Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 93.7: The Man from Jeju (7)

"I can take care of it. But why? Why do I have to do it?"

This lighthouse is crawling with Awakened.

Not just any Awakened, but ones above Level 5—powerful enough to generate waves of force.

Even Jeong Ho-kyung, standing in front of me with a grim expression, is supposedly a Level 8 Awakened.

So why can’t they handle it?

They don’t even need to lift a finger. They could crush the entire capsule with their abilities.

I’ve seen Awakened do it before on the front lines—taking care of capsules like it was a joke, throwing me smug glances as they did.

So why is it different here?

If the concern is for the children’s safety, fine.

But what about Jeong Ho-kyung?

What about all the soldiers stationed here?

If Jeong Ho-kyung simply neutralized the defensive field, the problem would be solved in an instant.

“There are dozens of people here who turned us from hunters into errand boys, so why do I have to do it? I’m not angry. I just don’t understand. So give me a clear answer.”

Jeong Ho-kyung trembled visibly and glanced around nervously.

He shot a look at the security chief and the military commander seated nearby, signaling them to leave.

"Tsk."

“Haah...”

They sighed in open irritation but left the situation room nonetheless.

Now it was just the two of us.

“...I’m actually Level 4,” he admitted, his head hanging low.

I appreciated the quick confession.

But Level 4?

A scoff escaped me.

Just Level 4.

There are so many Level 4 Awakened that they’re practically overflowing.

And how are they treated?

They’re a step above disposable Awakened—just barely good enough to lead patrol teams in hellholes like Seoul.

Yet this guy, despite being the same level, secured a high-ranking position in Gukwiwon right out of school. Throughout the war, he held the fate of millions in South Korea in his hands from the safety of Jeju.

Does that make sense?

I don’t know.

I don’t care to know.

But it’s the reality in front of me.

“...Technically, I’m Level 4, but for some reason, whenever I’m measured, it registers as Level 5 or higher. I don’t know why. It’s not even that rare of a case. The mental resonance test is man-made, after all...”

I cut him off coldly.

“Pick one of the teenagers here. I don’t need anything else—just someone who can neutralize the defensive field.”

Clearing multiple capsules in a time limit of an hour and a half is no easy feat.

Each one has to be verified at the risk of our lives. Even if they pass the check, there’s still the possibility of ending up like Park Sang-min—decorating a monster’s lair as an ornament.

So I’m going to demand what needs to be demanded.

"That’s..."

Jeong Ho-kyung lowered his head even further.

“...All the kids here are combat-ineligible.”

A deep sigh escaped me.

“They have abilities, but they were deemed unfit for combat by the Jeju school.”

Now everything made sense.

The existence of this facility, the reason it was created.

"Unlike Old School, Over Level 5 Awakened are stronger and capable of mass slaughter even without weapons. That’s why only children with stable minds, no fear of combat, and the ability to withstand extreme stress are selected as regular Awakened. The rest are...”

“So.”

I cut him off again.

“You’re telling me there’s no one else but me?”

“...I’m sorry. I’m not strong enough to help.”

“Out of all these kids, not a single one can fight?”

I shouted.

“... ...”

Jeong Ho-kyung just lowered his head in silence.

The air felt like it had frozen over.

Click!

I loaded my gun.

“...I’ll confirm it. You do the carrying.”

This isn’t for them.

It’s for me.

*

The lead-lined chamber was located in the center of the underground facility, a hexagonal room beneath the watchtower.

I had no idea what it was used for in the past, but some of the walls bore scars of gunfire.

“...It should be in there.”

Jeong Ho-kyung followed behind me.

He had brought a gun, but I already considered him dead weight.

The only role I entrusted to him was that of a guide.

“This way.”

Before us stood a massive black door.

A bunker.

Big enough to hold more than 300 people.

Thunk.

The door creaked open, releasing a stale stench.

It hadn’t been used in a long time.

That would explain why they only just now realized the capsules were here.

“This is a special shelter built to withstand Kraken-type attacks.”

I had questions.

But I wasn’t in the mood to ask.

Besides, I could already see for myself what needed to be done.

Nine pale, sickly-looking capsules hung in the darkness like grotesque fruit.

"Nine of them..."

I turned to Jeong Ho-kyung.

He avoided my gaze.

I held out my hand.

“Gun.”

“M-My gun?”

“Now.”

I wouldn’t waste a single bullet.

Even as he hesitated, the comms radio continued to deliver bad news.

“Kraken-type approaching! Path remains unchanged! Still heading toward the lighthouse!”

I turned off the radio.

“Step back.”

I aimed at a capsule.

Bang!

“Huk!”

Jeong Ho-kyung flinched violently.

He must not have expected me to fire the moment I aimed.

But that’s how Old School hunters do things.

And the shot was successful.

The moment the bullet hit, a reflection field activated.

And then—

Whoosh!

The return wave came.

"First one’s clear. Move it."

“...Me? I have to move it?”

“That’s the deal, isn’t it?”

Jeong Ho-kyung may be an irritating bastard, but he wasn’t entirely rotten.

He had at least one redeeming trait: responsibility.

Hesitantly, he stepped forward and lifted the verified capsule, his hands shaking.

I pressed him.

“We don’t have time.”

He shot me a resentful look, but this was the power dynamic now.

I was the one giving the orders.

Realizing that, his face flushed red as he carried the capsule out of the underground chamber.

Once he was gone, I moved on to the second one.

Bang!

Gunshot.

Whoosh!

The return wave.

I waited for Jeong Ho-kyung to return and had him move that one too.

But something was bothering me.

Not him.

The others.

Some adults had gathered behind me at some point, watching in silence.

I turned to them.

They stared back.

“You gonna move it?”

I gestured toward the verified capsule.

No one moved.

“If you’re not going to do anything, then get out.”

They chuckled in disbelief.

They must have thought I was on their side.

But to me, they were all the same.

No, these useless bastards complaining from the sidelines were even worse than Jeong Ho-kyung.

“If you’re not going to help, then get the hell «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» out!”

I shouted, and they finally left.

Silence settled in.

I turned to the third capsule.

Quick but precise.

The shooting technique drilled into us at school.

Bang!

Another shot.

Whoosh!

Another return wave.

“... ...”

And I picked up the capsule.

This wasn’t my job.

But I wanted to get it over with.

I wouldn’t deny that a bit of respect for Jeong Ho-kyung factored into my decision.

“Park Gyu...?”

Dripping with sweat, Jeong Ho-kyung looked at me in shock.

“I’m a hunter too.”

I spoke calmly and walked past him.

And so, the work continued.

Together, we transported the capsules to a quarantined area, one by one.

Until only one remained.

The final check.

I fired.

Bang!

“...Hmph.”

A problem.

No reflection field.

The bullet ricocheted off the lead-lined walls.

I turned to Jeong Ho-kyung.

“This one’s ripe.”

A capsule that doesn’t react to gunfire.

A monster about to hatch.

Jeong Ho-kyung paled.

“What do we do?”

I drew my axes.

“You may not admit it, but we’re hunters too.”

“······.”

"...I'll show you. The way of an era that has come and gone."

I thought as long as it wasn’t a Dancer-type, I’d be fine.

The Dancer-type.

The reaper of melee hunters.

As long as it wasn’t that, I could afford a little bravado.

A chance to enlighten this pitiful man who still insisted on calling me Mr. Park Gyu.

I stepped forward, gripping my axe, and faced the capsule.

I stared at it, then slowly raised my axe and threw it lightly.

I didn’t use my gun. If the thing inside activated its reflection field, the axe would be slower, giving me a chance to deflect it.

I calmly watched the arc of the throw.

The moment the axe reached the capsule—

Boom!

A violent pulse erupted.

At the same time, a pale white figure clawed its way out of the dimensional rift, lifting its head in a furious roar.

And that figure—

"A... Dancer-type?!"

Jeong Ho-kyung muttered.

He was right.

It was a Dancer-type.

Even a fool like Jeong Ho-kyung knew the difference between life and death.

The moment he recognized the Dancer-type, he spun on his heels and bolted from the lead-lined chamber at full speed.

But running from a Dancer-type was pointless.

Even if we escaped it, the Kraken-type was still coming.

Now was the time to bet everything on an impossible chance.

"..."

There was no choice but to fight.

Not recklessly.

Not without a plan.

This time, I had to be ready to die.

Hoo...

I let the flames of hatred inside me rise.

Let them burn me alive.

Only then could I escape the creeping drowsiness that always came at the brink of death.

I could feel them even now.

The hands of my dead comrades reaching for me from below.

"Come."

The monster wouldn’t understand my words, but I spoke anyway.

There was only one way to kill a Dancer-type in close combat.

Dodge its blade-like front legs—then strike hard enough to break them.

That alone was already nearly impossible for a human, even for a trained hunter.

But that wasn’t enough.

I had to disable one leg and then relentlessly press the attack, dragging my initial advantage all the way to the end.

A single misstep meant death.

A lethal circus act.

Boom—

The thing lunged, its razor-sharp forelimb slicing forward.

One chance.

I measured the distance.

Boom!

It advanced again.

Optimal range.

But then, a sharp metallic sound rang out from the monster.

I quickly found the source.

A bullet casing hanging from a dog tag.

Engraved with a single word: PROFESSOR.

For a fraction of a second, my attention flickered.

And in that moment, the monster lunged at me.

Through the flames of hatred, I lifted my axe and stared it down.

Shkkk—!

*

Far away, atop a mountain ridge, the remains of a colossal monster scattered into the wind like a twisted firework display.

Amazingly, the lead-lined chamber had withstood the Kraken-type’s destructive beam.

Perhaps North Korea’s greatest discovery on the front lines.

With the threat eliminated, Jeong Ho-kyung prepared to relight the lighthouse.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

The children who had taken refuge inside the chamber returned to their positions.

A hundred of them stood along the hexagonal walls.

Jeong Ho-kyung and I stood atop the watchtower.

“...I’m sorry. I truly am. I knew you were Professor. That you were a legendary hunter.”

He was the only witness to my fight against the Dancer-type.

"To think you actually overwhelmed a Dancer-type in close combat... Who would believe it? But it really happened..."

I said nothing.

Instead, I looked out at the city bathed in sickly neon, the untainted sea, and the moon shifting from full to waning gibbous.

Beep—

The buzzer sounded.

And from one of the children standing along the wall, a massive shockwave erupted.

Boom!

Even in the dark, I could faintly see its trajectory.

Moments later, another child on the opposite wall unleashed a wave of force.

Boom!

One from the South, one from the North.

Then, as if in a chorus, dozens of shockwaves burst forth from the entire wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wave after wave, erupting into the darkness.

There was no light in the waves themselves.

But somehow, they felt like they were piercing the darkness.

Like the light of a lighthouse.

Guiding us toward the future.

"Look at this!"

Jeong Ho-kyung shoved a tablet in front of me.

The footage from a high-altitude drone showed the countless monsters lingering near the rift.

One by one, as if following an unseen command, they turned and moved northwest.

“All thanks to you.”

Jeong Ho-kyung bowed deeply.

A full ninety degrees.

This time, there was no trace of pretense.

“Hunter Park Gyu!”

The man from Jeju straightened, beaming.

"Thanks to you, this lighthouse will shine forever!"

*

The rest went as planned.

The helicopter arrived, and I boarded.

Jeong Ho-kyung and the children came to see me off, exchanging some trivial conversation.

Nothing that really mattered.

Aboard the helicopter, Lightning finally revealed her real name.

"I'm Lee Ha-yeop."

From the way the other Awakened hunters looked at me, they clearly knew what had happened at the lighthouse.

Their eyes shimmered with admiration.

I kept catching snippets of Dancer-type in their whispers.

At the center of it all, Lightning gave me a warm smile I hadn’t seen from her before.

"I’m actually from North Korea. My family and I defected during the Pyongyang crisis. I kept it a secret—not from South Koreans, but from any North Koreans who might be listening. My father... He was a die-hard party member."

She asked me something.

"By the way, did you find the person I mentioned?"

Regretfully, I shook my head and asked how they were connected.

"My younger sibling. We defected together. We don’t look alike. They were always frustrated about being so short compared to South Korean kids. But maybe they’ve grown by now? It’s been three years since I last saw them."

Lee Ha-yeop smiled sadly.

She had already accepted her sibling’s death as fact.

"...I remember when we crossed into the South, we agreed to pretend we were from Seoul."

"Seoul?"

"Yeah. But we didn’t know much about it. We only knew Gangnam was wealthier than Gangbuk, but pretending to be from Gangnam seemed too risky. So we looked at a map and found some islands in the Han River. We thought, Oh, we’ll just say we’re from one of these!"

"Which one did you pick?"

"I wanted Bamseom. But my sibling liked Sebitseom better."

"...I see."

The Dancer-type I fought...

That battle would likely remain a legend among Old School hunters for as long as humanity endured.

But the fight ended in an unexpected way.

At the moment of impact, the monster suddenly stopped moving.

As if it was waiting for death.

"..."

The lighthouse was growing distant.

I looked back at its dark silhouette and thought of a boy.

I hoped I was wrong about what I saw.