Chapter 3

3====================

The Beginning of Chaos

As Sehyun was about to finish filling the water, a loud noise came from the open terrace.

It was the sound of gunfire. At the same time, a roar that was definitely not human erupted.

Unlike the faint gunshots, the roar of the enormous beast was clearly ringing in his ears!

The continuous gunshots rapidly decreased and soon completely stopped.

When he hurried to the terrace, there was already no sound to be heard.

Sehyun frowned as he gripped the terrace railing.

It seemed that something other than zombies had appeared in this civilization. No matter how much a zombie had transformed, a zombie with a human body could not have produced such a loud roar.

He wanted to go on a reconnaissance mission.

If he were an ordinary person, he would have been terrified at the sound of the roar, but he remained unaffected. All he wanted was to find out what had appeared.

He was confident that no matter what was there, he would not die.

However, there was a problem he needed to solve first. With the situation becoming increasingly serious, he couldn't leave his sister alone at home to go on a reconnaissance mission.

After a moment of contemplation, he headed to Hyejin's room.

"Big sister."

"Umm..."

He shook her awake, and Hyejin slowly opened her eyes, still deeply asleep.

"What is it? What time is it now?"

She picked up her phone by the bedside and was shocked to see the time. It was 7:40 AM, and she had very little time to get ready for work.

"Why didn't you wake me up!"

"Shh!"

Sehyun put a finger to his lips instead of answering. At that moment, a piercing scream echoed from outside.

Hyejin, startled, turned her gaze toward the window.

"What's that noise?"

"A scream."

"A scream?"

"Go take a shower. The water is running now."

"Eh, eh?"

He pulled Hyejin out of bed and led her to the bathroom, where he stood guard at the door.

"Tell me if anything happens."

"Eh, eh, okay..."

"Don't take too long."

The door closed, hiding Hyejin's bewildered expression. Soon, the sound of water could be heard from inside the bathroom.

He turned, closed his eyes, and focused his senses on the direction of the scream. His enhanced hearing, powered by his inner strength, could clearly pick up the sounds from outside.

Amidst various noises, he heard the sound of something being torn apart, like what he had seen in the morning. It was a desperate sound, signaling the end of someone's life, but to Sehyun, it was just information.

This scream was also caused by a zombie. It seemed that there were no other monsters besides zombies in this area yet.

Of course, there was no guarantee that it would stay that way. There was no law against other large monsters appearing, like the roar he had heard earlier. To such creatures, this apartment complex might be a delicious restaurant.

This place was not safe for long-term survival.

A moment later, Hyejin finished showering and opened the door. She was startled to see her brother standing right in front of her.

"What's going on? Why have you been acting like this?"

"Try to dry your hair. We might have to go out."

Sehyun urged Hyejin. Despite the bewildering and confusing situation, she moved to her room and picked up a hairdryer.

As she started to dry her hair, Sehyun sat beside her and said,

"I saw a zombie yesterday."

The sound of the hairdryer abruptly stopped.

"What did you see?"

"A zombie. Do you know what it is?"

"..."

Hyejin frowned.

It didn't seem like he was joking. His expression was too serious, and the scream she had just heard was troubling.

It was too desperate to be a normal scream. Even she, an ordinary person, could feel it.

Hyejin put down the hairdryer and prepared to listen seriously.

"Tell me more."

"Technically, we call them zombies, but they're not caused by a virus. It's like bugs inside the body controlling it. They're roughly this big."

Sehyun held out his fist to indicate the size, and Hyejin frowned again.

"Where did you see this?"

"At the intersection near our house."

"Are you kidding me?"

"The food we bought yesterday was because of this. Follow me for a moment."

Sehyun led the way to the terrace and pointed outside to Hyejin, who had followed him.

"Look."

"Good grief."

It was clearly not a normal situation.

The bloodstains scattered everywhere, abandoned shoes and clothes, and the eerie and desolate atmosphere of the abandoned vehicles were just as Sehyun had seen. He pointed to where a woman had been torn apart and said,

"Those bloodstains. A zombie attacked a person there this morning."

"Did you see it happen? What happened?"

"They died. And then they turned into a zombie and got up again."

"Are you really not joking? Wasn't it just an accident?"

Hyejin managed to tear her gaze away from the bloodstains and looked at Sehyun. Of course, Sehyun only shook his head calmly.

"It's unbelievable."

Hyejin muttered, but she rubbed her arm to calm the goosebumps that had risen.

The street was too quiet in the morning, with only dried bloodstains, abandoned vehicles, and clothes scattered around. Nothing was normal. Everything proved what Sehyun had said.

Then, a loud roar echoed from a distance again.

A massive noise that could only be produced by a creature of considerable size. Hyejin's face drained of color at the sound.

"Ah..."

The predatory aura in the roar weighed heavily on her mind and body. Sehyun, noticing her stiffened state, quickly grabbed her hand.

A faint purple aura melted Hyejin's frozen body. She gasped for breath and staggered but didn't fall, as Sehyun was holding her.

"Just now... What was that?"

"I don't know. I was thinking of going to check it out."

"What? Are you crazy?! No way!"

Hyejin had a clear feeling.

Even though the roar had come from a distance, the moment she heard it, she froze like a frog in front of a snake, unable to move. It was a type of fear she had never experienced before!

Whatever was there was definitely not something that could be judged by normal standards.

"There are zombies wandering outside too!"

"That's why we need to check. There are only zombies so far."

"What if the rescue team comes?"

"Who knows? I hope they do, but will they really come?"

Sehyun was skeptical.

If it were just zombies, it would be fine. Human civilization wouldn't collapse from that level of threat. He had thought about waiting a week because he believed there were only zombies.

But what if the creature that roared had a matching size and strength?

What if there were several of them?

Humanity wouldn't go extinct, and the government wouldn't collapse instantly. But they wouldn't have the leisure to send rescue teams everywhere to save people.

Hyejin, still confused, ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath. Then, she suddenly rushed into her room.

Sehyun followed, curious, and saw her sitting on the bed, fiddling with her phone.

"Why isn't this working?"

"Internet, TV, and even the phone don't work."

Hyejin went to the living room and turned on the TV. As expected, it only showed static, just like when Sehyun had tried earlier. The same was true for all channels.

"Good grief..."

She kept muttering, "Good grief..." and "Oh no..." and then looked at Sehyun with a realization.

"Why are you so calm? In a situation like this, wouldn't you be drafted into the military? In a national emergency, wouldn't the reserves be called up?"

"I won't go."

Sehyun chuckled.

In a situation like this, talking about the reserves was absurd.

But even with Sehyun's reaction, Hyejin still looked worried.

"Wouldn't that cause problems later?"

"Now isn't the time to worry about that."

"Still, we don't know what will happen later."

"Enough with the pointless talk. Let's get ready to go out."

Hyejin's expression stiffened again. No matter how she thought about it, going out was a crazy idea.

"Are you really going out?"

"Just for a quick look around."

"Why me?"

"Would it be safe for you to stay home alone? What if something comes in through the windows while I'm gone?"

Hyejin's face showed that the thought made her shudder.

"Still... Aren't you scared at all?"

"Don't worry, it's safe. Remember what I showed you before?"

"No, but... really?"

She met Sehyun's gaze for a moment, then sighed and went back to her room.

In the past, right after Sehyun returned to Earth, he had shown Hyejin some of his abilities to help her understand his disappearance.

There was no reason to hide such things from family.

"Dress warmly and practically."

"I know."

Sehyun also went to his room and started changing clothes.

"If I had known, I would have brought the Oryeong Mokju..."

He muttered to himself as he changed into comfortable clothes. As he reached for his coat, something quickly shot out from under the bed and landed in his hand.

It was a sword in an elegant scabbard.

Sehyun, who naturally didn't have a permit for carrying a sword, had never cared about such things.

This was not just any sword. It was the only item that proved his 60 years in another world.

Cheongwol (Clear Moon).

Perhaps it was a cliché and rustic name, but it was common in the martial arts world. Sehyun sighed, looking at the sword. He hadn't expected to have to use it again like this.

============================ Author's Note ============================

I hope you enjoyed it. Please give a recommendation! (__)