Chapter 9. Outside the Shelter.
Chapter 9. Outside the Shelter.
"The old man used to help out whenever something broke in my studio apartment, and after going through all this together, we ended up getting close. And that eventually led to me meeting you."
Honestly, I could understand why Chaeyeon wanted to follow me. But why was the old man coming along?
It wasn't that I thought he'd be useless. I was just genuinely curious. I figured I should ask him directly.
"Alright... once we get things sorted out here, we'll all go together."
After finishing my long talk with Chaeyeon, I returned to my group and told them we'd be leaving.
"Sir, honestly, just getting us this far is more than we deserve... but would it be okay if we came with you?"
"Why do you all want to follow me? Wouldn't it be safer to stay here?"
None of them looked away. Every single face was set with determination.
"Of course, we know the people in charge here are good people... but I guess you could call it a gut feeling. We feel like we should follow you, Sir. Haha..."
"Well, suit yourselves."
After that, I went to find the soldiers who had been on the operation with us, along with Kim Ji-hee.
"Miss Ji-hee, we're leaving now."
"Yes, I know. Please take care of yourselves."
"Are you planning to stay here, Miss Ji-hee?"
"Honestly, Mr. Sihu, you contributed more than anyone to the operation. But people are only going to get hurt from here on out. I intend to stay and put my abilities to use."
Frankly, having a medic with the group would be a huge asset, but it wasn't something I could force.
I said my goodbyes to everyone I'd gotten to know, then gathered up the people who would be in my party from here on out and had them introduce themselves.
"We'll leave the day after tomorrow. Wrap up whatever you need to sort out by tomorrow, and we'll head out the morning after."
"Have you decided on a destination?"
"For now, we won't be heading straight there, but our primary destination is Daejeon."
The single biggest reason I chose Daejeon was Chaeyeon.
Chaeyeon's parents are there. I'd asked the others, but none of them seemed to have any idea where their own families were.
According to Chaeyeon, her parents have enough food to last several months and seem to be somewhere safe, so it wasn't as urgent as it could have been.
"And as we go, I'll help each of you grow stronger."
As soon as my group heard that, they couldn't hide their excitement. They looked at me with undisguised anticipation.
I let out a short laugh at the sight of them.
We broke up to take care of our own tasks, but then a soldier approached me.
"Someone wants to see you. I was sent to pass that along."
Normally Captain Lee Gyu-seok would handle that. Is he busy right now?
I nodded and followed the soldier.
We aren't heading to the situation room. Where exactly are we going?
The place the soldier led me to had Colonel Park Jeong-geun, a handful of other officers, and one civilian.
On the table where they sat were alcohol and cigarettes.
And from how well-fed they looked, their complexions were clearly different from the survivors outside.
One of the civilians stepped forward, started talking, and offered a handshake.
"Ha ha! So you're the Cheon Sihu who distinguished himself during the operation. I hear you can move supplies with ease, and your combat strength is formidable!"
I stared at him. Behind that smooth smile, the emotion I could read was pure greed.
I can see exactly what he's thinking. Fine, let's just play along for now.
"Yes, I'm Cheon Sihu. You asked to see me, so I stopped by for a moment."
"I heard you're planning to leave. How about staying here instead?"
"I'm not sure what you mean. I intend to leave."
"Now, now. If a man has great power, he ought to exercise a little patriotism and use it for his country! I'll have you know, I'm a former National Assembly member!"
There were bastards like this on Titan, too. The type who, long after their country had collapsed, still clung to the glory and status of the past, acting like they were still someone important.
"I only agreed to help one time, and I made it clear up front that I was leaving afterward."
In an instant, he lost control of his emotions. His face flushed red with anger.
"Young man, you can't just abandon your duty! I heard that Mister Chu and that mage woman are going with you. Does any of this make sense?! If you absolutely must go, then at least leave behind all those items in that strange space of yours."
Was this bastard genuinely insane? I let my killing intent flare for a split second.
"You've clearly mistaken polite speech for me being some kind of fucking pushover. You have no right to demand a thing from me. The only reason I took part in that operation was out of my own consideration."
"In difficult times like these, if a strong person like you would step up and help, everyone would have it much easier!"
"Hey. Why don't you just come out and say what you really mean? You want me to go get food, kill zombies, and follow your orders like a good dog. Don't you dare dress it up as duty or patriotism, you piece of trash."
"..."
"What were you people doing while we were out on that operation? Did you even show your faces to wish us a safe return?"
"And the other survivors outside are getting the bare minimum rations just so they don't starve to death, but you all look awfully well-fed and rosy, don't you?"
I split the table clean in half, then turned to leave the room, leaving them in a stunned silence.
— Bang!
I could feel the killing intent behind it, so I simply flicked the bullet away.
"No matter where you go, there are always bastards who can't do a damn thing but are bursting with pride, drunk on their own past."
— Slice!
I severed both arms of that piece of trash in an instant.
"Gaaah!!! Grk...!!!"
"Wh-what is the meaning of this?!"
"You bastard, what do you think you're doing?!"
"Unbelievable. You're saying that after you just shot at the back of my head?"
Honestly, I felt like killing every last one of those disgusting bastards. People like that do nothing but rot a shelter from the inside.
I left the room. As I went, I planted a thread of energy into each of their hearts.
At worst, they'd be dead from a heart attack within a week.
If someone here can manipulate mana better than I can and dispel it, they might just survive.
I pushed down the foul mood and went to eat with the others.
Over the meal, I told the group what had just happened.
"Sihu, I did know there was someone here who was supposedly an assemblyman or whatever. But I had no idea he'd pull something like this."
"Doesn't matter the group. The moment it gets big enough, you'll find trash like that. And it's because of people like him that the whole group suffers."
We'd just finished eating when Colonel Park Jeong-geun showed up.
"Mr. Sihu, I'm sorry. I knew that man was unreasonable, but I never imagined it would go this far. I have no words to express how deeply I regret this."
Colonel Park and Captain Lee Gyu-seok, who was beside him, both bowed their heads in apology.
Honestly, it wasn't their fault. If someone directly harms others, you can just kick them out. But what can you do when all they do is wag their tongues behind people's backs?
"It's fine. In any case, as I've said, we'll be leaving soon."
* * * * * * * *
"Mr. Sihu, please stay safe. Take very good care of yourself."
"Yes. I hope you all stay healthy, too. We'll be going now."
And just before turning to leave, I added,
"Colonel Park, I'm sure you'll lead this shelter well."
If fate ever connects us again, maybe I'll see them once more. That is, if they're still alive by then.
Taking the few weapons they'd provided for us, we received their send-off and finally stepped outside.
"For now, we'll keep moving and resupply as we go. I can carry everything, so don't worry about how much we take."
"Are you going to use the same method as last time when you gathered supplies?"
"Yes. Also, I'm not actually an Awakened."
"So you're not an Awakened but an ordinary person, and you have that kind of power?"
"I told you before we left that I'd help you all grow stronger."
Anyway, even if I tried to explain it now, they wouldn't understand.
Once we're settled in somewhere and I share a bit of my memories, they'll start to get it.
Of course, if I dumped all nine hundred years of memories into their heads at once, their brains would melt. I'd have to show them only the major events.
After we'd walked for a while, zombies unlike any we'd seen before started showing up in numbers.
"All of you, just confirm roughly what level I'm at. Consider that a target to aim for going forward."
- Chaos Sword Technique: Draw
— Whoom!
There wasn't even the sound of cutting.
Behind me, everything that had existed ahead — the streetlights, the cars, even the zombies — was split cleanly into upper and lower halves.
I spun the mana in my heart and stretched out my hand.
Behind me, more than fifty spears of fire materialized.
— Kabooooom!!!
"You can make a rough guess. That was swordsmanship and magic. It's not something I gained from a System like you all have. It's power I earned purely through my own effort and training."
My group had just witnessed something so absurd they couldn't find a single word.
"Ultimately, any group that relies entirely on a single person collapses the moment that person is gone. So I intend to pass on a fair amount to each of you as well."
"Are you... even human?"
"Sihu, what is this...?"
"..."
"Sir..."
"I know this isn't easy for any of you to accept all at once. But you need to start getting used to it."
That entity that was leading the horde when we retook the base.
But that level of intelligence isn't enough to lead them properly.
There's definitely another entity in charge.
And it's an unsettling thought, but the zombies were changing, too.
Usually, my unsettling thoughts have a way of turning out to be right. That instinct had saved my life more than once or twice.
We set up a fairly large church as our base, then gathered together so I could tell them about myself.