Hiding a House in the Apocalypse

The Prophet, known as the Silent Awakened, began his active campaign after the legendary named player Skelton declared his move south.

His aggressive video uploads strongly suggest he’s targeting Skelton.

He even provoked Emgu—who had been keeping him in check—by implying he might be Skelton, indirectly revealing just how much he’s obsessed with him.

And in his latest video, the Prophet said he “respects” Emgu—whom he suspects is Skelton.

Given all these conditions, it seems appropriate to initiate direct contact with the Prophet.

[ Welcome to Viva! Apocalypse! ]

I logged in with the legendary named account SKELTON for the first time in a while.

It felt like I could hear the gasps of ordinary users watching from behind their screens.

Maybe the screen was just too dazzling for their eyes to handle.

Logging in publicly as Skelton and trying to talk to the Prophet—this wasn’t a personal matter anymore.

A highly capable Awakened seemingly aiming to snipe Skelton.

Someone like that is a top-tier asset even in New Seoul. And for him to take a shot at Skelton probably means he’s trying to reach out, albeit indirectly.

Honestly, even I’ve never seen someone that skilled.

All the Awakened I’ve met rely entirely on their authority. I’ve never seen someone who blends combat skills and power so fluidly, like the Prophet.

He's exactly the kind of talent we need to help train the remaining Awakened in Seoul.

“......”

Tadak, tadak

SKELTON: (Skelton)

I sent the message.

Truly a jade-sounding message.

But Cheon Young-jae, watching from behind, had to make a comment.

“This is exactly like chatting with an AI, you know?”

The second he said that, I sent another line.

SKELTON: (Skelton) ......

“And how is that any different from what you just sent?”

SKELTON: (Skelton) Are you the Prophet?

Thanks to Cheon Young-jae, I ended up sending three messages.

No matter how "jade-toned" the message is, sending it three times cheapens it—but I got swept up in his rhythm without even realizing it.

I signaled to Woo Min-hee with a glance.

The meaning was clear: get Cheon Young-jae out of here.

But as expected, Woo Min-hee didn’t share my sentiment.

She just gave a sly smile and ignored me completely.

It was the Prophet who stepped in and cleared the air.

Message from PROPHET: Skelton?

As expected, the jade-toned message has him stirred up.

Message from PROPHET: Are you really Skelton?

SKELTON: (Skelton confirms) Yes.

Message from PROPHET: You really talk like a retard...

SKELTON: ?

Message from PROPHET: I heard you're heading south.

Message from PROPHET: Don’t come. The south is a land of death.

Message from PROPHET: Rumors say Jeju sent an armored train—if you’re on that thing, you should get off immediately.

Message from PROPHET: I was saving my last two episodes to deliver this message to you publicly.

Message from PROPHET: Turn back. That’s all I want to say to you.

Message from PROPHET: The survival race has already begun here.

The conversation took a turn I hadn’t expected. freёweɓnovel.com

Not that that’s rare.

*

Everyone knows the south is in bad shape.

But knowing isn’t the same as understanding.

People like us—who fight with our lives—know that having a rough idea means knowing absolutely nothing at all.

Who would’ve cared?

It’s not a place we live in or plan to live in.

All we know about the threats down south is warlords, mutations, and large-scale erosion.

It’s time to admit that’s outdated intel.

Time to face reality.

“It’s worse than you imagined.”

I had underestimated Pyo Won-sang.

Embarrassingly, I hadn’t even bothered to evaluate him properly.

He was a loud, troublesome member of the Jeju Committee—and frankly, someone I thought needed to be removed eventually.

But at least for this project, the passion and sincerity he’s shown are real.

“...It’s different by region. The worst-hit is Honam. It got abandoned faster. Officially, they say it was managed until three years ago, but in truth, they gave up before the second year of the war even started. So it’s been four years since it was left to rot. That’s why the monster species appearing in Honam differ from those in Yeongnam.”

“What kind of difference?”

“In Yeongnam, where the erosion is relatively recent, traditional monster types still dominate. But in Honam—where over 80% of the territory has been completely eroded—you often see extinction-types.”

Pyo Won-sang showed me the data.

Inside the frames were images of things I knew, didn’t know, or only vaguely glimpsed—filling the screen in grim and twisted forms.

“......”

I felt my blood run cold as I asked Pyo Won-sang:

“...Is it really this bad?”

He nodded while chewing on something.

Chewing tobacco.

After spitting the thick black saliva into a container, he exhaled a nicotine-heavy breath and continued:

“Of course, all the ones shown here were spotted near Rift perimeters. But when something’s observed near a Rift, it usually means it’s inside the influence zone too.”

I examined the various extinction-types recorded in the data.

“What’s this one?”

I pointed to the one I didn’t recognize—the one that had taken up the most frames.

Pyo Won-sang popped another chunk of chewing tobacco into his mouth and chewed.

I had no intention of criticizing him.

The stress visible on his face more than justified it.

“Stone. I mean, doll-type.”

Literally.

The new extinction-type shown on screen had a human shape.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth. Just a crude doll. But the long arms and legs, the upright bipedal posture—everything was unmistakably humanoid.

And yet its appearance radiated pure malice to us as humans.

A blade-like protrusion extended from between its legs.

“It’s the newest extinction-type. It grabs a human with both arms and then thrusts that sharp thing into them using its waist. Some people call it the Raper.”

“......”

I nodded.

There’s a certain consistency to all this.

The Rift always distorts things from our natural world—warping them with a malice we can’t understand.

The crumbling giant I saw during the Nemesis battle already showed plenty of that malice, but this newly emerged extinction-type goes further—it turns the very act of human reproduction into murder.

“It’s weak in combat. Treated as less dangerous than zombies. No powers, no abilities. But they exist in huge numbers. Like the Rift decided to lower production costs to the absolute minimum and mass-produce them. Don’t they remind you of something?”

Pyo Won-sang pulled up another video.

Dozens of the unknown extinction-type, swarming together.

“A copy of zombies.”

“Exactly.”

He shoved a whole fistful of chewing tobacco into his mouth and resumed chewing.

“The problem is, these extinction-types are starting to show up in Yeongnam too.”

That’s probably not the only problem.

I looked him straight in the eyes.

“I heard talk of a survival race going on.”

For a brief second, Pyo Won-sang—usually full of vigor—looked away from my gaze.

Clearly, this journey is more complicated than it appears.

There’s a reason someone like Pyo Won-sang—with his authority and intel—would go so far as to build an armored train like this.

This trip may be more dangerous than we ever imagined.

He spat black saliva into the ashtray.

Then, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, he spoke in a clearly heavier tone:

“...As the erosion accelerates, candidate sites for Shangri-La are starting to be determined. And all the survivor groups, warlords, and raiders are scrambling over them.”

His face darkened as he spoke, but realizing the atmosphere had gotten too heavy, he forced a smile to change the mood.

“But don’t worry. The Panokseon is fully equipped and staffed for any situation. Besides, we have Captain Park Gyu—the first person to ever defeat a Nemesis-type—and Director Woo, who once rivaled Kang Han-min. There's no way anything will go wrong.”

Maybe the reason the Jeju Committee allowed both Woo Min-hee and me—two people they probably find troublesome—to board this train, was because they knew how dangerous this operation could become.

“Hey, Mr. Skelton. Got a minute?”

My loyal companion, Emgu, called me aside.

He might seem like a lighthearted guy on the forums, but I know full well he’s not someone to take lightly. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

We understand each other with just a look.

He whispered:

“...There’s a helicopter. In car 13—the one that’s off-limits.”

That was important.

Pyo Won-sang is already factoring in the possibility of failure.

That hidden helicopter is a failsafe in case the entire operation collapses and the train can’t return on [N O V E L I G H T] its own.

Emgu’s discovery made the already bleak outlook even darker.

But it’s not like we can cancel the mission, or return on our own now.

I gathered everyone I considered “mine” and shared what I knew—about the current conditions and what lies ahead.

No one seemed particularly surprised, and no one looked scared either.

“That so? I figured.”

“Same old story.”

“So much for finding a new home in the provinces. A survival race? Sounds like something out of Dies Irae. Fuck.”

Everyone seemed prepared to stay to the end.

As I felt a small flicker of satisfaction fill my soul, my eyes turned to the door.

“Come in.”

Someone had been eavesdropping for a while.

It was Moon Yang-gyeong.

Both Woo Min-hee and Cheon Young-jae had noticed but had gestured to ignore it.

Now, Moon Yang-gyeong entered the room.

As always, her appearance was impeccable, not a hair out of place—but her eyes betrayed the aftershocks of a shaken mind.

I asked her:

“Got a question?”

The strength and weakness of the Jeju elite is their excessive self-awareness.

But in this situation, that might actually help.

Moon Yang-gyeong nodded as if she'd been waiting for the chance and asked about the situation.

“Based on what you’ve said, the regional conditions seem to differ quite a bit from what I’ve been told from above.”

I told her everything I knew.

The annihilation near the Rifts. The movements and expansion of the extinction-types. The real-time survival competition among humans.

I didn’t bother mentioning the rapid population drop—those who couldn’t survive.

And I told her:

“We might not be able to return to Seoul.”

Moon Yang-gyeong looked like she’d been struck with a hammer, stunned, then quickly shook her head and fled the room.

“...No!”

Who that infantile denial was directed at, I couldn’t say.

Maybe it included herself.

The truth is known to only a few.

Kang Han-min probably knew.

He must’ve known what was happening in the abandoned lands—yet he sent me anyway.

“......”

There’s nothing more hollow than doubting your only hope.

But erasing that hope in the flames of suspicion is suicide in a broad sense. Then again, blindly waiting for a failing hope to manifest might be even dumber than suicide.

At the very least, I’ll do what I can.

SKELTON: I have something to ask.

I’m thankful for the forum.

And thankful for the past me who wanted to become a named player here.

Message from PROPHET: I already said everything I had to say—what more do you want?

Even someone like the Prophet, an Awakened, still responds to my call.

Message from PROPHET: Honestly, as a proud pureblood Awakened, I don’t like you. But there are a lot of people who do. Even my own younger brother relies on you, Skelton. If you die here, a lot of people will lose hope. That’s why I went through all that trouble to summon you.

SKELTON: Then I want to ask something.

I asked the Prophet.

About the exact state of the place we’re heading to.

The Prophet answered.

Message from PROPHET: The tunnel city you know has already been carved up by three major factions. All of them bastards.

Message from PROPHET: They’ll know you’re coming. Some might try to negotiate. Others might plan an ambush. But remember: all they want is Shangri-La.

SKELTON: Do you know about the Princess?

Message from PROPHET: Don’t tell me the Princess is your goal?

SKELTON: Yes.

Message from PROPHET: I won’t stop you if you wanna die. But are you serious?

SKELTON: ?

Message from PROPHET: You don’t know?

SKELTON: (Skelton uncertain)

Message from PROPHET: Brigadier Jeong Dae-kyung.

The Jeong Dae-kyung I know is a soldier.

And as far as I recall, his rank was brigadier.

He went to Jeju—and then went dark.

It was only recently that I found out an Awakened using that name existed.

Sure enough, Woo Min-hee started to say something behind me.

“Jeong Dae-kyung...?!”

I raised a hand to stop her.

SKELTON: I’ve heard the name, but I don’t know the details.

All I knew about the second Jeong Dae-kyung was that he was an over-level-10 Awakened who disappeared on Jeju.

Unlike other prominent Hunters, he was never used in propaganda and vanished fairly early—so info on him is scarce.

But I do know one shady rumor.

I looked at the screen.

Message from PROPHET: He’s the guy who almost got killed by that damn savior, Kang Han-min.

The rumor was true.

And then—

Message from PROPHET: That’s why he went mad.