to pass, he grabbed his ankle.
"Ah! Let go! Let go!!!"
Kim Yul kicked the man who was gripping his ankle tightly and wouldn't let go. He stomped on his head and kicked his hand. Still, he wouldn't let go, so Kim Yul unleashed a faint demonic energy.
At that, the man convulsed even more violently and soon rolled over.
"Hey, hey! What the hell is that!!!"
The belly of the rolled-over man swelled up...
Wiggle. Wigglewigglewigglewigglewigglewigglewigglewiggle...
Something unknown wriggled, tearing through his belly skin and crawling out.
"Ah... Ahh... Ahhhh!!!! Head... Head Priest!! Help me!! Ahh!!"
Leaving Kim Yul, who was starting to be swarmed by a swarm of insects and eaten alive, Moon Geun-wo ran.
Behind him, Kim Yul began to demonize, but the insects were faster, eating out his eyes and tongue and tearing at his neck madly, killing him before he could become a demon.
"Ugh... Ughh... Ughhhh!!!!"
Moon Geun-wo ran. He just kept running in a panic until he felt safe, and then he realized that insects were killing people everywhere.
Also, for some reason, it felt like they were luring everyone toward the auditorium.
Of course, by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
Scritch scratch. Scritch scratch scritch. Rustle rustle rustle. Skrit skrit skrit.
The auditorium swarmed with insects.
Inside were insects the size of a human, incomparably larger than the ones that had crawled out of the man's belly earlier, clinging to human bodies, tearing through belly skin, and laying something inside them.
"Ah... Ahh..."
Waiting for Moon Geun-wo was the Pitch-Black Cockroach that Jang Jo-jun had summoned.
The owner had ordered it to kill anything that wasn't human. Also, it was ordered to kill humans as little as possible and imprison them.
In response, the Pitch-Black Cockroach, after much contemplation on whether to consider those who had drunk the blood of the sovereign and become Corrupted as human, concluded that they were not human and used them all as hosts to lay eggs in their bellies.
That was because the Corrupted were already souls contaminated. They hadn't undergone the final process to become fully demonic possessors, but they were essentially things too repulsive to offer as sacrifices or turn into slaves.
Eventually, the Pitch-Black Cockroach found and killed the demonic possessors or turned them into nests for its young, while threatening the remaining survivors and blocking their escape routes, luring them all toward the auditorium.
Of course, some Awakened broke through the encirclement of the cockroach swarm and escaped, but those were the ones the rest of Jo-jun's party had to catch.
"This is... insane..."
Moon Geun-wo stood there dazed, wanting to turn around and run.
However, dozens of black cockroaches were already clinging to his legs and body, trying to restrain his movements.
Moon Geun-wo screamed, trying to peel the cockroaches off his body. But each time he did, his flesh was chewed and blood burst out, and the more he struggled, the rougher the cockroaches became.
Eventually, screaming in pain, Moon Geun-wo fell and was swept away by the wave of cockroaches, dragged into the inner part of the auditorium.
And so, most of the Non-Awakened were piled up in a corner of the auditorium.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Urmaeim Church, Ha Jin-ung, Ha Jin-woo, and Kang Hwa-yeong stood.
At the back entrance, Kang Eun-jeong, Hwang Soo-min, Kim Ye-won, and Kang Hee-seon were likely guarding it.
These were teams temporarily divided before Jang Jo-jun attacked this place. They split teams to block the entrance and clear out the interior, and to deal with demonic possessors, he put himself, Han A-ram, and Merhele in one team.
In the underground parking lot, only Jang Jo-jun, Mer, and Han A-ram remained; the others were moving inside the church to clear out remaining stragglers or capture slaves.
When asked how they planned to deal with the demonic energy of the demonic possessors, Jo-jun said it was fine to kill them before they turned into demons, ordering them to kill immediately if they showed even the slightest sign of transforming.
Thanks to that, a bloodbath was currently raging inside the church building.
Because they cut down anyone who looked even slightly suspicious, even Non-Awakened who weren't demonic possessors were being torn apart by Eun-ji and A-reum's attacks, and their heads were being smashed by Ha-rin's axe.
Thanks to Kang Hwa-yeong and Kim Ye-won, who were specialized in slaughtering the masses, guarding the front and back doors respectively, the damage was relatively less.
"Everyone, surrender!!!"
"Fuck!!! You there!! Hands behind your head!!! Do you want to die!"
Ha-rin and A-reum were moving around the building, dragging people out. They planned to let them into the auditorium as per Jo-jun's orders.
The dragged-out Non-Awakened were trembling with fear, while the Awakened were eyeing the opportunity to strike at their backs.
At that moment, just as Ha-rin and A-reum both turned their heads away for a moment, a Fighter class who had reached level 15 pulled out knuckles hidden in his pocket and tried to attack the back of A-reum's head.
Thwack!
In an instant, shadow daggers pierced his shoulders, legs, and abdomen.
It was the work of Eun-ji, who had been hiding in the darkness, concealing her presence, and watching their actions closely.
"Gurk..."
The man with the knuckles fell to his knees, blood pouring from his mouth, and those beside him screamed and collapsed.
"Everyone, stay still!!!"
When Han A-reum screamed at the top of her lungs, the people trembled and couldn't move.
They had already seen dozens of people recklessly charge at the women and get torn apart.
"Guh... Please... Please save me..."
The man who had tried to strike A-reum from behind begged while bleeding.
However, Seong Ha-rin, with an expressionless face, approached him quietly and spoke.
"You are confirmed to be a sacrifice. We told you not to resist."
Seong Ha-rin swung her axe and cut off the man's right hand.
"Gwaaaaah!!!!"
Jang Jo-jun had said. If they resist too much, just kill them or leave them alive only to offer them as sacrifices. With a warning not to get hurt or killed trying to capture them.
Moreover, having heard from the captured Central Association executive outside that there were only three hidden class Awakened, he had nothing to worry about.
"Gwuh-ah-ah-ah!!!!"
The man screamed, clutching his severed wrist.
If left like this, he would die from excessive bleeding in no time, but if Jo-jun came before then, he could be used as a sacrifice.
'That's good enough. Don't think about it. Just do as I'm told. Follow the Master's orders.'
Ha-rin thought that.
She too had suffered a lot right after the apocalypse started.
She felt a repulsion toward killing, and when she raided a supermarket in the first week, she had to vomit in the bathroom several times behind Jo-jun's back to comfort herself.
So much so that killing and robbing someone was a huge shock to her.
However, that was only once or twice; after repeating it several times, she became much desensitized to killing.
Instead of viewing it as a sin that should never be committed against fellow humans, she now saw it as a necessary means to survive.
In a world where someone's death has become commonplace, she couldn't remain soft forever.
Therefore, Seong Ha-rin decided to be ruthless instead.
She would only show kindness, consideration, and mercy to her companions who served the same Master, and regard everyone outside that fence as temporary enemies who would eventually have to be killed.
Thanks to that, she no longer vomited even after killing people or watching them die.
She had fully merged into the ruined world. And that was a change most people were experiencing, not just her.
"Get up. Otherwise, the next one is your head. Get up and walk quickly!!!"
"Guhk..."
Seong Ha-rin watched the man staggering to his feet and thought.
'Does this man know?'
'That even if he doesn't die now and follows us, he will eventually be offered as a human sacrifice anyway.'
'He probably doesn't.'
'He's following us because he has a sliver of hope that he might survive.'
'How foolish...'
Ha-rin moved forward again.
She had to gather the church survivors in the auditorium before Jo-jun returned.
That was the order she was given.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Kwakwang!!!!
An SUV parked in the parking lot exploded from a strong impact, and the demonic possessor standing next to it staggered and fell.
In that moment, Mer pierced through the flames and charged in, slicing the bastard's neck with her scythe.
Spurt!!!
Black blood gushed from the severed neck.
And so, another demonic possessor met its end. Next to her, Han A-rin was hammering a demonic possessor into minced meat, swinging her hammer repeatedly.
Despite clearly having a numerical advantage of 3 against 5, the demonic possessors were dying helplessly.
There was nothing they could do. Their attacks were all blocked and reflected by Jo-jun's twisted scales, and if they showed the slightest gap, the Abyss Maw would tear their limbs apart.
Moreover, there were two female warriors who attacked frantically if anyone tried to get even slightly close to the man who fired tentacles at precise timings and used strange skills indiscriminately.
The pink-haired woman, who took no damage from demonic energy and rather absorbed it, persistently dug in annoyingly and swung her hammer, and there was a foreigner with a staggering physique of 190cm who wielded a scythe freely and sliced necks whenever a slight opening was shown.
It was impossible for them from the start. The biggest weapon of the demonic possessors, demonic energy, was absorbed by Han A-rin first. Then there was Mer, who simply crushed the demonic energy and took their necks.
Moreover, the crazy man who tore limbs apart whenever there was a gap, grabbed ankles with tentacles, and blocked and reflected all ranged attacks—what exactly was he?
"Th... This... This isn't it... This... Ah. What is this..."
Less than 30 minutes had passed since the battle started.
The four high-ranking demonic possessors they had dragged up were already dead, turned into lumps of flesh.
At this, Daniel, who had lost his mind.
He had already had his limbs torn off several times and had been pulled by tentacles, crawling on the floor.
Every time he regenerated, his limbs were torn off again, and now he had no demonic energy left to restore his missing body.
Only his abnormally tenacious life force was saving him from death.
"Not much of a big deal?"
"You... You fucking bastard... You... You won't get away with this... All the demons will..."
"Demons? Ah demons? Bullshit. I'm a worshipper of the Evil God. I can't survive this harsh world if I fear something like demons."
"Wh... What? Evil God...? T-There was such a thing...?"
"Yeah. There are good gods too, didn't you know? By the way, this girl here is my eighth wipe, and she's a former angel. Amazing, right?"
"A... Are you crazy...? What the hell..."
"Enough. You, have you ever talked to the demon you worship?"
"Th... Those noble beings would never answer the questions of a lowly creature like me..."
The demon worshipper continued as if it were nonsense.
Not once had the demons answered his questions or inquiries.
Yet the man in front of him spoke as if he were quite close to the Evil Gods he worshipped.
Daniel couldn't understand it at all. Then Jang Jo-jun looked down at the struggling Daniel and sneered.
"Maybe it's just because you're too pathetic, and that's why they didn't answer you?"
Daniel felt dizzy. Where on earth had this demon-like man crawled out from?
"Guh... Th... That's impossible! No..."
Crunch!!
Jo-jun smashed Daniel's head before he could finish speaking. There was no information to extract from him. Also, he couldn't turn him into a slave or offer him as a sacrifice.
This young bastard, barely in his early 20s, was just a puppet who had taken a spot in this group by relying on his class.
Actual business was handled by a man named Moon Geun-wo and an old man named Yang Ji-sang.
"Hoo. Let's go up quickly. I'm worried about the others."
"Let's do that. Hey, A-ram? Are you coming or what?"
"J-Just a moment."
As they hurried to go up to the ground, A-ram was staring into empty space for a moment.
At the same time, something was reflected in Jo-jun's eyes as well.
📜 NEW QUEST 📜
[Slave Han A-ram has achieved an achievement! 'The Merit of the Half-Demon']
[Please select an achievement reward.]
[Demon Slayer has collected a sufficient amount of demonic energy.]
[Some of the previous generations' abilities engraved in the class are inherited!]
[The rampage caused by the Half-Demon's blood will decrease!]
[Furthermore, all types of shackles and restrictions currently placed on the Demon Hunter are lifted.]
[Warning!!! The Slave Mark on Player Han A-ram is being erased!!!]
"Damn it... Fuck..."
Jo-jun immediately distanced himself from Han A-ram.
She might still have lingering feelings about killing Han Tae-yang in her heart.
At the same time, Han A-ram dropped her hammer.
There was no benefit for her in fighting him.
She had already calculated everything in that short time.
If she antagonized or fought Jang Jo-jun here, she would definitely lose. There was no way to win.
The strength of his skills was beyond words, and furthermore, she had no confidence to block that red scythe of Merhele's. She herself knew that she was only strong against demons. She wasn't arrogant. Therefore, she recognized the situation accurately.
The moment she antagonized the man named Jang Jo-jun here, she would be killed, offered to some unknown beings, or enslaved again with a Slave Mark, and treated worse than livestock as a traitor.
She judged that it would be better to surrender first and enter his protection again rather than that.
It was true that Jang Jo-jun was the one who killed her younger brother, Han Tae-yang. However, it was Han Tae-yang and his group who attacked first.
Moreover, if asked if she was close to Han Tae-yang before the apocalypse... the truth is, they weren't very close.
Han Tae-yang was always wandering outside, and his personality didn't match hers at all.
They fought more than they got along. Rather, she was very close to A-reum. She still is.
It was just that in the ruined world, where family was the only thing to trust, she had grown a little closer to him than before.
Rather, she was more worried about A-reum.
If she attacked him now out of an unfounded desire for revenge... A-reum would really be left alone.
"I will submit. I have no intention of fighting."
Han A-ram even used polite language and knelt.
There was no pride or anything left.
Jo-jun didn't treat Han A-ram badly. Perhaps because he had a physical relationship with her, or for some other reason, he treated her equally with the other women.
Although he had killed her flesh and blood, he was also the man who had protected her and A-reum more than that.
As A-ram bowed her head and showed her will to submit, the phrase Jo-jun had seen once before appeared before his eyes.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
The opponent has submitted to you.
Han A-ram had inherited some of the power of a previous generation, or whatever it was, and the Slave Mark had been erased at that moment, so Jo-jun was quite worried. He thought he might not be able to stamp the mark anymore.
However, fortunately, it wasn't that he couldn't stamp the Slave Mark. It was just that all the curses, shackles, and domination-related skills currently active had been lifted.
"Haa..."
Jo-jun sighed, sweating cold sweat.
Then, he grabbed her chin to expose her forehead and stamped her again.
"Thank you. And you did well. That was a good choice. I'll treat you well from now on too."
"Th... Thank you..."
"It's fine. I want you to speak casually to me."
"Okay..."
Jo-jun pressed his lips to A-ram's forehead.
And he hugged her for a while.
He was worried that the situation might turn around.
He felt dizzy from the chilling sensation that he might have to dispose of a woman he had slept with several times with his own hands.
Jo-jun picked her up and dusted off the dirt on her body.
Even after that, A-ram was still trembling slightly, unable to relax, so he reached out his hand to her.
"Let's go out quickly. The others are waiting."
Han A-ram quickly grabbed his hand.
To survive. For her younger brother.
And for her own happiness.