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he one who saved Bianca from the zombie horde was an elderly-looking man.
The man who introduced himself as a researcher working under Baron Velos.
The moment she heard those words, Bianca realized that this was an opportunity.
'If it's this man…'
Wouldn't he know the secret behind the ruined territory?
Although her journey was interrupted, seeing the place that held her childhood memories crumble was something Bianca couldn't accept.
It would be best to resolve this if possible.
'If I do that, I can preserve my memories and help Ariel too.'
Ariel had been struggling due to repeated failures. If this issue was handled well, it would become a tremendous achievement for her.
That's why Bianca listened attentively to Phelps.
"What did you say?"
The information he provided was too shocking.
"What did you just say? You mean to tell me that the humans named Cerilda and Vanessa are the ones responsible for this disaster?"
Bianca's murmur echoed faintly through the vent.
Phelps just nodded at her agitated reaction.
"Yes, you heard correctly. This incident was orchestrated by the Resistance, specifically the hardliners led by Cerilda. Vanessa, as Cerilda's closest confidante, pushed this operation forward."
Phelps' story was simple.
The madmen they had seen before, the ones referred to as zombies, were failed experiments by Baron Velos.
Baron Velos had been doing everything he could to cure them, but the zombies were released due to an attack by the Resistance.
Phelps had revealed everything to Baron Velos to stop Cerilda's insane plan.
Even with this shocking revelation, what Bianca reacted most strongly to were the perpetrators.
"Vanessa…"
"… Cerilda started to change after getting close to that woman. She became obsessed with the lives of the powerful and began craving power and strength. Do you know her?"
"…"
Of course, she did. Vanessa…
"She is my sister. We lost contact after our family fell, but I never thought she would be involved in something like this."
Vanessa Matip.
Bianca did not have a favorable view of her sister.
Not only because of her flawed personality, but her ideology was the biggest problem.
'Vanessa was always obsessed with becoming stronger. To an extreme degree.'
It was far too intense.
Experimenting with newly acquired dark magic by cursing her vassals was the least of it.
She would even attempt nonsensical actions, like sacrificing the cat Bianca secretly raised to practice necromancy.
Bianca even found an entry in her sister's diary suggesting they sacrifice their youngest sibling, who was suffering from an illness, since she was going to die anyway.
'Father and Mother tried countless times to fix her.'
Bianca still vividly remembered her parents' efforts to reform her sister.
Dark magic had always been shunned, and even when the Matip family was at its peak, they were under suspicion.
What happens when the eldest daughter behaves like that?
Her parents tried everything: harsh scolding, gentle coaxing, any means they could think of.
But the results were never good.
'There was no sign of improvement. And while our parents were trying, the family fell.'
In Bianca's memories, Vanessa was nothing but a power-mad lunatic.
That's why…
'What this man is saying… could be true.'
Bianca could believe Phelps' words.
At least the Vanessa she remembered was someone who could manipulate the Resistance and devastate Brookers for her own strength.
With a growing sense of guilt, Bianca lowered her head, and Phelps did the same.
"This is my mistake. I didn't realize she was your family."
"No, I should have stopped my sister before she did such things."
"I don't know what kind of person Vanessa is in your memories, but… the Vanessa I saw wouldn't change for anyone, not even for her grandparents. So you shouldn't… ahem… blame yourself."
"Oh, are you hurt? Wait, I know some basic healing magic."
"No need for treatment. It's already too late…"
Though dark magic was her forte, the growing hatred towards dark wizards in the Empire led Bianca to learn other types of magic.
She had picked up some simple healing spells, so she tried to check Phelps' wounds.
"Oh…"
"I told you, it's too late…"
Seeing the blood seeping through his clothes, Bianca fell silent.
The darkness had obscured her vision, but Phelps' upper body was drenched in blood.
"What happened?"
"Don't worry. It wasn't a zombie. I was cut by a sword."
"That's not the point! Who did this to you?"
"Cerilda. Shamefully, my wife."
His own wife had stabbed him?
It was hard to believe, but the most shocking thing was Phelps' attitude.
"A wife stabbing her husband. That's unbelievable…"
"I hate to admit it, but my wife is insane. After joining Vanessa, she started dreaming of a life of power."
"The life of a noble?"
"A noble… That wouldn't satisfy her."
Nobles wield tremendous power, but above them stands the supreme imperial family, doesn't it?
That was not the life Cerilda desired.
"On the surface, she claims to want to create a country where everyone is equal. But her ambition is likely to become the leader of the nation and place herself at the top."
A world without discrimination was the ideal that the Resistance had long sought, but Phelps didn't believe it was right.
Anyone can speak well in theory, and theoretically, the country the Resistance envisioned wasn't bad.
'But reality is different.'
No matter how much one cries for equality, leaders always emerge in any group.
Would those who have tasted even a little power be willing to give it up?
Especially those who have lived under oppression?
The Resistance would likely seek to claim what they had been denied under the pretense of reward, and the Empire would face a crisis because of it.
Though Phelps was a commoner, he could distinguish right from wrong.
"An unprepared revolution only brings chaos…. I thought it was my duty to prevent that, so I left the Resistance and revealed everything to Baron Velos."
"…"
"But I failed. The Resistance pushed their operation beyond our imagination, and the zombies overran the village. That's how I ended up like this."
"Oh…"
"Don't feel too sorry. At least I managed to put an end to Cerilda with my own hands."
While he had successfully thwarted Cerilda's ambitions, it was too soon to be relieved.
Vanessa, the true mastermind, was still at large, meaning the disaster was not yet over.
"May I ask you a favor? Please stop Vanessa. She never cared about the Resistance's ideals from the beginning. She intends to use the zombies to overthrow the imperial family."
"That's…"
At first glance, it might seem like an exaggeration, but Bianca knew that if it was Vanessa, it was entirely plausible.
'If it's my sister.'
Vanessa had been famous for her extraordinary talent in dark magic.
If she could control ghouls as she wished, it stood to reason that she could control zombies as well.
In the end, Bianca could only nod.
"I'll do my best…"
"…Thank you. Please."
With those words, Phelps closed his eyes peacefully.
His body slumped, and his breathing stopped.
The life he had been holding onto slipped away.
Her cherished memories had turned into a zombie-infested nightmare, and the root cause was her own sister.
Overwhelmed by shame and guilt, Bianca clenched her teeth.
'If I had paid more attention, could things have been different?'
If she hadn't ignored those unpleasant memories and had taken an interest, could she have prevented this ruin?
After repeatedly questioning and answering herself countless times, she came to a conclusion.
'One thing is certain…. I must protect the territory of Brookers.'
The city that held her childhood memories, the only place where she could feel her family's presence.
She could not tolerate it being defiled.
With her resolution firm, Bianca headed through the ventilation system towards the lobby of the mansion.
She moved as quietly as possible to avoid alerting any zombies and, fortunately, made it to the lobby without incident.
Upon reaching the lobby, she jumped down from the ceiling vent and saw:
"Bianca! You're alive!"
Ariel ran towards her with a beaming smile, accompanied by relieved comrades.
And.
"Sister! I have great news! On my way from the courtyard to the lobby, I met someone…. Do you know who it was? It was your family!"
Behind Ariel stood a woman with ash-colored hair.
A familiar face to Bianca.
"Oh my…. Bianca, is that you? How many years has it been?"
"Vanessa…"
It was the moment she came face-to-face with the true mastermind.
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