Absolute Dweller-Chapter 158
The presence of Lee Jun-hyuk was overwhelming.
With his ability to control water freely within a certain range, he was nothing short of a natural enemy to humans—who were, after all, mostly composed of water.
And on top of that—
‘His "Control Water" ability leveled up after the battle with JHS.’
What was once S-rank had now evolved into SR-rank.
Thanks to that, Lee Jun-hyuk’s power had become even more formidable.
The moment he appeared, everyone froze in place.
He had seized control of the blood within their bodies, rendering them completely immobile.
Not everyone was fully restrained, however.
"What are you all doing?! Move!"
The one furthest from Lee Jun-hyuk—and by far the strongest among them—was still capable of speech.
‘Park Sung-hyun.’
When I first learned about his existence, I had debated for a long time whether to kill him or not.
From the moment Seo Ye-jin’s rats first spied on him, he had already been murdering people.
By the time I started keeping track, the number of people he had killed was nearing triple digits.
And yet, I had deliberately chosen not to kill him.
Because if I had, the chaos that followed would have been even greater.
‘I’ve been waiting for this day.’
The reason Park Sung-hyun was so obsessed with killing was his awakened ability.
Cannibalism.
Despite its name, it had nothing to do with eating human flesh.
All he needed to do was kill with his own hands—and he could absorb his victim’s strength as his own.
For him, murder wasn’t just an act—it was a means of exponential growth.
The stronger the victim, the stronger he became.
If his power was any indication, then the amount of blood he had spilled was unimaginable.
And yet—
"MOVE, YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS! I’LL KILL YOU ALL—!!"
At this moment, Lee Jun-hyuk was Level 60.
His level had been maxed out during the final battle against JHS, where I had poured a fortune into boosting it.
With the various buffs granted by the system, Park Sung-hyun didn’t stand a chance.
Lee Jun-hyuk began to walk forward.
Squelch. Squelch.
As he closed in on Park Sung-hyun, I took the opportunity to survey the enemy forces.
I had already made a list of the ones who needed to die.
And now—
‘Summon from storage: Arrows.’
Ziiing—!
The arrows I had prepared were fired.
Thwack!
The moment they landed—
Splurt—!
One of Park Sung-hyun’s men, a filthy murderer, burst apart from within.
‘Summon.’
Every time an arrow struck its mark, another body exploded into pieces.
Splurt—!
Blood poured onto the shattered concrete, drenching the ground beneath.
One of them had participated in "human hunting" alongside Park Sung-hyun, committing countless rapes.
Another was a cannibal—one who only ate women’s flesh because he claimed it was "softer."
Unlike Park Sung-hyun, they hadn’t even awakened special abilities.
They were just pure, irredeemable monsters.
Splurt—!
Not a single one of them managed to resist.
They simply exploded one by one, meeting the end they deserved.
And then—
"GAAAAAAAAH!"
Park Sung-hyun, his muscles and veins bulging grotesquely, lunged toward Lee Jun-hyuk.
It was nothing more than a desperate last stand.
In front of Lee Jun-hyuk, he was nothing more than a worm squirming on the ground.
And then—
SPLAT—!
That was all it took.
Park Sung-hyun never even managed to throw a punch.
His entire body simply exploded.
And that was the end of it.
A worm, crushed underfoot, could struggle all it wanted—but it would never change its fate.
I spoke to Lee Jun-hyuk.
[...You’ve done well.]
I felt guilty.
No matter how much those bastards deserved to die, the act of killing was still a heavy burden.
I had wanted to handle it myself.
But realistically, it wouldn’t have been possible.
With Seo Ye-jin’s rats and my storage-based ambush, I could have taken out a few high-ranking officers.
But by then, the rest of them would have scattered.
And more than anything—
Even if I had wielded Ha Dong-gun’s spear myself, I couldn’t guarantee I would have killed Park Sung-hyun in a single blow.
The only one who could wipe them out completely was Lee Jun-hyuk.
That was why I had asked him to do it.
I had worried about his mental state.
But—surprisingly, he seemed fine.
Lee Jun-hyuk watched calmly as the corpses and blood around him disappeared, then turned to me.
"What about the others? Should we take them to Konkuk University Station?"
[No.]
The people here were all Awakeners.
And within Park Sung-hyun’s faction, they had held high-ranking positions.
[Leave them.]
They weren’t as outright evil as the ones we had executed—but they weren’t innocent either.
At best, they had been bystanders.
[I have no intention of taking them in. They have their abilities. They’ll survive on their own.]
I could acknowledge that their circumstances were harsh.
I could even understand that they had made their choices out of desperation.
But—
[If you commit a crime, you must take responsibility for it.]
[Right now, we're processing a large number of incoming survivors at Banpo Bridge. I’d like you to assist there.]
"Understood."
After Park Sung-hyun’s death, no other factions made hostile moves against us.
In Gangseo District—where Gimpo International Airport was located—along with Bucheon, the leader, Yang Ha-young, had personal ties to Cha Hyun-seung.
Because of his influence, she chose to join us voluntarily.
In Gangbuk, they hesitated—likely due to lack of information about us.
But for now, we established good relations by supplying them with emergency relief.
As a result, even more survivors from Gangbuk began making their way to us.
With all the major survivor factions in Seoul uniting, the smaller groups followed suit.
Just as planned, a massive movement had been set in motion.
For the time being, our focus would be on accepting new citizens and assessing their backgrounds.
With General Lee Hak-gi leading the investigation team, we screened for criminals and handled them accordingly.
In the process, former prosecutors and judges stepped forward, ensuring that those guilty of serious crimes were properly punished.
The process of revoking citizenship was not applied even to those who had committed the most severe crimes. Instead, their rights as citizens—such as access to the marketplace, inventory, and buffs—were stripped away, and they were imprisoned.
Expelling them beyond the safe zone by revoking their citizenship would only create a new threat.
About two weeks passed, and the influx of new citizens began to slow.
The population had now surpassed 900,000.
"Only 900,000..."
With level-ups, the expansion of the Homebound Domain in Busan had drawn in nearly hundreds of thousands of new citizens.
In reality, however, the number of people newly integrated from Seoul was only about 400,000.
Considering that the city's original population was around 10 million, the survival rate in Seoul was a mere 4%.
"The higher the population density, the greater the casualties, huh?"
It made sense to some extent.
Just looking at the completely ravaged cityscape was enough to imagine the scale of the catastrophe that had struck.
"Well, either way."
This should be enough.
"Now we can finally start hunting monsters in earnest."
The locations of all boss-level monsters in the surrounding areas had already been fully mapped.
[Everyone.]
I reached out telepathically to my vassals waiting in various positions.
[Begin.]
At that moment—
[You have successfully hunted the Flame Tyrant (Lv. 49).]
[You have successfully hunted the Rotting Wraith (Lv. 51).]
[You have successfully hunted the Shadow Hyena (Lv. 47).]
...
...
Messages reporting the successful hunts of boss-level monsters across multiple regions flooded in.
And at the same time—
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[The Monster Extermination Operation is now underway.]
I sent a telepathic message to the hunting teams stationed at each key point.
Having surpassed level 30 through training in the Goblin Dungeon and Orc Dungeon I had set up as instant dungeons, countless hunters spread out across the entire Seoul region, beginning the large-scale monster extermination.
And for the first time in a while—
[Your skill level has increased.]
I checked the level-up message.
Zzt—
[ Clear Mirror, Still Water is activating.]
Back at the main base—specifically, the Homebound Domain in Busan—its expansion accelerated rapidly.
Compared to how Oh Eon-ju and Ha Dong-geon's territories had gradually extended, my domain was growing at an incomparable speed.
[An entity meeting the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) conditions for citizenship has been detected.]
[Would you like to grant citizenship?]
"Grant citizenship."
With the rapid expansion, keeping track of and approving new citizens was a continuous task.
And in the midst of that process—
[The Annexed Territory has been completely absorbed into the Homebound Domain.]
The annexed domain I had constructed around the World Tree in my family's home was now fully integrated into the Homebound Domain.
In proportion to the expansion of the Homebound Domain, the annexed territory grew as well, reaching about 70% of its size.
Since Seomyeon and my family’s residence were not too far apart, as the Homebound Domain expanded, the annexed territory had been completely consumed.
[The function of the Annex has been nullified.]
[10,000,000,000 won has been deposited into the Homebound Sovereign’s account.]
With the annex’s function now obsolete, I was refunded the full 1 billion won initial construction cost.
"So, does this mean I can build a new annex?"
If there was one construction feature I found truly valuable, it was the annex.
Despite requiring only 100 billion won, it was capable of turning a massive area into a safe zone.
However, it could only be built once.
At the time, building it at my family's home, where my grandfather and the others were, had been the best choice.
But now that my level had increased and my domain had expanded significantly—causing substantial overlap—the annex felt somewhat wasted.
"Construction mode."
I checked immediately.
"It works! But... huh?"
— Annex (100,000,000,000 won)
As expected, the annex construction feature had been reactivated.
However—
"Wait... one hundred billion?"
The cost was now ten times higher than before.
"Even so, the annex is still worth it."
The Earl's Domain currently spanned a radius of about 5 kilometers.
Meanwhile, the annex’s size scaled in proportion to the Homebound Domain, meaning it easily surpassed a 10-kilometer radius.
It was large enough to encompass an entire metropolis.
"And, more importantly, unlike a domain, the annex's coverage expands instantly."
If monsters were present within its range, they would simply be swallowed up by the annex.
"It could be used strategically."
Just as I was contemplating how to best utilize the annex—
"Huh?"
Something unusual was detected in the multiple Absolute Sovereign’s Eyes I had deployed.
"...Snow?"
It started in the north.
The snowfall first appeared in Gangbuk-gu, where my vassals were stationed to protect one of the remaining independent factions.
But soon, it began spreading across the entire city.
"Snow? Really?"
The only time I had seen heavy snow was back when I was in the military.
But that wasn’t what surprised me.
Right now, it was May.
There was no reason for it to be snowing.
It was evident in the way people were dressed.
If anything, an early heatwave had led to many walking around in short sleeves and shorts.
"This isn't normal..."
Moreover, in the north, the snowfall was intensifying, and the wind was growing stronger.
This was far from natural.
And then—
"What the...?"
Amid the flurry of snow, a colossal beast revealed itself in the sky.
