Apocalypse Tyrant

One Among the Flock (4)

“Han Segye, are you really insane?!”

Ku Yeri’s shout as she burst out while urgently pushing through the camp members.

And the large-built vice president follows behind her.

Clearly when I saw him before going down to basement floor 1 this morning, he still seemed unable to get over his friend’s death—

But the gaze glaring at me now had very fiery anger in place of confusion.

“Don’t come.”

A very low warning flowing out.

“Uwaaaaaaah—!”

A miserable scream that could drown out my voice bursts out from under my feet.

An Sejun’s head becoming quiet again as I slightly reduced the pressing force.

Thanks to that, the vice president and Ku Yeri’s urgent footsteps faltered.

I calmly met eyes with each of them one by one and muttered again.

“This is a personal matter between me and An Sejun.”

It has nothing to do with you.

“Kuuu— Cough—! Cough—!”

An Sejun flailed his body about as if he had become a bit better while I was informing them of the facts.

“You should stay still, Sejun.”

An Sejun screaming while instinctively curling up his body at the pressure strongly pressing down on his head again.

“Kuuuuaaaaah—!”
“Stop it—! I said stop it—!”

Ku Yeri desperately tried to restrain me while looking at An Sejun’s face soaked in pain.

“I don’t know what kind of personal matter it is, but making a person like this in any way is clearly violence—!”

There was a somewhat reasonable logic inherent in the criticism continuing like rapid-fire.

…Violence, huh.

A faint laugh naturally leaked out at that logic.

I lifted my leg that had been stomping on An Sejun as if to show Ku Yeri.

Ku Yeri exhaling a faint sigh at that appearance, I smiled brightly— and stomped on another part of An Sejun’s body again.

The attack target changed from An Sejun’s head to his right hand.

“Why do you think this is violence?”
“First of all, whatever that is, stop it—! Han Segye, you’re really properly cra—”
“Isn’t thinking of this itself as violence a clear prejudice?”

A calm answer quietly cooling down Ku Yeri’s fiery shouts.

I lightly waved my hand to stop Ku Yeri who was about to open her mouth again as if finding it absurd with her eye corners raised upwards.

A clear expression of intent to no longer waste time on such worthless conversation.

I met eyes with An Sejun lying below before she could gasp with her face turning even redder at that appearance.

“Sejun.”
“…”

The gaze looking up at me while chewing his mouth like a baby was already full of only terror.

An Sejun’s face with two clear tear tracks already, who knows when he started sobbing.

I quietly looked down at that face and opened my mouth.

“Do you usually watch a lot of movies and such?”
“…”

Eyes like pollack naturally widening at the sudden question.

I slightly applied force to the foot stepping on his right hand as if giving a hint.

“The more you don’t answer, the more you hurt and suffer.”

Crunch—!

“Ku, kuaaaaa—! Aaaaaaaah—!”

An Sejun going crazy while flailing his body like a live fish as soon as the pressure from the foot gradually increased.

His left hand that had been wandering this way and that grabbed my right foot as if begging to somehow reduce the pressure from my foot.

“Kuaaah— That’s right—! That’s right, that’s right, that’s right—! I did it, please—! Pleeeease—! It hurts so much, so—! It hurts so muuuuch—!”

Kuuuk—! Grrrk—! Fu, fuuuuuck—!

Curses spewing out at who knows who as I applied a bit more force before removing my foot at his confession.

“Kuk—! Kuhuhuk—! Kuhuhuk—!”

An Sejun hurriedly hugging his right hand to his chest and crying sorrowfully as soon as my foot was removed.

I raised my gaze that had been watching An Sejun who had curled up his body like a grub.

The library camp that had become strangely quiet except for the sound of An Sejun crying.

I scanned the vice president next to her and Ku Yeri who was still glaring at me with eyes saying she still couldn’t understand one by one.

Especially the vice president who was quite quiet compared to approaching with thundering steps with eyes full of anger.

“…”

That complicated gaze conflicting over something while continuously alternating between An Sejun and me.

I had been planning to give him a small lesson if he jumped out this time.

Should I call this good luck, or good intuition.

I smiled softly while meeting eyes with the vice president who seemed quite fox-like despite his large build being distracting.

Grind—!

The vice president grinding his teeth loudly enough to be heard from far away and not avoiding my gaze at my smile.

I let out a faint laugh and took in the entire camp now instead of just the vice president.

“I tried not to cause problems as much as possible since I just came in, but this is a bit much.”

I shook my head back and forth and continued speaking.

“Clear violence…”

Ha!

I let out a small hollow laugh then pointed my finger at An Sejun who was still sobbing.

“Then I’m really curious how I should have dealt with this bastard who secretly stole my food.”

Yeri-ssi?

Ku Yeri furrowing her brows as much as possible at my gentle question.

“What would Yeri-ssi have done?”

Would you have reported it to the police?

Or tattled to a professor?

Ku Yeri who had been glaring at me as if to kill me answered at the question full of sarcasm.

“I would have confirmed the facts and prevented it from happening again. If you react barbarically to each little problem like Han Segye-ssi, isn’t that a dog going berserk because its food bowl was taken away rather than a 21st century democratic citizen?”
“Oh— A textbook answer, literally. 5 points to Gryffindor.”

Ku Yeri’s face turning even redder before gasping as I praised her while imitating a deep voice tone.

Confirming facts, preventing recurrence, 21st century democratic citizen.

“…Fine. That’s all good, but where’s my disappeared food in those words?”
“…”
“Where’s my food that’s already all gone while we’re smashing zombie heads underground to get even one more piece of food, Ku Yeri-ssi.”

Ku Yeri’s mouth that had been speaking without hesitation so far quickly opened then closed again.

I opened fire first as she seemed to be choosing what to say while twitching her eyebrows.

“Literally, my food that I obtained while prepared to die disappeared. I interrogated the culprit with my own definite evidence. And so I even got a confession from that culprit.”

The camp people subtly avoiding my eyes at the clear facts.

I opened my mouth again while forcibly meeting eyes with each of them one by one.

“In this situation where we can’t even leave the library let alone go to a police station, is it so wrong that I gave my own appropriate punishment?”
“…”

Not a single person in the library camp answered my question.

They may have already started rationalizing themselves in their hearts.

That this is not one-sided violence—

But a justified punishment with valid reasons.

“Does anyone object to the idea that there should be a proper punishment for this animal-like bastard?”

I looked around the library camp once more as if waiting for different opinions.

Some had very dissatisfied faces but didn’t open their mouths—

Others, no, most of the camp people just quietly avoided my eyes.

No.

Rather than simply avoiding, a more accurate expression would be that they were busy glancing at someone else.

The gazes of most camp people lingering as they glanced at the vice president’s face.

However, he was just staying silent with a very complicated face.

The leader’s silence is everyone’s silence.

“…”
“…Good.”

Very much so.

I smiled in response to those silently affirming and turned my back.

Ko Janghun’s footsteps quickly supporting An Sejun and following behind echoed after my footsteps returning to the temporary dwelling again.

…Tyrant and Royal Authority, surrender and submission.

Positive factors and negative factors.

One thing I’ve newly realized while adapting to this life in my own way is this:

People always need reasons.

The reason this sudden violent incident occurred now.

The reason An Sejun is being forcibly dragged away.

And the reason they can’t oppose it.

People are always ready to understand anything as long as there’s a valid reason.

It means they’re ready to rationalize themselves at any time.

Even if it’s surrender and submission towards someone.

Whether positive or negative.

As long as there’s a reason.

Trudge— Trudge—

I smiled without realizing while walking through the 2nd floor soaked in strange silence.

So it won’t take long.

Because in this world, reasons are elements that can be created very easily.

Ko Janghun.

Park Woojin and Kim Minjun.

And An Sejun behind me now.

Little by little—

But very surely.

Everyone will come to submit to me for valid reasons.

The night of the library with not much artificial light left now.

Moonlight dimly illuminated the library through the windows.

“Do you understand?”
“…”

An Sejun hurriedly nodding his head while hugging his knees in the corner of the temporary dwelling where shadows were deeply cast among that.

Ko Janghun nodded his head and stared at me as if satisfied that he didn’t need to explain twice.

I squatted in front of An Sejun after raising my body that had been leaning against the wall at the gaze asking for final confirmation.

An Sejun flinching as if having a fit just from me coming closer.

I carefully examined his right hand that he was still tightly grasping after taking it.

I narrowed my eyes while carefully examining the trembling right hand.

When I bent the slightly swollen right hand—

“Urk—!”

An Sejun made a crying face while furrowing his expression as if about to die.

“Next time it’s the left hand.”

An Sejun’s right hand trembling more at the low warning.

I slowly continued speaking while feeling that intense vibration.

“So from today on, you’ll guard our food bag, Sejun. Our Ko-ja checks the food list every day, so—”

If there’s even one empty spot—

“You know?”
“…”

An Sejun nodding his head violently as fast as possible.

I sent a sympathetic gaze towards An Sejun who was flaring his nostrils as if about to cry at any moment.

“But you’re good.”
“…”
“There’s no way you ate all that food alone.”

An Sejun may have started it, but there must have clearly been accomplices for all that food to disappear.

But no matter how many accomplices there were or who they were—

Not a single person came out while An Sejun was receiving one-sided beating and violence from me.

I let out a small hollow laugh while thinking of the camp people who had been desperately avoiding my gaze.

“In that sense, should we give our Sejun one last chance?”

An Sejun’s frightened pupils slowly rising from the floor at the subtle voice.

“You might feel unfair about taking all the blame alone, so I’ll tell you another secret besides food.”
“…”
“This secret is far more important than can be compared to one energy bar.”

If you quietly keep it without letting others find out, of course I’ll give you something much better than an energy bar, right?

An Sejun swallowing gulp— while looking at me as if it was an unavoidable offer.

I moved closer to his ear and whispered.

“You know Sim Yuhan?”

An Sejun’s right hand trembling violently— with more intense vibration than ever at my whisper.

I firmly grasped his right hand as if warning and whispered more subtly.

“Actually— Sim Yuhan didn’t die from a zombie?”

An Sejun’s right arm trembling more violently as if convulsing despite my warning.

Crunch—

This time I quietly met his eyes while pressuring his right hand with my hand instead of foot.

An Sejun’s large pupils brimming with tears.

“Kuuk—! Kuuuk—!”

I muttered to him as he desperately closed his mouth while sobbing as if holding something back.

“Then who did he die from?”
“Kuuuk—! Kuk—!”

An Sejun’s pupils containing only me as he shed tears for who knows how many times today.

I responded with a smile as if he was answering my question.

“Correct answer.”
“Kuuuk—! Kurk—!”

An Sejun firmly closing his mouth as if desperately trying to keep the secret already.

Ding—!

[‘An Sejun’ ‘very strongly’ ‘surrenders’ to you.]

[Surrender factor: ‘Very strong’ fear of violence.]

“There won’t be a second time, Sejun.”

I smiled slightly at An Sejun who was tightly closing his mouth with all his might and returned to my original spot.

An Sejun curling up his body tightly like a grub as soon as I left.

I nodded my head satisfactorily and stared at the exact opposite side visible through the bookshelf gap.

The opposite side that wasn’t very visible originally couldn’t be seen at all now covered in darkness.

“They’re probably busy having an emergency meeting or countermeasure meeting about now, right?”
“Well, I suppose so.”

They’d have to be idiots not to feel the current situation is very strange.

If I were them, I would definitely be discussing countermeasures for this situation, taking advantage of the darkness.

“I’ll listen carefully to Woojin and Minjun tomorrow and properly relay it to you.”
“Well, they might be having the meeting excluding those two as well.”

Those two are already members of the search team where I’ve taken a core position.

“Ah— Then finally—”
“Yes.”

Ko Janghun rubbing his hands together and licking his lips as if he had been waiting.

“We might need your club junior.”
“Hehe— Don’t worry about that side at all.”

Ko Janghun confidently affirmed, but—

I’m not so sure.

From what I saw, the chess club junior Ko Janghun mentioned was a typical ‘outsider’.

I could tell right away from how he kept staring intently at my face while subtly pretending not to know me, even though he was clearly told to act like he didn’t know me.

Below average height, below average looks, below average presence.

Ko Janghun’s junior ‘Kang Cheongshin’ was the typical model student type.

Whether Kang Cheongshin who would fall into that outsider category could obtain useful information in that camp centered around the ‘student council’, which was a gathering of typical insiders—

That was the problem to begin with—

“Hehe— It’s fine, it’s fine. Just trust me. That bastard is in a state where his words carry some weight in that camp.”
“…He must be quite sociable.”

I changed my words thinking I may have made a slight misunderstanding from prejudice about appearance, but rather Ko Janghun waved his hands in shock.

“No, no. Just— how should I put it— he knows this kind of situation best?”
“…This kind of situation?”
“Ugh— All the disaster and zombie movies I watched were shown to me by that bastard.”
“…Ah.”

I roughly understood what he meant.

“That bastard in Bans Gambit— ah Bans Gambit is the chess club that just changed Queen to ‘Ban’ from Banseok University in Queen’s Gambit— that bastard doesn’t play chess like he’s told to—”

I quietly raised my hand to Ko Janghun who was about to fall into storytelling again.

Ko Janghun hurriedly closing his mouth at my restraint.

A presence that had been gradually getting closer stopped in front of the bookshelf wall gap.

Knock knock—

Someone’s hand gently knocking on the bookshelf.

“Are you there?”

It was a familiar voice.

Even if I hadn’t heard it in reality, it was a voice familiar to my ears from being sick of hearing it in media.

“Could we talk for a moment?”

Cha Seolhee poked her head through the bookshelf gap.