The Apocalypse Has Been Downloaded – Chapter 37

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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We returned to the supermarket safely.

Eun-ji and Ha-rin, completely exhausted from the battle with the Killer Robber, went to wash up first. I assigned roles to the non-Awakened we brought from Daiso. The two men were assigned cleaning duty, and the two women were in charge of meals.

And Kang Ha-young, complaining of hunger, started sucking the teenager’s blood as soon as we arrived at the supermarket.

“But this guy isn’t waking up.”

Han Tae-yang was still unconscious. He didn’t even flinch when I nudged him with my foot. He was breathing though, and he let out faint groans when touched, but he was still out cold.

“Ah, stop it…”

Han Ah-ram stopped my foot with a disgusted look as I kept nudging her brother.

“Huh. Did you just stop me?”

“N-no. It’s not that. Damn it…”

Why was she afraid of me again?

Strangely, people tended to be afraid of me and avoid me when I smiled. Despite my stats increasing and becoming quite handsome, only Eun-ji and Ha-rin liked my smile.

“Unnie, what should we do with Oppa…?”

“I don’t know either… Um, is there a doctor here?”

Han Ah-ram asked me with a worried look. She, who had been staring at me with an indifferent expression, seemed to care deeply about her family.

It made me, an orphan with no family, feel a pang of loneliness.

“There’s no doctor here. I haven’t enslaved a doctor yet. I’d like to capture a doctor when I get the chance. A female doctor, perhaps. Heh heh.”

“Ah…”

“What should we do…?”

I couldn’t just stand here and watch them worry about this useless parasite.

I had to level up and had many things to do. I couldn’t waste precious time on a dying idiot.

“Whatever. You two go wash up now. He’ll probably wake up later.”

“Ugh…”

“Okay.”

Reluctantly, they left Han Tae-yang behind and went to the bathroom.

Han Ah-reum glared at me until the very end, as if cursing me.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

I licked my lips while staring at the two women’s retreating figures.

After leaving the women to wash up, I went up to the rooftop.

“Ah, Hyung-nim. I was watching you come in. Are those new slaves?”

“Yeah. Amazing, right? You guys don’t have to clean the rooftop anymore. I brought non-Awakened, so you can make them do it. And there are two women who are good at cooking too.”

“Mature women? Gulp… Wow! As expected of you, Hyung-nim!”

Ha Jin-seong, who was praising my achievements, told me that nothing had happened while we were gone.

But hearing him say that no one had come or gone, and that there weren’t many zombies around, made me feel uneasy.

‘It feels like the calm before the storm.’

I tried to suppress my anxiety and called Hwang Soo-min to retrieve the Archmage’s Earrings. I had only lent them to her, not given them to her, since she had the most firepower and needed to protect the supermarket while I was gone. Hwang Soo-min looked dejected when I took back the Green Mana Stone Ring as well.

I didn’t take back the Oak Staff though. Hwang Soo-min was the only one here who could use it.

‘Now, I should give the Green Mana Stone Ring to Ha-rin and the earrings to Eun-ji.’

Since Ha-rin, who mainly engaged in direct combat, moved around a lot, I would give her the Green Mana Stone Ring. And since Eun-ji frequently used skills, I would give her the earrings.

I didn’t need them. I had more than enough Magic.

“Now then… Let’s wash up…”

It was time to savor the Han sisters. I was tired, but I wasn’t going to just sleep with a virgin right in front of me.

I didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, so I had to eat the delicious things first. It would be frustrating if I saved them for later and then something happened.

Of course, I wasn’t just thinking about mindless sex. The Han sisters were new additions to my slave harem, so I had to carefully examine their classes and choose their skills. That should take up the rest of the day.

‘I have more than ten Awakened people. Come at me…’

Thinking that, I went to wash up, completely unaware of what was coming.

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Dawn, the third floor of a villa.

Creak!

A door that had been closed for over a week, untouched by anyone, creaked open, its rusty hinges groaning.

The room was dark, with blackout curtains blocking out any sunlight.

A single ray of light finally entered the stuffy, musty space.

Thud. Thud.

A man, armed from head to toe with items obtained from countless special zombies and named monsters, cautiously entered the room.

“Hee-sun… I’m home.”

He greeted the woman bound by chains.

“Groooan…!”

The chained zombie responded ferociously. Clang! Clang! Groooan!!!

The woman, who once called his name with the most beautiful smile, was now a broken zombie. Smelling the scent of the approaching man’s flesh, she violently struggled to break free from the chains.

But the tightly bound chains wouldn’t budge, only tearing at the zombie’s rotting flesh.

The man sighed deeply and lamented.

“Sigh… Hee-sun, stop it.”

He slowly approached the zombie and removed the white mask he had been wearing for days.

His face, revealed from beneath the mask, was covered in hideous scars and wounds, and was barely recognizable.

Countless scars, including a deep cut from his right forehead to his chin, marked his face.

Although it hadn’t even been two weeks since the apocalypse began, his face was strangely scarred. The scars and wounds showed how many battles he had fought in such a short time. And they also showed that he hadn’t been killing just zombies.

He hadn’t taken care of himself since she had turned into a zombie.

He had just been relentlessly pursuing his goal. And now, his efforts were finally about to bear fruit.

“Hee-sun. I brought people who will fight with me today. They all received the same revelation as I did. But I didn’t bring them in. You would be embarrassed if you had too many guests. They’re all waiting on the first floor.”

“Groan… Groooan… Clang. Clang clang.”

The man spoke to the zombie with a wistful gaze.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to return here if he failed, he thought that this might be their last meeting.

Therefore, he wanted to talk to her as much as possible, just like in the past.

Even though she couldn’t understand him, he still spoke to her.

He faced her… what was once her… to reaffirm his resolve to never give up, no matter what hardship came his way.

“There’s a bad person. They say that the world will become a more peaceful place if I kill him. I’ve already killed many people, but… this opponent will be more difficult.”

“Groan… Kyaa… Clang. Clang clang. Groooan!”

It was the ‘Goddess of Hope’ who had taken him in when he was losing his mind and dying.

She had whispered to him, ‘The servant of evil has appeared on this land.’

The man had asked what that had to do with him.

Then she had warned him, ‘If you leave that being alone, everyone will fall into hell.’

Of course, the man hadn’t listened. He was already in hell.

Nevertheless, the goddess had repeatedly urged him, ‘You must kill that wicked being and contribute to the salvation of humanity and world peace.’

The man had completely shut his ears. He didn’t care about world peace.

Finally, to the man who had closed his ears and was about to die, the Goddess of Hope had whispered that she would grant him ‘one wish’ if he accomplished this feat.

She had said that she would do her best, even if it meant resurrecting the dead.

Thus, the goddess had forcibly mended his shattered heart and lit a small spark of hope. As a result, the man had burned with fighting spirit, slaughtering his enemies like a madman.

“If I finish this… then she said… then she said she would bring you back. So… let’s just endure it a little longer… Okay, Hee-sun…?”

He wasn’t looking at a zombie that had lost its mind and only craved the flesh and blood of the living.

The man was looking at something far beyond that. It was a delusion created by the memories and love deeply embedded in his heart.

He was looking at his one and only ‘love,’ whom he had once loved so passionately, promised to grow old with, and eventually gave his everything to.

The man wasn’t looking at a mindless zombie trying to devour him.

He was looking at his beautiful ‘wife.’

“Sun-ah… Hee-sun…”

He carefully examined the zombie’s face, which was still unrecognizable and only let out strange groans.

It was very difficult to find traces of the past in the zombie’s rotting face, but to him, she looked more beautiful than anything.

Looking at his beloved’s face, he reminisced about the past.

Their innocent school days, walking hand in hand and whispering sweet nothings.

In their small room, lying face to face while whispering “I love you” and kissing each other.

And her warm embrace while smiling brightly, and hugging him despite his awkward and clumsy proposal.

“Groooan…”

The zombie’s groan brought him back to reality.

The reality that unfolded before him was stark despair.

Reality was so harsh and cruel that it could crush your heart and leave you unable to stand back up again.

Looking at his wife’s face, now completely rotted and even harder to recognize, the man remembered the day he hadn’t been there for her.

The regretful moments of that day replayed in his mind, tormenting him.

That night, the day the apocalypse began, came back to him with sickening vividness.

That day, his wife had wished that he would come home early.

He had casually replied to her text, saying he would be late because he was busy.

He had sensed that something was wrong and rushed home, but by then, it was almost too late.

The front door was wide open, and he heard his wife’s screams from the bedroom.

‘Hee-sun!!!’

‘Kyaaa…! H-here!’

His wife, attacked by a zombie, reached out to him for help.

Her arm had already been bitten.

Even as he watched her writhing in pain while transforming into a zombie, he was momentarily paralyzed by fear and couldn’t do anything.

He stopped, unable to approach her, denying reality while saying it couldn’t be happening.

Then, he finally came to his senses and ran to save his wife.

But by then, she had completely turned into a zombie.

He was too late. He had lost everything in a matter of minutes.

If only he had come home ten minutes earlier, no, even just one minute earlier. Or if he had run to her the moment he received her text.

Could he have saved her? Could they have been together?

He cursed himself.

“Ugh…”

The man swallowed the rising nausea as the memories of that day resurfaced.

He forcibly suppressed his self-loathing and guilt for not saving his wife. He couldn’t afford to wallow in regret now.

Yet, he still thought, a thought he had repeated countless times.

If only he could turn back time.

If only he could go back to that day.

He would have never left her side.

No matter what happened, even if it meant dying together, he would have spent that day embracing her. He regretted it endlessly.

“Yes, Hee-sun. If I just finish this… we’ll… live together again.”

The man gently extended his right hand towards the zombie without a hint of hesitation or fear.

Towards the grotesque zombie, now devoid of reason, and only driven by its instinct to crave the flesh and blood of the living.

Crack!

Crunch. Munch. Crack…

The zombie lunged at the man’s approaching hand and bit down mercilessly.

It bit, chewed, and swallowed. It greedily devoured the man’s rough fingers.

The man, offering his right hand to the zombie, didn’t even frown.

He simply offered his hand with a gentle smile for the woman he loved.

He didn’t even wince as his hand was being chewed on and torn apart.

He simply endured it.

He thought that she, who had waited for him all alone, must have been in even more pain, more agony, more hardship, more suffering, more loneliness, and more fear.

He swallowed the excruciating pain that made his teeth clench. Pain was something he was very familiar with now.

He extended his left hand, which hadn’t been bitten yet, and stroked the zombie’s decaying hair as if caressing his beloved’s head.

With bloodstained hands, he caressed the head of the woman he loved, loves, and will forever love.

“No matter what, I’ll bring you back.”

Tears no longer flowed from the man’s eyes.

His heart, whose tear ducts had dried up at some point, was cold and empty.

“So… wait for me.”

He stood up and moved away from the zombie.

His severed right hand slowly regenerated.

Bones grew, muscles attached, and his hand returned to its original state where his bitten fingers had been. ‘Limb Regeneration,’ a skill he obtained at level 13.

He could now regenerate lost fingers and toes as long as he had enough mana.

He had also obtained a sacred body that wouldn’t turn into a zombie even if bitten thanks to ‘Poison Immunity,’ a skill he had obtained at level 15.

Now he could caress his beloved’s head as much as he wanted.

Therefore, before the battle that might be his last, the man had finally visited his neglected wife.

“I will… I will ‘definitely’ bring you back to normal. Without fail. I will bring you back…”

He repeatedly muttered the same words to his childhood friend and only love, to whom he had given his pure heart and love, and from whom he had received the same.

It was a desperate vow, a resolution, and a firm promise.

There was no room for failure.

Kill the target.

And get his wife back.

He would no longer waver.

He had obtained a mind as solid as a rock and the strength to face even death without flinching.

“Then, I’ll be back.”

The door closed again. The man put his mask back on as he left the house.

In the dark room, only a zombie remained, groaning desperately as if trying to hold onto her husband, who was leaving for a place of death.

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“You’re late.”

“I apologize, Reverend.”

A man in a tattered suit and holding an Ankh-shaped cross approached him.

His name was Park Gi-hoon. He was once a pastor of a cult, but after the apocalypse, he had Awakened as a true ‘Priest’ and became a genuine reverend.

“Damn it. I told you not to call me Reverend.”

He now hated being called ‘Reverend.’ He was the team’s de facto leader, but he was sick and tired of being called Reverend.

“Understood, Pastor.”

“Damn it… I’m not a pastor anymore either.”

Behind him stood several other armed individuals.

They were all players with a common goal, and although they each worshipped different gods, they were all ‘players’ belonging to the good god faction.

“Mister. What’s with that wound on your hand? Should I heal it?”

“No. It’s already regenerated.”

Kim Ye-won, a girl with flowing golden hair, asked while looking at the man’s bleeding hand.

She held an ancient scripture of unknown origin and a mace covered in zombie blood and flesh. Having Awakened as a ‘Saint Maiden,’ even her hair color had changed. She was the most blessed member of the team.

She was called the ‘Saint.’

Of course, while she was called a girl, she was well into her twenties, but everyone treated her like a child because of her youthful beauty.

“Really? Then let’s hurry then. It’s time for the damn ‘heretic hunt.’”

Just then, Kang Chan-seok, a bald, muscular man, butted into the conversation, trying to show off in front of Kim Ye-won.

He was also a powerful individual who had reached level 15 and obtained ‘Poison Immunity,’ and he had Awakened as a ‘Monk,’ gaining a strong physique.

“Yeah, let’s go. I apologize for making you all wait.”

The man slightly bowed to those who had been waiting for him.

They responded with trusting smiles. The man was a reliable vanguard and a battle-crazed berserker.

The eight-member death squad, gathered to kill the evil god worshipper, each armed and with a common goal, marched forward relentlessly. Each imagining a different future, resolving to create a better world, and to reclaim what they had lost.

‘I will kill you… Cultist.’

The man caught sight of the supermarket building in the distance. His name was Lee Han-seok, Awakened as a ‘Holy Knight.’ He was a level 15 paladin with the fighting spirit of a berserker.

A paladin ‘never’ falls.

He would crush everything that stood in his way.

And simply move forward.

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T/N – Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets! Who do you think will win? Honestly, I really can’t see how the MC will win this one. All 8 champions are level 15 and sound really OP. The Holy Knight alone with limb regeneration sounds like a pain to deal with. I thought the author would send some mooks to the MC, considering how these types of stories tend to go, but he surprisingly sent out an A-team at the get-go.

Well, let’s be real though. The MC will either win this somehow or lose but survive. But I find myself rooting for the good guy team, especially the Holy Knight. This just goes to show the author has the skills to write about a compelling character, he just chose to write about a scumbag MC instead. 😅

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