Chapter 746: Dave

Everyone had a dumbfounded expression.

Such was the impact of Oliver’s words—both shocking and arrogant.

No, perhaps it went beyond arrogance.

His claim that his arrival here meant the heavens hadn’t forsaken them.

In essence, he either saw himself as the heavens or believed he was its spokesperson.

“······.”

Surprisingly though, people found themselves accepting the audacity of his words as natural, despite thinking them arrogant.

It was contradictory, but watching Oliver, with his half-bleached hair and emaciated figure, it somehow made sense. Without any explanation or proof.

A calm and peaceful silence, incompatible with a city full of fire and madness, spread from Oliver. Those who had been gripped by fear didn’t reject that peace.

Except for a few.

“Before evacuating the people, we need to take care of something.”

In the midst of the tranquil silence, Oliver looked at someone.

They were the Zombie Puppets who had just tried to capture Prince Albert.

Even though they had hidden themselves within the crowd when Oliver appeared, he had seen right through them.

His gaze, gentle yet sharp, pinpointed the Zombie Puppets. The people around noticed and instinctively began to distance themselves.

“D-damn it.”

The Zombie Puppets, hiding between the people and looking for an opportunity, cursed under their breath while trying to take random hostages. But.

“Everyone.”

Even that didn’t work. As Oliver addressed them, their bodies froze, unable to move.

“Ugh, no…”

People who had narrowly avoided being taken as hostages let out shrill noises and backed away. The Zombie Puppets, having lost their last chance, were now frozen, staring at Oliver.

Though already pale due to being corpses, their faces grew even paler with fear.

“To be honest, I’d like to ask you to retreat now.”

Oliver said as he approached the Zombie Puppets. They responded with silence.

“But you can’t, can you? Not with Puppet involved.”

By then, Oliver was standing directly in front of them. If he reached out, he could touch them.

“So, let me assist in making you retreat.”

Oliver slightly loosened the bandage wrapped around his right arm, revealing fingers that looked like burned twigs.

It was painful just to look at, but Oliver, expressionless as ever, calmly spoke to the Zombie Puppets.

“Go ahead. Do what you must.”

Oliver permitted action.

In that instant, the Zombie Puppets transformed.

Drills, gears, and blades sprouted from their hands. Machine guns and shotguns erupted from their faces, chests, and bellies.

Dozens of deadly tools, all aimed at Oliver, flashed toward him.

Just as these weapons were about to touch Oliver’s body, he raised his hand slowly, as if existing in a different timeline, and snapped his fingers.

Snap-!

Something like a white flame flickered.

Sssssssss…

All of the Zombie Puppets turned to ash and crumbled.

Not only the ones around Oliver, but every Zombie Puppet throughout the capital that had been spreading chaos.

The sight was so powerful, so omnipotent in a way, that the people froze in awe. Just then, two women emerged from the crowd.

“Father, we came as soon as the path opened as you instructed.”

“We’re also ready. Dave.”

The women were Eve and Pandora. They appeared out of nowhere and stood before Oliver, giving their report.

Oliver welcomed them, as if he’d been expecting them.

“Thank you. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“Thank you for saying so, but we need to hurry.”

“The space is being transferred over to the other side. Soon, even the World Tree will slip out of control.”

Pandora and Eve advised that they needed to act quickly.

Oliver nodded, then pulled a small bean and a branch from his pocket.

They were just ordinary, mundane items you could see anywhere. Yet, when Oliver held them, a green light shimmered, and life surged into the bean and branch, making them grow.

“Is that… Mike?”

Correct.

The reborn branch and bean intertwined, connecting to the earth through roots to become a microphone.

Oliver handed the microphone to Prince Albert.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s a microphone. It’s connected to all the radios in the capital. Help is coming soon to assist with the evacuation. Please, tell the people over the broadcast to stay calm. If chaos continues, it will be difficult to evacuate once support arrives.”

Prince Albert almost retorted with a ‘Why me?’

He understood why Oliver was asking.

Among those here, he was the one with the most authority and credibility. Regardless of what had happened, he was still Prince Albert.

Yet, the reason he nearly said ‘Why me?’ was out of fear.

He was scared to shoulder the responsibility in this crisis. Pressured, unsure if he was even qualified for such a role, he felt suffocated.

“Hah… Do I even have the right to do this? After all, it’s all because of the royal family.”

“That’s precisely why you need to do this, Your Highness.”

Answered Oliver succinctly. Albert had no comeback. He lowered his head in fear.

“I… I don’t think I… I don’t think I can do this well… I’m not sure.”

“And why not?”

“I’m just a small, powerless kid. All I’ve ever done is rely on others. It’s always been like that…”

Reflecting on his past actions, the prince started to cry. Ever since he left the palace and learned the terrible truth, witnessing the chaos and feeling the hatred of the people, it was the first time Prince Albert shed tears.

The crowd that had snapped out of their madness couldn’t quite explain what they felt seeing the young prince cry.

“I have no power.”

“You are not powerless, Your Highness.”

At those words, the prince slowly raised his head.

Oliver knelt on one knee, meeting the prince’s eye level.

“You didn’t turn a blind eye to what’s been happening in this city. You stared your own sins in the face and asked me for help. That, Your Highness, is courage. That is why I’m asking for your help now. Because you are brave. Please, help me.”

Oliver asked for Prince Albert’s help. He asked him to assist.

“C-can I really do it?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t believe you could do it.”

“Do you really think I can do it as well as you?”

“No. You’ll do much better than me.”

Tears formed once again in the prince’s eyes as he rubbed them with his hands.

For a long moment.

“Phew, phew… Dave, could you… could you give me the microphone?”

“Here it is, Your Highness.”

***

For the briefest of moments, short enough to seem like an illusion.

A strange phenomenon occurred as the world turned white.

It was such a short moment that most could have ignored it, but they did not. Actions ground to a halt.

The reason being that several people right in front of their eyes had turned to ash.

No, correction. They weren’t people. Upon closer inspection, their bones and organs had been replaced with machinery.

Despite their human exterior, they weren’t human inside.

“Z-zombie… puppets?”

Someone in the confused crowd muttered.

The people who had crumbled into ash were Zombie Puppets.

In other words, the man who had incited killing all orphans and prostitutes, the orphan caught setting fire, and the prostitute who had forced children to set fires were all Zombie Puppets.

Everyone spreading chaos in the city had been a Zombie Puppet.

“W-what? What in the world…?”

Those who had witnessed this but still couldn’t comprehend what had happened wavered in place as if bewitched.

At that moment.

[Citizens of the capital, please listen.]

As the white light faded and hesitation filled the air, a new voice rang out from the radio.

It was a youthful-sounding voice.

People standing amidst the fires and bloodied streets stopped what they were doing and turned toward the radio.

[I am Prince Albert.]

“Prince…?”

“Did he say prince?”

“Are you telling me the royal family—”

[-We are currently under attack. Poisoned by the sinister plans of evil men, poisoned by the suspicion, fear, hatred, and resentment they’ve spread.]

“Oh, please! The royal family dares talk like that right now?!”

“Exactly! This all happened because of you people!!”

[And yes, the royal family also took part in spreading this poison.]

Those screaming accusations at the radio suddenly fell silent.

[I will not deny that fact. Whether it was one person or two, the royal family bears the greatest responsibility for causing this disaster, and I will not reject that fact. But please, I implore you to listen to my words. We are on a path of error.]

A few people seemed about to interject, but others placed hands on their shoulders, signaling them to hold back.

[Your enemies are not the orphans or the prostitutes. The idea that they set the fires under orders from the royal family is a lie. It was the Zombie Puppets hiding in their midst that lit the fires.]

Some in the crowd shouted at the radio again, but the intensity wasn’t anywhere near what it had been before.

After all, they’d just seen Zombie Puppets hiding among the people with their own eyes.

[Just as one sin cannot condemn an entire life, neither can the sins of some condemn the entirety. Citizens, stop. Stop now before more taint is added to the pile of sin. All these actions are just fuel feeding the fire of this calamity.]

In various places across the capital, people standing among the spreading fires looked as if they had just been hit with cold water.

Some of them were holding orphans. Dropping their hold on them, they seemed to be questioning their own actions.

The orphans, freed from those grips, tried to run, but others quickly grabbed them again.

Their faces were filled with fear and stubbornness, a mix of doubt that what they were doing was wrong, and the stubbornness not to acknowledge that doubt.

“L-lies! Even now they spew lies!”

“Y-yeah… They’re only saying this now because they’re cornered!”

“I know what I saw! I saw the orphans set the fires!!”

They desperately tried to deny their guilt.

[I understand how terrifying it is to accept that the actions you’ve taken so far are wrong. But that’s why we must stop now. We are being tested. Ask yourselves: Were your actions truly right or wrong? The God is watching us.]

“······.”

Those who had been shouting at the radio began to fall silent one by one. They let go of the orphans they’d grabbed.

The orphans, free once again, didn’t run this time. Instead, they stared at the faces of those who had grabbed them.

For some reason, the look on those faces was similar to the expressions they’d had while being chased.

[Everyone, please regain your reason. Restore order. Help will soon arrive to assist you. In the meantime, do not succumb to despair; wait for them to arrive.]

The prince desperately pleaded through the radio.

There was such fervor in his voice, enough to bring those swept up in madness back to their senses.

Yet though they regained their reason, it did little to bring them hope.

By now, most of the citizens realized they wouldn’t escape the city.

Even though it was still day, the sky was as dark as night, and the city itself had become an impossible maze.

Perhaps hunting the orphans with such zeal had been a way of coping with that fear. After all, madness has always been the best escape from incomprehensible fear.

The prince’s words were right, but being right didn’t equate to solving the problem.

The citizens, unable to escape into further sin, began to lose hope and fall into despair.

That was when—

SCREEEEEEEEEEECH━━━!!

From the ground, a dragon made of flames erupted, soaring into the sky in a massive fire column.

It was so massive that every single citizen of the enormous capital could see it.

As the dragon leaped, the ground quaked. As it flew, the air trembled. As it reached the sky, the flames spread and illuminated the night-darkened sky.

The dragon didn’t stop there. It opened its maw and unleashed a torrent of flames, burning away the darkness.

All the citizens witnessed this sight, each overcome with indescribable feelings.

Though the dragon had once symbolized disaster and had been driven into extinction, seeing it now, people felt an unexplainable glimmer of hope.

“You really do live to see everything, huh.”

As everyone’s attention was stolen by the dragon, an unfamiliar voice, tinged with a northern accent, echoed.

The citizens turned their heads to witness a group making their way through the flames.

They were traveling by teleportation magic, using the flames as a medium.

It was a rare sight for common folk, who were left in awe until they realized the identity of those emerging from the fire. They were even more shocked.

Because the people stepping out of the flames were—

“For us, the Kel Independent Free Army, to be saving the kingdom folk?”

Wallace, who had led the fighters of the Kel Independent Free Army, made a self-mocking remark.

“If you want to live, follow our lead.”

***

In one darkened corner of the palace, as if the power had gone out.

This place had been restricted from entry as of some time ago. Even the royal family was banned.

Only a few select royal secretaries and a single Red One were allowed in.

It was rather an unusual case.

A section of the royal palace, property of the royal family, off-limits even to family members. Yet a single Red One had access.

In this incomprehensible space, a radio was playing.

The ridiculous talk about stopping now—that God was watching over them.

If he’d been able to speak, he would’ve mocked it without restraint.

“…B-brother.”

The Red One, who had dismissed even the Second Heir’s earnest plea as nonsense, flinched at the sound of the word ‘brother.’

Sworn to silence in his pursuit of becoming a prince of Hell, he answered by standing up.

“Ar-are you there…?”

The boy with a body so burned he had gone blind, his hands melted like wax, reached out into the air.

In response to his brother’s call, Unbent Knee held his younger brother’s hand.

“…”

Unable to say anything, he merely held his brother’s hand.