Chapter 404: Black Shadow |
“What’s that in front...?”
Something was standing before Ma Gyeong-rok.
At first, An Sang-cheol thought it was a person.
After all, it had a human shape.
But upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t.
“A shadow?”
It was a complete shadow.
A black figure in human form, but without eyes, nose, or mouth.
When An Sang-cheol tried to approach, Ma Gyeong-rok shouted.
“Mr. President?”
“It’s dangerous! Get back quickly!”
Looking closely at Ma Gyeong-rok’s face, he saw a stain.
It was a blood mark he hadn’t noticed when he was committing the murder earlier.
“Is the president... injured?”
An Sang-cheol gritted his teeth, but soon was so shocked that he forgot his anger.
“Damn human.”
A voice in Korean was heard from the shadowy figure’s face.
“Is it... talking?”
The shadow, facing Ma Gyeong-rok, raised its blade-like arm.
“You’re pretty agile. I tried to kill you with one strike.”
Ma Gyeong-rok calmly spoke to the monster.
“What are you...? An alien?”
He then discreetly glanced toward this side.
His eyes said:
Run while you can.
“The president is buying time.”
But An Sang-cheol had no intention of running away.
How could a subordinate abandon his superior and escape first?
Besides, the only combat experience Ma Gyeong-rok had was when he was a player.
“If we’re going to fight, as the bodyguard, I should be the one to intervene...”
That was when he made the decision.
Once again!
“Ah!”
In the blink of an eye, Ma Gyeong-rok’s torso collapsed.
“P-President!”
Even while trembling with severed legs, Ma Gyeong-rok stared at him with determined eyes.
As if telling him to run quickly.
“Damn human. I know what you’ve done. You’ve senselessly killed humans, haven’t you? You’re worse than a larva. Don’t you see that because of you, there are fewer humans whose life force I can absorb?”
“K-Kh...”
“I’ll make you suffer especially before I absorb you.”
Stab! Stab!
“Ah!”
An Sang-cheol could no longer bear hearing Ma Gyeong-rok’s screams.
It was unbearable.
So, he ran.
As far away as possible from the screams.
“I’m sorry, president...”
Although he wanted to save Ma Gyeong-rok, An Sang-cheol didn’t have the power to do so.
He was no longer a player, so how could he face such an absurd monster?
“The president would have wanted this too. He’d want me to survive...”
With that thought, he distanced himself as much as he could from the monster.
He didn’t know it, but he was likely next after Ma Gyeong-rok.
“Pant, pant...”
After running non-stop for an hour, he looked back.
It seemed he wasn’t being followed.
He had managed to escape.
“Pant, pant... what the hell just happened...?”
He had countless experiences as a player, so he wasn’t too surprised that such a monster appeared.
But now, in this era of peace, he was in the process of reclaiming his former life.
In the midst of that, encountering such an absurd being was a mental shock.
“The president is probably... dead, killed by that monster.”
He wanted to go back and retrieve the president’s body, but feared becoming a victim as well.
The monster could still be there.
“First, I need to escape. Anywhere...”
An Sang-cheol began to walk aimlessly.
———————
It had been a year since he became a wanderer, drifting everywhere.
An Sang-cheol kept changing his sleeping place every time.
The reason was none other than to avoid the monster that killed Ma Gyeong-rok a year ago.
Those monsters that absorbed human life force were everywhere in the world.
[Currently, deaths in South Korea due to the black shadow are estimated at around 7.3 million...]
[The first-anniversary memorial service for the victims of the black shadow will be held near Gangnam Station...]
The government had named the monsters that killed Ma Gyeong-rok as the “Black Shadows.”
The number of people they killed each day averaged 20,000.
This resulted in 7.3 million victims in one year.
Those figures were limited to South Korea.
“This isn’t just happening in our country; it’s happening all over the world. The massacres by the Black Shadows...”
Some religious groups believed they were messengers sent by God to end the world because of humanity’s sins, but it didn’t matter.
“I must survive those monsters that kill humans. It’s like another survival game.”
Previously, the game had been limited to people aged 15 to 29, but this time it was a survival game for all of humanity.
“They said there were about 300 Black Shadows discovered worldwide.”
Those 300 human-devouring monsters entered each country, never sleeping, and slaughtered people.
Once they destroyed a country, they moved to the next one to continue their massacre.
This calamity had continued for a year.
“I don’t know why they’re slaughtering and absorbing humans...”
But An Sang-cheol had no intention of becoming food for those monsters.
He would survive at all costs!
With that thought, he stayed away from places where the Black Shadows might be while moving around.
Suddenly.
Someone blocked his path.
For a moment, he thought it was a Black Shadow and froze, but it wasn’t.
It was a person with eyes, nose, and mouth emerging from the shadows.
It was a familiar face.
“You’re... Black Scythe...?”
————–
After some consideration, Ryu Min transferred to the timeline where An Sang-cheol’s wish applied.
The reason for choosing this place was simple.
“I was curious about what wish An Sang-cheol had made.”
For Ryu Min, all timelines were important.
He didn’t have a specific priority.
It wasn’t about deciding which to save first or later.
He intended to save everything he could reach with his power.
In every timeline, there were always valuable people.
“But... it seems I’ve arrived too late.”
An Sang-cheol’s timeline was in a chaotic state.
Although it wasn’t a total apocalypse, it was very close to one.
He could tell just by looking at the streets.
“There aren’t many people.”
Even though it was work time, the city streets were deserted.
He could see some people occasionally, but they could be counted on one hand.
The roads in Seoul, which should have been congested, were surprisingly quiet.
“Are the Hosts already wreaking havoc?”
He needed to find out what was happening.
There was a quick way to check the global situation.
The internet.
He only needed to visit the main page of a portal to find news, and Ryu Min obtained information there.
“More than two billion people have died in a year?”
The reason was the Hosts.
Here, they were called “black shadows,” and these creatures were carrying out massacres 24/7, causing this devastation.
“There have already been countless victims. I arrived too late. I should have come first to An Sang-cheol’s timeline...”
Though he said that, with only one body, he couldn’t save all the timelines.
If he chose one timeline, another could be in danger in the meantime.
It was all a matter of choice.
“I wish I could see the situation of all timelines at a glance with the power of time...”
It was a pity that he couldn’t do that.
Moving between timelines required a tremendous amount of energy, so he couldn’t do it immediately.
He needed at least 24 hours before he could move again.
“I must protect this place first. It’s not completely destroyed yet, right?”
Ryu Min decided to find the owner of this timeline, An Sang-cheol, first.
At the very least, it would be helpful to inform someone who fully remembered the situation.
He also had some requests for him.
“I’m going to find An Sang-cheol.”
Ryu Min’s body disappeared in a flash of light.
——————–
It wasn’t hard to find An Sang-cheol.
Using the Rune of Lightning Speed to search thoroughly, he found him hiding in a mountain.
“An Sang-cheol.”
“You’re... Black Scythe?”
“Yes. But I’m not the Black Scythe of this world.”
“What do you mean by that...?”
Suddenly, a black and red scythe appeared in the air.
An Sang-cheol, seeing the weapon’s summoning process, widened his eyes.
“I can use a player’s skills. That’s proof that I’m not the Black Scythe of this world. And I also know what your wish was.”
“My... wish?”
“You wished for Ma Gyeong-rok’s unconditional trust, didn’t you?”
“How do you know that...?”
Of course, Ryu Min didn’t know until he read An Sang-cheol’s mind.
An Sang-cheol had no choice but to believe him.
“You’re saying you’re Black Scythe from another world?”
“Yes. I’ve come to see you to warn you and inform you of the current situation.”
Ryu Min told An Sang-cheol about the Hosts and Seeds.
Their characteristics, relationships, roles, numbers, and objectives.
After hearing everything, An Sang-cheol couldn’t help but be shocked.
“Are they... planning to destroy the world?”
“They’ve already started their operations in other timelines. I’m traveling between timelines to stop their destruction.”
“That’s a hard story to believe.”
Though he said that, Ryu Min could read in his mind that An Sang-cheol was already starting to believe him.
It was a fairly convincing explanation for this desperate situation.
“You understand how serious the situation is, right?”
“Yes. But, why are you telling me all this...?”
“An Sang-cheol, I have a request for you.”
“A request...?”
“I’m going to face the Hosts and Seeds. Right now, those creatures are absorbing people to destroy the world. But it will take time to stop them all.”
“And what am I supposed to do?”
Though An Sang-cheol’s attitude was skeptical, Ryu Min continued.
“Spread the way to deal with the Hosts to the world. It seems people still don’t know that Hosts can parasitize humans. If everyone avoids going out, the damage can be minimized. Tell people not to trust anyone. Hosts can even impersonate family members.”
“You want us to completely isolate ourselves?”
“Yes. If they do that, they can significantly reduce the damage. It won’t be necessary to isolate for long. Just until I eliminate all the Hosts. If they lock the doors well and avoid contact with others, they can avoid becoming victims.”
This was the best way to stop the Hosts.
However.
“No.”
An Sang-cheol rejected Ryu Min’s request.
He did so out of foolish pride.