44 [1-44] Circuit Breaker (1/2)

”Eleventh squadron, all clear.

Eleventh Company, advance west. Meet up with the second squad on Main Street and take command thereafter.

”Fourth squadron, capture three girls. We're taking them with us.

Understood.

The office in the duke's castle, the main camp.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.

Each Ghoul, the commander of a unit, carries a caller, including a spare, and reports the progress of the operation to Alastor, the commander.

Ghouls are undead, also known as ”corpse-eating demons.

They are docile undead that only eat carrion and do not attack people, but they will hunt people and wait for them to rot if they are hungry.

Their memories and intentions are faint, and their personalities are twisted and evil, but their intelligence is on par with that of the human race.

Rene took notice of this ”intelligent” characteristic. He assigned a ghoul as a platoon leader to lead the zombies who lacked brains and the skeletons who had the decision-making ability of a simple golem.

I would have preferred to use liches, but they are hard to find in numbers because they require the souls of sorcerers as raw materials.

If they only had intelligence, they could be spirits or undead, but it would be a little inconvenient that they could not carry things around.

That is why the captain was a ghoul.

The duke moves the pieces on the map and marks in red the areas that have been eradicated.

If there was a communication, he would give instructions accordingly and add the changes in the situation to the map.

”Alastor. We've eliminated the threats you reported. Do you have any other information about the enemy that we can't handle?

Rene's voice came from one of the callers, and Alastor responded with a reverent bow of his head, knowing that the other party could not see him.

”No, sir. I think that was probably the last time. There are troops engaged with the adventurers, but the knight's undead are more than capable of handling them.

”All right.

I'm sure you'll be fine. ......　≪I'm not sure what to say.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

”How can I help you?

'Oh, don't worry about it. I just found a civilian who escaped and I killed him.

I'm turning the materials I got into undead on the spot and sending them to the front of the castle at random. If you see any of the troops, have them collect it.

”Yes, sir.

I'm just going to wander around and kill any people I can find that are hiding from me.

In some squares in the city, there are piles of materials killed by the undead. Rene is patrolling the area and increasing the number of soldiers by ”creating undead”.

If he finds a citizen hiding with the power of emotional perception, he kills them randomly as he passes by and turns them into undead on the spot if they are fit to be soldiers.

...... Speaking of escaping, the citizens we failed to kill are beginning to flee outside the city. I'm not sure what to do.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

It seems that he noticed something.

”Hold on a second!

I'll be back.

I'm not sure what to do with it.

”I found it!

I see you.

Aaaaahhhh ......

The house was half destroyed by Rene's magic.

Three women, who had apparently been hiding under their breath because they had failed to escape, were looking at Rene with frightened eyes.

They were teenage girls with no distinguishing features. By Earth's standards, they might be called ”girls,” but here they are already considered adults, and some of them are married.

They are not a family, but rather a group of people who happened to be hiding in the same place. They had barricaded themselves in the room with chairs and desks, but Rene put his head on his neck and easily lifted the table with his free left hand and threw it behind him.

”Hiiii!

There was a throaty scream.

Renée watches the trembling women.

They were average to skinny in build. They're not the kind you want to turn into undead.

Their age also makes them inappropriate as Rene's dependents.

In other words, he's of no use to Rene. It's an object that should be killed.

”Oh, please help me. ......

Oh, ......, please, please, please, please.

Please help me. Please let me live. ...... Please let me live!

A desperate plea for life.

All I could think was, ”Shut up.

He looked at Rene as if he was clinging to her,...... hoping that she would be able to understand him because he was so beautiful, unlike the other undead. Unfortunately, that would be a big mistake. She's the one who caused all this.

I can't think of any reason not to kill him. Wesara has decided to make an example out of him, to make a counterattack. It's not necessary to kill everyone, but the more dead the better.

Just cut them up with the cursed red blade. The three of you together, cut in half.

Just kill them without a care in the world and give them +3 kill score.

That should be enough.

--......?　I don't know why. It's not fun. ......

The red blade in Rene's hand did not move.

Killing is not fun.

I wonder why.

Guilt?　Conscience?　Those things don't exist anymore. They were taken from him along with his dignity in that living hell.

Rene had slaughtered dozens of innocent people before he came here.

He pierced and killed an infant and its mother, who was trying to protect it. He stabbed to death a father trying to protect his family and let the zombie kill his wife and daughter. Without hesitation, he slaughtered a girl who was too weak to escape and had to wait for the last moment in prayer on her sickbed.

There's no reason to single out the women in front of you.

--...... No, that's not it.

Rene realized.

--He was piling up.

The more he killed, the more suffocating it became, as if he was holding his breath and diving into the sea.

There was no need to breathe, but he felt as if his chest and lungs were being constricted.

It was ”fear”.

Fear of being abandoned.

Rene does not really have an aversion to murder. He is a ruthless and selfish avenger who will kill a sick old man or an infant to get what he wants.

But what would his mother, who had been so kind to him, think when she saw Rene's brutality?

How would Diana, who cared for Rene until her dying breath, feel when she saw him stained with blood?

I'm sure both of them would have tried to stop him if they were still alive.

That's okay. Revenge against the world is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

But what if... But what if he was abandoned as an irredeemable enemy?

What if I lose ...... my mother's love?

I will always be ...... happy. I'll always ...... be looking out for you.

...... Diana's words were a curse, not a help, to Rene the avenger.

That battle reminded Rene that she was just a girl.

--I feel like an idiot. What am I thinking?

Your mother and Deanna are dead. I don't even know if they're watching me. I don't even know if they're still in this world because sometimes you get reincarnated the moment you die.

Rene thought it was too ridiculous and childish sentimentality.