Chapter 167 – Return (1)

“Huh? There are people alive over there!”

While reuniting with the party and catching up, the boy Western noticed some survivors inside a nearby building.

“After those roots or tentacles disappeared, I could sense people inside the buildings.”

Curious, I looked at Western, and the boy explained the situation as if defending himself.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Western. I was just curious.

‘Was it because of the miasma?’

Indeed, she had noticed the people in the park but hadn’t sensed those inside the buildings.

Most likely, the miasma emitted by the roots of the divine tree that had enveloped the buildings had blocked her detection abilities.

Still, even though the roots of the divine tree had wrapped around the entire island, it was unlikely that they had consumed everyone in the city.

There must have been people who survived by hiding deep inside the buildings.

“There aren’t many. Maybe one group per building, with only three or four people in each group.”

However, the number of survivors seemed to be small.

It was unfortunate, but it was still good news that there were survivors.

Both for us, who had destroyed the roots of the divine tree, and for the agents of the U.S. government.

“That’s a relief. Having survivors will help in establishing a base.”

Seeing that the roots of the divine tree were gone, Tom and the agents decided to create a new base on the island.

With the roots gone, Manhattan Island had become a clean island, free of zombies, undead, and looters.

Indeed, this island was now the safest and most intact city in the United States, if not the world.

“Ha, ha, if I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have destroyed the Federal Reserve building.”

Looking at the Manhattan skyscrapers, which from a distance looked like the city before the zombie outbreak, Tom expressed regret.

“There was no other choice at the time.”

Back then, destroying the building was undoubtedly the best option.

For both Tom and me.

“Yes, that’s true. But since we properly demolished it and sealed the vault, even if the island becomes safe, it will be difficult to open the vault easily.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“Hmm. At least a few months, maybe even longer. There’s no reason to retrieve the gold until we need it.”

Indeed, there was no reason to dig out the gold bars buried under the collapsed building now.

With the U.S. government barely functioning, except for the navy and some military units, there was no reason to spend time and manpower retrieving the gold.

In the current situation, it was safer to leave it buried.

The gold could be retrieved when civilization was rebuilt in the distant future.

And that suited me just fine.

Until then, there was no risk of anyone finding out that gold had been taken from the Federal Reserve vault.

Even if someone noticed a shortage of gold in the distant future, there would be no way to trace who had taken it.

Some might suspect me or Yelena, but who would know?

By then, I wouldn’t even be on Earth.

While I was talking with Tom, the party members were asking Jahina about what had happened in the other world.

Unlike the agents, the party members were more interested in the fact that Jahina and I had returned safely and what had happened beyond the gate.

Yerim, in particular, was wide-eyed as she listened to the story of the divine tree’s land, the city made of trees.

“I should have gone too… You said you needed a priestess. If I had gone, I could have been a big help. I wouldn’t have suffered either.”

Her words seemed to express regret for not being able to help, but her expression was filled with longing for the tree city.

Jahina seemed to notice her expression.

“Since the gate has been created, you can visit next time.”

“Oh, right. Then, can we go now?”

Yerim leaned forward and asked, but Jahina shook her head.

“It’s better not to go now. The city is just starting to rebuild, and the children of the divine tree are still on edge.”

As Jahina said, the city was still in ruins.

The walls were gone, and only about a third of the buildings remained.

The central tree was beginning to revive.

If we went now, all we would see was a ruined city.

Moreover, the spirits in the city wouldn’t welcome us.

Not just because we were humans, but because Jahina had dropped a bomb on them.

Jahina seemed to know this too, as her long ears turned slightly red while she tried to persuade Yerim.

“Saving a city like that is truly a remarkable achievement. In a way, you two saved this city too.”

Yelena, who had created the gate, looked at Jahina and me with admiration.

‘Saving it is a bit of an exaggeration…’

I shook my head at Yelena’s words.

The divine tree’s city, like Manhattan Island, had no living people, so saying we saved the city was a bit overstated.

Well, we did revive the divine tree, so in a way, we saved the physical city itself.

“That’s right. A brave knight and an elf who invaded an enemy stronghold and saved two cities. This is the kind of achievement you’d read about in a hero’s tale.”

I couldn’t help but be startled by Yerim’s following words.

Listening to her, I realized why I hadn’t been boasting about my accomplishments.

It was definitely because of that word, “hero.”

I had even been called a “hero candidate” by Benedict, so if I got too carried away, I might end up becoming a new hero.

Even now, I hadn’t been discharged and was still suffering. If I became a hero, I could only imagine how much more I’d have to endure.

A position where you risk your life every time, and even if you return alive, you gain nothing but honor.

I had already seen the previous hero die, so I couldn’t believe in the lottery-level odds of defeating the Demon King and becoming a hero.

The expeditionary force headquarters had downplayed my achievements, so it wasn’t a big issue, but if any rumors started, it could be troublesome.

However, when I mentioned this to the party members, they looked at me with strange eyes.

“For someone who says that, you always handle things quite spectacularly.”

I had no response to Hoffman’s words, which seemed to speak for the party members.

Anyway, after catching up, we left the satellite impact crater.

To guard the newly created gate, a few agents were left in the buildings near the crater, and we headed back south along the path we had come.

As we passed through Harlem and entered Central Park, Tom asked Western with a serious expression.

“Are the survivors in Central Park still there?”

There was no need to ask why Tom was asking.

If we were to make Manhattan Island our base, we needed to decide how to handle them.

At Tom’s question, the boy replied with a dark expression.

“Right now… I can only sense three.”

Wait, did that mean the rest had died?

Surprised by the unexpected situation, we decided to visit the survivor camp in Central Park.

‘Ugh.’

As we approached the center of the park, the camp, the smell of blood was overwhelming.

It wasn’t the smell of blood from killing people for food, but the smell of blood that carried the scent of pain and death.

We could tell without even seeing the camp.

That a great battle had taken place here.

As we crossed the hill where Jahina and I had hidden, the camp came into view.

As I had expected, the camp was filled with signs of battle.

People stabbed by spears, cut by swords, and even those who had stabbed each other, resulting in mutual destruction.

This camp had been destroyed by internal conflict.

It was the final scene of a camp in a ruined world, something we had seen many times before.

We entered the ruined camp, cutting down the still-moving zombies as we made our way to the central clearing.

There, we saw the survivors.

As Western had said, there were three people left.

But could they really be called survivors?

The three people sitting in the center of the ruined camp were covered in wounds and drenched in blood.

Their arms and legs were missing, and they were clearly on the verge of death.

Yerim rushed to save them, but Hoffman grabbed her arm.

Yerim looked at Hoffman in surprise, and he shook his head.

“They want to die.”

Hoffman was right.

Their eyes were already dead.

As we approached, the two who were still conscious looked at us and chuckled weakly.

“Heh, heh. Are you the rescue team? You’re too late. No, even if you had come earlier, it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“Or maybe you’re here to kill us…”

“Well, it’s probably both.”

One person was unable to speak, and the other two were gradually losing their breath.

Even in that state, the two continued to mutter.

From their words, we learned what had happened.

This cannibal camp had been destroyed because of us.

When the roots that had enveloped the city suddenly disappeared, and the hope of survival emerged, the people who had survived by eating their comrades became confused.

Especially those who had lost their families to the stronger ones began to think of revenge.

What followed was predictable.

In the sudden internal conflict, people began killing each other, and in the end, only these three remained.

The survivors were those who had lost their families and taken up arms for revenge.

They believed they were also targets of revenge.

We, the third party, did not stop their decision.

Tom and the agents, who had been struggling with how to handle the cannibals, also did not stop their deaths.

And so, they stopped breathing, and we cut off the heads of those who had turned into zombies.

With that, one survivor camp disappeared, and we crossed the island, passing through the underground roads and Governors Island, returning to Sunset Park.

We left the people on Governors Island there for now.

Since we had decided to establish a base on Manhattan Island, there was no need to bring them over.

“They’re back!”

“Everyone’s safe!”

“Our heroes!”

As we entered the base in front of Sunset Park, people cheered for us.

Women rushed to the agents, kissing them. Men hugged them roughly.

Unlike when we first arrived, the people hugged me and our party members tightly.

Everyone was glad that we had returned safely.

Moreover, they could see that the roots that had enveloped Manhattan Island were gone, so they knew it was us who had destroyed them.

It was a joyful and exciting moment, but unlike the old party days, there was no loud noise.

Despite their expressions, everyone spoke softly, as if they had adapted to the ruined world.

Anyway, after receiving the typical enthusiastic American welcome, I made an awkward expression.

“How are we supposed to get home?”

It wasn’t exactly home, but we needed to return to Daejeon.

The problem was that there was no way back.

The transport plane that had brought us here had sunk off the coast of New York, so if things went wrong, we might have to walk across the U.S. and find a boat on the West Coast.

“I’m sorry. If there had been a portal, we could have crossed over immediately…”

Yelena apologized to me, but it wasn’t her fault.

Portals weren’t something that could be created so easily.

Since a gate had been created in New York, a portal connecting Daejeon and New York might be possible, but that wasn’t something that could happen overnight.

As we were worrying about this, Tom came over and reassured us.

“Please wait a few days. I think there will be a way.”

If Tom said so, it was as good as the U.S. government saying it.

I took his words to heart and rested deeply for a few days.

Unlike me, the party members were busy during those days.

Yerim and Hoffman helped the people at the base, and Yelena researched whether a portal could be created.

The Americans were busy preparing to establish a base on Manhattan Island.

They sent people to Manhattan Island through the underground roads and used Western’s abilities to gather the remaining people on the island.

As time passed, three days later, a massive ship appeared off the coast of New York.

It was an aircraft carrier.

The aircraft carrier that had been in the southern Atlantic had made its way to New York.