Absolute Dweller-Chapter 214

Kim Da-bin was currently deployed in Japan.

Thanks to her telepathic abilities, communication wasn’t an issue, and she knew enough Japanese to get by.

‘Hyelin is handling Korea, so there’s no need to worry about that.’

All the important matters had already been taken care of, and Yoo Hyelin was highly competent—she would handle any unexpected situations with ease.

For their base of operations in Japan, Kim Da-bin had chosen PayPay Dome, a baseball stadium at the center of Fukuoka.

Right now, she was gathering all the survivors in the area and bringing them here.

As she assessed the situation, one of her subordinates approached with a report.

“There are currently 362 people gathered here.”

“That’s not a lot.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it.”

According to Kim Jaehyun, a total of 1,132 Japanese survivors had received citizenship within the domain.

Less than half had made their way here.

“When’s the orientation?”

“It’s scheduled for 17:00.”

“Got it. Good work, Director Yang.”

“You flatter me.”

Kim Da-bin surveyed the people gathered in the stadium.

Even with over 300 people present, they all maintained distance from one another, watching warily.

Most were alone. At best, they formed groups of five or six.

‘The fact that this many even gathered at all is thanks to Jaehyun-nim. He has a mysterious power that moves people’s hearts.’

But not everyone here had come purely out of faith.

‘Most of them aren’t interested in anything but survival.’

Just by looking at their ragged appearance, she could tell how much they had suffered.

For these people, a single bottle of water or a can of food was an invaluable resource.

And Kim Jaehyun himself had delivered relief supplies to them.

What would they be thinking now?

Most likely—if I come here, I can get more water and food.

The way their eyes constantly darted around, scanning the area, was proof enough.

They were trying to locate the supplies.

Greed was written all over their faces.

At the same time, despite their wariness toward one another, there was a shared confidence among them.

Every person here had survived.

Only those with the strength and cunning to make it this far had gathered.

‘I need to establish dominance.’

She checked her watch.

Ten minutes until the orientation.

Ssssk—Hooo.

She prepared herself to overwhelm them all the moment things began.

Her current level was 60.

The maximum level before Limit Break.

She had reached max level thanks to the experience farm in Jeju Island, having been linked to Yoo Hyelin and the retainers during the process.

Additionally, her telepathic ability had grown so much that it had developed independent functions beyond its original scope.

‘And that’s also thanks to Jaehyun-nim.’

She had gained more insight through her telepathic exchanges with him than through regular use.

At that moment—

“You bastard, do you want to die?”

“You got the strength to do it?”

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A commotion broke out in the stands.

“Takeo! Stop it!”

“Don’t stop me!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

The moment administrative staff began moving to intervene, Kim Da-bin gave a command.

[Don’t stop them. Let’s observe first.]

She focused her attention on the altercation.

‘This is perfect. I needed an excuse anyway.’

People’s gazes were already being drawn toward the scene.

Had the orientation started smoothly, she would have only been able to subtly exert her authority.

If she came on too strong without reason, it would only breed resistance.

‘But if I have a valid reason, that changes things.’

Besides, she was curious about the situation.

The conflict involved a small group—

One man was shouting in rage, while a woman beside him tried to hold him back.

The person they were confronting remained seated, arms crossed, smirking at them.

“What can you even do? You wanna fight me?”

“You son of a—!”

“Takeo! Calm down!”

And then, Takeo screamed like a wounded animal.

“That bastard got Hiroshi killed, you idiot!”

The woman’s expression turned blank.

“…What?”

“That bastard killed Hiroshi.”

At that moment—

A suffocating aura exploded from the woman, sweeping across the entire stadium.

The temperature dropped in an instant, as if winter had settled over the dome.

With murderous eyes, she glared at the man seated in the stands.

“…Is it true?”

The man, who had until now worn a relaxed expression, slowly stood up.

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“And if it is?”

The moment he spoke, an overwhelming force erupted from his body.

If the woman’s aura had made the stadium cold—

His made it blazing hot.

The contrast was stark.

But it was immediately clear—his power was stronger.

***

"This is getting interesting."

"Heh, I just came to grab some scraps, but now I get to enjoy a good show."

Some onlookers were watching the situation unfold with amusement, but not everyone shared their sentiments.

"Haa… haa…"

Ordinary people struggled to breathe just from the sheer pressure of the clashing auras.

Ishikawa Yoko was one of those ordinary people.

A regular human with no awakened abilities, she found the oppressive atmosphere unbearable.

'I… can’t breathe…!'

Her body trembled uncontrollably.

And yet—

'I… I have to get out of here.'

Forcing her fear-ridden body to move, she tried to escape.

In this world, where the weak were constantly trampled underfoot in battles between the strong, she had learned to look after her own life.

But then—

Wooong.

A warm light enveloped her.

And just like that, the suffocating pressure vanished completely.

A strange, gentle glow.

As she stared at the light surrounding her in confusion, someone spoke.

"Are you okay?"

The person standing before her looked like a celebrity.

Pale skin, a small face, long limbs.

It wasn’t hard to guess that this woman was the source of this power.

And the moment she spoke, Yoko recognized the language—Korean.

She had studied Korean because of her love for K-pop, so she could at least manage basic communication.

With a clumsy accent, she muttered a thank-you.

"Th… thank you."

"Oh? You speak Korean?"

"A… a little."

"That’s great! I was actually looking for someone who could speak Korean."

The woman extended a hand toward her with a friendly smile.

"I'm Kim Da-jeong."

"I… I’m Ishikawa Yoko."

"Would you mind coming with me for a bit?"

Kim Da-jeong, as she introduced herself, casually took Yoko’s hand and began leading her somewhere.

Yoko hesitated and pulled back slightly.

"Wait… Aren’t you one of the staff here? Shouldn’t you be stopping that?"

She tried her best to articulate her thoughts in Korean.

"It’s dangerous. If we just stand here—!"

She had known from the beginning that the ones providing relief supplies were Korean.

All the labels on the supplies were written in Korean.

She had also confirmed that the staff here were all Korean.

And judging by the situation, Kim Da-jeong seemed to be one of them.

Not to mention—she was clearly no ordinary person.

Someone who could erase the suffocating pressure in an instant had to be incredibly powerful.

The world had long since turned into one ruled by survival of the fittest.

If anyone could stop that fight, it had to be someone like her.

But—

"Don’t worry."

Kim Da-jeong’s expression remained completely relaxed.

Thanks to all the K-dramas she had watched, Yoko could even read the subtle emotions in her tone.

It was as if she were saying—this little fight isn’t even worth bothering with.

'Where does that confidence come from?'

Did she not realize how dangerous awakened beings were?

At that moment—

"Die!"

A murderous voice rang out.

It was unmistakably the voice of the enraged woman from earlier.

Yoko turned her head.

The woman was rushing forward with a twisted, vengeful expression, sword raised.

And then—

[Stop. Cease immediately.]

A voice echoed inside her mind.

And in the next moment, her body froze.

'W-What the…?!'

But more shocking than her own paralysis—

Was the fact that the woman charging forward had completely stopped in her tracks.

Her terrifying aura, her murderous rage—all of it was frozen in place.

Even the man who had been preparing to counterattack stood utterly still.

Both of them, as if in unison, slowly turned their heads.

Yoko followed their gaze.

To the center of the stadium.

On the pitcher's mound, a woman stood.

She simply watched them with an emotionless expression.

But that alone was enough.

The sheer force emanating from her was dominating the entire stadium.

[I will not tolerate any further disturbances.]

It wasn’t just the two fighting who had been suppressed.

Even the onlookers—those who had been confident in their strength—were now pale with fear.

The woman on the mound turned to one of them and asked.

[And you. What is your name?]

The man she addressed—

The one who had remained unfazed, smirking the entire time—

Now had terror written all over his face.

[I asked for your name.]

As her voice rang in his mind, he struggled desperately to speak.

"Ta… Ta-Taka… Takahashi Ryo… Ryou."

The man, now stammering in fear, seemed like a completely different person from the one who had exuded overwhelming confidence just moments ago.

The woman on the mound asked again.

[Did you kill the man named Hiroshi? Speak the truth.]

"N-No! I… I didn’t kill him! The thing I killed was a monster! It was just a mutated freak!"

A brief silence followed.

[I’d like to hear more about that.]

And then—

The invisible force dominating the stadium dissipated.

Their bodies were freed.

As soon as she heard Takahashi’s frantic explanation, Yoko immediately understood the situation.

'So that’s what happened…'

A mutant.

Humans who had once been normal—

But had transformed into monsters.

A phenomenon that only happened to the awakened—when their powers spiraled out of control.

She had seen it firsthand.

Her friend had become one.

'…Daisuke.'

She could never forget the last moment—

When he had transformed into that massive silver gorilla—

And fled as far as he could, trying to keep her safe.

If she had witnessed someone else killing mutated Daisuke—

What choice would she have made?

She would have hated that person.

But at the same time—

She would have known it was inevitable.

And the woman who had charged in with her sword—

Seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

Because now, she was sobbing so hard the entire stadium could hear her.