My Childhood Friend Turned Yandere in the Apocalypse

Chapter 265: Ch 265: New Calamity Candidate

The plan was simple- Collin was going to take care of the settlement and these traitors before his young master could know about their existence.

The sooner he could get it done, the better it would be for everyone involved. And that was why he did not want to get others involved.

But Shelly somehow guessed what he was trying to do and when he was trying to act and decided that she wanted to join him as well.

"Hmm, this seems interesting. Collin, do you mind if I help with the clean up as well? I am bored and I don’t want to bother Rin at the moment."

Shelly asked in a casual voice, but the butler had his doubts. The darkness in Shelly’s words and her heart was impossible to hide.

Still, having her as a partner was not all bad. She was strong so she could help clear out the debris for him...

"Alright, I will allow you to help. But do not try anything funny this time. Young Master Rin would be able to hear if anything were to happen."

Collin told Shelly and she nodded to show that she understood what he wanted to say.

"Don’t worry. I won’t do anything that would harm Rin. I have no desire to make him hate me. I will be on my best behaviour from here on out."

Rin promised Collin but he doubted that she would do as she said she would. This made him sigh and he decided that it was better for him not to think about anything than to deal with Shelly for now.

__________

’Darn it! Where did things go wrong? We were making such good progress and now...!’

Victor looked outside his room and noticed that his supporters were gone. Those people usually crowded his room, waiting for him to come out so that they could discuss one thing or another with him.

But now, no one was there.

’Did they all die? This is bad. Then the progress of my mission...!’

[Calamity meter: 50%]

It was working just fine. There was no need for Victor to be worried about it.

But the uneasiness in his heart won’t go away. He felt like he was a cornered prey that could be swallowed by this world at any second.

Victor stepped out of his room while trying to calm the uneasiness in his chest.

The hallway outside looked no different than usual. Hunters walked past him while carrying supplies, a few people chatted with one another, and someone was arguing over food distribution further down the corridor.

Everything looked...normal.

That was precisely what made Victor feel even more unsettled.

His supporters had not been the type to disappear without warning. Ever since he had begun gathering people around himself, they would always report back to him at least once every few hours.

Some came looking for orders while others simply wanted reassurance that their movement was still progressing.

Now none of them were anywhere to be seen.

Victor forced himself to smile as another hunter walked past him.

"Hey, have you seen Marcus or the others?"

The hunter paused for a second before shaking his head.

"No. Haven’t seen them since yesterday."

Victor had a forbidding feeling but he forced himself to calm down.

’Yesterday? That can’t be right. Marcus promised to gather more people today.’

He quickly headed toward one of the meeting spots his group frequently used.

The small warehouse stood exactly where it always had, but the inside was empty. There were still a few overturned chairs and an unfinished pack of biscuits lying on the table, making it look as though everyone had simply vanished halfway through their meeting.

Victor’s heartbeat sped up.

"What...what is going on?"

For the first time since becoming a calamity candidate, genuine fear crept into Victor’s heart.

His system remained silent.

Normally it would provide him with some kind of guidance or encouragement whenever he faced difficulties, but now it refused to respond altogether.

Victor bit his lip.

’Someone is interfering. It has to be Rin.’

That thought appeared naturally inside his mind. Who else could make dozens of people disappear without leaving behind any evidence?

’I need to leave. As long as I can get outside the settlement, I can rebuild everything later.’

He had barely taken two steps before he froze. A familiar figure stood quietly at the end of the corridor.

Collin adjusted the cuff of his glove before raising his calm gaze toward Victor.

"There you are."

His voice was as polite as ever.

"I have been looking for you."

Victor instinctively stepped backward.

"W-What do you want?"

"I merely wished to have a conversation."

Collin smiled gently.

"There are several matters regarding the settlement that require clarification."

Victor’s instincts screamed at him. Every fiber of his body told him to run.

He immediately activated his movement skill and dashed toward the nearest staircase without another word.

Unfortunately...

He only managed three steps before someone blocked his path.

Shelly tilted her head as she looked at him with dull eyes.

"Oh? I thought you would at least pretend to be innocent for a little longer."

She sounded almost disappointed.

Victor skidded to a stop before quickly turning around.

Collin was still standing behind him. The butler had not moved an inch.

Victor’s breathing became ragged.

"You..."

His eyes darted between the two.

"You planned this."

Collin offered a small nod.

"It was hardly difficult. You gathered all of your associates in one place every evening. That made locating everyone rather convenient."

Victor’s pupils shrank.

"You...what did you do to them?"

"They are alive. Young Master Rin dislikes unnecessary bloodshed."

Collin answered immediately. He paused briefly before continuing in the same composed tone.

"So naturally, I honored his wishes."

Victor nearly sighed in relief.

Until Collin spoke again.

"They have merely been imprisoned until Young Master decides how he wishes to deal with them."

Victor clenched his fists.

"You had no right!"

"No? I find that statement rather interesting."

Collin’s smile remained unchanged.

He slowly walked forward.

"You attempted to undermine the settlement from within. You deliberately spread misinformation among frightened civilians. You sought to divide the people whom Young Master worked tirelessly to protect."

Another step.

"And now you claim that I have no right to stop you?"

Victor instinctively retreated until his back struck the wall.

His escape routes had vanished.

Shelly watched the exchange quietly from the opposite side of the hallway. She had not spoken again, but the expression in her eyes made Victor’s skin crawl.

It was the look of a predator watching trapped prey struggle in vain.

"I...I was only speaking the truth! People were unhappy! I just gave them a voice!"

Victor shouted desperately.

Collin stopped a few feet away and sighed.

"Unforutnatley, you went too far. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can choose."