Chapter 676: Confession

The United Kingdom, the world’s strongest nation with countless colonies.

Ironically, its largest and wealthiest city, Randa, was a free city not under the control of the Royal Family or the Central Council.

As its very name suggests.

Besides that, Randa had many other nicknames.

The Giant City, the City of Opportunity, the City where money was so abundant that it overflowed, the City of Violence and Wealth, the City of the Rich and Poor, and the City of Lawlessness.

Among these nicknames, not all were positive.

Where there is light, there is also darkness.

Even those who disliked Randa couldn’t deny that the city was prosperous, but at the same time, it had clear flaws.

The city had grown by devouring countless villages and small towns, and as expected, it was overpopulated. In line with the laws of supply and demand, there was an underlying disregard for human life.

This mindset was shared not only by factory owners who treated people like cogs and bolts but also by the lowest of society’s ranks.

Most people who came to Randa weren’t there to live equally; they were there to become rich.

This gave the city its vitality but also led to the rise of those willing to use any means to achieve wealth.

Con men, gangs, fixers, dark sorcerers, mercenaries, and more.

Because of this, such individuals ran rampant in the city 365 days a year, creating numerous victims.

Even so, the City Council that governed Randa turned a blind eye as long as they didn’t threaten the city’s safety.

They used Randa’s belief in freedom as their excuse.

Because of this, those outside the city often referred to Randa as a corrupt city.

They said it lacked morals and ethics like chivalry, modesty, tolerance, duty, and responsibility.

Of course, those same cities also hired Pinkman to shoot at strikers with machine guns.

In any case, what mattered here was the fact that Randa, despite its wealth, was a corrupt city. Yet, its citizens were proud of it.

Everyone in this city, living up to its first nickname of Free City, considered themselves truly free individuals.

As proof of this, Randa had never been interfered with by the Royal Family or the Central Council and had never been invaded by any external force.

But the proud history built over the last few decades was now, in this moment, being shattered.

“Kyahahahaha! Ready to fire!!!”

By an army of the undead that had emerged from the ground.

A Zombie Puppet general, dressed in a uniform that nobles would have worn decades ago, sat atop a zombie mount, brandishing a sword as he shouted.

In response, the army of the undead moved with a monstrous roar.

“Grooooaaa!”

“Oooooo!”

Zombie soldiers let out their characteristic groans as they loaded the giant cannon.

A cannon that looked like it had been made from the body of a giant.

The cannon’s muzzle featured enormous lips and teeth, while its top resembled a writhing clam with nostrils and eyes.

It had been forged with dark magic.

“Fire!!”

Once the cannon was loaded, the Zombie Puppet general gave the order.

A zombie soldier jabbed the cannon’s eye.

Screeeeech━!!

The giant roared as flames spewed from its mouth, launching a massive meat shell, composed of the writhing bodies of dozens of people.

The shell collided with the magical barrier protecting the administrative district.

The explosion from the dying screams shattered the barrier.

“Uwoooooo!!!!”

“Grrrr… craaaack!”

“Kyahahahahaha!!!”

“Gaaaahhhh!!”

Once the barrier fell, zombie puppets with a quadrupedal golem at the forefront, followed by zombies armed with rifles, swords, axes, and kitchen knives, surged forward.

In response, the Randa Defense Force, armed with modern weapons and magic tools, formed a defense line.

“Hold the line!”

“It… it’s impossible!”

Despite their efforts, it was a losing battle.

This was hardly surprising.

The Randa Defense Force was a military unit created to fight other humans.

Not for fighting the dead, who neither felt pain nor feared death.

In fact, no army in the world was designed to fight the undead.

No force in this world had the luxury to spend its limited resources on such things.

It was unthinkable for even a ‘private individual’ to control such an army.

That was common sense.

But failure to consider what lay beyond common sense had dire consequences.

For the first time since its foundation, Randa, a city that had never been invaded, faced conquest.

The army of the undead that even holy items from the military reserves couldn’t stop was proof of this.

Even when purified by holy power, the seemingly endless numbers immediately filled in the gaps.

With stronger weapons and more powerful zombie puppets.

The Randa chapter of the Holy Knights and the Tower of Magic were no exceptions.

Holy Knights wielding divine strength gifted by the gods were overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of zombie troops despite their advantage in the clash between dark magic and holy power, making it impossible to provide support.

As strong as they were, they were limited by having only one body. Thus, their forces were pinned down defending the chapter headquarters and temples.

The zombie army seemed to understand this and didn’t launch excessive attacks, merely tying down the Holy Knights.

Given that they were moving according to their opponent’s intentions, it was practically a defeat.

However, this was a much better situation compared to the Tower of Magic.

The Tower of Magic, an organization that stood shoulder to shoulder with the City Council in ruling Randa, was suffering the greatest damage among any organization.

As if to make it clear…

“Headmaster! The Grandmaster has… Argh!”

The core members within the Tower of Magic had been gradually defeated, including the Grandmaster and Headmaster.

Even after activating their defense systems, the zombie army continued to invade, as if they knew the inner workings of the Tower, attacking students and ordinary magicians.

Whenever the Grandmaster or the Headmaster came out to counter the zombie army, Zombie Puppets would inevitably appear, either killing them or inflicting serious injuries.

Thomas Nielsen, a notable example, was the Headmaster of the Mjolnir Faction, a Faction within the Elemental Faction known for its power.

Despite being a high-ranking magician with ties to the Archive, he was gravely injured before he could even summon his full strength against a keenly coordinated ambush by the Zombie Puppets.

It was as if they’d been preparing for this encounter for decades.

For others, the situation was even worse.

Most were felled by surprise attacks from the Zombie Puppets, while a few who managed to survive thanks to their innate talent, acquired skills, and experience sooner or later…

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Shortly after, fell to the combined onslaught of Zombie Puppet duos and Golem-Zombie Puppets, which seemed to have learned and adapted.

The potent mix of high-performance Zombie Puppets, abundant resources, and well-coordinated strategies had created a perfect storm.

The leaders and high-ranking officials of the Tower of Magic fell one after another, failing to live up to their prestigious status.

Whether it was because the Tower’s reputation was undeserved or because Puppet’s power defied imagination was unclear, but the result was a gaping hole in their defenses, through which the zombie army flooded, dealing massive damage to the entire Tower.

If this continued for just a few more hours, total annihilation would not have been a far-fetched outcome.

Thus, the greatest city of the United Kingdom, and the most prosperous city in human history, was laid bare by the undead.

But interestingly, the heart of this horrific battlefield was not the administrative district struggling against the zombie army, nor the Tower of Magic being slaughtered by the Zombie Puppets.

It was none other than W-District, the poorest area in Randa.

“Hah… Hah… Physical labor just doesn’t suit an intellectual like me.”

Ewan, a master dark sorcerer, spoke.

A gigantic dark sorcerer, created with creative black magic, stood behind him.

In one hand, it held a wooden staff that controlled a beanstalk, and in the other hand, it held a writhing chain of emotions, magic, and life force.

Clearly, there was no bluff in what he said, as six Archive Zombie Puppets lay shattered before him.

It was an incredible performance, especially considering the remnants of the Archive’s firewall.

Puppet spoke to Ewan.

Using the mouths of the unbroken Archive Zombie Puppets who still had their full strength.

“Joking at a time like this…”

“Still have… some fight left in you, huh.”

“You seem… to be… doing well.”

Ewan, panting with a smile, replied.

“Yeah, it’s my principle to never lose my sense of humor… No matter what. That’s what makes life worth living… Though I’m not sure you’ll understand.”

“True, I… don’t really get it…”

“And neither… do the others…”

“But…”

“That’s… just how it is.”

Puppet spoke word by word through the mouths of several Zombie Puppets.

Right after, there was a sound like metal scraping.

At the screams, Ewan turned and saw.

“Gwraaaahhhh━━!!!”

Bartholomew, his enormous sinner’s body hidden beneath bandages, and a Red One stabbing him from above with a needle-like blade.

“Well, well…,”

Ewan exclaimed.

Bartholomew, whose body had been twisted into a living disaster, possessed terrifying strength.

The shattered Zombie Puppets lying before Ewan were proof of that.

Yet, here he was, helplessly stabbed by a Red One with a needle-like blade.

“…Discolored patches on your skin, a Thistle Crown, a needle-like blade forged from a sinner, shoes, belts, a necklace made from imp parts… You’re the new prince candidate of the Swan Sect, aren’t you?”

“The only prince candidate, to be exact.

Puppet, who sought to exploit the apocalypse, added.

Ewan laughed.

“Ha! Don’t you think it’s foolish… You should already know it’s a lost cause.”

“Whether it’s a lost cause…”

“Or not…”

“That doesn’t matter…”

“What’s important is…”

“Whether you can achieve your goal or not.”

“…You’ve got some nerve.”

“Now then…”

“What’s your plan?”

Puppet shifted its gaze to someone else.

There was Bartholomew’s younger sister, Gretel, who had been turned into a Zombie Puppet.

Using hell’s power within her body, Gretel had single-handedly subdued the Anti-Development Committee and support forces from Bean City.

Though surprised, Ewan wasn’t all that shocked.

It probably wasn’t difficult for Puppet, who had prepared and endured for hundreds of years with a single goal in mind, to steal Gretel’s corpse.

But what really was surprising was—

“—how did you manage to retrieve so many Archive corpses?

Ewan asked what he was truly curious about.

“Most of the Archives hide their corpses carefully or cremate them to prevent this exact scenario… If you’ve ever borrowed money, you’d know. Especially this one, I distinctly remember seeing it cremated myself.”

Ewan tapped one of the shattered Zombie Puppets created from an Archive with his wooden staff.

“If you have just a little seed, it’s not hard to recover the physical body. The hard part is the contents, not the shell.”

Puppet responded. It wasn’t difficult to reconstruct a body if you had a little bit of the cells left.

It sounded absurd, but it wasn’t far from the truth.

At least, not from Puppet’s perspective.

Though successful in creating the body, he had failed in creating the contents—the soul.

“Moreover, I recently read a highly informative paper. It’s titled [Reconstruction and Transplantation of Body and Organs by Combining Blood Magic and Life Magic].”

“Oh, how considerate of you to share that… Thanks to you, I’ve caught my breath.”

“It’s fine… I, too, needed… some time to prepare…”

Right after that, the Archive Zombie Puppets raised their hands, stacking multiple magic circles over Ewan’s head.

These were not merely physical overlays but chemical bonds that compensated for each other’s deficiencies and reacted together.

Before Ewan could react, the stacked magic circles descended, immobilizing his body with gravity before an alien, pure white light burst forth, swallowing him and the ground.

It was a power akin to annihilation, surpassing mere destruction.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, not only did Ewan counterbalance the light, but he also retaliated, destroying some of the Archive Zombie Puppets.

The cost was the consumption of a large number of IOUs all at once.

“…You play the game dirty.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I prioritize effectiveness. But you seem to be losing your smile.”

“Don’t worry… I’ve still got my finishing move.”

“I wonder how long that bluff will last? Even if you’ve escaped the world’s shackles, you’re still just one man.”

“You underestimate me too much. Thinking my IOUs would run out this easily?”

To back up his words, Ewan pulled out another large set of IOUs.

Just as Ewan was about to tear them up.

“If you use them all, it’ll be tough for you to stay in this world much longer. Go ahead, tear them if you want. Doesn’t look like the Archive is coming to save you either.”

Puppet spoke as if already knowing everything.

Ewan hesitated, as if something had clicked.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Puppet shouted.

“Cant, Director!”

Puppet called out to Kent.

The very Kent who had disappeared the moment Ewan and Bartholomew had encountered Puppet.

Cant must have used an artifact so powerful that even Puppet found it difficult to detect him, and was now hiding nearby.

Puppet had intercepted Ewan’s and Bartholomew’s attempt to whisk Kent away.

So, hiding was the next best option.

Thus, Puppet spoke to Kent, who he suspected was listening somewhere.

He couldn’t feel any presence, but his instincts told him Kent was listening.

“My earlier offer remains the same. Come out and cooperate with me for a while. If you do, I will stop the bloodshed in Randa.”

“Don’t listen to him, that guy’s full of—”

“—But if you keep hiding while Ewan uses up all his IOUs, I promise to kill half the people in this city. Not all, just half.”

Puppet threatened once more.

Just like when he threatened to kill everyone in W-District. Only this time, there were differences.

The scope had widened to all of Randa, and the number of victims had been reduced from everyone to half.

But the biggest difference was the sincerity behind it.

Though his previous threats were serious, this time, it felt like he was determined to follow through.

The fact that it was conditional on Ewan running out of IOUs was proof enough, and as a result, Kent finally revealed himself, taking off his unusual hat.

“Hey…,”

Ewan called out to Kent, but soon gave up.

For he could see that Kent had already made up his mind.

He knew it too.

If they continued to stall, countless people in Randa would die.

Some of those people would be strangers, but some would be familiar, like friends of friends, or friends of the family.

Cant had come out for their sake.

As Kent came back into sight, Puppet silently waited, his gaze fixed on him, while the tension in the air thickened, and even the surrounding noises became subdued.

As a Zombie Puppet approached Kent, he finally spoke.

“First, release the people here.”

The people he referred to were Ewan, Bartholomew, and the Anti-Development Committee and Bean City support troops subdued by Gretel.

When Puppet didn’t respond, Kent spoke again.

“Since you keep asking for my cooperation, I assume I’m necessary, so please do as I ask. Consider it an advance payment.”

Whether it worked or not, Puppet gestured with a glance at the Red One and Gretel.

Reluctantly, they complied with Puppet’s intent.

Thanks to one person, many lives were saved, and Puppet extended his hand as if to receive something.

Cant extended his hand as well.

Just as their hands were about to meet, Kent asked one last question.

“…I have just one more question.”

“You’re quite greedy.”

“This is my last question.”

“…What is it?”

“Oliver… Are you going to harm that boy?”

Puppet smiled a little.

“You seem to care more about his safety… Than the city’s.”

Cant neither confirmed nor denied it.

“I don’t mind that… It’s irrational, but I don’t mind… Don’t worry. I’m just setting up some safeguards to make sure he keeps his promises to me.”

Cant looked at Puppet. To be precise, he looked at the Zombie Puppet controlled by Puppet.

Without the Warlock’s Eye, Kent couldn’t tell whether Puppet was speaking the truth or lying, but after a long pause, he finally took Puppet’s hand.

As if they were shaking hands.

“May I ask a question too?”

“…What is it?”

“Have you ever committed a terrible sin?”

“…Yes, I have.”

“What kind?”

“Fraud, threats, violence, extortion, murder, and various other crimes.”

Cant, who had been active during the real estate boom, spoke frankly of his sins.

Those sins had given him the wealth and success he desired, but they had also taken away his family.

Puppet, having read the truth from Kent, smiled with satisfaction.

“Good. The effect is better on criminals.”

Before Kent could even ask what effect, Puppet drew the dagger strapped to his waist and plunged it into Kent’s side. From the bottom up.

Splutch━!

As Kent’s blood and warmth leaked out, Kent fell to his knees, and in his fading vision, a horse appeared.

A black horse with a long mane and tail.

The horse approached Kent.