Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Da-jeong and I took a short break at the shelter and then crossed over to Japan. However, when we arrived at Ikebukuro Station, we couldn’t find Seokhyun and Geom-in anywhere.

“I’m pretty sure they told me that they stay around here.”

Me and Da-jeong went to the offices of the Parco department store and did some scouting. Tokyo, just like Seoul, had turned into a dense jungle. Numerous monsters and animals roamed around while a handful of survivors were hiding here and there,

“It’s hot… Do you have any ice left?” Da-jeong said as she moved her hand to fan herself while sitting on a plastic chair.

“I’m not the one who made it, it’s looted.” I said before pouring some ice from the dimensional storage into a basin and placed it at her feet.

“Ah, that hits the spot…” Da-jeong’s expression softened.

Come to think of it, I’d done something similar to this before we met. At that time, Da-jeong did not know that the seller of the ice was me.

“Actually, I just pretended to be arrogant. Deep inside I was very lonely since I walked around alone. So as soon as I knew it was you, I decided to go to you.” Da-jeong said as we recalled those early days of apocalypse.

“That’s surprising. I thought at that time that you were living well with zombies.”

“I am a woman who is secretly lonely.”

Is that so?

I decided to stop entertaining her and opened the auction house to see whether Geom-in had written something or not.

However, before I could even go to our auction items,

“How far did you go with Sooyeon unnie?” Da-jeong suddenly gave me a backhug.

Why is she suddenly doing this?

I cleared my throat and tried to untie her arms around me, but unexpectedly, I couldn’t do so.

“I just lent my shoulder to her for a moment. Why?”

I could hear a snort as soon I said those words.

“Are you trying to write a shoujo romance manga in Apocalypse? If she hits you, you should have entered the main game right away.”

“The mood isn’t that kind of mood.”

“I heard from Yoohyeon that the mood was good, though?”

She even have people gathering information for her now?

I unwrapped Da-jeong’s arms and faced her.

“I only need you. I don’t need another woman.”

Although I spoke seriously, her expression remained mischievous.

“Even so, why did you kiss Albino but not Sooyeon unnie?”

“That’s because Mikyung wants it. Sooyeon is an adult. She is someone who can live well enough without me.”

“But that’s not what Sooyeon unnie told me, though? I heard she’s been waiting for a year.”

My hand on her shoulder relaxed.

“A 34-year-old former doctor who currently worked as a healer. Since her unique skill requires it, she bumped into a lot of people, so it’s only natural that she needs a shield.” Da-jeong stood close to me and looked straight into my eyes.

“That shield doesn’t have to be me, right?”

Da-jeong clicked her tongue.

“Didn’t you say you helped her before the end? You provided supplies to her, killed monsters for her, saved her house, and now even helped her to see even without her glasses. No wonder she is enamored with you. Did you not like her because she’s old?”

“It’s not like that…”

It was true that I felt kind of distant to her because she was such a pretty and mature person. I also have a thought that she want a good and cool man to take care of her, not a murderer like me. Although I wasn’t convinced by those conjectures at all.

Da-jeong seemed indignant by the look on her face, she then opened her mouth again.

“In the first place, there is nothing but you in her eyes. Who the heck is qualified if you are not? She’s getting older day by day, but the men she wanted don’t even look at her, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for her to step forward… You’re a very unlucky person, unnie too.”

“Just what do you want…”

“Just eat when you are given! Eat when you are GIVEN! At night, secretly call unnie to you, create an atmosphere, and go straight into the main game!”

“You are a woman too. Is it okay if you share me with another girl?”

“If it were a normal society, I wouldn’t have done the same… We live in this fucking stupid world not normal world.”

“…”

When I was silent, Da-jeong tiptoed and landed a kiss on my lips.

“I want to monopolize you too. I want to tie you down and make you only look at me. But Sooyeon unnie and Albino need you too. That’s why I want to share you with only two people.”

“…isn’t it because you like the two of you?”

Da-jeong avoided my gaze, as if my words were correct. She’s more of a bisexual than straight. And sometimes, she even sleep with Sooyeon and Mi-kyung. She didn’t do much, but it seemed that she was playing with them using her hands.

She turned her back on me without saying a word.

“Do you know what I really want?”

“You just said it…”

“No. I have a better plan. I thought of it when I knew that Giudecca and the Church wanted you.”

“Could it be… a baby?”

“I will give birth to many children and raise them. And with them at the forefront, we will conquer the world!”

I couldn’t say anything at Da-jeong’s absurd dream. It would take at least 20 years to even make the first step towards the plan. But in the apocalypse, pregnancy was more of a disaster than a happy occasion.

My sister-in-law was already pregnant, so it was unavoidable. But personally, I don’t want it to happen to Da-jeong…

“You can’t get pregnant. Let’s use a different room from today onwards.”

Da-jeong’s voice changed to a pleading tone as soon as she heard my declaration..

“Why? It’s not like we’re going to do it right away. It’s just a future plan…”

“There will be monsters stronger than ogres appearing in the future too…”

“We will find the answer, as always.”

“Don’t bring famous movie lines.”

At that moment, Geom-in suddenly appeared in the room with his copied Blink.

“Geom-in, welcome back.”

“You guys are here. But… we have a problem.”

It’s probably Seokhyun. After all, all problems start with him.

“Seokhyun turned Tokyo upside down. Not only that, he even invaded the New Japan bunker. Nearly 50 armed men have come out from the bunker and are looking to kill him.”

“How did he find the New Japan bunker?” I asked, really, really surprised.

“Uh… New Japan is currently recruiting people to join their bunker. Seokhyun beat people that ran there, and when they all got beaten up, he even hit the bunker personnel. He didn’t enter thankfully..”

“How many people die?”

“Some seem to be dead, but I don’t know the exact numbers… I followed him and decided to just come here because I remembered you.”

Da-jeong tapped my side.

“It’s no big deal. You were hoping to take care of them anyway.”

However, the fact that a large number of armed troops came out to hunt him bothered me. All I hoped to achieve here was to neutralize those ignorant guys and loot their supplies.

Should I just take the ogre and run?

Seokhyun and I would be okay even when we were shot, but it was still dangerous for Da-jeong and Geom-in.

“How about the ogre?”

“There’s one here. But, it’s currently on the run after being shot so many times. Seokhyun is also chasing after it…” Geomin took out a map and pointed out the location. “They are heading south along this railroad.”

“It shouldn’t be that fast, right?”

“Well, it’s an ogre. We should be able to chase it if we have a hornbill. But there is a problem… The area on this side is fine because the battlefield has been cleared, but other areas are not. No matter how many resurrection scrolls we have, it’s dangerous if our stats are limited.”

“I brought this just in case.” I took the ether amulet out of my backpack. It was an item that could spread a force field to nullify the effect of shackles of the battlefield.

Geom-in looked at it and called his own status window. Instantly, he was frightened.

“I was inflicted by the shackles of the battlefield… Why are my stats like this?”

“This amulet negates the effect of the shackles of the battlefield. It was very hard to find this.”

Da-jeong put her arm around my shoulder.

“Seongho was fighting against Giudecca Church’s Archbishop. It was really a great fight.”

“I wish I was there with you too.”

There was deep regret in Geom-in’s voice.

I comforted him

“It’s okay. There’s still a truckload of people who haven’t come yet, so you’ll have another chance to fight. Anyway, let’s go.”

I opened the dimensional warehouse, took out three hornbills, and put the drone in before departing.

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Former Prime Minister Takahiro Ikeda was on the verge of going crazy. A bald monster suddenly jumped out and started destroying everything in his wake. The New Japan reacted quickly, but the guy ignored their attack and just kept beating the people.

“Shoot! Just shoot!”

Indiscriminate shooting ensued. Even the rifle grenade was fired. However, the bald monster made a surprising move, it kicked the grenade with the inside of his foot.

Of course, the rifle grenade which was returned exploded, killing and injuring several people. At that point, Takahiro swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to kill him.

“Definitely kill him! If we let him go, we won’t be able to raise our head!”

The timing of the attack was also really bad. It was just right before they could formally recruit J, a high-level survivor. He was someone with a lot of influence on the auction house, so when the ruckus happened, he took a step back and waited. He just doesn’t want to lose his power.

Therefore, from the perspective of the New Japan Bunker, they were put in a position where they had to kill the bald monster to make it easier to recruit people in the future. But it wasn’t easy.

Takahiro fired some instructions into the radio.

“Surround him and kill him! He should also be affected by the shackle, is he not?”

-A-about that… That gys is faster than us! We just can’t keep up.

“You need to do it somehow!”

At that moment, J walked closer towards Takehiro Ikeda. He was a tall man with a well-chiseled face. At first glance, he could be mistaken for a foreigner, but rumors spread that he was of Ainu descent.

“From what I’ve heard, the guys seem to be from Korea… Has this happened before?”

“You must have heard the information that the Murayama Alliance was destroyed by the Koreans.”

“Ah… that monster association. They said it was a very scary group. Which means the Korean’s skill is also amazing.”

Takahiro nodded with a grim expression.

“That’s not all. I sent a rescue team to retrieve the Shiraishis to the Great Labyrinth, but there is no news from them at all. There aren’t many people who would do something like this. I’m assuming they’re from the same group. They are the same Koreans who have entered Japan and made a mess.”

J clenched his fists.

“This is exciting. Their level seemed to be quite high, so I want to try fighting them.”

“If you come into our bunker, you might have a chance, how about it?”

“About that…” J avoid Takahiro’s gaze.

What a nasty guy…

Just then, an urgent message came through the radio.

-W-we have encounter three people who ride an… Ostrich? They passed through us at a terrifying speed!

“Did you just let them do so?”

-They are too fast for us to respond… Shoot! Just shoot indiscriminately!

J smiled like he was having fun.

“Ostrich? They are supposed to be adults, can they really ride that?”

“I think they were mistaken. When they return later, I would have to train them harder it seems.”

Then, one after another, a screaming report came in from the radio.

-We… We hit them, but…

“Report properly!”

-I’m pretty sure we hit them, but they just ignored it!

“What are you talking about! Do you think it makes sense that someone is fine after being shot when they are affected by the shackles of the battlefield?”

Takahiro was on the verge of dying. The report that came from the radio clearly defied his common sense. The shackles of the battlefield covered all of Tokyo. Only a small part of Tokyo was free from its effects.

The tracking team had already left those unaffected areas, so of course if they were shot, they must be at least seriously injured.

Now he started to hear strange noises.

-I thought it was an ostrich, but it’s not! They are riding on a strange bird I’ve never seen before!

-Th-the monsters are here… Werewolves! Avoid it!

Why do werewolves appear during the day!

When Takahiro was about to scream onto the radio once again, J quietly backed away and ran beside the railroad tracks.

His real name was Johnny. Survivors operating in Tokyo called him Johnny of the Flash. True to his name, he was incredibly fast. It’s probably hard to find anyone faster than him in the world.

Being fast means that he would be safe in most situations. Thanks to that, Johnny hunted faster than others and leveled up easily.

‘Survivors from Korea… no matter how strong they are, they should still be weaker than me anyway.’

Still, he wanted to meet them. He was the best in Tokyo, so it had been a while since he felt a new stimulation.

As he ran, the dense jungle scenery swept past him. Even the monsters couldn’t match his speed. The Green Serpent, who was coiled up in a giant tree, attacked him, but he had already passed through when its mouth hits the ground.

“Ha ha ha! See you later!”

Not long after Johnny ran, he found a group strewn about on the ground. They were all grunting. But strangely, no guns nor ATVs could be found around them.

“Hey! hey!”

“Help me…”

“A monster… a monster! A monster has attacked us!”

“The monster… The gun… ugh!”

What are these guys talking about?

Johnny was bewildered when he finally saw something not far from the group. It was an ogre. A giant he hoped to hunt someday. The final boss that he and other high-level survivors must overcome.

But even when the survivors rushed at it in droves, the guy didn’t flinch. Its skin was tougher than steel, and its destructive power could shatter even the hardest rocks. Currently, the ogre was still an impossible monster for him.

By the way… a man was currently fighting the ogre.

Johnny went there without even realizing it.

Then, he heard a woman’s voice.

“Look at you fighting it again! Didn’t you promise you would give it to me!”

“Sorry, I got carried away!”

“Look at him pretending! You’ll kill it again!”

“You can just kill it before me, can’t you?”

“Help me get rid of these trolls first!”

gulp.

Johnny wiped the sweat trickling down his face and swallowed his dry saliva.

Trolls were monsters that could only be hunted when a few high-level people in Tokyo gathered together.

Yet, they wanted to clean those trolls?

Isn’t that too easy to say?

Johnny ran again to clear his suspicions. He didn’t even think about the shackles of the battlefield that would affect him if he went closer. After all, he thought that if shit hits the fan, he could just run away with his unique ability.

However, even after approaching the area, there was nothing wrong with his status window.

On top of it… He saw it. A party of four was fighting an army of monsters including the ogre.

No, looking closely, it wasn’t a fight. The party was massacring the monsters. With one punch, the owl bear flew several meters away. With one swing, the troll’s head was decapitated. There were even monsters fighting monsters, which confused Johnny.

What the hell is this?

With every step he took, something more surprising greeted him. The bald monster that the New Japan desperately wanted to kill jumped and crashed into the ogre’s face!

Kuaaaakkk-!!

The ogre seemed to be really in pain. It covered its face with its big hands and withdrew. Meanwhile, the bald man was happily touching his head before being kicked in the butt by a woman.

“Hey, do it gently! It’s my turn to kill it!”

“It’s not dead yet!”

That’s right, the Ogre hadn’t died.

The woman hurriedly ran towards the ogre. The guy came to his senses and swung his fist. However, the woman easily dodged it and climbed onto its shoulder.

After that, the ogre attacked the party no more.

Meanhwile, Seongho threw his eyes at the uninvited guest after taking care of the last remaining troll.

“Who are you?”

A quiet voice…

Johnny felt fear for the first time in his life. Something terrifying emanated from the large man that questioned him.

“M-my name is Johnny of the Flash… A High Level…Survivor…” He stammered.

“High level? But you’re only level 31?”

Everyone laughed and Seokhyun simply commented.

“A noob…”