31 Episode 31 - The Lawless City, Part III (1/2)
Chapter 11: The Lawless City, Part III
Translator: Khan
Editor: RED
6.
When the heavy snow fell, the terrible world began to turn white in earnest.
Kim Tae-hoon and Jang Sung-hoon, who properly concealed the dead, went into a sushi restaurant with Baek Ji-yeon, the woman survivor.
The fish that protruded from the water tanks broken by the monster raids were all frozen, and the inside of the restaurant remained a bit fishy-smelling.
”I'll stand guard.”
Jang Sung-hoon took out the rifle he had brought there and stood guard. Kim Tae-hoon went into the kitchen with Baek Ji-yeon, who was shaking in the cold with her lips blue. She was wearing only the pants and jumper of a dead man.
In the kitchen, Kim Tae-hoon threw two hot packs to Baek Ji-yeon.
Baek Ji-yeon blinked, took the hot packs, and began to rub her whole body with them.
Because she covered her body with only a jumper, when she rubbed her body with hot packs, her naked body was revealed. But could not afford to worry about her breasts being exposed.
She was full of the desire to melt her whole body and to live.
Kim Tae-hoon put her in front of him and said, ”What happened on January 1?”
”Yes?”
Instead of answering, Kim Tae-hoon glared at her with cold eyes. Then she remembered the three conditions that Kim Tae-hoon had demanded earlier.
”I don't know about the first day of January, but when I woke up it was already late at night.”
She would die if she hesitated to answer. The warning alone kept her talking.
”Everyone was the same. Few of the survivors were sane on January 1st. Awakeners! Yes, only a few of the Awakeners were active on January 1st, but it was not exact…”
Of course, in this situation, she talked about everything at the same time. Cold and fear, these two were very effective factors paralyzing human reason.
So, it was more meaningful for Kim.
The words she spoke now were ones that had not been manipulated, without any processing in her mind.
'The dragon's influence was enormous.'
Once in Bucheon City, it became clear that January 1st was a lost day.
The cause was obvious.
The dragon!
The horrifying monster passed by, killing monsters and humans from fear alone, or stunning them.
Even if there were monsters or humans that could move, those who were exposed to the fear would not be able to act normally.
The next important word was the word 'Awakener.'
The expression of 'Awakener' itself was not a word that only Kim Tae-hoon could use after applying for a patent. However, if the expression of 'Awakener' was used in Bucheon City, there was a trace of Kim Tae-hoon.
”Who used the word 'Awakener'?”
”The survivors of the large mart by the City Hall spread out, and a rumor that eating monster stones would give Awakeners superhuman strength began there, as well as a rumor that the first hunter had killed a Black Orc…”
As expected, it was the survivors who had survived in the large mart that spread the term 'Awakener.'
”So what happened on January 2nd? Tell me about the important parts.”
”The survivors who survived in the large mart gathered at the City Hall. They started making a group, saying, 'If we gather around the Awakeners, we will be able to fight monsters, and if we have a lot of monster stones, we can kill monsters.' The survivors began to gather there one by one.”
”When did you join them?”
”Well, I didn't join them. I was working at a department store by the New Jungdong Station. I did not join, but they came.”
”They?”
”Messiah.”
”Is Messiah the name of the group?”
”Yes? Yes, it's the name of the organization. It's not… the group which was made in the City Hall. No, it started there, but it was, so…”
At that moment she began to stammer. She was trying to throw out something in her head at once, but she was overloaded.
Kim Tae-hoon looked at her grimly. Baek Ji-yeon met his eyes and shook herself.
”Well, I'll tell you soon, please, save me.”
”Just answer my question. Who made the Messiah group?”
”He's a guy named Lee Jin-sung.”
”What are his external features?”
”I've never seen him… I don't even know where he is.”
Kim Tae-hoon started glaring at Baek Ji-yeon at the words.
”Well, well, it's a rumor, I'm not sure, it's said he's using a sword… a sword that's so special that it can cut a monster in half. It's a rumor. I've never seen it.”
”What was the date the Messiah group came to your department store?”
”It's… the sixth day! I'm sure it was the sixth day.”
”What did they come for?”
”To get a sacrifice…”
”A sacrifice?”
”It's a sacrifice to calm down the yellow devil on the subway.”
”The yellow demon on the subway?”
”It's a giant snake, whose whole body is covered with black scales. The shining snake with yellow eyes …so it's called the yellow devil.”
”What does a sacrifice mean?”
”We need ten people every day to fill the yellow devil's belly. We throw ten people into the New Jungdong Station every day. Ten people every day... after cutting off the Achilles tendon to keep them from running...”
Her whole body began to shake after she said that, and the reason began to disappear from her eyes.
”I'm sorry, I'll answer you immediately, I'll answer…”
Kim Tae-hoon, who thought that further questions were meaningless, took out a chocolate bar and a can of premade coffee from his chest and threw them to her.
A chocolate bar and a canned coffee were not a good combination, but she accepted it with wide eyes.
”Take a break, get things straight in your mind.”
”Thank you, thank you.” She began to unwrap the chocolate bar with her frozen hands and broken nails. After she managed to unwrap it, she began to eat the hard-frozen chocolate bar.
In the meantime, Kim Tae-hoon came out of the kitchen and approached Jang Sung-hoon, still standing guard.
”Boss, do you get anything good?”
”If the sad news is good, then yes.”
”The sad news? Is that a bad story?”
”The Awakeners of the survivors made a group, and now they are expanding the area of the city. The name of the force is Messiah.”
”Messiah, that's a very attractive name. I think we should have chosen an English name for our Clan. To be honest, now that I'm talking about Mac, foreigners will think of McDonald's or Apple, but will not think of a mythical animal which eats dreams. There was a McDonald's near the department store, and I want a hamburger now.”
”The Messiah group is dealing with monsters in a way that gives a human offering to them.”
”There is such a thing?” Jang Sung-hoon's face hardened as he nodded. ”What? A human offering? Wait, I didn't hear you wrong, did I? Did they give someone to a monster? To a monster?”
”There's a snake called the Yellow Devil in the subway station, and they are offering ten adults every day to calm it down.”
”Ten people every day? Isn't that crazy? It's crazy. Crazy bastards, offering a human being as a sacrifice?” He looked confused even as he swore.
Kim Tae-hoon, on the other hand, did not lose his coolness. ”It's more cruel than crazy.”
It is clear that he faced an unexpected reality, but Kim Tae-hoon could not deny that the behavior of the Messiah organization was reasonable and efficient enough.
”If they can't kill a monster anyway, it's reasonable for them to make as many sacrifices as the monster wants.”
”But that's not right.”
”If you were in a Messiah group, that would not have come out easily.”
”Well…”
”To sacrifice the few for the many might be democracy in this world.”
Jang Sung-hoon shut up. Kim Tae-hoon continued on.
”Moreover, the current group of survivors has a form in which general people are attached to the Awakeners, and it would be hard for the common people who would be sacrificed to oppose it if the Awakeners need sacrifices. In other words, the system of sacrifice is a way of survival for Awakeners, and a means of maintaining power.”
Jang Sung-hoon looked at the snow falling down with a pale face. Kim Tae-hoon did not speak anymore.
It was his turn to chew on his anguish.
'Messiah and Lee Jin-sung.'
For now, he had two clues. The Messiah group and the leader of the group, Lee Jin-sung.
'A human offering...'