Chapter 245: King of the Dead Subjugation — Interlude (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 245: King of the Dead Subjugation — Interlude (2)
The carriage, which had been traveling through the night, pulled into a nearby village. It was a scheduled stop for a brief service before continuing the journey.
When I opened my eyes, I found Alice Carroll looking down at me, exactly as she had been before I fell asleep. I realized then that she hadn't slept a wink because of me.
The coachman headed off to take his break, and Alice and I stepped out of the carriage.
For some reason, Alice took out a thin coat and wrapped it tightly around her waist. She leaned against the side of the carriage, bending over slightly as she took a deep breath.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"It’s nothing… I just feel a bit weak. I’ll stay here and rest for a moment."
Alice lifted her head and forced a smile, but she seemed to have difficulty walking. Her legs were likely numb; the blood circulation in her thighs must have been terrible after I used them as a lap pillow for so long.
Did I treat her too harshly as a minion?
I felt a pang of guilt.
[Meow! Isaac, bring me my gift!]
From atop the carriage, the Phantom Cat Cheshire waved its front paws at me.
"What do you want?"
[A big fish bone!]
I guess I’ll have to scavenge through a food waste bin.
Though it couldn't compare to a lord’s castle, the village was bustling. Brick buildings lined the streets, and the roads were well-paved.
After buying some food and returning to the carriage, I shared a meal with Alice. Feeling the need to show some courtesy, I handed over a fish bone I’d managed to get from a local fishmonger. Cheshire seemed quite pleased with the tribute.
After a quick stop at a bathhouse to wash up, Alice and I boarded the carriage once more and set off. After being cooped up in the academy for so long, the fresh air of the open road felt incredibly refreshing.
On the way back, I offered my own lap as a pillow for Alice. She initially claimed she was fine, but when I pressed her, she admitted she was tired and lay her head down on my thighs.
Just as Alice had done for me throughout the night, I gently stroked her pale gold hair. Lulled by the rhythm of the carriage, she soon drifted off to sleep.
I spent the remaining travel time training, using one hand to manipulate a magic tool designed to provide heavy resistance to mana circulation.
The carriage continued toward Märchen Academy without further incident.
In a forest, inside an old, secluded cabin.
A girl with grayish-brown hair stirred from her sleep. Michelle rubbed her eyes, climbed out of her worn bed, and headed to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of cold water. The chill of the drink quickly cleared the cobwebs from her mind.
She crossed her arms on the windowsill and gazed out at the sun-drenched forest, which looked as lush and green as ever.
"Prince…"
Michelle muttered the word while looking at the red hood hanging on the drying rack.
The man with silver-blue hair she had encountered a few days ago occupied her every thought. He had dealt with a noble involved in human trafficking and had even decimated a dangerous demon army with terrifying strength.
She had also seen him sharing affection with a woman with pale gold hair—and even caught a glimpse of him bathing in the bathhouse.
Lately, someone had been showing her the whereabouts of that silver-blue-haired man in her dreams every night.
To Michelle, the scenes of princes appearing in fairy tales had always been captivating. Isaac, the man with silver-blue hair, was exactly like those stories. He possessed the looks, the strength, and the charisma of a hero who had come to rescue her from a crisis—or so she chose to believe.
To her, their meeting was nothing short of destiny.
Every time she thought of Isaac, her heart pounded with the same intensity she felt while reading her favorite tales. She had never experienced the kind of love depicted in those stories, but Michelle was certain that this overwhelming emotion was exactly that.
"Is he at Märchen Academy?"
Isaac was heading toward the academy. Michelle usually had no interest in such institutions, but knowing the "Prince" was there changed everything.
How wonderful must that place be?
The mere fact that it housed someone as powerful as her prince made Märchen Academy seem like the most prestigious place in the world.
"I want to see you again, Prince…"
Michelle decided then and there to pursue what she believed to be love. This enchanting emotion had become her sole reason for living.
However, Michelle did not yet realize that what she was feeling wasn't love at all.
*
South Korea. An enigmatic building stood in the heart of Ilsan.
It was a sleek, thirty-story structure with towering screen walls, constructed with suspicious speed. At the very top, the building proudly displayed the name: HIGGS.
This was the headquarters of "Higgs," the game development company behind the RPG Magic Knight of Märchen—a game said to be decades ahead of its time.
The entrance was perpetually flanked by "No Entry" signs, and local residents claimed they had never seen a single employee enter or leave the premises.
The property was registered under the name "Dante," the head of Higgs. The title was clean, with no mortgages, suggesting the massive structure had been built entirely with private capital. Conversely, the directors listed in the commercial registry all had common Korean names, yet none of them could be verified. Their listed addresses turned out to be vacant lots or uninhabitable ruins—clear cases of false registration.
Furthermore, the company’s customer service was unreachable by phone; they only responded via encrypted messages.
Suspicion reached a breaking point following reports of children going missing after wandering near the Higgs building, coupled with complaints of bizarre noises emanating from within.
Sensing a criminal element, the police launched an investigation. When Higgs failed to respond to official inquiries, and with insufficient evidence for a formal search warrant, a lone detective attempted to sneak into the restricted building.
…He vanished.
Immediately upon entering, the detective had sensed a mortal threat and managed to call a colleague. Through heavy static, his voice had crackled: "I’m at the Higgs building… I came to rescue the kids… Hey, fuck…! You must never come in here—"
The call cut off abruptly.
A police tactical unit was dispatched to find their missing comrade. They forced the entrance and stormed the building.
…They vanished as well.
The last transmission from the officers was a panicked scream: "Fuck, what is that…! There’s a monster, a monster…!"
Then, silence.
In an inexplicable phenomenon, the breached entrance to the building restored itself instantly.
Like hyenas scenting a fresh carcass, the media pounced on the story. News of the mysterious disappearances at the Higgs building dominated the South Korean airwaves. Views on the company’s official video channels skyrocketed.
As time passed, police units began smashing the building's windows to gain access to individual floors in a desperate rescue operation.
Then, the impossible happened.
The windows shattered by the police were restored in the blink of an eye. The officers and the gathered onlookers watched in stunned silence. It was as if time itself had reversed—or as if the building was a living organism with incredible regenerative abilities.
"Hey, did we really just break those? I’m not seeing things, right?"
"No… I saw it too."
The officers at the entrance realized the situation had transcended normal logic. They tried to radio the teams inside, but the lines were dead. Only one patchy connection made it through.
[Monster… there is… don’t… come in… here…]
The signal died.
The crowd of citizens and reporters watching from a distance murmured in fear. They had all witnessed the same supernatural event.
Suddenly, someone shouted.
"Higgs is broadcasting!"
"What?!"
The reporters and onlookers immediately pulled out their smartphones.
"Higgs just started a live stream."
"At a time like this? Are these bastards insane?!"
Even the police tuned in on their tablets to monitor the situation. The screen displayed the Higgs logo for several moments before a tall woman in a professional suit appeared.
She was in a dark room. Her voice was consistent and indifferent, devoid of any human emotion.
"Is that thing even human?" someone whispered.
Today, the woman in the video felt more uncanny and repulsive than ever before. It was too eerie to be mere acting. Humans have an instinctive ability to detect something mimicking their kind—the "uncanny valley"—and the viewers felt a primal chill crawling down their spines.
"She looks like a ghost pretending to be a person… Wait, what is she saying?"
"Savior…?"
Title: We Will Warn You
Channel Name: Higgs
Subscribers: 36.6 Million
[Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt]
[Hello, everyone.]
[I am Alletz, the head developer of Magic Knight of Märchen.]
[Lately, there has been an increase in people encroaching upon our domain.]
[However, the only ones who suffer are you.]
[We are not beings you can contend with.]
[You do not have the right to reach the truth.]
[Those without the right who enter our domain will only find misery for their souls.]
[Only the savior we have chosen has the right.]
[Only the man who struggles alongside my servants to save both us and you has the right to face the truths of this world.]
[Please, act according to your place.]
With a high-pitched beep, the screen cut back to the Higgs logo. The broadcast was over.
A few days later, the missing individuals were found unconscious in a different location: a long-abandoned railway tunnel.