Chapter 51: A Crescent Moon Night

A night with a crescent moon rising.

On such a chillingly cold night, Kwak Daesu was sipping whiskey alone.

“Urgh…….”

Kwak Daesu downed the amber whiskey like water.

His face was flushed red as if about to burst, and his mind was already hazy.

He had far exceeded his alcohol limit.

“Damn it…….”

Even so, Kwak Daesu gulped down the strong whiskey.

No matter how drunk he got, the damned emotions wouldn’t disappear.

He wanted to push away this pain with the alcohol, but no matter how much he drank, the pain wouldn’t go away.

“What the hell. What the fuck is going on.”

Kwak Daesu drank in the moonlight, without turning on the lights.

Next to him was his phone with the Melon site open.

And the TOP 100 chart rankings there had changed in a damned way.

“Ultra Marine” was still at 11th.

But “Lovebug” had climbed up to 15th.

“Damn it. What if it really catches up like this?”

Kwak Daesu gritted his teeth.

Now, “Ultra Marine” and “Lovebug” were only 4 spots apart.

Of course, in the upper ranks of the music charts, that was a huge difference, but considering the growth momentum, this was a massive crisis.

Unlike “Ultra Marine,” which had entered a stagnation phase, “Lovebug” was growing by leaps and bounds.

As if it would reverse the music rankings at any moment.

“Damn it! Why! Why!”

Kwak Daesu picked up his phone and threw it at the TV with a bang.

The TV shattered, cracking like a spiderweb.

Even so, Kwak Daesu’s anger didn’t subside.

This rage probably wouldn’t subside unless “Lovebug” plummeted to the abyss.

“I have to do something. I have to win no matter what…….”

The intoxicated Kwak Daesu muttered with sharp eyes.

He couldn’t lose this music ranking bet.

He couldn’t lose this bet where his entire career as a composer was on the line.

That’s why he resolved.

To win this bet by any means necessary.

Really, by any means.

***

The Myth Festival.

A martial arts tournament held for the silver attack squads.

Ahead of that tournament, the surrounding silver attack squad members were busily devoted to training.

Our Nova Team members were the same.

Not all of Nova Team was participating in the Myth Festival, but those who were trained really hard.

Starting from Team Leader Cha Jihye, the senior team members, and me, we booked the training hall and trained.

I also looked into items with the money I had saved.

That said, we couldn’t neglect gate conquests.

As silver attack squad members, we went out on gate conquests as usual.

“Everyone’s here, so I’ll start the briefing. As I said before departure, this gate is…….”

In front of a gate that opened inside a cafe in Seoul.

There, Cha Jihye continued the briefing.

Including me, the Nova Team members kept their mouths shut and focused on her briefing.

This one won’t be easy either.

As always, this gate wouldn’t be easy.

Among the senior team members, I mentally prepared myself solidly for the gate conquest.

“That’s the end of the briefing, so let’s go in! Everyone, make sure your equipment is secure and follow me!”

Cha Jihye said that, and after talking with the association staff, she entered the gate.

Following her, the Nova Team members entered one by one.

Watching them, I took a deep breath.

“Eunbyeol, Dad will do well this time too.”

I said quietly so no one would know, then boldly entered the gate.

The moment I entered the gate.

The first thing I saw was an extremely cloudy sky.

A gloomy sky as if fine rain would fall at any moment.

And what appeared was.

It feels like I’ve come to Japan for a trip.

None other than Japanese-style houses.

Houses imbued with Japanese tradition.

Eerie shrines and nameplates with unknown kanji.

Not modern Japan, but as if I’d come to feudal-era Japan, I felt an inexplicable chill.

It wasn’t simply because the weather was bad.

The reason I felt a chill close to coldness was because of the ‘corpses’ scattered on the street.

“Ugh! What are all these corpses?”

“Sigh, I was excited because it was a Japanese-style gate, but it’s totally ruined.”

“Was there some war or something? This is really horrific.”

“Well, in this era of Japan, wars happened every day…….”

“Yeah, war is truly tragic. Wars should never happen.”

As the Nova Team members said, the streets were littered with corpses.

Not only men, but women, the elderly, and even children lay bloodied on the streets.

Looking at that place, I felt a dreary atmosphere.

For this to be a gate.

Of course, no real war had occurred here.

This place was just created by the damned game system.

Though the horrifically dead people and the pungent blood scent wafting to my nose were real.

“Come on, everyone, stop chatting and let’s move out. The faster we conquer, the faster we get out!”

Team Leader Cha Jihye spoke from the front, and the Nova Team members who were gagging nodded.

Thus, starting with Cha Jihye, we began crossing the streets of feudal-era Japan.

Our Nova Team continued walking while surveying the surroundings.

Before we knew it, fine rain started falling, and the atmosphere became even more dreary.

Continuing the walk without umbrellas or anything.

Even as our feet occasionally bumped into the corpses scattered on the street, we kept advancing.

It was then.

“T-Team Leader! It’s appeared!”

One Nova Team member pointed far ahead.

The place the team member’s finger pointed to was an alley next to a Japanese-style house.

There, some entity was shambling slowly into view.

A human form, no, a real human was shambling toward us.

“W-what the heck is that?”

“Is it a warrior? No, since it’s Japan, a samurai?”

“Whoa, it’s really a samurai? Seeing a samurai in real life. Amazing.”

“Huh? But its face is weird?”

“Gasp, what’s wrong with it……?”

As the team members said, the shambling entity that appeared was none other than a ‘samurai.’

A warrior from Japan’s feudal era.

The samurai was wearing red armor and an ornate helmet just like in books, and was dragging a long sword.

However, as the team members were surprised, it was quite different from a normal samurai.

That’s a walking corpse…….

The samurai approaching slowly.

Its face was no different from a corpse.

Though flesh was attached, it was rotten flesh, bones were visible, and flies were buzzing around.

As if a dead person had risen again.

At that sight, Cha Jihye shouted.

“Everyone, prepare for battle! It’s a zombie samurai!”

As Cha Jihye shouted, the master of this gate was the ‘zombie samurai.’

I don’t know what grudge it held, but a zombie samurai that died and came back to life.

Shing!

As Cha Jihye drew her sword and the other senior team members armed themselves, the zombie samurai continued shambling forward.

Too slow to be called a samurai.

Honestly, I thought this gate would be easier than expected.

Though its appearance was hideous, if it was that slow, the conquest didn’t seem too difficult.

As the zombie samurai approached within 10 meters, piercing through the fine rain.

The zombie samurai slightly lifted the sword it had been dragging.

At that moment……..

Whoosh!

The zombie samurai charged at light speed and thrust its sword.

Clang!

The zombie samurai’s sword clashed with Cha Jihye’s.

Not only me, but the senior team members also wore surprised expressions.

Because the zombie samurai, which had been slow as a turtle, had charged so quickly.

Moreover, the zombie samurai’s fast speed wasn’t limited to charging.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The zombie samurai swiftly swung its massive odachi.

Sword strikes so fast they were hard to capture with the eye.

Cha Jihye struggled to block them.

She’s being pushed back.

On the surface, Cha Jihye and the zombie samurai seemed to be fighting evenly.

But Cha Jihye was slowly stepping back.

She was being overwhelmed by the zombie samurai’s tremendous sword strikes.

Crash!

As if it was a prophecy.

Cha Jihye was sent flying back by the zombie samurai’s sword strike.

“T-Team Leader!”

Team members supporting Cha Jihye, who fell on her butt from the sword strike.

As if mocking them, the zombie samurai quietly pointed its odachi forward.

As if saying, come if you dare.

“This corpse bastard is crazy!”

Then, a male team member stepped forward in place of Cha Jihye.

A senior team member with a battle axe.

The always reliable team member charged at the zombie samurai like a bulldozer.

“If you’re dead, stay dead!”

The male team member swung his massive battle axe.

On the other hand, the zombie samurai calmly assumed a stance and defended.

Clang!

The male team member’s axe strike was blocked weakly.

The zombie samurai, holding its odachi horizontally, had cleanly blocked the attack.

To block that immense axe strike.

The zombie samurai’s strength was no joke.

“Arghhhhh!”

The male team member, whose axe was blocked, swung the battle axe once more.

The battle axe drawing a huge arc.

The male team member swung the axe strongly, as if to slice the corpse warrior this time for sure.

But……..

Slash!

The zombie samurai’s sword strike was much faster.

Blood spraying into the air.

As that blood fell to the ground, the male team member collapsed to the floor.

Shing!

The zombie samurai raised its odachi high into the sky.

Seeming intent on bisecting the fallen male team member.

“Be careful!”

Then, a female team member shouted and cast magic.

‘Ice Spear’ flying quickly.

An ice spear harder than steel flew like a bullet toward the zombie samurai.

However……..

Clang!

The zombie samurai knocked away the ice spear in one go.

Afterward, the female team member continued to fire ice spears.

But…….

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The zombie samurai knocked away all the ice spears.

As if reading the trajectories of the ice spears completely.

As if such magic couldn’t even scratch it.

Shing!

The zombie samurai raised its sword high into the sky once more.

The sky full of dark clouds and fine rain falling.

Piercing through that, the zombie samurai’s odachi swung down quickly.

At that moment.

Whoosh!

I threw a bone from my bosom.

***  

Nova Team Leader ‘Cha Jihye.’

She was utterly flustered.

Because the zombie samurai was too strong.

It wasn’t just her.

The male team member who charged with the battle axe was taken down easily.

With a large wound on his abdomen.

Even the ice spears fired by the mage team member didn’t work.

Not one, but several were shot, yet the zombie samurai deflected them all.

A zombie samurai with truly monstrous skill.

Cha Jihye was horrified by its strength.

Shing!

And now.

The zombie samurai raised its odachi high toward the sky.

And swung the sword toward the male team member lying bloodied.

“Be careful!”

Cha Jihye, who had barely regained her senses, hurriedly got up to block it.

But it was already too late.

The male team member’s death was inevitable.

At the moment the zombie samurai’s sword was about to split the male team member’s body.

Whoosh!

Something flew from behind and landed in front of the male team member.

It clattered and quickly took form.

Clang!

It blocked the zombie samurai’s sword.

The sword strike falling like lightning.

What cleanly blocked it was.

A skeleton……?

Seo Juwon’s summon, ‘Blue Bone.’