Jae-Hyun was attacked from all sides.
He would slash a zombie's head off and another would come immediately after.
His companions, which included five beautiful women, were also slaying the zombies.
But Jae-Hyun felt that it wasn't enough.
They could surely escape from here with no issue—
but to reach the director was difficult.
Every step Jae-Hyun took resulted in five zombies falling.
It wasn't easy to slay the zombies while advancing forward,
so he was strained and his movements were restricted.
But the director had no such disability.
He just stood there watching the battle excitedly.
Jae-Hyun felt that he needed to do something at that moment.
So he activated one of his skills.
Energy Wave – releases condensed lines of raw energy at the opponent.
The sword in his hand now had a blue tint.
He slashed once, and twenty zombies were cut in half.
He continued to thin out the numbers by releasing a bunch of different skills:
Flame Manipulation
Enhanced Sword Mastery
Strengthening
Telekinesis
Every skill he had in his arsenal.
It worked.
The number of zombies was reducing at an exaggerated speed, and Jae-Hyun finally reached the director.
He sent out an energy wave which split the director's body in half.
It was so easy that Jae-Hyun was shocked.
He didn't expect the director to not dodge at all.
But then something happened that made him tense.
The lower half of the director's body was still standing upright.
The upper half had a clean wound that exposed the organs.
But these organs and skin squirmed about and turned into a fleshy slime.
It grew a tentacle and attached itself to the lower half.
Then the body of the director squirmed about at the wound and glued itself together.
The director never lost his smile from beginning to end.
Even when Jae-Hyun cut him in half, he was still smiling without a word.
"Why?" Jae-Hyun had to ask.
The director was obviously not human after the trick he just witnessed—
well… maybe not anymore.
But he was once a human being.
He should have had a family and friends.
So what could have made him develop such an intense hatred for the people in this base?
"I don't understand your question. Are you asking why I'm doing this, or why I became like this?" the director said, tilting his head to the side.
"What did these people do to you that attracted such hatred?" Jae-Hyun asked.
The zombies around them were no longer focused on him but ran in another direction.
So he stood still and faced the director without attacking but still guarding against him
"You sound like I deceived you, but I have always spoken the truth," the director said as still as always
"What truth are you implying?" Jae-Hyun asked.
"First of all, I did receive an epiphany on the first day of the apocalypse.
I, who was always treated like rubbish because I was actually smarter than my superiors.
And to make matters worse, I was a commoner and had also gone to one of the cheapest schools before the natural disasters."
The director had a nostalgic smile on his lips.
"Then suddenly, I heard the 'voice.'
It came to me while I was being attacked by my colleague who had just turned into a zombie.
It encouraged me to kill all those who looked down on me just because of my status.
Ah—it was as if I had received some divine proof that all those thoughts of murdering those disgusting people were the right thing to do.
So I listened to its advice and killed all the other people in the company—whether humans or zombies.
After all, they were all sinners in my eyes who didn't have the strength to fight back." His tone was disgusted.
"The more I killed, the better I felt—especially when hearing those miserable screams that came out of their mouths.
Or the way they would apologize sincerely for all the wrong they had done to me and beg to spare their lives.
Or those who would be angry at me for daring to kill them, and would swear until they took their last breath.
Or those who would completely lose themselves in fear, not even having the capacity to utter a scream.
Or those who ran away begging for help.
Each and every single one of them made me feel so excited." The director was shaking from the excitement, and his eyes were wide open.
"So how could I stop there?
No—I had to find more human beings so that I could experience that same passion for death once again.
Therefore, I never lied about my intentions.
From the beginning, every single word I spoke was the truth and my sincerity.
I said that I received an epiphany, and I did.
I said that I was someone who cherishes fairness, and I am.
I said that it wasn't fair to let them stay in the base for free, and it wasn't—after all, they are both human beings, so why should I favor one over another?
It's not like I've met any of these people before.
I said it wasn't fair for the nobles to have to live a life of poverty, and it isn't fair to them.
After all, they had been living a certain way all their lives, and who was I to destroy that safe environment for them?
I said points can get you anything you wanted, and I built this base in such a way that it can—human pursuit for wealth is just like that.
So in all aspects, I never lied and I never encouraged this battle.
All I did was create the stage, and human desires made it come alive.
This was never a decision that I forced onto anyone, but merely a consequence of human desires.
I encouraged you and supported you all the way in your investigation, so I am more than innocent in this.
Now tell me, what else do you have to say?" the director said, looking amused at Jae-Hyun.
Jae-Hyun stared at the director in silence.
He had heard of a saying that a madman is always the most dangerous—
even if they are put among dangerous criminals with the heart of a demon,
somehow they would still be the scariest existence present.
And they say an intelligent madman who embraces his madness is worse than the devil himself.
"You said that you wanted to build this base for the safety of humanity," Jae-Hyun said after a while.
"And that is the truth. I did earnestly wish to build a safe place for humanity.
I wanted all humans under me to feel safe and happy.
They had to be happy and feel like they could rest so that their guard would be down," the director was growing excited with each word spoken.
"Then I could show them so much death and misery—much more than they had ever seen.
After all, suffering can only be truly called suffering when you have experienced happiness."
The director's voice was full of madness, and he looked as if he was in ecstasy.
Jae-Hyun looked at the monster before him, feeling a chill.
He was actually sincere from the beginning—
but he never said his complete intention.
"So, if you'll excuse me, I have a more appetizing group waiting for me," the director said, licking his lips.
The group of people in question were frowning at their respective places.
They were slaughtering the zombies easily—
when they felt that thick murderous intent directed at them.
Weighing their options, their dark personalities decided to exit the school.
But they found that they were trapped.
The blood had wrapped itself around the gate and reinforced it so that it wouldn't budge.
They tried punching it, but they weren't able to move it even a little bit.
At this time, they were all standing together in front of the school gate.
"Kill the director first," Wei Zhi spoke in a voice that one would assume was from a ghost.
It was like there was something stuck in his throat that made a grating sound as he spoke.
"Hehe," the others confirmed in that same grating voice.
"But we still have to settle the score," Shae Harris spoke.
"This feud between us has to be settled first after we kill the director," Mori Aoi spoke.
"It would be my pleasure," Ming Jun licked his lips.
"Don't think it'll be so easy," Noi Karn said.
Just then, Yi Zheng appeared amidst them.
He looked at the red eyes of the five familiar kids and felt goosebumps.
He was shocked at the transformation.
You should know that he had lived with them for a month since they first met—
and the thing he could confidently say about them was that they were weird, cowardly kids.
They would never fight, and always chose to escape or submit.
But now, those cowardly kids were giving off a strong sense of oppression and death.
"You're lucky that you're useful," Wei Zhi spoke and dashed in one direction.
The others left, not sparing Yi Zheng another glance.
Yi Zheng felt even more in a hurry to escape the school.
He tried to open the gate, but it wouldn't budge.
He tried using his abilities, but there was no result.
That's when he remembered what Wei Zhi—no, one of those monsters pretending to be Wei Zhi—had said:
You're lucky you're useful.
And the only thing that should be useful about him right now was his abilities.
And his abilities could only be used for fighting.
So… are they going to fight someone?
Who could they be fighting to need his assistance while they had that sense of suppression?
The only person in the base that could pose a threat would be the person who caused all this.
Then they probably were going to fight the mastermind behind everything.
Yi Zheng clenched his fist and followed after them.
Anyway, he couldn't escape now—
but he would have a chance while they were fighting.
All he needed to do was get the mastermind to open the school gate, and then he'd run like crazy.
He ran behind them and reached the field.
The grass was now a red color from all the blood, and there were corpses of humans and zombies lying around or stacked together.
The air was thick with fresh blood, and the sight was devastating to the weak of heart.
Jae-Hyun was now fighting against the director, who annoyingly kept regenerating.
Plus, he was exceptionally sturdy and very strong physically.
He would dart around swiftly, and Jae-Hyun almost couldn't keep up.
Just then, he saw five kids burst into the scene.
He remembered always seeing them around the chaotic humans.
But now, they looked vastly different.
Their eyes were red with blood, and their aura was full of murderous intent so thick he could almost see it.
His pupils shrank, and he watched them vigilantly.
He doubted they were on his side, and he felt they should be more inclined to help the director.
The five noticed his vigilance and showed a face of disgust.
"Don't think something disgusting," Wei Zhi spoke.
"Humans like us have no friends, allies, or enemies," Mori Aoi spoke.
"We exist only for slaughter and death," Shae Harris spoke.
"Especially delicious strong guys like the director," Ming Jun spoke.
"His despair should be delicious," Noi Karn licked his lips.
"Hehe, I completely agree. You guys look absolutely delicious," the director was practically drooling.
"But unfortunately, this isn't your sacrifice just yet, so now I plan to take you back to that special place," the director wiped his drool.
Jae-Hyun frowned at his words.
He began to think wildly.
Is it possible that he had sacrificed all these people to that 'voice' he hears?
But what was he receiving in exchange for all these lives?
And what kind of entity was he sacrificing to?
Most importantly, why did he not properly hear that word sacrifice?
It sounded like nonsense at first, but eventually turned back to English at the last letter.
It was like an American hearing Japanese from someone—
something like konnichiwa.
Then at the pronunciation of -wa,
you suddenly hear the English meaning hello.
But it wasn't Japanese that he heard—
it was something else.
Something that was translated to a language he could understand inherently.
Jae-Hyun felt that the zombie apocalypse was even more mysterious than he thought.
Maybe… it wasn't the work of a virus or a mutation.
It was the work of some evil entity.
Jae-Hyun was overwhelmed at the thought.