Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

Chapter 60: If There is a God (3)

They had formed defensive lines and held on for over half a day.

By nightfall, the chaos permeating the city had nearly subsided. It could be said that the areas where the Zombies had spread to and those where they hadn’t were clearly divided, which caused conflict.

“Do you have any medicine left?”

“There isn’t. That was all he gave us.”

“That’s too bad.”

He’d used up all the Demonic Energy Neutralizer the Demon Knight had given him.

There were quite a few people whom Demonic Energy had eroded as they fought against the Demons.

He had also tried feeding it to the infected just to be sure, but unfortunately, it didn’t work on them. He’d wondered whether he could save at least a few people from the infection that way.

“Uwaaaargh! Save me, save me!”

At that moment, someone came running toward them from where the Zombies had spread to.

“Zombies!”

“Ready your bows!”

“Do they have bite marks?! Don’t touch them carelessly!

“Were you bitten?!”

The Zombies pursuing the survivors were peppered with arrows and fell to the ground. As that happened, the survivors almost reached the barricade.

They lifted their torches to illuminate the survivors’ faces along with the whole area.

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Wait, step back! There are bite marks!”

“I said I wasn’t!”

Although the guy denied it, there were clear bite marks visible on his forearm and blood through his ripped clothes.

“Save me!”

“We can’t! We never know when you might change!”

“I’m not— Urgh!”

Midsentence, the person trying to climb over the barricade stopped and began twisting their whole body. While the infection speed and response time were significantly different, this was almost identical to what had happened forty years ago.

Back then, people gathered together without even knowing that parasitic Demons caused this. Strict quarantines set by priests. Riots caused by those who couldn't accept it. The flames, blood, blood, and even more blood that spread all over the city…

“Hey, hey! Mister Windhand!”

The young Curety man covered his mouth. When his breathing, which had become much too fast, was forcibly blocked, his dizziness seemed to calm down slightly.

“Come to your senses!”

“Yes, yes… I’m back…”

He had been drowning in a sea of memories but somehow managed to return to the present. They barely managed to stop the battle. It was obvious that if he couldn’t prevent such an incident from happening now, they would suffer even more damage.

The person-turned-Zombie was decapitated by one of the sailors guarding the barricade.

“Why, why is this happening again…?”

“Dad…”

However, while he stood within this continuous bloodshed and echoing cries from all directions, memories of the past continued flashing before his eyes.

These memories were especially vivid to him because he was of the longest-lived race among all the others, the Slands. If it were someone of any other race, their memories might have long faded as they aged.

“Damn it…”

The average lifespan of the Sland race was between 150 to 200 years. At 53, Windhand was still in the prime of his life, so his memory worked just fine.

That was the problem.

The events of that time, deeply engraved in his mind, easily rose to the surface at the slightest stimulus. He had been 13. He could easily remember his childhood drenched in deep sorrow.

“The flying Demons are coming back!”

Then he heard someone shout. His head, nearly consumed by fear, became a bit clearer once more.

It was a bit strange, but to him, the Demons flying in the sky and spewing fire all over the place were easier to handle than those Zombies.

“Everyone, get ready!”

Windhand shouted instructions to the people around him as he crossed his swords.

One after the other, they raised wooden planks torn from ships or broken house walls to cover their heads. They’d been soaked in saltwater as best they could to somehow prevent them from catching fire.

Kyaaaah!

But when he heard the flying monsters approaching, a subtle cracking sound reached his ears.

“Mister?”

The ears of the young Curety man standing next to him perked up.

Kyaa— argh!

A strangely distorted howl of those flying Demons echoed through the air.

“Wait.”

Windhand shifted the plank slightly and looked at the sky. A rope had wrapped around a Demon and pulled it to one side.

Bam!

Before long, the rope dragged it to the ground. Slash! What followed was a distinct cutting sound.

Like a knife slicing through a piece of meat, a distinct and eerie sound erupted, along with a copious amount of blood.

“Mister!”

The young Curety ran forward as Windhand held his breath without realizing it.

The scent of blood from the past and present blended together. The smell of ashes wafting over from somewhere reminded him of a burning village. Just like back then, just like that moment.

『Suriya, run. Don’t ever look back, just run. You got that?』

『Wh-What about you, Dad?』

『Dad’ll be fine. So just run. Quick, run!』

The Temple’s inquisitors had burned down the entire village, saying it was too difficult to distinguish the living from the Zombies.

It was like that cursed day when his father sacrificed himself to draw the inquisitors’ attention so he had a chance to escape.

“Wait, we have to check for marks—”

“You don’t need to check that person!”

And, and…

『It’s okay now, dear.』

“Windhand.”

It resembled when his savior found him hiding somewhere and held out their hand to him.

『It’s okay now.』

“I saved the Lord.”

However, he didn’t lose them this time. He didn’t lose anything this time.

His savior, his benefactor, his…

“Are you coming?”

“Of course.”

Mother.

* * *

* * *

After disposing of the Golem, saving the Lord, and climbing through the hole the Golem came through while clearing out the enemies, I unexpectedly found a lot of Demon Worshippers at the Amsen dock and killed them all. I also killed the reinforcements they had there.

I then went through the places close by and slowly made my way back to where our group had been…

“…”

I looked at Windhand’s pale face, wondering what had happened.

Did a ton of people die while I was gone? I thought I could see many familiar faces from earlier, though.

The adventurers even waved at us, saying we could leave the rest to them. Had the damage been very severe, they never would have acted like that.

Why did Windhand wear such a melancholic expression?

Slash!

I had no idea what was going on, so I just swung around my sword. I left behind the disemboweled body of a Gargoyle on top of a currently abandoned house.

“Is it fine, leaving the others behind?”

“…After the incident forty years ago, everyone knows quite well how to respond to a Zombie outbreak. You saw the pirates and civilians unite, building a barricade before attacking first, right?”

“That’s true.”

“…The infection rate is monstrously fast, but that’s fine. It’ll be fine…”

To note, only the three of us were heading to the castle.

It would have been nice if everyone could just move to the castle, but that wasn’t realistic, so what could I do?

I wasn’t sure about ten, but if there were over a hundred, I certainly couldn’t have guaranteed their safety, especially if one considered how great a distance I would have to escort them. It was also night, which raised the chances of us getting attacked.

The people also knew that, which is why they stayed behind the barricade they’d built. No one complained. Even so… Well, as long as they didn’t reveal themselves, nothing would happen. Yeah.

“This time, there won’t be a massacre like before…”

I felt quite shocked hearing these words as I decapitated a Zombie that jumped out from somewhere.

I already felt quite disconcerted seeing that the genre had suddenly changed from Fantasy to Zombie Apocalypse, and now he was talking about massacres?

As certain scenes flashed before my eyes, I looked at my sword for some reason.

Would one consider sinking five ships a massacre? Those useless thoughts coursed through my mind.

“…! You’re!”

At that moment, I heard something coming from the castle. From the people standing before the gate, to be exact.

While it was quite dark and I didn’t bring a torch, I could still see quite well.

“Open the gates!”

Anyway, the soldiers eventually recognized me and hurriedly raised the lowered gates.

As the iron bars rose with clang, Windhand flinched as though about to jump forward at any moment.

“There was a lot less damage than I expected. That’s a relief, isn’t it, Mister Windhand?”

“…Yes.”

Now that I thought about it, what happened to Windhand’s so-called brothers?

I remembered him saying he couldn’t just gamble away his brothers’ lives. I still didn’t know who he was referring to.

I didn’t think he meant his real blood relatives, so I assumed he meant his privateer comrades he had left behind in Jacrati… However, the only person he had asked me to save today was the Lord, right?

However, his seeing the Lord as a ‘brother’ was quite weird. He also said brothers, as in plural. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.

“Suriya?”

At that moment, someone called out Windhand’s real name.

“Mayan!”

“Suriya! It really is you!”

The person ran through the now open gate, seemingly an acquaintance of Windhand. He was the one who risked everything to let me know that the Lord was in the castle.

“Are all of you back?”

“…Yes. We came back with someone who can help us.”

Stepping back from those two embracing each other, I looked around the castle. Torches were everywhere, so it was quite bright here despite being night. They’d probably done this so they could more easily make out any approaching Zombies.

“What about the Lord?”

“She’s safe and sound within the castle.”

“Is that so…? That’s good to hear.”

“Go over there. Everyone will be happy to see you.”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

Moreover, the broken wall had been filled in, albeit roughly. I was also quite pleased to see the barricade that was probably made after I’d left the castle.

Considering that I’d cleaned up the inside—meaning, I killed all the Zombies—it should be rather safe.

“Urgh. Is that the monster we saw from the ship? Did it break down the castle walls?”

Meanwhile, Deb seemed to have discovered the corpse of the monster I’d killed, frowning at the display. An understandable reaction.

It hadn’t been a pretty sight to begin with, but now that it had been dismembered, the Patchwork Golem’s ugliness reached a new height.

“What the hell is going on? If it weren’t for Mister Knight, the damage would’ve been much greater, right?”

Deb broke off a branch from a nearby shrubbery inside the castle. Poke. He pierced the leafy branch into the Patchwork Golem’s corpse.

“Could Vipurit have made a deal with the Demon Worshipers?”

Hmm. Possibly.

Not only were Vipurit’s men not attacked by the Zombies, but I also found them with the Demon Contractors at the dock earlier.

Furthermore, I’d heard they had ‘suddenly’ become strong enough to dominate a whole region. If Demon Contractors were cooperating with them behind the scenes, that would explain things.

I felt like wherever I went, something would blow up.

I wasn’t joking here. Everywhere I went, something happened. That was why I couldn’t stop doubting that this was all part of a game. It was just too absurd.

If the number of victims within this city exceeded a certain level, wouldn’t it be GAME OVER? Just thinking about that was quite scary.

I wouldn’t want to go through the sewers or slay that dragon again, but this Quest was annoying in a different sense. I could reduce the number of victims during those first two Questlines by doing my best because that’s how they were set up.

However, I only had one body. How could I protect this whole area?

“It’s also strange that there haven’t been any further attacks since noon…”

I was pondering whether I should go around the place immediately when I heard those words. My hands twitched.

Well, if they were worried about reinforcements coming, I’d already dealt with that… They appeared three or four hours ago at the Amsen dock where I was taking care of the Demon Worshipers…

Well, I’d already cut down most of them before they even reached the dock, though. However, what if they swam all the way to land from their destroyed boats?

“Hey, where are you going now?”

…Frankly, I’d thought those guys were too lazy to do something like that.

And I still did.

“No way, are you planning to kill all the remaining Demons throughout the night?”

“Hmm? Wait. Where are you going?”

I slowly moved away.

My fatigue level was still around 60, and I felt somewhat anxious, so I felt the need to go to the Amsen docks again. Or to the Katunat Pier in the West.

“Just take a break for a little. Won’t it be dawn soon?”

Deb grabbed my collar. I tried to knock it away sharply. However, Deb was also quite dexterous, so he quickly withdrew his hand before I could hit it properly.

“Mister.”

“Don’t get in my way.”

However, just because I didn’t fully hit him didn’t mean it wouldn’t leave a bruise. I was a little concerned about him because this character’s physical strength was quite monstrous. However, my character would never have hit someone gently.

“Hey, we gotta go see the Lord.”

“I have no time to waste on something as useless as that.”

Rejecting Windhand’s proposal, I stepped on the barricade made from stacked furniture and jumped onto it.

Beyond it, I could see the road I had traveled on during the day. The remains of the Demons I killed while passing through were still there, as well.

“Can’t you please get some rest? No matter how much stamina and strength you have, I don’t think resting can be considered something useless.”

He was right. He was right, but… What did he want me to do if my character setting wouldn’t allow it?!

Moreover, I felt a little anxious because I heard that Zombies and normal people were crowding together within the city as if it were a completely separate space, like a Dungeon.

Rather than scared, it felt more like I was going to sleep without having completed my assignments yet. Or as if I caught a cold right before a deadline.

In fact, there really was still some work left undone as I had to eliminate more Demons for my Quest.

Anyway, I didn't like this vague anxiety I was feeling. It was even more terrifying if I considered the possibility that a whole ton of people might just die overnight, leading to a game over.

Rather than being plagued by that fear, I would much rather work just a little more.

“If you’re overworking yourself because of what I asked you…”

“Overworking?”

I turned around and looked back.

“I will not tolerate any insults to my person like that.”

“…Fine, I’m sorry for what I just said, but—”

“Give up. Now that Demons have appeared here, no one can stop Mister Knight anymore.”

Deb groaned and climbed onto the barricade. It seemed he was planning on following me. I thought it would be much better for him to stay here, though, as long as there were still enemies around.

“I won’t stop you, so could you please allow me to follow you?”

But what could I do if he acted like that? I turned around and stepped onto the highest part of the barricade.

“Ships!”

Then, someone shouted out.

“Seven ships from the South!”

“…!?”

To the South was the pier closest to Vipurit’s occupied island. There was no way those ships were approaching us with friendly intentions. In other words, those seven ships were filled with enemies that needed to be dealt with.

“They aren’t attacking us for some reason, or so I heard…”

Why did it seem the bad feeling I had was coming true? Was there a God for such a convenient coincidence to happen?

Or was it that he deliberately made it happen because I was here to lessen the damage? Had I been anywhere else, it would have taken me far longer to receive this news.

“Mister—!”

Swoosh!

Either way, it was now time to move out. I descended from the barricade and ran toward the castle wall on the opposite side.

I couldn't do anything else. The hole I’d intended to leave through was to the North, but the enemies were sighted in the South.

Thump, tak.

The hem of my coat got pushed back as Arcane Power wrapped around my legs.

And when I quickly reached the castle wall, I simply jumped up and climbed it by running up it vertically.

Flap!

Before gravity could catch me, I grabbed the edge of the castle wall and pulled myself up. My stiff coat rustled gently, lightly breaking the silence of the night.

“…!”

The sentries standing guard there were quite frightened, unable to let out a single sound as I scanned the sea. It was very dark, but with the moon shining bright on the water, I could vaguely see the ships.

They were still quite a distance off. So much so that I was sure I would reach the port before they did.

“You. Tell those guys.”

“Wh-What?”

“I don’t need any support.”

Bam.

I stepped on the edge of the wall and jumped down with a loud noise.

I wasn’t all that worried about the soldiers not informing their superiors of this or those superiors not believing what I said and sending out troops anyway.

Even if they did, their actions would be in vain…

“Take care!”

Seeing the soldiers’ reactions, there was a high chance they wouldn't believe me and try to stop me.

Anyway, I seriously doubted those people would try sending troops again after seeing me sink more than five ships.