Absolute Dweller-Chapter 212

Japan, Fukuoka Prefecture.

In terms of distance alone, Fukuoka was closer to Busan than to Seoul.

If not for the sea in between, it would be an extremely close city.

However, unlike Busan, the cityscape of Fukuoka was utterly devastated.

Half-collapsed buildings.

Streets filled with blood and filth.

Monsters feasting on corpses.

It was nothing short of hell on earth. Yet, even in this hellish city, there were still survivors.

"Ajusshi, what do we do now?"

"What else? We run."

Fujiwara Kenji regretted his decision to go out today.

'Damn it. I should’ve waited just one more day.'

He had no choice but to leave in search of drinking water. Unfortunately, that thing happened to be roaming nearby.

'I should’ve never stepped outside the barrier.'

It was obvious, really—Fujiwara Kenji’s survival up until now wasn’t due to mere luck.

It was thanks to his ability to create a protective barrier within a limited space.

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However, like any ability, his was far from omnipotent.

There were several limitations to his barriers, the most critical being that they couldn’t completely block out monsters.

Unlike Kim Jae-hyun’s domain, his barriers didn’t require authorization to enter or exit. Any being could pass through freely.

The only advantage was that from the outside, nothing happening within could be seen, making it a type of concealment veil.

"Ajusshi…"

On his back, a young girl clung to him, her face contorted in terror, tears and snot running down her face.

"It’s okay, Mayu. Let’s go home."

He wanted to scold her—why had she insisted on coming along? But he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

'In the end, I’m the one who allowed it.'

It had been almost a year since the monster apocalypse began.

So far, the only survivors he knew of were himself and Kubo Mayu—this little girl.

If he died now, there would be no one left to protect Mayu.

To prepare for the worst, he had thought it was necessary to teach her some basics—how to loot abandoned houses, how to secure food and water.

'But to think we’d run into that thing of all things…'

There had been a time when even a single goblin had been a challenge for him. But now, with the katana in his hand, he could take on an entire horde of orcs.

And, on top of that, he had been lucky enough to acquire a shotgun. Most monsters weren’t a problem anymore.

'If only that thing wasn’t here…'

Unfortunately, today was the day they ran into it. Now, he was sprinting for his life.

The only fortunate thing was that the streets were devoid of other monsters.

That wasn’t a coincidence.

The reason there were so few monsters in this area was simple—it was that thing’s domain.

At that moment—

Kuuuuung!

With a deafening crash, concrete shattered, and it appeared before them.

'Shit!'

A gorilla so massive it completely blocked the two-lane road.

Its muscular body was encased in a smooth, metallic sheen, as if its skin had been replaced by solid steel.

Standing amidst the wreckage, the silver gorilla slowly looked down at them.

And then—

Whoosh!

It lunged.

KUUUUUUUNG!

The ground trembled as its colossal fist slammed into the pavement. The concrete rippled like liquid.

Fujiwara Kenji barely managed to leap out of range in time. Without hesitation, he hurled the backpack from his shoulder with all his strength.

BOOM!

The backpack, hurtling toward the gorilla’s face, exploded midair as its fist smashed through it.

Bottled water and canned food burst apart, scattering in all directions.

It was a full day’s worth of provisions, painstakingly gathered.

But he didn’t regret it for a second.

Because it had bought them a few precious moments.

-Krhh?

The gorilla scanned its surroundings.

The humans who had been right in front of it mere moments ago had vanished without a trace.

'Thank god. It worked again.'

Fujiwara Kenji’s ability was Stealth Barrier.

With a simple circular motion, he could deploy a perfect veil of invisibility.

Thanks to his growing proficiency, he had managed to activate the barrier even while hurriedly sketching a circle with his foot.

Once inside the barrier, no one could see them. No one could smell them. No one could sense their presence.

But there was one fatal flaw.

Anyone could enter.

Thud. Thud—

The gorilla sniffed the air, pacing the area.

If it happened to step into the barrier by chance, they would be discovered instantly.

'And that applies to my hideout too.'

His hideout was a building entirely encased in a large stealth barrier.

But—

'If I head back there now, we’ll be caught for sure.'

He didn’t understand how it tracked them. Despite shaking it off several times in the same way, it kept pursuing them relentlessly.

If he returned to his hideout, the monster would follow.

And if, by some stroke of bad luck, it entered the barrier—

'It’s over.'

That steel fist would obliterate the building in an instant.

'Should I abandon my hideout?'

Their supplies were already gone.

It wasn’t a terrible idea to leave and find a new one.

But—

'Surviving out there would be nearly impossible.'

The world was teeming with monsters.

And humans were sometimes even more dangerous.

Giving up a safe place in such a world wasn’t a decision to be made lightly.

'Besides…'

Fujiwara gently stroked the tiny arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

'Mayu’s chances of survival would drop to zero.'

It would be too dangerous, too difficult.

Just keeping himself alive was hard enough. Protecting Mayu while constantly on the move would be damn near impossible.

And if they couldn’t escape from this thing right now—

Mayu would die.

'Going back to the hideout is the best option.'

And there was only one way to make that happen.

"Mayu, listen carefully."

Fujiwara’s serious tone made Kubo Mayu wipe her tears and listen intently.

"I’m going to be the decoy."

"What—?!"

"Just listen."

He firmly grasped her shoulders, his face resolute.

"If we head straight to the hideout, it’s too dangerous. That thing will follow us all the way. I need to shake it off first."

"But—"

"If you come with me, you’ll slow me down. I’ll have to carry you."

"……"

Mayu looked like she was about to cry again, but she nodded.

"I understand."

"Good. Stay inside the barrier until that thing is completely out of sight, then run to the hideout as fast as you can. Think you can do that?"

"…Yeah."

Fujiwara smiled faintly and ruffled her hair.

"That’s my girl."

There were so many things he still wanted to say.

Don’t forget what you learned today. Someday, you’ll have to gather food and water on your own.

But he couldn’t say any of that.

If he did, Mayu would sense that this might be their last moment together. And she might do something reckless.

"Mayu, you’re a smart girl. You’ll do just fine until I get back, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Fujiwara glanced at the silver gorilla, still prowling nearby, and then handed Mayu the shotgun strapped to his back.

"Sorry, but can you hold onto this for me? I doubt it’ll do much against that thing."

"…I’ll take care of it."

It was heavy for her small frame, but having it was a hundred times better than being unarmed.

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Monsters weren’t entirely absent from this area.

'Hell, look at me.'

He already knew.

If he became the decoy, there was a high probability he would die.

And if he died, the barrier protecting the hideout wouldn’t last more than a week.

By then, Mayu would most likely be dead too.

'But if I get greedy now, we’ll both die.'

The best-case scenario was for both of them to survive. But realistically, that was impossible.

'Realistically, huh…'

Suddenly, he remembered what Mayu had said last night.

Something about how one day, he would eradicate all the monsters in the world and bring back the peaceful world that once existed.

She had insisted that she needed to learn how to gather food and water for that future.

Fujiwara had told her it was impossible.

And Mayu had responded—

‘You don’t only dream about things that are possible.’

There was something about the way she spoke that always tugged at his heart.

In the end, he had decided to bring her along.

'Shouldn’t have done that. I should’ve brought her next time.'

If he had been alone, he might have been able to shake off that monster and make it back to the hideout.

But it was too late for regrets.

Regrets only existed because they came too late.

'And regretting won’t change anything.'

The only thing to do now was to make the best possible move.

"See you later, then."

With those final words, Fujiwara dashed out of the barrier at full speed, sprinting in the direction opposite to the hideout.

-Kwooooh?

The silver gorilla immediately detected him and let out a guttural roar, giving chase.

He had gotten a head start, but the sheer difference in physical ability meant it wasn’t long before the monster caught up.

Just as he leapt forward—

BOOM!

The ground where he had stood moments ago exploded like a firecracker.

Fujiwara sprinted into the nearest building, twisting his body as he entered.

A swirl of dust rose as he swept his foot across the ground, drawing a perfect circle.

In the next instant, he vanished into thin air.

-Kwooooooooh!

As Fujiwara concealed himself in the stealth barrier, the silver gorilla charged straight into the entrance.

Glass and concrete shattered with a thunderous crash.

And then—

Thwack!

"Khuh!"

A chunk of debris struck Fujiwara’s head.

He clenched his teeth, enduring the pain. The barrier held.

Failing to sense him, the silver gorilla barreled deeper into the building, rampaging wildly.

CRASH! BOOM!

Columns and floors crumbled in its path.

The moment it entered further inside—

‘Now!’

Fujiwara pulled out the grenade he had been keeping in his coat and hurled it at the monster.

BOOOOM!

The explosion shook the ground.

There was no time to check the results.

'That alone won’t kill it.'

Fujiwara took off running at full speed.

BOOM!

Just as he expected, the silver gorilla emerged, completely unscathed.

Despite taking a direct hit from the grenade, its metallic skin didn’t even have a scratch.

'This is insane!'

He used every trick he had—terrain, obstacles, and the stealth barrier—to try and shake it off.

It didn’t work.

The monster was simply too fast. And every time he stepped out of the barrier, it immediately locked onto him.

Worse still, now it had stopped leaving the area when he disappeared.

Instead, it lingered, sniffing the air, trying to make sense of what was happening.

In just that short span of time, it had learned something about the stealth barrier.

'Damn it.'

Fujiwara clenched his teeth as he watched the monstrous gorilla sniff the air, standing just inches away.

'No other choice.'

He pulled out the last grenade he had.

Yanked the safety pin.

And then—

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

He charged forward, shoving his arm straight into the monster’s open mouth.

The next moment—

BOOOOM!

The grenade detonated inside the gorilla’s throat, sending shockwaves rippling outward.

Spluuuuurt.

Blood gushed from its mouth in torrents.

'It worked!'

A direct critical hit.

'I’m alive!'

For a fleeting moment, relief washed over him.

Thwack!

Then, in its dying breath, the gorilla struck back.

CRACK!

His vision blurred.

When Fujiwara came to, his head was throbbing, his body refusing to move.

"Hah… hah…"

He couldn’t move.

But the monster could.

Despite the gaping wound in its throat, it was still standing.

Blood dripped from its mouth as it staggered forward.

Death was close.

'Shit. That bastard—it’s infected.'

The area where the gorilla had hit him was turning translucent.

That meant his powers were going berserk.

It was the inevitable fate of an awakened infected by corrupted energy.

He had seen it happen countless times before.

'Once my powers spiral out of control, I’ll turn into a monster.'

The moment he was struck, his fate had been sealed.

'…Should’ve taught Mayu how to shoot.'

Even now, his first thought was about Mayu.

He really did care about her.

'Even though we’re not even related.'

Maybe it was because they had been together for so long in this ruined world.

He had practically raised her himself. She was no different from a daughter to him.

'If I die, Mayu will be alone.'

Alone, and she would cry.

Then, in a week, when the barrier collapsed, it would get worse.

Mayu would die too.

The thought of that little girl being torn apart by monsters—

'I won’t let that happen.'

He couldn’t die.

'There’s no way I’ll let Mayu die!'

A surge of murderous intent flooded through him.

He didn’t know what kind of monster he would become.

But even as a monster, he would kill that thing.

He would ensure Mayu had even the slightest chance to survive.

The gorilla’s fist came crashing down.

And then—

"!!!"

A sudden stiffness locked his body in place.

A split second later—

BANG!

The gorilla’s head—untouched by a grenade inside its body—burst apart.

'What… the hell?'

As he struggled to comprehend what had just happened—

[You have obtained citizenship.]

A strange notification appeared before his eyes.

And at the same time—

'…The power that was spiraling out of control just stopped?'

His body, which had started turning transparent, returned to normal.