FLIA 33

As if he’d found something endlessly amusing and fascinating, Seungryong kept staring and staring at Yohan.

“Only twenty-three. Wow, twenty-three. I can barely even remember being that age.”

Seungryong, who looked twenty-five, murmured with a silly smile, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all. They were endlessly black and distant, almost inhuman. Only when they met Yohan’s eyes did they faintly shine. He had his face buried in the mattress near Yohan and spoke in a muffled voice.

“That thing, it feels like it’s after Yohan, doesn’t it?”

“No doubt. The Flood in the Ruined City happened way too early. All the strange things started happening right after Yohan fell in here.”

Seungryong rested his head near Yohan’s side and didn’t say another word. Yohan, mumbling in his sleep, rolled over and draped an arm over Seungryong’s head without realizing it. But even as Yohan used him like an armrest, Seungryong didn’t move an inch, didn’t push him away, just stayed there quietly.

“I’m really going to do everything I can… but if something goes wrong, if it looks like there’s no hope at all, please kill me this time. Don’t keep me alive just because you can, not if it’s pointless.”

His voice was very slow as he spoke. He was remembering a time from the past, back when he had begged and begged to be killed, and yet Lee Hyunmook had cruelly kept bringing him back. Even when he’d said he’d rather die as a human than live on as a monster, Hyunmook hadn’t listened.

“This time, for real, please… I’m begging you. Please. I’m so, so happy right now, but after going through something like this, I don’t think I can stand living through all that time again.”

“……”

“I’ll seriously do anything you tell me to, Team Leader.”

Just like before he’d fallen into the Abyss, honorifics came out of his mouth naturally. That was how desperate he was. Seungryong couldn’t even lift his head from the floor. Regaining his sanity after so long felt so blissful… and unbearably painful.

After a long pause, Lee Hyunmook finally answered.

“…Okay.”

Seungryong let out a faint, awkward laugh and lifted his head. He looked down at Yohan, still sleeping peacefully with a calm, innocent face, completely unaware of anything. Just watching him made Seungryong feel sleepy too. It was such a peaceful sight.

That pork belly had really been good. He didn’t remember much from his time as a centipede monster, but the taste of that meal, his first in ages, was impossible to forget.

Was food always this good when he was still human? He chewed over the memory again and again, then swallowed. A moment later, as if he suddenly remembered something, he whispered a soft apology.

“Sorry.”

This time, Lee Hyunmook didn’t answer.

<3>

Jungle

Unlike when they had arrived at the Ruined City, it took a bit longer to move into this new area. After walking endlessly through the dark wasteland for over a week, they finally managed to cross into another zone. Fortunately, Yoon Seungryong had the ability to store food in large quantities, otherwise, they would’ve had to move forward starving, making the journey even more grueling.

“A jungle?”

At the edge of the wasteland, Yohan murmured in disbelief as he faced the tropical rainforest that began right where the barren land ended. Compared to this, the Black Forest wasn’t even a real forest. That was just a swamp with a little bit of woodland growing on the outskirts. Even Yoon Seungryong, who was sucking on a sweet jelly and trying to make it last as long as possible, tilted his head.

“Was this always a jungle?”

Lee Hyunmook stared quietly into the jungle, as if recalling something, then answered.

“No. It used to be wasteland. Looks like a portion of the jungle dropped here recently and expanded its territory in no time.”

“Ugh, jungles are hell as it is, and now it’s gotten bigger?”

Yoon Seungryong scowled and muttered, which made Yohan uneasy. Just getting through the wasteland had been tough, and seeing that reaction, the jungle was bound to be worse.

“Can’t we go another way?”

“It’d be hard. Hm… right, Yohan, I guess you don’t know. I’ll show you roughly what the Abyss looks like.”

Yoon Seungryong began to draw a crude map on the ground with the tip of his spear.

“You landed here first, this is the Ruined City. Then here’s the swamp, and this is the jungle.”

According to his drawing, the Ruined City, part of the Korean zone, sat in the center. The swamp and jungle zones were located on either side. Yoon Seungryong also roughly explained the geography of other areas, the Russian zone, Japanese zone, Hong Kong zone, and so on.

“Got it now? We escaped the ruined city and came to the swamp, but the swamp wasn’t exactly livable either, right? That weird rash showed up and all. So now we’re moving into the jungle… but if we want to reach another zone, we’ll have to go through it. Personally, I’d prefer to head to the Japanese zone, but…”

As he said that, he glanced sideways. Lee Hyunmook, arms crossed and staring into the jungle, replied firmly.

“No. We’re going to the Russian zone.”

“Well, the Russian zone’s not bad either.”

Instead of arguing, Yoon Seungryong just shrugged and brushed the dirt off his spear. Before entering the jungle in earnest, they decided to have a proper meal. If things went poorly, they might not be able to eat again once inside.

“Me, me, me! Please, from now on, let me cook! I’ll be in charge of the cooking, okay?”

After tasting Lee Hyunmook and Yohan’s cooking over the past few days, Yoon Seungryong even got down on his knees, begging earnestly. Lee Hyunmook didn’t seem to care much whether his teammate volunteered for the role or not, but Yohan felt a little guilty.

“But if you keep doing all the cooking, I’ll feel really bad.”

“If you feel bad, feel bad about your cooking skills. Stop wasting precious ingredients.”

Yoon Seungryong replied bluntly as he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out two cans of ham, a sauce base, and some pre-cooked rice. After Yohan purified everything, he lit the burner, sliced up mushrooms and various vegetables they’d gathered from the Black Forest, and got to stir-frying. Before long, a hearty pot of army stew was ready.

“…Smells amazing.”

Yohan, who had been watching the cooking process, swallowed hard. He blew on a spoonful and took a bite. The deep, spicy flavor made him instinctively let out a satisfied hum. He topped freshly steamed rice with a piece of ham and mushroom and popped it into his mouth. Pure bliss. Now he fully understood why Yoon Seungryong had insisted on taking over the cooking.

“I’ll be counting on you for meals from now on.”

After tasting a proper dish from Yoon Seungryong, Yohan let go of his guilt in an instant. He just had to focus more on purifying things.

While sharing some crisp apples for dessert, he asked,

“There should be plenty to eat in there, right? There’ll be tropical fruits too?”

“Yeah. Lots of fruit, and lots of bugs and plants too…”

At that reply, Yohan’s eyes twitched. Bugs… he hated monsters in general, but insect-type monsters especially creeped him out. They were disgusting even in their original forms, and once corrupted, they became horrifying.

He sighed and stared into the jungle. That was when Lee Hyunmook gave a brief debriefing.

“We enter in thirty minutes. I’ll take the rear, Yohan in the middle, Seungryong, you lead.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yep! I’ll follow right behind!”

As Yohan replied enthusiastically, Yoon Seungryong gently patted his shoulder like he was fondly watching a cute kid. Then he warned him seriously.

“Be careful not to get separated from us, Yohan-ah. Of course, we won’t leave you alone, but it’s just that the inside is so tangled and complex. If we ever get split up, it’ll be really hard to find each other again.”

“I won’t ever fall behind!”

Yohan answered resolutely. The very thought of wandering the jungle alone was terrifying. The Black Forest had been bad enough, but unlike the ruined city, wild nature like this had almost no landmarks to use for navigation.

When Yohan’s face darkened, Lee Hyunmook spoke gently, trying to ease his nerves.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be watching you from behind the whole time.”

“Exactly! With both of us sticking with you, there’s no way we’ll get split up!”

Thanks to their reassurance, Yohan managed a small smile. After all, he was with two of the most skilled individuals in Korea. What could possibly go wrong?

After finishing dessert and another thirty minutes of rest, the three entered the jungle in a line. Despite the encouragement he’d received before departure, Yohan was gripped with fear not long after they stepped inside. With his nerves stretched thin, he whispered,

“There’s so much presence, but it’s way too quiet.”

Ever since his awakening, Yohan had become sensitive enough to detect the presence of monsters. Right now, his senses were picking up countless presences all around. Yet despite that, the only sounds he heard were the occasional slithering rustle and the dull thuds of something massive moving nearby.

“The weak ones keep quiet, or they get eaten.”

Lee Hyunmook replied casually, not even bothering to lower his voice. He pushed through the bushes with his spear like it was nothing.

That attitude helped ease Yohan’s fear. If Lee Hyunmook didn’t even need to move quietly, then he must be that strong.