Breathing Life into Real Dolls

1.

From a distance, a group of zombies approached.

Although they could sprint quickly, they were cautiously approaching, making their way behind cover.

They seemed aware that their actions were a surprise attack, trying to move without making a sound.

‘At least the mutant zombies are intelligent. This is the worst.’

If this place was a trap, the best strategy would be to lure the attackers in and then ambush them. However, the objective of this battle was to defend against their attack with minimal casualties.

“Serena. Start throwing now. We need to reduce their numbers before the battle begins.”

“Yes.”

Following my command, Serena took out a tool made of long ropes intertwined with leather.

It was perhaps the oldest ranged weapon in human history, a sling.

It might sound primitive, like something a caveman would use.

However, the power behind a stone propelled by a sling was so formidable that it could even crush the skull of a person wearing an iron helmet.

Imagine if it was used by Serena, who had superhuman strength and agility.

And now, that scene was unfolding.

Whoom - Zoom - Zoom-Zoom-Zoom-!

Serena began spinning the stone in her sling.

The fierce sound of its rotation was audible.

Dust was swirling around her due to the wind pressure from the spinning sling.

As it approached its maximum speed, which almost made me worry the rope might snap, the stone shot out like a bullet.

Whish - Thwack-!

The propelled stone obliterated the head of a mutant zombie that was sneaking up, unaware. It was instantly killed.

Only 7 mutant zombies remained.

They caught on to our preemptive strike. Turning their heads towards the department store’s rooftop, they started running toward the entrance on the first floor.

“Keep throwing, Serena. Proceed as we discussed earlier.”

“Yes, master.”

Whoom - Zoom - Zoom-Zoom-Zoom-!

As the sound of the spinning sling resumed, I dashed towards the stairs.

I had to prepare to greet the enemy.

2.

Upon reaching the first floor, I noticed the residents of the department store had prepared to fight the zombies from behind a barricade.

Even those without any abilities had come out to fight, holding crude spears made by attaching kitchen knives to mop handles.

Observing the crowd, which seemed to be several dozen strong, each person gripped a weapon and looked tense. It felt like witnessing the moments before a battle in ancient times, long before the age of scientific advancements.

“You’re here?”

Jin Serim spoke upon seeing me. I nodded and approached her.

“It turned out just like you said.”

“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”

“But thanks to you, we were able to prepare.”

“…Thank you.”

From the rooftop view, the zombies were charging from a distance. Now, they could be seen from the first-floor entrance as well.

Seeing the horde, which seemed to number around a hundred, the people began murmuring amongst themselves.

Most had only ever fought zombies scattered in sporadic numbers, never in such a large group.

This war-like confrontation was something nobody had ever experienced before.

The unknown incited fear.

The people were frozen in terror.

I decided to inspire courage in them.

“Everyone— attention—!”

Dozens of inquisitive eyes turned toward me. Even Jin Serim seemed slightly taken aback.

At the moment, my voice was being transmitted to Serena through a wireless earphone microphone in my ear.

Pointing towards the approaching mutant zombies, I declared,

“There’s no need to be afraid of the mutant zombies! Rena and I will take care of them all!”

“….”

While people silently nodded, it didn’t appear as if their fear had completely vanished.

It was to be expected. It was mere words, after all.

“Everyone, look at this—!”

I held up a stone the size of my fist and stepped forward.

The mutant zombies were rapidly approaching.

Targeting one of them, I hurled the stone with all my might.

Swoosh- Thud!

As if swatting away an incoming fly, the mutant zombie swung its hand to deflect the stone.

Its face seemed to twist in a mocking sneer.

“Ah….”

People let out a sigh that was tinged with despair. However, the stone I threw was a diversion.

Suddenly, the head of the sneering creature exploded. Carried by its momentum, the headless body took a few more steps before collapsing.

A split second later, a booming noise echoed as if delayed from the explosion.

Boom-!

It was a stone thrown by Serena, using her sling, breaking the sound barrier and obliterating the creature’s head.

“Good job, Serena.”

“Hehe. Thank you, master.”

“Come down and join us now.”

“Yes!”

I whispered so that only Serena could hear. Shortly after, cheers erupted from the people at the back.

“Woahhhhhhhhh—!”

“What just happened? Did it get hit by the stone?”

“Was that a mutant? It wasn’t that big of a deal!”

“There’s nothing to be scared of!”

No longer did the faces of the crowd show traces of fear. They were fired up, excited for the impending battle.

The regular zombies seemed manageable for these people.

The approaching zombies were now very close.

Wooaaaaaaaaaah—

Wooaaaaaaaaaah—

Wooaah—

“Kyaahhhhhh—”

The sharp howling of the mutant zombies pierced our ears.

The battle had begun.

Wooaaaaaaaaaah—

“Dieeeeeee—!”

“Maintain the line—!”

“Don’t let them cross the barricade—!”

“If you retreat, you die! Hold theeeeeem—!”

The regular zombies were, as expected, easy opponents. The real concern was the mutant zombies.

These creatures had decimated all but one of six ability-imbued individuals. My eyes were fixed on them.

Before arriving here, Serena had killed four out of the eight using her sling. Only four remained.

Yet, they remained a formidable threat. The mutant zombies, with skin close to black, moved with the speed of a cheetah, penetrating various parts of the barricade.

“It’s dangerous here—!”

I charged towards the most threatening of them all.

“Kyaahhhhhh—”

From the gaping mouth of the mutant zombie, jagged teeth reminiscent of a shark were clearly visible. Every single tooth looked like a canine.

I drove my aluminum bat full swing into the creature’s maw.

Whooosh- thud!

Had it been an ordinary zombie, such a blow would have sent its head flying. But this creature caught the bat I swung with its teeth.

Screeeeech-

With a horrid metallic sound, the tip of the bat warped. The beast chewed on the aluminum as if it were bubblegum.

“This crazy thing…!”

In haste, I drew the sashimi knife from my waist and stabbed it into the creature’s neck. It hit accurately, but its potency was disappointing.

It only penetrated about 5cm before it couldn’t go any further. The zombie’s black skin was incredibly tough.

I swiftly drew out the knife and slashed across its eyes.

“Kyaaaaack—!”

The mutant zombie twisted its face. Could it be that even this corpse felt pain?

“We’re in danger…!”

“It’s breaking through—!”

“Hold it—!”

I was just one person. While I held off a single mutant zombie, the remaining three diligently breached the barricade.

Soon, there would be a dire moment where we’d be fighting dozens of zombies without a barrier between us.

Something akin to a golden flash soared above my head.

Serena landed, her golden hair fluttering, amidst the zombies. She had run all the way from the department store rooftop to the first floor.

“Serena, kill the mutant zombies first!”

For a moment, it seemed as though Serena’s green eyes shone brightly as she raised her head.

“Yes, Master.”

What followed was a one-sided massacre.

Serena moved, leaving only a blurry afterimage behind, and the mutant zombies fell one by one, their joints grotesquely twisted.

“Huh, wha…?”

“What just happened?”

People watched the scene in utter astonishment.

“Sigh…”

There were no casualties on our side in this battle.

Thankfully, everything went according to plan.

3.

After the fight ended, the excitement from the battle had everyone on a high. Cheers erupted as the last zombie was killed.

“Wowwwwwww—!”

“We did ittttttt—!”

“Hurrayyyyyy—!”

“Hahahahahaha—!”

They then recognized who their hero was. The woman who, in the face of crisis, eliminated all the mutant zombies and even slaughtered the regular ones.

A woman with long golden hair and green eyes, moving in superhuman ways, who resembled a foreigner.

Jin Serim was the first to approach and offer a handshake to Serena.

“Thank you very much, Miss Rena.”

When Serena accepted the handshake, the crowd erupted.

“Rena! Rena! Rena! Rena!”

“Woooooooo—!”

“Thank you—!”

I felt proud.

However, the very subject of those cheers, Serena furrowed her brows as if something bothered her. Then she looked at me and said,

“Everyone, stop! Our victory is all thanks to Doha’s strategy—!”

All eyes immediately turned towards me.

“Wowwwwwww—!”

“Doha! Doha! Doha! Doha!”

“Thank you, both of you—!”

Serena, why’d you do that without being asked…!

I, who hadn’t even taken down a single mutant zombie, felt so embarrassed by the people chanting my name that I ran away.

“Woooooooo—!”

The heated atmosphere showed no signs of cooling down.

4.

Around 4 a.m., a still-dark early morning.

The department store next to Jeongbalsan Station had its lights on brightly as its inhabitants celebrated.

In an environment where livestock farming was no longer possible, meat from livestock was not consumable. Among the few edible things that resembled meat, items like SPAM and sausages were there.

The most luxurious dish made from these was ‘budae-jjigae’ (army base stew).

People, victorious from the battle with the zombies, celebrated their survival together with budae-jjigae and bottles of soju.

“Mmm, this is delicious.”

“I made this one. It’s just store-bought budae-jjigae seasoning, though.”

“You have a good hand for cooking, don’t you?”

“Hehe, right?”

I was tasting the budae-jjigae with Jin Serim and Serena on either side of me.

Serena looked at the green bottles people held and said,

“Doha, can I try drinking too?”

“Hmm? Well… Go ahead.”

“Wow! Thanks!”

I poured half a shot of soju into a glass and handed it to Serena.

After drinking it in one go, she scrunched her eyebrows.

“Ew… It’s not tasty.”

“Hehe. I figured you’d say that.”

With a smile, I drank the shot of soju that Jin Serim poured for me.

The sensation of cold soju sliding down the throat was a rare and special feeling in this post-apocalyptic world.

“Do you find soju tasty, Doha?”

“It’s not that it tastes good… it’s the feeling of alcohol that’s pleasant.”

“I see. I want to drink more!”

“Oh? Really?”

Serena eagerly drank the soju I poured for her.

The celebration continued for about two hours. At around 6 a.m., on the border between dawn and morning, people began to retire to sleep.

Having not slept and having consumed alcohol, Serena and I decided to rest here and depart later.

“You can sleep here.”

“Thanks, Serim noona.”

“Hehe, sleep well.”

Jin Serim was one year older than me, 29 years old. We were assigned an empty room on the second floor.

The “room” was merely separated by partitions and curtains. They weren’t even proper walls, so there was no soundproofing.

Just as I was about to fall asleep holding Serena…

“Hmmm…♡”

Serena fumbled with my belt.

“Serena? What are you doing?”

“Hehee…”

She looked at me with a drunken smile, clearly inebriated.

She had been drinking every shot I poured for her. Did she drink too much? Serena seemed drunk.

“Master~♡ I drank too much of that bitter stuff… I want to taste Master’s essence…♡”

“Woah, wait. Not here…!”

She persisted and managed to take off my pants.

“Mmm♡!”

“Ugh…!”