A/N: So sorry for being late. I'm not feeling well yesterday, so it's delayed to today. Enjoy the chapter!
Also....
Sorry everyone, thanks to my easily swayed opinion, I now found it difficult to remember the new country's names, as well as referring to their language. For example, France is a country, and its language is french. But it will be hard for me to create a 'language' for my self-made country, which would also make it difficult for readers to remember them (and myself included).
So I shall stick to real country names (for now? And maybe till the end if there's no sensitive topic?)... with STRONG DISCLAIMER that this is a work of fiction, not related to real-world events!
XG 150 - I want power
With their greatest rival, the church led by Nanse, attacked, Duljjae's team took the chance to completely wipe them out if they did not agree to join them.
"We had agreed with Musihada that we will cooperate with them." Chanjang looked worried.
The tattoo guy sneered at his cowardly comrade. "Don't you know that the boss only agreed because it benefited us at that time? Now that the church is no longer a threat, we also don't need to follow those damn requests!"
At that time, the Musihada's team was also at their weak moment, which spurred Duljjae's team to have the idea of taking them down as well. But the arrival of the dangerous siblings had them cut off the idea.
Duljjae's team consisted of strong and courageous people, but that does not mean they were as skilled in fighting and killing as the people that the siblings brought with them to rescue their people from the church members.
The gang were ferocious and killed most of the church members that made a move to retaliate.
Duljjae's gang watched let the siblings bring away all their people, and waited if the Musihada people would come again. But none appeared before their base to talk more about the cooperation, which had most of Duljjae's team members getting outraged for being disregarded.
"We are the ones that disregard the cooperation, not them!" The tattoo guy declared. His words were to regain their group's pride, twisting their belief to suit their interest.
As the strongest group in their area, they became even more inhibited, grabbing any food and nice-looking females they saw like unlawful brutes. The top floors were living freely and happily, but there were many people on the lower ground had died.
As the top floor does not share much food with the people on the lower floor, some had gone to do extreme things. They had chopped the body of the deceased and eat them.
With the amount of reckless partying, not even the top floor have enough food left and had to search for more food again. It was an endless cycle that was seemingly rewarding, but what would happen if there was no more food in the area?
Chanjang's worry was sound, as it quickly reached that point where some were now eying Masan base. But it was rumoured to be under the Musihada base's protection and they were not that desperate yet to try hitting a large mountain.
"We could go and talk to them," Chanjang offered his suggestion with a tired tone.
"Talk?" The tattoo guy sneered. "Are we that eager for their cooperation? What we want, we grab! Why would we need to beg?!"
Already expecting that the blockhead would not understand his point, Chanjang turned to look at Duljjae, their leader, whose words were listened to by everyone. He was the only person that could persuade the others to think about their future and survival.
As a leader, Duljjae should also be worried about their future, right?
To his endless disappointment, Duljjae also refused to cooperate with the Musihada base. "We had not done anything for them and there is no need for them to work with us. Their absence is the strongest proof. Our group have our own way to survive. We are living well and there is no need to change our ways. The world is now where the strong will survive and we are the strong ones!"
The heaviness in Chanjang's heart became heavier, his eyes travelled around the faces of the members. They all sincerely agreed with Duljjae's words and crazily cheered for their leader.
"Have you not taken into account that we are just normal people without powers?" Chanjang asked stiffly.
"I know that those people with ability got it after being bitten by those monsters! We can get one following that!" The tattoo guy said as if what he imparted was immeasurable in value.
Watching how others excitedly already imagined what their ability would be, Chanjang finally accepted that he would never be able to stay in this group if he wanted to stay alive for a long time. None of them here plan about their future properly, their interest and mind only at the present.
With that belief, he waited until Duljjae and everyone enjoyed their bed activities to the fullest until their guard dropped. When that time arrived, he silently made his way out, his destination far away from Duljjae's territory.
Musihada's base was an ideal base for the likes of him.
Not long after Chanjang escaped, whispers of unknown words accompanied by smoke appeared around the shopping mall, growing thicker as it slipped into the building. The people that encountered the smoke fell asleep, just as the smoke did not stop there.
The whispers travelled with the smoke as it spread from floor to floor, continuously putting everyone to sleep. Until it stopped at a tent, seemingly considering whether to enter or not. Finally, the smoke continues on, bypassing Duljjae's tent.
Unlike the smoke, the whispering stopped. A thin, pale leg appeared from the smoke, followed by the whole body, dressed in a velvet red dress belonging to the middle ages. A thick, gold belt was secured around her waist, highlighting her slim figure.
Parting open the tent, the woman stepped in, ignoring the sleeping soundly Duljjae. Her only interest was the woman in very thin lingerie, her entire body decorated with bites and bruises. She was clearly detached from reality to keep herself sane from the abuse done by Duljjae without her consent.
There was no reaction from the woman when the stranger approached, continue lying on the mat like a discarded doll after being played with.
"I heard your voice," the stranger spoke in a clean korean without any accent. "You want to kill them all."
Ari finally moved her eyes to look at the foreigner. The heaviness that could swallow a person whole made the woman smile.
"I could give you the power you want if you agree to work for me."
Ari reacted to her words with a twitch from her shoulders.
The woman bent down and helped Ari adjust her lingerie to cover her exposed private parts. "I will come back tomorrow at the same time for your answer."
When she made a move to stand up, a thin hand grasped her wrist, surprisingly with enough strength to stop her. The woman's eyes flashed with triumph as Ari turned her head to look straight at her.
"I... accept. I will work for you if you help me... kill them all. I want to kill them all myself."
"What a murderous woman you are." The woman smiled. "But I like it. We, women, always suffered at the hands of men. They could not control their primal desires, and they blame it on us women. The modernization elevated women's status, but now that the world collapsed, it was back to those dark days again."
The woman pushed Ari's long hair away from her pale face. "As a fellow woman, let me bestow you with the ability to enslave men."
With a movement from her fingers, a zombie staggered out from the fog and entered the tent. Ari's eyes widened seeing the incoming zombie and would have crawled away if not for the woman's strong grip on her head.
"To gain an ability, you had to accept the price." The zombie stopped moving from a flick of the woman's finger. "Now, I will let you rethink your choice for one last time. Continue being a sex toy, or be my servant and gain strength to get rid of those pests that sullied your chastity?"
Ari's desire to break free was stronger than the fear of the zombie. "Power. I want power."
The woman smiled and the zombie leaned over Aria's trembling form. "You pick the right choice."
During the bite, the woman started casting a spell in an ancient language, modifying Ari's Awakening process to let her gain even more power.
Duljjae, who had never stirred even once from the start to the end, finally woke up, just as everyone in the building also woke up. The smoke and whispering were gone, leaving only a dry husk of a female mummy in Duljjae's tent.
He was absolutely terrified of the sudden appearance of a monster but was confident he would survive as the mummy was moving rather slowly, his hand moved quickly to grab his blade beside him.
But never would he expect that one eye contact with the mummy had him doomed.