Building a Safe Zone with My Harem In The Post-Apocalyptic World-Chapter 44: Inside The Building

When Gideon finally materialized inside the building, he let out a quiet breath of relief. He was glad that the teleportation scroll worked as long as he could see the destination. It didn’t matter whether he had been there before.

The relief didn’t last.

Panicked voices echoed from below, sharp and desperate. The traveling faction was gathered there.

For now, he stayed put and decided to observe first. Waiting for the right moment.

Gideon moved down the stairs carefully and stopped just before the landing, hiding behind the concrete wall. From there, he listened.

At least twenty people were packed into the hallway below. Far less than he had expected. The space was narrow, claustrophobic, and filled with fear.

"What should we do?!"

"My grandpa is still out there! Let me go! I have to help him!"

That voice stood out amongst all the terrified shouts.

Gideon leaned forward slightly and finally saw her. A young woman with hair color of chestnut, struggling toward a shattered window, the opening they had likely used to enter the building since half the building was swallowed by sand. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to force her way out.

People grabbed her arms, pulling her back, surrounding her in desperation.

"Don’t do it, Daphne! Neither of you will survive!"

"So what?!" she screamed. "Let me go! I’d rather die than watch him die while doing nothing!"

Her green eyes were red and shaking with tears, her voice trembling even as she tried to stay strong.

She fought against them, but no one let go. Every person holding her back wore the same expression.

Gideon understood immediately.

It wasn’t just her grandfather. Others had lost someone too. Parents, partners, family. All of them had been forced to watch, helpless, as the Devourer claimed them.

They restrained her not because they were heartless, but because they knew the truth.

Suddenly, a man who had been sitting against the wall stood up and walked forward.

His clothes were different from the rest with black leather jacket, a wolf-marked mask hung at his side.

Gideon was sure he was part of Freebound Kilian talking about.

"Girl," the man said coldly, "why do you think your grandpa is still alive?"

His words cut through the room. "So you can run out there and get both of you eaten at once."

Silence fell the room as the man continued, even more crueler than before.

"Stop being stupid and think about the people who can still be saved instead of someone already knocking on death’s door."

Daphne stopped struggling. Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

Some rushed to her side, trying to comfort her, while others turned on the Freebound member, voices rising again.

"Can you call your people?!"

"You’ve been through this before, haven’t you? Tell us what to do!"

"We paid you to protect us! Help us!"

The pressure mounted as bodies crowded closer. The man growled under his breath and dragged a hand through his curly black hair.

"If I knew how to fix this," he snapped, "I would’ve told you already."

"You’re the Pathfinder! How can you not know?!"

"What good is hiring you if you can’t protect us?!"

"This happened because of you and your team!"

That was the breaking point.

The Freebound member’s face flushed red as he grabbed one man by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

"Fuck you," he roared. "My men died protecting idiots like you! No amount of S-rank cores could repay that!"

His fist drove forward followed by the sound of something cracked. The man collapsed, clutching his nose as blood spilled onto the floor.

"Don’t you dare blame us," the Pathfinder spat. "You’re useless on your own."

The room stiffened. Anger, fear, and grief twisted together. Gideon felt it clearly.

This would turn into a fight and that was his opening before this place turned into a bloodbath. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He stepped out from the stairwell and raised his voice.

"Enough. Shut up all of you."

Every head snapped toward him.

A man in a black robe stood there, face hidden beneath a hood.

"Who are you?"

"How did you get in here?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Gideon didn’t flinch.

"I’m the one who’s going to get you out of this alive," he said calmly. "So if you want to survive, you’ll listen."

He reached up and pulled back his hood.

His face was revealed, wearing a wide, confident grin.

The confusion in the room deepened.

And for the first time since the Devourer appeared, something else replaced despair.

Attention to the strange man in front of them.

****

"They what?!" Jade slammed her palm onto the table.

The office, which had been lively just moments ago, fell into heavy silence as Kilian finished his report.

"A Verdant Devourer?" Jade snapped. "That’s impossible. What’s the situation? Where are our men?"

Kilian shook his head. "We can’t confirm the number of casualties yet. Everyone’s hiding inside the buildings around the nest."

"Gideon proposed connecting the buildings with ziplines and moving the survivors out of the Devourer’s territory."

Jade’s expression darkened. "Are you insane? That thing can leap incredible distances and have a strong thermal sense." She straightened. "Call Delilah. Now."

It didn’t take long.

When Delilah entered the office, she immediately felt the tension in the air. One look at their faces told her something was terribly wrong.

Jade didn’t waste time. She explained everything in one breath. As the story unfolded, Delilah’s eyes widened, her gaze shifting between Kilian and Elaine.

"That... might work," Delilah said slowly. "But only if we draw its attention. Your men have to act as bait."

Jade stared at her. "You’ve lost your mind too?"

She shook her head. "That thing isn’t just strong. It’s intelligent. You said it yourself. It toys with prey, lures people out. That’s proof of higher cognition."

Her voice hardened. "I won’t put my men in even more danger. This plan is too risky."

"Exactly because it’s intelligent," Delilah insisted, "we need more people drawing its focus. If it thinks we’re the bigger prey, it’ll follow us instead of people inside the buildings."

Jade’s fingers tapped sharply against the desk. "And if my men die because of this, will you take responsibility?"

Silence swallowed the room.

Then Kilian stood.

"I will," he said firmly. "There are our people trapped there. I won’t abandon them. Not my men, no, my family."

Jade exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down her face. "Damn it." She clicked her tongue. "You’re really forcing my hand."

She looked up again, eyes cold but resolute. "Fine. Take the equipment. All of it. As for manpower, you get fifteen people."

Her gaze sharpened. "And that ’bait’ too."

The decision settled heavily over the room as everyone started to move.