Apocalypse Tyrant

Jenga (2)

“…Taeha sunbae?”

Park Woojin’s muttering as he watched the situation from behind me.

The large back reacting to that sound slowly turned around.

Park Taeha quietly looking at us with a face drenched in blood.

“Haah— Haah— Haah—”

Park Taeha who had been breathing heavily as if hot breath would be visible lowered the hand he had raised.

The blood-covered monkey wrench trembling dadadak— in his hand.

I took my gaze off Park Taeha who wasn’t saying anything like a mute and looked around the entire library camp.

Camp members watching this strange situation with faces full of shock one and all.

They were just gathered in groups of two or three here and there, opening their mouths with blank eyes.

I took in Ku Yeri covering her mouth and shedding tears and Cha Seolhee watching this situation from a bit further away, then stared at Park Taeha again.

“…”

His pupils trembling violently— with an emotion other than anger.

Whatever happened, the situation seemed to have already ended.

Intervening in that situation here now, or not intervening.

I who had been quietly weighing those two options made a decision and turned my back.

Intervening in a situation that has already ended is not intervention, but cleaning up.

There was no reason for me to clean up after them.

“…Stop.”

A whisper approaching me as I was about to head to the temporary dwelling.

I turned my head at the voice trembling violently— as much as the body was shaking.

There, Park Taeha was pointing the bloody monkey wrench at me.

“…You were with zombies too.”

A very unstable shaking voice continued.

“So— So— I need to check you too.”

Take them off.

Two syllables thrown very firmly in a commanding tone.

“…Pardon?”
“I said take them ooooff—! Weren’t you bitten too?! Weren’t you bitten when you came here—!”

Park Taeha started going berserk at the two minions’ stupid retort.

He stomps his feet thud— thud— while wildly shaking the bloody monkey wrench with his bear-like build, what is he so anxious about.

Anyone could tell at a single glance.

That Park Taeha’s state was very unstable and dangerous right now.

“Especially yooou—! Don’t look at me with those eyes, you fucking bitch—!”

Park Taeha pointing at me with eyes full of bloodshot.

The monkey wrench trembling dadadak— in his hand somehow felt pathetic.

…This is too excellent a lesson by negative example?

“Let’s go.”
“…Yessir!”
“Stop—! I said stop, you bastard—!”

A raging voice stabbing at me again as I headed back towards the temporary dwelling like that.

“Take them off—! I said you bastards take them off too—!”
“No, sunbae! Why are you suddenly acting like this!”
“Don’t come closer and just take them off first, you bastards!”

There was no need for a long explanation at Park Taeha’s outburst as he kept widening the distance.

Limit.

Whether he broke down in an extreme situation—

Or broke down from the burden of being responsible for someone’s life—

That is Park Taeha’s limit.

Trudge— Trudge—

When we arrived at our temporary dwelling after passing through the 2nd floor camp, An Sejun who had been pacing in front of it turned his head like lightning.

“Ah—! Ah—!”

An Sejun hurriedly running over with an expression as if greatly relieved.

“Y-you’re here! You’re here!”

My head naturally tilted at the quite different reaction from yesterday.

An Sejun urgently grabbing my arm at that appearance.

“B-big trouble now! Gw-Gwangil turned into a zombie and bit Jinsu next to him—”

An Sejun kept desperately pointing towards the library camp while stuttering.

Who’s Gwangil, and who’s Jinsu.

“Speak so I can understand.”
“…W-we were guarding the food when suddenly Taeha sunbae and Yeri and people suddenly came—”

An Sejun twisting his finger pointing at the camp to point in another direction.

“Th-they suddenly went outside using the ladder—”

The place An Sejun pointed at was very familiar to me.

The first place I encountered them after entering the library camp.

Red bloodstains were stamped loudly like footprints there.

“Not long after zom-zombies started crying out— and then— the girls watching started screaming—”

An Sejun barely continued his explanation while following me as I approached that place.

“Then Taeha sunbae and the others hurriedly came back up— so I followed them worriedly— when suddenly Gwangil became strange—”

Bloodstains spread centered on the 2nd floor window and bloody footprints continuing at length towards the 2nd floor camp.

Blood soaking the gap of the tightly closed window and—

Swish—!

Zombies gathered like ants below were visible when I pushed aside the blinds.

“Keeeee—”

Zombies like black dots wandering while letting out their unique monstrous cries.

And a familiar ladder abandoned among them caught my eye.

“…Huh.”

No way.

“I think that ‘no way’ is correct?”

I burst out laughing at Ko Janghun quietly agreeing next to me.

Are they saying they voluntarily set foot in the place I escaped from while avoiding combat as much as possible?

Even though I’m trying to fight in the narrowest corner possible now, they fearlessly went out to the open field to face zombies?

…Huh.

This was so absurd that only pure admiration could come out.

“…Where to?”
“So— th-they were trying to go to the College of Education over there—”

An Sejun pointing at the College of Education while making a fuss like an ajumma appearing on the news at my short question.

“The College of Education. There’s a cafe and convenience store on the 1st floor.”

Ko Janghun who roughly grasped the situation hurriedly continued with supplementary explanation to me.

The College of Education closest to the library.

And the convenience store located on its 1st floor.

“…Huh.”

The more I pieced the situation together, the more absurd it became.

I roughly understood what they were aiming for.

Last night, while having a useless meeting excluding me, they must have desperately realized.

That as long as I’m responsible for the food, losing the initiative is an inevitable course.

So to regain the initiative and no longer be dragged along by me, they needed a new food route.

They chose the College of Education convenience store closest to here as the target.

“…They say ignorance is courage.”

They were truly courageous to an excessive degree.

I’m reminded of Park Taeha who asked the two minions how they dealt with zombies.

Moreover, even Park Taeha’s gaze as he watched the search team that had entered a fairly stable zone after Sim Yuhan died.

“…Ha.”

The more I thought about it, I could only laugh hollowly.

They climbed down the ladder from the library thinking it would be that easy—

Were discovered by zombies midway and hurriedly returned to the 2nd floor.

In their hurry, they abandoned the ladder on the ground there, and one of the new search team members entered the camp while bitten.

“…So that Gwangil or whoever who turned into a zombie inside the camp bit the normal Jinsu or whoever.”

Park Taeha personally dealt with those who became zombies like that.

So that’s why he was raging about finding bite marks.

“Um— Is everything okay over there? D-did you see Seri by any chance?”

An Sejun asking me with desperate eyes.

And this coward ran away to this side as soon as the guy called Gwangil turned into a zombie and bit Jinsu.

“Right— So did you guard the food bag well?”
“O-of course! I guarded it all day! O-of course I didn’t even touch it!”

An Sejun answering as if he had been waiting at my question.

I nodded my head then said to Ko Janghun next to me.

“Check it thoroughly and if there’s no change, tell him to take two things he wants.”
“Yes.”

An Sejun’s eyes widening round as if he didn’t expect to even receive a reward.

Thud—!

I patted his shoulder and continued speaking.

“It’s a bit much for a couple to have a meal with just one, right?”
“…”
“Ah right, Ko-ja. Don’t forget to give him a bottle of water too.”
“Yessir!”

Moisture gradually fills An Sejun’s eyes as the conversation progresses.

An Sejun starting to cry with a completely different emotion even though yesterday’s events are so vivid.

That sight was somehow funny, so I hid my smile and looked towards the library camp.

I thought they might try to search basement floor 1 together, or try to steal our food in a surprise attack overnight.

To think they tried to create a new food route.

Their guts are so big they came out of their belly.

Thanks to that, casualties occurred in the 2nd floor camp that I thought would be safe if nothing special happened.

This time it was nameless male bastards called Gwangil and Jinsu, but—

If they had really bad luck, the casualty could have been Cha Seolhee.

Just imagining that made my heart sink, but it was rather fortunate.

Because they got a cheap preventive shot with two male bastards.

Now the student council side probably won’t be able to take rash actions.

In the end, it only resulted in them becoming even more dependent on me for food.

Now all they can do is—

Open their mouths like baby birds to the food I give them.

Kyaaaaaaah—!

A miserable scream waking the early morning of the library.

Thanks to that, I quickly opened my eyes and hurriedly picked up the metal pipe on the floor.

Ko Janghun getting up urgently and An Sejun next to him waking up from sleep even more frantically.

“Yeji-yaaaa—! Sob sob sob—”

Screams and cries tearing as if alerting the urgency of the situation continue.

I waved the metal pipe tick— then started running straight to where the sound was coming from.

Swoosh—!

Having run at full speed for the first time in a while, I instantly arrived at the source of the sound tearing through the wind.

“Sniff— Sniff sniff—”

A woman was crying in front of bookshelves stretched out right next to the bathroom.

A woman sitting on the floor crying so sorrowfully.

I slowly lowered the metal pipe I had been preparing as I followed the woman’s gaze.

A chair fallen in front of the bookshelf.

Knots tied somewhat clumsily but quite firmly between bookshelves.

And a woman hanging her body limply caught on those knots.

“…Huk—!”

I hear the sound of Ko Janghun and An Sejun who belatedly followed me urgently inhaling breath.

Library camp people gathering in one place at the untimely morning commotion.

And a woman they are blankly looking at.

Creak— Creak—

A survivor of the library camp was vividly revealing her end to everyone while swaying her already stiffened body dangle dangle.

“Sniff— Yeji-yaaaa—! Sob sob sob—”

The library instantly fills with sniffling sounds as if echoing the woman’s sorrowful crying.

A person died.

Not to zombies, not to other survivors.

To herself.

A man who had been blankly walking towards the corpse tightly grasps his head and collapses in place.

Insufficient food, rescue teams that don’t come.

Cut off water and electricity.

Friends turned into zombies.

Friends taking their own lives.

All the survivors of the library camp were feeling it so desperately.

The hope that they can survive is gradually disappearing.

And in that space where hope has disappeared—

Something pitch black was constantly filling up.