Absolute Dweller-Chapter 191
Kim Geon led his flock of crows northward. He didn’t have to go far—as soon as he entered the DMZ, he saw the vanguard of what Ri Seong-ho had called the Undead Legion.
‘Now I understand why he used that term.’
The creatures in the horde were incredibly diverse.
There were human-shaped zombies, but also orcs, goblins, and even wild animals like deer and rabbits, all turned into undead monstrosities.
Some of them appeared physically intact, with no obvious signs of wounds or decay.
However, Kim Geon was certain they belonged to the Undead Legion.
The reason was simple—they reacted violently to his crows.
"Kyaaaaak!"
The moment they sensed him, they let out an ear-piercing shriek and charged toward the sky.
Seeing them react so aggressively, it was clear that Ri Seong-ho had been telling the truth.
“Jae-hyun-nim, are you there?”
[Yes.]
“It appears those things can detect living beings, just as the defector claimed.”
[It does seem that way.]
After a brief pause, Kim Jae-hyun gave him an instruction.
[Can you gradually increase your altitude?]
“Understood.”
Kim Geon had been flying low, about 30 meters above the ground, to observe their reaction.
Now, he gradually ascended.
At around 150 meters, the aggression of the undead significantly decreased.
However, not all of them stopped reacting.
About one in ten still turned their heads toward the sky and let out shrieks, as if sensing something.
From the way they suddenly reacted as he passed overhead, it was clear that they weren’t detecting him through sight or sound—they were reacting to the presence of life itself.
Moreover, when one of them sensed him and shrieked, the nearby undead would synchronize, all turning their aggression toward the sky.
[The response to living beings seems to vary between individuals.]
“Should I go higher?”
[Please do.]
At about 300 meters, most of the undead no longer reacted.
But Kim Geon wasn’t completely convinced—because just moments before, one of them had still sensed him.
“...I understand what that guy was saying now.”
According to Ri Seong-ho, it didn’t matter where you hid.
Even if you buried yourself deep underground, it was useless.
Unless you could fly, there was no way to escape the detection radius of these creatures.
[The density of the undead increases the farther north you go.]
At that moment, Kim Geon saw something unusual in the distance.
A massive monster was battling the undead.
RUMBLE—!
A giant, armored worm was tunneling through the ground. Its entire body was covered in thick metallic plates, making it look like an unstoppable force.
As it moved, undead creatures swarmed toward it—only to be effortlessly crushed.
The zombies shattered against its armored hide, their bodies ripped apart by its tail, their rotten flesh torn by its massive jaws.
The armored worm was completely overpowering them.
But then—
It suddenly stopped moving.
And—
THUD!
The colossal creature collapsed onto the ground.
"Kyaaaaaak!"
The undead swarmed over it, as if celebrating a feast.
Even as they bled /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ from their mouths, they continued attacking its armored hide.
At first, their attacks seemed useless.
But then—
Squirm—
The fallen armored worm twitched.
At that exact moment, the entire undead horde stopped attacking.
Even those with broken teeth and missing claws suddenly stepped back.
Then—as one—they turned and began marching southward.
And—
The armored worm slowly lifted its head.
It raised its gaze toward the sky, opened its massive maw, and let out a threatening roar toward Kim Geon’s crows.
As if responding to its signal, the undead that had been walking away all turned their heads skyward and screamed in unison.
Watching that horrifying display, Kim Geon was now completely certain.
That monster had become part of the Undead Legion.
***
It was a plague of death, spreading before his very eyes.
He already knew that anyone bitten by the undead became one of them—he had heard it from Ri Seong-ho.
But after seeing the armored worm, it was now clear that infection wasn’t limited to just bites.
‘Those undead never pierced the worm’s armored hide.’
That meant the infection didn’t necessarily come from wounds.
The key factor was likely how the armored worm attacked.
It had devoured the undead, absorbing their bodily fluids.
That was enough to turn it into one of them.
So it wasn’t just physical attacks that spread the infection—
‘Even contact with their blood could be dangerous.’
This meant that close combat was practically suicidal.
And if that was the case—
‘Then this isn’t just a problem for humans.’
The biggest issue was that it wasn’t only people who became undead.
Humans had a limited population.
But monsters?
Monsters spawned endlessly.
The undead could keep growing their numbers indefinitely.
‘If they’ve been expanding since the beginning of the apocalypse...’
How many of them are there now?
A million? Ten million? A hundred million?
A hundred million undead marching south—
‘I don’t even want to imagine that.’
But soon, my worst fears became reality.
I watched through Kim Geon’s Absolute Vision as he flew 100 kilometers past the Military Demarcation Line.
And then—
The main force of the Undead Legion came into view.
Beyond the horizon, the ground seemed to writhe and shift.
An endless mass of bodies, stretching from one side of the land to the other.
Across the plains and mountains, as far as the eye could see—
There was nothing but undead.
I couldn’t even begin to estimate how many there were.
It was like a tsunami of corpses, rolling forward from beyond the horizon.
‘...This is insane.’
***
Kim Geon stood frozen, his entire body covered in goosebumps as he stared at the main force of the Undead Legion.
The endless wave of corpses spilled over the horizon, marching forward without end.
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The sheer scale of it shook the core of his beliefs—his belief in himself, in their ability to stop this catastrophe.
‘...Can we really stop that?’
A primal fear of death rose from deep within his chest.
Then—
[Kim Geon, can you get a little closer?]
Kim Jae-hyun’s voice rang through the connection, and only then—
“Haaah...!”
—was Kim Geon able to breathe again.
He hadn’t even realized that his fear had paralyzed him, that he had been holding his breath the entire time.
[...Are you alright?]
“...I’m sorry.”
Kim Geon resumed his flight north, pushing forward despite the overwhelming dread clawing at his insides.
[Stop if you need to.]
“...No, it’s fine. I was just scared for a moment.”
A brief silence followed.
Then, Kim Jae-hyun’s voice came again.
[Are you really okay?]
“Yes.”
There was no turning back now.
Not when those things were marching toward the south, where his parents still lived.
‘I have to see it with my own eyes.’
He needed to grasp the full reality of this army, to understand what they were facing.
Only then could he find a way to fight back.
But—
‘...’
As he flew further north, he saw that the endless procession of the Undead Legion continued beyond the horizon.
The farther they stretched, the greater his unease grew.
“...Jae-hyun-nim.”
[Yes?]
He wanted to ask.
Did they really have a way to stop this?
Could they truly survive against this march of death?
There were too many questions.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say them out loud.
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“...It’s nothing.”
But even though he didn’t voice his fears—
[Don’t worry too much. This isn’t that big of a problem.]
Kim Jae-hyun’s words were filled with unwavering confidence.
Hearing that, Kim Geon’s heart eased slightly.
“...Understood.”
Still—he couldn’t picture how they were going to fight this.
‘...Our forces have gotten stronger.’
Even he could have taken on the armored worm from earlier on his own.
He had hunted monsters of that level before.
But that was before it became part of the Undead Legion.
If he were to fight now and even a drop of their infected blood got into his eyes or mouth, it would be over.
Even if they won, he would lose half of his crows—an unacceptable cost.
They were far too dangerous.
‘...Maybe that person could do it in one strike.’
He thought of Yang Ha-young, the spear-wielding warrior who had been in Team 5 with him a month ago.
Even though he had been the team leader, he knew at a glance that she was stronger than him.
She could probably pierce through the armored worm in a single throw.
‘...Or Ha Dong-geon-sunbae.’
With his long-range spear attacks, his destructive power was on a different level.
Either of them could handle an undead armored worm.
And they weren’t the only ones.
Lee Jun-hyeok. Jang Seong-jun. Jung So-ra. Cha Hyeon-seung.
There were many stronger than him now.
‘...But even if all of them fought together, it wouldn’t be enough.’
There were simply too many of them.
No matter how hard they fought, they would be pushed back.
Eventually, they would be forced into the Safe Zone.
‘...At least that’s some relief.’
Maybe it was because of his faith in Kim Jae-hyun, but he didn’t believe that the Safe Zone would fall, even in the worst-case scenario.
After all, he had seen it with his own eyes—back when he was still weak, the barrier of the Safe Zone had withstood a giant’s full-strength punches.
‘...Yes. If we fight from within the Safe Zone, maybe we can wipe them out over time.’
As he continued his thoughts, Kim Jae-hyun’s voice came again.
[That’s enough. Stop there.]
“...Understood.”
Then—
BZZZZT—!
A wave of dark energy surged through his body, filling him with overwhelming power.
“...Jae-hyun-nim?”
Until now, Kim Jae-hyun had only ever strengthened him right before a fight.
So this unexpected power-up caught him off guard.
[I decided it would be best to thin their numbers a little. From what I can tell, there are no survivors nearby.]
That made sense.
“...Understood.”
It was better to reduce their numbers now, before they reached South Korea.
‘...With this power, maybe it’s possible.’
With Kim Jae-hyun’s enhancement, the fear that had gripped him earlier began to fade.
Just as he reached into his inventory to pull out his rifle—
[Kim Geon? Why are you taking out a gun?]
“...Huh?”
Kim Geon hesitated.
“...Aren’t we reducing their numbers?”
He had been mentally preparing for a desperate battle, but Kim Jae-hyun’s response confused him.
[It seems there was a misunderstanding. The reinforcement was to keep you safe.]
What?
For a brief moment, Kim Geon wondered if there were flying undead nearby—
But when he looked around, he saw nothing unusual.
Then—
[Brace yourself for impact.]
BZZZZT—!
A massive steel object materialized before his eyes.
And in that instant—Kim Geon realized what was happening.
‘...Ah!’
The vampire battle. The cultist war.
This was one of Kim Jae-hyun’s godlike abilities—
And this time, the metallic mass was several times larger than anything he had seen before.
Now he understood what Kim Jae-hyun meant by "brace for impact."
‘Shit—!’
The moment the transfer completed—
A blinding red streak split the sky—
And—
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A colossal explosion erupted, tearing through the heart of the Undead Legion.
