Bianca didn’t like Ian.
He was a key figure in the 3rd Platoon, a competitor of her own 1st Platoon.
More importantly, she had been part of Ariel’s party. Hearing constant gossip about Ian naturally built a negative perception of him.
Of course, that wasn’t the end of it.
‘Volkanov… They were the first to withdraw when our family began to decline.’
She couldn’t stand the Volkanov family itself.
To put it harshly, she detested them.
‘…They abandoned us, even though we were so close. They were the first to cast us aside.’
The Volkanov family and the Matip family both bore the responsibility of defending the Empire against demons.
In the face of a common enemy, the two families united and supported each other without hesitation.
Despite being high-ranking nobles, the Volkanovs looked at the Matips, who were ostracized by society for being dark magicians, without prejudice.
The relationship progressed rapidly.
There were even rumors in their childhood that she might be betrothed to a Volkanov.
That’s how close their families were, and she initially had a favorable impression of them.
However, from the moment her parents turned into demons, the Volkanovs’ attitude did a complete 180.
‘I remember everything…’
She pleaded, claiming there must have been some manipulation, but the powerful nobles ignored her, and the current Emperor took a strong stance against demons.
As a last hope, she sought the Volkanovs, but all she received were cold responses.
‘They said there would be no cooperation with demons.’
Bianca’s view of the Volkanovs changed from that moment.
‘I truly believed in them.’
No matter how hard they tried, they were criticized just for using black magic, and the nobles who disintegrated her families seemed to have been waiting for the moment of ruin.
Because they knew that they and Volkanov would be different.
‘I believed in them.’
What she received in return was the sight of her parents being brutally killed by the Volkanov knights.
From that point, Bianca closed her heart and developed distrust towards nobles.
One could argue that not everyone was like that, but Bianca had experienced countless dirty people who approached her because of her immense talent and striking appearance.
She was convinced.
‘Nobles can’t be trusted.’
That’s what she thought until…
– Why is your face like that? Don’t cry… or the zombies will come.
“It’s nothing. I’m not crying.”
The issue was the child named Neltalion.
‘Why does this child follow Ian?’
Bianca thought Ariel was the only decent person among the Volkanovs.
Despite her immense status as a hero and the daughter of a frontier count, Ariel didn’t discriminate against commoners or fallen nobles.
Initially, Bianca thought it was all for show, but after spending a lot of time with Ariel, she realized Ariel was genuinely sincere, and she liked her for that.
That meant Bianca had no choice but to be wary of Ian, someone she knew nothing about.
But seeing Neltalion genuinely following Ian made her wariness melt away.
‘Children are innocent. They don’t have pretense and always act truthfully.’
Unlike adults who wear the mask of hypocrisy as they age, children express affection straightforwardly.
If Ian weren’t truly a good person, a child wouldn’t want to be close to him or show him affection.
‘But Neltalion really likes Ian.’
Even now…
– Hey, did you know Ian made a lot of money from potatoes last time?
“Really?”
– Yeah! And he held a martial arts tournament! It was really fun. Do you want to come next time?
“Sure! I’ll look forward to it.”
Neltalion kept chattering about Ian’s virtues, revealing all the unknown details about him.
Thanks to that…
‘This is a completely different person from what I knew. I thought he was a cold-hearted, ruthless meritocrat… but he has unexpected sides.’
Bianca began to think she might be able to trust Ian.
Bianca stared blankly at Ian’s back as he navigated the mansion with ease.
‘He moves as if he knows every corner.’
Ian had Neltalion stay with Bianca while he went ahead alone.
Although Bianca, who had lived in the mansion, offered to lead the way, Ian told her to stay with Neltalion instead, saying she wouldn’t be much help otherwise.
It could have been taken as him dismissing her abilities, but Bianca knew better.
‘He just speaks that way, but he doesn’t mean it maliciously.’
He was simply stating the truth. It was better for her to stay put than accidentally set the mansion on fire.
Even in that moment, Ian was effortlessly dealing with the zombies, clearing a path as he moved through routes unknown to Bianca, who had spent her childhood in the mansion.
She began to think that perhaps Ian was indeed someone special.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Is this the place you were looking for, Ian? What exactly is here?”
“The person holding the only key to resolving this situation.”
Ian stopped at a door, surveying his surroundings before decisively opening the sturdy door.
And there, they saw him.
“Who… who are you?”
A man lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.
He was Velos Hedon, the notorious alchemist who had created the zombies.
“Are you Baron Velos?”
They confronted him.
***
Baron Velos was in terrible condition.
‘This is the worst.’
He seemed to have lost all his strength, unable to even hold himself up, lying there, gasping for air.
His eyes were sunken, with dark circles suggesting he hadn’t slept in days.
Even now, he was struggling to speak.
When Ian introduced himself and said they had come to save him, Velos briefly smiled with hope, but it quickly faded.
The guilt of destroying his fiefdom crushed his spirit again.
However, Bianca saw this as an opportunity.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
“Are you Baron Velos? What exactly did you create? What the hell did you do to turn Brookers into this mess?”
She shouted, her voice filled with anguish.
She knew Baron Velos hadn’t done it on purpose and that the real villain was Vanessa, but he was still the one who created the zombies.
“If you hadn’t created those monsters…!”
Her beautiful city, filled with cherished memories, had turned into a blood-soaked nightmare.
This man ruined everything: her vacations, her memories!
Whoosh!
With one hand gripping his collar and the other summoning mana, she was ready to strike him down.
Even without her staff, killing a weakened man like Velos wouldn’t be difficult.
Just as she was about to throw a punch, Ian stopped her.
Tup!
“Restrain yourself. It’s not time to kill him yet.”
Her fist was caught in Ian’s hand.
Bianca, her eyes red from tears, looked at him.
“W-Why are you stopping me? You know what he did! If he hadn’t made those monsters…”
“Your territory wouldn’t have been devastated. I understand that. But Baron Velos didn’t do this thoughtlessly.”
Ian acknowledged that Velos was responsible for creating the zombies—monsters arguably more terrifying than ghouls.
However, that didn’t mean Velos was irredeemable.
“Baron Velos conducted those experiments not out of personal curiosity, but because of a royal commission. It was an unavoidable accident.”
“An accident? Then he should have handled it properly!”
“If you want to make such claims, it’s best to look around first. See for yourself what Velos was doing.”
Finally calming down, Bianca looked around.
Piles of documents detailing experimental results surrounded them. Each one aimed at finding a way to revert the zombified individuals to their original state.
And that wasn’t all.
The room had been thoroughly dismantled. It was built strong for containment, with devices triple-secured against any unforeseen accidents.
“The moment zombies were discovered, Velos sealed them away to focus on developing a cure. He kept it quiet to prevent panic among the masses,” Ian thought to himself.
Consumed by guilt for creating monsters, Velos isolated himself to focus on research.
He knew his reputation would suffer, but he felt responsible and did everything to make amends.
Had he truly been obsessed with his reputation, he would have quietly disposed of the zombies immediately after creating them.
‘These test subjects were commoners; they couldn’t oppose a noble like him.’
Even though there were ways to maintain his reputation, Velos chose to uphold human decency.
It was something he did with his own hands. He had to fulfill his responsibility.
Just knowing this, one couldn’t simply label Velos as entirely evil.
“Remember Bianca, our anger should be directed at the Resistance, not Velos.”
Don’t forget this. Even in these circumstances, it’s important to calmly assess who the enemy really is.
“I understand…”
Convinced, Bianca fell silent. Ian turned his gaze to Velos, who bowed his head as if in disgrace.
Ian asked as he looked at her lowering her head.
“Has there been any progress with the cure development?”
“…Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any significant progress.”
“No progress… or is it impossible?”
With a probing question, Velos revealed the truth.
“I apologize. It seems impossible.”
“Impossible… that’s the worst.”
“After discovering zombies, I conducted countless experiments with my researchers. We tried herbs, elixirs, and even considered invoking divine power through priests.”
Alchemists and priests were typically at odds with each other.
If Velos mentioned seeking power from priests, he must have exhausted all possibilities.
“However, none of it worked. Eventually, I concluded that restoring reason to those turned into zombies is impossible.”
A potion created to boost knights’ morale.
Stimulating the brain to control emotions was inevitable.
And restoring a damaged brain due to side effects was nearly impossible with current technology.
‘Even though it’s in a different institution. The brain is the most important part.’
Isn’t it the most important part of the human body?
Even if it’s the Pope of the Holy Land that believes that they can revive a brain, it won’t be easy for the alchemists to have.
Reversing zombies is an impossible situation. But it wasn’t completely without a solution.
“Still, it’s not like we’ve gained nothing. From our efforts so far, we’ve found a way to deal with the zombies.”
“Is that the answer?”
“Zombies… unlike gouls who eat indiscriminately, they are cautious in choosing their prey. That’s because fear as a human is still weak in their heads.”
Helpless ordinary citizens tear them apart, but those with suspected power are not easily confronted.
“Once we obtain such prey, it is offered to the strongest host available. If the host consumes it without issue, others will soon follow suit and devour it.”
“Do they have such rules among themselves? It’s intriguing… How does that relate to their method of disposal?”
“There’s one more thing I haven’t mentioned. When the host is disposed of, all the zombies in the area lose their lives.”
“They perish.”
“Yes. Regrettably, while attempting to restore them, I inadvertently killed one of the hosts. As a result, all the zombies in the vicinity perished instantly. You can trust me on this.”
“Are you planning to utilize this behavior for disposal?”
At Ian’s question, Velos nodded and retrieved a syringe from his pocket.
He carefully held the syringe containing red liquid.
“This is a highly toxic substance I created before. Once injected, it spreads through the body and causes instantaneous death after ten minutes.”
The plan was straightforward.
“You can’t be serious…”
“Yes. After administering this to myself, I will become the prey of another host we captured before closing the territory. By using him…”
Becoming prey for the zombies himself.
That is certainly a good plan.
If the information he has is true, he can easily handle the zombies.
Of course, sacrifices are needed, but Velos was willing to pay the cost for his guilty conscience.
But Ian couldn’t just stand and watch.
“We can’t just sit back and watch that plan.”
“There’s no other way! This is the only method to minimize damage and handle them!”
“If disposing of the host can kill the zombies, there’s no need for you to risk your life.”
They knew that he tried to remedy the situation. But that doesn’t mean he can wash away his guilt.
Regardless of how it ends, it will likely end in death. Nevertheless, shouldn’t Velos apologize properly and leave to the residents who suffered from his actions?
Ian was not one to tolerate irresponsible behavior.
“I know of Ian’s strength! I witnessed him dealing with the demon Lilith. However… zombies are different. If they attack even once, you too…”
“You don’t need to worry about that. It was I who insisted on the plan. Even if it fails, the responsibility lies with me.”
Faced with Ian’s strong insistence, Velos eventually had to relent.
“Then let’s begin immediately. Where is the host?”
“I have sealed them separately in a room below. Although they are mixed in with the Resistance members who turned into zombies, you should be able to distinguish them by the greenish tint on their skin.”
“Got it. Let’s move then.”
They were about to move to handle the zombies when Velos hesitated and finally spoke out with a sigh.
“There’s something else I haven’t mentioned!”
“What is it?”
After hesitating, Velos let out another sigh and revealed.
“We need to lure the zombies… into the mansion.”
“Lure them? Is this because of the method of disposing of them through the host?”
“Yes. The area affected by the host’s influence… around this mansion, within Brookers, we need to gather all the zombies here.”
“Is that why you’ve been holding back on executing the plan?”
Velos, who seems to think nothing of death, has already set his mind on moving towards the host. It must be because of this.
‘Even though I tried to use the zombies to my advantage, it would be pointless if I can’t handle all of them.’
Although he had set up defensive walls to protect the outside from being damaged.
He didn’t know how long it will last.
‘Communication systems have already been paralyzed. I wonder if you will be suspicious of the imperial family in the near future.’
Communication with Baron Bellos, who had entrusted with the mission, was cut off.
Of course, the imperial family would judge this to be an abnormal phenomenon and dispatch an investigation team. What would they do if they saw the wall?
‘It’s one or the other. Either they try to break through and invade, or they sense something amiss and come prepared with troops to break through.’
But either way, being able to break through is still a long way off.
If some remain and become zombies… If they go outside.
‘The Academy genre game changes into the Apocalypse genre…’
Could it change to Zombie Academy from Heroic Academy?
Even so, it was necessary to prevent anything from happening.
‘Somehow, the people in the territories should be gathered. Fortunately, Brookers is not that big.’
What should be done…. it was a time of thought.
“What on earth is that?”
Bianca opened her mouth with a trembling voice.
“What’s going on?”
“Look over there, Ian! Something seems off.”
Ian glanced to where Bianca pointed—a screen displaying surveillance footage of the estate, monitored through the communication hub.
On the screen, a scene unfolded:
Kwaang! Bang!
Explosions rocked the vicinity of the mansion, caused by Vanessa.
‘They’re swarming in.’
In response to the explosions, zombies surged towards the mansion in a frenzy.
Ian smirked.
‘Vanessa… Didn’t think your antics would actually do us a favor.’
At that moment, Vanessa, the culprit behind the current chaos, was luring the zombies towards the mansion.
