Chapter 86: The Madness of Icata (4)

“Don’t get mad. I’ll do it.”

“Just do it right away next time.”

“Okay.”

“I really don’t want to fight if I can help it, you know? I want to wrap things up nicely so everyone can return safely.”

This was sincere.

After witnessing the horrors of the underground waterway, I made safe return the top priority for our investigation team, not mission completion.

But if one protruding nail kept delaying or derailing things, I had no choice but to pull it out, no matter how important its position was.

“I’ll gather them.”

“Yeah.”

Karina gathered the second-year kids as I instructed.

I looked at them and spread out the map of Icata’s administrative districts on the bed.

“I won’t explain long, so listen carefully. The place we’ll focus on patrolling isn’t far from here, the South Gate District.”

After explaining the instructions and precautions I received from the knight one by one, I handed out the communication rings to the kids.

“Don’t lose them. I have to return them all.”

“Jeez. How much are these things worth anyway?”

The one grumbling while snatching the ring was Bain Winter.

I was certain.

The problem-child villain who would trouble me in this mission wasn’t Karina, Rachel, or Ivan—it was definitely Bain Winter.

At that moment, I felt a gaze and turned my head.

Karina was smiling at me.

She mouthed the words:

‘Please. Help. Karina.’

I responded in kind.

‘Sure. Whatever.’

That was when it happened.

The communication ring buzzed.

It was from the command post—the knight I met earlier.

[South Gate District, 35th Street.]

By the time we left the hotel, the sky had already darkened.

As we headed to the destination, I continued the explanation I couldn’t finish earlier due to the communication.

“I couldn’t mention earlier, but the media calls these things zombies, though they’re not ordinary zombies. They’re a completely different kind of undead. Strength, speed, durability, flexibility, and intelligence—none of it fits the zombie label.”

“…….”

“Variant zombies. From now on, we’ll call them variant zombies.”

I gave them the precautions needed to deal with these creatures.

The biggest trait was that they retained the abilities they had in life.

At that, Gwyn asked in surprise:

“You mean they can use swordsmanship too?”

“Not just swordsmanship. They can use aura as well.”

Everyone except Yuria was shocked.

“What? Then they’re not really zombies, are they?”

“Yeah, what kind of zombie wields a sword? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“What do we do? I signed up thinking they were just zombies!”

“Maybe the senior got it wrong? Royal Dream clearly said they were zombies.”

The second-years, looking anxious, huddled together and whispered.

I didn’t feel like convincing them one by one.

They’d realize it themselves once they encountered a variant zombie.

“What about magic…?”

I nodded at Gwyn’s question.

“It’s not impossible. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”

Then came an immediate retort.

“What’s this nonsense? Zombies using magic? Give me a break.”

I reflexively looked at Karina.

“What? Why are you looking at me?”

“Huh? That wasn’t you?”

“No way!”

Karina furrowed her brow.

It was the brow of truth.

Only then did I realize the sarcasm came from Bain Winter.

“Ever fought an undead?”

Bain kept up the mocking tone.

“You don’t look like you have. What do you even know to say such ridiculous things? Zombies using magic? Isn’t that just delusional?”

“…….”

“The more I think about it, the more absurd it is. How did a delusional guy like this become the investigation team leader? I, who took down a necromancer, would be a better fit.”

The kids didn’t know about the battle at the workshop yet.

The zombie attacks breaking out simultaneously in multiple places had overshadowed it.

So they probably assumed I was made team leader just because I was a third-year, the highest-ranking student left at the academy.

Explaining it all felt like a hassle, so I stayed quiet.

They’d find out eventually.

Pointing out her rudeness was the same.

Ignoring it was the simplest and easiest way.

But.

“Don’t talk like that.”

My right-hand person, Yuria, wasn’t having it.

“Senior Gerard has fought undead before. Don’t speak carelessly when you don’t know.”

“What? That guy fought undead? When?”

“Yesterday.”

“…Pfft!”

Bain covered her mouth, laughing.

Then she poked Yuria’s forehead with her finger.

“This little thing. Already lying through your teeth?”

Yuria’s expression grew colder.

“Hey. Winter Family.”

And, surprisingly, it was Karina who stepped in to mediate.

“Me?”

“Yeah. Is there another Winter here? We’re about to reach the mission area. Can you keep it down? It’s distracting.”

“Oh…”

“And even if her words sound like nonsense, she’s not the type to lie.”

“…What?”

Karina’s brows furrowed.

“My classmate doesn’t lie. So that guy really did take down a variant zombie. Want to make me say it twice?”

“No, no, Lady Karina. I got it.”

“If you get it, apologize and step back.”

“Uh… sorry?”

“To him too.”

Bain nodded at me and rejoined the second-year group.

Her face, now humbled, was full of questions.

‘Why did I get scolded?’

It was as if she was saying that.

‘Yeah, why did she scold her?’

I looked at Karina, puzzled, and she smirked at me coolly.

“Hmph.”

Then she brushed past me and walked ahead.

“…….”

She was totally unpredictable now.

At the same time, I became certain.

The blood curse left by Sabo was still lingering somewhere in Karina’s mind, eating away at her sanity.

I trusted Professor Ilai’s skills.

But even Professor Ilai was human.

She could make mistakes.

Sigh.

‘If that’s the case, am I the only one who can save Karina again?’

As the saying goes, the one who caused the problem must resolve it.

Since this started because of me, I had to finish it.

Besides, after receiving gratitude from Duke Zain, ignoring it wouldn’t be right.

‘Once this is over, I’ll take her to Professor Ilai.’

When I thought about it, I was really a loyal guy.

Even though I disliked Karina, I didn’t let personal feelings get in the way.

‘That’s what a man is. That’s what a thief is.’

Lost in these thoughts, we arrived at our destination, 35th Street.

At the same time, we froze as if we had planned it.

“…….”

The scene was so horrific it reminded me of the underground waterway.

Overwhelmed, none of us could easily speak.

A yard full of zombie corpses.

The situation was over, and we slowly stepped inside.

The yard, once green, was now drenched in red, as if splattered with paint.

Severed organs and body parts were scattered haphazardly, steaming as if freshly cooked.

Yes, these were people who were alive and moving just moments ago.

Just like us.

“Ugh!”

Some of the second-years couldn’t hold it in and started retching.

My coolheadedness kept me unaffected, but I was worried about the others.

But it was unnecessary worry.

The kids were surprisingly fine.

Ivan, who had torn apart swamp orcs and created a worse hell than this, and Yuria, who spent her childhood with mercenaries.

Gwyn, with the blood of the Iron Sword flowing through him.

Karina was probably holding on with sheer pride.

As for Rachel…

“Ugh… I-I can’t look.”

She was putting on a pathetic act.

The 890th class wasn’t called the golden generation for nothing.

“Who are you?”

Someone ran toward us across the yard.

It was a soldier in a public security uniform.

Bloodstains clung to his armor.

“We’re from the Academy.”

“Oh, Academy folks. Nice to meet you, but this isn’t the time for pleasantries.”

He gave an awkward smile.

Indeed, other security officers in similar uniforms were collecting zombie corpses.

It was to burn them to prevent potential infections.

That was why wars against dark magic were so tricky.

Winning the battle wasn’t enough; you had to incinerate all traces of dark magic—curses, nightmares, infections, poisons—to truly win.

“Sir Paxen is probably inside. Go in.”

“Thank you.”

We entered the half-destroyed house.

It was an ordinary family home.

A cake and burnt-out candles on the dining table caught my eye first.

And the zombies lying around it.

I could vividly imagine a happy family dinner plummeting into tragedy in an instant.

Then a peculiar corpse caught my attention.

It was a middle-aged man with a kitchen knife lodged in his chin.

Holding the knife was none other than the man himself.

“He chose death himself. He didn’t want to turn into a zombie and kill his loved ones.”

The voice came from upstairs.

A knight, Paxen, came down to the first floor and spoke to us.

“His name was Malit. My friend.”

Malit wasn’t a high-ranking knight but a regular knight from knight school.

Still, it was unbelievable that an aura expert of beginner level would fall to a variant zombie so easily.

“He was done in by his family. He probably couldn’t bring himself to cut down his wife.”

Paxen tossed the head he was holding to the ground.

“She was locked in a second-floor room. Whether he locked her up or hid her, I don’t know.”

“…….”

“Anyway, search the area. We haven’t found one of his kids yet.”

The son was found easily.

Sadly, he had turned into a variant zombie.

With that, all the variant zombies were dealt with.

We searched the area further to prevent any additional incidents and returned to the hotel.

We went out for support three more times.

As expected, there was no combat.

By the time we arrived at each scene, everything was already over.

Just as Paxen had said at the start.

There was nothing for us to do.

On the way back.

The kids’ faces were visibly exhausted.

The occasional chatter had long stopped, and their expressions were blank.

The stories left at the scenes—the misfortune and death within them—were a huge stress to witness with the eyes of the living.

Some were angry, some were sad, but with no way to vent, they only grew more drained.

As time passed.

Even without fighting, the mental shock from the scenes kept piling up.

Perhaps this, too, was a remnant of dark magic, slowly eating away at our minds and bodies.

I looked up at the sky.

The dawn fog settling over the city hid the moon and stars.

“Will the sun ever rise?”

Yuria approached and whispered to me.

Even her face, always strong, showed signs of exhaustion.

“If only we could fight and let it all out…”

Someone muttered.

But as if words became reality, an incident really did break out on our next deployment.

It wasn’t a support request.

It was a routine patrol of our assigned area.

While walking through the fog-covered streets, a scream suddenly rang out.

Aaaargh──

I quickly headed toward it.

After passing a few alleys.

Under the flickering, dim streetlight, I saw her standing tall and raised my fist.

The prearranged stop signal.

She was staggering like a drunk, staring blankly at the light.

‘Anyone can tell that’s a variant zombie.’

“Huh? It’s a person?”

“Shut up, Rachel.”

“Hiing.”

Silencing Rachel, who was still putting on her damn act, I gathered the kids.

“It’s a variant zombie.”

“Then why hesitate? Let’s go kill it.”

I looked at Karina.

Her eyes, staring back at me, were filled with killing intent.

“Oh, sorry. Thought it was you again.”

I turned to Bain beside her.

“It’s not about hesitating. It’s about being cautious.”

“What’s there to be cautious about? Just go kill it.”

“It’s alone.”

“So? What’s the problem?”

I sighed.

“Look, if someone screamed, doesn’t it make sense that there’s someone who caused it?”

Bain shut her mouth.

“It could be a trap.”

The variant zombie was wearing a sword.

It wasn’t the standard military uniform with insignia.

Maybe a soldier off-duty, an adventurer, or a mercenary.

What was clear was that she was a swordsman trained with a blade.

‘And there are probably more like her, or stronger, nearby.’

In other words, there were at least two variant zombies.

“Spread out first to make sure it can’t escape…”

Then I heard laughter.

Thankfully, I didn’t make a mistake this time.

“…Seriously. A zombie trap? That’s hilarious.”

Bain sneered.

“You really don’t know anything, do you? Or are you pretending? Oh! Are you scared?”

I stayed silent.

“Yeah, you’re scared your skills will be exposed. Tsk tsk. Pathetic. If I, who took down a necromancer, wasn’t here, what would you have done?”

Saying that, Bain summoned her staff and suddenly charged forward.

There was no time to stop her.

She broke formation on her own and strode toward the variant zombie.

Then she turned to look at Karina.

‘This is my chance. To make a big impression on the seniors.’

For some reason, a scene from a movie I used to love flashed through my mind.

Honestly, I could’ve stopped her if I wanted to.

I could’ve knocked her out with a punch.

Even now, I could chase her, hit her jaw, knock her out, and drag her back.

But I didn’t want to.

‘She’s so confident.’

She bragged about taking down a necromancer, so I was curious about her skills.

That was when it happened.

“What’s that girl doing? Seriously, seniors, is that idiot really at the top of the Psychology Department?”

Karina asked the second-years, looking baffled.

“…….”

The kids, suddenly labeled as idiots, couldn’t respond.

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