Chapter 82
Crunch—
A foul green liquid splattered onto my cheek. Ugh.
Just then, a thick shadow fell over my head.
“You should watch your back.”
Eden’s voice came from behind me. As I turned my head, Eden, who had stepped in to block my rear, swung his sword.
Squelch!
The torso of the massive monster that had lunged right up to my nose was ripped wide open. Following through, Eden cleanly severed the head of the collapsing creature with his blade.
Eden let out a sigh and straightened his posture. With a light flick of his sword, the viscous green fluid fell to the floor in heavy droplets.
“Perfect teamwork, as always.”
When I gave a thumbs-up toward Eden as he turned back to me, he let out a hollow laugh and ruffled my hair.
“See, Miss Cherry? Don’t you think we would have made great partners?”
What is with this man and his sudden obsession with being partners? The world has already ended, anyway. I shook my head firmly.
“We’re only doing this now because we have no choice. Personally, I’d prefer to live like a loafer, blowing through piles of money.”
“It would be best to throw these outside.”
Eden spoke while looking at the two monster carcasses, pretending he hadn’t heard me.
“How about moving them to the corpse disposal site and burning them?”
That was the cleanest option. Eden nodded in agreement. The carcasses were enormous, but while moving them would be a bit of a chore, it wasn’t actually a difficult task for me.
I knelt on one knee in front of the monster’s remains and asked Eden,
“I think it’s better to dismantle the bodies before moving them. They need to fit into the disposal chute.”
Eden sat down across from me with a very grave expression and replied,
“Phrased like that, Miss Cherry, you sound like quite the psychopathic serial killer right now.”
“Don’t try to back out. Sir Eden, you’re my accomplice.”
“Making a police officer an accomplice... you’ve got guts.”
Eden shot back at my nonsense without missing a beat. I gave him a look of sheer exasperation.
I’d heard Harrison tell me I had a strange personality plenty of times, but Eden was no slouch either. We were a perfect match—enough that I felt a twinge of regret knowing he’d be leaving for the capital soon.
He unsheathed his sword with a nonchalant face and pointed toward my axe.
“Do you want to do the dismantling, Miss Cherry, or should I?”
“Please, you do it. It’s gross.”
“Rich coming from the person who smashed this thing’s head to bits. Honestly...”
Sir Eden shook his head at me. Muttering “Honestly...” and clicking his tongue while looking at me seemed to have become a habit of his now.
Eden dismantled the monster carcasses in a single stroke with his sword. Meanwhile, I looked out the window of the police station.
Before I knew it, the sun had fully set. The sky was being dyed in shades of purple.
But then, a strange sight caught my eye. It wasn't a monster.
‘Is that... people?’
I hurriedly tapped Eden on the back.
“Butchery isn’t that easy, Miss Cherry. Wait with a little patience.”
Eden replied with a smile. He must have thought I was rushing him.
“No, not that. There are people outside. No, I see ‘groups’ of people.”
“What?”
Eden stopped what he was doing and turned his head.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Right on cue, armed men were engaged in a gunfight outside the window. What the? A gunfight?
I pressed close to the police station window. Eden followed behind me, sticking to the glass to survey the outside.
It looked like a fight had broken out between a group of people near the police station and another group on the opposite side.
“Sir Eden, isn’t gun ownership illegal in Graeden?”
“It is.”
“Was there anyone in Brunel Village who would possess firearms illegally? And that many of them?”
“...Unlikely.”
“Then they’re outsiders.”
Just then, past the alleyway, I caught a glimpse of people tied together with ropes like a string of sausages, being moved somewhere.
‘What is that?’
It looked exactly like prisoners being escorted during the old dynasties, moving along while bound together.
Eden stood up. He pulled a revolver from the holster on his thigh, checked the cylinder, and spoke to me as he walked toward the back door.
“Since we don’t know if they’ll come in here, first I’ll check if the doors are locked—”
Creeak—
And before Eden could even finish his sentence, the police station door swung open.
It was a man, heavily armed and wearing a face mask. He wore a khaki jacket, trousers, and even a necktie. On the military cap atop his head was a flashy insignia engraved with the Rubilt Mountains. It was the crest symbolizing the Graeden Royal Family.
The man before us was a soldier of the Graeden Kingdom.
The moment the man and Eden spotted each other, they immediately raised their weapons and aimed at one another. Things were getting incredibly complicated.
‘Harrison’s going to worry.’
The people at Happy House probably had no idea we were in this situation.
“Who are you?”
The soldier asked Eden. Without a single tremor, Eden replied,
“That’s my line.”
The soldier’s gaze shifted to the monster carcasses that had been meticulously dismantled. He scowled deeply.
“Shit, what is that?”
The soldier’s eyes flicked back to Eden and me. Looking back and forth between the remains and us, he threw a look of pure contempt our way. There was something ominous about that look.
“Psychopaths, the lot of you.”
I suppose anyone seeing those carcasses would think so. I scratched my cheek.
“Calling us psychopaths is a bit harsh. Can’t you tell by my clothes? I’m a fairly righteous police officer.”
Eden even showed the composure to let out a faint chuckle. At that, the soldier narrowed his eyes and scanned Eden from head to toe. Then, he glanced at me and his eyes widened.
“Cherry Sinclair?”
The soldier recognized me before Eden. Eden grumbled at that.
“This is disappointing, recognizing Miss Cherry first.”
“What can I say? I’m a superstar. If you’re jealous, you should get famous too, Sir.”
I replied with a shrug toward Eden. Of course, I only said it like that, but Eden was already plenty famous. I was just a more memorable, provocative star.
“The world’s ended, so I think it’s too late for fame. It looks like I’ll die without ever achieving my dream, so give me some comfort, Miss Cherry.”
“How tragic. I’ll make sure your epitaph reads, ‘Sir Eden, who wanted to be famous.’”
I traded idle banter with Eden while keeping a close eye on the soldier.
Unlike Eden, who held a revolver, the soldier was armed with an action rifle. Even so, the reason I could remain this relaxed was because I trusted Eden.
The soldier, who had been listening silently to our conversation, looked back and forth between me and Eden as if surprised.
“Cherry Sinclair and a blonde policeman in Brunel... Are you Sir Eden?”
“What’s this? Did you hear that, Miss Cherry? It seems we’re being called a set now.”
Eden spoke to me with an incredulous look. Of course, he still didn’t let down his guard, keeping his revolver aimed at the soldier.
I suspected it was because of the news reports that had come out just before the collapse.
The soldier’s expression grew even more tense than before. His aura softened significantly. He continued speaking gently, as if trying to persuade Eden.
“Sir Eden, please lower your weapon. I am not an enemy.”
“What kind of bullshit is that? Put your own gun away before you say that.”
“I cannot do that for the sake of safety. But please, believe me. I came down here to Brunel with my squad specifically to find you, Sir.”
The Graeden Kingdom Army came down to Brunel to find Eden...?
Was there something like this in the original story? Since the original plot had already gone completely off the rails from the very beginning, searching for the original development was pointless, but I racked my brain anyway.
‘Ah, right. I remember.’
In the original novel, Eden never left the capital, Benton, so this never happened. However, I recalled a mention that Crown Prince Theodore had tried to keep Eden by his side. Not only did he trust Eden immensely, but as I’d said before, Eden was a man with such high survivability that anyone would want him on their side.
If Theodore trusted Eden that much, it wasn't strange that he would try to find him by any means necessary.
Then, Eden asked the soldier pointedly,
“Are you really part of the Kingdom Army? That rifle you’re holding isn’t the type issued by the military.”
Huh?
At Eden’s words, I looked at the rifle the soldier was pointing at us. But well, it wasn't as if I could tell whether that rifle was military-issued or custom-made just by looking.
Unexpectedly, however, the soldier’s face crumpled as if he’d been caught off guard. What, was it true?
If so, then it wasn't Crown Prince Theodore who was looking for Eden. Then who on earth was impersonating the Kingdom Army just to find him?
“Dammit, I’m sorry, Sir. I have orders from that person to bring you back, even if I have to kidnap you.”
‘Wait, wait, what...? Kidnap Eden?’
Does someone else know that Eden has the virus antibodies...?
Suddenly, the soldier fired a shot toward the cabinet next to Eden. He was likely trying to distract him.
But by the time the soldier lunged toward him, Eden had already vaulted over the desk, soared through the air, and landed behind the soldier’s back.
Click. The sound of Eden pressing the muzzle of his revolver against the back of the soldier’s head and cocking the hammer was crystal clear.
‘Wow. That was insane.’
I gave a silent round of applause to myself.
“Who is ‘that person’?”
Eden asked in a low voice, emphasizing the words with a sarcastic tone.
