The Monster’s head exploded, and the shocked gazes of the students turned toward Yohan.
Startled by his own Superhuman Strength and now feeling the pressure of all those stares, Yohan awkwardly looked away and cleared his throat.
Then, remembering his goal, he turned to the student watching him and asked,
“Do you know where Class 2 of 3rd Grade is?”
“It’s on the 4th floor.”
“Alright, thanks. Let’s go, son!”
“Yep!”
Yohan and Jeonghu hurried toward the building.
“This is a tough start.”
“Anyone watching would think a celebrity just showed up at school.”
“……”
As soon as they entered the building, father and son found themselves in trouble.
From the entrance to the stairs, there wasn’t even room to step, students trying to escape packed every inch.
Yohan’s face darkened.
Would he really be able to find his daughter among all these students in uniform?
That thought weighed on him.
Biting his lip, Yohan glanced around, then looked at his own hand as an idea struck him.
‘When I fought the Monster, I displayed such absurd Superhuman Strength I could hardly believe this was my body.’
He couldn’t remember what game he’d played last, but it seemed this strength was his new ability.
To confirm, Yohan reached out and gripped the stair railing.
Crrrack.
The solid steel railing crumpled like an aluminum can.
“…….”
It still didn’t feel real, but now he was sure—he’d gained overwhelming Superhuman Strength.
‘Seriously, what was the last game I played?’
Frowning, but aware that there was no time to waste, Yohan turned and spoke to Jeonghu.
“I’ll climb up outside using the drainpipe. You wait here in case Seoyoung comes down!”
“You’re going to climb up the drainpipe? Is that even possible?”
Without a word, Yohan gripped the stair railing again and squeezed.
Watching the railing collapse pathetically, Jeonghu nodded vigorously.
“Go ahead, Dad.”
“Alright.”
Leaving Jeonghu behind, Yohan stepped back outside.
Looking up at the building, he saw not just drainpipes but also gas pipes.
With this Superhuman Strength, he could easily climb those.
Yohan got right to it.
Like a monkey climbing a tree, he began scaling the gas pipe with ease.
Murmur, murmur.
He could hear people below whispering as they noticed him, but he paid no attention.
He’d spent years caring too much about others’ opinions, but now was not the time for that.
His daughter was up there.
He didn’t know what power he’d gained, but thinking of people who’d failed to adapt and died made him worry that his daughter might be in danger too.
He scaled the wall and reached the 4th floor in no time.
“Damn…”
But now that he was up here, the window was still a bit of a distance away.
Yohan hesitated, then looked at his hand.
‘Could I…?’
He shaped his hand like a claw and drove it into the wall with all his might.
Thud!
His fingers sank into the red brick, as if he were plunging them into sand.
‘If I could crush steel, bricks are nothing.’
Feeling more confident, Yohan braced himself on his hand embedded in the wall and swung his body to put his foot on the window ledge.
“Phew…”
A glance down made his legs go weak from the dizzying height, but he gritted his teeth and managed to land safely on the window ledge.
Crunch, crunch…
Peering inside, he saw blood splattered all over the hallway.
And right in the middle, he caught sight of a Monster’s back as it devoured something.
‘Could it be…?’
Anxious and suddenly furious, Yohan leaped through the window and charged, kicking the Monster square in the groin.
Smash!
Grrraagh!
Caught off guard while eating, the Monster let out a pig-like squeal, clutching its groin and collapsing.
Its testicles had not only burst, but its entire groin was shattered—there was no way it would be okay.
Not stopping there, Yohan stabbed his Axe into the Monster’s head for a ‘finishing blow’ and checked the corpse it had been holding.
He wondered if it was alright to think this, but—at least it wasn’t his eldest daughter, Seoyoung.
Relieved, yet feeling a surge of emotion in his chest, he realized even if it wasn’t his daughter, the child who’d just died was still someone’s child.
Why?
What crime had humans committed to be forced into this unwanted game?
Why did they have to fight Monsters that ate people, and why did this kid, unable to resist, have to die as just another meal?
Suddenly, a murderous rage surged from his gut, heating his whole body.
And the hotter he got, the more his strength swelled.
“Aaaahhh!”
Just as he was about to be consumed by rage and power, a scream snapped him back to his senses.
This was no time to stand here in anger.
He needed to find Seoyoung first.
‘Get it together!’
Yohan slapped his own cheeks, urged himself on, and stood up.
Just then, he spotted a Monster rushing at a student who hadn’t managed to escape.
Yohan hurled his Axe without hesitation.
The Axe spun furiously through the air toward the Monster.
Smash!
Krrrr…Ugh!
He had a feeling his throw would hit, and it did.
He’d never even thrown a baseball before, let alone an Axe, but apparently, along with Superhuman Strength, he’d gained some serious athletic skills.
Staring at his hand in surprise, Yohan then turned his gaze to the student.
The student, who had collapsed in shock, was now looking at Yohan.
“Are you alright?”
“Se… Seoyoung’s dad?”
To his surprise, the student recognized him.
“Huh?”
Yohan squinted at the kid, then clapped his hands together.
“Jiseon? Seoyoung’s friend!”
“Yes! Oh, hello!”
After the belated greeting, Yohan got straight to the point.
“Did you see Seoyoung?”
“If you mean Seoyoung… Ah! I saw her going upstairs!”
“Upstairs?”
‘Why on earth…?’
“Ah, really? Got it. Hurry and get out of here!”
“Y-yes!”
Making sure his daughter’s friend was heading down, Yohan dashed for the stairs.
‘What is she thinking, going upstairs?’
Worried, he hurried up the stairs.
“Whoa!”
He meant to jump three steps, but to his surprise, he vaulted the entire flight.
‘What the—this crazy jumping power? Is this also part of Superhuman Strength?’
He felt like Michael Jordan.
Amazed at how much his body had changed, Yohan nearly stumbled, but caught himself and sniffed the air.
He smelled something like meat grilling—not actual meat, but… as much as he didn’t want to imagine it, it was probably the smell of either Monster or human corpses burning.
Thinking back, it seemed the explosions and flames had been on the 5th floor.
That meant someone up there was fully aware of the situation and using their power.
‘Come to think of it, with so many people in the school, it’d be strange if there wasn’t at least one like that.’
BOOM!
Just like he’d seen from outside earlier, flames erupted inside the building, followed by another explosion.
Dodging the fire that roared down the corridor, Yohan briefly took cover, then glanced at where the flames had come from.
A silhouette approached through the thick black smoke filling the hallway.
Just from the outline, he could tell it was a student.
Well, who else would be here but students and teachers?
But that silhouette looked awfully familiar.
‘Could it be…?’
“Se… Seoyoung?”
Whoosh.
A breeze through the window cleared the smoke, and the figure that appeared was unmistakably his eldest daughter, Seoyoung—the spitting image of her late mother.
“Dad?”
Yohan’s face brightened at once.
“Whew, Seoyoung. Thank goodness. You’re safe?”
“Dad!”
His usually unflappable eldest daughter ran to him with tears in her eyes and hugged him.
Careful not to hurt his soot-blackened daughter with his strength, Yohan checked her over.
“You’re okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. What about you, Dad?”
“I’m fine too.”
“Thank goodness. What about Oppa and the others?”
“Your brother’s downstairs. We still need to pick up the kids.”
“We have to save the kids first!”
Seeing his daughter shout so uncharacteristically, Yohan smiled and patted her head.
Because of her expressionless face and sharp features, people often mistook her for cold and aloof, but in truth, she was kinder and more caring than anyone.
“Let’s go. We still have to pick them up.”
“Yes!”
Yohan gripped his daughter’s hand tightly and set off.
They hurried down the stairs.
From the 5th to the 4th floor, there were no signs of life,just the bodies of the dead and Monsters littered the halls.
It seemed there were others besides Yohan’s family making full use of their abilities.
Judging by the shattered, scorched hallways, and the piles of bodies and blood, someone had fought like mad to survive. As they neared the 2nd floor.
“Dad! Seoyoung!”
“Oppa!”
Jeonghu was coming up.
“Hey, I told you to stay on the 1st floor! Why’d you come up, you punk!”
“Everyone else had already escaped! And besides, one of those Monster bastards was chasing the kids down, so how could I just sit there?”
“Geez, you…”
Jeonghu might seem like a simple fool, but he was actually a hot-blooded, chivalrous type.
“Wow, that face makeup isn’t bad! You should go around like that from now on.”
“Are you kidding me right now? Are you nuts?”
“Calling your brother ‘you’! And ‘nuts’!”
…He really was a little nuts.
“Enough! Get in the car, now! Let’s go!”
They dashed across the playground and piled back into the car.
Hurrying, they headed for the middle school where the third child attended.
“By the way, fire, huh? Dad was surprised.”
“Ah, so all that fire raining down from above was her doing?”
“Yeah. Seriously, what was the last game I played…”
“This is all Oppa’s fault.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
As Yohan and Jeonghu looked confused, Seoyoung spoke up.
“Do you know Last Fantasy?”
“Oh, that game! I played it all the way through high school. You remember, Dad? The one where you got caught using your new credit card to buy cash items and got beat half to death!”
“…You’re so proud.”
“Anyway, I didn’t know you played that too.”
“You idiot! When you were little, you made me level up your character while you went out to play!”
“Ah…”
The memory hit Jeonghu.
It was when he’d first gotten a girlfriend.
He’d wanted to go see her, but also had to level up in the game.
So he’d raised a mage, taught Seoyoung just one Fire Magic spell, and told her to keep hunting Monsters while he was out.
“Wow! So I saved your life!”
“Quiet, before I burn you.”
“…Okay.”
As he mimed zipping his lips shut, Yohan let out a sigh.
“Good grief!”
I ended up Sighing in disappointment.