‘What in the world is going on?’
Ariel’s pupils trembled as if she were a trembling aspen.
She couldn’t understand why such crazy things were happening.
‘We just came for a trip. Why is this happening all of a sudden…?’
Wasn’t it supposed to be a healing trip?
Ariel wanted to comfort her because Bianca was someone precious to her.
Of course, it wasn’t solely for Bianca that she had chosen this trip.
‘I just wanted to relax…’
Ariel herself needed time to recharge.
The series of failures starting from the war game had gnawed at her heart, plunging her into self-loathing.
Naturally, there are times when one fails in life. What’s important is overcoming it.
She knew that well. She had faced countless failures and had overcome them all to reach her current position.
But for some reason, the feeling of defeat that should have disappeared in a few days lingered.
In the end, Ariel couldn’t stay in Volkanov. Seeing Ian’s face would drive her insane.
People might accuse her of running away.
She wouldn’t deny it. She truly felt she needed rest.
‘I wanted to strengthen my relationships with my friends, too…’
Celia, who suddenly lost her motivation. Reina, who always smiled but seemed to keep her distance.
She didn’t know why. The only thing she knew was this:
They needed time to come together again.
That was why they headed to Brookers.
‘Not only because it was where Bianca lived but also because it’s a famous beautiful spot.’
Brookers, with its warm climate and full of quaint architecture, was often listed as the number one place to visit before dying.
Ariel thought that if they went there, they could surely rebuild their relationships.
But what awaited them in Brookers was disaster.
“What on earth did we see?”
“A ghoul, maybe? If it’s a humanoid monster, that’s all I can think of.”
“No, Celia. Ghouls might eat humans, but they don’t turn bitten people into ghouls. And they looked more like decayed humans than ghouls.”
A huge explosion was heard, and in an instant, the city turned into a bloody mess.
Madmen, crying tears of blood, roamed the streets, devouring living humans.
The streets were stained with their fluids and the blood of the victims.
They couldn’t just stand by and watch, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
“What are we supposed to do!”
Smack!
A madman hit on the head by the hilt of the holy sword Elysion rolled on the ground.
Though still writhing as if alive, Ariel couldn’t deliver a killing blow.
“We can’t kill them, but we can’t just leave them either.”
What could she do with those who looked like humans?
She didn’t have an aversion to killing living people.
She wasn’t boasting, but she had killed countless demons while in the hero’s party and even humans targeting her.
The problem was that these were innocent humans.
“Hold on, Ariel. If we hastily kill those who might be treated, it will be hard to manage.”
“But, Bianca. We can’t just keep doing this.”
If they were truly beyond recovery, she wouldn’t hesitate, but she couldn’t just kill them without knowing for sure.
But the problem didn’t end there.
“They’re hiding between the buildings, and we can’t just keep running.”
The battlefield was too narrow, unlike before.
For them, who had always used wide spaces and overwhelming firepower, this was the worst possible situation.
The madness kept spreading, yet they couldn’t kill them freely. And the space was too confined.
In the end, Bianca had to make a decision.
“I know. So, we have to stop running away.”
“Stop running?”
“Yes, we need to find out why this is happening and if the madmen can be cured.”
“Is there a way to find out, Bianca?”
“Yes, since there are no signs of civilians, we can’t just grab and ask them… We need to meet the person in charge of this land.”
Bianca, answering Celia’s question, turned her head to look into the distance.
At the end of her gaze was a massive mansion.
“The mansion our family used before its downfall is now used by Baron Velos, who manages this land.”
Baron Velos would be in the mansion. If he was responsible for the city, he might know why this disaster started.
“Then we have no choice but to go there first. You know the way, right?”
“Yes, since I lived here… If we take the shortest route, we can reach the mansion’s entrance in less than five minutes.”
“Then let’s go quickly! The madmen might swarm us any moment!”
With those words, Ariel and her group moved swiftly.
Bianca, who had lived here as a child, navigated through the gaps between buildings, forging the shortest path, and the once-distant mansion soon loomed before them.
Madmen occasionally rushed at them, but unless they came in droves, a few weren’t a problem.
Just as they entered the garden surrounding the mansion and were about to advance inside—
Click!
“What?”
“Watch out! Ariel!”
Something shot up from beneath Ariel’s feet as she crossed the passage leading to the courtyard.
Thanks to Celia’s quick help, Ariel took a deep breath and looked at the rising object.
“Is this… a wall?”
It was a solid, wall-like structure. It looked like smoothly cut stone on the outside, but tapping it lightly suggested it wouldn’t break easily.
She wasn’t sure, but it was probably meant to prevent enemies from invading the mansion.
“Sister Bianca, you could’ve warned me about this…”
Ariel, still startled, made a playful remark to lighten the mood.
“Sister Bianca?”
But there was no answer.
Even looking around, the only ones she saw were Reina, Dias, and Celia staring at the wall with their mouths agape.
That’s when Ariel realized.
“Guys? Are you okay? This is…”
“Sister…?”
Bianca was isolated alone.
***
“Sister! I’ll break the wall! Stay back!”
“Don’t get excited! Ariel! This wall absorbs mana, so it’s not easy to break through!”
“But if we attack it multiple times, surely it will…”
“It will break eventually, but it’ll make a lot of noise and attract the madmen outside!”
Ariel, on the verge of striking with the holy sword Elysion, had to concede to Bianca’s calm judgment.
It was frustrating, but Bianca wasn’t wrong.
The madmen they had encountered reacted to loud noises.
Breaking through this wall would create significant noise, putting both of them at risk.
‘If we fail to break the wall, Bianca will be in danger.’
Despite Bianca’s powerful magic, she was still a mage.
Without someone to hold the line, she’d quickly be overwhelmed.
‘But I can’t break the wall in one go…’
What should they do? Leaving Bianca alone was dangerous, but they couldn’t break through the wall…
Ariel’s dilemma was resolved when Bianca spoke up.
“Listen carefully, Ariel. If you move a bit further inside the courtyard, you’ll see the mansion’s door. Inside, there’s a lobby with a statue. Let’s meet there.”
“What about you, Sister?”
“I’ll be fine. I can reach the lobby through the basement. Wait for me there.”
“But it’s dangerous…”
Entering the basement and meeting in the lobby.
It was indeed the best choice given the situation.
But Bianca would be in grave danger.
The mansion’s interior could be compromised, and traversing the narrow basement alone was a risky decision.
Understanding Ariel’s concern, Bianca smiled to ease the tension.
“Don’t worry. You know I grew up here, right? I’ve explored every nook and cranny of this place since I was a child, so I know the layout better than anyone.”
“Sister.”
“So, don’t worry. Let’s meet in the lobby. Got it?”
“Promise you’ll survive, and shout if you’re in danger! We’ll come to save you.”
With that, Ariel heard the sounds of her companions running on the other side of the wall.
Now, she was alone and had to safely reach the lobby.
“Whew…”
She steadied her breathing, silencing her footsteps as she approached the basement.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and slowly entered the basement.
And then she saw it.
“Graaaaah!”
“Kyahaak!”
The interior was also overrun by madmen!
“Ah!”
Thunk!
Startled, Bianca stumbled back, accidentally kicking a box.
“Grrr!”
“Graaah!”
The madmen’s eyes locked onto her.
Bianca gripped her staff tightly, drawing magical power into her body.
‘I didn’t want to use this….’
She had hoped to preserve this space, filled with childhood memories. But now, she had no choice.
Just as she was about to unleash her magic—
“Whoever you are, come here now!”
“Huh? What?”
A vent on the ceiling opened, and a hand reached down.
The hand beckoned her urgently.
‘Well, it’s better than fighting the madmen here.’
Hesitating only for a moment, Bianca grabbed the hand.
A powerful grip pulled her up.
***
‘The enemies appearing in the Brookers event are resistors and zombies.’
Creatures that looked like they had crawled out of the ground.
Weaker than ghouls but vastly numerous, zombies were simple to handle.
‘You have to smash them before they infect others.’
That’s why—
Pow!
Boom!
“Grr…”
Crunch!
Ian Volkanov had no hesitation in smashing the zombies’ heads.
Of course, they had been human just a few minutes ago, but once they turned into zombies, there was no going back.
If reversal was possible, the event wouldn’t be called “The Corrupted Domain of Brookers.”
They were beyond saving.
Thus, Ian beat the zombies calmly, though Neltalion, unaware of the details, trembled with fear.
– Ian, what is this?
‘These things? They’re called zombies.’
– Zombies? I know ghouls, but this is new…
Zombies and ghouls looked similar at first glance, so the confusion was understandable.
But they were distinctly different monsters.
‘Ghouls are human-shaped monsters with a penchant for cannibalism. Zombies are transformed humans.’
Both shared a blind aggression towards humans.
However, the differences were clear.
‘Firstly, zombies can infect others, but ghouls can’t. Secondly, ghouls have fully functioning nervous systems, while zombies have lost all senses except hearing.’
In simple terms, zombies were weaker than ghouls but had a powerful infectious quality.
– I’ve never seen such monsters before, Ian.
‘That’s not surprising. This is my first time seeing them too.’
The reason this episode was called “The Corrupted Domain of Brookers” was simple.
Baron Velos, a brilliant alchemist awarded the Brookers domain.
While experimenting with ghouls to develop a potion to boost knights’ morale on the Imperial request, he accidentally created zombies.
He succeeded in imbuing a strong desire to kill enemies but at the cost of losing humanity.
Baron Velos acknowledged his failure and disposed of the potion, but he couldn’t deal with the zombies.
‘So he sealed them and started developing an antidote….’
But that’s when the resistance messed things up.
‘Baron Velos, during the zombie treatment process, restricted entry to his mansion to essential personnel only to minimize accidents. This led to distorted rumors spreading.’
Rumors claimed that Baron Velos had developed a divine potion granting immense power.
Oppressed commoners, especially those with fiery tempers, joined the resistance, craving this power.
They believed that if they drank the potion, they’d gain incredible strength and could start a rebellion against the Empire.
He thought he could revolt against the empire.
‘Not that they barged in recklessly. Given the gravity of the situation, they handled it cautiously, which led to the Resistance splitting into two factions: the moderate faction, which wanted to gather more information and steal the potion, and the hardliners, who wanted to attack immediately.’
This event was entirely caused by the hardliners.
They coerced former servants of the Velos household to gain access to secret passages and launched a surprise attack.
What followed was a nightmare.
‘As you can see, there was no divine potion. The attack unleashed the sealed zombies, turning the city into a wasteland. They claimed they wanted to create a better world and ended up doing this.’
How could they be so foolish…? No, on second thought, their goal might have been somewhat achieved.
‘If their aim was to create a rebellion threatening the Empire, then they succeeded.’
Of course, they also suffered the consequences.
‘I don’t feel sorry for them. It’s not something I should care about.’
What happened to the rebellion they incited, or how to deal with the people who turned into zombies, wasn’t something he wanted to ponder.
There was only one thing to focus on.
‘Saving Ariel and gaining Bianca’s favor.’
That was the only thing he needed to remember.
Step Step.
Though he tried to muffle his footsteps, the squelching of wet grass couldn’t be hidden.
The sound of wet, blood-soaked grass squishing underfoot as he carefully navigated through the devastated landscape.
“Is this a wall…?”
The entrance to the courtyard was blocked by a wall.
After examining the wall for a while, Ian made his assessment.
‘It’s blocked. Given the different material, it looks like it’s part of a defense system.’
Judging by its mana-absorbing properties, it wasn’t an ordinary wall.
It was likely installed to fend off attacks.
‘There aren’t many signs of a battle here, so the defense system might have been triggered by Ariel’s group.’
There was more evidence to support this judgment.
– Ian! Look here! The floor is indented!
‘Hmm. It does seem like something heavy pressed down here.’
Between the shoe prints, there were marks as if someone had used a staff to steady themselves.
This was likely Bianca’s doing.
‘All other footprints end here. This suggests Bianca might have been separated.’
Where could she have gone? Did she circle around the mansion looking for another entrance?
‘No, that would be too reckless.’
Bianca, a mage with immense firepower, had the drawback of a frail body.
She wouldn’t have chosen to fight zombies alone.
‘She would have chosen a safer route to avoid the zombies.’
Knowing the building’s layout, she would have considered using the basement to move safely inside.
But Bianca wasn’t the only one familiar with the layout.
‘Not to brag, but I’ve died 40 times in this segment alone.’
Though he might not have the flashy skills of a seasoned player, his perseverance was unmatched.
In the end, he had drawn the building’s layout on scrap paper to clear the level.
He never forgot those memories.
Thanks to that—
‘Bianca would have moved through the basement.’
He could make a confident decision.
There was no other option Bianca would have chosen other than using the basement to enter the building.
Having made the decision, there was no need to hesitate.
‘Let’s go, Neltalion.’
– Yeah! Next time we meet zombies, can I beat them instead of you?
‘Sure, I’ll let you bash them to your heart’s content.’
Ian quickened his pace.
