By Zephyria Monsters kept appearing from somewhere. Kill, eat. According to the principle, the source must be eradicated. That way, you won’t be threatened by Monsters, or something like that for formal reasons. Even though he knew it, Eui-jae didn’t move. What if the Monsters no longer appear after dealing with the source?
‘I’ll starve to death.’
Or have to eat humans.
Everyone must be thinking the same. Even J did.
People’s skin is gradually turning white. Some people already have white hair. He could tell instinctively. It’s ominous. Something is wrong. They have to stop eating.
But he couldn’t tell people who eat to live to stop eating. How about stopping eating? Isn’t your body strange? He cautiously brought it up, but chilling gazes returned. An indifferent voice asks.
What’s wrong?
It was a terrible look. Cold sweat flows. J shook his head, saying it was nothing. Only then did the eyes that had been staring as if to kill him disappear.
He reduced the amount he ate. He gives up his share. People liked the increased amount. Some people praised him, saying he was indeed a hero. J laughed. To be called a hero for giving up a meal, the value of a hero was too cheap. No, maybe it’s expensive here.
The time spent starving increases. It feels like his stomach is sticking to his back. He has to endure.
“……”
It’s hard to endure.
I’m hungry.
I’m so hungry.
Whenever that happened, J headed to the sea. He removes the ashes floating on the dead sea and fills his stomach with the terrible-tasting water. He vomits but drinks it down. That’s how he can live.
People no longer search the surroundings. They just lie in the camp and wait for the Monsters to come. J stares blankly at the pure white sky and thinks. How is this different from breeding? How is it different from beasts trapped in a cage? His self-loathing and questions were buried in the dead sea as they were. He didn’t even have the strength to think.
The sound of Monsters is heard. People who had been lying as if dead get up one by one and prepare to hunt. J doesn’t get up and just listens.
’20 Monsters?’
The number of Monsters coming to the base camp gradually increased day by day. It was like a Monster Wave. But J erased that thought. There’s no need to cause anxiety with unnecessary stories.
‘I can handle it….’
Perhaps because he kept dealing with Monsters, people quickly dealt with 20 of them. He’ll have to go to the sea again. The terrible taste of the dead sea’s water became somewhat bearable as he drank it. It’s a huge development. Humans are indeed animals of adaptation.
Thud, the sound of a weapon piercing flesh is heard. It’s almost time to go to the sea. It’s hard to endure hunger when you smell the scent of roasting flesh. The moment J picked up his spear, a strange sound was heard….
Crack…. Squeak.
It’s the sound of something hard twisting and turning. J raised his head and looked at the source of the sound. The back and arms of a muscular Hunter were twisted strangely.
“…■■■ Hunter?”
There is no answer. People are busy disassembling the Monsters. Thud, thud…. Translucent liquid splatters. While the Monster’s body is being disassembled, the Hunter’s body is gradually swelling. J adjusted his spear. It’s strange. But can he attack right away? He’s still human. Or is he not?
From the moment he dealt with those who killed his comrades, J couldn’t easily swing his spear.
Hesitation.
But J swung his spear. Because that was his role. Protecting people’s safety.
Taking responsibility.
He gasped for breath. Red blood dripped from the spearhead that pierced the swollen body. The Monster’s blood is translucent white. Then, is the one I pierced a human? Or a Monster?
J turns his head. People were looking at J in the same way they were disassembling the Monsters. Their eyes were strange. J forced out a voice.
“…Don’t eat it.”
“……”
“If you eat it…. You can become like the ■■■ Hunter. Don’t eat it.”
People didn’t answer. The stopped hands begin to move. Thud, thud, thud….
J closes his eyes. He turns his head and turns away from them. And he moved to clean up the lives he had taken. The limp body is dragged across the floor. Red bloodstains remain long on the white ashes.
I want to live. They do too, and so do I. It’s just that the methods we chose are different. J decided to respect their choices.
…Maybe he gave up. Cowardly. J mocked himself.
He doesn’t know how long it’s been. It’s been a long time since he counted the days. Recently, the frequency of Monster appearances and the number of Monsters that come at once have increased. Enough for people to eat their fill and still have Monster carcasses left over. It’s not a good sign. There must be a reason why the number suddenly increased. J approached the people who were handling the blunt weapons.
“I’ll go take a look around.”
“What?”
“I’m wondering why the number of Monsters has increased. I’m going to check if there are any changes in the surroundings.”
“……”
People exchanged glances with each other. And they nodded as if to say do as you please. J felt a strange sense of distance. Surely we were comrades. When did we become so distant? The meal times when we all laughed and talked together seemed like a distant memory. Even until the moment he packed his bags and left the camp for the last time, there wasn’t even a formal greeting.
Is it because I killed people?
Because I didn’t eat Monsters with them?
He didn’t know. There were many questions, but there wasn’t a single appropriate answer. J dragged his heavy feet and roamed the pure white ruins in search of traces of Monsters. And he found a huge nesting made of stone.
“……”
The nesting without a Master was full of white ashes and human bones. J rummaged through the bone fragments. Items were scattered among the broken and cracked bones. Things used by Hunters. Could it be from the advance team? J touched the bones and put them down. He has to collect the remains, but,
‘There are too many to take alone….’
In the end, he took the relatively intact items and bone fragments first. He’ll have to go to the base camp and find someone to move them together. Although he doesn’t know if there will be anyone.
It was the moment he arrived near the base camp. A strong smell of blood stung the tip of his nose. Following that, he heard the sound of hard things colliding and rupturing. The back of his neck turned cold. J put down the remains and ran.
When he finally arrived at the base camp.
“J, it’s J!”
“J is here…!”
“Save me, please save me! Please! Please!”
It was after numerous Monsters had trampled the base camp and the people.
A giant snake passes by, crushing people. Numerous Monsters slaughter the survivors. Red blood splattered. The base camp where he had stayed for a long time was covered in blood and corpses. The giant snake, Basilisk, flapped its wings and disappeared just before J rushed in. Monsters swarmed in.
J adjusted his spear. His body began to move mechanically. In the most efficient form.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill and kill again.
However.
“……”
Even after killing everything, the end did not come.
Only perfect silence came.
J suddenly thought. Will it end only when I die too? But he didn’t want to die. He wanted to live. He killed because he wanted to live, and he endured until now because he wanted to live.
So J scraped together the corpses of his comrades. And he crouched down near it. He has to take responsibility for them. He has to go back. Responsibility and promises will save him. J created a reason to live, even if he was alone. Forcibly.
Time passed. At some point, he no longer felt hunger. What was harder to bear than that was the silence. The ruins where he couldn’t hear anyone’s voice, breathing, or even the sound of the wind were lonely. Eui-jae began to mutter anything.
It hurts. It’s hard. I’m tired. I want to go home. When he finished saying what he wanted to say, he recited the names of the people who came with him one by one. He kept repeating that.
His vision was all red. The bitter smell of blood doesn’t go away. He has no sensation in his whole body. His parched throat ached as if it would tear, but he didn’t stop muttering. He knows that he can’t bear it if there isn’t even a small noise. But there is no one to make noise for him. The pain of the flesh has dulled, but there is no way to avoid the scenery that pierces his heart….
At that time, he heard someone’s footsteps. Splatter, splatter…. Someone was approaching, stepping on the muddy pool of blood. It must be a delusion. I’m the only one alive here.
It hurts. It’s hard. I’m tired. I want to go home.
I want to go back.
“You were in a place like this. In a rough place.”
Flap,
Something black covered his upper body. The red light that had filled his vision disappeared. Instead of the smell of blood, there was a sweet scent. Eui-jae slowly stopped muttering. What is it? His head wasn’t working. Lukewarm warmth touched his head.
A low voice whispered.
“When you go back… live quietly.”
How long has it been since he heard someone else’s voice? He didn’t know. Eui-jae listened to the new sound as much as possible. He wanted to hear more. Silence is scary.
At that time, something lifted the black thing that covered his vision. I don’t want to. I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to see blood anymore. Eui-jae lowered his head. He heard a low laugh.
“…That’s what I said.”
“……”
“There’s no way you can live like that. Isn’t that right?”
A pure white System Window appeared above the black vision.
[Warning! This is an act of overwriting previously recorded memories. It is unknown what consequences will follow.]
[Would you still like to proceed?]
A low voice answered.
“Proceed.”
[Confirmed. Overwriting memories….]
“Good, that’s it…. Look up.”
Strangely, he wants to follow his words. Eui-jae carefully raised his head. What covered him was a black coat, and what lifted the coat was a black leather glove. Through the gap, he could see a Gas mask. Eui-jae blinked blankly. Beyond the Gas mask lens, purple eyes narrowed slightly.
“That’s a bit harsh. Just covering you with a coat.”
A thumb rubbed his dry cheek. A gentle voice asked.
“Did you wait long?”
Eui-jae moved his lips. No voice came out. A large hand covered his cheek.
“I came to pick you up.”