The people collapsed before his eyes.
The warm, gentle people.
They spew blood. Choking.
"No...no...no..."
Vincent shook his head in denial.
His heart pounded.
His breath shortened.
"Aghhh!"
Auri collapsed on her knees.
"Big sister...Big brother..."
She cried.
"It hurts! Help me!"
Tears streamed down Vincent's face.
His heart felt as if it would burst.
He couldn't breathe.
It was all his fault.
"LIVIA!"
Varlo's roar tore the air.
"What's the meaning of this! Didn't you say it was safe!!! How did they get infected!!!"
His blood boiled in anger and grief.
Though he was selfish, he was not heartless. He was human.
The people he spent his worst days with. The people he tried hard to protect.
They all collapsed before his eyes.
His heart ached. He was helpless.
Livia remained silent. Her expression dark.
Auri rolled at her feet. Coughing blood. Tugging on her cloak.
She ignored her.
Livia stared at Vincent.
"YOU!"
Varlo glared at Vincent.
His eyes filled with tears. But determination flashed in them.
"It's your fault. I'll kill you!!"
Thud!
Varlo bumped into Livia.
His eyes locked on Vincent. Ready to kill him.
Swing!
He froze.
A red line appeared on his neck.
Splasssh!
The flesh separated.
Blood gushed.
"Gruughhh..."
Varlo held his neck.
He choked.
Blood filled his airways.
The sound of choking filled the room.
Not just him.
Everyone choked on their blood. Experiencing an excruciating end.
His eyes glanced back at Livia. Wide in terror. Filled with resentment and disbelief..
Thud!
He collapsed.
"Short-sighted fool,"
Livia stared coldly from above.
She held a scalper—the scalper she used to slice his throat.
Vincent observed. His eyes trembled.
"Impossible..."
He shook his head.
He refused to believe what he just witnessed.
Fear shrouded his heart.
"Vincent."
Livia leaned forward.
"You are the source of the zombie virus. You started it all."
Vincent's heart jumped.
Instantly, he suppressed his feelings.
An ability he didn't know he possessed. An ability he gained over the past few days.
His rationality returned.
He possibly faced an existential crisis.
His emotions would get in his way.
"Y-You, how do you know?"
He did not bother to hide it.
He could tell.
She wasn't guessing. She was certain.
"My eyes,"
She pointed the scalpel at her eyes.
She didn't care for the pained groans or the blood-choking sounds.
The whole floor got covered in blood.
"I can see things others can't. I can see the virus particles in the air. The amount emitted by you is even larger than that of the zombies."
"Y-you knew from the beginning?"
A realization befell Vincent.
A dreadful realization.
Anger boiled within him.
"WHY DID YOU BRING THEM HERE THEN!!!"
He jumped from the bed.
The electrodus tore. The tube tore. The needle remained in his vein.
"YOU KILLED THEM!"
He pounced on her.
Anger blinded him.
He didn't care for his life.
THUD!
Her feet landed on his chest.
His body flew back, slamming into the bed.
Strong. She was strong.
"WHYYYY!"
"Why?"
The corners of her mouth curled up.
"Hhahahahaha!"
She burst into laughter.
Her eyes trembled. She glared at the ceiling. She opened her arms wide, unable to contain her excitement.
"It's their honor!"
She roared—her voice full of righteousness.
"I'm granting them a miracle. The miracle of evolution!"
She glared at the humans struggling on the ground.
Disdain filled her eyes.
"The virus is a miracle. Miracle bestowed by the heavens. It will save the humans from extermination."
Her face twitched in anger.
"HOW DARE THEY REFUSE IT!"
Swoosh!
Her leg swung.
Thud!
The whip-like leg landed across Auri's chest.
Her body flew to the side.
Tears filled her eyes.
But she couldn't scream or cry. She choked on blood.
Her vision blurry.
"If they survive, they are part of the chosen ones: If not, they can blame their fate."
"LIVIAAAAAAA!"
"YOU DEMON!!"
"MONSTERRR!"
Vincent pounced again.
Livia dodged to the side.
Thud!
Her palm struck his throat.
Vincent collapsed to the ground.
He grabbed his throat. He couldn't breathe.
Tears welled in his eyes.
'You had to play the hero,'
His mind whispered.
His life flashed before his eyes.
'Let it go.'
Vincent's will dimmed.
'NO!'
He screamed in his mind.
Auri's cheerful smile flashed before his eyes.
'SHE IS A MONSTER!'
'Yes...but what does it matter? You killed thousands. It's just a few more.'
His internal war was eating him up.
'You are only angry because she killed people you are familiar with? What about the ones you killed? Is it okay because you don't know them?'
"Vincent,"
Livia looked at him.
Her eyes shone. Admiration.
"There are no innocents,"
She spoke as if she could read his mind.
"Do you realize how many lives the virus will save?"
Vincent listened.
But he couldn't reply at the moment.
Absurd. She was absurd.
"The virus will awaken the dormant abilities of the humans."
"They...can awaken...without the virus."
He managed to utter.
"They can."
She didn't deny.
"They need to experience a mortal danger. But how many can survive? Certainly not many."
Vincent immediately understood.
"The number of awakened would be far lower without the virus. The virus is a miracle."
"Y-You are...crazy!"
He forced words out. His mouth drooled.
But his anger still burned.
He wanted her dead.
He wanted to kill her with his own hands.
He wanted to avenge those people.
But in the end, he was just a coward.
Afraid of death.
Afraid she would kill him.
Tears streamed down his face.
Tears of anger. Anger at himself. Sadness.
Because his heart had already decided.
He wouldn't oppose her.
He hated himself for it. But he couldn't change it.
He was a coward.
Thud!
Aurielle crawled to Livia's feet.
She stopped choking on her blood. She could speak.
"Sister...My head...it hurts."
She couldn't open her eyes from the pain.
"Please help me."
"Ohh?"
Livia's eyes widened in surprise.
She crouched, carefully observing her.
"As expected of my little angel,"
Livia smiled kindly, patting her head.
"Go to sleep. When you wake up, you won't feel pain."
Thud!
Coldly, she grabbed Aurielle's neck.
She applied pressure to her carotid artery.
Pressure strong enough to knock her unconscious.
Her gentle smile vanished, and she looked around the room.
The people around still struggled.
But slowly, they gave out.
The old man—Aurielle's grandfather breathed his last.
The rest died not long after him.
"Sighh..."
Livia shook her head in disappointment.
"They all died."
But a smile instantly spread on her face.
She looked at Aurielle.
"But it's not bad. One awakened."
Vincent looked in disgust.
His anger boiled.
But he controlled himself.
At least Aurielle survived.
"You are disgusting. Two-faced monster,"
Vincent uttered.
"You act as if you care about her? Even after killing her grandfather? You are a devil. Don't pretend to be an angel. It's disgusting."
Livia shrugged.
"Is it my fault? It was his fate to die. He is not chosen."
Vincent's mouth opened. But closed.
He had no words.
And Livia didn't wait for him.
She walked up to a man.
SHLUCK!
Blood splashed around.
She pulled out a screwdriver from her inner pocket.
Emotionlessly, she pierced the man's eye.
The screwdriver pierced deep into the skull.
She killed his brain.
She went around, repeating the process.
Livia took care of everyone before they could turn into zombies- to everyone except Varlo.
"Now, now,"
She turned sharply at Varlo, walking up to his corpse.
Her eyes tremble in excitement.
'That is...'
Vincent's eyes trembled.
She pulled a syringe from her pocket.
A syringe filled with violet blood.
She attached a needle to the syringe.
"What do you intend to do!!"
Vincent roared
But she didn't reply.
Her lips curled up.
Excitement rushed through her veins.
She crouched.
Her hands trembled.
Thud!
She stabbed the needle in the neck.
Into the vein below the ear.
Clack!
She injected the blood.
Her heart pounded. Eyes full of anticipation.
'Probe,'
Vincent didn't hesitate.
[NOTICE]
[Humans are creatures of light. As the Progenitor, you can't access their status window]
'Damn!'
He cursed.
He couldn't estimate her true strength.
But he felt it.
At the very least, she is stronger than him.
It confirmed his suspicion.
When one awakens, their body grows stronger.
Otherwise, how could a woman be so much stronger than him?
'If everyone awakened is as strong as her...'
A thought flashed in his mind.
'They can hunt monsters. Humanity can survive.'
If nothing, the knowledge that awakened humans could deal with the zombies made him feel better.
At least, they were safe from his evil.
"Aghh..."
A headache attacked him.
The smiles of the corpses around him flashed before his eyes.
But he could only clench his fists. Swallow the anger.
Swallow everything to survive.
"I don't know if it'll work,"
Livia interrupted his thoughts.
"I injected zombie blood into ordinary corpses. They turned,"
She mumbled.
"But zombie blood doesn't work on awakened people,"
She continued staring at the corpse.
Hope faded by the moment.
"OHH?"
Her eyes sparked.
The veins on Varlo's body bulged up.
His eyes turned white.
He was turning.
"The awakened aren't affected by the virus the zombies carry. But directly taking it from the source, they get infected."
She nodded her head in satisfaction.
She achieved her objective. She confirmed the experiment's result.
Not long after, Varlo's veins turned green.
His color turned pale.
The small amount of blood seeping from his throat turned freen.
He turned into a zombie.
"Grrr..."
The finger moved.
It growled.
"It worked!"
Livia exclaimed happily.
The zombie slowly rose.
She clapped her hands joyfully.
As if watching a toy.
A puppy taking its first steps.
A madman. A true madman.