Absolute Dweller-Chapter 127

Thwack! Thud!

"You demon bastard!"

"Die, Satan!"

A group of people, their eyes glinting with madness, were brutally beating a man.

The man, unconscious, lay limp, absorbing their kicks and punches with his battered body.

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A man who seemed to be the leader took a puff from his cigarette and spoke calmly.

"That's enough."

With that quiet command, the frenzied lynching stopped abruptly.

The leader, cigarette still in his mouth, slowly walked over and inspected the man’s condition.

The middle-aged man, his body trembling intermittently, was in a critical state—anyone could tell just by looking.

The leader, staring silently at the bloodied face of the man, finally said,

"This should do. Let’s go."

"Yes, sir."

The group disappeared completely.

A moment later...

"Ugh... Hngh..."

The bloodied man struggled to his feet, his entire body screaming in agony.

Blood trickled from his mouth instead of saliva, and his entire body was covered in bruises. Every movement sent sharp, stinging pain throughout his body.

"Bastards... damn it...!"

But his hatred wasn’t just directed at the ones who had attacked him.

It was focused on the one atop the Lotte World Tower at Jamsil Station.

The leader of the cult.

"The damn cult leader...!"

The man's name was Choi Sang-hyun.

He had a daughter—his last treasure after losing everything to the chaos that had engulfed the world.

But even that treasure had been ripped away from him. He could still remember the look of joy on his daughter’s face and the words she had spoken that day.

"Dad! He hugged me! From today, I’m going to be God’s bride!"

Her radiant smile had torn Choi Sang-hyun’s heart to pieces.

Her expression, her voice, still lingered vividly in his mind.

Driven mad with rage, Choi Sang-hyun had gone to confront the cult leader, only to be denied even a glimpse of his face.

His cries and demands had led to this: beaten senseless and exiled from the cult’s sanctuary as if he were a demon.

Huff... Huff...

He vaguely understood where he was now—and why they hadn’t finished him off.

This entire mountain range, including Namhansan Mountain, was the territory of a terrifying monster.

Even though he was on the outskirts, the heavy scent of blood emanating from him would undoubtedly attract the creature.

"I can’t die yet...!"

He had to save his daughter.

He had to get her out of that hell and escape to another faction.

He couldn’t die irresponsibly and leave her behind.

"So... please...!"

Move, body. Move, legs.

Ignoring the pain, Choi Sang-hyun forced himself to his feet and began to stagger forward.

But then...

Shhhhhhh...

"!!"

Before he could take more than a few steps, the darkness came for him.

His steps quickened, trembling as he tried to move faster.

But his body, pushed to its limits, refused to cooperate. He tripped over his own feet and tumbled to the ground.

Thud! Thwack!

He rolled down the slope, finally coming to a stop.

Ziiing—

Thick shadows enveloped him.

Choi Sang-hyun knew all too well what this creature was.

The one even the cult’s strongest forces couldn’t defeat.

The Shadow Wraith.

"This is the end."

Sensing his impending death, Choi Sang-hyun closed his eyes.

Shwaaaah!

Suddenly, black shadows surged around him, engulfing him completely.

"Seul-gi..."

As he thought of his daughter’s face, preparing for the end...

Thunk!

A piercing sound.

Fwoosh!

Bright light exploded in every direction.

"Ugh!"

The light was so blinding that even Choi Sang-hyun, eyes squeezed shut, instinctively raised his arms to shield his face.

When the light finally dimmed, he cautiously lowered his arms and opened his eyes.

In front of him stood a woman.

"Are you all right?"

She had appeared in the blink of an eye, and Choi Sang-hyun could only stare at her in stunned silence.

The woman examined his wounds and then called out to the sky.

"Da-jeong! Over here!"

A black bird descended from the sky.

On its back sat another woman, calm and composed.

The second woman leapt off the bird and landed lightly in front of Choi Sang-hyun.

After quickly assessing his condition, she said,

"His state is severe."

"Right?"

The second woman’s hands began to glow warmly. The light flowed into Choi Sang-hyun’s battered body.

"W-What...?"

As the pain rapidly faded, Choi Sang-hyun’s eyes widened.

"No way..."

He looked down at his hands first.

"!!"

The wounds on his glowing hands were healing in real time.

The bruises and cuts covering his body disappeared just as quickly.

"Do you feel any lingering discomfort?"

Choi Sang-hyun shook his head in disbelief.

The pain in his stomach, which had felt like it would tear him apart, was gone.

The blood he had been coughing up? Gone too.

"Th-Thank you!"

As he bowed his head in gratitude, Choi Sang-hyun noticed an ominous black shadow spreading across the ground.

He tried to lift his head to warn them of the danger, but...

"Gah!"

Before he could say a word, someone grabbed his collar and yanked him into the air.

The next thing he saw was the gaping maw of a black shadow beneath him.

"Hiiik!"

As the monstrous black shadow’s gaping jaws closed in on him, Choi Sang-hyun froze in terror. But in that moment, a spear shot through the air, piercing deep into the creature’s maw.

Kwaaaaang!

A massive explosion engulfed the shadowy beast, leaving a small crater in its wake as the dust settled.

"Am I dead?"

For a moment, Choi Sang-hyun wondered if he had already died when the shadow consumed him, and the scene before him was merely an illusion conjured by his ghost.

The sight was so surreal it was hard to believe otherwise.

"Hey, mister, are you okay?"

He lifted his head and saw several men and women atop enormous birds, hovering in the air.

What struck him as odd was the appearance of the bird that had saved him. Unlike the others, it was slightly smaller and dressed in human clothing—clothing that, strangely enough, seemed to suit it.

"Weird... why isn’t there anyone on this bird’s back?"

Was it because of its smaller size?

As his thoughts wandered to trivial matters...

"Hey, mister. I asked if you’re hurt."

"?"

The bird spoke.

"Uh, mister?"

While Choi Sang-hyun stared in stunned silence, the bird opened its beak again and uttered human words.

"Are... you human?"

"Of course I am. Isn’t it obvious?"

Choi Sang-hyun bit back the urge to say, "You look more like a monster than anything else."

"To think they could deal with the Shadow Wraith so easily."

It was as if they’d twisted a child’s wrist—effortless and overwhelming.

The sheer disparity in power was undeniable.

The implications were clear.

"These people are stronger than the cult’s strongest forces."

It was a glimmer of hope at the edge of despair.

"I can’t let this chance slip by."

With desperation etched into his face, Choi Sang-hyun pleaded with them.

"Please, I beg you, help me!"

After hearing Choi Sang-hyun’s story, I couldn’t help but scoff.

"What a despicable bastard."

Tears welled up in Choi Sang-hyun’s eyes as he shouted with a mix of rage and sorrow.

"My daughter is only fifteen!"

The so-called cult leader was a man in his mid-to-late forties. A cruel and heinous individual, by all accounts.

"Please, kill that bastard for me. I’m begging you..."

What was surprising, however, was the size of the organization he led.

His name was Jeong Hyun-soo, a stereotypical cult leader who proclaimed himself the savior of humanity.

The group, named after his initials JHS, was headquartered in Jamsil, the heart of Songpa-gu.

The most shocking revelation was the number of followers—over 100,000.

If that claim was true, one thing was certain.

"He’s an Awakened."

And not just any Awakened. His power had to be extraordinarily strong.

"An A-grade or even S-grade ability wouldn’t suffice."

Feeding and sustaining 100,000 people required a power far beyond those levels.

He might even be someone who, like me or my grandfather, had awakened a divinity.

"A divinity, huh."

If he truly possessed such power and divinity represented the power of gods, it was almost comical.

"A man with godlike power playing the role of a cult leader?"

In a way, it wasn’t entirely wrong. Someone who attained divinity could be seen as a god.

"But his actions are unforgivable."

Even if he had used his abilities to save 100,000 people, the crimes he committed couldn’t be overlooked.

Ha Dong-geon’s team’s main objective was to hunt the monsters in Seoul and establish a forward base in a strategic location.

The goal was to build a forward base in the heart of Seoul, bring survivors there, and guide them safely to Busan via Namdaemun.

That was our priority.

But...

"I can’t leave someone like him unchecked."

He deserved punishment.

However, there was one thing that puzzled me.

"The monster you just killed was something even the cult’s strongest forces couldn’t handle. Please, use your power to kill that damned cult leader."

The monster that had nearly devoured Choi Sang-hyun was high-level.

"The Shadow Wraith. It was level 43."

At level 40 and above, a monster could be considered the ruler of its territory.

However...

"The cult leader’s level must be higher than that."

While level wasn’t everything, someone capable of sustaining 100,000 people would have no trouble overwhelming a level 43 monster.

I used the Ring of Communication to speak to Ha Dong-geon’s party.

[We can’t fully trust his words yet. We need to verify the facts.]

Fortunately, we had the perfect person for the job.

Moon Byeong-ho, who could infiltrate flawlessly with his teleportation and invisibility abilities.

[Moon Byeong-ho, please infiltrate the heart of the cult and confirm Choi Sang-hyun’s story.]

"Understood."

At my command, Moon Byeong-ho climbed onto the back of his assigned Kelican.

Currently, we had 23 domesticated Kelicans, matching the number of retainers. Each retainer was assigned one.

With their newfound mobility, the retainers’ efficiency had skyrocketed.

Screeeeeech—

Moon Byeong-ho’s Kelican swiftly flew toward Seokchon Lake, where Lotte Tower was located.

It was less than 10 kilometers from Namhansan, so he would reach it in no time.

The massive 500-meter-tall structure was visible from a great distance.

But there was something unusual.

"The lights are on?"

The Lotte Tower, along with the nearby Lotte World, was brightly illuminated.

It was the only source of light in all of Songpa-gu, making it stand out even more.

As Moon Byeong-ho approached the dazzlingly lit buildings, he leapt off his Kelican.

Slide.

His figure melted into the shadows, disappearing into the darkness.