42 Haven Manor (1/2)

Present time.

Nathan was currently invisible and was already on the grounds of Haven Manor.

The manor was a 3-story building.

In front of the building was a large circular fountain with an angelic statue in the middle.

Just with the manor's exterior alone, one could say that it was an architectural beauty, a far cry from his apartment back at Cram city.

After doing a quick check of the area, he found out that there were only about 15 guards patrolling outside, and all the doors and windows were closed except for one large double door located at the front which serves as the main entrance of the manor and guarded by two guards.

Given that this was only part of the manor that was left open, naturally, it was the path Nathan decided to go through. He didn't choose to go through the other entrances or windows in fear that they might trigger an alarm or something if he forcefully opened them.

He approached the two guards standing at the door, trying to see if there were any traps laid there. While he was inspecting, the two were talking about the zombie apocalypse.

”Hey man. I finally found it.”

”Found what?”

”The reason why this zombie apocalypse is happening.”

”Here we go again…” The other guard let out a sigh and had an annoyed look on his face.

”I read the Holy Book again this morning to check out a few things and I finally found it – the scripture which mentions God will return one day and deliver judgment,” said the religious guard.

The annoyed guard massaged his forehead.

”The scripture says –”

”Come on, man. If you're going to talk, could you at least talk about something else?”

”What…? Hello? God spoke to everyone at the start of this zombie apocalypse. Aren't you a bit curious as to why God decided this? And plus, the fact that mankind has always been trying to find evidence that God really exists and now we have the undeniable truth that He truly does exist, I don't know about you, but that is just mind-blowing! I bet the atheists are shitting their pants now!”

”Look, yeah, sure, I grew up and in a Trinitian household, but just like I've been telling you these past few nights – I'm not religious. Truth be told, right now, all I care about is getting through this zombie crisis and hope that everything will just go back to the way it used to be. That's it.”

The religious guard looked at the annoyed guard with pity.

”You really need God, man. You wanna know why? You see, there's–”

The annoyed guard rolled his eyes, he knew what was coming next and it's gonna be a very, very long sermon so he decided to stop it before it comes.

”Hold on! Let's make a deal. This will be the last time I will talk about anything about this topic. If you bring it up again, I'll just ignore you even if you talk about it the whole night. The way I see it, this zombie apocalypse, it's probably like this: When a kid loses interest with his favorite toy, what does he do? There are two things: either he tears it apart or abandons it to replace it with another toy.”

”So you're saying God has grown tired of us and now wants another toy to play with? That's blasphemy. Think about it: If that's the case, why did God create us in the first place? The fact that we were created in the image and likeness of God, that alone shows just how much he loves us.”

The annoyed guard didn't reply. He was going to honor what he said earlier. This will be the last time he will talk anything about it – Well, at least with this religious guard.

Nathan who just finished inspecting the entrance for any traps decided to leave the two behind.

But before leaving, he looked at them.

'What's up with these guards? Back at the mall, even the guards there were also talking about it.'

But thinking about the conversation between the two, he realized that he never thought about it. All this time he was busy powering up in preparation to go to where Amir was at.

'Hmm... If God really loves us, why does he allow unjust suffering? To make people know the value of life?'

'If one was born with an incurable disease or disability that leaves him utterly useless in the society, can that person value the life he was given and not commit suicide?'

'If a newborn baby was killed, can that baby know the value of life? Or was it to teach others?'

'If having someone undergo such unjust suffering so that that person or other people will know the value of life, then that is just pure madness. I would've understood it if the sufferers volunteered to undergo such thing or if they committed grave sins in their past lives. But if not, then I see no love there, only sacrificial lambs, toys to be played with.'

'As for the zombie apocalypse, millions or perhaps billions have already died. To me, only a sadist will let someone go through such things.'

'But I must say, this power I have right now, I really like it.'

Nathan's lips curled up into a smile of pure satisfaction.

After expressing his thoughts, Nathan left the two guards to continue what he came for.

Inside the manor, he found himself in a spacious hallway and was welcomed by a grand marble staircase covered in carpet.

The floor was also made of marble and there were expensive-looking furniture perfectly positioned to complement the paintings and photographs plastered on the walls. Meanwhile, the ceiling was painted with angelic beings dancing on top of clouds.

The place simply breathes luxury and extravagance that it made Nathan who came from a humble household a little self-conscious that he might tarnish the beauty of this place with his soiled gloves and boots.

'The rich really live in a different world.'

He stood at the center and marveled at its beauty for a moment.

'But what's the point of all of these? With the zombies evolving and their leader dying tonight, sooner or later, this place will either be destroyed or abandoned.'