‘Heh. This is going more smoothly than I expected.’
Meeting Ariel must have been a stroke of luck.
Vanessa mused with a sly smile.
‘All that’s left is to gather the zombies in one place for control. I never thought I’d get help like this.’
Ariel had believed her words without question and helped gather the zombies.
Although Ariel had shown her infinite goodwill, Vanessa suspected there might be hidden motives behind it.
‘Well… She might want to blow up the mansion and take credit for it after gathering the zombies in one place…’
Vanessa had entirely different intentions than Ariel, who wanted to control the zombies.
But she didn’t particularly care.
The situation was unfolding just as she desired.
‘Breaking through the barrier surrounding the estate was difficult for me alone.’
Even though she had talent in dark magic, her expertise lay in necromancy—summoning and controlling monsters.
Reviving the dead and turning them into her minions granted her immense power, but as a consequence, Vanessa couldn’t create a powerful strike.
That was why she had gathered the zombies at the mansion.
‘To control as many zombies at once as possible, I had to gather them. And while I was at it, taking care of Velos would be killing two birds with one stone.’
She could break through the barrier and obtain all the zombies she had long desired.
This was the best situation for Vanessa.
‘And Ariel is away from here now.’
Had Ariel continued to follow her, it would have been troublesome. But thanks to Ariel’s companions, Vanessa had bought herself some time.
“Was her name Reina? I should try to keep that child alive.”
The fall of the empire was inevitable, but making Reina the last survivor would be an adequate reward.
“Well then… Shall we go?”
With a satisfied look at the zombies swarming in, Vanessa slowly headed inside the mansion.
She passed through the garden and courtyard where she had played as a child.
Stepping into the lobby where she had once greeted her father returning from expeditions, she felt a wave of nostalgia for the familiar place.
However, Vanessa steeled her heart and recalled her plan.
“The host zombie is supposed to be in the research facility on the second floor, right?”
The mansion had been entirely remodeled since her time living there, but the structure remained unchanged, making it easy to find the location if she had a rough idea.
“The research facility… If I remember correctly, it used to be the meditation room.”
The Matip family, masters of dark magic, had developed various methods to enhance their skills.
One of these was meditating in a dark room to communicate with spirits.
Given its size and security, it was indeed a suitable place for a research facility.
The door to the research facility had already been broken open by the zombies.
Passing through the shattered entrance, she saw it.
“Grrr!”
“Graaah!”
Zombies, easily over a hundred, were swarming inside.
“Krrr…”
And among them was a greenish zombie, the host, under her control.
Most people would be horrified by the sight, but for Vanessa, it was a magnificent view.
As she lifted the corners of her mouth in a sly smile…
Thunk!
“Ouch! What is this!”
Something strange, a syringe, had stabbed into her arm.
The overflowing red liquid rapidly permeated her body.
What is this? Just as she was wondering, a voice echoed.
“You’ve got some nerve to come here on your own…”
“Who are you!”
“Curious about who I am?”
A man, Ian Volkanov, swiftly descended from the ceiling, clenching his fist with an indifferent expression.
“You don’t need to know.”
***
Watching Vanessa stagger, Ian stifled a laugh.
“The poison is quite effective. She’s already stumbling after such a short time.”
According to Velos, the poison could kill any living creature within ten minutes.
Given Ian’s rapid regeneration, he might withstand it, but for Vanessa, enduring it would be nearly impossible.
‘Originally, I planned to use the poison on the host zombies. Seeing how it’s affecting Vanessa, I’m glad I used it on her.’
Using it on the hosts would make dealing with the zombies easier.
That much was certain.
Initially, Ian had intended to use the poison on the hosts.
However, when Vanessa revealed herself, he had to change his plans.
‘In the original story, Vanessa controls the zombies and poses a significant threat. It’s one thing to beat down rampaging zombies, but dealing with controlled ones is much harder.’
Vanessa Matip, a dark magician with unparalleled talent in necromancy.
If not for her flawed personality, she was evaluated to surpass her father as a necromancer soon.
Ian recalled how she was portrayed in the original story.
‘It felt like facing a well-trained knight order rather than a horde of zombies.’
In the Brookers event, he died 20 out of 40 times fighting her as the boss.
Even more frustrating was that in the original, she didn’t die here.
She escaped and reappeared later, threatening Ariel with skeleton soldiers instead of zombies.
He couldn’t leave a future threat unchecked if he couldn’t eliminate her now.
And that wasn’t the only reason.
‘It’s tough enough to fend off the zombies for ten minutes. If skeletons join in, there’s no answer.’
Using the poison on the host meant dealing with both zombies and skeletons.
Using it on Vanessa meant only facing zombies.
That was why he chose to use the poison on Vanessa.
“Kuh… Whoever you are, did you think you could ruin my plans and walk away? How about I turn you into a zombie and make you toil forever?”
“Grrrr!”
Ian decided to subdue Vanessa first and then deal with the approaching zombies.
He had to endure for ten minutes, but it wasn’t an impossible task.
Proving his judgment correct, he heard a voice.
‘Neltalion, spread your arms.’
– Yes, Ian!
Boom!
“Kraaaak!”
The sluggishly moving zombies couldn’t react to Ian’s punch.
If these were zombies directly controlled by Vanessa, they would have easily blocked such an attack.
But Vanessa was in a state of severe intoxication from the poison.
‘Even if she wants to make proper decisions and control, the pain will be too much for her to handle.’
In such a situation, it wasn’t easy to counter modern combat techniques, which were difficult to follow even when fully conscious.
The implication was simple.
‘Dealing with the zombies is straightforward.’
Even a monstrous disaster was nothing more than a small fry to Ian at this point.
Knowing this, Ian moved even faster.
“Hoo!”
With concise footwork, his fists shot out fiercely.
Avoiding straights and body hooks, he focused on jabs and long hooks in his combinations.
Pop! Pop-pop!
Using the space broadly and focusing on out-fighting was advantageous against multiple zombies, and Ian exploited this actively.
Of course, he didn’t forget about Neltalion.
Crunch!
“Grrrrrr!”
In blind spots, areas out of his line of sight, or when he was vulnerable while throwing punches, he used Neltalion’s wings to defend.
He avoided destroying the mansion as much as possible, crushing zombies into bloody pulp instead.
How much time had passed?
“Damn it! Where did such a guy come from!”
Seeing the rapidly dwindling number of zombies and Ian showing no signs of fatigue, Vanessa gritted her teeth.
Her arm, where the syringe had been stuck, was numb and devoid of feeling, but she couldn’t just stand by.
She tried to cast her remaining defensive spells to interfere.
“Lo Aias.”
Kwaaaang!
“Kuh!”
A massive shield appeared around Ian, repelling Vanessa’s attacks.
‘What the… This is impregnable…’
How on earth was she supposed to kill this guy?
The zombies’ heads burst like overripe melons upon contact with his fists. When they swarmed him, the massive hand materialized behind him would crush them effortlessly.
Any attempt at counterattack? It only worsened her situation.
It was incomprehensible where such a person had come from.
‘Am I… losing? Me?’
She was hailed as a genius.
Even her parents, the most accomplished dark magicians in the Empire’s history, recognized her as a prodigy.
Objectively speaking, her talents were extraordinary.
‘To handle zombies strengthened by necromancy so effortlessly….’
Most dark magicians, even the fastest, could summon a skeleton soldier around the age of 13.
But her? At five, while other young girls played with dolls, she played with skeletons.
‘Impossible. I’m a genius! My talents are unparalleled!’
When she realized this, Vanessa believed her talents were bestowed by the gods to dominate the world.
That’s why she obsessed over becoming stronger.
While others learned etiquette, history, and noble conduct, she carried tactical manuals and focused on training.
High society? She had no interest.
The Matip family was never welcomed anywhere.
Although she could have felt resentment, Vanessa used this as motivation to hone her skills.
‘I’ve cut off human relationships and devoted myself entirely!’
She treated the worried retainers indifferently.
Rather than wasting time talking to useless people, it was better spent reading tactical manuals.
She had lived like this for over 25 years.
She pursued strength alone, and even after her family fell, she used that anger to further sharpen her skills.
All she looked forward to was the day she could bring down the Empire with her honed skills and create a new world.
“Who are you! Why are you stopping me?”
At the sight of the man before her, all her thoughts shattered.
She couldn’t understand what was happening.
Vanessa focused the magic she used to control the zombies into her hands.
The mana of the Dark attribute wavered intensely.
“Why are you stopping me! Do you know how hard I’ve worked, how much I’ve suffered to get revenge on the Empire!”
She rushed at Ian in desperation.
“Lo Aias.”
Boom!
“Guh!”
In close combat, she was no match for the shield and was sent flying.
Watching her struggle to stand, Ian chuckled.
“Pathetic… just like a fly.”
“What did you say?”
“You’re like a fly buzzing around me. Did you think becoming stronger made you invincible? How unfortunate… the world is vast and filled with people far stronger than you.”
“You… you!”
“Did you think hiding away and training would turn you into some hidden master? No such luck. The fact that you’re lying there proves it.”
Vanessa’s eyes trembled as she saw Ian’s sneer.
“Aaah….”
Is this the end? She thought bringing down the Empire with zombies would be easy.
But such monsters existed in this world.
‘Then what have I been doing all this time….’
All those years of honing her skills in dark caves and abandoned ruins. What were they for?
Even though she frequented dark rooms as a child, spending years alone was not an easy task.
She had many days when she wanted to give up.
But Vanessa always steeled herself, believing that overcoming these hardships would lead to a bright future.
She thought that if she did what she had to, the heavens would open a path for her.
‘But is the path given to me only failure and ruin….’
Vanessa clenched her teeth.
‘How can this be.’
She had lived in pain. How could all that effort vanish meaninglessly?
If there were gods, if such beings truly existed, shouldn’t they grant a break after giving such trials?
She had believed in that steadfastly. Because of that.
“Hah… Hah…”
She rose stubbornly once more.
Running away wasn’t an option. As that b*stard said, no amount of training would change anything now.
Her thoughts were focused elsewhere.
‘Let’s see if I’m wrong… Let’s find out!’
She intended to use everything she had honed and refined to kill Ian.
That would prove that the path she had walked was not a mistake.
Fwoooosh!
“Kraaaargh!”
The zombies screeched as they twisted their bodies grotesquely. Their eyes, shedding bloody tears, began to glow with a sinister purple light.
“Is she enhancing them….”
For a moment, he thought that, but Vanessa was preparing something else.
Ominous hands emerged from beneath the zombies and began dragging them down.
Ian knew exactly what it was.
“That’s… a sacrifice.”
Necromancy’s strength lies not only in the ability to use the power of the dead but also in the fact that as the battlefield becomes stronger, so does the practitioner.
Of course, summoning without any cost was impossible.
To summon a powerful monster, a corresponding sacrifice was necessary.
‘She’s planning to use the zombies as sacrifices to summon something.’
Even though he read her intentions, it was already too late.
Swoooosh!
The sinister hands dragged all the zombies down, and a gate exuding intense energy appeared next to Vanessa.
What emerged from the gate was a knight.
Clang. Clang.
The knight walked out, the sound of its heavy armor clashing reverberating through the air.
Chilling eyes, black armor, and a sword imbued with ominous mana.
“A Death Knight….”
It was the moment when the ultimate monster, which only those who have trained necromancy to the extreme could summon, appeared.
Vanessa gazed at Ian with blurry eyes, her resolve unbroken.
“Let’s see if you still think I’m like a fly after seeing this… handle it.”
“Don’t you know that recklessly unleashing power will only tighten the noose around your neck?”
“I don’t fear death. But I can’t stand the thought of not taking you down!”
“You’re completely insane.”
Ian stopped the conversation.
She was mad. Nothing he said would reach her now.
He needed to focus all his energy on surviving the Death Knight’s onslaught in the remaining time.
Given that she sacrificed all the zombies to summon it, this wouldn’t be easy.
‘I might have to unleash my full power.’
Just as he was preparing to do his best to kill her.
Piiing!
A thin beam of magical light shot past his head.
“What?”
He turned to the source of the light and saw.
“Ha… haa…”
“Bianca?”
Bianca, holding a staff and panting heavily.
She had compressed her magic into a thin, concentrated beam.
“Ian, you said I couldn’t be of help! Do you still think that?”
“Hah.”
Bianca forced a smile, lifting the corners of her mouth.
Ian responded with a gentle smile.
As for Vanessa… there was no need to look anymore.
“Ough… kuh….”
The swiftly fired magic beam pierced through Vanessa’s forehead. The Death Knight began to lose its form and crumble.
Vanessa, the main boss of the Brookers event, met her end pathetically.
As he retracted his power and watched her fall.
Tick! Tiding!
‘What? This is…’
A green orb rolled across the floor, having fallen from the crumbling Death Knight’s body.
“No way…”
Ian’s eyes widened in surprise as he identified it.
