Dan Socheon left the office with the slumped Yuri slung over his shoulder.
Cedric was standing in the hallway, gazing out the window.
"Is it over?"
Dan Socheon nodded.
"You even set up the formation, what did you two talk about?"
His voice seemed gentle at first, but Dan Socheon could feel the chill buried within it.
He was a man devoid of warmth.
The small fraction of kindness he possessed was reserved for very few people, most of it directed toward his younger brother, Yuri Briol.
"We didn't talk about anything in particular. The formation was only deployed to prevent a disturbance."
"Couldn't you have finished it quietly?"
"Your brother isn't that weak. If he were, this building would've been destroyed."
"How admirable."
Cedric smiled.
"Make sure he doesn't wake up for a while."
"Understood."
The two walked side by side down the corridor.
Even though Dan Socheon was carrying Yuri, the attendants acted as if they couldn't see him, offering greetings only to Cedric.
Cedric said,
"Francaise's grand method is ready. Now you can do what you've been wanting to do."
"I'll say it again, don't interfere."
"We'll see."
"Even if you do, only after one of them falls."
"All right, all right."
Cedric shrugged.
"This is why humans disgust me. The instinct called competitive spirit still survives — maybe the world itself is wrong."
Dan Socheon didn't respond.
A genius among geniuses, who read the Demon's Grimoire without going insane, and even wielded the power within it. Perhaps a demon.
Never something close to human.
Perhaps that was why he could become the owner of the Demon's Grimoire.
"Dan Socheon. Confident you can win?"
"I don't know."
"My father is quite strong, you know. A genius, in a different way from me."
Cedric patted Dan Socheon on the shoulder.
"You can kill him if you want, just don't lose. By the way, Yuri wants you to save his friend, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now I'm curious…"
Cedric adjusted his glasses with a smile.
"That guy, and Yuri — what will happen to them? Dan Socheon, shall we make a bet?"
"I'll pass."
"Why?"
"Because I'd probably bet on the same outcome as you."
"That's no fun."
They left the building and strolled through the royal palace.
"Leave my brother here."
"You sure?"
"He can roll around and sleep anywhere."
With that, Cedric burst into amused laughter.
"When he wakes up, a lot of things will have changed."
Dan Socheon, just as Cedric said, casually dumped Yuri Briol's body in a corner of the garden.
He lay there as if asleep. Before long, an attendant would find him.
Cedric said,
"Time to say goodbye to this place. Let's head to Francaise."
***
Someone asked,
[Do you want to live?]
Laurent shook his head.
It was his honest answer.
But that someone did not leave him alone.
[No, you have to live.]
And Laurent's world began to turn again.
His mind, stained blood-red, the seething desire in his gut, slowly began to rewind. The mind that had been plummeting toward death began to claw its way back up the cliff.
He had become a zombie, yet he had not died.
So he could live again.
"Ah…"
Laurent blinked.
Suddenly, his mind cleared. Yet he didn't even remember what he had been doing.
Shapes began to form in his vision, though he couldn't recognize them clearly.
His brain's functions were gradually returning.
Only then did Laurent remember that the color filling his vision was called red.
Red.
A brilliant, yet frightening color.
Roses, tulips, peonies, amaryllis.
Apples, strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, pomegranates.
And blood.
Entrails soaked in blood. Human flesh drenched in blood. Here and there, pale bones protruding. From above, more blood dripped down.
Laurent swallowed.
With the metallic taste came a stifling stench that stabbed into his nostrils.
His senses began to function more sharply.
He realized what he was holding was a living being.
And more than that, he realized it was a human.
So then, which human?
Laurent closed his eyes, then opened them.
He lifted his head, raising his gaze.
There was a slumped head. Seeing the hair color and facial features, he recalled the name given to this being.
Stephanie.
In the single remaining eye, Laurent saw his own blood-smeared reflection.
Laurent remembered the time when he had become something else. He wished he could forget, but he remembered everything.
She had been alive when Laurent tore out her entrails and ate them.
Her screams were shrill, then faded into sobbing. As most humans do, she had called for her mother and father.
Laurent clutched his head. In his mouth, bits of Stephanie's flesh still remained. He wanted to spit them out, but they were stuck between his teeth and wouldn't come loose.
He shoved his hand inside and clawed frantically, but when it didn't work, he applied force.
His teeth broke off.
Three or four teeth, along with thin strips of flesh, fell onto Stephanie's entrails.
Laurent laughed through the blood pouring from his mouth. Then he vomited. Out spilled Stephanie's undigested organs. His stomach acid was bright red, and so Laurent vomited again.
In the middle of the vomit, an eyeball still connected to its optic nerve looked up at Laurent.
The sensation of that moment came flooding back.
The craving that had swirled inside him, igniting a strong appetite for Stephanie's eyes. Soft, tender, a delicacy of sorts. So he had plucked one out, rolled it on his tongue, then swallowed it whole.
The reason he left the other was to savor it later, as dessert.
Laurent slammed his head against the wall.
He repeatedly muttered curses. He spat, vomited, then slammed his forehead again.
Laurent, making beast-like sounds, continued to injure himself.
When he hurled his body with all his might, the guard post collapsed, burying him and Stephanie's corpse under the building's rubble.
But he did not die.
Laurent crawled out from under the wreckage. The sun blazed down on him. The blood on his hands was not his own.
He touched his face.
He felt the clotted skin, and tore it off. Blood ran down his face.
Laurent began to laugh.
A few zombies were shambling nearby.
Laurent remembered when he had been a zombie. Those things were not dead. They were abominations, cursed to roam the earth forever with a horrific impulse that did not belong in this world.
Laurent lunged at them in a frenzy.
The zombies that had not reacted before, finally began to fight back when Laurent attacked.
Laurent's fist crushed a zombie's face. He tore off the arm reaching toward him, and ripped apart its neck and body by force.
After killing a few like that, more zombies swarmed in.
Laurent rammed his body into them and swung his limbs wildly. When several of them clung to him, he bit down on them.
It was a beast's battle of tearing and being torn, biting and being bitten.
Laurent let out a savage roar as blood sprayed.
After a long and brutal struggle, Laurent, now exhausted, rose to his feet. Around him lay the dismembered corpses of zombies.
"Well…"
Suddenly, applause came from behind.
Laurent turned around.
"Impressive."
Laurent could hardly believe his eyes.
Cedric was walking toward him with a smile. At his side was a man dressed in black.
"How does it feel to survive?"
"You, bastard…"
Since returning from being a zombie, it was the first time Laurent had spoken human words.
His voice had changed.
He used to have a clear voice, but now it was rough and hoarse, as though his vocal cords had been damaged.
When Laurent coughed, Cedric shrugged.
"I'm your lord's older brother. I'd appreciate it if you'd show some respect."
"Shut up!"
Laurent charged, but the man in black beside Cedric blocked him.
Laurent was instantly flung back and slammed into the ground.
"Ghh…"
"I could erase you along with Francaise right now, but my brother asked me to spare you, so I'll let you live."
"You son of a…"
Laurent muttered curses with his head pressed into the ground.
Then, his head was stomped on.
"What exactly did you do to Francaise…?"
"Gu poison."
Cedric spoke.
"Francaise is gu poison. Gather human life force to create poison, then use it to deal with the most troublesome enemies."
"You bastard…!"
"Laurent."
Laurent raised his eyes. Cedric was crouched down, looking at him.
"My brother asked me to turn you back into a human, so be grateful and stay quiet."
"Just kill me!"
"No."
Cedric smiled.
"Yuri told me to spare you."
"I said kill me!"
"I won't."
When Laurent tried to shout again, Cedric kicked him in the face. Laurent kept his head down and couldn't speak for a while.
"Dan Socheon. Gag him and bring him along."
Dan Socheon stuffed something into Laurent's mouth, then wrapped cloth around his mouth so he couldn't move it.
Laurent resisted with muffled grunts, but after a few more blows, he went limp. Then he heard the voice of the man called Dan Socheon.
"You may want to die, but you won't be allowed to."
Laurent was dragged away.
Cedric and Dan Socheon moved in a strange way. Each step they took made the scenery around them slide backward.
Before long, they arrived at a new place.
It was Francaise University.
Laurent, bloodshot eyes glaring, watched everything.
He wanted to curse, but couldn't speak.
In the middle of Francaise University stood something strange — a black mass, a core clotted with the aura of black magic.
It was the same ominous energy he had felt at Adelvine.
Soon, something unbelievable happened again.
Zombies swarmed in from all directions.
They walked toward Francaise University like an army of ants following a pheromone signal.
It seemed like every zombie in Francaise was heading here.
Not one of them lacked the marks of cannibalism.
Laurent felt sick.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
Cedric, arms crossed, looked on.
"Francaise. Wide and fertile land. But even if I gather every human here and refine black magic from them, it might barely be enough to stand against that person. Makes you wonder if they're even human."
Laurent blinked.
"Laurent. Watch as every human from your territory becomes my tool. Your father, and your mother whom your father devoured — they'll all become one and be used for my sake."
Laurent no longer heard the mocking words.
He understood Cedric's intent.
"With this, I'll stop my father."
The zombies walked into the black core, becoming part of it. The black mass grew larger.
It was exactly like the monster in Adelvine that grew by eating humans.
"Laurent, I'll tell you your role."
Cedric approached and placed his hand on Laurent's head.
"You'll watch what happens to Fiore Briol, and tell Yuri everything in detail."
Laurent struggled.
Cedric stroked Laurent's hair as he continued.
"It'll be a nice bit of revenge against Yuri, who kept you alive in this pathetic state. Don't you think?"
***
While the Imperial Army crouched before the castle without making another move, time passed leisurely in Bezos.
The Briol army was enjoying their rest.
In the midst of it, a royal messenger arrived at Fiore's great hall.
The news he brought was grave.
"The Crown Prince has gone missing, and the Third Prince lies unconscious, unable to wake. And moreover…"
The knights present groaned.
"The army guarding Francaise has been completely slaughtered. We do not know what is happening there. Only over Francaise hang black clouds and fog. Even when we send soldiers inside, none return."
"What in the world…"
"Your Majesty."
Everyone looked around helplessly.
Fiore lowered his gaze in thought, his expression indifferent.
"Cedric is gone, you say?"
"Yes."
Fiore's eyes turned toward a young knight standing in the corner of the hall.
Jared was holding his head in his hands.
He had been Yuri's escort knight, and when Yuri left, he had come to Fiore personally to explain the circumstances.
It didn't take long to decide.
Fiore nodded.
"I'll go to Francaise myself."
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