Chapter 9: Meeting with a New family

Even though people said the world was going crazy, Yohan had never felt it firsthand—until this ‘Game’ began.

It wasn’t the spaceship that drove people insane.

People in this world just weren’t in their right minds.

If Satan really existed, he’d probably look at Earth’s situation, feel a wave of self-loathing, and give up his job.

“What is it with this tiny country, this small neighborhood, that there are so many lunatics running around?!”

Yohan stared at the blazing Flame Sword.

‘Flame Sword, huh. Looks familiar… Isn’t this kind of an old-school item?’

Looking closer, the owner of the sword seemed older than everyone else.

Even older than Yohan himself.

“Hey, pig-faced uncle.”

“What? Pig?”

The owner of the Flame Sword glared, his eyes wide open.

His cheeks quivered with anger.

“Ah, sorry. That was rude to pigs. Pigs only do good things for people.”

“Y-you!”

The pig-faced middle-aged man’s face turned bright red.

He started straining, as if he were about to burst, and the flames from his sword burned even hotter.

Yohan watched in silence.

Was it because the man was so furious?

His internal energy was surging.

But instead of shielding his hand from the sword’s flames, that surging energy was actually absorbing the power from the sword.

How did Yohan know?

He could feel it.

‘Right, I could absorb power.’

Heavenly Demon Divine Art wasn’t limited to absorbing life force; it could also take in the power of objects imbued with elemental attributes.

‘If that’s the case, I won’t hold back. I’ll drain it dry.’

With a chilling grin, Yohan focused his energy into his hand gripping the sword, drawing in as much power as he could.

Soon, the pig-faced man’s expression turned pale, his effort to melt Yohan’s hand now twisted into shock.

The sword, once glowing red, began to fade into black.

No one knew exactly what was happening, but everyone could sense it.

The sword was dying.

“M-my, my Flame Sword…!”

“Thanks.”

Yohan smiled at him and squeezed harder.

Clang!

The sword, drained of all its power, shattered pitifully into pieces.

“Ah, aaah… my Flame Sword… my sword… ugh…”

Watching the pig-faced man burst into tears, Yohan’s face hardened.

‘No matter where you go, people who can’t do anything without powers like these can be so cruel…’

For a brief moment, Yohan imagined smashing the guy’s head in, but he gritted his teeth, held back, grabbed the man by the collar, and tossed him far away.

Maybe he’d break an arm or a leg, but he probably wouldn’t die.

Meanwhile, the group of killers watching the scene were in total shock.

Yohan didn’t seem to have any items like theirs.

They didn’t know what kind of Game he’d played at the end, but watching him render the Flame Sword useless and toss a man aside without even a single item—those who’d relied on their items suddenly felt fear creeping in.

The man holding the Lightning Magic Staff gulped and glanced to the side.

He was scared.

But as the saying goes: there’s no one who can withstand a gang beating.

Steeling himself, the man raised his staff, crackling with lightning, and shouted.

“Hey, what are you doing? Is this a show?”

“Y-yeah! Damn it! All in!”

“Crush him, dammit!”

The killers charged at Yohan, swinging their weapons.

Lightning, bullets, and all sorts of Game skills flew at Yohan in unison.

Even for him, it was a lot to handle…

Thud!

But Yohan had the perfect shield.

“Nice one, third!”

Junga had appeared behind him, raising a Block wall for defense.

Yohan flashed her a thumbs-up and moved quickly.

With surging internal energy, Yohan dashed forward at a speed no human could match, heading straight for the man wielding lightning.

He’d been the one to incite the group first, so he was probably their leader.

Taking down the ringleader would usually make the others hesitate.

Of course, Yohan also wanted the power of lightning.

Crackle!

Before the man could react, Yohan snatched away the sparking Lightning Magic Staff and swung his fist at the man’s temple.

Wham!

He held back so the man’s head wouldn’t burst, but that single blow was enough to knock him out cold.

Meanwhile, the others swung their weapons at Yohan.

With a backward somersault, Yohan dodged the focused attacks, cursing under his breath.

“You crazy bastards!”

Because he’d dodged, their former comrade with the Lightning Magic Staff was now nothing more than an unrecognizable lump of meat.

They were even crazier than he’d thought.

No regard for human life, no sense of camaraderie—just animals.

Sure enough, some started to edge away, and one even tried to escape on his motorcycle.

At that moment, a sphere of fire flew from behind Yohan and hit another man’s gun.

The scorching heat nearly melted the gun, making the man drop it in shock.

While he panicked, Yohan rushed in and destroyed the weapons of the men who chose to fight rather than run.

“P-please… spare me…”

Gazing at the man who’d lost his weapon and gone pale, Yohan spoke coldly.

“Get lost.”

“Eek!”

Watching the man stumble away in terror, Yohan clicked his tongue and turned around.

Seoyoung and Junga were comforting the mother and child who’d been chased by the group.

“Are you alright?”

“Thank… thank you. Sob!”

She looked to be in her early thirties.

The mother was a wreck.

But the child…

Amazingly, the child only had a few scratches—no real injuries at all.

It was a stark contrast to his mother, who was covered in blood, cuts, and burns.

‘Yeah, that’s what people should be like. That’s what normal is.’

Yohan sniffed, feeling oddly sentimental.

“For now… if you don’t have anywhere else to go, would you like to come with us?”

“C-can I really?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much. Sob!”

At Yohan’s words, the mother, Juhui, started crying again.

She cried so bitterly that even Yohan felt a pang of sadness.

No wonder—after all she’d been through since the Game started, how hard must it have been?

If Yohan had been in her place, the thought alone sent chills down his spine.

“It’s alright. You’re safe now.”

Trying to comfort her, Yohan helped her into the car.

It was a combination of two families who’d never met before.

When the tears finally stopped and things calmed down, silence filled the car.

They scavenged through a half-destroyed pharmacy and convenience store for supplies, then reached the foot of Seongjusan Mountain.

“Was there always a cafe here?”

“Yeah. But it looks like there’s no owner now.”

The cafe was wide open, but no one was inside.

Jeonghu cautiously approached the cafe, moving like he was on a recon mission. Either way, to get into the mountain, they’d have to pass the cafe.

“Uh… Dad!”

“Quiet, you punk! There could be Monsters!”

“…Dad, your voice is even louder.”

Junga shook her head at the father and son’s banter.

“Everyone in our family is loud.”

“Quiet, anyway, what is it?”

“This cafe looks like it’s been empty for a while. The entrance is smashed up and the inside is a mess.”

“Maybe it got looted today?”

“….”

Yohan swept his gaze around the interior, then ran his hand along the floor.

“There’s a lot of dust. Looks like it’s been empty since the first Game.”

“Really?”

Yohan turned to Seoyoung.

“Instead of hiking up the mountain right away, why don’t we rest here for a bit before moving on?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Yohan nodded and led the family inside.

Without being told, Junga blocked the parking lot with a Block, then replaced the cafe door with a Block door.

It was hard to tell if the place had been a renovated old house or newly built, but either way, it was a mixed-use building with the first floor as a cafe and the second as a house accessed by an outside staircase.

Yohan sat by the window, where he could keep an eye on the entrance, and leaned back in his chair.

“Hey! This place is nice. We should rest here again next time.”

Jeonghu whistled as he looked around the cafe.

“Right? Did you notice on the way in? Coming down the alley—there weren’t any Monster or human bloodstains at all.”

“Yeah, it’s weird. Did everyone in this neighborhood evacuate after the Game ended? Anyway, leave these Blocks here for now. Don’t clear them.”

“Got it.”

For once, Jeonghu and Junga were getting along, chatting away instead of bickering. Meanwhile, Seoyoung was quietly tending to Juhui’s wounds, using the medicine and bandages they’d brought.

Nearby, Juhui’s son, finally safe, had fallen into a deep sleep.

Watching from behind, Sejeong approached Juhui.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m fine. I’m alright.”

“Hehe! Is that your son? How old is he?”

“He’s five this year.”

“Five? Wow, that’s young. He must be in Sun Class.”

At Sejeong’s words, Juhui smiled.

The small, pretty girl seemed sociable, and it made her heart melt a little.

“My son’s class at daycare is called Sky Class.”

“Oh, so each kindergarten has different names. I didn’t know. What’s his name?”

“Soyul. Kim Soyul.”

“Kim Soyul… hehe, sounds like a girl’s name.”

At that, Juhui hesitated.

She and her husband had chosen that name because they’d really wanted their first child to be a daughter.

Even after learning it was a boy, she couldn’t bring herself to change the name she’d used all pregnancy, so she called him Soyul anyway.

Thinking of her husband’s bright smile when they finally settled on the name made her worry.

Was he alright?

“Ma’am?”

“Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a second. What’s your name?”

“I’m Yun Sejeong! I’m seven!”

“Wow, really? That’s a pretty name. And you?”

“I’m Yun Seoyoung. I’m Sejeong’s big sister.”

“That’s right, my big sister!”

Hearing the sisters speak, Juhui looked up.

She saw the two chatting and the man by the window keeping watch.

“Are you all family?”

“Yes! We’re four siblings!”

“Oh my!”

‘Four siblings, these days…’

Juhui laughed.

Just then—

“Oh no!”

Yohan suddenly shot to his feet.

Everyone’s eyes turned to him in surprise, but Yohan wasn’t looking out the window—he was facing the mountain.

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

“I was wondering why there were no people around…”

There’d been plenty of apartments and houses in the alley just fifty meters before they came in.

But not a single person, not a single Monster, not even a corpse.

It was odd.

Something huge was in the mountains.

Yohan felt a murderous aura so intense it made his skin crawl.

Awooooooo!

As if sensing Yohan’s tension, the owner of that aura let out a howl so loud it shook the world.