Chapter 329

Chapter 329

“Fuck! The line over there is collapsing. Hurry up and block it!”

“Second row, get ready!”

In a huge underground cavity, a woman was screaming like a madwoman as she commanded the people.

The woman shouting while holding a spear covered in blood was Eloy.

Hundreds of people were moving according to her commands.

Among them were Levin and his friends, Aaron and Dominic.

Levin said to Aaron and Dominic,

“Get ready!”

“Yeah!”

“Got it!”

Aaron and Dominic answered with stiff expressions.

Their entire bodies were stained red with blood, and their faces were full of exhaustion. That was only natural, because ever since they fell underground, they had fought without resting for even a moment.

Even now, they were surrounded by countless enemies.

The enemies aiming at them from the darkness were the dead. The dead had risen again as Zombies.

There were many kinds, from those who had died a very long time ago to those who had died recently.

Even more horrifying was that among the dead, there were many who had once been their comrades.

The raid team Aaron and Dominic had joined had also been wiped out and turned into Zombies.

The sight of those they had trusted and followed until just a few days ago becoming Zombies and attacking them had inflicted a horrifying trauma on the two.

They could not even bring themselves to look directly at the Zombies who had once been their comrades.

Even so, the reason they had managed to endure and survive until now was because Levin was beside them.

If Levin had not helped them and encouraged them, they would never have lasted this long.

Whenever the two were in danger, Levin intervened and helped them, allowing them to barely preserve their lives.

The two had no leisure to rest.

That was because there were not enough hands to stop the Zombies surging in like waves.

“Fuck!”

“Let’s see each other alive.”

Leaving Levin behind, the two jumped into the collapsing battle line.

“You have to survive.”

Levin watched Aaron and Dominic fight the Zombies with bloodshot eyes.

He wanted to fight alongside them too. But there was another being he had to face.

Levin clenched his teeth and looked at the ceiling.

In midair, translucent monsters were flying around like ghosts.

‘Specters!’

They were monsters that had turned ghostly, just like Levin.

The difference was that they had been born without physical forms from the beginning.

The Specters circled in the air like eagles targeting prey, aiming at the Awakened.

Because the Awakened were busy dealing with the Zombies on the ground, they could not pay attention to the Specters aiming from overhead.

Because of that, many had lost their lives to the Specters, and the dead rose as Zombies, continuing a vicious cycle in which they attacked the Awakened again.

If they had become ordinary Zombies, they would not have been that threatening.

The problem was that those revived as Zombies used the abilities they had possessed in life.

They could not display their abilities as fully as when they were alive, but the fact that they could use Skills at all made them dangerous.

Levin’s duty was to keep the Specters in check.

There was no one here except Levin who could restrain the Specters.

Ssssss!

A Specter that had been circling in the air approached silently above an Awakened’s head. The Awakened who had become the Specter’s target did not realize it and was busy swinging his sword at the Zombies.

Just before the Specter pounced on the Awakened, Levin moved.

Levin, who had used Ghost Transformation, flew like a flash of lightning and collided with the Specter.

After tangling with the Specter and spinning through the air, Levin released Purple Lightning.

Crackle!

The purple lightning burned the Specter as it was.

The Specter vanished without even being able to scream. But Levin’s expression was not bright.

There were still many Specters in the air, and they were flying while avoiding Levin.

To annihilate Specters all at once, he had to unleash a powerful Skill, but if he did that, not only the Specters, but all his allies would be exposed to the lightning.

Since he might accidentally wipe out his own allies as well, he had no choice but to hunt them one by one.

While Levin hunted Specters, other Specters flew toward the Awakened.

“Damn it!”

Levin hurriedly moved to save the Awakened.

Crackle!

By releasing lightning, he was able to save the Awakened just in time. But there were still many Specters left, and Levin’s work was not finished.

“We have to hold out somehow until Brother Zeon comes.”

The Zeon he knew would definitely come to rescue them.

The key was somehow enduring until then.

Levin kept the Specters in check while looking at the Awakened struggling desperately.

The battle line was collapsing in places.

Each time, Eloy jumped in and blocked the Zombies. Thanks to that, the front was still being maintained, but it looked terribly precarious.

“Fuck! I feel like I’m going to die.”

“Hold out somehow. If we collapse, it’s over for all of us.”

“Daaamn it!”

“Aaaaaah!”

The desperate shouts and screams of the Awakened rang out everywhere.

They were fighting by dragging out every last bit of strength they had, even the strength they had used when nursing at their mothers’ breasts.

That desperate battle continued for hours.

The number of wounded rose one after another, and many died.

What was truly frightening was that those struck down by Zombies or Specters rose again as Zombies and attacked.

When comrades who had been encouraging one another and fighting together only moments ago became Zombies and attacked, the minds of weak-hearted Awakened collapsed.

“Aaaaaah! We’re all going to die.”

“We have to run!”

“Save me! I don’t want to become a Zombie.”

As the mentally broken Awakened fled, holes opened all over the battle line.

“Fuck! How can you pull back here? Get back here now!”

“Son of a bitch! Swing your sword!”

“If you leave, we’ll all die!”

The Awakened fighting the Zombies screamed at the top of their lungs, but it was useless.

The battle line, now full of holes, was collapsing rapidly.

Eloy, who had become a blood-soaked figure, clenched her teeth.

That was because everything they had struggled so hard to maintain until now was turning into nothing.

At this rate, the number of Zombies would grow beyond control. The moment the balance of power reversed like that, the annihilation of the Awakened would be unavoidable.

She and Levin would somehow survive, but everyone else would become Zombies.

Those who became Zombies would then wander in search of other victims and attack the Awakened of the other groups, wiping them out.

“There were three thousand four hundred people who came in here. If they all become Zombies and attack Neo Seoul......”

At the horrifying thought, Eloy’s face turned pale.

Zombies did not grow tired and did not stop.

They would wander the desert in search of the living, and in the end, they would find Neo Seoul, where the largest number of people gathered.

Neo Seoul had high walls, so it would somehow be able to stop a Zombie attack, but the slums would be caught defenseless.

If all the slum residents became Zombies, not even Neo Seoul could remain safe.

“What the hell is inside here that turns corpses into Zombies?”

Eloy looked around with bloodshot eyes. But she could not grasp the cause at all.

Eloy was growing exhausted from running this way and that.

“Haa! Haa!”

Now her breath had risen to her chin, and even moving one step was not easy.

It felt as if huge lumps of iron were attached to her legs.

The Zombies did not miss Eloy as she grew so sluggish.

Graaaah!

A Zombie that had been an Awakened in life opened its mouth wide and charged.

It was far faster than ordinary Zombies, and its movements were impossible to predict, so Eloy could not react in time.

“Damn it!”

Without realizing it, Eloy squeezed her eyes shut.

THUD—!

In that instant, a powerful sound burst out in front of her, and Eloy’s body flinched. But she felt no pain.

When Eloy opened her eyes, she saw a Zombie whose head had disappeared.

The Zombie flailed, then collapsed as it was.

“Who?”

As Eloy looked around for the person who had saved her, delight appeared on her face.

“Zeon!”

Beyond the people, she saw familiar figures.

The one who had saved her at the moment of crisis was Zeon’s group.

Tears sprang to her eyes.

Their appearance was so dramatic that she felt she might cry at any moment. She forced back her tears and shouted loudly.

“Reinforcements are here. Everyone, hold on!”

Her shout spread to every corner.

“Waaah!”

“It’s reinforcements.”

“Hold on just a little longer!”

Those who had been holding out as if they might collapse at any moment shouted, filled with courage at the news that reinforcements had arrived.

Zeon said with a serious expression,

“Many people have already died.”

“The damage is tremendous. We must rescue them quickly.”

“First, we have to separate the Zombies from the Awakened. Can you do that?”

“Can I do that? I am Go Cheon-sun. A member of the Numbers.”

Go Cheon-sun was Elder Go’s real name.

At Zeon’s words, he had unconsciously spoken his true name.

Elder Go looked at the humans tangled with the Zombies and focused his mind. Then the twin sisters each placed a hand on one of his shoulders and said,

“We’ll help.”

“Hang in there!”

They used telepathy to intervene in Elder Go’s thoughts.

They artificially strengthened Elder Go’s concentration.

Thanks to that, Elder Go’s concentration instantly became several times stronger.

Whoosh!

A translucent membrane erupted from Elder Go’s body and expanded terrifyingly.

“Double Barrier. The righteous are protected, and the demonic are driven out.”

The membrane expanded until it filled the underground space, pushing the Zombies outside. On the other hand, it had no effect on the Awakened.

Only the Zombies were pushed outside the barrier while the Awakened remained in place.

Double Barrier was a kind of net.

It detected only beings with impure energy like Zombies and pushed them outside.

Thanks to that, the Awakened could escape the Zombies’ offensive and breathe a sigh of relief.

Roooooar!

The Zombies flailed and tried to resist, but it was useless.

Elder Go’s barrier, with the twins assisting him, was not something mere Specters or Zombies could do anything about.

THUD! THUD—!

In the end, the Zombies were pushed all the way to the walls, and the Specters also could not avoid being trapped between the barrier and the ceiling.

Despite that, their aggression did not weaken at all.

The Zombies tried to tear the barrier apart somehow, while the Specters writhed, releasing negative energy.

The barrier shook precariously, as if it might break at any moment.

Elder Go shouted to Zeon,

“Now it’s your turn.”

“Yes!”

Zeon stepped forward and raised his control. Then the sand grains piled on the floor floated up and were pushed outside the barrier.

GRRRRIND—!

Between the barrier and the walls, sand rotated at high speed.

GRRRRIND—!

With a chilling sound, the Zombies were ground away.

Even the Zombies’ monstrous cries were buried beneath the sand and vanished.

Zombies were not invincible.

Zombies too died if their heads were cut off.

Zombies killed that way could never rise again. But Zeon was not merely removing their heads. He was grinding their entire bodies into pieces smaller than sand.

The Awakened widened their eyes when they saw the Zombies that had threatened them vanish into powder in an instant.

“Crazy!”

“He’s grinding the Zombies away that easily?”

“What the hell were we doing until now?”

It was so absurd that it felt empty.

In the end, the Awakened whose legs had lost strength sank down where they stood.

There were still Specters outside the barrier.

Because they had no physical form, they were safe even from Sand Blender. But their fate did not last long either.

Levin entered their midst and unleashed Purple Lightning.

Crackle!

The lightning infused with Levin’s rage burned away every Specter outside the barrier.

On the other hand, the Awakened inside the barrier were not affected at all and remained safe.

After eliminating all the Specters, Levin landed on the ground and tightly embraced Zeon.

“Brother!”

“You’re safe.”

“I knew you’d come, Brother.”

“I’m glad I wasn’t late. You held on well.”

Zeon patted Levin’s shoulder after he regained physical form.

A smile bloomed on Levin’s lips.

“That’s our brother, all right.”