Swordmaster of the Fallen World

Chapter 9. Shadow Worm, Chara-Tebil (1)

Somewhere, I heard a voice cry, “Mom…”

I halted my steps and lowered my posture.

My breathing grew rapid.

A person?

A person?

Here, that assumption posed an absurd problem.

This place was the Nightmare Zone.

The heart of a city that had perished and fallen.

It was the sixth day since the collapse, and I had not seen any survivors. Yet now, suddenly…?

“Mom… Mom… Mom…”

The voice echoed again.

It was clearer this time.

It was human.

A young girl.

I searched for the source of the voice.

Found it.

Thirty meters northeast, in Building 2 of J Apartments.

First floor?

Second floor?

The structure was strangely intact compared to the surrounding ruins.

That alone was unsettling.

I had established one ironclad rule in the Nightmare Zone.

Entering a building during the day was sheer madness. During the day, countless aberrations lay in wait within buildings.

But the voice of a survivor… This was unprecedented. I had ample reason to risk it.

I wiped the sweat from my hands and gripped the Dawnblade tightly.

J Apartments were shrouded in an overwhelming darkness.

At the entrance.

The glass door had been shattered, and two skeletal corpses lay sprawled.

“Mom… Mom…”

From the pitch-black entrance.

For a moment, it seemed as if ‘something’ darted across the hallway ahead.

Startled, I shone the Dawnblade’s light down the corridor. There was nothing there.

…Damn it.

So, they were hiding here. ‘Those things.’

“Mom…”

The voice seeped from somewhere on the first floor.

It sounded as if it was searching for me. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and slowly walked down the first-floor hallway.

Room 109… Room 108… Room 107…

Rustling noises from behind closed doors.

I pressed my ear to one for a moment.

A wet, rasping breath… Sloppy footfalls… It wasn’t human.

“Mom…”

The source of the voice was at the end of the hallway.

[Room 101]

No matter how I listened, it sounded undeniably human.

If so… This was where it got critical.

First, I leaned against the wall next to the door.

I needed to catch my breath and prepare my equipment.

I retrieved two pills from my chest pocket. Combat consumables sold at the in Paradise Zone.

—

[Summary]

– 1: A crimson pill crafted from divine blood.

[Usage Instructions]

– When thrown, it scatters the scent of blood.

Its aroma lures all aberrations.

Those frail beings crave the divine blood.

—

In short, it’s an item that lures aberrations for a few minutes.

An exceptionally expensive consumable.

Now to review the final steps.

1. Throw this to the far end of the hallway.

2. Rescue the survivor while they are drawn to the pill and escape.

The moment I finalized the plan, I executed step one.

For five seconds, nothing happened.

The next moment, wailing screams erupted from all directions.

…Hee-hee-hee… Hee-hee-hee… Hee-hee-hee…

Several doors slammed open.

Ashen forms burst out, rushing toward the pill.

The apartment shook as if it might collapse.

Not yet. Not yet.

I calmed my breathing and waited for the optimal timing.

Then, the door to Room 101 opened.

My heart froze.

The thing that stepped out looked at me and began to chuckle.

It wasn’t human.

It was an aberration, at least two meters tall.

Though dimly visible in the twilight, I could make out countless writhing tendrils on its face.

From one of those tendrils, the voice saying, “Mom,” spilled forth.

No… No way.

The creature took a step forward.

I took a step back and simultaneously shone the Dawnblade’s light.

It was a human head.

I didn’t want to believe it, but my mind deduced the truth.

It was vibrating its tendrils to mimic a voice using human vocal cords.

Why?

To lure other survivors and kill them?

…You damn bastard.

In that instant, I let out a roar and charged at it.

The creature let out a scream as the Dawnblade pierced its abdomen, and we tumbled into Room 101.

In a split second, we were grappling violently.

In that brief moment, I slashed at it madly, over and over again.

It managed to strike me a few times as well, but perhaps fueled by adrenaline, I barely felt the pain.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

Silence fell after the frenzy.

The creature lay dead at my feet, drenched in its slimy blood.

The Dawnblade’s edge shimmered with a crimson glow where it had struck.

I stared blankly at the young girl’s face entangled in its tendrils.

She couldn’t have been older than seven.

A child’s face that should have been filled with hope was contorted in anguish and despair.

“I’m sorry…”

I muttered, lowering my head.

Saying it was the only way to suppress the turmoil inside.

…Ssss…

The creature’s body disintegrated completely under the Dawnblade’s light.

──Thud.

A heavy stone fell to the ground in its place.

A soulstone.

To put it bluntly, the currency of this twisted world.

Hunting yielded soulstones, and they could be used to purchase equipment or consumables.

You could even raise your stats with them.

So, I had to take it.

Just as I picked up the soulstone, my hand stopped.

What was I doing? What was I doing in this situation? Looting an item?

Crazy bastard.

It was pathetically amusing.

A world turned into a deranged nightmare.

I hadn’t been able to end the nightmare, merely becoming accustomed to surviving within it.

A nightmare without a single ray of light.

I was in that nightmare now.

* * *

The world had become like a game.

Just like in a game, stores of various kinds had appeared in this world.

The I had visited was one such store, dealing in various equipment.

The counter was vacant.

Only faint giggles came from near the workbench.

I waited a moment, then finally spoke.

“Is anyone there?”

The laughter stopped.

A boy stumbled out in a fluster.

“I-I’m sorry, Hunter. R-really, I’m sorry. No one ever comes at this hour, so I just…”

A boy who seemed in his mid-teens.

His entire body was covered in soot. His hands, battered and scarred from hard labor, were a wreck, and his forehead bore markings akin to a slave’s branding.

[Weaponry]

It signified the job assigned to this boy was that of a weapon craftsman.

This damned paradise is not a paradise at all.

For the refugees, food, clothing, and shelter were “rationed,” but to receive those rations, they had to serve the hunters through assigned jobs.

To put it in game terms, they had become NPCs.

“Just this once… can’t you forgive me? I was wrong. I’m so sorry. Please.”

The boy sobbed as he repeatedly bowed his head. It felt as though my throat was burning.

“Stop it. What did you do so wrong to beg like this?”

“I couldn’t greet you properly… I made you wait when you’re busy… And now I’m making you say all this to me…”

The reason for his desperation was simple.

Hunters had the authority to banish refugees from paradise. Because of that, some hunters abused their power excessively.

In less than a week, the world had turned into a society of rigid class distinctions.

“Enough. This isn’t a mistake worth begging over. I came late too, so it’s partly my fault.”

I… hated this changed world with a burning passion.

A world where a student, who should have been at school preparing for their dreams, was stuck in a forge, covered in soot, and treated like dirt.

“I promise I won’t ever expel you, so lift your head. Please. I can’t bear this misery.”

Only after I firmly reassured him did the boy lift his head.

He said he was fifteen and introduced himself as Lee Sunhyo.

After a short conversation, I found him to be an energetic and pure-hearted boy.

“I came to get my hunting gear repaired. Fix this vest-style cuirass. You see the hole here? And the iron greaves—one is broken. The nose guard on the helmet is shattered too.”

“I-I’ll get right on it! Please wait for just an hour.”

I sat in the waiting area.

Then, I took out a leather-bound journal and a pen.

With a sense of despair, I began jotting down my thoughts.

Seven days since the world collapsed.

Seoul has become a complete ruin.

In Seodaemun District, 167 hunters are either dead or missing.

Much has been lost, and nothing has been gained.

Despite the desperate efforts of us “Nightmare Hunters.”

We haven’t even come close to hunting the “Exalted One,” let alone their vassals.

The slow progress boils down to two reasons.

First.

The number of Nightmare Hunters—those akin to “hardcore players” in a game—is extremely small, barely 80 or so.

Second.

The Nightmare Zone’s brutal difficulty.

The Nightmare Zone was a chaotic mess, as if born from a madman’s dreams.

The conditions for the Exalted One’s appearance, the behavioral patterns of aberrations, even the whereabouts of the seven vassals—all unknown.

In summary, here is the situation in New Seodaemun District at the end of the first week.

Surviving hunters: 781.

Exalted Ones defeated: 0.

Yes. I am still trapped in this nightmare.

Just as I finished writing, Lee Sunhyo came out with the repaired hunting gear.

“P-Please try it on! If there’s anything uncomfortable, I’ll fix it again.”

Just as hunters could raise their combat abilities as if in a game, civilians could improve their assigned job skills in the same way.

From that perspective, Lee Sunhyo’s weapon-crafting skill was exceptional.

The hunting gear he returned in just one hour was flawless.

“It’s excellent. Great work. How much do I owe you?”

“Uh… It’s two low-grade soulstones.”

I pulled out my soulstone pouch and handed him one. It wasn’t a low-grade soulstone but the highest-grade ones that only dropped in the Nightmare Zone.

“I-I’ll give you change.”

“No, keep the rest.”

Though Lee Sunhyo shook his head frantically, I brushed it off as a “tip.” His eyes glistened with moisture.

“Buy yourself something good to eat with it. You look like you need it.”

“Th-That’s too much…”

“The one in the workshop is your friend, right? Share it with them.”

Lee Sunhyo lowered his head.

“Th-Thank you… so much… Thank you. I can’t believe… you have so many high-grade soulstones… You must be incredibly strong…”

Lee Sunhyo cautiously lifted his eyes to meet mine and then looked above my head, his mouth agape.

“Ah…! You’re that Lead Hunter!”

“You know me?”

Though I asked, I quickly understood the reason. He must have seen the title [Lead Hunter].

“I overheard the hunters talking… So, are you here to attend the raid council?”

“The raid council?”

I was perplexed.

Lee Sunhyo seemed even more flustered.

“Wait… You didn’t hear about it? That’s strange. There’s no way they wouldn’t inform the Lead Hunter.”

“I’ve been out in the Nightmare Zone for two days. Tell me.”

“You know the raid team, right?”

I did. Any hunter would at least recognize the name.

It was the frontline team working to clear the Nightmare Zone, known for its exceptional talent pool.

“They found the location of the first vassal. They sent an official notice to all Nightmare Hunters… at least, that’s what I heard.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“It’s true. Yesterday, a lot of Nightmare Hunters came to the . They said it was because of the council.”

For a moment, I felt my heart pounding intensely.

Nightmare Hunters.

Hunters who explored the Nightmare Zone rarely gathered.

If they were assembling… it had to be real.

“Where is it? When is it? Do you know that much?”

When I grabbed his hand, Lee Sunhyo, startled, nodded vigorously.

“Independence Park. The time… Yes, it was 8 a.m. I remember.”

I glanced at my wristwatch.

1:35 a.m.

It looked like I’d be camping out near Independence Gate.

As I left the after thanking him, Lee Sunhyo asked in a trembling voice.

“Hunter… Do you think we can win?”

“…What?”

“Someday… this madness will end, right? We’ll go back to playing games and hanging out with friends, right? Won’t we?”

The trembling in his eyes and voice was excruciating.

“Here.”

I extended my hand to Lee Sunhyo.

That small hand. I hooked my pinky finger around his and pressed my thumb to his.

“I promise.”

“…Huh?”

“I promise I’ll restore this world to the way it was.”

“…?!”

“It’s a promise between men. So don’t cry now. We’ll save it for later, together.”

Lee Sunhyo, staring at our intertwined fingers, raised his head.

“…Later?”

“I mean when the world is back to normal. When you wake up in the morning to go to school, eat lunch with your friends, and play with them in the evening—back to that time. Let’s promise.”

Tears flowed from Lee Sunhyo’s eyes as he nodded repeatedly. Even muffled sobs came from the workshop.

I didn’t cry.

April 11, 2045.

Seven days since the world was devoured by nightmares.

Finally… the first raid council for the vassal was convening.

Hunting the first vassal wasn’t just about defeating a mid-level boss.

It was the first step toward ending this hellish nightmare