Chapter 88: The Madness of Icata (6)

“What’s this? That’s me.”

The mysterious swordsman who killed Narsi with a single, deadly strike.

That was me.

Of course, the “mysterious swordsman” was just a fake image built up through rumors, misunderstandings, and exaggerations.

The important thing was, I didn’t save any citizens during this time, nor did I wrap my entire body in bandages.

“Why would anyone wrap their body in bandages to begin with? Even their face?”

Was this guy some kind of bandage fetishist?

This damn world was full of weird attention-seekers.

“Still, he seems pretty skilled.”

Variant zombies were tough even for trained soldiers to handle.

But if this guy took down two or three of them, he was at least an aura user who’d achieved Aura Heart, or maybe even an expert wielding an Aura Sword.

‘About Yuria’s level, or slightly higher.’

I racked my brain, trying to recall any character with a bandage fetish and the skills of a regular knight.

No one came to mind.

“Maybe he emerged because of this zombie outbreak.”

It was possible.

Heroes often appeared in times of chaos.

Since the zombie outbreak was a massive event not in the original story, it wasn’t surprising that a hidden expert might show up.

“One thing’s for sure—this guy isn’t the mysterious swordsman.”

Because that was me.

I smirked and closed the Royal Dream.

That’s when the communication ring buzzed.

* * *

[…So, act independently.]

“What about reporting?”

[Send a message. I might not respond, but try anyway.]

And with that, Paxen cut off the communication.

“Hmm.”

Paxen’s message, in short, was this:

‘I’m busy, so move on your own judgment now.’

Since yesterday, the number of zombie outbreaks had skyrocketed.

And it wasn’t just the numbers—there were more of them using swordsmanship and magic.

They were probably mercenaries, adventurers, or soldiers.

Icata was full of people like that.

‘That bastard Zad is finally making his move.’

So the Empire had responded swiftly.

To deal with vision-using variant zombies, overwhelming strength was needed.

Namely, the Central Knights.

But the Central Knights only had about 200 members total, and after accounting for those away or outside the capital for various reasons, fewer than 150 remained.

‘And if you subtract the forces guarding the Imperial Palace and the nobles in Royal Road…’

Even as a squad leader, Paxen didn’t have the time to babysit us.

The Special Magic Corps existed, but their power was halved in urban combat with civilians around.

That led to the current situation.

I called the kids to my room and explained the situation.

“This isn’t looking good.”

“The Central Knights are getting involved?”

Honestly, they should’ve been deployed earlier.

Sure, zombies were the lowest of the low, but their “infection” ability was terrifying in itself.

And now variant zombies with superior physical abilities had that infection. This was probably an inevitable crisis.

‘Still, this is a fast response.’

Compared to the stereotypical incompetent governments in zombie movies, the Frey Empire lived up to its name as a continental superpower with quick decisions.

‘Must be a lot of talents like me in the palace.’

Gwyn cut into my thoughts.

“Then what should we do?”

I looked at him for a moment before answering.

“We move. Our way.”

The Central Knights’ Headquarters didn’t know, but I knew the mastermind behind this.

Zad.

If I took him out, this would all end.

‘What’s that guy’s goal?’

I’d thought about it over and over.

What was Zad after?

‘Turning the world into an undead realm?’

That was my first thought.

After all, undead born from death universally hated the living.

That was a constant rule in Heroes of Frey, and in any game, novel, or anime.

‘So I thought he was the same.’

But this morning, I started thinking otherwise.

Because from what I’d seen, he only targeted the strong.

‘He didn’t attack ordinary citizens.’

Sure, there were civilian casualties.

But those were just unlucky people caught in the crossfire, like the workers turned into zombies at the workshop.

If his goal was an undead world, Zad would’ve attacked civilians indiscriminately.

That would’ve been the easiest, simplest, and most effective way.

A zombie attack in a crowded market or plaza would cause unimaginable damage.

But Zad didn’t do that.

He didn’t seem interested in an undead world.

Instead, it looked like he was focused on creating strong zombies—strong subordinates, as if building up his power.

“Hmm.”

I felt the need for more data to make a solid deduction.

“Get me some Royal Dreams. From three days ago.”

Bain, as if waiting for the chance, interjected.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Why ask? You’ll figure it out once you get them.”

She must’ve thought I was right, because Bain didn’t argue and just pouted.

Soon, my bed was covered with stacks of newspaper articles.

“I’m going to clip out the zombie attack articles. Organize them by time and place.”

“Ugh, why are we doing this?”

Because that’s what detectives do in movies.

Simple reason.

An hour later, I was staring at the wall.

The hotel wall was plastered with clippings from Royal Dream, arranged by time.

Karina sidled up and asked.

“What are you doing?”

“Investigating.”

“…Does staring like that change anything?”

“Yeah.”

“What changes?”

“My eyes hurt.”

Karina looked at me like I was crazy.

I looked away from the wall and blinked.

“Ow. Thought my eyes were gonna pop out.”

Being a detective wasn’t for everyone.

“Are you joking?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, just kidding.”

“What?”

“Kidding.”

I pulled one of the articles off the wall and placed it on the table.

“Gather round.”

Once the kids were around the table, I started the briefing.

“West Gate District, 21st Street. That’s where a zombie attack happened last night. Two tenement houses were hit, with a lot of casualties.”

“So?”

“Read the article closely. Don’t you notice something odd?”

The others looked at the article.

Karina and Yuria were staring at it like they wanted to bore a hole through the table.

“…There are no names.”

It was Ivan.

“Correct.”

I nodded.

As expected of the protagonist.

“There are no names in this article.”

“Huh? Names?”

“What are you talking about, names?”

The others asked.

I pointed to the articles on the wall.

“All those articles list the victims’ names. Hans, Malit, Karda, Zak, Hadas, and so on. But in this one? No names.”

Fifty casualties.

That’s all it said.

“Huh? Now that you mention it…”

“All the victims in the others were retired knights or well-known figures, right?”

“Exactly, Yuria. People who were once big shots. So I’ve been suspecting the mastermind’s goal is to create ‘strong zombies.’”

I tapped the article on the table.

“But this incident doesn’t mention any strong people—no ‘strong zombie’ material. Isn’t that strange?”

“…Yeah.”

“Definitely weird.”

“If there wasn’t any worthy material, why attack there? Is there something in those tenements?”

“We’ll have to find out.”

I stood up.

With the destination set, it was time to move out.

“Get ready.”

I checked the clock.

“We leave in exactly five minutes.”

* * *

West Gate District, 21st Street.

It was right in front of the Academy.

The area from 21st to 25th Street was a residential zone for citizens, also called West Gate Village.

A small river ran through it, and following the river led to an industrial area with textile factories.

At the end of that was the Sewer District, where Guartes’s lab was.

‘In other words, Zad might be hiding in West Gate Village.’

I thought it was the most likely spot.

Zad would need a hideout, after all.

West Gate Village was large and densely populated.

It was close to the Sewer District, and the river made it easy to move without being seen.

‘If there was no material to zombify, why did an incident happen here?’

He got caught.

Caught as a zombie by ordinary citizens.

So Zad had no choice but to zombify those citizens.

And those zombies bit their neighbors, causing the outbreak.

—That was my conclusion.

West Gate Village was eerily quiet despite it being midday.

Maybe because of the pouring rain since morning, or maybe because of yesterday’s zombie outbreak.

No citizens were around, just the occasional security or military patrol standing guard.

The overall atmosphere was grim.

As we reached 21st Street, the site of the zombie attack was in complete ruins.

Soot and bloodstains, unwashed by the rain, stood out.

What caught our attention most was a memorial tower built from zombie corpses.

“…….”

We paused to look at the tower, held a brief moment of silence, and headed inside.

Chalbak! Chalbak!

The tenement houses came into view.

They matched the black-and-white photo in the article.

No, on closer inspection, there was a difference.

“Now that I look, it’s not two buildings but one.”

“Yeah.”

The two front entrances made us think it was two buildings.

The poor quality of the photo didn’t help.

But it was one building with two entrances.

“Let’s go in.”

“Which way?”

“Hmm. Right?”

It didn’t matter which entrance we took.

The inside was probably connected anyway.

Plus, we had plenty of time.

Clang!

That’s what I thought until something fell from above.

“Who’s there!”

At Gwyn’s shout, everyone’s eyes turned to where the flowerpot fell.

The top floor, the fourth.

The pot definitely fell from there.

“Someone’s up there?”

Bain muttered.

Her breathing grew heavy, a faint excitement spreading across her face.

She looked at me.

“What do we do?”

I quickly assessed the situation.

This area was restricted to civilians.

The soldiers we met on the way confirmed all forces had withdrawn.

The zombies should’ve been cleared out long ago.

‘Then who was up there?’

Not a zombie, not a soldier, not a civilian.

And I was suspecting this place was Zad’s hideout.

‘If that’s the case…’

The odds were high it was Zad.

“Let’s go up. Split into two teams.”

I gave orders quickly.

There were two front entrances.

If we went through one and he escaped through the other, we’d lose him. We had to approach from both sides.

“Bain, you take the right.”

“Got it. Lady Karina! Come with me!”

“No way.”

Karina stood behind me.

“I’m staying here.”

Jealousy and hurt flashed in Bain’s eyes.

I sighed.

Zad was a powerful undead.

More accurately, he was a being that transcended the undead race, and he might’ve grown even stronger.

So we needed to balance both sides.

“Gwyn, Ivan.”

“Yes.”

“You go with Bain. The rest, with me.”

Bain, Ivan, and Gwyn took the right entrance.

I, Yuria, Rachel, and Karina took the left.

We split up and entered the building.

We quickly climbed the stairs.

Tung! Tung! Tung! The sound of our footsteps echoed loudly in the empty tenement.

First floor.

Second floor.

As we passed the third floor, a sharp pang hit my chest.

Yeah.

Finding him this easily was strange.

I’d guessed this was Zad’s hideout, and the circumstances suggested it was likely him.

But.

‘Too easy.’

It felt like we were playing on a pre-set board.

Zad’s goal was to create strong subordinates.

So where were those subordinates now?

Shwaaa──

The relentless rain pouring outside caught my eye.

The heavy rain battered the windows and walls, sending countless vibrations through the building.

Tong. Todong. Tong.

I stopped dead.

“Senior?”

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

The kids following me looked puzzled.

I didn’t answer.

I couldn’t.

Beneath the sound of rain and the vibrations enveloping the building, I felt countless other vibrations traveling through the ground.

Chalbak! Chalbak!

Tadadadak!

The source was outside.

Step by step, I approached the window and looked out.

And I saw them.

A horde of zombies charging toward the tenement through the torrential rain.

“…….”

We were speechless for a moment.

The silence was broken by a scream from the fourth floor.

“Aaaargh!”

We bolted up.

Reaching the fourth floor.

There, I finally met him.

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