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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Cataclysm (4)
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"Huff... huff... huff!"
Choi Kyung-do ran like a madman, drool spilling from his mouth.
"What... what the hell is this?!"
He'd been working at a funeral home, preparing a ceremony, when a massive roar suddenly shook the air. Monsters he'd never seen before poured out from every direction.
At first, he'd thought it was a movie shoot and watched with interest. But when he saw someone nearby get torn apart alive by a Giant Hound, he finally grasped the situation.
He stuck to crowded areas as much as possible, fleeing whenever a Giant Hound attacked. His judgment was sharper than anyone's.
"M-Mister! Help me! Please save me!"
A high school girl who'd been fleeing with him tripped, her legs giving out as she cried for help.
Without a moment's hesitation, he abandoned her.
"S-Save you? You look tougher than me—how the hell am I supposed to help?!"
Running desperately for his life, Choi Kyung-do suddenly realized where he was headed. His face drained of color.
"Fuck... fuck, I'm screwed...!"
He was familiar with the layout here from all the funerals at the hospital morgue.
And the path he was blindly sprinting down led to a dead end.
"N-No...!"
Finally reaching the end of the road, Choi Kyung-do's legs trembled uncontrollably.
With eyes filled with despair, he turned around.
A single Giant Hound sat there, staring at him calmly.
"H-Hiiiik!"
A chill of terror buckled his knees, and he collapsed to the ground.
The word "death" flooded his mind, loosening his bladder as fluid soaked his pants.
"N-No... Not me... not dying in a shithole like this...!"
As he started to lose his grip on sanity, the Giant Hound snapped its head to the right.
Its jaws parted silently.
Clack-clack-clack. Clack-clack.
"Aaaah! Save me!"
The endless grinding of its teeth against each other made him clutch his head and smash his face into the ground.
The fluid he'd leaked smeared against his cheek, warm and wet.
"Anyone there?"
A human voice cut through, and Choi Kyung-do jerked his head up.
Tears streamed from his eyes.
"H-Help! Someone's here! Help meee!"
His shout brought a figure into view.
Incredibly, the man was riding on the back of one of these unidentified monsters—a Giant Hound, no less.
And Choi Kyung-do knew him all too well.
"You're alive. Good."
Kang Sa-hu called down from atop the Giant Hound, but Choi Kyung-do just gaped at him, eyes twitching blankly.
"Wh-What... H-How the hell are you...?"
"No time. Let's move. It's safe now—come on out."
As Kang Sa-hu finished speaking, the Giant Hound sprang into motion like it had been waiting.
In an instant, the two Giant Hounds and Kang Sa-hu were gone, leaving Choi Kyung-do alone, mouth agape in stunned silence.
Tatata-tatata!
"This way! Over here, everyone!"
Soldiers had arrived, firing at the Giant Hounds while herding civilians to safety.
The lower-ranking troops couldn't hide their shock at this surreal nightmare.
But their platoon leader kept a stone face.
As if he'd known this was coming in advance, he issued calm orders.
"Respond as trained! Stay composed!"
At his command, the soldiers unleashed a barrage from their rifles, gunning down the Giant Hounds.
"Fuckin' hell, first it was sudden marksmanship drills, then combat enhancement training, working our asses off right before discharge! You officers knew this shit was coming, didn't you?!"
A soldier with little time left before discharge spat curses. He'd been dragged out by direct orders from headquarters.
It wasn't just frustration talking.
Sure enough, troops had mobilized unnaturally fast, as if they'd anticipated this.
The other soldiers shared the thought, but with these unprecedented monsters charging, they kept their mouths shut and fired.
Thick hide or tough muscle—whatever it was—a squad of around ten could empty a full magazine and barely take down three Giant Hounds.
"Fuck! These aren't just big dogs! We need DEFCON for this!"
The soldiers, deployed blind, screamed in panic.
From what they'd seen, rifles alone couldn't handle it.
Grenades at minimum—or tanks, given the severity.
"Hey! Watch out!"
As they reloaded after burning through their ammo, three Giant Hounds seized the moment and lunged.
"Uwaaaah!"
"W-We're dead!!"
The soldiers squeezed their eyes shut and thrust forward with bayonets fixed to their rifles.
"Nngh... Huh?"
"What the...?"
No impact. They opened their eyes in shock.
Eight identical monsters were tearing into the ones attacking them.
Krunch-krunch!
Clack-clack!
Monsters with faint green glows in their eyes ripped their foes apart.
The shredded beasts bled like waterfalls, twitching on the ground.
"Wh-What the hell? What do we do?"
"What's going on...?"
The bewildered soldiers hesitated, unsure.
Then the victorious monsters split left and right, clearing a path.
"Gah!"
"Holy shit!"
Beyond them stood dozens more. The soldiers screamed and took aim.
But people—not monsters—rushed through the gap. Fingers eased off triggers in astonishment.
"S-Soldiers! We're saved!"
"Uwaaaah! We're gonna live!"
"Wh-What the...?"
As the soldiers reeled from the bizarre chain of events, the lined-up monsters crouched low to the ground.
A rider on one approached them.
"Hello."
The casual greeting clashed with the chaos. The soldiers faltered.
The platoon leader dashed forward.
"Hello, sir. Are you an Awakener? Are you controlling these monsters?"
"Yes. We've cleared all the Giant Hounds nearby with them."
Kang Sa-hu spoke from the Giant Hound's back. The soldiers stared in disbelief.
As they gawked silently, the radio on the leader's shoulder crackled.
[This is the company commander. Report the situation.]
The leader stepped away to respond. Kang Sa-hu exhaled deeply, relaxing his tense body.
[Good work out there.]
"Thanks to you. And... sorry. I wanted to see you off properly, but..."
Kang Sa-hu murmured sincerely, and the Spirit burst into laughter.
It laughed so hard, you could easily picture it rolling on the floor if it had a body.
[You really take pride and responsibility in your duties. I sensed it from the start.]
The Spirit sobered, speaking warmly like a grandmother to her grandson.
[That'll serve you well. The world ahead will be nothing like the one I knew.]
Kang Sa-hu had no reply.
He didn't know the future—and he agreed with the sentiment.
[If it's not too much trouble, look after my son and granddaughter. Not to watch over them constantly—just, since we've met, be kind if your paths cross.]
"I will."
[Then I must go. I lingered too long because of this mess—I wanted just one last glimpse. Any longer, and I'll wander the nine heavens.]
The Shaman's Spirit's voice faded like petals on the wind.
Kang Sa-hu bowed slightly to the scattering essence.
"Safe travels, then."
[Truly... thank you...]
With final gratitude, the Shaman's Spirit vanished completely.
"...What the hell's he doing?"
"Uh... maybe the shock broke him?"
"...Hey, asshole. Don't jinx it. What happens if the guy controlling those monsters snaps?"
The senior recoiled with a shudder, snapping irritably. The junior mechanically replied, "Sorry, sir," while stealing a glance at Kang Sa-hu.
...But if he's not crazy, that's creepy in its own way.
Staring at empty air, muttering to himself.
Smiling peacefully amid the chaos, content. Hard to call that sane.
After the Shaman's Spirit departed, Kang Sa-hu called his family.
His phone was flooded with messages and missed calls.
[Son! Where are you? You okay?!]
Roaming tones ended, and his father's worried voice poured through.
"Yes, Dad. I'm fine. But it got dangerous, so I had to use my power..."
[Who cares about that when it's life or death! Use it all! Everything! Even the forbidden rituals—]
The excited voice cut off with a sharp smack.
[Son.]
Dad went quiet; Mom's calm tone took over.
"Yes, Mom. Everything alright?"
[Yes, we're at the Necromancer Society now.]
"Good, you're safe then. Is Ji-ye there too?"
[No, no plane fare. She went to school.]
"Isn't that dangerous? Any word from her?"
Worried monsters might hit her school—his sister Kang Ji-ye's—but Mom's voice over the speaker held steady.
[We heard. Monsters appeared there too. Ji-ye and other Awakeners drove them off.]
"I see... Wait, Ji-ye awakened too?"
[Apparently so.]
Kang Sa-hu blinked at Mom's unflappable delivery of the bombshell.
Relieved his family was safe, he sighed—then Mom spoke again.
[You called to check on us? Good, we'll hang up. Roaming fees are steep.]
"...Got it. Take care coming back."
[We will.]
[Son! Forget everything else! If you're dying, just use nearby Spirits...!]
Dad's belated yell came through as he recovered from the smack, but the call ended abruptly.
After hanging up, as he went to call his sister Kang Ji-ye...
The Giant Hounds waiting patiently, staring blankly, caught his eye.
"Right... what to do with these guys."
Freshly dead with blood, muscle, and flesh intact, they didn't drain much Qi/Mana to maintain as zombies.
But parading Giant Hounds would spark misunderstandings—and they were a hassle to move with.
"Guess I should release them..."
As Kang Sa-hu pondered severing the will binding them...
The Giant Hounds, linked to his intent, rose one by one and approached.
Soldiers freaked, aiming rifles—but Kang Sa-hu watched curiously as they came.
Clack. Clack-clack.
Clack-clack-clack.
The zombie Giant Hounds clacked jaws in communication, then lined up in a row.
"Huh?"
While Kang Sa-hu puzzled...
The lead zombie Giant Hound gulped, cautiously opening its mouth.
Inside gleamed a small orb and a gem.
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