TDWAD 18

Chapter 18

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[You have succeeded in ‘Regulating Breath and Circulating Energy (Small Heavenly Circuit).’]
[The flow of your internal energy has stabilized.]
[You have recovered from ‘Internal Injuries.’]
[Your ‘Special Attribute’ has increased. ‘Qi’ 9 → 10]
[Your meridians have been tempered. The amount of internal energy you can utilize has increased.]
[You have achieved ‘Heavenly Fortune Sword Art – 3 Stars’!]

“…As expected, after the storm passes, the ground becomes firm.”

Sitting cross-legged, a faint smile curved Do-yoon’s lips, and a deep, serene light filled his steady gaze. His eyes carried the solid resolve of someone who had overcome a critical hurdle.

“What are you talking about? The only thing that’s actually hardened is the expression on everyone’s faces because of you.”

The driver’s cabin door opened, and Siren’s shadow fell over Do-yoon’s head. Her eyes were sharp, with a hint of irritation.

Do-yoon unfolded his legs and rose to his feet.
“What, having fun gossiping about me?”

“If that’s all they were doing, that would be fine! They’re talking lawsuits, mental damages, saying you should be slapped with a pair of silver bracelets, you lecher!”

“Really?”

Siren narrowed her eyes.
“…That’s my wishful thinking. Do you think anyone has time for that when life and death are on the line?”

“Han Yeon-ha.”

“Him again? Every time you open your mouth it’s ‘Han Yeon-ha, Han Yeon-ha.’ I’m sick to death of it.”

This time, her tone was openly annoyed.
“Why don’t you ever ask me anything? Am I just some nobody to you?”

“No, because with the blood pact—”

“Oh, I see. Since you chained me with a blood pact, you think you don’t have to consider my feelings? That I’m just a puppet anyway?”

‘Looks like the mirror therapy is working.’

Siren — the ‘Mind Dominator.’
To make her recognize her past wrongdoings, the only way was to keep holding up the mirror to her actions.

‘…Though she is unexpectedly sharp.’

She wasn’t wrong, but Do-yoon had his own point to make.
“Why don’t you let me finish before getting worked up? The effect of the blood pact lets me sense the condition of my clan members.”

“Huh?”

“You couldn’t have missed that my internal injuries were severe, and that they began rapidly improving after I came into contact with Han Yeon-ha.”

“Oh, of course I noticed.”

Siren’s aggressive tone weakened slightly.
“Wait… then does that mean Han Yeon-ha is one of us?”

“‘One of us’?”

“No—she’s a New Human. Hmm, I’ve never seen a healer before. So that’s why you came to recruit her?”

Not exactly — his true purpose was to protect her mental state.

—Missing Persons Who Vanished Reappear Miraculously Alive!
—Eighteen Days of Life-or-Death Struggle… Yet Passengers Say, “We Remember Nothing.”

Recruitment wasn’t his concern.
It was about protecting Han Yeon-ha’s psyche, which had withered and collapsed in the past ten loops — so that she could remain a descendant of righteousness.

‘That’s enough for me.’

Of course, Siren had no idea of his intentions and was getting ahead of herself.
“Then that means you’ve talked it over with Chiron too? If it was a meeting decision, you should’ve told me in advance!”

“…?”

“Leave Han Yeon-ha to me. I’ll take care of her — from personal safety to winning her over. So…”

Siren lowered her gaze.
Surprisingly cooperative, for once?

“You just focus on finding a way to get us out. Or maybe… you’ve already found one.”

“Hm?”

“While waiting, I came up with my own answer. The strange phenomena happening worldwide, the ghostly forms the conductor claims to have seen — they’re all connected, right?”

“You’re pretty accurate today.”

“Whatever came ‘out of the gap’ is holding this train here. Something humans can’t explain… something supernatural… something bizarre.”

Her face suddenly turned pale. Her voice trembled as if a chill had run down her spine.

“So even someone like you has something you’re scared of.”

“G-ghosts… you can’t communicate with them, not even a little.”

“So your powers don’t work on them.”

“Ghosts, specters, spirits, phantoms — I refuse to deal with any of it!”

Her eyes pleaded earnestly.
“So, if you have good news, hurry up and spill it. If you, the great Hyun Do-yoon, beat something to a pulp, then the other side must be nothing but mush, right…?”

“Mush? More like powder.”

And not only that. He’d given it a post-mortem execution with ‘Repair’ and branded it with the seal of subjugation via ‘Collection.’

“R-really?!”

Siren’s face lit up.

“The problem is, that was just the mid-boss. There’s still the real boss — the Black Ghost.”

“But you’re going to take him down too, right?”

“As of now, it’s impossible.”

“You’re still recovering? Once your condition’s back, you should be able to handle it, right?”

“If we fight a hundred times, I’ll lose a hundred times. He’s in a different weight class.”

“Oh.”

Her expression darkened again.
“We’re screwed… Then what happens now?”

The answer was already hidden in her own question. Siren lowered her bitten fingernail.
“What else? We get buried alive. You should’ve just let me die instead of saving me!”

“Oh, please.”

“Well, at least the road to the afterlife won’t be lonely, thanks to you. …Eh? Why are you smiling? It’s creepy.”

“Even if ‘Killing the Black Ghost ends the nightmare’ is true…” Do-yoon’s smile deepened.
“…It doesn’t automatically mean ‘If we can’t kill him, everyone will be trapped in darkness.’”

“What… what are you talking about?”

“Ever tried playing crypto?”

“I can’t follow you… -70% down, though.”

“Right now you’re probably -90%. Don’t cut your losses — hold till the end.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes!”

“I wasn’t joking. What I just said is our survival strategy.”

No way…

One word pierced through Siren’s mind.
“Hodl?”

“Correct.”

In most loops, the Black Ghost is hunted by the Hunter Association’s 8th Subjugation Unit.
After repeated annihilations and over a year of attempts, light finally breaks through the darkness.

But why the Black Ghost causes tunnel vanishings, and why — after hijacking the train — it merely watches the passengers instead of harming them, remains an unsolved mystery.

‘…However, I do know its patterns: 1. It never acts directly. 2. After 18 days, it returns the train to where it was taken.’

That was what Do-yoon was counting on.
In 12 loops, a total of 117 tunnel abductions had taken place.

History repeats itself.

“We don’t have to do anything. If we just stay put, everyone will make it out alive.”

‘Will it really go that smoothly?’ Siren doubted him inwardly.

Things never worked out so easily.
Even if Do-yoon was right, panicked people wouldn’t just obediently follow orders.

The first car was packed to the brim with passengers from all over the train.
When Do-yoon rolled up his shirt, the noisy chatter died away instantly.

“If the tunnel collapsed due to ground subsidence, then we weren’t attacked by a monster.”

Deep, sharp wounds covered his torso, the white bandages stained with red blotches.

“Gasp…!”
“Good heavens…”

The traces of fierce battle silenced the crowd.

[Title ‘First Purifier (B)’ has been activated.]
[Non-player civilians feel mild goodwill toward you.]
[Title ‘NPC Executioner (A)’ has been activated.]
[Non-player civilians feel genuine favor toward you.]

“What’s out there is a danger from another dimension, something that could never happen in the normal world.” Do-yoon’s voice was calm and steady.
“The only way to guarantee safety is to endure inside the train.”

A passenger in the front raised a hand.
“I understand that waiting calmly for rescue is the best course. But for how long? A day? Two? And after that?”

“We keep enduring — a week, two weeks — until rescue comes.”

“In a week, we’ll all be dead!”

“Why?”

“D-don’t you know? Forget food — after just three days, dehydration will—”

“No, you’ll all be fine.”

The past twelve loops had proven it.

‘They had to survive — though it always came at the cost of brutal sacrifice.’

Do-yoon turned his head.
Standing there was Han Yeon-ha.

[Hunter Patch Exclusive] “Tunnel Vanishing” Survivor’s Shocking Confession — “We Sated Our Hunger with the Ever-Regenerating Flesh and Blood of the Saintess.”

“…This time.”

“Sorry?”

“I’ll protect you too — no matter what.”

“O-oh… thank you…”

Han Yeon-ha felt her cheeks warm slightly.
‘Why… why does he keep saying that to me?’

When Do-yoon gave her a subtle nod, Siren mouthed her surprise.
‘That actually worked?’

‘Told you it would.’

She pressed a button and stepped aside.
Clatter.

The automatic door opened, revealing the connecting passage to the driver’s cabin — and the stacks of boxes piled high along the wall.

“Would you mind showing us what’s inside?”

The attendant opened a box. Inside were non-perishable foods that required no cooking — canned goods, hardtack, jerky, energy bars, and more.

“There’s more over here!”

Another attendant opened the boxes on the opposite side — 2-liter bottles of water in six-packs, shimmering invitingly under the lights.

“T-there’s so much!”

“If we ration carefully…”

Hope began to light up in the passengers’ eyes.

“Don’t waste it, but no need to be too stingy either.” Do-yoon smiled faintly.
“When you return to your cars, you’ll find supply boxes stored in the passage lockers. The contents can be used freely by each car.”

“W-wait! Even there?!”

Relief and joy came first, but it was accompanied by a strange, almost bewitched feeling.

‘How could all of this already be prepared? It’s not like he has a magic club…’

Of course, it hadn’t appeared out of nowhere.

Do-yoon had transported these survival supplies all the way from Seoul in a cargo truck.

A Challenger’s weapons weren’t limited to stats and skills.

He was about to show them what “the right thing in the right place” and “tailored strategy” truly meant.

—Interesting prey this time. This is going to be fun.

It had been a while since Tunnel 187’s “Soul Reaper,” the Black Ghost, had felt its fighting spirit ignite.

Day 1
I scattered seeds of hunger and gluttony in the mobile farm. But what happened? The humans threw a feast instead, ruining my expected harvest.

Day 2
I sowed seeds of isolation and anxiety, but the leader’s encouragement sprouted moldy bonds of solidarity and hope. Disgusting.

Day 3
I spread my prized fertilizer — fever — but failed because of those damn cold medicines the leader distributed. A harmful substance that neutralizes the fertilizer’s effects. The harvest is delayed.

Day 4
I filled the farm with boredom and monotony. It worked at first, but then the leader handed out paper-made playthings, and the crops became lively again. Such crude amusements ruining my perfect opportunity! The harvest drifts further away.

Day 5
Some crops don’t want to be rescued.
The moment salvation’s hand reaches them, their hidden sins and secrets will be laid bare.
Others are rotten branches, with realities outside the farm more miserable than here.
The fruits of division are ripening.

Day 6
I don’t know how.
The crops are binding together even tighter.
How did they notice?
How did they win over the wanted criminal, the debt fugitive, the adulterous couple?
A proper harvest is impossible now.
I don’t care about the quality of the souls anymore.
I’ll curse them with rage so they tear each other apart in a bloody frenzy.

Day 7
This…
Can’t…
Be real…

The infection rate has reached 97%.
A curse that seeps into the bone marrow, driving them to crave others’ flesh and blood.
It’s normally used as a finishing move to slaughter humans after the harvest is done.

Everything was going according to plan… until some woman wagged her filthy tongue.

The crops cast off the shackles of rage and obeyed only her commands.

This reeks of the leader’s doing.
Where the hell did this kind of human come from?
No — is she even human?

Seen through, seen through, seen through again.

How long must I keep swallowing this bitterness?

…Perhaps it would be better to—