I, the Final Boss of the Beta Server!

Chapter 15: □□Is Art

“You should know the principle behind hallucinogen addiction—this type of corruption works the same way.”

“Their minds have already been eroded, losing the joys and sorrows of a normal person. Once altered, they can only derive pleasure from inflicting pain on others. Nothing mundane can bring them happiness anymore.”

“So, in order to chase that stimulating pleasure, the corrupted ones will stop at nothing to commit acts of violence and abuse upon others.”

“Love, friendship, family… the more cherished and fiercely protected these beautiful emotions were before, the stronger the desire to torture and destroy becomes after the Iron Cross inversion.”

“And the flesh mutations brought on by the corruption grant these infected individuals physical prowess several times that of ordinary people, while also forming steel-like membranes over vital points such as the throat and heart.”

“Ordinary pistol rounds and melee weapons can’t pierce these membranes. Only full-power rifle rounds or armor-piercing bullets can barely breach them. Of course, extraordinary weapons like your rapier can too.”

Rast’s calm voice sounded beside Shiltina’s ear.

“The most distinguishing feature of these corrupted ones is a highly visible cross-shaped scar on their body, colored iron gray like a brand.”

“I call these corrupted beings the 『Iron Cross』.”

“The so-called 『Iron Cross Plague』 spoken of in later times likely gets its name from this.”

Looking at the corpse of the coachman, Rast spoke softly: “According to my previous loops, he shouldn’t have appeared here.”

“But because of your arrival, the original trajectory changed. He waited near the manor for a long time. During that period, he was influenced by the corruption, silently implanted with its seed, which sprouted once he returned home.”

Shiltina pondered for a moment, then quickly understood the meaning behind Rast’s words.

In Rast’s previous loops, she had not existed, and so Rast had never needed to use the “caught cheating with a private investigator” excuse.

And the coachman wouldn’t have waited near the manor out of worry that Rast and the other might suffer a loss during the confrontation, and thus wouldn’t have been silently corrupted.

“Sounds a bit like a zombie.” Shiltina thought of the recent zombie films popular at Starfall University.

“If it were really just zombies, things would be much simpler.”

Rast chuckled, reloading his revolver: “Those movie zombies are no more than human-shaped beasts—slow-moving, dim-witted, thinking only about biting people. Apart from the fact that the virus is contagious, even a pack of wolves is more dangerous when hunting…”

“But the Iron Cross retains intelligence—intelligence driven by the urge to destroy and abuse.”

“They can use tools, drive vehicles, disguise themselves, lay traps, and lure prey… anything humans can do, the Iron Cross can too.”

“Including using firearms?” Shiltina asked.

“Yes.” Rast nodded. “And because their perception is enhanced, every Iron Cross is a sharpshooter.”

If gunfights between Rast and the police before the outbreak had felt like Grand Theft Auto—

Then after the Iron Cross Plague broke out, it turned into a battle royale—facing apocalypse-level AI with aimbot that blew your head off the moment you showed your face.

Rast glanced at his pocket watch. “It’s almost time.”

Time for what?

Shiltina hadn’t had time to ask.

Boom—

A massive explosion echoed from the distance—it came from the direction of the port district, a good half-city away from the manor in Deep Blue Port.

Immediately after, thick black smoke began rising from that direction, accompanied by faint glimmers of fire.

“What happened over there?” Shiltina looked up. The smoke was so dense that even across half the city, it was clearly visible.

“That was a large cargo ship scheduled to arrive at Deep Blue Port at two in the afternoon.” Rast put away his pocket watch.

“I witnessed the whole thing on the dock myself. The ship’s captain, already corrupted into an Iron Cross, laughed maniacally as he steered the vessel at full speed into the pier. He let himself be devoured by the flames and twisted steel rather than release the wheel.”

“This moment marked the true outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague in Deep Blue Port.”

Everything happened too fast.

As if to validate Rast’s words, less than a minute after the explosion in the port district, a chorus of chaotic, clamorous noises echoed from the streets outside the manor.

More accurately, it wasn’t just this street that descended into chaos—but the entire city.

Screams, desperate cries and wails, shouts, orders barked by security officers—all rang out without pause…

Gunshots would ring out from time to time, only to fall silent moments later.

It was impossible to tell whether the police had subdued an Iron Cross, or had been killed in return—or perhaps had even become one of them.

But one thing was certain—the maniacal, hysterical laughter Shiltina once heard from the coachman was growing louder and more frequent.

At first, it was just a few voices. But soon, that laughter intensified, echoing from all directions, becoming the dominant sound in the chaos.

In just a few minutes.

This once peaceful port town had become a hell of rampant sin and disorder.

Shiltina exhaled and looked at Rast. “What do you plan to do next? Control the source of the infection and find a way to stop the Iron Cross Plague from spreading?”

“That was my original thought too, but it’s impossible.”

Rast shook his head. “The Iron Cross Plague is spread through bodily fluids—blood, saliva, droplets—all can serve as transmission vectors.”

“And for those already corrupted into Iron Cross, in order to vent their sadistic desires and violence more thoroughly, they’re more than willing to actively turn others into madmen like themselves.”

Shiltina frowned slightly. “You mean they smear saliva on blades and bullets? Anyone scratched by their weapons would be infected.”

“That’s only the most primitive method.” Rast pulled out the lead box containing the evil god sculpture from inside his coat. “Some Iron Cross even mix their blood into the city’s water supply—into wells and rivers—polluting anyone who uses it.”

“Trying to deal with the Iron Cross Plague using conventional epidemic control is pure fantasy.”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re going to sit here and die.”

He picked up a suitcase beside the sofa—one Shiltina hadn’t noticed before, likely prepared while she slept.

Rast stood upright, his gaze slowly sweeping toward the window and the street outside, now ruled by chaos: “If a minefield suddenly appeared on your path, filled with countless hidden explosives, what would you do?”

Shiltina gave him a puzzled look, then thought it over. “Of course, I’d defuse the mines before crossing… According to what we were taught at university, we could use metal detectors or mine-sniffing dogs.”

Rast nodded. “That’s right… But what if the minefield was so intricately laid, interconnected at every turn, and you were in such a hurry that there was no time for careful sweeping with detectors or dogs?”

Shiltina was briefly stunned, but Rast didn’t wait for her answer. He continued directly: “Aside from the methods you mentioned, there’s another path.”

“And that is—to use a detonation—”

He paused briefly, then walked out the manor’s side door, carrying the suitcase.

“To level the entire minefield, along with every mine in it.”