episode_0112

All that was left was to finish the greetings and leave. If that had happened, today would have ended safely and cleanly. That’s why it’s regrettable and irritating.

The sound grating on my ears portended ill. And the ill omen soon revealed its true form before us.

Immediately after two Citybacks sped past. Rumble rumble~ The sound of something running on the ground mixed with the sound of something collapsing.

The sound seemed to grow louder, then something appeared, spilling out from the intersection. It was like the debris of a cascading landslide. Or like floodwaters overflowing and surging forward.

Zombies that hadn’t been seen for a while reappeared before us, surging all at once. They ran, pushed, fell, and trampled. Yet their speed didn’t decrease, and the zombies poured out like water.

People were captivated by the unrealistic sight. Frozen as if brain-dead by the scene before their eyes. The stream of zombies began to split and head towards us, but the people still couldn’t move.

I irritably shouted for them to take cover inside the building and turned my gaze to my companions beside me. Unfortunately, my companions and the freight truck were separated because I was greeting people. The companions I could see were pulling the frozen people. They desperately ran with those who could still move.

The people and my companions took refuge in Director Jang’s hospital building right in front of us. Correspondingly, someone was blocking the market entrance again with a truck. I don’t know who it was, but it was a good decision.

Looking at the timing, it was a close call. Seeing the people hurriedly take cover, I quickly turned around.

It was just over 100 meters from the intersection where the zombies were pouring out to the market entrance. The zombies charged rapidly, as if boasting their excellent mobility. There wasn’t enough time for everyone to take cover.

“Move!!!!!!!!!” I yelled at the people who still couldn’t move. At the same time, I pulled out my crowbar and dashed forward as if propelled.

Gwaaargh! A strange, monstrous roar, as if a multitude of zombies were harmonizing.

“Kwaaah!” I swung my crowbar at the first one charging forward. Using my running momentum, with all my might, from right to left.

Thwack! With a dull thud, the zombie flew backward, toppling the zombies rushing up behind it. But that was only for a moment. The flying zombie was soon buried among the others.

The broken formation showed only a brief gap, and the zombies rushed forward, eyes rolled back.

“Kyaaah!!” I powerfully struck down a zombie that leaped up to my head height and lunged at me.

Splat! Its head burst open, and the zombie’s body, flung backward, knocked over other zombies. Without a moment to spare to look at the sight, I began to swing my crowbar wildly.

Wham wham wham-!!! With consecutive impacts, zombies flew back in the direction they had come from.

Rather than immediately bursting their heads, I attacked in a way that cut off the flow of oncoming zombies. At the same time, I created openings and made them focus on me.

Conscious of the people taking refuge behind me, I continuously swung the crowbar. I swung, struck down, and struck up. With each successive blow, a zombie flew backward, widening the gap.

Zombies that fell, crushed by the bodies of flying zombies, were trampled and burst open by the feet of other zombies charging in succession. For a moment, the flow of charging zombies slowed. In that brief gap, I quickly scanned with my eyes to assess the situation.

Firstly, I was currently in the middle of the road, drawing the attention of the zombies. Fortunately, the zombies heading towards the market entrance were rushing towards me. Even the people who moved late were safely entering the hospital. All the people, who were not a small number, had taken cover.

Relieved by that fact, I racked my brain, wondering what to do. It was then.

“Seonghan!!!” Jihyeok hyung’s shout came from behind me. I responded to his urgent and anxious cry.

“Block the entrance!!” “Come quickly!!!” “I’ll handle it, just block it!!!”

Since I was so frantic, my words weren’t polite. Having no time to look back, I shouted that and diligently pushed back the zombies.

Amidst the zombies’ roars, I heard hyung muttering curses. Still, did my message get through to him? Fortunately, he seemed to be doing as told, not trolling.

The people had evacuated; all that was left was for me to retreat. With nothing holding me back, I began to focus. At the same time, I started to gauge the timing to pull back.

My eyes ceaselessly darted, reading the zombies’ movements. The crowbar, continuously swung in my hand, made dangerous sounds. Whoosh! Whoosh! A menacing whirring sound.

Each swing unfailingly struck a zombie. And they were pushed back, trampled, burst, and new ones charged in. I had halted the flow of zombies from my standing position.

However, the zombies pushing in gradually began to surround me. Accordingly, zombies that had only been pushed backward now flew off in all directions as if bounced. Despite this, the zombies continued to charge and their numbers began to increase.

And then they began to do something incredible.

“Ah, damn it….” The zombies, which I thought were gradually pushing in, suddenly gained momentum. The visibly increased horde began to pour in like hail. It was a wave of zombies, just like what I experienced in front of the convenience store where I first met Incheol. Back then it was an alleyway, but now it was a wide road. And the number of zombies was several times greater now.

‘There’s no need to fight them directly.’ It was time to retreat.

Thud- I quickly pulled my body back and leaped onto the building on my right. A two-story building adjacent to the market entrance. First, I’d catch my breath on the rooftop—

Whoosh-!! “!” As I leaped, I heard the sound of something cutting through the air, just a whisper. I reacted reflexively to the dangerous, tearing sound. I twisted my body towards the direction of the sound and held up my crowbar vertically. And it was almost instantaneous.

Slam-!! “?!” The moment I held up my crowbar, I felt a powerful impact and recoil travel through my arm. My body was instantly driven into the asphalt.

Thump-! Snap! I instantly bounced up. Without time to identify my attacker, I swung the crowbar.

Wham wham wham-!! “You senseless bastards!!” “Kaaah!!”

Zombies surged towards me, as if they had been waiting for me to be driven into the ground. A wave of zombies crashed over me, as if intending to give no quarter.

“Huff!” I took a breath and increased my tempo. The arm swinging the crowbar gained speed. The hand gripping the crowbar was as if it could crush steel.

I tensed my lower abdomen and maintained smooth breathing. My legs stood firmly, and my waist moved smoothly, transferring power.

The sound of the crowbar swinging began to grow menacing. At the same time, zombies began to burst apart.

Splatter, splatter, splatter-! Flesh spurted with each swing of the crowbar. Brain matter or bodily fluids sprayed and scattered in all directions.

I was instantly covered in rotten zombie blood. There was no time to bother with the pieces of flesh dripping down my cheek.

‘Where is it?’ Even as I burst the zombies pushing in front of me, my eyes darted in all directions. Searching for the one that just attacked me—

“Groooaaar-!!” “!!” A massive body plunged towards me from the air, as if shot. Its two arms, raised high, clearly showed its intent.

“Hmph!” Whoosh- Thwack-! I struck upwards with the crowbar towards the two brutally descending arms.

Crash-! I felt the asphalt under my feet crumble. The ambusher was thrown backward, unable to withstand the impact, and fell. After rolling a couple of times, it trembled and got up.

‘…….’ The ambusher was also a zombie. And a considerably massive one at that. Loose and torn pieces of skin, like ill-fitting clothes, indicated that it was a corpse.

I don’t know what kind of transformation it underwent, but its bulk was enormous. Its upper body muscles were severely developed, and its arms were as thick as an adult man’s torso. And they were very long. Its arms reached down below its knees. Its hands, dangling below its knees, were monstrously large, matching the thickness of its arms. Though they appeared mangled, perhaps from hitting my crowbar.

Unlike its menacingly large upper body, its lower body was that of a normal zombie. Its attached face was also of regular size. It looked like a prime example of a failed bulk-up. Its standing posture and overall appearance vaguely resembled a gorilla. However, its actions and monstrous strength were incomparable.

It was clearly a zombie, yet it growled like a beast. Its rotten, gray eyeballs fixed on me. The other zombies merely bared their teeth behind this behemoth, not charging at me.

Instead of meeting the gaze of the zombie before me, I looked down. My right hand, which held the crowbar, felt light. Was it because it had blocked two powerful blows head-on? Or was it because I had overworked and abused it so much until now?

My crowbar, when I looked down, was crudely broken. The rest of the broken piece was nowhere to be seen. Just… a sense of loss beyond the mere lightening of its weight.

I carefully placed the crowbar fragment I was holding into my inventory. And pulled out another item. With a surge of profound anger rising deep in my chest, I growled lowly.

“…You’re dead. You ape-bastard!!!” “Groooaaargh!!” Leaving behind the lament for my partner, the second round began.