A moment later.
"Huff, huff!"
I wiped the sweat pouring down my face and surveyed the infected still blocking my path.
"Seriously...! Huff, don't make! Huff, me do close combat like this!"
Even with a few crowns and several powers, my poor stamina had not improved at all!
Nevertheless, I had enough ability to beat up knights who had lost their minds due to infection.
So, I swung my fists with all my might. Trusting in the toughness of the Sky Knights charging at me, I believed they wouldn't die from my royal punches.
Thus, I was gradually incapacitating them one by one.
The problem was, all of them were hero-level warriors. And there were 50 of them. Plus, they were crowded in a narrow hallway.
Most importantly, I had to subdue them alive... and time was running out!'At this rate, we'll be too late.'
The hallway was too narrow to summon clones.
I had already used [Gaze of Command], which could only temporarily subdue them, not completely incapacitate them.
As I racked my brain on how to get through them safely within the remaining time...
"Your Highness."
McMillan, who was standing behind me, called out.
I turned around, wondering why.
"We're out of time, so I'll use a rough method."
McMillan said this and then...
He brought his arm to the mouth of the subdued infected lying on the floor.
The unconscious infected reflexively clamped down.
Splurt...!
McMillan's arm was bitten by the infected, spraying blood everywhere.
"Ugh...!"
Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, McMillan roughly pulled his arm out.
I blinked dumbly, not understanding the situation.
"Sir McMillan? What did you just do...?"
"The usual time it takes to lose consciousness after infection is 5 to 10 minutes."
Skillfully pulling out a handkerchief and stopping the bleeding from the bite wound, McMillan explained.
"And infected individuals do not recognize other infected as enemies."
"...!"
"Since I'm now infected, the infected in the hallway won't attack me anymore, and the ones in the engine room won't either."
McMillan, who had taken a deep breath and stood up, glared at the engine room beyond the hallway.
"I will go in alone to reactivate the mana reactor. I'll pretend to be dead inside the engine room... so please, come wake me up later."
"Sir McMillan... did you plan this from the beginning...?"
"Heh. Soldiers exist to prepare for the worst."
McMillan slowly began to walk forward.
"Well, I'm off."
He approached the infected head-on with tense steps...
The other infected didn't even glance at him. Indeed, the infected did not attack their own kind.
As he steadily walked away, I shouted at his retreating back.
"Any messages for your family, or anyone?"
There might be no problem if the cure was developed safely, but if not, perhaps...
"No."
McMillan answered coolly and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I’m an orphan with no family, and I haven't married yet."
"What?"
I didn’t know! For some reason, I had the impression he had a wife and kids!
"Ha-ha. Instead, introduce me to a nice woman later, Your Highness."
He glanced back and gave me a charming wink with his characteristic smooth face.
Then, McMillan walked briskly, reached the engine room door...
Bang!
Opened it, and disappeared inside.
A moment later.
Vrrrr...!
A loud mechanical noise began to emanate from within the engine room.
Following that, a voice shouted from the speaker installed in the hallway.
「Main mana reactor reactivation successful! It’s a success, Your Highness!」
Whirr...!
The entire airship slowly but surely began to lift off.
"Phew..."
After a sigh of relief.
"Alright then."
Crack, crack.
I loosened my fists in the chainmail and looked at the remaining infected in front of me.
"Since we have some time until we reach the Crossroad... shall I finish cleaning up the ship?"
We had to start treatment as soon as we returned.
But before that, I needed to pacify the patients.
Roar!
Raaah!
As I approached, the infected roared and charged at me one by one.
"Today’s exercise is intense, seriously!"
Grumbling, I grabbed the infected one by one and slammed them to the floor.
***
Crossroad. Airship hangar.
Vrrrr...!
The airship La Mancha, which had returned safely, landed, and as the lower hatch opened...
Rumble!
The Crossroad heroes, who had been waiting, entered the airship with tense faces.
I waved to my subordinates.
"Hey-."
On my left and right were Dearmudin and Mikhail, both looking extremely tired.
The three of us had just finished subduing and restraining the infected inside the airship. It was really exhausting...
Lucas and Evangeline, fully armored with shields, spotted me and shouted.
"My Lord!"
"Senior!"
"Yeah, yeah, it’s me. As you can see, I'm safe."
Lucas and Evangeline wore complicated expressions mixed with worry and concern, but there was something more important than my safety at the moment.
"The infected... 104 people. 26 griffons. All restrained. Transport them all to the temple. Is the temple ready to receive the patients?"
"High Priestess Rosetta has been urgently preparing since she received your message, my Lord."
"Good. Proceed immediately. Oh, and be careful not to get bitten while moving them. The primary infection route is through bites..."
In case of any accidents during the transport, we decided to use Lucas, Evangeline, and the melee troops, who were in full armor, to move the restrained infected to the temple.
"I'll follow."
Mikhail, without taking a break, immediately went to the temple with the patients. Of course, he would, given that his subordinates and wives were among them...
"I’ll go as well. See you later."
Dearmudin also accompanied them. The old mage would convey all the necessary information to the priests.
"The Sky Knights pledged to support you as soon as they joined, My Lord..."
Lucas, observing the situation, sighed.
"Who would have thought something like this would happen right after they set out."
"All the more reason to ensure they are healed. Concentrate all remaining resources on treating the patients."
"But, My Lord."
Lucas glanced southward.
"I heard the number of zombie monsters is unusually high."
"..."
"Even if we use all our forces to stop the zombie horde, it might not be enough. Shouldn't we prioritize and consider the severity of the situation? There’s no time to waste resources here. Delaying treatment and using resources for defense might be more prudent..."
"No."
I shook my head.
"The Sky Knights will be an important force in our future battles. If the treatment is delayed and we lose that strength, it will be an even greater loss."
"..."
"Treating them is very important. And..."
I rested my chin on my hand and spoke cautiously.
"I think this might lead to a 'strategy'."
"Pardon?"
"Though not intentional, we managed to secure a significant number of infected survivors."
I nodded.
"...This might be the key to making the upcoming defense battle easier."
***
That night.
When I was contacted by the temple, I found Rosetta, looking exhausted from the day's work, waiting for me.
"Reporting, Your Highness. We have identified the cause, mechanism, and cure for the zombie plague."
"All hail the Goddess!"
This is why people worship priests! I will donate a lot!
"It was because we were able to secure so many infected survivors. As you know, when usually attacked and infected by zombies, the bleeding and injuries are so severe that death is the most common outcome. This time, we were fortunate..."
Of course, we couldn't save everyone.
During the treatment process, some infected succumbed and had to be put to eternal rest after becoming zombies.
In front of my grim expression, Rosetta quickly added.
"Sorrow can come later... In any case, while examining the survivors, I formed a hypothesis and needed to verify it."
"Verification?"
"I needed to observe the actual infection process. So, I was going to get bitten myself..."
As I stared at Rosetta, who was calmly saying such crazy things, she smiled bitterly.
"...Everyone was vehemently opposed, but a volunteer stepped forward and got bitten instead."
"Volunteered to be bitten...?"
"Yes, throwing themselves in for the greater good. I had no time to stop them."
I thought of McMillan, who had voluntarily gotten his arm bitten earlier on the airship.
Seriously, everyone... why are they so desperate?
"Thanks to that volunteer, I could understand the transmission mechanism and treatment method."
I couldn't tell if this was a romantic or barbaric aspect of the fantasy world...
In any case, since it had already happened, I quietly followed Rosetta.
"And that foolish volunteer is this guy."
In the center of the temple corridor... Zenith was tied to a chair, gagged, and struggling.
My mouth dropped open, and Rosetta nonchalantly walked over and pressed her index finger against Zenith's temple.
"He has remarkable self-healing and divine power, so it took him an hour to become fully infected. Thanks to that, we were able to understand most of the zombie plague."
"..."
"Responsibility for the extreme experiment lies with me, so you can hold me accountable later... Let me continue the report."
Catching her breath, Rosetta picked up several potions from the table next to Zenith.
"This zombie plague is caused by a parasite."
"A parasite...?"
"Yes. And not just any parasite. It's a magical parasite originating from demonic creatures."
I was dumbfounded by the unexpected explanation.
Should I say it’s typical of a fantasy world's zombies... magical parasites?
"This parasite enters the body through the victim's mouth, infecting their mana core and seizing control of their body."
Rosetta continued her terrifying explanation.
"And when the host dies, the demon's power 'Sacrifice' drains their life force and transmits it to its master."
"What..."
"Then, the parasite uses the remaining mana to animate the corpse, seeking the next victim, spreading the infection endlessly..."
Rosetta shrugged.
"That's how the parasitic infection works. Such a cruel method indeed, fitting for a demon."
"...Could the zombie plague that once ravaged the continent have worked like this too?"
"I can't say for sure. However, given that the treatment used back then still works to some extent now, it might be somewhat related."
Rosetta began mixing several potions.
Despite being an exhausted middle-aged priest mixing the cure, her highly skilled movements felt like a bartender making a cocktail, giving a strange sense of style.
"This should do."
Rosetta inserted the completed cure into Zenith's gag, forcing him to swallow it.
Zenith, with bloodshot eyes, glared at us, twisting his body and making monstrous sounds...
"Grrk! Cough, cough!"
He spat something out through the gag.
Rosetta deftly extended her tweezers to grab it.
A small, thin, red worm-like creature. Rosetta held it up to my eyes.
"This is the parasite. See the horn at the end? It's a symbol of the demonic species."
"...Got it, so can you get rid of it? It's pretty gross."
At that moment, Zenith, gasping and wheezing, asked in a hoarse voice.
"Is it... resolved?"
"Seeing you speak properly, it seems so."
Despite the reckless actions, a solution had been found.
Rosetta immediately summoned her priests to start mixing the cure.
I let out a sigh of relief. Now, all surviving patients could be treated.
"..."
Shortly after.
I looked at Rosetta. She too was looking at me with a significant smile.
"Rosetta. By any chance."
"Yes. I knew you would ask."
After transferring the parasite to another glass container, Rosetta gestured toward the cure on the table.
"You wonder what would happen if we poured this cure on the zombie monsters... correct?"
--TL Notes--
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