After finishing the explanation.
“Well, that’s how it is.”
“...Eat demon meat?”
“Yeah. If there’s someone you don’t like, say it now...”
As I continued speaking—
Wobble—
and—
I felt my body sway.
‘Uh...?’
Strength drained from my legs.
My vision went blurry.
The reason...
was easy to guess.
‘Damn it, I overdid it.’
Even if I had a type advantage.
I fought more than a hundred Abnormal Appetites that strong.
I had to stack multiple dishes.
And then I pushed myself way too hard in that state.
‘Penalty from excessive cooking...’
Ariella’s blood had at least damped that penalty.
But I’d taken quite a lot of wounds.
Vampire blood must have been barely enough just to heal the injuries.
On top of that, a skill that burns through a massive amount of mana.
I forced it with Five Loaves and Two Fish and overcooked it.
Then I squeezed out Divine power and turned those guys back into humans.
‘If I were fine after all that, that’d be what’s weird, damn it.’
Ariella and Kkamang were still waiting in the shadows.
Even if I collapsed, it wouldn’t be a problem.
But I couldn’t just suddenly pass out like this either.
“If you have no complaints... follow me.”
Even as I felt my eyes closing,
I clenched my teeth and kept talking.
“If you do...”
I felt my body pressed down by gravity.
I forced the words out as much as I could.
“I’ll make you...”
Responsible.
Into a single soldier.
I couldn’t finish the rest.
Thud.
My body fully collapsed.
My eyes closed.
Consciousness vanished.
‘Well... they probably understood what I was trying to say.’
Thinking that,
I dozed off for a moment.
****
Thud.
“...?”
“W-what the.”
The very man who had inflicted great pain on them,
and the man who had freed them from the demon.
As he was talking and suddenly toppled over,
the gathered people could only be flustered.
“...Hold on.”
When he didn’t move for quite a while,
a few people cautiously stood up.
“...Huff.”
Just getting close
made the pain they’d felt during that short time as monsters seem to come back.
Terror took hold of their minds.
They crept closer and checked his face.
“This looks like...”
“Mm. Looks like he really fainted.”
They checked carefully, worried he might wake.
This soldier looked definitely unconscious.
“He was talking just fine and then just faints—what is that?”
“...Could it be a trap?”
“A trap?”
“You know, that thing. Pretending to be defenseless and seeing how we react...”
It seemed unlikely he’d go that far.
But their eyes turned to the collapsed soldier’s face.
‘...How to put it.’
‘He looks very sharp.’
A face that was decently, ordinarily handsome,
but strangely sharp and cruel-looking.
“...Mm. That makes sense.”
“A man who did something that cruel. It wouldn’t be strange if he laid some vicious trap.”
Seeing that fierce face,
the theory that he’d set a vicious trap gained weight.
But—
“I don’t know...”
Wonjun
shook his head at that opinion.
“Isn’t it more likely he really fainted?”
“What?”
“He forced the termination of our contracts and changed our jobs. After doing something that absurd, there’s no way he’d be fine.”
“Ah...”
“I don’t know the details, but there must be some kind of side effect.”
That was a fairly convincing statement too.
People nodded.
They wrestled with it.
A brief silence followed.
“Then... what will you do now.”
Someone broke the silence and spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s say that man really is defenselessly unconscious. Then what are we going to do?”
He looked at the humans around him,
the ones who had been his comrades.
“If it isn’t a trap and he really fainted... killing him wouldn’t be hard.”
“...!”
“I’m grateful he changed our jobs, but everyone remembers, don’t you? The pain he gave us...”
When they became [Abnormal Appetite],
everyone lost most of their reason.
It was a short time,
but most of their memories were gone or left only as a blur.
Even so,
there was exactly one thing they remembered, namely—
‘Carving flesh off and drawing blood while alive... the pain.’
Even though reason hadn’t existed in that state,
even though they couldn’t recall anything about what happened then,
the pain they’d felt then
was lodged in their brains and still tormented them.
Tremble...
As they recalled that pain,
their hands shook with fear.
The one who had inflicted tremendous pain on them.
That was obviously that soldier.
And right now, that soldier—
“Is unconscious.”
“...”
“If he opens his eyes again, he might give us that pain again. But if he’s like this now... it would be possible to take care of him.”
“Take care of him?”
“Think about it. We aren’t tangled up with the demon anymore, so if we just take care of that soldier, we’re free. If we go somewhere and lie low, those soldiers won’t be able to find us easily.”
At those words,
a stir spread among those who had once been contractors.
“There’s still a chance it’s a trap...”
“...I mean, whichever way you slice it, he freed us from the contract, so betraying him is a bit...”
“Even so... freedom.”
No one could make a rash decision.
In the end,
they needed someone to decide on behalf of everyone.
And
their gazes turned to one place.
“You decide.”
“...Me?”
Choi Wonjun.
The man who had once been called the Guide.
“You want me to decide... you all know. I...”
There was only one reason he could lead the contractors.
Because he was the first to make a contract with the demon.
That contract had practically been a scam.
“I’m the one who suggested that near-scam contract to you. If anything, I deserve to be punished by you. And yet, you want someone like me to decide on your behalf...”
“Deserve to be punished, huh. That’s not exactly wrong.”
As things stood,
he was clearly a sinner.
When the truth of the demon contract had come to light,
there weren’t a few who had harbored resentment toward him.
However—
“You’re also the one who risked death and spoke up back then.”
“...”
The moment he put words in his mouth that went against the demon,
the odds of dying were overwhelming.
Even so, Wonjun, representing them,
opened his mouth to say he wanted freedom.
“You spoke on our behalf then, too.”
If Wonjun had been the cause of them becoming contractors,
then the trigger that let them regain their freedom was likewise him.
“Then I think you should represent us from now on as well.”
“To begin with... this isn’t exactly some kind of reward.”
The role of leading them
was by no means a reward.
Leading people in a world like this was never easy.
“You committed the sin of making us contract with the demon...”
“From now on, you’re going to be responsible and lead us.”
The sin he committed.
To pay for that sin,
in this chaotic world,
he had to lead them in the right way.
“...All right.”
It wouldn’t be easy,
but that was how he would settle his sin.
Wonjun nodded.
In the end, he once again took on the role of leading the people.
But
he wasn’t called the Guide this time.
“Then, Mr. Wonjun.”
“Let’s hear what you think we should do.”
“...Well.”
At those words,
Wonjun silently...
Step...
walked toward the collapsed soldier.
Seeing that,
the people thought:
‘So he’s going to kill him after all.’
The man who had given them extreme pain.
If they took care of him and went far away,
even soldiers wouldn’t easily be able to retaliate.
That’s what everyone thought—
“...Heave-ho.”
“...Huh?”
Wonjun slid an arm under the unconscious soldier’s shoulder
and lifted his body.
“W-what are you doing?”
“What do you think.”
Recognized again as their leader,
he spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“He told us to follow him... so we should follow.”
“What did you say?”
“I already figured out where their military unit is. Chuncheon, was it... it’ll be a long road.”
At that,
the people could only be puzzled.
“No, but why on earth...?”
“We could just operate freely on our own. You’re saying we should follow him?”
The answer to that question
was actually simple.
“Even if we operate freely on our own... what changes?”
“...”
They had fallen into despair, believing they could not escape annihilation.
Even if they’d briefly regained freedom now,
as long as the premise that they couldn’t overcome annihilation remained,
it only meant their lifespans had been extended a little.
The unavoidable despair remained.
But—
“This man told us to follow him.”
“...”
“He collapsed in the middle, so I didn’t hear his last words... but what he was going to say is obvious.”
Follow me.
If you do.
He collapsed after saying that much.
What would have come next could only be one thing.
“He was going to say he’d deliver us.”
“...!”
There wasn’t much else that came to mind.
“Can we trust him?”
“I don’t know. But he did prove some of his ability.”
Wonjun
looked at the soldier hanging from his shoulder.
“Because he... delivered us from evil.”
His features did look a bit savage.
But looking closely, he could tell.
“He’s much younger than I thought. They said he’s a Sergeant, so he’s an enlisted man, not an officer... at most mid-twenties, maybe even early twenties.”
“...”
“Relying on someone not just young but practically a kid stings my pride.”
Step.
Wonjun, the sinner carrying the soldier, took a step forward.
He didn’t believe in the existence of gods.
But—
“The demon wasn’t a god for us either. Our faith was betrayed again.”
“...”
“But if there really is just one last chance...”
Even if he couldn’t believe in gods or demons,
he still believed
in human goodwill.
“I don’t think it’s bad to try believing in this man.”
“...”
“And more than anything.”
They had been monsters for a short time.
But before becoming monsters—
“Demon meat, huh.”
The taste of the meat scraps
still lingering in their mouths was vivid.
“Biting into it... seems like it’d be quite something.”
“...Heh heh. True enough.”
“Ahem. I am a little curious what it tastes like!”
Wonjun wordlessly started walking somewhere.
And in response,
a few more people stepped in and slid their arms into the soldier’s armpits.
Those who had once served the demon—
many gathered in one place to lift one man.
It looked less like support,
and more like, how to put it,
something close to worshiping the one they lifted.
[Stat — Divine power increases.]
The sinners carrying the soldier headed somewhere.
Where they were headed was a military base.
The army that smashed the demon’s army.
The Iron army.
And...
Watching that scene,
‘...I thought I’d be able to restore the lost vassals right away.’
the vampire in the shadows
chuckled lightly.
‘Anyway, lucky bastards.’
****
A few weeks later.
“Huff, huff...”
“Uurgh...”
Soldiers drenched in sweat from head to toe.
Some were panting roughly, and many were dry heaving.
The exhausted soldiers were the fortunate ones.
Around them—
tanks reinforced by the engineers.
Several of those powerful engines of war lay destroyed and strewn about.
Every building nearby was half-ruined.
“Medic, now!”
“C-coming!”
“H-here too...”
All over the place, soldiers with severe combat wounds were lying against the rubble of broken buildings,
and in between them, soldiers wearing medic armbands were running around busily.
“Ugh...”
“Careful. If you step on a monster corpse and get buried, it’s hard to dig you out.”
Monster corpses spread so thick there was nowhere to step
told how grueling this battle had been.
However,
no matter how grueling a battle is,
it has an end.
“Whew...”
A man vented the stress of a hard fight by biting into a Combat Rations pack instead of a cigarette.
Sergeant Lee Minjae shouted:
“Battle over!”
“...Good work, sir!”
At that cracked voice,
the soldiers answered loudly as well.
The enemies had been strong, no doubt,
but thanks to the corps commander’s possessed prophecy, the battle ended in the Legion’s overwhelming victory.
And
this victory was far from ordinary.
“Huff...”
The captain of the assault team,
the Legion’s strongest soldier,
Corporal Jeon Gwangil’s massive body shook the ground as he walked forward.
On his shoulder
he held a large flag.
The emblem that symbolized the Legion.
A flag bearing a lizard with steel scales.
When he
planted that flag in the middle of the ruined county office remains—
Ting—
a few lines of messages appeared before the eyes of soldiers belonging to the Legion.
[You have succeeded in an occupation!]
[You have gained control over the territory ‘Small City (1) — Hongcheon’ in region ROK.17.]
[While control over the territory is maintained, you gain additional occupation points.]
A few weeks had passed since the big battle with the contractors ended.
The Legion had finally succeeded in occupying an additional area... Hongcheon County.
Seeing the messages float up,
Sergeant Lee Minjae thought:
‘At last...’
Yeongseo region.
North of Daegwallyeong.
[Guild — Iron Legion]
[Controlled Territory List]
[Affiliated Region — ROK.17]
[Mountain Range — 3%]
[Small City (3) — Inje — 3%]
[Small City (2) — Hwacheon — 3%]
[Small City (1) — Hongcheon — 5%]
[Metropolis (2) — Chuncheon — 6%]
[Allied Territory List]
[The Jogye Order of Korea — Myohyangsa — Small City (5) — Yanggu — 3%]
Counting the power of the allied force, Myohyangsa,
a total of 23%.
Every area except Cheorwon County, where the Green Manes’ civil war was raging,
was recognized as the Legion’s domain...
Also—
[World Event — Occupation War Status]
[Affiliated Region — ROK.17]
“Took long enough.”
“You’re telling me.”
[Region Occupation War Status]
[1. Parasite B-36S-type Mutant (36%)]
[2. Iron Legion — 20%]
They had succeeded in occupying about a quarter of Gangwon-do.
Aside {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} from the zombies...
ROK.17.
It was the moment they firmly established themselves as the largest power in Gangwon-do.
