Chapter 7: Capture

Team leader Kim Cheol-soo, who was in charge of searching the Northern Reconstruction Zone, was increasingly shocked as he continued to investigate the monsters causing strange changes in the Northern Reconstruction Zone.

“What… are there monsters like this??”

That was understandable, because the more they investigated the monsters they were encountering, the more they felt that they were crazy monsters.

Although there is a firm ruler in the Northern Reconstruction Zone, that doesn’t mean that there are only weaklings under him.

There are those who have built up powerful forces like the Elf tribe, and there are also fierce demons who, although not as powerful as the Northern masters, reign as the regional powerhouses.

This Northern Reconstruction Zone is a land that has become almost like another dimension, where powerful demons and subhumans have created an even more powerful food chain.

The danger is also high.

Of course, for a veteran like Kim Cheol-soo, taking care of safety is a piece of cake.

However, that doesn’t mean that they can sweep everything away, because they have accumulated experience in avoiding them well.

But this monster…

“Most of them died without ever putting up a fight.”

There were some who rebelled or tried to run away.

However, there were no successful ones.

If they rebelled, they would be stabbed with two or three skewers instead of one.

“This is tough…”

At this level, at least the owner of the Northern Reconstruction Zone is a real minimum.

This level of strength is definitely not common.

Maybe, it could be a monster that is even better.

“Team Leader, if we get caught, we’re screwed??”

“I know that too, dude. Who among the guys here doesn’t know that?”

The team leader is a veteran with a lot of experience, but that doesn’t mean the other guys are all rookies.

They are all Awakened with some experience.

That’s why they knew even more.

If they really get in trouble, they can go straight to the other world…!

“Haa, I thought it was a honey-sucking mission, but it turned out to be a landmine mission.”

“Still, if you solve this well and go back, Team Leader, you should go on vacation. We might be in an emergency!”

If we investigate and go back, we’ll definitely be rolling because of that monster no matter what.

However, since this is not the military, they don’t cut off vacations that have already been scheduled.

The person who took the vacation is also a person.

The world of the Awakened is all about ability, so they take care of people with that level of ability.

There were many cases where they didn’t treat them well and suffered, so now it’s changed.

“Oh, really, I’m going to hold out for just one vacation!”

In fact, it would have been possible to end it and return at this point, but the current situation was not possible.

Based on the path they had confirmed, it was almost certain that this unidentified monster would soon face the master of the North.

If they did, they would fight or not, and if they did, who would win.

Those were important matters that had to be properly checked and reported.

“Let’s just check the outcome from afar and return right away. If we try to find out more details, it would be a death sentence for us!”

“Oh, of course we should. Our lives are the most precious thing to us too!”

They carefully advanced and settled down at a considerable distance, and soon observed the fight through their equipment.

In fact, there was nothing much to watch for.

When they started observing, the outcome was already almost decided.

However, if there was one thing they overlooked…

If they were going to look into a monster this big, they should have thought about being seen themselves.

When they started observing, the monster sensed them.

And in an instant, after killing the northern master, it extended its claws toward them.

“What the hell, what kind of strength is that, team leader?!”

“That powerful lizard is falling behind…!!”

“Hey, rather than being impressed, I should prepare to run away now… hm?”

Kim Cheol-soo, who was about to run away after the outcome was confirmed, sensed something suspicious.

“Hey! Get out of the way!!”

Then, realizing the ominousness, he ordered an evacuation… but it was already too late.

Crunch…!!

Something strange had already grabbed their entire team.

‘T, this is… that monster was using…!!’

And Cheol-soo, who realized who had used that technique, couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Crazy…!! It’s over a kilometer away…!!”

How could those who prioritize safety be nearby?

They were observing from afar, in the dense forest where they could not be seen.

And yet, before they could even notice, they were dealt this blow?!

As expected, they possessed an infinite amount of transcendent strength that was enough to easily kill that Drake…

“Geumuuuuuuu?!?!”

Just as they were about to let out a gasp of shock, their tied-up bodies moved as if they were being sucked somewhere.

And when they were stopped, they met a person who looked quite different from the monster that had just easily killed the Elder Drake, a person who looked like a nun.

However…

‘How can there be seven or eight fingers on one hand…?’

Although she looked exactly like a person, her fingers were strange and made her feel uncomfortable.

Although she didn’t show it, some people thought that it was because she came from a different dimension.

In fact, originally, it looked just like an Earthling, and its fingers were just a mistake made because it had not been that long since it had been that long and it had not regenerated properly, but unfortunately, there was no one here right now who could figure that out just by looking at it.

However… if there’s one thing that makes them really lucky…

The leader of these people was a person who was close to the person that the monster in front of her had wanted to meet so badly.

In the first place, the actions of skewering all living things were simply a method that she had learned from a god who didn’t know how to wash away the guilt deeply embedded in her heart and just killed them with his own hands.

There was no way that a person who had already had everything ripped out of their heart would build up guilt over killing something.

The guilt embedded in her heart was only because she had killed the one person she loved and held in her heart.

Even though she had been wandering countless stars and had killed countless living things, she had not felt any guilt about it at all.

That was why she was lucky.

Now that she had regained her sanity that she had let go of, she was mentally able to think that killing her target friend on this Earth would have a huge negative effect.

That was why she smiled softly for the first time in a long while and said,

“I have a question. Have you ever heard of the name ‘Zion…’?”

The only problem was that it had been so long since she had made that smile that to others, it seemed like a truly monstrous smile imitating a person.

“Z-Zion… what the…”

“Ah, don’t tell me you don’t know. His scent, his traces, they are all vivid and lingering…”

As she spoke with her eyes in a trance, she looked exactly like a madman.

A crazy woman who can act like a human…!

And, she knew she shouldn’t harm anyone, but her obsession with the person she was looking for was just as strong, so she didn’t care about the means or methods, even if it meant harming them.

Smirk- A refreshing and bizarre smile appeared, and at the same time, a halo appeared behind her back, scattering beautiful light.

However, despite her beautiful appearance, she had a power that wasn’t all that beautiful.

That power… was the power to brainwash others.

At that time, just like killing the elf chief who dared to attack…!!

[Can you tell me? Where is my beloved Zion…]

The brilliant light that appeared from the rising halo, and her beautiful appearance and refreshing smile clearly showed why she was called a saint.

However, if there is something that cannot be hidden… no matter how beautiful her appearance was, she was already a monster.

The monster who gave herself to madness, tore the gods to release her anger, and piled up countless lives under her feet to wash away her small guilt was already too distant to be called a single person.

That is why the Awakened team that was dispatched for the purpose of investigation could not handle her power.

“Ku, keuuugh… me, south… the southernmost… a large single-family house… ugh…!!”

With that, the saint, Elasia, who extracted all the information from Cheolsu, smiled gently and released those she was holding.

“Yes… everyone, thank you for your hard work.”

How could she kill a benefactor who gave her information about Zion, not a sinner?

“Ah, the south… you were there? It was so close, yet I didn’t feel it… how blasphemous.”

Finally, in joy at being able to welcome the being she had been searching for so desperately, she sat down and prayed.

“I will go find you, my beloved Zion. Ah, please… give sinful Elasia a chance to repent…”

With a smile filled with a strange desire, and tears of blood streaming from her eyes, her appearance was truly bizarre.

And at that moment, the man who had become the monster’s target was…

[… Recently, strange movements have been observed in the Pandemonium of the Manmama Realm, which occupies half of Africa, and it is becoming a hot topic. A large group of undead suddenly appeared and are sweeping through the entire Demon Realm…]

“… Why does that undead look so old?? Hey, I’ve been sleeping so well lately…?”

I was watching the news peacefully, frowning and tilting my head with a sense of familiarity.