Ch.206Chapter 21. The Art of Deceiving Each Other (End)

I took the binoculars and climbed up the transmission tower. It’s the tallest structure around here. I stopped occasionally to drink water and nibble on hard biscuits.

When I reached the top, the wind enveloped me. A gritty wind mixed with dust and sand. Probably because it was blowing from the barren wasteland with its exposed red earth.

I raised the binoculars to look at the horizon.

I could see helicopters flying through the sky.

Below them, a distant city came into view.

Black smoke billowed up in various places, and intermittent explosion sounds could be heard. Small dots fell from tall buildings, thrashing their limbs as they fell—likely zombies, given how they moved. I doubted any humans remained in that city.

Even so, we’re going into that city tomorrow.

To infect more zombies. And if we’re lucky, maybe save some people who are still alive. Whether those we save will turn into zombies or become labor for building bunkers under Elza’s general mobilization order remains to be seen.

Bunkers.

I know that bunkers will survive far into the future. I know which ones should be built where for safety, and which locations should be abandoned. Whether I’ll still be here then is uncertain.

But I know for certain that this world will never get better. It’s not anyone’s fault. That’s just how it is.

The entire land of Elza is contaminated. The bacteria will continue to spread, and if there’s nothing left to infect, they’ll encase themselves in spores, becoming dormant until someone disturbs them, then spread again.

Unless a meteor falls from the sky or a nuclear bomb overturns the land, these bacteria won’t disappear.

Bacteria created long ago by the people of Elza, filled with resentment. I still don’t know how they created it. Perhaps various diseases and infections overlapped during the war. Or maybe fungi and bacteria mixed in some wolf’s body, creating something no one could have predicted.

Fearing that even these terrible bacteria would be discovered by their oppressors, Elza’s priests, filled with infinite malice, hid them inside “goddess statues.”

Even though they became victims themselves, tearing apart neighboring priests. Until the time came, they buried the goddess statues throughout Elza, leaving their locations in a faith known only to themselves.

That was what the “real” fanatics did. Not like these amateurs.

“Unless all the land burns to ashes.”

Virginia called it the “baptism of fire.” She said that unless explosives were poured all over Elza and the surface was completely overturned, these bacteria would never disappear.

“But it’s all over now. If the bacterial strains hiding in the ground were embers, then zombies are the fire carriers. The bacteria have spread throughout the world, and will eventually devour everything on the surface. Elza’s archaeologists—the most deeply hidden fanatics—called this the ‘cycle.'”

“What cycle?”

“They said the time would come when the goddess, who had given everything, would fatten herself again. The satiated goddess would sleep in the earth, and when she heard someone calling her, she would willingly offer her flesh. That’s what I found in Joanna Mustaine’s archaeological research lab.”

“So what? It sounds like you wanted to become Elza’s leader and start a war to perform some kind of surgery on Elza.”

“Is that how it looks?”

Virginia bit one side of her lip. She seemed to be forcing a sneer.

She had both motivations: the desire to rule the world and the thought of destroying the world that had ruined her life.

* * * * *

“You have no intention of stopping. None at all.”

I looked down at the barbecue grill, now just ashes. I thought about cleaning it up but left it for now. Instead, I left Virginia and headed to the armory. I returned with her monstrous revolver—the one with just a single bullet left.

“What are you plotting?”

Virginia asked in a husky voice. Instead of answering, I took out a key. The key to unlock the padlock securing the chains that bound her. Click. Clank. Perhaps from being bound too long, Virginia fell forward. Of course, she tried to grab my collar, but I had anticipated that and easily dodged.

Staggering as she walked, Virginia grasped the revolver with one bullet left. She was trembling, but the distance between us was less than two meters, making it harder to miss than to hit. As expected, she pointed the revolver at me.

“Are you going to shoot?”

“Did you think you could humiliate me like this and live?”

“You must really love me, huh? I should have known from when you filed our marriage registration.”

Virginia frowned intensely.

“So that rumor is true? That the Helford family always keeps one last bullet, because of a curse that ensures the final shot always hits what they love most? Is that why you had that revolver fitted with a seven-round drum?”

Virginia’s expression changed. She looked somewhat pathetic.

“…It’s for suicide.”

“Huh?”

“Better to die than become a prisoner. As a senator’s family from Römer, we have many enemies. If captured alive, nothing good awaits, so keeping the last bullet makes death easier. We’re trained from a very young age, so I kept it out of habit. So…”

Click. The hammer was fully cocked. I spread my arms slightly. Virginia pulled the trigger with a curse.

Thud, it hit an empty chamber. Unable to contain her anger, Virginia opened the gun and removed the bullet. She loaded the empty drum and continued firing at me. They say it’s bad luck to be shot with an empty gun, but I couldn’t get any unluckier, so it didn’t matter.

“You damn bastard…!”

Virginia gripped the gun upside down and swung it like a hammer. But no matter how tough she was, I wasn’t weak enough to be hit by a woman who had been starving for days. I easily dodged and placed both hands on her chest.

“Gak!”

A strange sound, neither a scream nor a growl. Since my hands were already there, I squeezed a little. Kicks flew mercilessly, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Her chest was as temperamental as its owner.

“You vulgar man…!”

“But you’re the one who married me.”

“Stop it!”

I abruptly let go. That’s enough when she says stop. Virginia angrily adjusted her clothes. Still, her reddened face and heavy breathing looked somewhat cute.

“Well. At least you didn’t shoot me. Surprising. I thought you’d blow my head off right away.”

Of course, I knew she couldn’t shoot me. Without me, she wouldn’t be able to handle all those zombies.

“…What about you?”

“Me? I have nothing to gain by killing you. But alive, you’re useful in many ways. That’s how it’s been all along. We keep each other alive because we’re useful to each other.”

Yes. That’s how it starts. Keep each other alive because we need each other, meet because we need each other. In the end, she’s the one who needs me, not the other way around.

“Just go back for now. Do whatever you want. Let’s just keep in touch more often.”

“…If I come back, I’ll…”

But Virginia just brushed her bangs up without finishing her sentence. Instead, she sighed deeply.

“If you’re feeling regretful, why not build some bunkers? If war is coming anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to have shelters and trenches here and there.”

“Bunkers, huh.”

“Yeah. As it happens, I have some places in mind…”

* * * * *

Virginia might not know, but I’ve infected all the other soldiers. Now I just need to wait patiently.

Perhaps, when all humans and zombies in this world are infected with the same virus. If no dominant strain emerges. Or if one does emerge, if I can eliminate it first.

And if we can hold out until Cassandra or others develop a cure.

That would be good.

Or I might be shot and killed tomorrow. If infected with the Crow virus, and thus no longer afraid of zombies.

People will become freer than before.

Not controlled by society, with looting ingrained in them. What will such free people do?

I don’t know.

But it will certainly be different from before.

* * * * *

Must life improve day by day to be worth living? Must tomorrow be better than today for life to have meaning?

When I was young, I had expectations for tomorrow. I believed that with time, everything would change, whether for better or worse. And it actually did. The world might have remained the same, but I changed.

But at some point, that stopped.

Because the world became boring? No, that wasn’t it. I stopped. The realization that I would just keep circling in the same orbit. At best, maintaining the status quo, with things only getting worse. The end of the corridor approaching, with fewer and fewer doors left to open.

I lower the binoculars and look down at the distant ground below.

If I take just one more step forward, I might escape this world. With luck, I might return to the world I originally belonged to.

Or maybe not.

I don’t know. There’s so much I don’t know.

So I review what I do know.

Fanatics dancing around a campfire.

Zombies fighting and trying to devour each other.

Helicopters that now look like tiny dots.

Camilla, Cassandra, and Leticia gesturing for me to come down now.

Taking one step could mean starting anew.

Beginnings are always difficult.

Not because there’s nothing to say, but because I might have to repeat countless stories that already seem familiar.

Conquest. Infection. Survival. Collection. Concealment. Rest. Among these, the only path not taken is death. The untaken path. A path of no return. But there might be something yet undiscovered there.

So with difficulty, I take a step.

The metal stairs groan dully as they vibrate. Step by step. I descend the spiral staircase. When I finally set foot on the ground, a wretched man wrapped in a worn-out blanket approaches me with tears in his eyes.

“Oh, at last I see you… The one who brings miracles…!”

I welcome him with a broad smile and open arms.

“Well, welcome.”

I signal for them to start filming. Leticia quickly sends up an RV helicopter with a camera. This one also has a microphone, so it captures sound quite well. The elderly man and his companions shout in unison:

“The one who bestows love and protects both humans and zombies…!”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“The one who doesn’t belong to this world…!”

“Yes, that’s also me.”

Come to think of it, it might be good to add Minsk and Römer language subtitles to the video. I’m not sure about Camilla, but are Cassandra or Leticia fluent in both languages? I should probably ask Virginia for this.

“Did you come after watching the video?”

“Yes, we did…!”

Good effect. Next time I should add some special effects to the video.

The thirsty. The hungry. Those who want to live. Come to me, all of you.

Until people rush out when the border between the two countries collapses.

Until everyone becomes one under the same virus.

Perhaps everyone will effectively drive away the zombies.

Perhaps everyone will end up becoming zombies.

I don’t know.

But I can lie.

“Anyway, maybe someday we can live in a better place than here. Did you know? Actually, we all come from there. Heaven, I mean. I don’t know if we can go there after this life ends, but I’m certain it exists.”

“You speak with such certainty…!”

Of course. I came from there. I’m not sure if it’s heaven or not, but at least there are no zombies.

“Still, shouldn’t we do our best in this land until we get there?”

“That’s right…!”

No. These people already know what they need to do. They must know. They were living just fine before meeting me. They just lack certainty. Like me.

Actually, pretending to know when you don’t isn’t so bad.

Yes.

Not bad at all.

<The End>