Chapter 62
Lund had fought countless battles against the zombies alongside the dragon people. Each time, behind Lady Irang’s victories was her strategist and younger brother, Lund. While pretending to help Irang defeat the zombies, Lund was actually gathering them in a secret location, making sure they weren’t completely destroyed.
“Many of them ended up devouring each other, but that was beneficial for me. Only the strongest survived.”
Lund had discovered that zombies grew stronger as they “matured.” They became more lifelike and aggressive, just like the lady in the abandoned village…
“What are you planning to do with these zombies?”
“Well, let’s see if my sister can defeat them all.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the fortress wall crumbled. The zombie groans mixed with the triumphant roars of the soldiers were both grotesque and slightly melancholic. We advanced into the fortress, but we couldn’t conquer it immediately.
Lady Irang and the young master were waiting for us.
“Lund! How could you betray me!”
Lady Irang shouted furiously. Lund retorted in a harsh tone,
“Because I doubted the indecisive General Irang’s abilities! You can’t make decisions! We don’t need Dragonuska!”
They clashed. Irang swung her sword at Lund. But Lund, having erected a magical barrier, easily dodged her attack and created a blinding explosion.
“I won’t lose either!”
I felt like I was supposed to fight the young master, so I charged at him with my bow. He was incinerating the surrounding zombies with fire magic when he saw me and stumbled backward in surprise.
“Hey? What are you doing?!”
“Let’s fight, Young Master!”
“No!”
Instead of dodging my attack, he countered and subdued me. He grabbed my bow and swiftly tripped me. I lost my balance and dropped the bow, which I had barely used. He caught me just before I hit the ground.
“Why are you attacking me?”
“Didn’t it feel like the right thing to do?”
“What kind of maid attacks her master based on ‘feeling’?”
He sighed and then looked at the Nova siblings, who were still fighting. They were so focused on each other that they didn’t even notice our fight. The young master sighed in relief amidst the chaos.
“Shall we end this boring play?”
“That’s a shame. Can I keep this outfit as a souvenir? I really like it.”
“Sure.”
He drew a magic circle in the air and retrieved my vacuum cleaner from his subspace. The weight of the vacuum cleaner was reassuring. I felt like I could defeat all these zombies and claim all the glory for myself.
Just as I raised the vacuum cleaner wand, he grabbed my hand and stopped me.
“Estella, wait.”
“Why? You keep stopping me. I want to do something too.”
“You will. Let’s continue the play a little longer.”
A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. He whispered his plan in my ear, and it sounded plausible.
I put down the vacuum cleaner and picked up the bow again, walking towards Lund.
“You betrayed me! Lund, you’ll regret this!”
Just as Irang was about to strike Lund with her sword, I blocked her attack with the bow, which was imbued with Lund’s magic. I felt the pressure on my wrist, the force traveling through my body. Having experienced Irang’s attack, I realized something.
She wasn’t an ordinary human.
“Doll! Step aside!”
She pushed me roughly. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her down, using my weight and Estella’s brute strength to bring her down. But she was much heavier than I expected. It felt like trying to move a giant tree.
How much more extraordinary could she be?!
I managed to hold onto her and then wrapped my legs around hers, like a snake. She couldn’t move easily. She could have easily broken free by striking my shoulder or waist, but she didn’t. I realized she was holding back to avoid hurting me.
I was touched, but I couldn’t say it now! I had to pretend to be on Lund’s side, so I called out to him.
“Lund! I’ve captured the enemy general!”
“Th-that’s… well done, Estella.”
He seemed surprised, as if he hadn’t anticipated my actions. He stood frozen amidst the zombie-infested battlefield, as if time had stopped for him.
“Lund!”
I called out to him again. I wanted him to come closer. Irang, who was still restrained by me, groaned and asked through gritted teeth,
“What are you planning?”
“Us?”
I smiled and whispered in her ear,
“Are you curious about our plan?”
Her surprised face looked exactly like Lund’s. He hesitated, then ran towards us. That was when it happened.
A giant magic circle appeared beneath Lund’s feet. It was a trap set by the young master, who had been watching from afar.
“A trap!”
Irang looked at Lund, her expression a mixture of relief and concern. I released her and nodded.
“Of course! It’s our plan.”
I added that I had never actually obeyed Lund. Irang didn’t seem to be listening, her gaze fixed on Lund. Her eyes were filled with worry. Even though he was a traitor, she still cared about him as her brother.
“What kind of magic is that? An ordinary binding spell?”
I shrugged and looked towards the young master, who seemed to be struggling to maintain multiple spells. He was suppressing Lund while also fending off the attacking zombies.
I stood up hesitantly, wondering if I should help him, when Irang grabbed my wrist, her face pale.
“I know that magic circle. We have to stop him!”
“I can’t stop him!”
“Not that magic! We can’t let him use that magic on Lund!”
Was it a spell that was particularly dangerous for Lund? I nodded.
“Okay, I’ll ask the young master to stop.”
But I didn’t have a chance to speak. The situation was too urgent, and the young master activated the spell faster than he had before.
It was a spell that temporarily stopped the target’s mana flow. With this spell, no more zombies would be summoned. I had heard that it could cause mild dizziness and nausea, but it was a safe spell that posed no threat to life.
Black chains emerged from the magic circle and bound Lund. The chains then began to change color, absorbing his magic.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. Just a bit tired…”
“Get away from him!”
Lady Irang shoved me hard.
“What?”
Was she that upset about him being targeted by the spell? But we were in the middle of a battle! Zombies were raining down from the sky!
I tried to approach her to apologize, but she pushed me away again and scrambled to her feet. Her face, as she looked around, was turning pale. No, it was literally turning blue.
“Sister!”
I heard Lund call out to her from afar. He didn’t address her as “General” this time, but as “Sister.” What was going on…?
“Estella! Come here, now!”
Even the young master started shouting. I went to him, still confused about the situation.
Just then, the ground around Lady Irang began to shake. The ground beneath her feet caved in, sending up a cloud of dust.
As I reached the young master, he released the spell on Lund. Lund rushed towards Irang.
“Why did you release him?!”
“Those crazy siblings were hiding something from us!”
“What?”
“We shouldn’t have used that mana-binding spell on Lund!”
He scooped me up and ran. I tried to run alongside him, but my shoes just dragged on the ground.
“Young Master! This is uncomfortable!”
He immediately lifted me up and placed me on his shoulder. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Or romantic.
“Explain what’s happening!”
Rumble!
The tremors intensified. The last thing I heard was Lund desperately calling out, “Sister!” After the earth-shattering tremors subsided, an eerie silence fell. The magic circles summoning zombies disappeared, and the zombies that had been flying and screaming fell to the ground.
“Rooooar!”
But something even more troublesome than zombies appeared before us. I followed Lund’s gaze and saw him lying next to a giant claw.
“Lund!”
I followed the gleaming gold claw with my eyes. Thick hide shimmering with an iridescent blue light, legs thicker than ancient trees, a powerful jaw connected to an ivory-white belly, and sharp, menacing teeth.
Giant wings, large enough to cover the entire city, unfolded. I stared at the sight, dumbfounded, still held in the young master’s arms.
“What is…”
He put me down, then picked me up again, and said,
“That’s Irang’s true form. She’s a dragon.”
“What?”
“Castor Nova Dragonuska’s true form is probably similar. They lied about not being related by blood. I see now. Who the true successor was, and why the strategist tried to betray her.”
He backed away from the dragon, muttering,
“Irang was the true successor all along.”