Magic on the Dead Chapter 80

After a period of silence, Eden nonchalantly soothed the completely terrified Hajin and Pie, who was growling the whole time.

“We don’t have a choice anyway. Let’s go and see.”

“What if they take all our stuff? The way they’re just staring with weapons in their hands is so suspicious it’s killing me.”

“We’d be lucky if they only take our stuff. We should avoid confrontation as much as possible and give them whatever they ask for. Be careful not to get hurt.”

Hajin’s eyes widened as if he was surprised.

“You’re just going to give them the food?”

“Yes.”

From Eden’s perspective, it was a choice that didn’t even require consideration. If he were alone, he could have easily killed someone to break their spirit or threatened them to get away, but right now, there was a high probability that Do Hajin and Pie could be taken hostage if things went wrong.

There were a whopping 13 opponents, and there was no need to risk getting hurt just to protect their food. Even if it meant going hungry for a bit, he had to choose the path of protecting their bodies as much as possible.

Unaware of this deeper meaning, Do Hajin muttered with a face full of dissatisfaction.

“Is he really from Delta Force…?”

Momentarily displeased, he glared at Hajin and shot back scoldingly.

“Can’t you see the sun is setting? There are 13 people standing guard over there. What more can I do here, even if I’m from Delta Force? Special Forces are not gods.”

Just then, a murmuring sound was heard from the distance. When he listened carefully, a conversation full of laughter and profanity quite clearly reached his ears.

“…I think they’re saying we stopped because we’re scared?”

Hajin tore at his filthy hair and let out a deep sigh. As expected, his sad premonition was not wrong. His heart already ached at the thought of losing all the rice and canned tuna he had carried with so much difficulty.

He stroked the excited Pie’s back as if to calm him down and forced his reluctant feet to move.

🃏

Hajin watched as his anxiety became reality and once again tore at his hair.

“Is this all the food you have? Nothing more? If you’re caught lying, you’re dead, hyung-nims.”

“Hey, hey, cut it out. They’re being cooperative, so don’t scare them for no reason.”

“There’s rice too? Whoa, fucking jackpot…!”

The two were surrounded by the wanderers who had occupied the road, handing over their wrapping cloths. Although they were being compliant to avoid conflict, Hajin felt his pride was wounded for some reason and had to bite his lower lip hard.

The ones who were all fancied up with tattoos were punks who looked like they had just turned twenty. Though he called them punks, their builds were by no means inferior to Eden’s. Hajin let out a sigh mixed with lament as he looked at the delinquent youths who were spitting out informal language and curses.

‘What is the world coming to….’

No, since it had already been ruined, was it only natural that such ruthless people would survive? He turned his head and looked at the green tent pitched in a corner. It was filled with what was, at a glance, an excessive number of bags.

Judging by the amount, it seemed they had been camped out here for quite some time, threatening passersby.

Could Jeffrey, Miso, and Byeol have passed through here? Hajin, who momentarily thought of his companions, looked into the tent with an anxious gaze, wondering if there were any familiar bags. Unfortunately, the day was ending and his vision was blurry.

When the crescent moon, which had been illuminating the road, was also covered by clouds, it became pitch black before his eyes.

The delinquent youths who had dismantled the wrapping cloths whistled in satisfaction. The man among them who looked the most ill-tempered gave Eden and Hajin a thumbs-up.

“Thanks for your hard work carrying the rice, hyung-nims? We were so pissed because only broke-asses passed by these last few days, but we scored big this time.”

When did I become your hyung-nim? Hajin swallowed his curses and quietly caught his breath. As if to soothe his anxious heart, Eden, who was next to him, momentarily squeezed his hand and then let go. While he flinched his shoulders in surprise, Pie, who was lying flat on the ground, growled from its throat, “Grrr.”

“Aargh! Shit, that scared me, I almost pissed myself.”

Someone who had been trying to secretly pet Pie fell on his butt. A burst of raucous laughter erupted from the rest of the punks who were watching.

At that fearless commotion, Hajin’s heart began to pound unpleasantly.

‘What are you going to do if the zombies swarm in, you crazy bastards…!’

Just then, Eden, who had been maintaining his silence, asked the punk who was acting as the leader.

“The road is open, so it must be dangerous. What is the reason for setting up camp here?”

Simultaneously, everyone’s attention turned to Eden. The crescent moon, which had been hidden by clouds, revealed itself again, casting a whitish light on the road. He, who stood bathed in the moonlight with an aloof air, asked once more.

“There’s no suitable place to escape to, so wouldn’t the risk of encountering zombies here be high?”

The leader’s eyes, which had somehow widened, stared blankly at Eden for a while. Twisting his lips into a peculiar expression, he burst out into loud laughter.

“Hahaha! Wow, hyung-nim, are you worried about us? You even gave up your food, why are you making me feel sorry for you, seriously!”

The man, who was grinning as if in a good mood, waved his hand.

“Hmph, this, this… Since you’re so cooperative and so damn handsome, I’ll be generous! I’ll tell you a secret.”

At the word ‘secret’, Hajin’s pupils shook anxiously. The man twirled his lion-like hair with his index finger and whispered mischievously.

“The truth is, this place is the ultimate zombie-free zone, and why?”

He placed the side of his hand next to his lips and continued.

“The road behind us just went—fwoosh—boom!”

“…”

“It was blown up. Do you get what I’m saying? Fucking hell, the road just got cut off, snap!”

A chilly silence descended after the man’s dramatic words.

Hajin’s head slowly turned towards Eden. As if he had been watching him all along, he too had turned his gaze towards him. Hajin, who couldn’t speak for a while, looked at the man again with a stiff gaze.

“What do you mean, it was blown up?”

“Ah, ah. You hyung-nims don’t know? The soldiers blew up every single bridge around here. They’re real sons of bitches, right? There probably aren’t any intact roads in Hwajeong City either. So don’t suffer for nothing and just turn off to the side here, or go back.”

“…”

“Tsk…. And speaking of which, it’s not like we want to be doing this here either, you know? This all happened because the government abandoned us. Zombies are swarming below, and all the roads going up to the capital are blocked, so what choice do we have?”

As if agreeing with the man’s words, the punks standing next to him chimed in one by one.

“Shit, we have to do this to survive. Isn’t that right?”

“We may look like this, but we don’t kill people. We don’t touch the elderly or the weak, and we don’t touch women or kids either. We have our principles, you know? We just take food from strong guys like you, that’s all.”

“Whoa~ look at that bastard changing his story. Didn’t you say if a woman came by, we’d have some fun, you crazy bastard.”

“Ah, you crazy bastard. That was a joke!”

“Hehe. That bastard is a virgin, he’d piss his pants just by looking at a woman.”

“You fucking bastards!”

In the midst of the commotion, Hajin urgently raised his hand and shouted.

“I have a question!”

Haha, the men who were punching each other’s shoulders turned to look at Hajin.

“Have a foreign man, a woman with long hair, and a child passed by here? There were three of them in total…!”

Before his rambling question could even finish, an answer popped out from somewhere.

“Huh? You mean the foreigner with a shitload of hair on his chin and the tall woman? With the little girl whose hair was in pigtails?”

At the description that matched his party exactly, Hajin’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. This time, Eden strode towards the man who had given the answer.

“When did those people pass through here? What was their condition, are they safe?”

The situation of asking the robbers who had taken their food about the safety of their companions was ironic to no end, but right now, neither of them had the time to weigh such matters. Hajin also stood close behind the excited Eden and waited for the man’s answer with pleading eyes.

He scratched his cheek as if flustered and replied.

“Ah… I only remember the cursing. When I told them the road ahead was cut off, the woman kept saying ‘shit, shit’…. Or was it the kid who was cursing?”

Then, a punk standing next to him chimed in.

“I think all three of them were cursing? The foreigner was also saying something like ‘fuck! shit!’.”

“Ah, that’s right. Anyway, they had no food and were complete beggars, so we just sent them back.”

Hajin, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry, let out a sigh of relief. To think they had cheerfully cursed even in front of these mountain-sized punks. As he thought of the trio, who were full of fighting spirit, the longing he had tried so hard to suppress came flooding in.

Eden, who had swept back his bangs, asked once more.

“Do you happen to know when they passed by?”

“Hmm, when was it…? I don’t think it was that long ago. Maybe two days ago?”

Two days.

Fortunately, the time difference was less than they had expected. If they moved diligently, there was a chance they might reunite before reaching the Yongun Tollgate.

Eden looked back at Hajin’s flushed face.

“Let’s just push on a little longer.”

At his quiet words, Hajin nodded his head vigorously.