Dansocheon slung the limp Yuri over his shoulder and stepped out of the office.
Cedric stood in the hallway, gazing out the window.
“Is it over?”
Dansocheon nodded.
“After Jin unfolded, what did you two talk about?”
His voice sounded almost gentle at first, but Dansocheon could sense the coldness beneath it.
There was no warmth in him.
The few who ever received even a trace of his goodwill were rare—and mostly his sister, Yuri Briole.
“We didn’t say much. Jin only unfolded to avoid causing a scene.”
“Couldn’t you have handled it quietly?”
“Your sister isn’t that weak. If she were, this building would’ve been destroyed.”
“Impressive.”
Cedric smiled.
“Keep her unconscious for a while.”
“Understood.”
They walked side by side down the corridor.
Even though Dansocheon carried Yuri, the servants acted as if they didn’t see him, greeting only Cedric.
Cedric spoke again.
“Frances’ great law is ready. Now you can do what you’ve been waiting for.”
“I’ll say it again—don’t interfere.”
“Really?”
“Even if I do, only after one of us falls.”
“Alright, alright.”
Cedric shrugged.
“That’s why humans are so frustrating. The instinct of pride still survives. Maybe this whole world is flawed.”
Dansocheon said nothing.
A rare genius who hadn’t gone mad even after reading the Dark Archangel’s Manual—in fact, one who wielded the power within it. Perhaps a demon.
He was no ordinary human.
Maybe that’s why he could become the master of the Dark Archangel’s Manual.
“Dansocheon. Confident you can win?”
“I don’t know.”
“My father is pretty strong. A genius in a different way than me.”
Cedric patted Dansocheon’s shoulder.
“You can kill him if you want, just don’t lose. By the way, Yuri said to spare your friend, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m curious…”
Adjusting his glasses, Cedric smiled.
“What will happen to him, and to Yuri? Dansocheon, shall we make a bet?”
“I’ll pass.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re betting on the same outcome.”
“That’s no fun.”
They left the building and strolled through the royal palace grounds.
“Leave my sister here.”
“Are you sure?”
“She can handle herself anywhere.”
Cedric chuckled to himself, clearly amused.
“Once she wakes up, a lot will have changed.”
Dansocheon roughly rolled Yuri’s body into a corner of the garden.
She lay there as if asleep. Soon, a servant would find her.
Cedric said, “This is goodbye here. Let’s go to Frances.”
Someone asked.
[Do you want to live?]
Roland shook his head.
It was his honest answer.
But that someone wouldn’t leave him alone.
[No, you have to live.]
And Roland’s world began to turn again.
His mind, stained deep red, the desire boiling in his gut, slowly rewound. His spirit, plummeting toward death, began to climb back up the cliff.
He had become a zombie, but he was not dead.
So he could live again.
“Ah…”
Roland blinked.
Suddenly, his mind returned. But he couldn’t remember what he had been doing.
Shapes appeared in his vision, but he couldn’t clearly recognize them.
His brain’s functions gradually came back online.
Only then did Roland recall that the color filling his sight was called red.
Red.
A brilliant, yet terrifying color.
Roses, tulips, peonies, amaryllis.
Apples, strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, pomegranates.
And blood.
Guts soaked in blood. Flesh drenched in blood. White bones jutting out between it all. And more blood dripping down.
Roland swallowed hard.
A metallic taste and a sharp fishy stench stabbed his nostrils.
His senses sharpened.
He realized what he was clutching was a living being.
More than that, a human.
But what kind of human?
Roland closed and opened his eyes.
He lifted his head, raising his gaze.
There was a limp head. From the hair color and facial features, he recalled the name given to that person.
Stephanie.
One of her eyes was gone, leaving a single eye that reflected Roland’s bloodied face.
Roland remembered the time when he had become something else. He wished he could forget it, but he remembered everything.
She had been alive when he tore out her guts.
Her screams were sharp, then faded into sobs. Like any human, she called for her mother and father.
Roland clawed at his head. Pieces of Stephanie’s flesh still stuck in his mouth. He wanted to spit them out, but they were caught between his teeth.
He shoved his hand in and scraped wildly, but it was no use. He bit down hard.
A few teeth broke off, along with thin strips of flesh, falling onto Stephanie’s entrails.
Roland laughed, blood dripping from his mouth. Then he vomited. Undigested parts of Stephanie’s body spilled out. His stomach acid was bright red, and he vomited again.
Amid the vomit, an eyeball connected to the optic nerve stared up at him.
The sensation returned.
The desire swirling inside him ignited a fierce hunger for Stephanie’s two eyes. Soft, delicious parts. A delicacy of sorts. He plucked one out, rolled it on his tongue, then swallowed it whole.
He left one behind, saving it to savor as dessert.
Roland slammed his head against the wall.
He muttered curses repeatedly. Spat, vomited, then hit his forehead again.
He made beastly sounds as he kept hurting himself.
He threw his body with all his might. The guard post collapsed, debris burying him and Stephanie’s corpse.
But he did not die.
Roland crawled out from the rubble. The sun beat down on him. The blood covering his hands wasn’t his own.
He touched his face.
He felt skin stuck to his fingers. He tore it off. Blood flowed down his face.
Roland began to laugh.
A few zombies lurked nearby.
He remembered what it was like to be a zombie. They weren’t dead. They were abominations, cursed to wander the earth forever, driven by impulses that should not exist in this world.
Roland charged at them in a frenzy.
The zombies, unresponsive at first, finally fought back when attacked.
Roland crushed a zombie’s face with his fist. He tore off an arm reaching for him, then ripped apart its neck and torso.
After killing several, more zombies swarmed him.
Roland rammed his body into them, swinging his limbs wildly. When several grabbed him, he bit and tore at them.
A brutal, bloody battle of biting and clawing ensued.
Covered in blood, Roland howled.
After a long, desperate fight, he staggered to his feet, exhausted. Around him lay the dismembered bodies of the zombies.
“Wow…”
Suddenly, applause came from behind.
Roland turned.
“Impressive.”
Roland rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Cedric approached, smiling. A man dressed in black accompanied him.
“How does it feel to have survived?”
“You… you bastard…”
Since returning from being a zombie, Roland spoke human words for the first time.
His voice had changed.
Where once it was clear, now it was rough and hoarse, as if his vocal cords were damaged.
Roland coughed, and Cedric shrugged.
“You’re serving my brother. You should show some respect.”
“Shut up!”
Roland lunged, but the man in black beside Cedric blocked him.
Roland was thrown back, crashing to the floor.
“Ugh…”
“We could have wiped you out with Frances right here, but my sister asked me to spare you.”
“You bastard…”
Roland muttered curses with his face pressed to the ground.
His head was immediately stomped on.
“What did you do to Frances…?”
“Solitude.”
Cedric said.
“Frances is solitude. It gathers human life force to create poison, and with that, it will face the most formidable enemies.”
“You son of a…!”
“Roland.”
Roland raised his eyes. Cedric crouched down, looking down at him.
“My sister asked me to turn you back into a person. Be grateful and stay quiet.”
“Just kill me!”
“No.”
Cedric smiled.
“Yuri told me to keep you alive.”
“I said kill me!”
“No.”
As Roland tried to shout again, Cedric kicked his face. Roland lowered his head, unable to speak for a while.
“Dansocheon. Muzzle him and bring him along.”
Dansocheon stuffed something into Roland’s mouth and wrapped cloth around it, preventing him from moving his lips.
Roland whimpered and struggled but was beaten down several more times until he went limp.
Then the voice of the man called Dansocheon reached him.
“You may want to die, but you won’t be able to.”
Roland was dragged away.
Cedric and Dansoche moved in a strange way. With every step they took, the scenery around them seemed to be pushed backward.
Before long, they arrived at a new place.
It was the University of Française.
Laurent watched everything with bloodshot eyes.
He wanted to curse, but no words came out.
In the center of the University of Française stood something bizarre—a dark, black mass, a core pulsating with the energy of black magic.
It gave off the same ominous aura he had felt back in Adelvine.
Then, something unbelievable happened again.
Zombies swarmed in from all directions.
They moved toward the University of Française like ants responding to a pheromone signal.
It seemed as if every single zombie in Française was converging here.
Not one of them showed any sign of being anything other than a cannibal.
Laurent felt a wave of nausea rise up.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Cedric said, folding his arms as he watched the scene.
“Française. Wide, fertile land. But even if you gathered all the humans here and brewed black magic, I doubt it would be enough to stop that one person. Makes you wonder if they’re even human at all.”
Laurent blinked.
“Laurent. Watch as all the people in your territory become my tools. Your father, and your mother who was devoured by your father—they’ll all be united and used for me.”
Laurent didn’t let those taunts get to him.
He understood Cedric’s intention.
“With this, I’ll stop my father.”
The zombies walked into the black core, becoming part of it. The mass grew larger.
It was just like the monster in Adelvine that grew by devouring humans.
“Laurent, I’ll tell you your role.”
Cedric stepped forward and placed his hand on Laurent’s head.
“Watch everything that happens to Fiore Briole, and report it all to Yuri. As detailed as possible.”
Laurent struggled.
Cedric stroked Laurent’s hair and continued.
“This will be a sweet revenge for Yuri, who kept you alive in such a miserable state. Sound good?”
While the Imperial Army crouched in front of the castle, refusing to move, time passed leisurely in Bezos.
The Briole forces were enjoying a moment of rest.
Then, a messenger from the palace arrived at Fiore’s war camp.
The news he brought was grave.
“The Crown Prince has gone missing, and the Third Prince has collapsed and remains unconscious. Moreover…”
The knights present sighed heavily.
“The entire army guarding Française has been slaughtered. We have no idea what’s happening there now. Only Française is shrouded in dark clouds and fog. Even if we send soldiers inside, none have returned.”
“What is this…?”
“Your Majesty.”
Everyone looked around helplessly, unsure of what to do.
Fiore lowered his eyes, expressionless, lost in thought.
“Cedric has disappeared?”
“Yes.”
Fiore’s eyes shifted toward a young knight standing in the corner of the war tent.
Jared was clutching his head.
He was Yuri’s bodyguard and had come directly to Fiore to explain everything when Yuri left.
Fiore’s decision was swift.
He nodded.
“I will go to Française myself.”