The Apocalypse Has Been Downloaded – Chapter 36

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Damn it…! Gah!!!”

The Killer Robber, failing to block the massive tentacle, took a direct hit.

He coughed up blood and flew at least three meters out of the Daiso entrance like he was hit by a dump truck.

‘It actually worked!’

Seeing the Killer Robber’s smile wiped off his face made me feel incredibly relieved. His smirking face had been annoying, but his pain-twisted expression was much more bearable to me.

[That’s mine. I’m going to eat that, understand?]

“Ah, yes. I-I’ll give him to you. I will.”

As soon as I promised to give him to her, Kashnax seemed satisfied and retreated while smacking her lips. The buzzing in my head faded, the throbbing headache subsided, and the divine pressure crushing me lessened.

Of course, the lingering gaze, as if she was still staring intently at every inch of my body, remained, but I could now tolerate it.

‘So, NPCs can be offered as sacrifices too.’

I hadn’t imagined that even NPCs could be offered. The freedom was astounding.

‘As long as they’re sentient, anything can be offered as a sacrifice. Then, would infants and toddlers, who lack full sentience, be considered eligible? Probably not.’

Only beings with sentience could be offered. Those who lacked it or had insufficient sentience were highly unlikely to be considered as sacrifices.

“Ugh! I’ll kill you…”

Before I could continue pondering about human sacrifices, the Killer Robber quickly recovered from the shock and tried to get up.

I immediately used the Oral Summoning spell I had prepared.

“Al-la-kum-Pluto!”

This was the only chance for Oral Summoning to work now that his posture was broken.

There was no way he would fall for the same trick twice. He wouldn’t be fooled by the twisted tentacle, the so-called “large tentacle,” again.

So, I had to seize that menacing handcannon before the Killer Robber, who was currently lying on the ground, could regain his footing and stance.

That insane weapon was a huge threat with no clear way to block it, and a single hit could be fatal.

Judging by how Han Tae-yang had been knocked out cold with a single shot, and it even shattered his sword, no one here besides me could block that handcannon.

“R’lyeh!”

I launched another large tentacle with my left hand to keep him in check as he tried to regain his stance while I controlled the mouth I summoned with my right hand.

My target was, of course, his left arm holding the handcannon.

‘I’ll chew and swallow that arm along with the handcannon.’

Rip…!

The robber managed to deflect the incoming large tentacle with his dagger despite his awkward posture.

Darkness flickered to the left of the robber, who had barely managed to deflect my attack.

Fragments of the Abyss quickly coalesced, forming a horrifying maw.

Crunch!!!

“Argh!!!”

After swallowing the severed arm, the abyssal maw quickly dispersed as if its task was complete.

The Killer Robber, his arm suddenly bitten off, screamed in agony while clutching his bleeding left shoulder, and quickly fled.

He ran away without looking back, seemingly terrified. He must have figured that he would die to the tentacles if he continued fighting me in his one-armed state.

It was a wise decision, though it was a frustrating one for me.

‘Damn poison smoke.’

I wanted to chase after him, but if I took even one more step forward, I would enter the yellow poison cloud, whose effects were unknown.

If I tried to push through the spreading yellow poison fog and got paralyzed or something, it would be a disaster. I had to go around through the path Han Ah-reum had created, but I was afraid that the robber would escape too far by then. So, I quickly gave orders to those who were already outside.

“Catch that bastard!!! Don’t let him get away! And I’ll be the one to kill him! Do you understand?!”

“Yes, Oppa!”

“Understood, Master!”

Now that I had severed his left arm along with the handcannon, they should be able to capture him even without me.

The Killer Robber’s greatest threat wasn’t his exceptional physical abilities, nor was it his incredibly fast dagger skills, but that damn handcannon. Since I had ripped off his arm along with the handcannon, which was difficult to block or counter unless you had my tentacles, he was now just a one-armed cripple.

Eun-ji and Ha-rin, who had already escaped the poison, were chasing after him before I even gave the order.

As expected, they were quick to understand. I was pleased to see Eun-ji and Ha-rin chasing after him the moment he fled.

Yeah, we couldn’t let the prey we had cornered escape.

‘If we let him escape here, Kashnax will think I’m an idiot. My favorability with her might even decrease…’

If I failed miserably after she had even come down and taught me how to use the tentacles, she might see me as trash.

What would happen if I lost the favor of an evil god after having gained it? I was too scared to even imagine. She might try to devour me as punishment for disappointing her.

‘Kashnax might actually try to devour me…’

So, I couldn’t let him escape. And I couldn’t let anyone else kill him either.

I had to kill him with my own hands and offer him as a sacrifice. Since Kashnax desperately wanted to devour that bastard, as her servant, I had no choice but to fulfill her wish. I had to feed the hungry evil god to survive.

“Damn it… Oppa… I’m sorry.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry, Tae-yang.”

Han Ah-ram, carrying the bleeding Han Tae-yang, gritted her teeth and threw him onto the ground.

Han Tae-yang, who had fainted during the fight with the Killer Robber, was nothing but baggage, so it was a natural decision.

The two apologized to the writhing Han Tae-yang and quickly ran after the Killer Robber. They were struggling with the fact that they had to abandon their family because of my order.

Of course, I didn’t care whether they struggled or not. I was only concerned with whether they could capture him.

‘With four of them, they might be able to catch him.’

Meanwhile, Kang Ha-young, seemingly defying my order again, stood still while frowning as she looked back and forth between me and the non-Awakened.

“Why aren’t you going after him and just standing there?”

“Th-these people… We’re leaving them behind? We can’t do that. These people… if we abandon them… Blood… Ugh…”

As punishment for defying my order, Kang Ha-young’s white skin was marked with bulging veins, and blood trickled from her nose and ears. She had bitten her lip so hard that it was bleeding, and the blood vessels in her eyes had burst, staining them red.

Her body was trembling as she desperately resisted my order, even at the risk of her life.

‘She’s doing this because she’s afraid that the non-Awakened will die to the zombies that will gather here if we leave.’

Having witnessed my ruthlessness, Kang Ha-young must have thought I would abandon them in my haste.

‘I wouldn’t abandon valuable slaves in a situation where survivors are scarce.’

I had a realization while watching the slaves cleaning the rooftop today.

‘Someone has to clean the toilets. And having Awakened people do such chores is a significant waste of combat power.’

I needed laborers who would work their asses off for my comfortable life.

Of course, the old man I had just sent to hell and the useless fatty who only knew Japanese were exceptions.

Those who displeased me or seemed useless had to be eliminated early and offered as sacrifices.

I had no intention of feeding and caring for useless parasites.

Saving humanity was far from my goal, and I had thrown away things like humanity and compassion the day I realized the apocalypse had come and obtained the Slave Brand.

But Kang Ha-young’s reason for protecting the non-Awakened was even simpler than mine.

She wasn’t protecting them out of humanity or compassion.

It was simply a beastly resistance to protect her food source.

That was how strong her thirst and craving for blood were. She didn’t usually defy me, but she was particularly uncompromising when it came to food. Did she think it was better to die than to not drink blood? It was chilling to see her resisting like this, even defying my order to not do self-harm.

“You don’t have to chase after him. Just protect these people.”

“Yes…”

As soon as I rescinded the order to chase the Killer Robber and gave her a separate order to protect these people, Kang Ha-young relaxed and nodded. She looked satisfied, having protected her food source.

The middle-aged man, the two women, and the kid looked relieved at my words.

They had been frozen in fear, unable to move, during the intense battle. I wondered again how such people had managed to survive until now.

“What are you staring at!? Get out!”

“Y-yes!”

I sighed as I watched them scramble out of the Daiso, where the yellow poison fog was spreading. They were truly a displeasing bunch. Passive and indolent.

They were probably parasites who had barely survived by leeching off this place, but I was relieved that they were at least moving quickly now that they were branded.

If I had known that the slaves I would acquire here were such useless people, I would have tried harder to save at least a few of the thugs last night.

Even those thugs, with their shitty personalities, were quicker and more useful than these ones.

Thinking that, I climbed through the broken window.

Then I looked down at Han Tae-yang, who was still sprawled on the asphalt.

‘He’s still alive?’

Han Tae-yang was lying down where Han Ah-ram had thrown him. He was barely breathing, but I didn’t know when his breath would stop.

None of the four parasites who had escaped earlier tried to help Han Tae-yang, who was writhing on the ground.

They just clung to Kang Ha-young, who had protected them, while looking around to see if any zombies were coming. They were only focused on their own safety. That was probably how they had survived until now.

Selfishness was one of the most important virtues in this ruined world.

Meanwhile, Kang Ha-young couldn’t take her eyes off Han Tae-yang. Her gaze wasn’t gentle. It was like a beast eyeing its prey. She was just licking her lips while looking at the blood flowing from Han Tae-yang’s body.

I nudged him with my foot to examine him. His eyes were rolled back, and he was convulsing, as if he was about to die from shock.

“Damn bastard.”

Should I offer him as a sacrifice right now? Kashnax would probably like him, considering his quality.

Or I could just tell Kang Ha-young to eat him.

Judging by how she was gulping right now, she was dying to suck his blood.

‘No, I can’t kill him yet. He has to watch his sisters being ravaged by me with his own eyes.’

Han Tae-yang might be happier dying here than surviving.

‘I can’t let him break before I’ve properly played with him.’

“Shud-Sera-Akam.”

I healed his gaping wounds. Flesh forcibly regenerated due to the skill’s effect, and the embedded metal shards within his body popped out.

My skill won’t replenish the lost blood, but at least the wounds were closed, so he wouldn’t die immediately.

“Gah…”

Han Tae-yang groaned and foamed at the mouth. His body trembled even more violently as his wounds healed, as if he was still feeling the pain despite being unconscious.

“All done.”

I had forcibly brought Han Tae-yang back from the brink of death.

There might be aftereffects, but that wasn’t something I could control.

If there were aftereffects, I could just use him as a toy to increase Indikron’s favorability and then offer him as a sacrifice.

‘Yeah, you’re going to be my despair toy to increase Indikron’s favorability. For Indikron, who enjoys human despair, I’ll break you completely.’

I left Han Tae-yang with the middle-aged man, who was trembling excessively, perhaps because we were outside, and approached the area where the battle was still raging.

Fortunately, the Killer Robber wasn’t dead yet. He was rampaging, overwhelming the four women with just one arm. They hadn’t captured him yet, probably because they were running low on Magic and couldn’t use their skills properly.

“Graaa!!!”

Han Ah-ram, who had barely blocked the Killer Robber’s dagger with her warhammer, was flung backward. Eun-ji and Ha-rin, who tried to take advantage of the opening, were also knocked to the ground by his kicks.

The Killer Robber easily dodged the metal ball from Han Ah-reum’s chain-sickle and lunged at the fallen Han Ah-ram to finish her off. I unleashed some tentacles at him when I saw his wide-open stance.

“R’lyeh.”

Thud!!!

The Killer Robber, ambushed by the mass of tentacles, was hit hard in the side, coughed up blood violently, and rolled onto the ground.

He couldn’t get up, vomiting for a long time, then glared at me.

“Gah… cough… Fuck… You cowards… Ganging up on me…”

“You should have called your friends too.”

“Damn bastard… Just kill me…”

Perhaps he judged that he couldn’t win anymore, so he readily admitted defeat.

“Good choice. I’ll mercifully offer you as a ‘human sacrifice.’”

“What? W-wait, human sacrifice? What the…!”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

The tentacles had tightened around his throat and choked him.

“Mmm…! Mmm!!! N-no!!!”

“I offer this to you, Lady Kashnax…!”

Crack!!!

The Killer Robber’s body was crushed and mangled into a lump of flesh.

I picked up the worn-out hiking hat as I listened to the level-up notifications of my slaves. It was a dirty, smelly hat with holes in it.

Now I had another reason to meet a peddler. I had to return this to them since it would increase their favorability.

Perhaps the Killer Robber was a fairy who had come to me to give me this gift.

As I was having such strange thoughts and offering silent condolences to the dead robber, I heard the sound of something being chewed, along with Kashnax’s excited voice.

It seemed like she was savoring the taste of the robber she had just devoured.

[Crunch… Gulp.]

[Mmm. Sweet.]

That was all.

Judging by the joy in her voice, she must have enjoyed it.

‘Crazy bitch… Creepy.’

Did she make those sounds on purpose to creep me out?

‘I heard that in Japan, you’re supposed to slurp when something is delicious…’

Was she making those sounds as a thank you?

As expected of the worst evil god, even her seemingly innocent actions felt malicious to me.

And at some point, I had started referring to the tentacle monster as ‘she.’

‘I’m going crazy too.’

I was exhausted. I wanted to go back and rest.

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T/N – Hmmm… So NPCs can also be sacrificed. That opens up so many possibilities. Does that mean they can be slave marked as well? Then what about enemies once sentient ones start popping out?

Also, the MC is really f*cked up for even thinking of sacrificing a baby. Though I doubt he’ll actually meet some in this story, what with the apocalypse.

Lastly, F for Han Tae-yang. Only reason he’s still alive is for the MC’s favorability farming. The MC was correct. He would have been better off if he had died to the Killer Robber’s shot.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.