NOVEL NEXT Chapter 221
Chapter 221 – The Final (1)
‘Something definitely went wrong.’
Raulus headed straight for the Imperial Palace after the defeat in battle. He wanted to see the Emperor. But shortly after that, a plague spread and people began turning into monsters, rampaging everywhere.
In the midst of everyone scrambling to survive, Raulus found that he had lost any ability to control the situation or the people, so he made his way to the palace without hindrance.
“It doesn’t seem like a simple plague…”
Of course, it wasn’t completely without any interruptions.
Infected individuals, having lost their sanity, didn’t recognize any level of danger and charged at him, but even though he had been defeated by Riena, he was once considered the strongest in the Empire. He dispatched all the infected and pressed forward.
“What are you?”
“…”
What he encountered in the process were those beings. Unlike the other infected, they appeared somewhat different, like a grotesque mix of human and monster, resembling chimeras.
They were the result of the Bugs’ evolution after the defeat of the colony.
“Ugh!?”
They looked as if a person was wrapped in the carapace of a bug, howling as they rushed at him with their weapons.
Raulus was horrified by their level. Clearly, these beings who had become hosts were once knights, and what had been forcibly injected into them was the culmination of the data the Bugs had amassed from their intense battles with the Arin Tribe.
Their level far surpassed that of an ordinary knight. They were comparable to the officers of a knight order, or even commanders.
‘Are there more of these things?!’
After subduing them, Raulus caught his breath and surveyed his surroundings. Countless masses, resembling cocoons, sprawled out around him.
The number appeared to be at least several hundred or even thousands, and if the monsters inside resembled the ones he had just encountered—
A shiver ran down Raulus’s spine as he swallowed hard. No faction in this world could defeat that legion of monsters.
Like locusts sweeping a field, they would wipe out everything living on this land.
“Emperor! The prisoner you released has returned!”
Raulus, having jumped over the palace wall in one leap, shouted as he surveyed the surroundings. The interior of the palace was eerily quiet, devoid of any guards, with only the ominous stillness mingling with the cocoons he had seen from outside.
‘No, the Emperor is definitely here.’
He felt a strong presence and bit his lip. Having come this far, he was determined to uncover the truth.
“It is not courteous to arrive so suddenly, is it?”
“Who the hell are you?”
Raulus was met by the Chancellor, Stas, who walked out from deeper within the palace. The Raulus who had been suppressed as a child didn’t recognize Stas.
“I will soon achieve a great accomplishment. I cannot allow any interference.”
“Interference? So you’re saying you’re allied with these crazy monsters?”
Upon Stas’s words, Raulus grinned as he looked at the cocoons surrounding him. In contrast, Stas frowned. Already consumed by parasites, Stas believed it was truly the right thing to surrender everything to the Bugs.
“Though you’re a disgusting family and nation, you still must maintain decorum. What in the world is this?”
“A traitor behaving like a traitor.”
Seeing Raulus raise his axe, Stas began to twist and transform his own body.
‘This is insane.’
Raulus’s eyes widened at the sight of Stas transforming into a horrific monster with four arms. He instinctively sensed danger.
It was entirely different from when he faced Riena. During that fight, he had felt joy and exhilaration; after all, one must clash hands to make a sound.
Recognizing, albeit vaguely, the Bugs’ intentions, he found no fighting spirit in this battle.
“I’m curious how someone called the strongest would fare receiving this kind of power.”
Fully transformed, Stas spread his wings and charged at him with incredible speed.
His aim was to infect Raulus and merge him with the Bugs just like himself.
“Get… away!”
Startled, Raulus exploded with power, pushing Stas back. No matter how much Bugs modified the human body, someone truly called the strongest was not an easy opponent to defeat.
“Do you think you’re alone?”
As if he understood that well, Stas grinned and raised his sword again.
At the same time, sounds of countless wings filled the air.
Seeing his complexion turn pale, Raulus staggered at the sight of numerous Bugs surrounding him. Enemies were perched on the rooftops, on the ground, and in the sky—at least hundreds of them.
All of them had once been knights and mages who had sworn loyalty to the Empire and the Emperor.
‘This is the end times.’
Feeling the finality closing in, he let out a hollow laugh. No matter how he thought about it, this world was doomed.
With Bugs evolving and rampaging in unimaginable ways, he was convinced that this world could no longer stop them.
*
‘Everyone has gained the trait called enhanced immunity?’
The vaccine brought from the Zombie Survival Game, Fallen World, was not a simple medicine. Like the difficulty of obtaining it without cracks like Riena, it provided a kind of permanent buff—a very special medicine.
Chieftain Balun prioritized distributing the medicines brought by Riena to the elite warriors and soldiers of the vanguard.
Before things dragged on any longer, and before the Bugs got what they wanted, they aimed to end the situation.
Thus, the prepared vanguard set out immediately, their target obviously being the Imperial Palace, presumed to be the Bugs’ base.
Upon a quick look, he noted that it had already turned into a horrific den of Bugs.
‘I can’t include Riena for now.’
However, Riena could not join the vanguard yet. She needed to gather materials in her world, where she could unleash her special powers to her heart’s content.
“—!”
Still, the strongest—like Paladins and Grand Mages—were all included in the vanguard, excluding Riena.
They, too, had spent considerable time training with him and strengthening their powers, so while there was worry, it wasn’t to the point of distrust.
‘Honestly, I’m more worried about here than over there.’
With a bitter smile, he opened an internet window to observe the reactions of knights and people.
After new means were developed to identify and eliminate parasite Bugs, the world was stirred once more.
“Since all effects have already been proven, one could say that anyone opposing it is under the influence of Bugs.”
Lee So-Yeon cooked up a grin as she met with leaders of states, who claimed to be assertive, as they voluntarily went to get tested or take the medicine.
As the atmosphere shifted, those who had opposed it lost all justification. The reality of several prominent figures from nations or large corporations actually infected by Bugs began surfacing, with news slowly emerging of their forced capture.
“The Allied Forces have decided to strike directly at the Bugs’ nests.”
“Finally, it’s starting here too.”
Simultaneously, the much-delayed large-scale extermination operation, tangled in numerous interests, had commenced.
A global Allied Force was born, agreeing to deploy ground troops to regions presumed to be Bugs’ strongholds and uproot them.
“Soldiers, Guardians… many will go there and fight, dying in the process.”
“We must help in whatever way we can.”
Noticing the darkness in her voice, he comforted her. Like Riena who stayed behind in the game, we too needed to manage our stronghold properly to win by sharing as much burden with others as possible.
Despite anxiety and fear, they had to believe and trust. The best we could do was to take care of the residents in our stronghold.
“I just hope it’s not too late.”
She smiled weakly, unsure if it helped.
In short, they were waging war against Bugs organized into colonies, each seeking mutual destruction.
Seeing how far along the Bugs had progressed, it was evident that it wouldn’t be easy.
‘Bombard them into ruins, then sweep the interior with ground forces. It’s a simple operation.’
The news was dominated by discussions of war daily. Naturally, as it could be called the biggest event of the century, it made sense.
People’s attention was entirely focused there. Wherever he went and whoever he met, everyone discussed only that. It was as if the entire world had united to fight against a common enemy like a movie.
“Still, using that as an excuse to neglect studying for exams is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“I’m saying it’s abnormal to be taking tests at a time like this!?”
After saying something about his younger brother, who was glued to the TV and internet all day, the brat shot back that it was even weirder that he was the one working.
“What do you think? Do you think we’ll win this war? Do you think the one who brought down the angel will come back to help us again?”
“…If we don’t win, we all die. So predicting it is meaningless.”
His younger brother’s mention of angels and descents made him flinch. Information about the descents had already spread among the general populace.
“It’s hard to believe. A war that could determine whether the world falls apart is happening, and I’m just sitting here. Of course, I’m being protected in a safe place, but thinking of it differently, I’m just getting swept away and doing nothing.”
“Everyone has their own role to play. We just do that. Nothing can function properly without one of them.”
His younger brother’s words, which sounded to be filled with mixed emotions, made him serious, and he conveyed what he had seen, heard, and thought after experiencing it all.
‘I’ll go without hesitation if I have to do something.’
This was also a message to himself.
For now, he was managing the residents while staying put, but if a need arose for his strength, be it in the war zone or elsewhere, he would be ready to go.
“So I hope it wraps up before it all blows up.”
Returning to the room, he sighed and sat down, staring at the monitors.
The screens from the vanguard, the Elves, and the stronghold were all filled with a tense atmosphere. Much like when attacking the Bugs’ colony, a solemn mood of final confrontation hung in the air.
‘Now let’s see it come to a real end.’
Grabbing the mouse, he concentrated his gaze on the screen of the vanguard.
The selected elite troops broke through the infected and soon arrived at the palace.
What awaited them there were horrific hybrids born from the perfect fusion of Bugs and humans. Perhaps due to the absence of separate nests and production facilities, the hulking monsters that had been produced when in colonies were no longer present, but these formidable foes retained the skills from their human past.
“—!”
They were immune to the vaccine.
The elite troops drew their weapons and commenced battle against the swarming tide of infected on the ground and flying enemies above.
“Is their immunity not fully formed yet?”
Meanwhile, he too picked up the desktop demolisher, now all too familiar. It was a relief to find that his strikes were still effective against the enemies.
A village had taken root on my desktop.