Absolute Dweller-Chapter 130

Gundae University Road Entrance.

Once brimming with the youth and energy of college students, the street had been reduced to a desolate wasteland.

Shattered one-room buildings and crumbled commercial establishments dominated the surroundings.

Broken signs lay in pieces, scattered on the ground, and steel structures jutted out from the cracked concrete.

The only traces of life were dried bloodstains smeared between the debris.

This area wasn’t just devoid of people—it was nearly impossible to spot even a single monster. The reason?

A single monster had claimed this territory.

Clank—Clank—

The creature, larger than an 8-ton truck, vaguely resembled a Stegosaurus in shape. Not a single scrap of flesh clung to its massive frame, which was composed entirely of sharp, gleaming blades.

Its body was riddled with gaping holes, revealing that no blood flowed through it.

A steel golem made entirely of blades.

Aizenblade.

This was its domain.

Thud—

Every step it took with its blade-like feet left deep gashes in the concrete below.

As it slowly patrolled its territory, a noise caught its attention.

Rustle—

The moment it detected movement, Aizenblade's massive head turned sharply in the direction of the sound.

The man who accidentally locked eyes with the monstrous golem turned pale.

“Eek!”

He immediately spun around and started to run.

Crash—CRASH—!

But Aizenblade moved swiftly, its four enormous blades slicing through the air and tearing apart everything in its path as it caught up with the man in seconds.

A dark shadow loomed over the man’s head.

Slash!

He died instantly, not even managing to let out a proper scream.

Aizenblade used one of its blade-like feet as a fork, lifting the man’s body and shoving it into its open maw.

Slash—Slash—

Through the gaps in its blade-riddled body, the man’s corpse could be seen being shredded to pieces.

The blades inside Aizenblade’s frame mercilessly carved up the body, sending chunks of flesh and blood splattering everywhere.

Clank—Clank—

This was why no living creatures could survive in its domain.

Aizenblade tore apart anything that moved.

Cars, humans, monsters, even rats scurrying through the sewers—all met the same fate.

Drip—Drip—

The blood of the man who had foolishly ventured into Aizenblade’s territory soaked the concrete.

Nearby, one of the man’s companions was hiding.

“Haah... Haah...”

Lee Joon-young had no time to grieve his comrade’s death. His only thought was to get as far away from Aizenblade as possible.

Unfortunately, he was already within the creature’s detection range.

The distance between him and Aizenblade had inadvertently narrowed during its pursuit of his comrade.

And Aizenblade was a monster that didn’t miss even the faintest noise within its range.

Clank—

Its head turned precisely toward where Lee Joon-young was hiding.

Locking eyes with the massive creature, Joon-young instinctively knew he was about to die.

“Oh... shit.”

CRASH—CRASH—

The blade golem charged at an unbelievable speed, but Joon-young couldn’t even move. His legs were frozen.

At that moment—

“Barrier.”

A calm, unfamiliar woman’s voice came from behind him.

Despite the colossal monster charging toward him, her voice was steady and composed.

Buzz!

A thin barrier enveloped Joon-young, and before he could fully process what was happening, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed his waist.

“Wha—?”

The next thing he knew, his body was lifted about four meters into the air.

It wasn’t until they landed on a pile of debris some distance away that he realized the owner of the voice had jumped while carrying him.

Right after they landed—

CRASH—SMASH!

Aizenblade wildly swung its blades at the spot they had just vacated.

While the creature vented its frustration, Joon-young turned to the woman, desperate for answers.

“What... What just happened?”

But—

“Shh.”

She raised a finger to her lips, signaling him to stay silent.

“That monster is extremely sensitive to sound. Stay quiet.”

“...?”

His first thought was that she should follow her own advice, but as if reading his mind, she explained calmly, “This barrier prevents sound from escaping. Whispering like this won’t alert it.”

“I... I see.”

CRASH—CRASH!

The monster’s rampage continued for a while, but it eventually gave up and left, unable to find Joon-young.

Only after the creature disappeared from sight did the woman deactivate the barrier and extend her hand.

“My name is Kang Ye-eun.”

“I... I’m Lee Joon-young.”

Awkwardly shaking her hand, Joon-young then bowed deeply and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you so much for saving me.”

“If you want to thank someone, you should thank the Lord. He sent me here.”

“Huh?”

Kang Ye-eun smiled brightly.

“Are you moving alone?”

“N-No. I was out searching for food. There are about a dozen others with me.”

“Perfect! The Lord must have sent me here to guide you all to the right path.”

“Haha... I see.”

Joon-young forced a laugh, doing his best to maintain a polite expression.

After all, Kang Ye-eun was his savior.

‘And she’s clearly an ability user.’

Lee Joon-young had no interest in religion, but it wasn’t difficult to humor the person who had saved his life.

“Indeed, I must give thanks to the Lord’s grace.”

“That’s the spirit! You are more than worthy of salvation! Ah, the Lord must have foreseen this moment!”

“Amen.”

At that moment, Joon-young’s praises were mere lip service, a shallow attempt to appease her.

But then—

“This is a gift.”

“A gift?”

When Kang Ye-eun handed him a backpack, his perception completely changed.

“!!”

Inside the backpack was a bounty of food—fruits, jerky, and other precious supplies.

“Come with me to the sanctuary. You won’t have to worry about food ever again.”

Scenes of past hardships flashed through Joon-young’s mind—the countless times he had risked his life just to scavenge a meager meal.

“Really? Is that true?”

Kang Ye-eun responded with a radiant smile.

“Of course. You have been chosen by the Lord.”

“Hnnng, huuuuh!”

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Joon-young collapsed on the spot, tears streaming down his face.

“The Lord will save you.”

***

For the past few days, I had been investigating the JHS cult.

I couldn’t figure out the best way to handle it.

‘It’s different from what I thought.’

A cult led by a man who proclaimed himself a god.

I assumed it was madness and that those who followed him were merely deceived.

But upon closer examination, the reality was more nuanced.

‘Jeong Hyeon-su has performed actual miracles.’

The morning after I extracted Moon Byeong-ho from the 70th-floor maze using Retainer Summoning, I witnessed something extraordinary during their dawn prayers.

Jeong Hyeon-su healed a man whose leg had been severed in a monster attack.

‘Granted, even Kim Da-jeong could perform such a feat now...’

Still, the power to restore a person’s limb was nothing trivial.

‘An SR-ranked ability, no less.’

Jeong Hyeon-su’s ability allowed him to manifest illusions into reality.

The maze on the 70th floor had been his creation, as revealed through the Absolute Dweller’s Eye.

His level was 52—a relatively high rank, though not insurmountable for me.

I could kill him anytime.

But I didn’t.

‘He is a beacon of hope for many.’

And it wasn’t just him.

The JHS cult was teeming with ability users.

They accelerated the growth of crops, purified water from the Han River, and generated electricity.

They were even actively rescuing survivors from the surrounding areas, using their abilities to save as many people as possible.

Their actions embodied a genuine force for good.

‘Though there are aspects that don’t sit right.’

Using Moon Byeong-ho’s invisibility, I uncovered the darker side of the cult.

Young, attractive women were summoned to the 70th floor daily, and some believers behaved unnaturally.

‘Many of the ability users worked like puppets.’

They showed no expressions, avoided interactions, and carried out their tasks in complete silence, like mindless automatons.

‘It seems like brainwashing...’

Additionally, rebellious ordinary members were either sent to monster-infested areas to die or forcibly indoctrinated through collective beatings.

But these actions couldn’t be directly pinned on Jeong Hyeon-su.

Most of these deeds were carried out by his zealous followers without explicit orders.

While it was possible he had created this system, it was just speculation.

‘He’s not a virtuous man.’

If anything, he leaned closer to being a villain.

Yet his abilities and the community he had built had saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

And even now, they were actively rescuing survivors and integrating them into their sanctuary.

For instance, Kang Ye-eun—the woman who had just saved a survivor from Aizenblade—was one of their operatives.

‘It’s complicated.’

Jeong Hyeon-su was undeniably an evil man, but the survival of countless lives depended on him.

Even if I killed him and granted citizenship to his followers, few would understand or accept such a decision.

‘But something about this doesn’t feel right.’

That uneasiness was why I couldn’t easily decide to leave him alone.

My instincts told me that letting him be was a mistake.

‘For now, I’ll do what I can.’

Watching Kang Ye-eun from above, I issued a command to the Kelikan carrying Kim Ga-young.

[Follow that monster.]

SCREEECH!

The Kelikan let out a cry, drawing Aizenblade’s attention as it looked skyward.

Its body was still drenched in the blood of the man it had recently killed.

‘...I’m sorry for being late.’

Kim Ga-young nocked an arrow in her bow, aiming at the monster.

Buzz!

A luminous bow and arrow formed in her hands.

Using the Ring of Communication, there was no need for verbal instructions; she knew exactly what she needed to do.

‘Enhance.’

Fwoosh!

A dark aura enveloped her body, and the glowing arrow turned black, growing larger as it pulsed with power.

BOOM!

The massive black arrow descended onto Aizenblade’s head.

KA-BOOOOM!

[You have hunted Aizenblade (Lv. 48).]

[You have gained a massive amount of experience points.]

[28,453,097,117 won has been deposited into the Absolute Dweller’s treasury.]

[Citizen Kim Ga-young has defeated the boss of ‘Gundae University Station.’]

[The ‘Gundae University Station’ area is now available for forward base construction.]