Chapter 726: Traitor (1)

-Human.

Even as they died under my attacks.

Those bastards had been conversing with endlessly emotionless minds.

But.

-A human is with the traitors.

For the first time, emotion mixed into the voices of those zombie bastards.

When I heard that, I thought in confusion.

'Traitors?'

To begin with.

The reason I had gone out of my way to activate the Trait - Mental Language against enemies I could simply cut down.

Was because I wanted even the smallest hint that might let me learn something about their situation.

Zombies I had thought of only as enemies were waging a civil war among their own kind.

I had no guess as to the cause.

But a word related to it had come out faster than I expected.

To the zombie horde that had invaded from outside.

The zombies of this city were a group that had betrayed them.

However.

That was not the only problem.

-So they chose that path after all.

-Foolish, prince......!

The monsters spoke in voices filled with rage.

They had already been fighting fiercely.

But their momentum began to change visibly.

And the reason was probably.

-To betray your own kind and borrow a human’s strength.

Me.

'Do these bastards think I’m cooperating with the zombies of this city?'

A human like me was cooperating with the zombies of this city.

I did not know the exact reason.

But to those bastards, that seemed to be a reason for unbearable rage.

I had been dragged here under threat.

Even now, I had only rushed over because I had no choice if I wanted to save the hostages.

I had never once thought of helping the zombies of this city.

'What kind of ridiculous misunderstanding is......!'

But.

It did not seem like there would be any meaning in trying to clear up that misunderstanding.

-Then.

The zombies were expressing their rage toward me.

But.

They did not charge at me, and instead began to fall back.

No...... they had not fallen back.

'......What is that?'

The zombies that had been swarming together.

Began gathering into one point.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

They drove their fingernails and claws into each other’s rotten, decaying bodies.

Using their own flesh as individual pieces, they completed a puzzle.

And before long.

-The price for aiding that foolishness.

THUUUUD......

A gigantic form rose up.

-Must be paid.

A grotesque giant made from countless zombies interlocking their bodies together.

Began looking down at me.

“......Now I’ve lived long enough to see zombies combining.”

And.

Looking at that giant, I let out a hollow laugh.

'A monster that becomes one by assembling each other’s bodies.'

It was certainly grotesque.

But that did not mean I was especially afraid.

Because.

'Disassembly is the reverse of assembly.'

And.

“Disassembly...... happens to be a chef’s specialty.”

In order to prepare the ingredient.

I swung the kitchen knives in both hands and launched myself toward it.

***

THUUUUUD......

The gigantic form collapsed to the ground.

Because of its tremendous weight, the nearby buildings came crumbling down.

Along with that.

[You have gained a massive amount of experience!]

A small window floated before my eyes.

“Hoo......!”

I looked at the window and caught my breath.

Hundreds of zombies.

And not ordinary zombies, but a monster made by combining evolved monsters.

'It was strong.'

Naturally, it had not been easy to face.

It was definitely one of the strongest enemies I had fought recently.

However.

What bothered me was something other than its strength.

'They weren’t simply connecting their bodies together.'

If it had been some kind of acrobatic method like that.

If anything, their combat power should have dropped, not risen.

What I had just seen was...... countless beings truly being reborn as a single existence.

'It felt like...... the energy inside them resonated.'

At that moment.

I had felt it.

Inside those zombies’ main bodies.

The energy inside those parasites spreading throughout the body of that enormous fusion.

As for what that was...... I could guess well enough.

'The energy source those bastards mentioned.'

A power that could not be obtained in this world.

The very power that had made it difficult even for me to create a recipe.

'Is that energy something that can combine that easily?'

That part was a little strange.

But there was no meaning in wondering about it right now.

“Follow that kitchen knife.”

“Yes.......”

After getting the hostages out of the building that had been on the verge of being attacked by the monster.

I succeeded in recapturing several more places after that.

There were a few battles with zombies along the way, but I somehow managed to rescue them without any hostage casualties.

And then, before long.

'The locations Suhyeok told me about...... this is the last one, right?'

Of the locations Seo Suhyeok had identified.

I had checked all the places I was responsible for.

Taking the humans I had rescued with me, I headed for the planned rendezvous point with the Legion.

“Sergeant Shin! You’re here!”

“Sorry I’m late. What about you.......”

“We only just completed our mission as well.”

Just as they said.

When I looked around, I could see Legion members only now gathering, and people following those Legion members with bewildered faces.

'All together, there must be over a thousand.'

If I thought of the population before the collapse, it was a miserable survival rate.

But considering that they had survived on this North Korean land, it was an incredible number of humans.

If anything, it was strange that so many had survived in an environment like this.

“What will you do now?”

The soldiers asked as they looked around.

Outside the city, a tremendous number of monsters were still swarming in.

'As for the battle situation...... it doesn’t look good for the defense.'

The zombies defending the city were being pushed back continuously, and it seemed the city outskirts had already been almost completely occupied by those invaders.

The presence of the defending zombies, which had been few in number to begin with, had clearly decreased compared to before.

'The prince?'

When I looked up at the sky.

I saw gray-black energy still engaged in combat with those five zombies.

It was somehow continuing the battle with powerful strength.

But unlike the beginning of the fight, when the prince’s side had seemed to overwhelm them.

'Are they even now......?'

The current state of the battle seemed to be one where the five zombies and the prince’s power were clashing quite fiercely.

The number five was violence in itself.

They were probably using their numerical superiority to slowly wear down that prince’s strength.

For now, at least, it was staying at an even line.

But that was only for now.

'The zombies on the ground are being pushed back too quickly.'

If the battle on the ground ended in the invaders’ victory.

Those zombies would immediately be thrown into the battle against that prince.

If that happened, even the prince, who was at least managing a fierce fight now, would only need time before being defeated.

In the end.

“......For now, we withdraw with these people.”

“Yes!”

My conversation with the zombies of this city had been underway.

But I had not accepted the deal they proposed yet.

On top of that, the terms of that deal had not included helping those zombies fight.

'It would benefit us if the zombies capable of conversation won, but.......'

The problem was that we currently had the hostages with us.

I had no reason to help their fight.

And I also had no leeway to fight while bringing these hostages with me.

If even one mistake caused them to die, then the already small remaining human fighting force would decrease even further.

Even if I was going to make a deal with them, it would be better to withdraw first.

Then talk again without the hostage conditions attached.

In the end, I chose a rapid retreat.

“There is an escape route we checked in advance.”

“That side probably hasn’t been affected by those zombies yet. Hurry......!”

Like that.

We began moving to escape the city together with the Legion members.

Even while we did so, the invading zombies continued filling the inside of the city.

'......It bothers me.'

And yet.

I turned my head and looked at the city’s scenery.

The ground was turning black.

And in the sky, that prince was fighting the other zombies.

'At the end...... he was talking about other conditions and whatever else.'

Because this invasion had happened right in the middle of my conversation with that prince.

I had not been able to hear what that bastard had been trying to say.

The reason the zombies of this city were called traitors by those invaders.

And the reason the invaders had gotten angry when they saw me, a human.

There were far too many things bothering me.

If the lives of the hostages had not been on the line, I would have wanted to remain in this city alone and watch the situation a little longer.

'It can’t be helped.'

But right now, I did not have that much leeway.

Having no choice, I turned my head and tried to move my feet toward the outside of the city.

But...... at that very moment.

“......Huh?”

“Sergeant Shin?”

Abruptly.

My steps stopped.

A presence I could feel far away.

The zombies on the defending side and the invading side.

Between them, I could feel one alien presence.

And at the same time my steps stopped because of that presence.

PAAAAANG.......

A small light shot up into the sky.

“......That’s.”

“No way!”

The Legion members who saw it also widened their eyes in shock.

And there was a reason for that.

That was something not only I...... but all awakened could feel.

A small flame that seemed utterly meaningless in the battle of those powerful zombies.

It was not something fired by one of those zombies.

That was precisely why we could feel it.

“A skill.......”

A power only an awakened who received the System’s grace could display.

It was the energy of a skill.

***

The power felt inside the city.

A power originating from the System shared by all awakened...... a skill.

What the fact that we had felt the power of that skill meant was simple.

'There’s an awakened still inside the city......!'

And.

It seemed I was not the only one who had noticed that fact.

“......I’m sorry, Sergeant Shin.”

Corporal Seo Suhyeok lowered his head with a dark expression and spoke.

“I thought I had checked every location I could confirm.......”

“No, this isn’t your fault.”

The fact that an awakened remained inside the city meant that there had been an omission among the hostage locations Corporal Seo Suhyeok had identified.

But to begin with, there had not been enough time for a proper investigation.

The city was wide, and because of the zombies, we could not move around freely.

Corporal Seo Suhyeok must have had to identify the awakened’s locations using only those sensitive senses of his near the building where he had been held.

'He knew that might not be perfect too.'

That was why, when he first told me he had identified the hostage locations.

He had also mentioned the possibility that what he had identified might not be everything.

The reason I had not attempted a recapture immediately even after identifying the hostage locations was also because I had kept in mind the possibility that there might be hostages he had failed to identify.

This situation was unavoidable.

Then the problem was how to resolve the situation that had already happened.

'......The distance is too far.'

We had already moved a long way in order to escape the city.

The place where the skill had been seen was too far away, even taking the awakened’s movement speed into account.

The fighting strength of the survivors in this land was fairly weak.

Even if we ran over there now, it was doubtful whether they could hold out.

'But I can’t just give up.......'

I thought that I couldn’t.

And as I was thinking that.

“I-It is already too late.”

Someone spoke to me.

When I turned my head, I saw a familiar face.

“You are.......”

“Y-You. I remember. You said you came to help us, didn’t you?”

It was one of the hostages I had met and spoken with not long ago.

Unlike the other hostages, who had suddenly been dragged here and looked dazed.

Because he had spoken with me, he understood that our purpose was to rescue them.

He struck his chest as if frustrated and said.

“They’re that far away, and the corpses have already all reached them!”

“......?”

“Even if there are other people over there, it’s already too late. Even if you go to help them now, by the time you get there, they’ll obviously already have become those corpse bastards’ comrades.”

He spoke with eyes full of anxiety.

“A-Anyway, from your standpoint, they’re citizens of an enemy country, aren’t they?”

“.......”

“Don’t obsess over people who are obviously going to die. Let’s just hurry up and run......!”

At those words.

I blankly looked at the man’s face and thought.

'They’re people from an enemy country to us. But you?'

The awakened shooting that skill over there.

To this man, they should be compatriots raised in the same country.

This man was telling me to abandon them.

I recalled the words of that little chef...... Doyun.

'Did Doyun say we couldn’t even imagine what these people did when they had power, even though they look weak now?'

Just as Doyun said.

The weak are not necessarily good.

A strange nausea rose in me at the fact that a hostage I was trying to save was saying something like this.

“......What that man says is not entirely wrong.”

Though they frowned at those words.

The other soldiers also spoke with dark expressions.

“The distance is too far. It is too late to rescue them now.”

“It is frustrating that we could not rescue every hostage...... but there is no way. We need to withdraw here, Sergeant Shin.”

At those words, I clenched my teeth hard.

I knew the soldiers were right.

But at the same time, I thought.

'That only applies when there’s no method.'

A method......

Was not completely nonexistent.

The number of hostages over there was only a few dozen.

I had not taken it out because I thought it was a waste to use for only a few dozen.

“You go ahead first.”

“Sergeant Shin......!”

Just because there were only a few dozen.

It did not make those lives worthless.

In the end.

I ignored the soldiers’ gazes trying to stop me and turned around.

I looked toward the place where I had felt the skill, and was about to activate the method I had been trying to save......

BOOOOOOM......!

At that very moment.

“......Huh?”

An enormous energy.

Burst toward the place I had been looking at.

***

BOOOOOOOM!!!

A massive energy poured down from the sky and covered the ground.

That power swept away the black corpses on the ground with an extremely violent force.

Thanks to that.

'The zombies that were about to attack the hostages.......'

Vanished cleanly.

The hostages I had thought were too far away to save in time.

There was now more than enough room to rescue them.

The strange point was.

'I didn’t do that.'

That power had come from the outside, not from me, even though I had been about to mobilize my method.

And.

It was not difficult to guess where that violent power had originated.

“......That power!”

And the reason was simple.

It was energy I had felt several times since arriving in this city.

At the same time.

Throughout this battle...... it had been fiercely pouring out above our heads.

Gray-black power.

'The prince?'

The prince who had been fiercely battling the five zombies.

Because it was the very energy he wielded.