Ch.15Chapter 15. Live, For You Are Beautiful!

The Undead.

In the world I used to live in, they were beings often encountered in zombie movies. The undead in this world are no different in form or behavior from the zombies in those films.

They normally move with a shambling gait, but when they detect living people, they rush in packs like madmen and chew on their flesh.

And just like in the movies, an ominous magical power spreads through the corpses of those who die this way, eventually causing them to awaken as walking corpses themselves.

“AAAAARRRGGHHH!”

Yes, when the Knight of Death took me and the other survivors to his garrison, it was to increase his forces by turning those with useful talents into undead.

And not just any undead, but those with self-awareness like himself.

The screams we heard were from those who failed to meet the necessary conditions or who somehow displeased him as they were being slaughtered.

“Excuse me, can you hear me?”

As those sounds grew closer, I felt my turn approaching. I called out to those waiting outside the iron bars.

They were walking corpses with rotting flesh, holding rusty armor and spear shafts.

“Uh, uhhh.”

But they only turned their heads in response to my voice, unable to form any coherent words.

Their tongues were stiff and their vocal cords blocked, though they could still convey their intentions using magic if they wanted to.

The reason they couldn’t speak was that they lacked self-awareness, and without that self-awareness, they couldn’t handle the mana needed to exert their power.

“Um… My name is Hyoseong Woo. What’s your name?”

“Uh, uhhh…”

“Uoooohhh…”

They only responded to my words with moans.

In their blank and hideous appearance, I ironically had a vague premonition of my own future.

When my turn came, would I become like them?

Or would I disappear without a trace like the Paladin Commander?

-Clank.

As I waited with this anxiety, the iron bars opened and a knight in black armor pushed through the underlings to find me.

“I see you’ve been behaving.”

The Knight of Death.

One of the four knights serving the “Lord of Corpses,” the calamity that, along with the Demon Lord’s army from another world, had driven this world to ruin.

As if to prove his position, I felt a pressure so overwhelming that it was hard to breathe just by facing him.

“Well, I’m captured. Resistance wouldn’t mean much anyway…”

“Many couldn’t even manage that much and thrashed about. I considered such people unworthy of joining us and turned them into pulp.”

The Knight of Death raised the greatsword in his hand as he spoke.

Its surface was smeared with someone’s flesh and blood.

As if to say that not resisting was enough to earn a passing grade.

“You, let us talk from now on.”

Despite his cruel nature, the Knight of Death didn’t swing his greatsword at me but instead tried to open a dialogue.

“Talk?”

“Yes, just by conversing, I can at least confirm whether you have the potential to awaken as a being like me.”

Belying his name of Death, but very much like a knight, he spoke with a polite and disciplined attitude.

“You who came from another world, yet failed to awaken the desired power and now find yourself in a wretched situation.”

Foreign Laborer.

The Knight of Death, who had identified my true nature from the beginning, soon asked me a question.

“Do you have something you must accomplish while alive?”

A question I found quite unexpected.

And what followed was equally surprising.

“…Something I must accomplish?”

“Anything will do. Whether it’s something you want to become, amassing wealth, living for someone like family, or even dedicating your life to revenge.”

The helmeted head gradually lowered, and the gleam of eyes within it began to shine more fiercely, as if boring into me.

“Do you have any lingering attachment to life? Is there anything that could inspire passion in you?”

Yes, it was a serious question.

I could feel from his gaze that he sincerely wanted me to answer, not to mock me.

And I also sensed that my survival would be determined by my answer.

“…Well, not really.”

But what was the point of racking my brain here?

At the time, I couldn’t desperately conjure up the thought that I needed to survive this situation.

“Are you certain?”

“Well, there are many things I’d like to accomplish. But I wonder if any of it really matters.”

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t afraid of dying.

But I also couldn’t shake the feeling that living would just mean more suffering.

“…You say you have things you want to accomplish yet don’t consider them important. Why do you think that way?”

“Because no matter what I desire, I’m never given the opportunity to achieve it.”

If he immediately recognized me as a Foreign Laborer, he must also know.

That those summoned to this world consist of a tiny minority of Heroes who receive special treatment, and a majority of laborers with unremarkable abilities.

“It’s like setting goals would just be false hope… If I’m going to live an aimless life anyway, maybe ending it all here isn’t so bad.”

Yes, I lacked both the ability to survive in this decaying world and the capacity to endure the malice of those who wanted to live in such a world.

I would struggle to the end, but I had resigned myself to accepting death calmly when the time came.

My only modest wish was that my final moments would be painless.

-Clank.

As I waited with resignation for the end to come, the Knight of Death bent one knee to lower himself to my eye level and spoke.

“How unfortunate.”

“…Pardon?”

“I truly find you unfortunate. To have ambition yet be born weak, and to be rejected by this harsh world to the point where you’re not even given the chance to burn your life with purpose.”

In a situation where I thought I might die at any moment.

Instead, he expressed sympathy toward me and removed the helmet encircling his head, revealing his bare face.

“…Look at this body.”

But while emotion could be felt in his voice, there was no expression on the revealed face.

What appeared was a skull, blackened and cracked.

Though his voice could be heard, with no muscles to move his jaw, his teeth remained bared, and even his eye sockets, lacking eyeballs, substituted a gaze with light emanating from within.

“Unlike you, though I have self-awareness, I can never be called alive. Even these bones are merely a framework to maintain my existence…”

Both the gleam in his eyes and his voice were merely products of magical power.

The magic guided by the self-awareness he maintained, creating something similar to what he had in life… elements that taught what he himself imposed on the walking corpses risen from death.

“Even this would likely crumble uselessly if the ‘attachment’ that forces me to continue this life were to disappear.”

“…Attachment?”

“Yes, creating an undead with self-awareness like me requires a powerful attachment to life. A desire stronger than the innate survival instinct all living beings possess!”

Do you have something you must accomplish while alive?

That previous question was the minimum condition to determine whether I possessed such desire.

“Do you know what I find most regrettable as the day approaches when my attachments will gradually be resolved?”

“…What is it?”

“Why didn’t I have greater attachments when I was alive?”

Despite defying death to fulfill his attachments, he regrets that those attachments are coming to an end.

That was the kind of being the Knight of Death was.

“As my attachments are resolved, my interest in my purpose gradually fades, and that interest begins to shift toward this world. This land where I can stand on my own two feet, this sky I can look up at with my own eyes… Moreover, the more I feel the will of those who live in such a world, the more I regret why I wasn’t more devoted to life when I was alive.”

Regret that couldn’t even become attachment.

Since that alone couldn’t sustain life as an undead, he could only be consumed by even greater regret.

“If I had pursued more things while alive, I could have remained in this world longer, even in this form.”

“……”

“…You.”

-Kuung!

The greatsword in his hand struck the ground.

Not to kill me. It was merely an expression of his will, an action to draw my attention to him.

“Though you consider your own life insignificant, ironically, I find myself envying you. Because I couldn’t sustain my life when I was alive, and because I feel regret for this undead existence as my attachments gradually resolve, I envy you who still has the chance to struggle.”

Beyond the greatsword, the light in his eyes grew even more distinct as he gazed at me.

“So why do you feel despair in front of me, a dead man, when you still have the opportunity to struggle?”

His fighting spirit surpassed those who merely lived because they couldn’t die.

It was strong enough to make even my living heart pound.

“…Don’t you think a life of mere struggling is pathetic?”

Seeing him like this, I began to feel a glimmer of hope.

Me, who was just living because I couldn’t die.

It felt as though he was affirming that even my life had meaning.

“What nonsense. Life gains meaning precisely through desperate struggle. Isn’t a life without struggle rather dull and empty?”

-Jjeok!

The tip of the greatsword, pulled from the floor, was now pointed at me.

“To you who has struggled so much and grown weary from not finding hope, I ask.”

Yes, it had arrived.

The moment of judgment at the end of our dialogue.

“If by some chance you could safely escape from here and return to your original place, how would you live?”

What should I answer to get the correct response?

The deliberation wasn’t long.

This wasn’t a test but a question.

For a question with no predetermined answer, what I needed to do was clear.

“I’d just live as best I could. Like I’ve been doing.”

I answered honestly with the first thought that came to mind, without filtering it.

“Even if that life is the same as before?”

“It’s a life I live because I can’t die, but I still don’t intend to give up.”

“Even in a world where people like you struggle to survive!?”

“Even so, I have to try living until I die. Besides, adapting well and surviving wherever I’m thrown is one of my greatest talents.”

A line I never failed to include in my resume during my job-hunting days.

If I give up now, I won’t be able to use that strength anymore, will I?

“…A good spirit.”

-Kwachang!

As the swung greatsword shattered the iron bars, the Knight of Death who had opened a path through the empty space gestured with his chin, urging me to head that way.

“You, what I desire is not merely a corpse that’s just alive. A being with attachment that can exert passion even without flesh and blood… You may not have attachments yet, but you possess the potential to have stronger attachments than anyone.”

So he would give me a chance, betting on that possibility.

If I survived and survived, and truly found that answer, he would make the offer again at that time.

“If fate brings us together again after you’ve continued such a life, I’ll give you the choice once more. Whether to join me or not.”

“…Even if that path is not one you approve of?”

“I would respect that too, as your choice. If you can truly bear that path.”

Seureu-reung.

As the blue-gleaming blade of the greatsword flashed, I realized just by looking at it that what he was granting was not mercy but merely a reprieve. Calming my pounding heart, I passed by him and escaped through the iron bars.

I didn’t know if things would go well, but at least I had survived, so I decided to extend my life a bit longer.

“Let me ask one more thing before you go.”

As I was about to leave, he called out to me.

“You, what is your name?”

“Hyoseong Woo.”

“Yes, Hyoseong Woo. I’ll remember it. I pray for the day when that name reaches my ears again.”

As I paused and looked back, he raised the greatsword in his hand high and shouted at me.

“Live! You are beautiful!!!”

Without flesh or muscle.

The Knight of Death, who remained in this world with bones held upright by attachment alone, who longed for the preciousness of life more than anyone, was shouting at me.

“Go forth and find a place to burn your soul while living that beautiful life! Live with the momentum that your attachment will have meaning even after you leave this world…!”

“…Heh, really.”

Feeling the irony of the situation, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

I’d seen all sorts of things since coming to this world, but I never expected the day would come when I’d preserve my life thanks to encouragement from a self-aware walking corpse.

But that’s how my fate allowed me to extend this life.

Yes, if it’s a life I’m living because I can’t die, even if I’m powerless, I’ll struggle hard and build up my attachment to this life.

“What, what is this! Let me go right now!?”

Just as I was rekindling my dying will to live, a voice came from the opposite direction.

Entering the corridor leading to the exit were undead minions following the Knight of Death’s orders, restraining and dragging someone.

A woman with the rare hair color of pink, dressed in attire that clearly marked her as an adventurer.

“You filthy corpses! You don’t know who I am, treating me like this… Huh? Wait a minute!”

Soon the woman spotted me walking from the opposite direction and began to widen her eyes in disbelief.

“W-what? Wait. Why is that guy’s restraints removed? Why is he heading toward the exit unlike me!”

Well, I suppose it would be shocking to see a living human walking freely after being captured by the undead while adventuring.

But whatever happened to her next was her fate, I thought, as I headed straight for the exit, listening to the sounds behind me.

“You, I have a few questions for you now…”

“Shut up, you damn pile of bones! Do you know who I am, showing that disgusting face and ruining my mood!?”

“…You.”

“Call your superior when you’ve got time to flap that filthy mouth! I need to see who’s in charge of treating a Hero like this after taking me prisoner!”

“……”

“What’s wrong with you? Why have you gone silent? Is your skull head preventing you from hearing me properly!? You ignorant, stupid fool…”

-Kuung!

The sound of the greatsword being raised.

Guessing roughly what would happen next, I turned my attention away and stepped toward the exit.

“Die, you are ugly!”

“W-what… KYAAAK!”

“Humans with dirty hearts don’t deserve to live. So die, filth like you should disappear from this world forever!”

-Jjeok, Jjeok!!

As the sound of the greatsword crushing flesh echoed, I turned my back without lingering on the noise and headed home, escorted by the undead following his orders.

Embracing the realization that even my struggles had meaning, powerless as I was.

And reminding myself once again that even in a decaying world, maintaining basic courtesy could prevent impulsive murder.