The true effects of the erosion zone on humans remain a mystery, with no definitive research data available. The closest anyone has co to understanding it is the Chinese governnt's studies, which involved thousands of unwilling human test subjects. The results were inconclusive: while people living in erosion zones displayed significantly higher rates of psychotic episodes, there was no evidence that the zones caused direct physical harm to the body.
Still, as hunters who have spent years operating in these zones, we know one undeniable truth: no one living in an erosion zone remains ntally stable.
There’s sothing in the air—sothing our science can’t explain—that drives people insane.
“This place is safe,” the girl said.
From a distance, she’d looked like a middle schooler, but up close, she seed about the sa age as Jeon Si-hoon or perhaps even younger. Her small fra—barely 150 cm tall, with a gaunt body—made her appear more childlike than she was.
“See this? This is the talisman of Ma Jong-sa. As long as this talisman is here, no Spiderlings can co in.”
Her speech carried a faint North Korean accent, though it was clear she had quickly picked up and adapted Seoul dialect. It wasn’t uncommon for young female refugees from the North to mimic Seoul speech patterns.
Still, it was obvious she was a fanatic.
Anyone who idolized soone like Ma Jong-sa—a nobody from so forgotten corner of China who spent his days gaming and reading martial arts novels—and worshipped monsters as divine ssengers was far from normal.
Though she lacked the crazed eyes and rambling tendencies typical of fanatics, I’d already added her to my ntal kill list.
“Thanks,” I said. “But are you sure no monsters can get in?”
King, catching his breath, examined the crude talisman stuck to the wall.
It was a yellow paper slip, the kind you’d see in old vampire movies, with bizarre, indecipherable red characters scrawled across it.
Except it wasn’t handwritten.
It had been printed, likely on a cheap inkjet printer, as evidenced by the stair-step lines in the print.
Despite this, the girl displayed unwavering faith in the talisman.
“You have nothing to worry about. You have no idea how strong the ssengers’ subordinates’ sense of boundaries is,” she said, speaking with the certainty only a zealot could muster.
Whether the talisman worked or not, one thing was clear: the Spiderlings had stopped pursuing us.
I glanced out the window.
The hundreds of Spiderlings that had been swarming us earlier were now retreating as if nothing had happened.
“See? Do you understand now just how miraculous Ma Jong-sa’s talisman is?”
King remained silent, simply observing.
He likely couldn’t find a suitable rebuttal, though he clearly didn’t believe her claim.
I didn’t either.
There had to be another reason for this phenonon—sothing I couldn’t see.
I turned my gaze to Jeon Si-hoon.
He was watching us, cautious yet desperate.
Perhaps he was sick of this life.
The so-called “ho protected by Ma Jong-sa’s talisman” consisted of nothing but a single tent surrounded by haphazardly placed cans and sacks of food.
There were signs of cooking fires, scattered soap and towels, and drying clothes—including a conspicuously hung condom.
It was clear Jeon Si-hoon was living with this North Korean-accented girl.
“What’s this, Si-hoon? Are you living with her?” King asked, smirking as he eyed the condom hanging on the laundry line.
Jeon Si-hoon’s face twisted with disgust, and the faint glow in his eyes intensified.
For a mont, the air grew suffocating with pressure.
As expected of an Awakened over Level 10.
If this was the kind of weight his emotions carried, the stories about high-level Awakened ruling battlefields weren’t just literary exaggerations.
Despite knowing he was clearly inferior to Jeon Si-hoon, King remained unfazed.
“How long are you planning to live in this shithole? Are you going to die here like this?”
“That’s none of your business,” Jeon Si-hoon growled, his voice full of venom.
It was clear he despised King—at the very least, he didn’t like him.
King turned to .
“Well then, Skelton. Shall we begin?”
I surveyed the surroundings.
No Spiderlings.
No Spider-type.
No sign of the rumored mid-sized monster.
After confirming the area was safe, I looked at King.
“You want to start?”
King smiled brightly.
“Of course. You should show your hand first. After all, I let you off the hook for being a spy. A little good faith isn’t too much to ask, right?”
“Hmm…”
I didn’t like it, but he had a point.
If I were in King’s position, I’d have killed Skelton already.
I wasn’t one to tolerate even a 1% risk unless absolutely necessary.
“He’s soone sent by Woo Min-hee,” King said suddenly, introducing .
“Woo So-jang-nim?”
Jeon Si-hoon’s expression shifted into the sa wary look he’d given King.
It was clear he didn’t like Woo Min-hee either.
Fixing my gaze on Jeon Si-hoon, I relayed the ssage exactly as I’d been instructed.
“Your father is dead.”
“Oh. Is that so?”
Jeon Si-hoon didn’t show much of a reaction.
The girl next to him glanced at him.
“Brother Si-hoon?”
“It’s fine. He’s soone I wished was dead anyway.”
King, watching the exchange, chuckled.
“You an the guy who abandoned your family and started a new one?”
“Yes.” Jeon Si-hoon nodded, then looked at .
“How did he die? And what about his real family?”
“All I know is that he’s dead. I don’t have any other details.”
“Did Woo Min-hee ntion how much I hate her?” Jeon Si-hoon asked, scrutinizing .
“She said as much.”
“I really hate her,” he stated firmly.
“Why?”
“She’s not a person. She’s a snake—cold and heartless. She enjoys watching others suffer and die. Thousands of people could be dying around her, and she’d be worried about her birthday party. How could anyone like her?”
“...I can’t entirely disagree,” I admitted.
Jeon Si-hoon turned his head away.
“I will never go back to her. Ever.”
King grinned, taking that as his cue.
“My turn now?”
“Wait,” I said.
“What? Got more to say? I think we’re done here.”
There was one more thing.
It was dangerous, sothing I rarely resorted to, but I had a feeling about Jeon Si-hoon.
Beneath his guarded and bitter exterior, there was sothing pure and good about him—sothing that reminded of Kang Han-min.
Maybe, just maybe, Jeon Si-hoon could fight for humanity’s survival like Han-min did.
Even if I was a relic of the battlefield, having soone like him join the fight could ease the burden on Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in.
“Si-hoon,” I said, looking him straight in the eye.
He turned back to , his expression wary.
Holding his gaze, I uttered the forbidden na.
“I’m… Eom Chang.”
“What…?”
Jeon Si-hoon’s face turned pale.
“I’m Eom Chang,” I said again.
“W-what do you an...?”
“The infamous Eom Chang who mocked Redmask on Failnet? That was . If you don’t believe , co to my bunker. I’ll show you the logs.”
Jeon Si-hoon stumbled back.
“W-wait, you’re that Eom Chang? The legend who pulled pranks on Redmask...!”
I nodded.
But it wasn’t just Jeon Si-hoon who was stunned. King, who usually carried himself with an air of arrogance and composure, was visibly shaken. His eyes widened as he turned to , struggling to form words.
“Skelton…!”
“You know better than to talk about this online, right?”
“Is this real? Skelton, are you actually… that Eom Chang?”
“Yeah. I’m Eom Chang. I had my issues with Woo Min-hee’s thods and played so pranks, but listen up, Si-hoon.”
Though I had just made a shocking confession, my tone remained calm.
“As we speak, Kang Han-min and Na Hye-in are out there closing the Rifts, facing unimaginable dangers and sacrifices.”
Because they had to.
I was doing what I could.
For the future of humanity.
“If you stood with them, Si-hoon, you might ease so of the weight on Kang Han-min’s shoulders.”
Jeon Si-hoon, who had been dismissive of everything I said up until now, lowered his head in thought.
It seed like my trump card—Eom Chang—had hit its mark.
King, anwhile, was still staring at in astonishnt.
“Skelton, you sneaky bastard. Hiding your true identity like that.”
“Keeping it secret is a matter of survival.”
“And all those upvotes? Must’ve felt good, huh?”
“Of course.”
King slapped his forehead lightly, a wry smile spreading across his face.
“You got . Damn it.”
“What? Are you planning to use force now?”
“Nah, I don’t work like that.”
King’s usual air of arrogance and confidence returned as he glanced over at Jeon Si-hoon.
“Hey, Si-hoon.”
Jeon Si-hoon looked at him.
“Want to co see my father?”
“What? Your father? I thought he was dead. Everyone says he’s dead.”
“He’s alive. Very much alive. I’m not going to force you into anything. You’re stronger than , after all. If you wanted, you could destroy my city without breaking a sweat.”
“...”
“But at least et him. You’ve got your own unresolved issues with your dad, right? It’s the sa thing. Skelton here might not understand, though.”
“I don’t have a father,” I interjected.
King ignored .
Before I could say more, the small, frail girl next to Jeon Si-hoon raised her voice.
“Where are you trying to take Si-hoon? He needs to stay here!”
“What nonsense is this?” King said, irritation creeping into his tone.
“Si-hoon is a chosen child of God. He must live on this sacred land!”
King looked at Jeon Si-hoon.
“Listen, kid. You can go with Skelton, or you can co with . I don’t care either way. But there’s no way in hell I’m letting you stay here with this crazy girl. If you want, I’ll find you soone prettier. If you don’t like older won, I’ll look for soone your age. I’ve got 30,000 people in my city; there’s bound to be soone better than her.”
“Why?” the girl snapped.
“Because you’re a fraud and a cultist!”
“Can’t you see the power of Ma Jong-sa’s talisman?!”
Before her voice could rise any higher, I had already moved to the doorway.
With a swift motion, I ripped the talisman off the wall.
Everyone’s faces went pale, King included.
“H-hey, Skelton. What are you doing?”
“This talisman…”
I held it up for a mont before tearing it into shreds in front of them.
“It’s just a piece of paper. See for yourself.”
I glanced out the window.
A few Spiderlings patrolled the area but showed no interest in us.
“It’s not the talisman,” I said, a mory sparking in my mind.
On several occasions in the field, I’d seen small-type monsters and their minions abruptly lose interest and retreat.
It wasn’t sothing I’d thought about deeply at the ti, given the chaos of battles that often involved fanatics and rebels alongside monsters. But now, it was clear.
Within the domains of small-type monsters, there were areas they and their minions instinctively avoided.
The fanatics must have discovered this through years of living near the monsters, likely at the cost of many lives. They then plastered these areas with fake talismans to make it seem like the paper was effective.
It might have fooled others, but not .
I’ve spent less ti near monsters than the fanatics have, but I’ve killed far more of them.
“King is right,” I said. “If you want to go with him, I won’t stop you. But staying here? That, I strongly oppose.”
“Excuse ,” the girl interrupted. “Is your na really Eom Chang?”
“...No.”
“Then why do you keep calling yourself Eom Chang?”
“It’s just a figure of speech.”
Great people often refer to themselves in the third person, don’t they? If you get over 10,000 comnts on Failnet, that makes you a legend, right?
Before I could elaborate, the girl looked out the window, her voice trembling.
“You’ll regret tearing that talisman. Look! The wrath of God’s ssenger is upon us!”
Through the broken window and the ragged concrete fra, sothing massive moved in the distance.
A colossal creature, walking on eight legs like a monstrous tardigrade, erged from the gray ruins.
The sight of it stirred a na buried deep in my mory.
“...Annihilator.”
King flinched, his unease palpable. He hastily pulled his gas mask over his face and turned to .
“Skelton, what the hell is that? Anni-what?”
“A war monster,” I replied grimly.
The Annihilator.
One of the most terrifying middle-class monsters, engineered for mass slaughter, had revealed itself in the heart of the gray wasteland.
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