A Survival Guide for a Counselor in the Apocalypse Chapter 47

Chapter 47

 

Well… I mean, he ‘can’ find me. But why go out of his way? After saying that, Lee Hyun closed his mouth. Before we knew it, the remaining distance had dropped into the 25% range. Truly, nothing appeared.

 

— 

!Third checkpoint cleared!

[We’re almost there! Let’s pick up the pace!]

[〉  Booster

[〉  Launcher

— 

 

Booster, launcher.

The choices had decreased. For a moment, none of us spoke. What the hell was a launcher, and what was a booster?

‘Launch it?’

This cart?

‘And how much does the booster even boost?’

The way it just threw these options at us made the absurdity even more blatant.

“…Wouldn’t a booster be better than launching it?”

At least that sounds like it stays on the ground…

The woman’s muttered reasoning had some validity. If we’re considering safety, then yes.

In the end, after catching our breath, we chose the booster.

 

— 

[Rage: 60%]

— 

 

Why?

No, why? What did I do wrong?

Before I could even think, Lee Hoin pressed the handle, and we surged forward at an even faster speed. I couldn’t even hold onto my weapon. I grabbed part of the cart and watched the percentage rapidly decrease.

Crash! Bang!

Chiiiiiiik–

It felt less like the wheels were rolling and more like the cart was being thrown forward, sparks flying everywhere. Because of that, it didn’t even feel like anything was coming at us. Whatever it was, the cart had already left its position before it could even reach us.

But perhaps because of that speed, the durability dropped quickly.

 

— 

Distance to destination: 20%

Cargo durability: 76%

 

Distance to destination: 15%

Cargo durability: 73%

— 

 

After clinging on for what felt like forever, the distance finally reached 0%, and the cart arrived before a massive door. It was completely different from the ones before, far grander and more enormous.

Creeeak

The door slowly opened.

 

— 

Bow your heads!

When you are granted an audience with the King, always lower yourselves and bow!

The King is watching you.

— 

 

A voice echoed. Following those words, we lowered our posture and looked ahead.

There was a throne… no, something far too massive to simply call a throne. Something truly enormous. And seated upon it was someone whose presence matched its scale.

‘…A person?’

The “people of 6” were at least human-sized. But that… that was the size of a building.

Then, as my gaze shifted, I saw the other team’s door still closed.

 

— 

Ah, you have finally arrived….

— 

 

A metallic, scraping voice echoed through the vast space.

 

— 

I have waited… for so very long….

— 

 

But…

Suddenly, a thunderous sound rushed close.

 

— 

The scent… of my beautiful children’s blood… reaches me.

— 

 

Ah, damn it.

When I quietly lifted my gaze, I saw it, an eye.

A single, massive eyeball. It surely had a full face, but it was so enormous that I could only see one eye.

That eye stared straight at our cart.

‘…Do I stab it?’’

No. I can’t.

If I harm the King, this entire space might collapse. That King is likely the executor of this space… or if not, just a puppet.

Either way, unless it’s a “boss” meant to be defeated in this event, we shouldn’t touch it. Who knows what kind of trigger that might set off?

 

I held my breath and stared when the voice came again.

 

— 

Have you… harmed my children… so greatly?

— 

 

It didn’t shout.

It didn’t rage.

It didn’t sneer.

It simply spoke flatly.

And that made it even worse.

 

— 

[Some can instill fear without raising their voice.]

[There are those whose very voice carries pressure.]

— 

 

I inhaled.

Damn it.

Damn it…

‘If it comes to the worst…’

I’ll stab it. I’d have no choice. Even if it turns this entire place against me, survival comes first.

 

— 

[Well, if you die whether you kneel or stab, you might as well try stabbing.]

— 

 

Holding my breath, I didn’t take my eyes off that massive pupil. If it showed even the slightest sign, I was ready to throw my dagger, grab Lee Hoin, and retreat.

Then…

Splash… splash…

Footsteps echoed from somewhere, followed by the sound of a trumpet.

It wasn’t someone else playing it; the one approaching us was playing it. The sound was moving.

The moment that being appeared, the entire atmosphere of the space softened. The overwhelming pressure and Rage seemed to bow down and smile, as if welcoming something beloved.

 

— 

Ah, he has appeared!

How utterly perfect his form is.

— 

 

Voices of the “people of 6” murmured from somewhere.

When they speak like that, it usually means one of three:

‘Demon, King, Clown.’

The King was already there. So it had to be either a demon or…

My gaze turned.

There stood a clown, wearing a jester’s hat. At least 2 meters tall. It was obvious at a glance that it wasn’t a demon.

Because its defining trait was 3.

Three eyes, three ears, three arms, three legs.

‘Demons are 6.’

On the other hand, here, 3 means clown.

The clown didn’t even glance at us. It greeted the King, bending its waist, one leg extended back, like a performer on stage.

 

— 

Ah, my clown.

My jester.

What brings you here?

— 

 

The King spoke warmly.

The clown didn’t answer, just blew the trumpet.

The strange thing was, aside from us, they seemed to understand each other.

 

— 

I see.

Very well, if that is what you say.

— 

 

We only heard the trumpet, yet the King understood something.

The clown was persuading it.

And the King accepted, without resistance. Without objection.

Then, the other door opened, and a cart rolled in… alone. No one is pulling it, just the cargo sitting inside.

So… no one protected it.

The King said simply, then seemed to lose interest.

 

— 

[Looks like the other rail is already dead. The narrator has won.]

— 

 

A calm remark. I took a breath. Even so, it didn’t feel good.

 

— 

I shall accept your tribute.

You may leave now.

— 

 

A dry dismissal.

The cargo was confiscated. And beneath where it had been, a hidden compartment opened, revealing something small.

“…Ugh.”

The woman gagged and turned away, unable to hold it in. Even Lee Hyun frowned slightly.

Inside…

Were fingers.

Four blackened fingers, either on the verge of becoming mummified or rotting.

 

— 

[Fingers, huh. Shall we pick them up?]

— 

 

There was no smell. But even so, picking them up felt… wrong. Like you’d be cursed just for touching them.

Like the heart from before.

“…Ha… Do we actually have to take these?”

“…Seems like it.”

I picked one up first.

 

— 

[Rotting Finger of a Greedy One]

This is a greedy one who dared covet the King’s tribute.

The King, enraged, ordered the fingers that coveted the tribute to be displayed.

How does one display fingers?

Well, that required quite a bit of creativity.

But the King always loved creativity.

So, as the clown suggested, the fingers were displayed…

And the greedy one died while looking at their displayed fingers.

※ ‘Emotion’ is required.

— 

 

Displayed fingers.

Did they tie strings to them and hang them until they fell off? I frowned slightly, then tucked it into my palm.

“…It’s nothing special. Just an item.”

“This is an item?”

Why the hell would severed fingers be an item?

I had no answer to that expression.

The woman, barely recovered, picked one up with trembling hands. Lee Hyun and Lee Hoin also reluctantly took theirs, looking uneasy.

A door opened for us to leave. We got off the cart and slowly headed toward it.

Then…

I felt a persistent gaze and turned my head.

There, the clown was staring at me.

I didn’t know how long it had been watching. Three eyes, locked directly onto me.

A prickling sensation crept up my spine.

‘…Why?’

Why me?

I couldn’t show discomfort. But I also couldn’t look away.

I didn’t know what was in those three eyes. They were looking at me… but I couldn’t tell if they truly saw me.

The eyes of a perfect observer.

Eyes that felt… familiar.

‘…’

Then the clown raised its trumpet and blew it.

And in that moment, I realized…

Where I had felt that gaze before.

“…That.”

‘The previous attraction.’

The one with the tube ride down the river.

The gaze I had felt the entire time there…

And at the same time…

[Rage: 70%]

The same gaze I felt every time that window appeared.

Clank.

The door closed.

But the gaze didn’t disappear.