Absolute Dweller-Chapter 164
A woman with a devastated expression sat collapsed on the floor of the silent one-room apartment.
The middle-aged woman, appearing to be in her late forties, clutched a blanket that had been carelessly strewn across the floor and began to sob.
“Hic... hic...”
There were traces of the past left behind.
A bed filled with stuffed animals.
A laptop with an apple logo.
Thick textbooks for her major.
Clothes hanging on a rack.
The cheerful and lively clothing hanging there made it clear that the owner of this one-room apartment had been a female college student.
“Hic... Ji-yeon...”
Everything in this room was a remnant of her daughter.
A blanket that hadn't been washed for so long that it carried a stale scent.
A bathroom left unattended, piled with filth.
The filthy state of the room itself spoke volumes about how much she must have suffered, making it all the more painful.
“Mom is sorry. I came too late... I’m so sorry.”
On the mattress lay the corpse of a young girl, long since decayed, its stench filling the room.
A girl who had starved to death without ever managing to leave this place.
“You must have been so lonely. You must have been terrified.”
Hwang Eun-byeol gently caressed the rotted cheek of her daughter’s corpse and continued speaking.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She remained there, weeping for a long time.
Then, someone entered the one-room apartment.
“Ms. Hwang Eun-byeol?”
The man stood frozen for a moment, unable to speak upon seeing the grieving woman in front of her daughter’s lifeless body.
“Mom is sorry.”
Hearing her endlessly muttering the same words was enough to piece together what had happened.
She repeated it as if she were a sinner, as if she could atone for her guilt by saying it over and over.
The man approached her and spoke.
“I’ll help you.”
“...What?”
Hwang Eun-byeol looked up, confusion in her eyes.
The man’s voice was calm as he explained.
“We need to send your daughter off properly, so she can go to heaven. We can hold the funeral at Severance Hospital.”
“Ah...”
Tears streamed down Hwang Eun-byeol’s face.
Her voice, thick with congestion from crying, barely managed to whisper.
“Thank you, Ji-hoon.”
“It’s nothing.”
Yoon Ji-hoon, with practiced hands, began to handle the body.
He gently wrapped the corpse in a blanket and lifted it with ease.
Having done this countless times, he no longer felt any emotional distress from handling remains in such a state.
“The roads around here haven’t been cleared yet, so we’ll have to carry the body ourselves. I’ll assist you.”
“...Thank you.”
Yoon Ji-hoon hesitated before asking.
“Is there anything else you want to take with you?”
Hwang Eun-byeol took a moment to look around the room before picking up a stuffed animal, a laptop, a phone, and a neatly folded dress.
They were the things her daughter loved the most.
“I’m ready.”
Yoon Ji-hoon nodded and stepped out of the apartment.
Before leaving, Hwang Eun-byeol took one last look at the room, then quietly followed after him.
As they walked, Yoon Ji-hoon asked.
“Was this why you insisted on coming here?”
“......”
She remained silent but nodded slightly.
Yoon Ji-hoon sighed softly.
“If you had told me earlier, I would have helped from the beginning.”
“...It’s fine.”
His official job was retrieving unclaimed bodies and cleaning abandoned buildings.
Originally, his work had been about supporting survivors and maintaining safe zones, but at some point, the balance had shifted.
Now, he spent far more time recovering corpses.
‘...Her daughter was lucky, in a way.’
At least she hadn’t been ripped apart by monsters.
Most of the bodies he found bore horrifying wounds—half-eaten corpses, mangled remains that monsters had feasted on and discarded.
In comparison, this was almost a blessing.
Of course, he would never say such a thing out loud.
No matter how much he had hardened himself, he wasn't heartless enough to tell grieving families something like that.
‘I don’t know how to handle this.’
It was the first time he had ever retrieved a body with a surviving family member present.
Usually, when he found remains, he would gather them outside before beginning the cleanup.
There was a reason unclaimed bodies were always taken outside before disposal.
As he and Hwang Eun-byeol stepped outside the building, a man was waiting for them.
The man turned toward Yoon Ji-hoon and asked,
“Is this the last one?”
“...Yes, Jae-hyun-nim.”
Kim Jae-hyun.
In this line of work, it was inevitable to meet him.
He was the one personally responsible for the cremation of unclaimed bodies.
“You’ve done well.”
At that moment, Yoon Ji-hoon felt the weight in his arms suddenly lighten—
The corpse floated into the air and began to slowly move toward Kim Jae-hyun.
Panicked, Yoon Ji-hoon hurriedly explained,
“This body belongs to her daughter!”
Perhaps his urgency had reached him—
The floating body suddenly stopped in place.
Kim Jae-hyun turned toward Hwang Eun-byeol, his expression unreadable.
Then, he spoke.
“...I understand.”
His gaze shifted toward the shrouded body, and his voice lowered.
“Were you planning to carry the body all the way to the funeral home yourself?”
“Yes.”
“...Please wait a moment.”
Kim Jae-hyun turned to face the other unclaimed bodies, closed his eyes, and bowed his head in silence.
And then—
FWOOSH—
Black flames ignited, engulfing the bodies.
Even though Yoon Ji-hoon had witnessed it many times before, it was still a mystical sight.
The bodies burned without smoke, without the stench of burning flesh.
It didn’t take long—the flames were swift and absolute.
The way the corpses vanished into those dark flames, it truly looked as though they were ascending.
Even standing so close, the flames weren’t hot.
Instead, they carried a sacred aura—as if cleansing the dead.
Watching Kim Jae-hyun standing before the flames, mourning for the deceased, he looked almost like a saint.
Once the last body disappeared, Kim Jae-hyun opened his eyes and murmured a single word.
"Elquines."
In that instant, water droplets formed in the air, gathering together—
They shifted, taking the form of a young girl.
"Hmm? What is it?"
“Can you cleanse this body?”
The girl tilted her head, looking at the shrouded corpse.
"This one?"
"Yes."
"Got it!"
The blanket that had covered the corpse slipped away, revealing the horrific remains beneath.
A vile stench spread through the air.
But then—
Gurgle—
The blue water conjured in midair enveloped the body, and like magic, the smell vanished instantly.
The rippling water momentarily soaked into the fallen blanket, cleansing it until it looked as good as new.
And then, the now-clean blanket gently wrapped around the purified body once again.
“Hic...”
Watching the process in a daze, Hwang Eun-byeol suddenly burst into tears again.
“All done—!”
“Thank you. You can go now.”
“Ah—!”
The water spirit vanished as Kim Jae-hyun dismissed it.
Then, he slowly approached the two.
Reaching out his hand, he spoke.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Yoon Ji-hoon, startled by Kim Jae-hyun suddenly grabbing his hand, barely had time to react before—
Whoosh—
The surroundings changed in an instant.
Before they knew it, they were standing inside the funeral home.
“The funeral schedule is quite full, so you may have to wait a while. Now then, Ji-hoon.”
“Ah, yes, sir!”
“I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Just then—
Hwang Eun-byeol grabbed Kim Jae-hyun’s hand.
“...Ms. Hwang Eun-byeol?”
She finally spoke.
“Where did they go?”
“...What?”
“The people... the ones consumed by the black flames.”
Her voice trembled with desperation.
“Did you send them to heaven?”
“......”
Kim Jae-hyun fell silent.
With an expression heavy with sorrow and regret, he met her gaze before answering in a low voice.
“...I sent them off with my prayers.”
Tears streamed down Hwang Eun-byeol’s face as she asked,
“Could you... could you do the same for my child?”
“...You mean.”
“Please... let my daughter go peacefully. With your power.”
Kim Jae-hyun slowly nodded.
“I understand.”
“And... please, take these as well.”
“...These are?”
“Her belongings. I want them to go with her.”
Kim Jae-hyun carefully examined the items she handed over.
Then, he pulled out the phone among them and handed it back.
“Do you know her passcode?”
“...I think so.”
“Then... perhaps you should keep this. There may still be pictures of her on it.”
“Ah... thank you.”
And then—
Fwoosh—
Black flames ignited once more.
“Hic... hngh.”
Hwang Eun-byeol covered her mouth, watching her daughter’s final moments.
Her child's belongings burned.
The blanket that had wrapped her was consumed by the flames.
Then, for one last time, she saw her daughter’s face, surrounded by dark fire.
Before she could stop herself, her hand reached out.
“Ah...!”
The black flames were warm.
But they didn’t burn.
Even as she pressed her hand directly into them, they did not hurt.
‘Thank goodness...’
They were gentle.
As if she could still feel her daughter's warmth.
And at that moment—
WOOOOOOM—
A holy light radiated from Hwang Eun-byeol’s body.
[Citizen Hwang Eun-byeol’s loyalty has increased.]
[Citizen Hwang Eun-byeol’s loyalty has reached 100.]
[You have acquired an enormous amount of experience points.]
[Citizen Hwang Eun-byeol has met the conditions to change class to {Priest}.]
[Would you like to proceed with the class change?]
Coincidentally, the Priest class research had just been completed in the Job Research Lab.
The requirements to become a Priest were among the most difficult of all classes.
‘You have to reach 100 loyalty.’
Unlike Sharpshooters or Warriors, there was no exam required.
As long as someone reached 100 loyalty, I could freely grant them a class.
‘Convert Hwang Eun-byeol into a Priest.’
It was perfect timing—healers were in desperate demand.
After establishing a base in Seoul, the primary focus had been on urban reconstruction.
Even with electricity, gas, and water restored, if there weren’t habitable buildings, it was all pointless.
Thus, the most critical task had been locating intact structures and repairing them.
The Clay Golems had been working tirelessly, but building restoration still required a massive workforce.
And the sites weren’t exactly safe—injuries were happening constantly.
Even after relocating 80% of the medical teams from Busan, there still weren’t enough healers.
The emergence of a Priest was invaluable.
WOOOOOM!
Dark energy swirled around Hwang Eun-byeol like a mirage.
Then, it was completely absorbed into her body.
[Citizen Hwang Eun-byeol has changed class ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) to {Priest}.]
She had originally been from Busan, and was one of the earliest members to join.
She had lived in the same apartment complex as Jang Seong-jun, who was now a vassal.
His telekinesis had been an invaluable asset, and through him, I had learned bits and pieces about his associates.
I vaguely recalled hearing that Hwang Eun-byeol’s daughter was in Seoul.
She had proudly bragged about how her child had received a full scholarship to one of Korea’s top three universities—so I remembered.
When citizens were asked to contribute to Seoul’s restoration, she had been the first to volunteer.
She must have done so to search for her daughter.
And now...
This was how it ended.
For her, who had lost everything—
I couldn’t just let her grieve forever.
“Ms. Hwang Eun-byeol, I have a request.”
I knew it was cruel to ask so soon.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёnovelkiss.com.
She hadn't even had time to process her loss.
But in this merciless world—
We couldn’t stop moving.
If we wanted to lessen the suffering, we had to keep going forward.
