novelraw Chapter 60 : How to Survive the Apocalypse (1)
Chapter 60 : How to Survive the Apocalypse (1)
Chapter 60: How to Survive the Apocalypse (1)
The battle was over.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Kang Yohan and the rest of the party all slipped out of the hospital.
Inside the hospital were injured paladins and priests, and….
Only the Saintess who had been left alone in the seminar room remained.
“…….”
The Saintess quietly clenched her fist.
Only after a few seconds did she listlessly open her fingers.
As if to say she had lost whatever had been in her hand.
“Even though I prepared this far… it failed. To think someone would touch the sacred magic circle and steal the authority of the Sacred Sword….”
It was something no one had thought possible.
It was a sight so unbelievable even while watching it.
She still half wondered if she were dreaming.
“I did say the odds were fifty-fifty, but honestly, that surprised me too. Was that one from a cult? No, even if he’d crawled around there, that kind of thing should’ve been impossible….”
Reina’s spider kept tilting its head.
“What was the deal you proposed earlier? What did you say it involved?”
“Ooh! Now you’re interested?”
“A little. But from my point of view, being told to deal with someone is a rather burdensome demand.”
“Hmm. You don’t sound like an outright refusal. It sounds like there might be room for negotiation — am I right?”
“Yes. If there’s something worth the risk, I wouldn’t be unable to act.”
A smartphone alone would not be enough.
They would have to capture Kang Yohan alive, or hand over something else.
Reina, who had been thinking for a moment, spoke.
“Aren’t you curious what fortune cookie Kang Yohan drew?”
The reason they had to come into this hospital even while deceiving the Saintess.
Which one of the many roads and omens he had chosen that made him commit such a reckless act.
She would tell them.
Reina placed a new card on the table.
Then.
“That is… certainly interesting.”
A change passed over the Saintess’s face.
She had made up her mind.
“What is the name of that person?”
Someone the rank-1 wanted handled so badly they would go this far.
The Saintess was curious who it was.
“Seo Changhee.”
Reina smiled faintly as she revealed the identity of that person.
＊＊＊
A suffocating day passed.
After causing a commotion in the hospital for several hours, the brain demanded sugar nonstop.
‘That was pretty close.’
If there had been even one mistake in the timing of the Sacred Sword’s summoning or in controlling it, the battle would have become far more chaotic.
A few people would have died in the process.
However, because the plan had been perfectly laid out, they had produced the best possible result.
With that, they had survived the first day.
By the way, there was one big problem….
— Fight someone with a rank of Second Moon or higher within the second day.
Even now, the grains in the hourglass were falling.
Under pursuit by the Saintess, it would be difficult to rashly go after another apostle.
If they were attacked in turn again this time, it could get considerably troublesome.
‘They’ll need some time to prepare for that.’
Could that be done within twenty-four hours?
Time was far too tight.
Where would someone with a Second Moon rank or higher just drop in from?
Just as those thoughts crossed his mind.
Sbab.
“Hmm. Hng….”
With a familiar hum, a black-haired beauty approached.
The missing Witch of the Maple Tree.
It was Vivian Astraia.
She looked as neat as could be, not a scratch on her, as if she had been pampered.
“You’re late.”
Kang Yohan changed his tone as he greeted Vivian.
“What happened?”
“I met an old colleague.”
Vivian smiled brightly as she recalled the events from a few hours ago.
“We had a rather entertaining conversation.”
An entertaining conversation, huh.
Whether that entertainment was mutual would have to be heard from the other side, but he could guarantee it hadn’t been a pleasant time.
“If it was an old colleague, you must have met Arabella Rosewood.”
Information Kang Yohan had extracted from Kain Belmaier on the train.
If Vivian said she had met someone, it could only have been that person.
“……As expected, Kang Yohan, you know everything. Yes. I was with her.”
“Did Arabella… did you kill her?”
He prayed inwardly to every god in existence in this world, including the god of light, that she had not.
Two episodes alone were already no small matter; facing the Grand Witches’ Assembly as well was something he absolutely didn’t want.
“I intended to, but unfortunately I lost her at the end. I suppose my training was insufficient. If it had been you, Kang Yohan, you would’ve never missed her.”
May light rise from the east and shine!
Thank goodness. Truly a relief.
While he breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, something brushed past Kang Yohan’s mind.
Wait, now that he thought about it.
There was a Second Moon rank here too?
If things went well, they might get through this second-day battle as well.
“Vivian.”
Kang Yohan’s voice changed by 180 degrees.
It was an intensity that would make anyone flinch.
“Yes?”
“Why did you let her get away?”
“That is….”
Vivian faltered as she trailed off.
Just as an excuse was about to come, Kang Yohan cut her off.
“I brought you along because I trusted you for this episode. I thought that no matter what variable arose, we would not fail. I had such confidence — wasn’t that why you asked to join me?”
They could not afford defeat.
They always had to take victory with dignity and complete the mission.
That was the minimum condition for walking with a Transcendent.
“How should I make amends?”
“You will bear responsibility. That is the cost of a mistake.”
“I’ll go right now and rip out her throat.”
That was taking it too far.
People were not Lego. Why did she always talk about pulling someone’s head out?
Please, listen to the end of the sentence.
“Vivian Astraia. You have disappointed me again.”
His tone carried more sorrow than scolding.
The bitter shake of his head was the point.
“The responsibility I mean is not covering one’s faults with another’s death. Remember this. Those who flee and avoid will not be graced by the blessings of the moon and stars.”
Having built up that much, a punishment seemed acceptable.
Vivian squeezed her eyes shut.
Patches.
Kang Yohan squeezed out the last of his mana.
To make Great Misfortune recognize this as battle, he had to give it everything.
He pushed about three times harder than when he had controlled the Saintess’s Sacred Sword to kill the gravedigger.
His lips trembled, but he kept his expression as calm as possible.
Buuung!
His fist aimed for the crown of the head.
The fastest strike using the shortest distance was delivered.
There were three accelerations in between….
Papapang!
A sonic boom erupted.
This was him.
It was the “power” visible in the heir of Ataraxia.
Ttak-kong!
Vivian’s head turned back about three degrees.
White smoke curled up due to the [Holy Flame].
“Ouch ouch. Ah… that stung.”
Vivian cupped the spot she had been hit with her palm.
It seemed like a slight bump had formed, but it was hard to tell with the naked eye.
“…….”
Honestly, if he had not been hungry, the result would have been completely different.
Besides, when he put his strength into that final moment, he had slipped and briefly lost his balance.
He had not cut his nails in a while, so when he had made a fist the nails digging into his palm was another nontrivial factor.
These were not excuses but reasonable reasons.
“Please let this be a lesson. Do not disappoint me next time.”
Kang Yohan placed his left hand on Vivian’s head.
It was exactly the spot where he had flicked her.
“Ah….”
Vivian’s drowsy eyes widened and her lips moved.
“We will move soon. Prepare yourselves.”
After finishing his words, Kang Yohan turned his body.
However.
Before he had even taken a few steps, he clenched his molars tightly.
Hmm. Something was wrong.
The fist he had struck with would not move well.
A few fingers felt like they were broken. His wrist bones seemed to be damaged too.
He would have to go to Lagerseh right away and ask for healing with the Primitive Blessing.
As Kang Yohan told the rest of the party to move, Vivian — who had been left alone — once again stroked the bump on her head.
Slowly. Very gently.
With complex emotion.
‘Indeed… such a kind person.’
There had been no mercy from the masters she had served until now.
—You call that a failure? And yet you still breathe before me?
—Being locked in an underground prison for five years will bring a bit of sanity back.
—I will burn every maple tree so that that disgusting tea can never be drunk again.
Cold, dark memories from the past.
In contrast….
It felt warm.
The light flick to the head, like a disciplinary flick, was a punishment Vivian had felt for the first time.
Surely, he had taken care with his hand.
She could feel that he had spared strength and mana so as not to hurt her.
‘I must do better. I must not disappoint him.’
For the first time she had chosen to follow of her own accord.
To remain by his side, she had to become stronger still.
＊＊＊
‘First, find a place to spend the first night.’
Monsters became more active at night.
The chance of encountering anomalous side quests or calamities was also much higher.
Therefore, the orthodox approach was to secure a safe stronghold and rest within it.
“Where are we going? We should at least get something to eat and drink.”
Park Joohee asked cautiously.
“To a mart, of course! After battle — meat! Protein! And more meat is needed!”
Rodbrock shouted.
“There’s an Emart nearby on the map. Maybe… they’ll have hair growth tonic. Or wigs, perhaps.”
Go Hanil also voiced his opinion with earnestness.
Besides, his hair was still shining.
A mart….
In fact, going to a supermarket in an apocalypse was an immutable truth across east and west.
Of course, because everyone thought the same, competition would be fierce.
“By now it should’ve fallen into the hands of guilds and looters.”
They would not have left a large warehouse brimming with food and essentials alone.
“That makes sense.”
“So, shall we aim for another place?”
No. No way.
Someone would have gone first, secured the entrance, and organized the goods by type.
So.
“Then we will take it by force.”
Honestly, as long as they avoided the Saintess and the Requiem Order, the rest would not be a big problem.
Moreover, the likelihood of meeting those guys here was low.
The big players had probably occupied central department stores or Costcos and Traders rather than peripheral marts.
‘Secure supplies, finish what needs to be done around here by tomorrow, then return to Daejeon Station.’
If they could just reach the Yokai Train, they could sleep with legs stretched out for thirty days.
Crack.
Kang Yohan cracked the knuckles of his hands.
It was time to claim a warm bed and food to soothe hunger.
The members who had chosen a destination moved quickly.
The road there was fairly dreadful.
Bodies of people and monsters appeared here and there.
The once lively streets were empty; abandoned cars and flickering streetlights remained desolately.
‘This is the future to come, I suppose.’
Kang Yohan imprinted that scene with his eyes.
For now it was a problem limited to Daejeon, but after a few years the whole world would change like this.
It meant a hell where life and death hinged on a single choice or decision.
In the prohibited book that he had believed to be fictional, everything had been given little meaning.
Because it was fake.
If you failed, you could try something different in the next run.
It was easy… it was light.
There was no problem doing so.
But.
Now that it had become reality, could he make the correct decision at a crossroads?
Could he accept and shoulder the responsibility for the choices he made without regret?
He could not know the answer to that question yet.
He only hoped, from experience, that he would make the best choice even in the worst circumstances.
Before long they arrived at their destination.
Flare!
Through the rising flames here and there, Emart came into view.
“Stop right there!”
A number of people appeared at the barricade at the entrance.
Some were civilians, but most were hunters.
“This is our turf! If you need food, find somewhere else. Or we will make you into a beehive.”
A big man with a beard on his face hollered.
A rough, curt kind of people.
What was the right approach in this situation?
Tuk!
Kang Yohan threw a stick in front of the barricade.
“If you peacefully trade the items in the mart for this, no bloodshed will occur.”
They would do well to think carefully before answering.
This was the method of a great saint who loved nonviolence.