Chapter 66
Whether by good luck or bad, Baek Seol-hwa also had exceptional talent as a magic staff.
“…….”
“Wow, this performance is incredible.”
For her, using magic didn’t require an incantation or activation command spoken aloud.
Her action of shouting “flame” was closer to a routine, making explosions easier to trigger; even without it, causing flames or explosions in the air was simple for her.
The real issue was friend-or-foe identification.
Baek Seol-hwa’s attack, with its immense firepower, was specialized for mass-killing zombies, making it vulnerable to friendly fire.
Her allies could get caught in her attacks, and if that happened, it would cause significant damage to them, requiring extreme caution in using her powers.
In situations where she couldn’t see and couldn’t properly gauge distances, how had these survivors managed to operate with Baek Seol-hwa without any accidents?
“….”
“Oh. Are there zombies over there too?”
“….”
“Then let’s avoid that spot.”
“….”
To put it simply, even without sight, she could detect her surroundings through the sensation of temperature.
Rather than relying on vision, her detection abilities relied on magic or sensory perception, and losing her sight only sharpened this skill.
Though unintentionally, Baek Seol-hwa’s ability to sense the temperature of others had developed further due to her blindness, enabling her to detect creatures or zombies around her even more accurately than when she could see.
Thanks to this, as long as she could detect them, she could obliterate a horde of zombies from afar just as effectively as before.
In fact, she could sense the movement and approach of zombies even sooner than a fully mobile survivor with both eyes intact, guiding the survivor holding her wheelchair to a safe location.
“Hey, ice.”
“….”
In truth, though Baek Seol-hwa’s body was damaged to the point where she couldn’t survive without someone else’s help, her magical abilities remained intact.
She was still capable of efficient mass destruction, could lower the surrounding temperature, and even create ice in mid-air.
Now that the water facilities in Pohang were no longer operational, her ability to create ice was one of the few ways to secure drinkable water, making her powers all the more valuable.
Although lacking age or political power, her abilities allowed her to act as a leader for a survivor camp in the area, though it was regrettable that she couldn’t use this power for her own benefit.
“Wow. She’s truly capable. Was she really the leader of Pohang Airport?”
“But now she can’t survive without our help.”
“Haha. True enough.”
“……….”
Still, she was treated as the lowest-ranking staff for any survivor group she belonged to, and despite showing her skills as a capable magic staff, all she received in return was contempt and oppression.
Having lost both her legs and eyes, Baek Seol-hwa required help to survive and needed someone’s care.
Moreover, due to blatant gaslighting and harsh violence, Baek Seol-hwa had already lost the will to resist the survivors.
She repeatedly reminded herself that she was nothing but a magic staff and lived as a tool for them.
Perhaps this was closer to a resignation, an act of escapism from reality.
As a young girl who had experienced Survivor’s Guilt, she resolved to save others in the name of fate, but after falling from grace, she ended up being exploited by those she had saved.
It wouldn’t be surprising if she eventually lost her will to live and became a broken person.
‘Yes. This is all my fault. My fault for abandoning my parents. My fault for failing to kill the Spider Mutant… It’s all my fault.’
Burdened heavily by Survivor’s Guilt, Baek Seol-hwa didn’t resent the survivors who exploited her.
Instead, she blamed herself for not killing the Spider Mutant and bore guilt towards those who had perished while she survived.
She believed that their exploitation of her might somehow alleviate the guilt lingering in her heart, and willingly allowed herself to be used.
But that life didn’t last much longer.
“The Balhut Cult?”
“They’re from Gyeongju.”
After Pohang Airport fell and smaller camps were reestablished in the area, visitors arrived from outside Pohang.
Calling themselves the Balhut Cult, this group, which had unified Gyeongju and now aimed to liberate Pohang under the guise of securing trade routes, had seized control of the Gunpo Industrial Road and was recruiting local collaborators.
However, the survivors who used Baek Seol-hwa as a magic staff didn’t take kindly to these outside visitors.
“If those guys start acting up, we can’t exercise our rights, can we?”
“We’re barely trying to reclaim Pohang Airport. Those guys could snatch up all the credit.”
They perceived them as invaders who would deprive them of their rights.
The survivors had planned to create a new camp that could rival Pohang’s top three camps, using Baek Seol-hwa, and the Balhut Cult was naturally a threat to that plan.
Since the cult’s initial route through Gunpo Industrial Road went straight to the Ironworks Triangle, they hadn’t clashed initially, but suddenly they changed direction, aiming to control Pohang Airport through Yeongilman Avenue.
Naturally, thinking their interests were being infringed upon, they decided to teach the Balhut Cult a harsh lesson upon arrival.
“Target those guys.”
Long-range sniping with Baek Seol-hwa.
They believed that by utilizing Seol-hwa’s specialty in mass killing, they could teach the Balhut Cult a harsh lesson.
However, an unfortunate truth awaited them.
“…….”
Seol-hwa refused the command.
She was willing to target zombies, but she didn’t want to attack other people.
The guilt she felt for not saving her parents and others drove her to allow herself to be used, but attacking fellow humans would only intensify her guilt.
“Hey, aren’t you listening? You’re just a magic staff!”
“…!…!”
Although Baek Seol-hwa suffered under the raiders’ violence, she somehow managed to protect her beliefs.
She considered it a relief that her suffering did not last long.
Before Baek Seol-hwa’s will could be completely crushed by violence, God Bahamut himself descended upon Pohang.
“What’s that? I don’t know, it’s terrifying.”
The raiders were instantly subdued by the sight of his majesty.
The scene of the giant dragon, larger than a twenty-story building, sweeping away the zombies inside Pohang made the magic staff they had once prized seem insignificant.
Regretting his foolishness in thinking he could resist the Balhut Cult with Baek Seol-hwa alone, he lost all his fighting spirit.
‘Amazing.’
And all Baek Seol-hwa could do was admire the enormous magical power and the overwhelming strength Bahamut displayed.
A power far beyond hers surged through the air, sending shivers throughout her body.
Because she was blind, Baek Seol-hwa could sense even more deeply the magnitude and depth of Bahamut’s power.
‘If there’s a god, could it be him?’
Feeling his power, Baek Seol-hwa thought of Bahamut as a god.
As she had thought, after Bahamut’s arrival, Pohang was quickly liberated, and most of the zombies inside the city were eliminated.
There were still some zombies hiding deep inside, but they were soon dealt with through the efforts of soldiers from the Balhut Cult and the cooperation of the three main camps.
As a result, Baek Seol-hwa lost her significance as a magic staff for fighting zombies.
Yes, she had lost the reason to live.
“There’s no longer any obligation to take care of this girl.”
“She’s done for.”
‘Ah.’
The raiders, who had lost their will to fight against Bahamut, were busy concealing or clearing their crimes before the cult discovered them, and naturally, they had no reason to bother with Baek Seol-hwa, whom they had used as a magic staff.
The fact that she had lost her value weighed heavily.
If Pohang were still full of zombies, Baek Seol-hwa’s value as a tool for mass slaughter would have been immense.
‘I’m… I’m useless now.’
However, now that Pohang was reclaimed, there was no need to fight zombies within the city.
Her value, which lay in mass destruction, had disappeared, and the raiders didn’t find her other abilities particularly valuable.
Detection abilities could be useful for a group of raiders, but they were preoccupied with covering up their misdeeds.
They intended to abandon their lives as raiders and blend in as civilians in the current chaos, so they had no desire to make use of Baek Seol-hwa’s detection skills.
Her ability to create ice might be useful in a water shortage, but Baek Seol-hwa, who had lost her spirit, couldn’t even realize her own value.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
Her worth as a magic staff was gone, her usefulness exhausted.
Now, all that remained was a body riddled with countless disabilities.
Hoping to survive the apocalypse in this state… was nothing short of wishful thinking.
Though she was gradually losing hope in life as she became distant from everyone’s attention, she was fortunate that someone took notice of her.
“This girl… is she Baek Seol-hwa?”
“Yes, Mr. Seo Un-jae. If you’re looking for Baek Seol-hwa, the former leader of the Pohang Airport camp, this disabled girl is indeed her.”
“My goodness….”
It was Seo Un-jae, who had completed negotiations with the Balhut Cult, who took an interest in Baek Seol-hwa.
From his perspective, Baek Seol-hwa wasn’t deeply tied to the three main camps of Pohang. She had made a name for herself, was well-regarded by the citizens of Pohang, and was the strongest Awakened in Pohang, making her an ideal candidate to represent Pohang as mayor.
From within Pohang, her selection was quite understandable. Even the powerhouses of the three main camps would find her acceptable, judging her as a sufficiently reasonable choice for compromise, and the title of Pohang’s strongest Awakened confirmed her survival.
Thus, Seo Un-jae believed that Baek Seol-hwa, who had mysteriously disappeared, hadn’t perished so easily, and he had diligently searched for her.
Unfortunately, Baek Seol-hwa’s condition was far worse than he had anticipated.
“This girl… is it really her?”
“Yes. Hey, show us your special skill.”
“…….”
The strong warrior Seo Un-jae once knew was nowhere to be found; in her place was a child who needed someone’s protection.
Trembling as she demonstrated her power at a survivor’s command, Baek Seol-hwa revealed the firepower that Seo Un-jae remembered.
“It’s really Baek Seol-hwa.”
He didn’t want to believe it, but the blind girl sitting before him was indeed Baek Seol-hwa.
This pitiful child, unable to survive the apocalypse without leaning on someone, was once Pohang’s strongest Awakened.
“Haha… hahahaha.”
Seeing this miserable sight, Seo Un-jae could only let out a hollow laugh.
In fact, Seo Un-jae never intended to make Baek Seol-hwa his puppet from the start.
He had hoped to propose a leader with enough credibility to satisfy the three main camps, considering Baek Seol-hwa to lead, aiming for a dramatic compromise among the camps through internal coordination.
But Baek Seol-hwa was utterly broken, and if he were to appoint her as the Priestess of the Dragon, the Balhut Cult would question Pohang’s intentions, and the three main camps would not recognize Baek Seol-hwa as their superior.
Instead, they would manipulate a powerless mayor as a puppet, shifting to backroom politics. This would likely lead to infighting among the three main camps, each vying for Pohang’s singular seat of power.
“But would they accept any Priestess other than Baek Seol-hwa?”
Even if he wanted to propose another suitable Priestess, there wasn’t an Awakened within Pohang with a reputation equal to Baek Seol-hwa’s.
No other Awakened had matched her achievements, nor had anyone displayed prowess rivaling hers.
‘Son Sang-hui? No, that’s impossible! She’s already sided with the Balhut Cult, and selecting her would only fuel dissatisfaction among the camps!’
Seo Un-jae quickly thought of Son Sang-hui as a substitute for Baek Seol-hwa but concluded she was not an option.
She had already allied with the Balhut Cult, and Son Sang-hui’s actions were more for the cult’s interests than Pohang’s.
Such a choice would only breed dissatisfaction among the three main camps, who would naturally prefer a Priestess they themselves had chosen over a pawn of the Balhut Cult.
“Hahaha… Everyone has suffered so much in this apocalypse.”
“…….”
Seo Un-jae felt trapped.
If he chose a Priestess other than Baek Seol-hwa, civil war would be almost certain, but there was no replacement for her as Priestess.
‘Is it best if I bear the blame alone and face ruin?’
Perhaps it would be best for him to accept public condemnation and ruin… even if it meant the end of his political career, as long as bloodshed in Pohang could be minimized.
With a hollow laugh, he lamented his situation to the silent Baek Seol-hwa and slowly took her hand.
Thankfully, her sense of touch was still intact, so Baek Seol-hwa could feel someone holding her hand.
The trembling and anxiety in Seo Un-jae’s hand were also palpable to Baek Seol-hwa.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s all… my fault for being incompetent.”
Seo Un-jae didn’t want to betray the morality and conscience he had lived by his entire life.
Though he was a politician in pursuit of power, he still wanted to uphold the line one must respect as a human being.
What could he possibly gain by exploiting such a wounded girl?
As his conscience was tested, Seo Un-jae felt Baek Seol-hwa slowly grasp his shaking hand in return.
“……….”
“Hah… hahaha….”
And gently, as if to reassure him, she stroked his hand.
Seeing this young girl, so deeply wounded yet still comforting him, brought a bitter laugh to Seo Un-jae.
If she had condemned him instead, he would have gladly accepted the rebuke.
Yet, instead of blame, she offered comfort.
And that awkward comfort from Baek Seol-hwa only further shattered Seo Un-jae’s heart.
If he had been a heartless monster, he wouldn’t be suffering this way.
If he were a ruthless politician solely after power, who wouldn’t bat an eye at the sacrifice of others, he wouldn’t feel such pain.
However, Seo Un-jae was ordinary in temperament; while he desired power, his conscience was as typical as anyone else’s.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… truly, I’m sorry.”
All he could say was, “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to die… I don’t want to kill.”
For an ordinary person like him, the idea of his own death or taking another’s life was unbearable.
But even shedding tears like a child in such a way was a luxury for Seo Un-jae.
Because now he would have to make this child a sacrificial lamb to prevent civil war in Pohang.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment