Surviving the Apocalypse as an All-Time Best Overpowered Necromancer - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 16
16. Underground Parking Lot Subjugation Battle (1)
Bang!
Crash!
The tamed Zombies attacked in succession, but
because there were so many Zombies in the parking lot, he couldn’t kill them all in one strike.
To make matters worse, the sound of rain must have reached the ones clustered at the parking lot entrance, as they approached rapidly.
At least there were no Mutant Zombies in sight.
That was good enough.
Of course, it wasn’t time to let his guard down yet.
Lee Ganghyeok, judging they could win, shouted again.
“Arin!”
“Yes! Aqua Field! Aqua Barrier!”
As Seo Arin used her skills in response to Lee Ganghyeok’s call, Electric naturally unleashed Lightning Bolt and Spark.
It had read his intention.
And so…….
As the combination of Seo Arin and Electric shone, paralysing countless Zombies, Seo Hwalin’s eyes—who had been using skills to light up her field of view—flickered sharply.
As the Zombies surged forward, a bad memory seemed to surface.
Then suddenly, Seo Hwalin clenched her fist and used another skill.
“Ignite!”
A new skill?
The question lingered only briefly.
Flames erupted from Seo Hwalin’s body.
But it was different from other skills.
The flames that should have shot upward were instead seeping into her own body.
“Sister!”
At the same time, Seo Arin’s expression hardened. She seemed to know what Seo Hwalin was trying to do. Yet she didn’t stop her sister; instead, she approached Lee Ganghyeok.
“What’s happening?”
As Lee Ganghyeok asked at her sudden action, Seo Arin quickly explained the situation.
“It looks like she’s trying to wipe out all the Zombies at once. But using the skill will cause backlash that will leave her unable to move her body for a while…….”
“The moment she uses the skill, we’ll pull back temporarily. Please leave her to me.”
“Understood!”
Before Seo Arin could even finish speaking, Lee Ganghyeok, reading the situation, nodded and approached Seo Hwalin’s side.
He didn’t know how powerful the attack would be, but if there was backlash, he had to protect her regardless.
Without Seo Hwalin, he couldn’t recruit Seo Arin either.
‘I can’t let a water-attribute Awakener slip away like this.’
Even if he couldn’t trust her immediately, their abilities were necessary in this situation, so Lee Ganghyeok sighed and looked at her.
…….
Her face was twisted in pain, likely from Ignite stimulating her Core and maximizing the output of the flames.
“Burst Burn!”
Yet enduring the pain, Seo Hwalin used Burst Burn, a wide-area explosion skill, and dozens of flames burst forth from her body.
Immediately after…….
Like stars scattered across the night sky, the dozens of flames illuminating the parking lot flew toward the paralysed Zombies on their knees, and soon exploded with a tremendous roar.
The force was incredible.
It didn’t just sweep away the existing Zombies and those that had rushed in from the entrance—even the cars nearby were caught in the explosion, their surfaces blackened with soot.
‘What level is she, exactly…….’
to be able to unleash this much power? Just as Lee Ganghyeok, startled, looked at her.
“Ugh…….”
Due to the backlash, Seo Hwalin staggered and collapsed. Since he had been watching her, Lee Ganghyeok caught her as if snatching her from the air and rushed toward the emergency exit that Seo Arin had opened.
“Guard the door.”
“Graaaagh!”
Following Lee Ganghyeok’s command, the Zombies spread out wide and raised their axes.
But Seo Hwalin’s attack had been so fierce that there were no Zombies standing nearby.
Of course, some still clung to life. However, because their remaining muscle had been completely burned away by the explosion accompanied by flames, they could only lie prone on the floor and growl.
“Hmm. For now, rest here.”
“……Yes.”
Realising there was no need to close the emergency exit, Lee Ganghyeok sat Seo Hwalin on the stairs and stepped outside.
“Mm.”
As a pungent smell rose with acrid smoke, Lee Ganghyeok’s brow furrowed.
“Aqua Barrier!”
Then Seo Arin cast Aqua Barrier for him, and freed from the foul smell by the water barrier, Lee Ganghyeok immediately expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Thank you for taking care of my sister.”
To her words, Lee Ganghyeok smiled silently in response, then ordered his Zombies to kill any that still clung to life, and murmured softly in wonder.
“I didn’t know Hwalin could be this strong.”
“Because it’s a skill with severe backlash proportional to its power. I normally wouldn’t use it, but seeing the Zombies brought back memories of that night, so I pushed too hard.”
“That means you were that frightened, and it means you did your best to save Arin.”
…….
To his words, Seo Arin fell silent and looked at Seo Hwalin sitting on the emergency stairs.
She felt like she’d cry if she spoke another word.
No need to make her cry.
With that thought, Lee Ganghyeok shrugged and brought down his Bone Axe hard against a Zombie whose entire body had burned away yet whose mouth still snapped, insisting it would kill him.
At that moment…….
“Graaaagh!”
“Graaaaaaagh!”
“Crack, Kyaaaagh! Kraaaaaaaagh!”
The growls of Zombies echoed from far away.
It seemed those on the B2 Floor had been awakened by the enormous sound that had just erupted.
While they could fight if they wanted to, with Seo Hwalin incapacitated, there was no one to light up their field of view, so it seemed better to retreat without pushing themselves.
“Let’s withdraw for today. We weren’t going to finish this in one go anyway, so let’s continue after Hwalin recovers.”
“Yes!”
Seo Arin, apparently worried about her sister from the bottom of her heart, called out her assent loudly at the word of retreat.
Seeing her rush straight toward the emergency stairs, Lee Ganghyeok sighed and shook his head, pondering what to do with these two.
Tsk.
If they continued to show this kind of behaviour from now on, it would be difficult to trust them further.
‘And yet…….’
One who could create water, and a carpenter.
Both were indispensable talents in a disaster situation.
So after deciding to have a conversation once they withdrew, Lee Ganghyeok retreated with his Zombies.
* * *
“Hmm, how are you feeling physically?”
Lee Ganghyeok, having come to the Security Room instead of going straight to the 23rd Floor to check on Seo Hwalin’s condition and reschedule their tasks, asked her.
Then Seo Hwalin, who had been lying on the floor, raised her upper body and immediately apologised.
“Still……. I’m sorry. I put you through trouble.”
From the way she hung her head in apology, she seemed to know what she’d done wrong.
Since she was at least aware of her mistake, Lee Ganghyeok judged there was room for improvement, sighed, and continued.
“I understand why you did it, but if emotion continues to come before rational judgment like this……. It will be difficult for me to manage.”
…….
She was strong.
To be honest, that’s what frightened him more.
The thought that her flames might be turned toward him.
So having shared his honest heart, Lee Ganghyeok continued with an impassive face.
“It seems difficult for you to overcome this right now, so in the next battle, it would be best if you stepped back. I can’t entrust my back to someone I can’t control. And Arin.”
“Yes?”
At the word that it was difficult to manage, Seo Arin, recalling what the previous Shelter Manager had said, was startled at the sudden call.
Seeing her reaction, Lee Ganghyeok praised her as if she’d done really well, expressing his gratitude.
“You did really well informing me of the situation. Thanks to you, we all lived.”
“Oh, no…….”
Not expecting to be praised in this situation, Seo Arin looked greatly flustered at Seo Hwalin.
But Seo Hwalin seemed lost in her own thoughts, as if she hadn’t heard those words.
At that moment.
Seeing Seo Hwalin’s eyebrows move slightly, Seo Arin nodded as if there was no need to worry.
“I’ll do better next time!”
“Good. Still, thanks to both of you today, we were able to clean one floor, so let’s wrap up here and rest.”
“Yes!”
* * *
Having decided to rest for the day, Lee Ganghyeok removed his Bone Armor and
seeing the rain falling much heavier than expected, headed to the Rooftop, worried about his fields.
At the same time…….
as the sound of hammering echoed up the stairs, he scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh.
Then, slipping naturally into the hallway of the 23rd Floor, he saw Seo Hwalin—as expected—building a bridge.
He understood what was in her heart.
Necessity.
Perhaps thinking she’d caused trouble in the underground parking lot, she was building a bridge to appeal her usefulness.
‘Good grief.’
Seeing a person in poor condition doing this somehow felt pitiful.
Which made sense, because…….
to be honest, he found her difficult to manage.
Watching her sweep away Zombies with two skills had been exhilarating.
It was like seeing a true Awakener, unlike himself, who at best deployed Zombies to melt flesh.
‘It can’t be helped. She almost lost her sister to a swarm of Zombies.’
Understanding, Lee Ganghyeok was about to step back, thinking it best to leave her alone, when
his eyes met Seo Hwalin’s directly.
“Oh! Y-you’re here?”
“Yes. I was heading to the Rooftop to check on my fields…….”
“Arin went up. She was worried because the rain came down harder than expected.”
“Ah.”
Realising he should explain so Seo Hwalin wouldn’t misunderstand that he’d come because of her, Lee Ganghyeok scratched his head at her next words.
If Seo Arin had already gone up, there was no longer a reason to go to the Rooftop.
“Then…….”
“If you don’t mind, could we talk for a moment?”
Just as he was about to say he had nothing else to do and was leaving, hesitant Seo Hwalin carefully requested a conversation.
“Yes. Well…….”
Lee Ganghyeok found no real reason to refuse and readily nodded.
Then he approached and sat beside her.
“Speak freely.”
“Today I pushed myself too hard. I’m sorry for burdening you.”
“I understand your desire to protect and watch over Arin, but if similar situations arise again, it could become harmful instead.”
…….
“Above all, only if you’re safe can Arin smile brightly like that, so I think it’s better if you take a little more care of yourself and maintain some composure. To add one more thing: as I’ve always said, I tend to be overly cautious and have no intention of taking on major risks. But I do believe this is something you can overcome, which is why I was a bit harsh, so please understand.”
“……Thank you for being so honest with me.”
If he had shown unconditional trust, her heart might have been at ease, but she might have repeated the same mistake.
If that happened, Lee Ganghyeok would cast her out as he’d warned.
But thanks to his careful judgment from a distance, Seo Hwalin’s mind snapped into clarity, and she bowed her head in gratitude.
“So for now, I’ll ask you to just light up our field of view from behind. Since the combination of Arin and Electric works well, they should be enough on their own—unless a Mutant Zombie appears.”
“Yes!”
As Seo Hwalin, somewhat relieved, nodded, Lee Ganghyeok stood up.
“Then I’ll head down now.”
With those words, the moment he turned and entered the stairwell,
his eyes met Seo Arin, who had been standing on the stairs listening to the conversation.
At the same time, she raised her index finger and brought it to her lips, signalling him not to speak.
As Lee Ganghyeok nodded in understanding, she bowed her head in gratitude.
She seemed to think he’d shown care for her sister.
Though unintended, the situation had worked out well, so Lee Ganghyeok, satisfied, shrugged and headed home.
‘Well…….’
How to handle these two in the future could be decided by how things unfolded later.
Whether to go forward together.
Or boldly cut them loose for his own survival.
Having concluded his thoughts that way, Lee Ganghyeok logged into the community as soon as he got home, checking whether news had come of the fighter who’d been driving Zombies around.
But there was still no significant news.
‘Don’t they believe? Or is he limiting information so she doesn’t see it? Either way, I hope it gets resolved soon…….’
That way, he could connect a bridge to the next building and expand his fields.
Hoping good news would come, Lee Ganghyeok boiled some instant noodles to fill his belly and gazed out the window.
‘Tomorrow, I hope the sun rises instead of rain.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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