Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Chapter 151 – Seoul Restoration (2)

A place of worship sat bathed in gentle sunbeams, accompanied by the quiet melodies of singing birds.

Under normal circumstances, the air here would resonate with the rhythmic chanting of holy scriptures, but instead, an unsettling quiet hung over the sanctuary.

Pools of blood and lifeless bodies littered the ground in every direction.

Right before the tranquil countenance of the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva statue.

Crunch—

“Ngh—”

A Buddhist practitioner was currently being consumed while still conscious.

Multiple rings of circular teeth worked rapidly, masticating his viscera.

The beast, which looked like a gargantuan leech, extended several writhing tentacles from its torso, binding the man in an inescapable grip.

He was powerless to resist or even cry out in pain—he was forced to merely bear the agony as the beast’s sharp jaws ripped through his stomach.

The sole comfort in his final moments was that the physical agony had faded.

Now, only a profound chill and absolute terror remained.

As the specter of death claimed him second by second, the dying man gathered whatever energy he had left to twist his neck.

Through a darkening, blurry gaze, he caught sight of a little boy.

It was a young, bald novice monk.

Secreted away behind the large statue of the Buddha, the child peered out.

Tears of sheer panic poured down his cheeks.

The senior monk desperately wished to shout at the boy to flee.

However, he possessed no voice.

At this point, his gut, liver, and stomach had already been consumed by the predator.

He made a final, frantic attempt to part his lips, but nothing emerged except a faint wheeze of breath.

His field of vision shrunk into blackness until only the boy’s petrified eyes remained visible.

Thus, he offered a prayer.

It was not a plea for spiritual liberation or the cleansing of his soul.

He begged that the gluttonous beast currently feeding on his flesh would fail to see the child.

He wished for the monster to grow sated.

That it would overlook the hiding spot.

And that the young boy would make it out alive.

Complete blackness swallowed his vision, and all physical feeling deserted his limbs.

The very last sensory link he had left was—

“Aaaahhh!”

His ears.

‘Ah.’

A wave of deep sorrow washed over his fading consciousness upon hearing the child’s high-pitched, terrified cry.

Then, a sudden sound pierced the air.

“At last, I’ve tracked you down.”

An unfamiliar voice echoed.

—Krrrk?

The creature, its maw dripping with fresh blood as it got ready to feast on its next course, spun around.

An intruder had entered the space.

Standing there was an adult male, his facial expression as menacing as an angry ghost, projecting a suffocating aura of dominance.

The beast knew immediately by sheer instinct:

This opponent was far beyond its power.

The sheer bloodlust radiating from the newcomer paralyzed the creature’s limbs.

Making an instant calculation, the beast dropped its current prey and hurled itself backwards.

Because the doorway was obstructed by the malevolent figure, the monster propelled itself toward the rafters.

Crash!

Wood splinters erupted as the beast crashed through the upper structure, its numerous tentacles flailing wildly and tearing through the roof tiles.

Crack!

Heavy wooden beams and plaster came crashing down, directly aimed at the defenseless novice monk.

Just as the boy watched the descending debris in a state of shock, expecting to be crushed, a pair of strong arms suddenly snatched him away.

A moment later—

Rumble!

As the heavy roof collapsed onto the spot where he had been standing, the young boy looked up and found himself held securely by the mysterious man.

“Are you unhurt?”

The child was speechless.

He could only stare in utter shock at the devastated sanctuary.

The holy hall where he had spent countless days bowing before the sacred icons was reduced to rubble.

The great sculptures of Avalokiteshvara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya were now completely submerged beneath the fallen ceiling—and so was the older monk who had protected him with his final breath.

Then, a painful realization struck him.

The savior had let the target slip away solely to rescue him.

“Aaaaah!”

They had to pursue the beast.

His own safety was of no importance.

The monk’s death had to be avenged.

If anyone possessed the strength to do it, it was this formidable stranger.

A torrent of desperate pleas welled up in his throat, but his vocal cords refused to cooperate.

However, the man—

“Do not fret. There is absolutely no way it escapes.”

He had grasped the child’s unspoken desperation perfectly.

True to his words, there was indeed no escape route left.

“Kraaaah!”

The gore-slicked beast fell back down, slamming hard onto the pile of debris.

Boom!

“Graaaagh!”

Instantly, a colossal white tiger brought a massive paw crashing down on the monster, pinning it to the ground.

The thrashing creature whipped its tentacles toward the great cat, but the white tiger moved with incredible agility, evading every single strike.

Slash!

With a swift counterattack, the tiger unsheathed its claws and shredded the attacking appendages.

“Kraaah!”

The beast shrieked in agony, its form twisting violently.

Ducking beneath the remaining flailing limbs, the white tiger lunged forward, sinking its fangs deep into the creature’s throat.

Yet—

Crunch!

Even with its neck severely mangled, the creature’s tentacles continued to lash out in desperation.

The tiger jumped backward to stay clear of the thrashing limbs, and in that exact instant—

Boom!

The earth beneath the beast erupted as a sharp object impaled its belly from below.

The observing man spoke with a flat, emotionless voice.

“Well done, Baldy.”

The appendage that had pierced through the beast belonged to the mole creature serving under him.

He carefully placed the young novice on the ground and began a slow, deliberate march toward the struggling predator.

With a countenance distorted by pure hatred, he glared down at the dying abomination and began to speak.

“You…”

His blood-shot eyes flared with a crimson light.

“You are the wretched filth that devoured our Naru.”

He brought his boot down hard on the monster’s remaining limbs.

Splat!

Dark fluids sprayed as the tentacles were thoroughly pulverized and torn away, causing the beast to writhe in torment.

“I am not letting you die so easily.”

Vwooom—

A radiant light spilled from the man’s frame, transferring directly into the creature’s mangled flesh.

Right before their eyes, the pulverized tissues began to knit back together at incredible speed.

“Kraaaah!”

The moment its body restored itself, the beast lashed out with its regenerated appendages toward the man.

Crunch! Splat!

He crushed two of them beneath his heel instantly.

The remaining three were severed with a nonchalant wave of his arm.

Slash!

“Do not move.”

Once more, the man channeled the restorative light into the target.

The creature struggled in vain.

The man obliterated its flesh again, his facial expression cold and unbothered.

This gruesome cycle repeated itself over and over for what felt like an eternity.

As he witnessed this display, the young monk experienced a peculiar sensation.

It was a sense of profound gratification.

Watching the demise of this monster—despite the boy having been raised on holy mantras, peaceful contemplation, and the sanctity of all living things—felt intensely satisfying after the horrific loss of so many innocent lives.

Soon, however, an odd feeling washed over him, as if there were other eyes watching this execution alongside him.

The young boy slowly rotated his head.

There, his eyes widened.

“Gasp!”

A multitude of wild animals stood silently, observing the man’s brutal retribution.

A deer, a roe deer, an owl, a rabbit, a wolf, a fox, and a squirrel had assembled just behind where he stood. Beyond them, a perimeter of massive beasts—including a bear, a lion, a hippopotamus, a giraffe, a zebra, and a cheetah—ringed the ruined temple grounds.

At that juncture, the man’s voice echoed from behind the boy.

“All right, let’s head back.”

Upon hearing this command, the entire gathering of beasts turned and began to depart in unison.

The little novice watched them go in a daze.

Suddenly, the man reached out an open palm to him.

“I am Cha Hyun-seung. Would you like to join us?”

“…I do!”

Grasping Cha Hyun-seung’s hand, the young boy began his journey down the mountainside.

Three days had slipped by since the dual establishment of territories at Seoul Station and Sindorim Station had commenced at the exact same time.

[‘Baron’s Domain’ has been established.]

The territory centered around Sindorim Station, which Ha Dong-geon was overseeing, reached completion first.

‘Excellent.’

Meanwhile, Oh Eon-ju was also managing her responsibilities incredibly well.

It appeared that their aggressive campaign to purge all nearby beasts had proven to be the correct tactical approach.

‘The incoming refugees are integrating smoothly as well.’

Even so, a single unresolved issue troubled his thoughts.

‘What became of Cha Hyun-seung? Where did he disappear to?’

During the initial phase of building the Seoul Station Outpost—the bedrock of the entire domain—creature clearance operations in the surrounding zones were conducted in tandem.

Curiously, though, the expected hordes of beasts were largely absent.

In truth, there were far more pockets of survivors than there were hostile creatures.

It was through these clearing operations that they learned of several tens of thousands of humans residing near Yongsan and Namsan Tower.

The unofficial ruler of these people was a man by the name of Cha Hyun-seung, who controlled a vast menagerie of beasts.

Rumors swirled that the dearth of monsters surrounding Seoul Station was due to Cha Hyun-seung’s beast army hunting down every creature in sight for sustenance.

A vast number of refugees owed their survival entirely to his domesticated beasts.

Yet, surprisingly, these survivors could not be considered his loyal followers.

Over ninety percent of those residents were simply drifters scraping by on the fringes of his territory.

Word among the survivors was that Cha Hyun-seung harbored a deep loathing for humanity. Even if individuals approached him begging to serve under him, he would turn them away.

In fact, he would actively repel them.

While he tolerated their presence on his land without evicting them, he offered no assistance.

However, when efforts were made to track him down, Cha Hyun-seung and his massive animal force had vanished without a trace.

‘I had truly hoped to recruit him as a vassal.’

Intelligence suggested he commanded dozens, perhaps hundreds of beasts—predators capable of tearing through Orcs like simple treats.

‘Given that even high-tier boss monsters steered clear of Cha Hyun-seung’s territory, his personal combat prowess must be astronomical.’

He was unquestionably an awakened individual of at least SR-rank.

In contrast to JHS’s Jung Hyun-soo, who was an inevitable adversary, Cha Hyun-seung was a prized asset to be won over.

‘If I could secure an SR-rank subordinate right from the beginning… my political and military leverage would skyrocket.’

Regardless, the social climate around Seoul Station had been incredibly turbulent.

Despite the presence of tens of thousands of people, they had shattered into numerous squabbling factions, endlessly warring with one another.

Cha Hyun-seung had never bothered to mediate their disputes, allowing bitter animosities and lethal conflicts to fester unchecked.

‘Weeding out the absolute worst of these factions proved to be an exhausting endeavor.’

Throughout this ordeal, Commander Lee Hak-gi had provided invaluable assistance.

A number of these splinter groups treated vulnerable refugees as mere property—and that was among the milder offenses.

They ran into bloodthirsty killers, organized predatory syndicates, and even practitioners of cannibalism.

These criminals had not been pushed to such horrific extremes by starvation or desperation.

Nor had the trauma of the apocalypse twisted their minds.

They had simply always possessed these monstrous inclinations.

Before the collapse, they had been restrained by societal laws and the judicial system. The moment those structures crumbled, their true, vile natures broke free of all restraint.

None of these degenerates were permitted entry into the territory.

They were cast out without hesitation.

While they attempted to put up a violent resistance, they stood no chance against the overwhelming power of the vassals, leaving them no choice but to retreat like whipped dogs.

Thanks to these decisive cleansing operations, order had finally been established.

But suddenly—

“Ah!”

Oh Eon-ju, who had been perfectly composed just a moment prior, gasped as a sharp pain hit her.

Right after—

“Oppa! Something’s gone wrong!”

shouted Seo Ye-jin, who had deployed her scout rats across the region to maintain active surveillance.

“Over in Yongsan Park! The twins have come under fire!”

Upon hearing her warning, he immediately triggered Absolute Dweller’s Eye, focusing his vision on Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon.

‘No… this is…’

An icy woodland expanded in his mind’s eye, where Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon lay severely beaten and bloody on the cold earth.

Standing directly over them, glaring down with unfiltered rage, was a colossal figure.

He stood well over 190 centimeters tall, sporting a massive, muscular frame and a wild, dense beard.

Cha Hyun-seung had shown himself.

Snarls escaping his lips, he spat, “You are on my land.”

In front of him, the injured siblings fought with all their might just to stay on their feet.

Their battered, bloodied faces twitched in agony as they muttered to one another.

“…We’ve got to hold him off.”

“Ngh. I know, shut up and focus.”

Cha Hyun-seung charged at them again.

‘East Gate, activate.’

Luckily, their battle was taking place right on the periphery of the established domain.

Vrrrr—

The instant they breached the boundaries of the unlocked East Gate—

‘Invisible Hand.’

He clamped down on Cha Hyun-seung mid-stride, freezing his forward momentum entirely.

“!!!”

Cha Hyun-seung’s eyes flared with astonishment as his gaze snapped toward him.

Staring straight back at the giant, he offered a calm remark.

“Let’s all take a breath and lower the tension for a second.”