I Became The Necromancer In The Post-Apocalyptic Zombie World

Chapter 64

—–CROW—– 

The men following Lee Seon-ji and me were the soldiers who had been confined in the dormitory.

Trapped in separate rooms, they had been subsisting on the meager rations I provided.

They were starving every day.

I had made them a single offer.

If they followed me, they would receive proper meals after returning.

However, if they dared to reveal my true identity, they would die horribly.

Those who agreed were now heading towards the cafe with me.

Those who refused looked relieved to avoid getting involved in something strange, but…

…unfortunately for them, no one would feed them while I was at the hotel.

The soldiers who disagreed would starve to death, one by one, waiting for my uncertain return.

So, including myself and those who accepted my offer, there were five men in total.

After bringing the soldiers from the dormitory, I contacted the women searching around the department store through Lee Seon-ji.

It was a bit bothersome to travel back and forth between the dormitory and the department store without being seen, but it wasn’t difficult.

I simply checked their location with the pigeon and then isolated them with zombies.

That allowed me to leave the department store and return the same way.

“Seon-ji!”

“Manager Heo.”

The leader, whom I had identified earlier with the pigeon, greeted Lee Seon-ji with a hug.

Lee Seon-ji, who had returned to a normal physique after losing whatever that grace was, looked strangely like a daughter in the burly Manager Heo’s embrace.

Manager Heo buried her face in Lee Seon-ji’s neck, inhaled deeply, and…

…slid her hand down to grab Lee Seon-ji’s ass.

“…Ugh.”

Lee Seon-ji grimaced in disgust, making sure it wasn’t visible to Manager Heo.

But I saw it clearly.

It seemed Lee Seon-ji had held a lower rank than this Manager Heo at the hotel.

She couldn’t even protest against this blatant sexual harassment.

“What are you doing here? What happened?”

After her enthusiastic greeting, Manager Heo held Lee Seon-ji’s shoulders and looked at her with a bright smile.

“I was attacked by a horde of zombies in the shopping district and lost all my companions. Then, the owner of that department store took me in.”

“…The owner of the department store?”

Manager Heo’s cheerful expression hardened at Lee Seon-ji’s words.

It seemed the fact that the department store had an owner bothered her.

“So, you met the survivor living there?”

“Not only did I meet her, but she treated me very kindly.”

“You? Why?”

“Well…”

At Manager Heo’s confused question, Lee Seon-ji looked at us and…

…gestured towards us as she answered,

“Because ‘she’ shares the same ideals as our Hwangmaegyo.”

Manager Heo nodded in understanding after seeing the haggard and intimidated men.

Hwangmaegyo was the name of the cult led by the Priest they followed.

And sharing the same ideals meant…

…agreeing with the extreme ideology of rejecting men and considering women superior.

“So, the person from the department store sent you?”

“Yes, she sent me after learning of your arrival.”

“…That’s what I’m wondering about. How did she know we were here?  We were hiding and avoiding zombies as much as possible.”

“That’s because…”

Lee Seon-ji hesitated for a moment, glanced at me, and replied,

“The woman at the department store can also use mysterious powers, like the Priest.”

“…….”

Manager Heo’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected answer.

Then, she glared sharply at Lee Seon-ji.

“Mysterious powers? What kind? Are they exactly the same as the Priest’s?”

“…I’m sorry, she didn’t tell me the details, since I’m an outsider. But…”

“But?”

“She told me to convey that she wishes to maintain friendly relations with our Hwangmaegyo.”

Lee Seon-ji took off the large backpack she was carrying and handed it to Manager Heo.

It was filled with a large quantity of food.

Two other men were also carrying similar backpacks filled with food.

It was a huge amount of food, even considering the nearly three hundred people at the hotel.

A clear display of goodwill.

“All of this…?”

“Yes, she asked me to deliver this along with her message. This is just a gift. She said she can provide more food if needed.”

“…I see. This isn’t something I can decide on my own.”

“And she also provided these men, saying that manpower is important, even if they’re men.”

Manager Heo grinned, finally understanding the presence of the men who had come with us.

She was probably pleased to receive such good news while struggling to find a way into the department store.

Whatever her other reasons, it was clear she had come here for the department store’s supplies.

And now, she had learned that the mysterious person who had already taken over the department store was friendly.

If things went well, she could bring this person into the Priest’s cult and easily take over the department store.

“Anyway, welcome back, Seon-ji!  Now that we’ve at least found you, let’s go home.”

“…Yes.”

Lee Seon-ji smiled faintly at Manager Heo’s cheerful welcome.

But for a moment, a complex emotion flickered in her eyes as she looked at me.

She seemed to be struggling with her choice.

What she was doing was clearly betraying her master, the Priest.

But what choice did she have?

If she wanted to live happily with the man she loved…

…she had to betray her master, even if it meant biting the hand that fed her.

。 。 。

The soldiers chosen as slaves and I boarded their vehicle and left the vicinity of the department store.

It seemed the people from the hotel traveled by car, just like when they had retrieved Lee Seon-ji.

According to Lee Seon-ji, the reason they could travel safely by car despite the zombies was a special necklace given to the leader, which repelled zombies to some extent.

After seeing the necklace, I understood.

I didn’t know how it worked, but it was a piece of crystal.

That meant the reason their base, the large hotel, was safe from zombies was also likely due to a crystal.

If a small fragment had that much power, a large crystal like the one in the department store would completely block the zombies.

‘This is taking a while.’

I was currently lying face down on the floor of a large bus, my eyes covered with a black cloth.

They probably wanted to hide the location of the hotel, but…

…anyone living in Seoul would easily recognize the L Hotel.

Or maybe they were doing this simply because I was a male slave.

Even if they covered my eyes, the fact that they wouldn’t even let me sit on a seat was clearly due to that.

“We’ve arrived. Everyone, off!”

I was only allowed to remove the cloth covering my eyes after the bus, which had been driving for a long time, stopped, and we disembarked.

I had always been the one driving and ordering the slaves to get off, but…

…now I was a slave, following orders, getting off the bus, and waiting for further instructions.

It was a novel experience, quite amusing.

‘This is… quite impressive.’

After getting off the bus and removing the black cloth, I faced the towering hotel.

We had stopped at the large fountain square in front of the hotel’s main entrance.

A statue of a general on horseback stood majestically in the center of the fountain.

As expected, the hotel building was dark, all the rooms unlit, as if lifeless.

But flickering lights here and there indicated that people were living inside.

They were probably using candles or makeshift braziers for light.

‘So, not all the survivors are using the hotel building.’

Just like how I had divided the department store and the parking lot for my women and the slaves…

…it seemed the Priest of Hwangmaegyo had also divided the hotel interior and the square, separating the people by status.

Several large tents were set up in the fountain square.

Several oil drums burned, providing warmth and illuminating the square.

I couldn’t see inside the tents yet, but…

…most of the people outside were men.

There were some women scattered around, but they seemed to be either supervisors managing the men or family members.

In other words, the fountain square was essentially the slaves’ living quarters.

“Let’s go to the Priest.”

“Yes.”

“Take the slaves to the training grounds.”

“Understood.”

Manager Heo stretched as soon as she got off the bus, then put her arm around Lee Seon-ji’s shoulder and spoke.

She then instructed another subordinate to take us to the training grounds.

‘Well, they need training since they don’t know anything yet.’

I had expected this.

This wasn’t just a survivors’ shelter.

It was a cult called Hwangmaegyo.

So, there would be special training for newcomers, especially the men who would live as slaves.

Training to indoctrinate them into the cult and make them subservient to the women.

“…….”

Lee Seon-ji glanced back at me as she followed Manager Heo.

Her eyes looked anxious.

‘Nothing will happen if you don’t make any mistakes.’

I waved my hand dismissively at Lee Seon-ji, who was worried about me.

She nodded subtly and turned back, continuing to walk.

‘Well then, let’s see what this renowned slave training is all about.’

Those of us left behind followed Manager Heo’s subordinate somewhere.

“U-Um… will we be okay?”

One of the soldiers cautiously spoke to me.

“Don’t talk to me. You’ll die.  Don’t act friendly.”

“Hiek! Y-Yes…!”

The soldiers looked anxious, as if the atmosphere of this new place was different from what they had imagined.

Honestly, I didn’t care what happened to these guys here.

Or did I?

I had heard from Lee Seon-ji what kind of treatment the male slaves received.

After walking for a while along the square’s path, Manager Heo’s subordinate stopped in front of a tent.

She went inside and spoke to someone.

Then, someone came out of the tent.

A woman with a sharp gaze and short, rough hair that extended past her nape, giving her a lynx-like impression.

She walked out of the tent with an annoyed expression, a lit cigarette dangling from her lips, and stood before us.

‘Oh, those tits.’

She wore tough-looking clothes—military-style pants and a white tank top.

Her face was average, but her breasts were quite large.

Not as big as Ryu Da-hee’s, but large enough to be worth grabbing.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who noticed, as the soldiers standing next to me also stared at her breasts and gulped.

“You say these are the new slaves?”

She glanced at us with a displeased expression, then walked to the side of the tent and picked something up.

It was a bat.

A baseball bat, to be precise.

The wooden bat was stained with blood, as if it had been used for something other than its intended purpose.

Human blood or zombie blood?

Probably human.

The tough woman standing before us jiggled her breasts, then lifted her chin and said arrogantly,

“Everyone, strip.”

“…What?”

“W-What did you say?”

The soldiers looked at each other blankly and asked back at her quiet command.

Naturally, I immediately started taking off my clothes.

Seeing that, the woman, who seemed to be the instructor, spat on the ground, cigarette still in hand.

“Fucking hell, this time, there’s only one decent one.”

Then, she walked towards the soldier next to me…

“…Huh? W-Why…?”

…and swung the baseball bat at his knee.

*Crack!*

A sound that shouldn’t come from a human knee echoed, and the soldier immediately collapsed.

“Aaaaagh━!!”

Hearing the fallen man’s scream, the other soldiers hurriedly started taking off their clothes.

The instructor smirked in satisfaction, looking at the undressing men and shouting,

“From now on, you are not human! You are livestock!  In exchange for living in the Priest’s safe space, you will offer everything from head to toe and pledge your loyalty to her!”

Despite her loud voice, her words were clear and piercing.

Her intense gaze treated us like trash.

Her clean, unhesitating swing of the bat.

I immediately recognized it.

This woman wasn’t just putting on a tough exterior; she was a truly cruel, monstrous instructor.

Facing her, I smiled faintly.

‘This fucking bitch…’

I licked my lips and looked at her breasts.

‘I wonder how she’ll be in bed.’

I looked forward to that moment.

—–CROW—– 

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