Chapter 32
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Ten Days Early
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Everyone was running at full speed, terrified, as if being chased by something.
“What’s going on?”
Aurora could only stare blankly at the scene, unable to understand. She couldn't make sense of the situation at all.
Then, ‘it’ finally came into her view.
A bizarrely shaped creature, one that couldn't possibly be considered human, was striding through the streets, devouring people.
The memory, which had become a trauma, washed over Aurora. 61 Notium Street. The monster she saw that day had looked just like this.
The streets were filled with people's screams, and blood splattered everywhere.
Aurora’s legs gave out, and she collapsed right where she stood.
‘H-Help me.’
* * *
At the same time, at the Brunel Police Station.
[Exclusive! Was Cherry Sinclair's Disappearance All Because of Ethan, the Lancaster Heir!?]
[Cherry Sinclair and Ethan Duncan Lancaster’s Secret Tryst in a Country Village…!? “A Heron and a Crow, an Unlikely Pair.” High Society in Shock…!]
Ethan crumpled the newspaper in his hand.
“Hah…”
He rubbed his temples and let out a weary sigh. What kind of ridiculous scandal was this?
Knox’s name was likely omitted due to the potential fallout. To cover something up and divert attention, linking the ‘heir of Duke Lancaster’ and the ‘socialite star’ Cherry would be far more effective due to its greater impact.
This was not an article Duke Lancaster would ever have allowed to be published, which left only one other person.
‘Could this be Prince Theodore’s doing?’
Every article was focused on Cherry. Since she was the new star of high society, everyone was interested in her.
‘My apologies to Cherry Sinclair.’
He decided he needed to speak with her and pulled a pocket watch from his jacket to check the time.
It was currently around 4 PM. He seemed to recall Cherry saying she was going to Kintne and would be back around 6 PM. Of course, she hadn't told him directly; he had overheard her conversation with Knox.
Just then, Inspector Hans returned to his desk and glanced at Ethan.
“Oh. You saw that paper too, huh? The townspeople are making quite a fuss about it.”
Ethan was a little surprised, realizing the implication of Inspector Hans’s words.
“Has everyone seen this newspaper?”
“Brunel was mentioned, wasn't it? Apparently, Sophie from the grocery store in Kintne spread the word that Brunel was in the paper. Since it's about our town, everyone’s interested and actually reading the paper for once.”
This would undoubtedly hinder Ethan’s investigation from now on. He already felt a headache coming on and let out a sigh.
“More importantly, I had no idea the lady from the abandoned house was the famous ‘Cherry Sinclair’.”
At Inspector Hans’s words, Officer Colton, who had been watching nervously from the side, chimed in.
“Now that the townspeople know her identity, they’re all in an uproar. Everyone’s reflecting on whether they did anything wrong to her, you know? Some people even want to shake her hand.”
Despite this, even Officer Colton still referred to Cherry as ‘the lady from the abandoned house’.
Ethan shook his head and stood up. It was getting close to the time Cherry was supposed to arrive, and he thought he might go out to meet her.
“M-Murder!”
Just then, a man burst into the police station, shouting.
“There’s been a murder at the carriage rental, sirs! Please, help!”
A heavy silence fell over the station for a moment. Everyone thought the man was spouting nonsense.
Officer Colton, who was standing closest, approached him.
“What are you talking about? Come over here, calm down, and explain in detail.”
“There’s no time for that!”
As they were arguing with the man, a commotion could be heard from outside the station.
“What is it?”
Officer Colton was the first to open the station door. The sight that greeted him was the village, which had descended into chaos, like the middle of a battlefield.
*Screeeaaam—!*
A woman’s shriek pierced his ears. At the same time, he saw people running across the street, fleeing.
*Craaash—!*
A gas lamp, seemingly ripped from the ground, flew through the air and slammed into the house across from the police station.
“Wh-What in the world…”
Officer Colton took a single, bewildered step outside the station, rendered speechless by the horrific scene.
*Krawwwk!*
And then, an unidentifiable monster, charging out of the alley by the carriage rental, entered his line of sight.
“Wh-What is that…?”
The monster rushed forward, snatched a fleeing person in its mouth, and devoured them in an instant.
*Aaargh!*
Screams erupted from all directions.
Even as they watched the village descend into a bloodbath, the police officers could do nothing but stand there, powerless.
“Damn it, Officer Colton! What are you gaping at? Aren't you going to save people!?”
With the exception of Ethan, who cursed, pushed past Colton, and took the lead in rescuing people.
* * *
I stood at the Kintne train station, waiting for Harrison the entire time.
When we spoke on the phone, Harrison had said he’d booked a ticket for the 4 PM train.
But I waited at the Kintne train station past 6 PM, and he never appeared.
Even as the sun set and the last trains of the day stopped running, Harrison was nowhere to be seen.
‘What’s going on? Did something happen?’
I tried calling the Sinclair mansion in Benton from the train station, but no one answered.
A sense of foreboding washed over me.
After lingering at the station for a while longer, I finally boarded a carriage back to Brunel alone.
‘I hope it’s nothing serious…’
Just as we left Kintne, a sudden clamor rose up from behind us.
“What was that?”
As I leaned out of the carriage to look back, the driver asked.
“Should we stop and go back?”
“What? To Kintne? No. Just keep going, please.”
I shook my head at the driver’s question and sat facing forward again. I thought I’d heard a scream somewhere…
My nerves had been on edge lately; I must have misheard.
‘There are still ten days left.’
Harrison was probably fine. It was times like these that I really felt the inconvenience of not having a mobile phone.
Anyway, I arrived at the outskirts of Brunel and got out.
*Squelch.* My shoe landed in a pool of blood.
‘…Blood?’
*Kyaaaaak!*
A horrifying shriek came from somewhere.
“Aargh! Help me! Somebody help!”
The sound mingled with the screams of people pleading for help.
Only then did the chaotic state of the village come into view.
People in the streets were in a panic, fleeing for their lives.
Just yesterday, this village had been vibrant enough to hold a market.
*Thud—*
I was knocked over by the fleeing crowd and fell in the middle of the road. The ground where I landed was also pooled with blood.
Behind the people, a bizarrely shaped monster was charging.
*Krawk!*
The mouth of the vaguely human-like creature opened wide. A person was instantly devoured between its densely packed teeth.
“Damn it.”
I had faced these monsters twice before.
But dealing with a few of them then was a completely different dimension from the situation now.
Countless people were being torn apart and turned into monsters in an instant.
‘There are still ten days left! Why is this happening…?’
The world had ended. And far sooner than expected.
And amidst the chaos, what caught my eye was…
‘Why is that man here…?’
In the middle of the street, a man in a police uniform was fighting a desperate battle against the monsters while helping people escape.
It was Ethan.
‘I expected this, but I didn't think he'd actually be doing it.’
The one man who couldn't afford to die was risking his own life to save others.
That snapped me to my senses. I realized this was no time to be idle.
‘If he dies, how will the cure ever be developed?’
I got up and ran toward the center of the village. I saw a weapons shop with a shattered glass door.
Dodging the fleeing people, I entered the shop, found an axe—a weapon I could handle with ease—and came back out.
Then, I mercilessly swung it down on a monster charging toward me.
*Splaaash—*
The monster’s green blood splattered all over my face.
*Krrk?*
This time, the monster next to it lifted its head.
Four eyes, each the size of my fist, were set in its face. Our gazes met.
I froze in place for a moment, trying not to provoke it.
Its four pupils contracted and dilated repeatedly as it watched me.
I stared back without moving a single finger, planning to plant my axe in its head the moment it let its guard down.
Then, I saw a pair of hard, black military boots striding unhesitatingly through a pool of blood.
*Bang—!*
The sound of a gunshot followed, deafening me.
A tall man came into view. He had shot the monster in front of me, killing it in one hit.
“Damn it, there’s no end to them.”
The man, Ethan, glanced around before turning back to me, cursing harshly.