A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 23.0

Chapter 23

 

“There’s something like a cabin over there.”

After walking a bit and exiting the forest, a lone cabin stood in one spot. A flag with the rabbit symbol fluttered from one corner of the cabin.

A ‘Home’ would emit light from the symbol on its flag if someone was inside, and right now, the symbol on the flag in front of us was glowing.

‘Not like I was planning to go in anyway.’

The maximum number of people a single ‘Home’ could accommodate was ten.

However, once inside, those already using the ‘Home’ could adjust the capacity, making it unpredictable.

Most people would drastically lower the limit to match their current group so no one else could enter, and those who didn’t…

‘Were either extremely humanitarian.’

Or the exact opposite.

So there was no need to enter a ‘Home’ already in use. I shifted my gaze to a rabbit doll lying trampled and torn beneath the flag.

I stared at it briefly, then picked it up. After brushing off some of the dirt, I put it into my bag and turned around.

“I’ve got a rough idea of the location. Follow me.”

We left that place at 6:46. It took about 14 minutes to get here.

It was already 7 PM. Before it got any darker, we needed to get to higher ground and check how the terrain would change. The highest place we could climb in this area would be…

‘The Parktel.’

The terrain that opened at the start already resembled a park we knew. It just had more trees, and they were taller, making it less obvious.

If we got to a place with a clearer view…

“That building…”

Buildings came into sight. Completely dark due to the lack of electricity, making them look almost unfamiliar.

“Let’s go.”

“Ah, yeah.”

Hoin’s eyes trembled as he stared at the Parktel, clearly not expecting it to be there, before following behind me.

“Shh.”

I raised a finger to my lips and stopped in front of the Parktel’s main entrance, pulling out a flashlight.

Darkness had completely settled in, and inside the pitch-black space with the power cut, anything could appear. The only thing we could rely on was this small flashlight…

Besides, both Hoin and I were exhausted. No matter what appeared, it would be better to avoid it if possible.

I carefully opened the front door and slipped inside. Hoin followed, closing the door just as carefully, and shone the flashlight around the lobby.

It looked as if someone had been there just minutes ago, the hotel brochure left mid-explanation at the front desk, a phone dropped as if someone had been holding it, and a cup of coffee with traces of someone having drunk it.

We cautiously moved forward, surveying the subtly unsettling space.

‘Since there’s no electricity…’

The elevator wouldn’t work either. That left only one option.

‘Climbing up to the 18th floor.’

‘Are you insane? Trying to kill us?’

After confirming the empty lobby, I headed straight toward the elevator.

“Keep watch around us.”

Instead, there was a slight workaround we could try.

‘Not sure if it’ll work, though.’

The shared event space belonged to the ‘Third Parties.’ The commentator only intervened when those Third Parties tried to manifest without paying the price or used power in unauthorized areas.

Because of that, Third Parties could grant participants a small benefit or two. Not something that would drastically increase survival rates, but something minor.

‘An elevator should be fine.’

First, you had to understand what kind of being the ‘Eternal Pleasure Seeker’ was. It only had one agent wandering outside, and even that one rarely appeared.

Even if you encountered it, landing a proper attack was difficult. The moment combat started, the agent would flee at incredible speed… so fast even Sa Jaeheon couldn’t catch it.

A Third Party that feared its agent dying. A Third Party that absolutely despised its agent being insulted.

‘Getting a reaction out of it is simple.’

I took out the torn rabbit doll with stuffing spilling out and grabbed a bandage. Since I didn’t have a sewing kit, patching it up was the best I could do.

Like wrapping a bandage around a person, I wrapped it around the torn side, brushing off as much dirt as possible. I also wrapped the loose button eye and the barely attached ear, then leaned it against a nearby wall.

‘…Will this be enough?’

A more certain method would be to sew it properly and attach new eyes, but I didn’t have the materials.

I stared at it a bit longer. The doll’s head, which had fallen, showed no sign of lifting.

‘Not enough?’

I frowned and lowered my head.

Damn it.

‘Climbing to the 18th floor is impossible…’

Maybe compromise on the 7th or 8th floor? But would we even be able to see the Gate of Peace from there? We needed to see it.

As I sighed and was about to stand…

Rustle.

A sound of fabric brushing echoed in the clearly empty lobby.

And then…

“…Shit.”

Hoin, who had been about to curse, clamped his mouth shut and stared in one direction.

{ -… }

The rabbit doll is wrapped in bandages.

It stood up on its own without any support, staring straight at me with button eyes.

“…Hello.”

I greeted it slowly. The rabbit doll looked up at me silently, then rummaged through its chest and held something tightly.

Just like when we first came here.

{ You’re… a kind friend, aren’t you? }

The difference now was that it was trying to communicate with us.

I stared at it briefly before replying,

“…No.”

The ‘Eternal Pleasure Seeker’ enjoyed lies. But only within the boundaries it allowed.

In other words, its standards were vague. And the type it likely hated most…

Hypocrites.

I said “likely” because it made different choices every moment due to its nature.

Sometimes, it found hypocritical lies amusing. Other times, it despised them.

{ No? But you helped me. That makes you kind. }

Instead of gambling on a fifty-fifty chance…

“I didn’t help you out of pure intentions. So I’m not kind.”

I chose honesty.

{ Then why did you help me? }

The expressionless rabbit tilted its head.

My reason was simple.

“So that you would help me.”

It stared at me, as if asking what I meant.

{ Me? Help you? }

“I want to go to the top floor of this building. Can you help me?”

{ This building? }

The answer came quickly, flatly.

{ I can’t. }

It said it couldn’t.

Which made sense. That rabbit was nothing more than a low-level agent, not even a proper guide. It didn’t have the power to override the Third Party’s rules.

“Then can you help with something else?”

{ Like what? }

“Can you relay a message to your master? Ask if they could activate this device so we can go up. That’s all.”

The rabbit seemed to think, so I added firmly,

“It’s something only you can do. Please.”

{ …Only I can do it? }

Its ears perked up slightly. Clearly, its pride had been stirred. The rabbit puffed its chest and thumped it as if granting a favor.

Though nothing appeared on the sign, its meaning was clear.

Soon after…

{ I asked… but what answer comes back… }

The rabbit fell silent.

An eerie silence lingered.

Snap. Crack.

The sound of threads snapping echoed.

From around where its mouth should be.

 

—

[The end of humans who gaze upon a ‘god’ is usually miserable. For a mere creature to face the root of a world is akin to being torn apart.]

[Whether it can be called a ‘god’… We’ll leave that aside. But they are the roots of each world.]

[Revere the root.]

—

 

It’s coming.

 

—

[Show respect to the root.]

[If you value your soul.]

—

 

Something… having just formed a ‘mouth’, touched it lightly with the plush hand and spoke.

“Is it yooou?”

A childlike voice, drawn out slowly.

“You’re the oooone who helped B-een?”

I nodded slightly.

“Yes, that’s me. And I also asked for help.”

“Hm–mm.”

The rabbit… no, the ‘Eternal Pleasure Seeker’, looked down at the rabbit’s body.

“Do yooou knoow what kind of disguuusting humaaan a dooool is?”

Though it sounded like scolding, its body remained stiff, making its emotions unclear.

In short, if I didn’t know about it, I wouldn’t even be able to tell whether it was angry or not.

It didn’t know how to properly express emotions.

It ignored me as if absurd, yet scolded me, but it wasn’t truly angry. If it were, it would’ve harmed me immediately.

Since it hadn’t acted directly yet…

‘…Safe zone for now.’

‘It’s not mentioning what happened before we came here.’

That was natural. The commentator was likely watching even now.

The rabbit stared at me for a moment before speaking.

“A nothing speeecial, disguuusting humaaan.”

Its head tilted slightly.

“Is that riiight?”

A strange light flickered in its eyes.

For a brief moment, that light shone…

As if it could melt my eyes entirely.

Just before I was entranced by it–

Someone’s hand covered my eyes.

Calling it simply a “hand” felt insufficient.

It was too cold to be Hoin’s, too large to just be a human hand covering my face entirely.

Still…

From the shape of the fingers, I knew.

It was a hand.

A hand of unknown origin.

Covering my eyes.