The Boy in the Rain
Shhhhhaaaaa.
It was a rainy day.
A small boy sat hunched over. He had no idea how long he'd been here, when it started, or why he was here at all.
He wasn't hungry.
He wasn't thirsty.
He simply existed, and so he was.
Day after day passed in a daze, his eyes fixed on nothing but the black sky and the red clouds — until one such day, a commotion broke the silence.
-Honey~ This place is so scary~
-When are we heading back? If we're too late, the professor will worry.
Two women and one man.
The women clung to an arm each, chattering away in a bid to win his favor, while the man caught between them wore a perfectly blank expression, evidently unmoved.
That was when they spotted the boy.
-Eek! Honey, I'm scared! That thing — I think it's undead.
-…….
The man stopped walking.
Then he stood there for a long while, simply looking at the boy. The women, sneaking nervous glances at his face, began to whine.
-Let'sss just goo~
-We actually agree for once. Honey, we don't have time to waste in a place like—
The man snapped his fingers twice, sharp and crisp. As if it were some kind of signal, the two women pouted in annoyance, turned on their heels, and walked away.
Having sent the women off, the man slowly approached the boy.
-What are you doing? In a dump like this.
-…….
The boy didn't answer. His frightened eyes swept the man up and down before burying his face back into his arms.
-Kid, you're ignoring me, huh.
The man let out a low chuckle and stretched his neck with a lazy crack.
-Bored out of your skull, aren't you? This whole gloomy neighborhood.
-…….
When the boy raised his head again, the man's outstretched hand was there.
-If you've got nothing better to do, come with me. I can't promise much else, but—
The man's grinning face burned itself into the boy's eyes.
-When it comes to fun, I guarantee it, one hundred percent!
He didn't quite know why, but somehow that smile seemed warm to him.
The boy took the man's hand.
And so, Prince joined Richard's Legion.
Even in those days Richard commanded a great many undead, yet he treated Prince as something special.
Prince grew just as Richard had hoped he would — mightily — and eventually rose to the position of 'chief' of the Legion, taking command of the zombie troops.
Every day spent at his side was a joy. A happiness.
He thought he wanted these days to never, ever end.
…….
But there was no such thing as forever.
The Legion was disbanded, and Richard was gone.
……And here I am, brooding over nothing.
Pulling himself out of the memory, Prince rolled his eyes.
There was Simon, sprawled uselessly across the sofa of his own mansion. Beside him, Pier was showing off everything about the Legion Commander he'd newly taken under his wing, droning on and on. Prince let it pass through one ear and out the other — the man was nothing short of a bootlicker.
Rustle.
There came the sound of a body shifting briefly, and then Simon opened his eyes.
"Mmmmm."
[Oh! You're up earlier than I expected, boy!]
He rose from the sofa with a half-asleep face and rubbed his eyes.
"……Pier? What happened? What's going on?"
[What happened! You wiped out Manus's entire horde, that's what! It's only been about an hour since then!]
"……."
Simon pressed a hand to his forehead and frowned.
"I did blow up Manus…… right?"
[That you did! And with Corpse Explosion, no less!]
Simon blinked up at him.
"I vaguely remember blowing something up, but corpse…… what? What's that?"
[Khehehehe!]
Pier clicked his tongue.
Producing miracles through near-instinctive insight — was that simply what one called 'talent'? At this point, it felt like they'd need to invent a whole new word just for Simon.
Patiently, Pier laid out the whole story for the bewildered boy.
[All right — how far back do you remember?]
"Up to sending the zombies to swarm Manus. And then I was concentrating like mad, doing something, and……"
Simon glanced over at Prince.
"At the very end I think I said something cool to him. Just tossed it out there."
Prince snorted at that.
[You mean the whole 'I'll show you how it's done' act? And here you can't even remember it. What a waste.]
"Ugh."
Simon groaned and turned his head away. The crown was back on Prince's main body, where it belonged.
[Don't get the wrong idea. You dropped the crown, so I used it to bring the zombies back under control — that's all.]
Prince walked over to his main body and picked up the crown.
[I hate to admit it, but you handle this power better than I do. If you want to take it, then…… whatever.]
Simon shook his head.
"I'm never using that thing again."
[……?]
[I agree with the boy's decision.]
Pier nodded gravely and went on.
[Right up until a certain moment, you kept yourself perfectly intact even while wearing the crown! But in the end, the crown's power swallowed your mind — it took even you from you. The state of your consciousness in that moment was completely out of control!]
Simon nodded.
His hands, above all, had been trembling.
Shaking beyond his brain's control, again and again straining toward the crown. If he let his guard down for even a second, his gaze drifted back to it.
[Addiction symptoms. That's what this is.]
Pier said.
[The longer you wear the crown, the deeper you fall for its power! Keep leaning on it like that, and eventually the crown will devour you.]
"Yeah. Right now, it's a power that's far too dangerous."
Simon decided that unless it was a truly critical moment, the crown was better off staying with Prince. The boy-king looked visibly relieved.
[By the way — you really don't remember using Corpse Explosion?]
"I told you, it's not coming back."
Simon answered distractedly, tracing Rune Script in the empty air.
"Something like — like this, and then this. I think I did something like this."
He couldn't remember it clearly, but his body itched with the memory of it. The recollection in his head had evaporated, yet his body remembered.
Simon drew a few strokes through the air with his finger, then spoke.
"The main rune that goes into the formula — it acts on the core with 'Frenzy'. Right?"
[Correct.]
It seemed he'd gained a new technique without even trying.
He was thinking he'd have to review it properly once he got back to Kizen — and then, belatedly, his eyes went wide.
"THE PRACTICAL EXAM!!"
[……?]
"I have to get back, now! My zombies are with me too! Everyone's going to worry about me."
Watching Simon scramble to gather his outer coat in a frantic flurry, Prince snickered.
It was a familiar sight.
When he had first come under Richard's command, Richard had been a Kizen student too. Prince even remembered the times Richard forgot his supplies, and he'd come all the way to the front gates of Kizen himself to deliver them.
Haa. So I suppose I'll be going back to Kizen too, then?
Prince looked at his main body.
Transporting it to Kizen would take a good two years at minimum — but there was no helping it. Simon would never let him go.
So this was the end of his days as a king……
"Your main body can stay here, Prince."
Simon's words startled him.
[R-really?]
"You rule Deathland, don't you? And since I control you, that makes Deathland mine too, in the end."
[…….]
"Install one chief here and gain an exclusive territory? I'd call that a pretty good deal. Wouldn't you say, Pier?"
Pier nodded.
[Naturally! Among the undead there are specimens too massive to fit into my ruins, or ones outright harmful to humans! We'll simply release those into Deathland as needed and manage them there!]
"Sounds good to me."
Best of all, Prince could descend into a zombie anywhere on the continent — distance meant nothing — so long as certain conditions were met. Only his main body would remain in Deathland; if Simon called for him even from Kizen, he could come at any time.
"In that spirit — I'm counting on you with Deathland from now on too, Prince."
[…….]
From now on too.
It was hard to pin down exactly what expression Prince made at those words. He seemed confused, somehow — and at the same time, somehow moved.
[B-but really? You're just going to let me go, just like that? What about chains or something? What if I betray you?]
"Betrayal? You're already legionified — that's chain enough."
[…….]
Prince let out a long sigh and walked over to his main body.
Crack.
Snip.
And then he tore the pinky finger and an ear off the very body he treasured so dearly. Simon's eyes went round as saucers.
"Prince! What are you—!"
[Wait for it.]
Prince kneaded and compressed his own flesh within his palm, as if tempering himself.
CRACKLE! Black lightning fell from the ceiling and poured into his hand, and the body's tissues began compressing to an extreme degree.
[This should do it, right?]
When he opened his hand, a grey ring had formed. Prince flicked it toward Simon.
[Put that on any finger and feed your Jet-Black into the ring — you'll be able to talk to me.]
Simon did as Prince had said, slipping on the ring and channeling Jet-Black into it. Before long, the ring had turned black, and he brought it to his lips.
"Can you hear me?"
[Loud and clear.]
Prince nodded.
[Next function — lay your hand over a zombie so the ring touches its body. Then I can descend into that zombie. You know. If you ever need my help.]
Prince said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
Simon looked down at the ring on his hand and smiled.
"I'll treasure it."
[Khehehe! And when I answer the call, no fooling around — get over here on the double! Off you go, boy.]
"Oh, right — Prince!"
Simon said, as if something had just come to mind.
[What?]
"Is there anything good in this mansion? Something worth turning into a zombie?"
One hour remained until the end of the practical exam.
The students who had been roaming Deathland in search of zombie materials were now filtering back to camp, preparing for the assessment.
The Class A students stood in a long line, and in the large tent ahead of them, Aaron and the teaching assistants were hard at work grading zombies.
And then—
"Simon! Why is he so late?!"
Meilin shrieked, stomping her feet in place.
"Ugh, he said he got out safely! He's had more than enough time to get here by now — what is he doing, where?"
"……I'm worried about Simon."
Camibarez murmured, glancing around again and again.
After the clash with Prince, Dick and Camibarez had been unconscious to the world. Meilin, rescued by Simon, had caught up with them late and woken them, and the three of them had made it across to camp without incident.
And according to that 'Pion' who had saved Meilin, Simon too had been abducted by the corpse-horror crowd after the incident — like her — but had escaped under his own power and entered the sewers.
They'd made it to the safe zone, so logically there shouldn't be a problem. But worry was worry, and there was nothing to be done about it.
Dick shuddered all over.
"Whew, but I still can't get it out of my head. When we ran into that super-strong zombie, I honestly thought I was dead on the spot."
Camibarez nodded.
"Yes, surviving that was a miracle."
"And we should be grateful! Lord Pion saved us, after all!"
Dick tilted his head slowly.
"But look, guys. We're just sitting here waiting for Simon on the word of this Pion guy, right? Is he actually trustworthy?"
"Uh, obviously! He saved my life!"
Meilin bristled.
"Besides, he told me to go back to my friends! Why do you think Pion knew about you three in the first place? Because he rescued you from that strong zombie!"
Dick propped a hand behind his head.
"See, here's what bugs me. You said Pion was wearing that awesome skeleton you saw in the mansion — as armor?"
"Yeah."
"And that skeleton attacked us. Remember?"
Meilin's words stopped short.
There was no way she could forget. The blade had come flying, and Simon had hurled himself through the air to save her.
Her face went hot at the thought, and she started fanning herself frantically with both hands.
"Oh, th-that! He just didn't know who we were back then! It was a misunderstanding, or—!"
"Something's a little off, though……."
Meilin raised her eyes in a murderously sharp glare and bore down on Dick.
"Are you doubting Lord Pion right now?"
Dick backed away meekly, wary of another beating.
Just then, Camibarez — who had been quietly, seriously pondering something — spoke up.
"……What if."
Both of them turned to look at her. Camibarez offered her thought carefully.
"What if that Pion person…… is Simon?"