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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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I watched them scurry away around the corner before finally sheathing my sword.
Swoosh!
I flicked the blade in the air, scattering the droplets of blood that clung to it.
A smear of crimson stained the wall.
I sheathed the sword and turned around.
Shing—click.
The residents of both houses had come outside and were watching me from their balconies and stairwells.
Their faces were…
some were smiling faintly, others looked relieved.
So-eun still seemed scared.
No one appeared to be injured.
I said as I walked towards the house,
“I’m hungry.
All I had yesterday were some leftover snacks.
Is there anything to eat?”
Soo-hyun, who had been smiling, said,
“Want some ramen?”
“Ramen sounds good. But I need to wash up first.”
I entered the house and went upstairs,
Soo-hyun patting my back as I climbed the stairs.
I chuckled.
“You’re getting blood on yourself.”
“It’s okay, I can wash it off. Come on,” she said, following me to my room.
Hmm.
Even with the others watching. They seemed to have accepted our relationship.
We undressed and showered together.
After washing off the blood, Soo-hyun knelt down and…
she was surprisingly enthusiastic.
She must have been impressed by what she had witnessed earlier.
After showering, we went downstairs, and Ye-eun immediately jumped up and headed towards the kitchen.
“I’ll make you some ramen.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Everyone was gathered in the main house—Grandma, So-eun, Hoon and his wife, the inline skaters, and the nurse grandma.
They were all looking at me, the atmosphere somewhat strange.
There was trust in their eyes.
…It was a bit overwhelming.
Grandma took my hand, patted my arm, and pulled me towards her.
“Sit down, young man. You’ve worked hard.”
“Thank you,” I replied, sitting down.
“Those awful people, coming to our house and causing such a commotion…
How could they do that?
What would we have done without you, young man?”
Hoon smiled and said,
“Mother, that’s why we need to move.
Let’s go without hesitation when Mr. Han says it’s time.”
Grandma clicked her tongue.
“Yes… well… we have to go, I suppose…
This house… my husband and I lived here for so long…
People are so cruel…
There’s nothing more terrifying than humans.”
“Thank you for earlier,” Jung Eun-seo said.
“We were so scared.”
I nodded.
“How are the men doing? Are they okay?”
“Yes, they’re much better than yesterday.
It doesn’t seem like any bones were broken.”
“That’s good,” I said, nodding.
Then, I looked around at everyone and said,
“About moving…
I’m clearing out the upper floors first.
It’ll probably take a few days.”
I looked at Hoon and Jung Eun-seo.
“In the meantime,
I’d like to gather and burn the bodies outside.
If we leave them like that,
they might cause a disease.”
The nurse grandma nodded.
“That’s true. Even bacteria and mold can be dangerous. We can’t go to the hospital now, so prevention is the best option.”
…Oh.
She seemed to have recovered quite a bit.
I was certain now;
she was the type of person
who gained strength from helping others,
just like the inline skaters.
Caring for the injured men
must have given her a renewed sense of purpose.
I nodded.
“Then let’s take care of the bodies later today.”
Hoon raised his hand.
“Sir, what about stripping the cars? Should we continue?”
I looked at Soo-hyun, who was sitting next to me.
“We should keep doing that, right?”
Soo-hyun nodded.
“Yes, aluminum is useful. Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk about.”
Everyone looked at Soo-hyun.
Soo-hyun continued,
“Since we’re moving anyway,
there’s no point in reinforcing this house any further.
I’d like to use the aluminum panels we’ve salvaged
to reinforce the walls and the entrance
of the hypermarket when we move.
What do you think?”
Hoon nodded.
“That makes sense.
We could use the shutters,
but they might not be enough to stop someone
from breaking in.”
Soo-hyun nodded.
“Right. So, it would be better to reinforce the shutters with aluminum panels and silicone.”
She looked at me.
Everyone looked at me.
…What did they want me to say?
I didn’t know anything about that kind of stuff.
I tilted my head slightly and nodded.
“Do what you think is best.
I’ll clear out the building, and you can handle the rest.”
“Okay.”
Soo-hyun smiled and patted my butt.
“We’ll help you collect the bodies,” Jung Eun-seo said.
Hoon smiled.
“Oh, thank you.
Then we’ll take care of the bodies and the cars, sir.
You should get some rest.
You didn’t even come back last night, and you worked so hard…”
He gestured vaguely at me, probably referring to the blood-soaked state I’d been in when I returned.
I smiled.
“We’re short-handed; I can’t just rest.
Let’s do it together.
We need to dispose of those bodies quickly.
The smell is coming in through the windows at night.”
Hoon smiled sheepishly and didn’t reply.
After lunch and a short rest,
we went out to collect the bodies.
There wasn’t anyone at the gas station.
I didn’t know why, but judging by the open door to the office, they must have left as soon as it happened.
We piled the bodies in the empty lot across from the coffee shop—the one I had cleared out earlier—and set them on fire.
Black smoke billowed into the sky.
It was quite a distance from the boarding house, but if the wind blew the wrong way, the house would be covered in soot.
Still, it was better than eating with the stench of rotting corpses in the air.
Except for the underground parking garage, I had cleared out the entire neighborhood.
I’d deal with the hundred-plus human beasts in the parking garage later.
We returned to the boarding house as the sun began to set.
Evening.
Just before 8:00 PM.
After dinner, I left the house and headed back to the hypermarket.
I had cleared up to the sixth floor, the PC room.
Only the seventh and eighth floors remained.
I activated Accelerate at the hypermarket’s side entrance and sprinted upstairs.
I was getting used to this.
“Hoo…”
I stopped on the fifth floor.
Carrying bodies and climbing stairs all day was tiring.
I needed a break.
I sat down on the steps, catching my breath, and lit a cigarette.
“Hoo…”
The smoke curled upwards.
It tasted good.
I pulled out my phone and opened my messages.
[I might be late tonight. Go to sleep without me.]
I pressed send, and Soo-hyun replied immediately.
[Be careful. Okay? Don’t get hurt.]
[Okay, I’ll contact you later.]
I had packed my bag with the snacks
the women had stocked in the rooftop room refrigerator—energy bars, hot bars, and bottles of water.
It was easier to move around with just my swords, but after yesterday, I figured I should carry some emergency rations.
Anyway, I hoped everything was okay.
I hoped those Cockroaches wouldn’t show up at the boarding house and cause trouble while I was gone.
I had warned them once;if they tried anything again, I wouldn’t hold back.
If they laid a finger on anyone, I’d kill them all.
Honestly, it was a waste of Accelerate charges, but if they pissed me off, they’d have to pay the price.
“Hoo…”
I’d rested for about five minutes.
That was enough.
I flicked the cigarette butt away and stood up, continuing up the stairs.
7th floor.
I leaned against the metal door and listened.
Rrrr… Rrrr…
…They were there.
I didn’t know how many or where they were.
What was on the seventh floor again?
I couldn’t remember.
I drew my swords.
Shing—
I carefully opened the metal door a crack.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
…There were quite a few.
The growls were louder on the left,
high-pitched…
female human beasts.
What was on this floor?
…Ah, the cooking academy.
And on the right…
the calligraphy academy.
The calligraphy academy didn’t seem very popular;the growls were faint.
Frosted glass and wooden walls.
I couldn’t see inside either of them.
…I’d clear out the one with fewer human beasts first, then the cooking academy.
I carefully walked down the hallway, trying to minimize the sound of my footsteps,
and drew my other sword.
Shing—
Two swords in hand, I slowly approached the calligraphy academy entrance.
Grrrr… Grrrr…
There were a few inside.
Not many.
Mostly women, it seemed.
“…Hoo… haa…”
I took a deep breath, pushed the glass door open with my shoulder,
and froze.
“Grrrr?!”
My mind went blank.
The human beasts all looked up at me.
…They were elementary school students.
“Gyaaagh! Gyaaagh!”
Accelerate.
[Auto-cast: Accelerate]
Calligraphy academy…
elementary school students…
Six or seven children, barely eight or nine years old, were charging towards me.
One with its eyes gouged out, another with a chunk of flesh missing from its arm, another with its neck bitten…
…I gritted my teeth and thrust my swords.
Thwack!
I activated Accelerate and eliminated all the human beasts in the calligraphy academy.
There was only one adult—an elderly woman.
I was still clumsy.
Even though I knew they weren’t human, weren’t even alive, seeing children like this made me freeze.
I always hesitated.
Damn it.
I had to get used to this.
Why were there children here in the middle of the day?
What about school?
…Ah…
summer vacation. Of course.
Ten of them.
I had used four Accelerate charges to kill just ten of them.
My initial hesitation had cost me.
“Hoo…”
Damn it, I needed a break.
This was awful.
I went into the empty office, sat down in the director’s chair, and leaned back.
Shing—click.
The sound of sheathing my swords was oddly comforting.
…Eight Accelerate charges left.
There were quite a few students in the cooking academy.
…I wouldn’t be going back tonight either.
[Soo-hyun, I don’t think I can make it back tonight. Go to sleep without me. I’ll be back in the morning.]
[ㅜㅜ…]
[Is everything okay at the house? How are the others doing?]
[We’re fine. Just come back safe. Stop worrying us.]
[^^]
I set my phone down and rested my chin on my hand.
My clothes were splattered with blood.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.
“…Hmm…”
I had to keep killing.
I shouldn’t let it bother me.
They weren’t children.
They weren’t even human.
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