I Became The Necromancer In The Post-Apocalyptic Zombie World

Chapter 53

—–CROW—– 

Possessing the pigeon, I took off from the department store terrace and quickly flew towards the apartment complex.

‘They must still be nearby.’

━*Whoosh!*

With the pigeon’s wide field of vision, I could see over 40 kilometers in every direction from high above.

Reaching the apartment complex, I soared as high as I could.

‘There’s bound to be some unusual activity.’

Below Baek Min-ah’s apartment, there were traces of a struggle.

A battle between survivors and zombies.

Someone had lured a large number of zombies, and some had even sacrificed their lives to take them down.

That meant none of them were immune to zombies like me.

So, there would definitely be some reaction to their movement while carrying the captured Yoon Hyun-seo.

‘Found them!’

It wasn’t long before I detected the commotion with the pigeon’s sharp senses.

Normally, zombies would either stand still or wander aimlessly.

But the zombies’ movements were different near the entrance of an old shopping district.

They were moving towards a certain point, as if sensing something.

Like ants sharing the location of a dead insect, the zombies were converging on a single spot.

And at the end of that convergence was a commercial building.

Its entrance was blocked by a large bus.

‘That must be a decoy.’

I flapped my wings above the commercial building where the zombies were gathering, carefully observing the surroundings.

The way they had killed the zombies was skillful.

If they had managed to kill that many zombies without guns, they must have been experienced survivors.

Moreover, it was nearing sunset.

The sun was already setting, and soon, darkness would completely cover the land.

In this world without electricity, the only light sources after sunset were the moon and stars.

No idiot would wander carelessly through a zombie-infested city center in such darkness.

They would definitely set up camp somewhere to spend the night.

As I carefully scanned the buildings from the sky…

‘There you are, you rats…’

…I spotted a group of survivors huddled around a makeshift fire pit made from a large tin can, checking their equipment in the flickering light.

Among them lay Yoon Hyun-seo, her hands and feet bound, tears streaming down her face.

。 。 。

“Unnie, are you sure about the bus?”

“What about it?”

Night had fallen, and darkness enveloped the surroundings.

Lee Seon-ji, who was cleaning the blood and grime from her machete after the day’s battle, looked at her younger companion.

“I saw a lot of zombies gathering earlier. Will we be able to drive it tomorrow?”

“If we can’t, we’ll just leave it. There are plenty of cars around. And we’re almost out of gas anyway.”

“But it was useful because it was spacious.”

“It’s just cumbersome.  The Priest will be happier if we bring something more practical.”

They had lost some members in the day’s battle.

With their current numbers, a nine-seater van would be enough, even if it wasn’t as big as the bus.

Lee Seon-ji reassured her worried companion and continued cleaning her weapon.

“Team leader!  I’ve finished checking the building.  All floors are clear.”

Another female companion approached Lee Seon-ji, the beam of a small flashlight illuminating her path.

Behind her, four other women, each holding a blunt weapon or blade, looked at Lee Seon-ji.

“Good work. Then let’s eat. First squad, please take the first watch.  The rest of you, get some rest.”

“Yes.”

As Lee Seon-ji gave her orders, the tension eased from the women’s faces, and they gathered around the bonfire, chatting amongst themselves.

“Wow, I can’t believe we actually found the kid.”

“I told you, right? She’d be hiding somewhere in the neighborhood where her father lived.”

“As expected of our team leader!  Now I understand why the Priest favors you so much.”

Lee Seon-ji shrugged at her companions’ compliments and turned her head.

Yoon Hyun-seo lay there, still sobbing.

Lee Seon-ji reached out to her.

“Mmm…?!”

Yoon Hyun-seo flinched at the sudden touch, a muffled whimper escaping her gagged mouth, but…

…contrary to her expectations, Lee Seon-ji’s hand gently stroked her hair.

“You don’t have to worry. You’re not going anywhere scary.”

Lee Seon-ji smiled gently, trying to reassure the frightened Yoon Hyun-seo.

“You’re going to a paradise where oppressed women gain power and are free from hunger.  You can be saved there too.”

“That’s right, you’ll definitely like it. So don’t cry so much. It breaks our hearts.”

The women gathered around spoke kindly to the terrified Yoon Hyun-seo.

But Yoon Hyun-seo couldn’t stop trembling at their voices.

‘…Mom.’

She simply called out for Baek Min-ah in her heart, tears of fear streaming down her face.

No matter how kindly they smiled or gently they spoke…

…Yoon Hyun-seo remembered.

She remembered them ripping the door open with metal tools, screaming and forcibly separating her from Baek Min-ah.

She remembered them throwing a zombie at the screaming Baek Min-ah before escaping.

To Yoon Hyun-seo, they were monsters.

Even their physical appearances didn’t seem like ordinary women.

Her father, Yoon Kang-hyun, had been a firefighter.

He had consistently worked out, and in Yoon Hyun-seo’s memory, he had a physique like Captain America from the movies.

And the women before her…

…their physiques were comparable to, or even larger than, her father’s.

Their grotesque appearances made Yoon Hyun-seo squeeze her eyes shut and tremble.

“Now, shall we eat?”

The monstrous women, oblivious to Yoon Hyun-seo’s fear, pulled something out of their pockets at Lee Seon-ji’s words.

A single caramel.

A soft, chewy candy made from sugar and milk.

They placed the caramel on their palms, closed their eyes, and smiled.

“Thank you, Priest, for our daily bread.”

After a brief prayer…

…they each popped the small caramel into their mouths.

They chewed for a moment, and then…

…after swallowing, they each began to move with satisfied expressions.

“Then, first squad, please take the first watch.  Let’s all get some rest for tomorrow.”

“Yes, goodnight.”

The women went about their assigned tasks, unfurling their sleeping bags and crawling inside.

Soon, only the breathing of the large women could be heard around the bonfire.

‘…Mom.’

Among them…

…Yoon Hyun-seo still couldn’t sleep, tears in her eyes.

She thought of Baek Min-ah and…

…hoped someone would rescue her from this terrifying place.

‘Ahjussi…’

As the women around her slept, Yoon Hyun-seo closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again, it would all be a bad dream.

She slowly drifted off to sleep.

.

.

“T-Team leader!”

The incident occurred a few hours later, in the early morning, while everyone was asleep.

“Mmm…”

“Team leader! Wake up!”

“Mmm… What’s going on?”

“Zombies are here!”

“……What?”

“They’re gathering at the entrance, and there are a lot of them! What should we do?”

Lee Seon-ji was jolted awake by her companion’s urgent voice and sat up in her sleeping bag.

‘…It’s still dark.’

It was still too dark to be active.

“How many are there? Is it impossible to deal with them?”

“N-No.  The entrance is narrow, so we should be able to kill them.”

“Then one of us stays behind, and the rest go deal with them.  Ji-min.”

“Yes, unnie!”

“You stay here and watch the kid.  Pack the rest of the luggage, in case we need to escape.”

“Yes!”

The women grabbed their weapons, put on some protective clothing, and rushed downstairs.

“What’s going on?  Geez. Right?”

Park Ji-min, who had just been abruptly woken up, rubbed her eyes and spoke to Yoon Hyun-seo, who was still half-asleep.

But Yoon Hyun-seo simply closed her eyes again, the nightmare continuing even after she woke up.

Park Ji-min clicked her tongue at Yoon Hyun-seo’s lack of response and started packing the luggage.

Just then…

…a voice whispered into Yoon Hyun-seo’s ear as she lay with her eyes closed.

“Keep your eyes closed. Don’t open them.”

A woman’s voice she had never heard before.

Startled by the sudden voice, Yoon Hyun-seo opened her eyes.

“Seriously, I told you to keep your eyes closed.”

There was no one beside her.

But someone was definitely talking to her. It was a strange and frightening situation.

Suddenly gripped by fear, Yoon Hyun-seo squeezed her eyes shut, obeying the voice.

“Good girl.”

*Thud!*

“Ugh… Gah.”

Then, with her eyes closed, Yoon Hyun-seo heard a strange sound and a woman’s gasp.

It sounded like the woman who had been called Ji-min.

A moment later, the voice from thin air spoke to her again.

“It’s done now. You can open your eyes.”

“…….”

“Seriously, I said you can open your eyes. Why does she close them when I tell her to open them and open them when I tell her to close them?”

The voice, coming from nowhere, as if a ghost was speaking…

…now told her to open her eyes.  Terrified, Yoon Hyun-seo could only tremble, her eyes squeezed shut.

“Haa…”

The voice sighed, and then…

…Yoon Hyun-seo felt a hand fumbling over her body.

“……Huh?”

The ropes binding her were untied, and the cloth gagging her mouth was removed.

Suddenly feeling her body free, Yoon Hyun-seo opened her eyes in surprise and confusion.

“You finally opened them?”

Before her stood a beautiful woman with long, black hair that shimmered in the moonlight, smiling gently down at her.

“Now, the Ahjussi who sent me told me to give you this.”

The woman, after giving Yoon Hyun-seo an affectionate pat, pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to her.

Yoon Hyun-seo’s eyes widened at the object in her hand, and she involuntarily exclaimed,

“My game!”

It was her GBA, the one she had been playing with all day.

She eagerly reached out and took it, looking up at the woman.

‘Ahjussi came for me…!’

The woman, whom she had initially mistaken for a ghost, now looked like a normal, pretty older sister.

“Now, let’s go. Your mom is waiting.”

Ryu Da-hee smiled at Yoon Hyun-seo, who seemed relieved, took her hand, and helped her up.

。 。 。

*Crack!*

An aluminum bat, swung with a force that seemed impossible for a woman, crushed a zombie’s skull in one blow.

A sound like a watermelon splitting echoed through the first floor of the commercial building.

The first floor was a well-known franchise cafe.

The women were sweating as they killed the zombies pouring through the single entrance, the other entrances blocked by the cafe’s tables.

*Smash!*

*Splat!*

There was no hesitation in their expressions as they swung their weapons, slaughtering the zombies as if they were used to it.

“Ugh, why are there so many of them?!”

“Team leader!  At this rate, more might come!”

They had initially been dealing with a few zombies at a time, but the number had doubled.

Lee Seon-ji decided to change her plan of retreating after sunrise.

“Let’s slowly take out the ones closest to us and move upstairs.  Block the entrance at the stairs and retreat!”

“Yes, yes!”

“And Young-ah, go upstairs and prepare an escape route with Ji-min!”

“Yes!”

The women gave and followed orders with practiced ease.

Although their first plan had gone awry, Lee Seon-ji remained calm and thought of a new one.

‘It’s dark, but we have to move.  There was a place I saw during the day…’

Even as she crushed a zombie’s head, she was thinking about their next hiding spot.

She had been through this countless times.

This would be a desperate situation for ordinary survivors, but Lee Seon-ji calmly fought her way through.

Just as the woman she had ordered was about to go upstairs…

*Crash!*

“Kyaaaah!”

“W-What happened?!”

“Something from upstairs…!”

Choi Young-ah, struck by something thrown from the stairs, lost her balance and tumbled back down to the first floor.

She quickly regained her composure and checked what had fallen on her.

Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

It was Park Ji-min’s body, her throat pierced by a blade, her face pale.

Her corpse, eyes rolled back and tongue lolling out, lay on top of Choi Young-ah.

“Where do you think you’re going? We haven’t even said hello yet.”

A man’s voice came from the entrance as Choi Young-ah stood frozen, speechless, staring at Park Ji-min’s dead body.

“W-What? …Why is there a person among the zombies?”

Her companions, who had been killing zombies, murmured in confusion.

And at that moment, the zombies, which had been lunging at them, froze as if someone had pressed pause.

“H-Huh?”

A bizarre scene unfolded as all the zombies on the first floor stopped moving in unison, as if frozen in time.

And the man who walked out from among the zombies grinned at the women, frozen in shock.

“You dared to touch my woman? You boar-like bitches.”

Despite the smile on his lips, Lee Seo-ho’s eyes were icy cold as he looked at the kidnappers before him.

—–CROW—–