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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Beeeeeee—
The lingering echo of the explosion rang in his ears.
The ringing drowned out all other sounds, leaving him in silence.
“Fuuuuck…”
Something exploded.
A bomb?
He didn’t know.
He had been drinking whiskey with a woman by his side when two Awakened members of the Central Association burst into the meeting room.
They were holding long firecrackers, and just as they were about to say something, the explosion occurred.
More than half of those drinking in the executive meeting room were killed in the blast.
Those near the entrance where the two had rushed in were especially mangled beyond recognition.
“Fuck…”
Moon Geun-o stood up.
Bits of flesh from the woman he had used as a shield were stuck to his hand.
The moment he sensed danger, Moon Geun-o grabbed the nameless, non-Awakened woman who had been pouring him drinks and used her as a shield.
The woman, who had served as a convenient barrier against the flying debris and the blast, was now a charred corpse.
“Hey, Tae-seok! Hey! Wake up!!!”
His right-hand man, Kang Tae-seok, had several wooden splinters embedded in his stomach.
Deeming Kang Tae-seok beyond saving, Moon Geun-o cursed repeatedly.
“Fuck… Fuck. Fuck fuck!!!!”
Dead, dying, or…
No one was unscathed. Everyone in the executive meeting room was mangled in some way.
“Sigh…”
Moon Geun-o sighed while looking at the bracelet on his wrist.
If it hadn’t been for the bracelet he bought from a peddler, if he hadn’t used the woman next to him to block the explosion, and if he had been sitting near the entrance… He would have been caught in the blast and died.
Of course, that didn’t mean that Moon Geun-o was in good shape.
His skin stung all over as if burned, and his ears were ringing, perhaps from a ruptured eardrum due to the explosion.
Moreover, his right hand was in agony with several fingers broken and his wrist had twisted from lifting the woman to block the blast. The pain brought tears to his eyes.
“Which sons of bitches… dared to…”
He was furious enough to tear the intruders apart, but he was too afraid to go outside through the shattered entrance alone.
The Demagogue class, an Agitator specializing in crowd control, was not suited for combat.
If he hadn’t met a survivor group he was familiar with from the alumni association early in the apocalypse, he would have been killed by a special zombie long ago.
The Demagogue was a class with weak combat abilities. Even with leveling up, the stat increases were low, and its skills were far from combat-oriented.
‘Did the attackers intend to kill everyone here…? I don’t know… I heard that one of the executives didn’t return yesterday… and even after sending three more, they also didn’t come back… Damn it… If the enemies are strong enough to take down four demon-possessed… I’m toast.’
Moon Geun-o decided to head to the panic room in the basement of the annex building. He planned to hide there until the intruders were all dead, and if the Central Association members were defeated, he would escape through the emergency exit.
“Hey, hey. Wake up. We need to go.”
“Uh… Ugh… Pastor…”
“I said we need to hurry. Get up…”
He couldn’t survive alone, so he tried to wake up and drag Kim Yul, one of his closest aides, with him.
Although Kim Yul wasn’t Awakened, he was the most susceptible to Moon Geun-o’s skills and he was also a demon-possessed, so he would be useful in this situation.
Moreover, Moon Geun-o was afraid of being alone, and although Kim Yul had a bleeding gash on his forehead, he seemed to be in better condition than the others, so he decided to take him along.
Moon Geun-o helped Kim Yul to his feet and cautiously left the executive room.
“Phew… Phew… P-pastor… Slow down…”
“Hey, we have to hurry. You don’t know what kind of things have invaded this place…!”
As they were heading towards the panic room, someone approached them while staggering.
The man’s gait resembled a zombie more than a human.
His face was familiar, but Moon Geun-o couldn’t recall his name. He seemed to be one of the non-Awakened he had seen in the auditorium earlier.
“Hey, hey. You, what are you doing?! What’s wrong with you?!”
The man didn’t answer Moon Geun-o’s question, and he just continued to approach them while trembling. His limbs shook violently and he was foaming at the mouth. He then collapsed onto the floor.
“Th-this… What the hell is going on…?”
He couldn’t make sense of the situation. The sudden explosion was already chaotic enough, and now a man who should have been in the auditorium had crawled all the way here, had a seizure, and collapsed.
Moon Geun-o just wanted to escape this chaotic situation quickly.
He tried to avoid the collapsed, convulsing man. He didn’t want to get involved and risk getting hurt.
The man, who had been convulsing on the floor, ignored Moon Geun-o as he sidestepped him, but grabbed Kim Yul’s ankle as he tried to pass.
“Ah! Let go! Let go of me!!!”
Kim Yul kicked the man who was clinging to his ankle. He stomped on his head and kicked his hands. When the man still wouldn’t let go, Kim Yul released a weak surge of magic.
The man convulsed even more violently, then rolled onto his back.
“Hey, hey! What’s that?!”
The man’s stomach bulged…
Wiggle. Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle…
Something wriggled inside him, tearing through his stomach and crawling out.
“Ah… Ah… Aaaaah!!!! P-pastor!! Help me!! Aaaah!!”
Moon Geun-o abandoned Kim Yul, who was being devoured alive by the swarm of insects, and ran.
Kim Yul began to demonify, but the insects were faster, devouring his eyes and tongue, and tearing at his throat, killing him before he could fully transform.
“Uaaah… Uaaah… Uaaaaah!!!!”
Moon Geun-o ran. He ran in a panic until he felt safe, and then he realized that the insects were killing people everywhere.
He also had a feeling that they were somehow herding everyone towards the auditorium.
Of course, by the time he realized it, it was already too late.
Scuttling. Scuttling. Rustling rustling rustle. Scurrying scurrying.
The auditorium was teeming with insects.
Inside, a cockroach much larger than the ones that had crawled out of the man’s stomach, a cockroach the size of a human, was clinging to a human body, tearing through the stomach and laying something inside.
“Ah… Ah…”
What awaited Moon Geun-o was the Abyssal Roach summoned by Jang Jo-joon.
Its master had ordered it to kill everything that wasn’t human. And to capture and confine the humans if possible.
The Abyssal Roach had pondered whether those who had become Fallen by drinking the holy blood should be considered human and concluded that they were not. So it used them all as hosts, laying eggs in their stomachs.
After all, the Fallen were already corrupted souls. They weren’t fully demon-possessed yet because the final process hadn’t been completed, but they were essentially too disgusting to be enslaved or offered as sacrifices.
So the Abyssal Roach sought out and killed the demon-possessed or turned them into nests for its offspring, threatened the remaining survivors, blocked their escape routes, and herded them towards the auditorium.
Some Awakened managed to break through the cockroaches’ encirclement and escape, but they were the ones Jo-joon’s remaining companions would capture.
“This is… insane…”
Moon Geun-o was stunned and tried to turn around and flee.
But dozens of black cockroaches had already clung to his legs and body, restricting his movements.
He screamed while trying to tear off the clinging cockroaches. But every attempt resulted in torn flesh and gushing blood, and the more he struggled, the more ferocious the cockroaches became.
Finally, Moon Geun-o collapsed while screaming in pain. He was swept away by the wave of cockroaches and dragged into the auditorium.
He joined most of the non-Awakened who were piled up in a corner.
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Meanwhile, Ha Jin-seong, Ha Jin-woo, and Kang Ha-young stood at the main entrance of Our Heart Church.
Kang Eun-jeong, Hwang Soo-min, Kim Ye-won, and Kang Hee-sun were guarding the back entrance.
This was the temporary team arrangement Jang Jo-joon had made before the attack. They were divided into teams to block the entrances and clear the building, while he, Han Ah-ram, and Merhere formed a team to deal with the demon-possessed.
Only Jang Jo-joon, Merhere, and Han Ah-ram remained in the underground parking lot while the others were moving throughout the church, eliminating the remaining stragglers and capturing slaves.
When asked about the demon-possessed’s magic, Jo-joon had simply said to kill them before they could transform and ordered them to kill anyone who showed the slightest sign of transforming.
Thanks to this, a bloodbath was currently underway inside the church building.
Even slightly suspicious individuals were being slaughtered, and the non-Awakened were being torn apart by Eun-ji and Ah-reum’s attacks, and their skulls crushed by Ha-rin’s axe.
Though the casualties were relatively low thanks to Kang Ha-young and Kim Ye-won, who specialized in civilian massacres, guarding the front and back entrances respectively.
“Surrender!!!”
“Fuck!!! You there!!! Hands behind your head!!! Do you want to die?!”
Ha-rin and Ah-reum were dragging people out of the buildings, intending to herd them into the auditorium as Jo-joon had ordered.
The captured non-Awakened were trembling in fear while the Awakened were looking for an opportunity to attack them from behind.
Just then, while both Ha-rin and Ah-reum momentarily looked away, a level 15 Fighter slipped on the brass knuckles he had hidden in his pocket and tried to attack the back of Ah-reum’s head.
Whoosh!
Shadow Daggers instantly pierced his shoulders, legs, and abdomen.
It was Eun-ji who had been hiding in the shadows and was watching their every move.
“Gurk…”
The man with the brass knuckles collapsed to his knees with blood gushing from his mouth, and those next to him screamed and scattered.
“Stay put!!!”
Han Ah-reum roared, and the people trembled, frozen in fear.
They had already witnessed dozens of people foolishly attacking them and being torn apart.
“Sob… Please… Please spare me…”
The man who had tried to attack Ah-reum pleaded as he bled.
But Sung Ha-rin, her face expressionless, simply approached him and said.
“You’re designated as a sacrifice. We told you not to resist.”
Sung Ha-rin swung her axe, severing the man’s right hand.
“Kraaaaaa!!!!”
Jang Jo-joon had said to kill those who resisted too fiercely or leave them alive to be used as sacrifices later on. He had warned them not to risk injury or death in trying to capture the Awakened.
Moreover, having learned from a captured Central Association executive that there were only three Hidden Class individuals among the Awakened here, they had no reason to hesitate.
“Kraaaaaa!!!”
The man screamed while clutching his severed wrist.
He would bleed to death soon, but if Jo-joon arrived before then, he could be used as a sacrifice.
‘That’s all that matters. Don’t think. Just follow orders. Master’s orders.’
Ha-rin thought.
She too had struggled a lot right after the apocalypse began.
She felt aversion to killing, and when they first raided the supermarket, she had to vomit and calm herself down several times in the bathroom, away from Jo-joon’s eyes.
Killing and plundering had been that much of a shock to her.
But after repeating it several times, she had become desensitized to killing.
Rather than seeing it as an unforgivable sin against fellow humans, she now viewed it as a necessary means of survival.
In a world where death had become commonplace, she couldn’t afford to remain soft-hearted.
So Sung Ha-rin chose to be ruthless.
She would show kindness, consideration, and mercy only to her companions who served the same master, and perceive everyone outside that circle as potential enemies, targets to be eliminated eventually.
Thanks to this, she no longer vomited after killing someone or witnessing their death.
She had fully adapted to the ruined world. And this change wasn’t unique to her. It was a transformation most people were undergoing.
“Get up. Or your head is next. Get up and walk!!!”
“Ugh…”
As she watched the man struggle to his feet, Ha-rin thought.
‘Does this man know?’
‘That even if he survives and follows us, he’ll eventually be sacrificed?’
‘He probably doesn’t.’
‘He’s following us because he still has a sliver of hope of survival.’
‘How foolish…’
Ha-rin moved forward again.
She had to gather the church survivors in the auditorium before Jo-joon returned.
Those were her orders.
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Boom!!!!
An SUV parked in the parking lot exploded from a powerful impact, sending a nearby demon-possessed individual staggering before itt collapsed.
At that moment, Merhere dashed through the flames and sliced the demon’s neck with her sickle.
Fwoosh!!!
Black blood spurted from the severed neck.
Another demon-possessed individual was dead. And next to her, Han Ah-ram was pounding another demon-possessed individual into mincemeat with her hammer.
Despite being outnumbered three to five, the demon-possessed were being slaughtered without a chance to fight back.
They were helpless. Their attacks were blocked and reflected by Jo-joon’s Twisted Carapace, and any opening they showed resulted in their limbs being torn off by Abyssal Maw.
Moreover, they had to contend with the tentacles that struck at precise moments, the man who spammed strange skills, and the two female warriors who attacked ferociously whenever they tried to get close.
The pink-haired woman, who was unaffected by their magic and was even absorbing it, relentlessly pursued them with her hammer, and the 6’3” foreigner who wielded her sickle with deadly precision sliced their necks at the slightest opening. They were completely overwhelmed.
From the start, it was a bad matchup. Han Ah-ram, who absorbed the demon-possessed’s main weapon, magic, and Merhere, who simply cut through the demonic magic and took their heads, countered them too hard.
And what was with that crazy man who kept ripping off their limbs, tripping them with tentacles, and blocking and reflecting all their ranged attacks?
“Th-this is… This isn’t right… This… What is this…?”
Less than thirty minutes after the battle began, all four high-ranking demon-possessed individuals he had brought were dead, reduced to bloody messes.
Daniel lost his mind.
He had already had his limbs torn off and he had been dragged across the floor by the tentacles multiple times.
Every time he regenerated, his limbs were torn off again, leaving him with no magic left to repair his mangled body.
Only his abnormally tenacious life force kept him from dying.
“Nothing special.”
“Y-you… damn bastard… You… You won’t get away with this… All the demons will…”
“Demons? Demons? Bullshit. I’m an evil god worshipper. You can’t survive in this harsh world if you’re afraid of mere demons.”
“Wh-what? Evil god…? S-such a thing… exists…?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you know there are good gods too? By the way, this girl here is my eighth wife, and she’s a former angel. Pretty impressive, right?”
“A-are you… crazy…? What in the…”
“Whatever. Have you ever even talked to the demon you worship?”
“T-they… Those noble beings would never answer the questions of a lowly being like me…”
The demon worshipper continued, as if what Jang Jo-joon had said was utter nonsense to him.
The demons had never answered any of his questions.
But the man in front of him spoke as if he was quite close to the evil gods he worshipped.
Daniel couldn’t understand it at all. Jang Jo-joon looked down at the struggling Daniel and sneered.
“Maybe they didn’t answer because you’re just too insignificant?”
Daniel felt dizzy. Where did this demonic man come from?
“Ugh… Th-that can’t be…!”
Crack!
Jo-joon crushed Daniel’s head before he could finish speaking. There was no information to be gleaned from him. He couldn’t be enslaved nor could he be offered as a sacrifice.
This young man in his early twenties was just a figurehead relying on his class to hold a position in this group.
The real work was done by the man named Moon Geun-o and the old man named Yang Ji-sang.
“Phew. Let’s hurry upstairs. I’m worried about the others.”
“Alright. Hey, Ah-ram? What are you waiting for?”
“J-just a moment.”
Just as they were about to head upstairs, Ah-ram was staring into space.
At the same time, something appeared before Jo-joon’s eyes.
Slave Han Ah-ram has achieved the ‘Half-Demon’s Karma’ achievement!
Choose your achievement reward.
The Demon Slayer has gathered sufficient magic.
Part of the previous generation’s power engraved in the class will be inherited!
Rampages caused by demonic blood will be reduced!
Also, all forms of restraints and limitations currently placed on the Demon Slayer will be removed.
Warning!!! Slave Han Ah-ram’s Slave Brand will be removed!!!
“Oh… Fuck…”
Jo-joon immediately distanced himself from Han Ah-ram.
He wasn’t sure if she still harbored resentment for him killing Han Tae-yang.
At the same time, Han Ah-ram dropped her hammer.
There was no benefit in fighting him.
She had already made her calculations in that short timeframe.
If she became hostile or fought Jang Jo-joon, she would lose. There was no way to win.
His skills were incredibly powerful, and she wasn’t confident that she could block Merhere’s red sickle. She knew she was only strong against demons. She wasn’t arrogant. So she accurately assessed the situation.
If she antagonized Jang Jo-joon now, she would be killed and offered as a sacrifice to some unknown being, or she would be subjugated again, branded as a slave, and treated worse than livestock as someone who had betrayed him once.
She decided it was better to surrender first and return to his protection.
It was true that Jang Jo-joon had killed her younger brother, Han Tae-yang. But it was her and Han Tae-yang who had attacked first.
Moreover, if asked if she was close to Han Tae-yang before the apocalypse… They weren’t really close.
Han Tae-yang was always out and about, and their personalities clashed.
They fought more often than they showed affection. She was much closer to Ah-reum even after the apocalypse started.
She had only grown closer to Han Tae-yang in the ruined world because family was all they could rely on back then.
Now, she was more worried about Ah-reum.
If she attacked Jo-joon out of some misguided sense of revenge… Ah-reum would truly be alone.
“I surrender. I have no intention of fighting you.”
Han Ah-ram knelt while speaking formally.
Pride didn’t matter to her.
Jang Jo-joon hadn’t treated her badly. Perhaps because they had slept together, but he treated her as an equal to the other women.
Although he had killed her blood relative, he had also protected her and Ah-reum.
As Ah-ram bowed her head in submission, the message Jo-joon had seen once before appeared before his eyes.
The opponent has submitted to you.
Jo-joon had been worried because Han Ah-ram had inherited some power from her ancestor or whatever and her Slave Brand had been removed. He had thought that he might not be able to brand her again.
But fortunately, he could still brand her. The curse, restraints, and domination skills placed on her had simply been lifted.
“Haa…”
Jo-joon sighed in relief as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
He lifted her chin, revealing her forehead, and branded her once more.
“Thank you. And well done. You made the right choice. I’ll continue to treat you well.”
“Th-thank you…”
“Forget the formalities. I prefer that you speak casually to me.”
“Okay…”
Jo-joon kissed Han Ah-ram’s forehead.
And held her in his arms for a moment.
He had been worried that the situation might turn sour.
The chilling thought that he might have to dispose of a woman he had slept with several times made his head spin.
He lifted Ah-ram into his arms and brushed the dust off her body.
Then, seeing her still trembling slightly, perhaps from lingering tension, he extended his hand.
“Let’s go. The others must be waiting.”
Han Ah-ram quickly took his hand.
To survive. For her sister.
And for her own happiness.
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T/N – Wow, the glazing for the MC is strong in this chapter. Also, Stockholm Syndrome much. Lastly, is it weird that the Abyssal Roach is kinda growing on me? This is the first time that I found a giant cockroach character likable.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
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