Crunch—
A sickly green liquid splattered onto my cheek. Ugh.
At that moment, a dark shadow loomed overhead.
"Watch your back," Ethan’s voice called out from behind me.
I turned my head to see Ethan standing protectively behind me, sword in hand.
Slash—!
With a clean, precise swing, he tore apart the massive monster that had been looming dangerously close. Its torso ripped open with a sickening sound, and Ethan swiftly decapitated the collapsing creature with another stroke of his blade.
Ethan exhaled deeply and adjusted his stance. He flicked his sword clean, sending the thick, sticky green liquid splattering onto the floor.
"Seamless teamwork," I said, giving him a thumbs-up as he turned to face me. He let out a dry laugh and ruffled my hair.
"See, Cherry? We’d make great partners."
What was this sudden obsession with being partners? The world was already in ruins. I shook my head.
"We’re only doing this out of necessity. Honestly, I’d rather live a life of leisure, spending money like there’s no tomorrow."
Ethan ignored my comment, glancing at the two monster corpses on the floor. "These need to be disposed of."
"Should we move them to the morgue and burn them?" I suggested. It was the cleanest option. Ethan nodded in agreement. The sheer size of the corpses made the task annoying, but it wasn’t exactly hard for me.
I crouched beside one of the corpses and asked Ethan, "Should we dismember them first? They need to fit into the disposal pit."
Ethan crouched next to me, his face unusually serious. "You know, Cherry, when you talk like that, you sound like a psychopathic serial killer."
"Don’t try to distance yourself. You’re my accomplice, Officer Lancaster."
"Making a cop your accomplice—bold move."
Ethan countered my comment without missing a beat. I shot him a look that said I was thoroughly unimpressed.
Harrison often said I had a strange personality, but Ethan wasn’t much different. Honestly, he and I got along way too well. With him heading to the capital soon, I was starting to feel a twinge of regret.
Ethan casually drew his sword, gesturing at my axe. "So, who’s doing the dismembering? You or me?"
"You, please. It’s gross."
"Says the person who just smashed this thing’s head in. Fine..."
Ethan shook his head at me, muttering, "Unbelievable," under his breath. He’d started doing that a lot lately, like it was his new habit.
With practiced efficiency, Ethan used his sword to dismember the monster corpses. Meanwhile, I gazed out the police station window.
The sun had fully set, and the sky was now painted in shades of deep purple.
Then I noticed something strange. It wasn’t a monster.
"Wait... are those people?"
I quickly tapped Ethan on the back.
"Processing these corpses isn’t a quick job, Cherry. Be patient," he said with a chuckle, clearly misunderstanding my urgency.
"No, that’s not it. I see people outside. Multiple people."
"What?" Ethan froze mid-motion, turning to look.
Bang! Ratatatat!
Gunfire erupted outside, shattering the tense silence. What the hell? A shootout?
I pressed myself against the window, trying to get a better view. Ethan joined me, peering out as well.
It looked like two groups were fighting—one on our side of the police station and the other across the street.
"Ethan, isn’t gun possession illegal in Graydon?" I asked.
"It is."
"Then who in Brunel has this many illegal firearms?"
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
"No one that I know of," Ethan replied grimly.
"So they’re outsiders."
Beyond the skirmish, I caught a glimpse of something even stranger—a line of people, tied together with ropes, being led somewhere like prisoners from some bygone era.
"What the hell is that?" I muttered.
The scene was surreal, like something straight out of a historical reenactment.
Ethan stood up, pulling his revolver from its holster and checking the cylinder. He moved toward the back door, speaking as he went.
"We need to check if the doors are locked, just in case—"
Bang!
Before he could finish, the police station door burst open.
A man entered, wearing a mask and heavy gear. His khaki jacket, pants, and tie were topped off with a military cap bearing an ornate emblem of the Rubelt Mountains—the symbol of the Graydon royal family.
This man was a soldier of the Graydon Kingdom.
The moment he and Ethan saw each other, both raised their weapons, aiming straight at one another.
This is getting complicated.
Harrison’s going to have a fit, I thought. No one back at Happy House would have any idea we were in this mess.
"Who are you?" the soldier demanded, his voice sharp and authoritative.
"That’s my line," Ethan replied, unflinching.
The soldier’s gaze shifted to the dismembered monster corpses strewn across the floor. His face twisted in disgust.
"What the hell is this?"
His eyes darted between the corpses and us, his expression turning to one of pure contempt. That look sent a chill down my spine.
"Psychopaths," the soldier spat.
It was hard to blame the soldier for his reaction, considering the state of the monster corpses around us. I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“Psychopaths? That’s a bit harsh. Do I really look like one, even in uniform? I’m a respectable police officer, you know.”
Ethan, as calm as ever, even managed a faint smile. The soldier narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Ethan from head to toe. Then his gaze shifted to me, and his eyes widened in recognition.
“Cherry Sinclair?”
He recognized me before Ethan. Predictably, Ethan grumbled.
“This is disappointing. They recognize Cherry first.”
“Well, I am a superstar,” I said with a shrug. “If it bothers you, try being more famous.”
I was teasing, of course. Ethan was already well-known enough, but I had a knack for being more memorable—a provocative figure in the public eye.
“It’s too late for fame now that the world’s ended. Guess I’ll die without achieving my dreams. Comfort me, won’t you, Cherry?”
“How tragic. I’ll make sure your gravestone reads, ‘Here lies Ethan, who only wanted to be famous.’”
As we exchanged playful banter, I kept my eyes on the soldier. Unlike Ethan, who held a revolver, the soldier was armed with an assault rifle. Despite this, I remained relaxed—because I trusted Ethan.
The soldier, who had been silently watching us, suddenly looked between Ethan and me in surprise. “Cherry Sinclair and the blonde cop in Brunel... Are you Ethan Lancaster?”
“What do you know? Did you hear that, Cherry? We’re a set now.”
Ethan’s voice carried a mix of amusement and annoyance, though he kept his revolver trained on the soldier.
It must have been because of the reports from before the collapse, I thought.
The soldier’s tense demeanor softened slightly, his tone shifting to one of persuasion. “Sir Lancaster, lower your weapon. I’m not your enemy.”
“What kind of bullshit is that? If you want me to believe you, put your gun down first.”
“For safety’s sake, I can’t do that. But trust me, I came here with my unit to find you.”
The Graydon Kingdom’s military came to Brunel... to find Ethan?
I wracked my brain for anything in the original story that might explain this. Of course, the original plot had already gone so far off the rails that it was almost irrelevant, but still...
Ah, right.
In the novel, Ethan never left the capital, Benton. But there had been mentions of Crown Prince Theodore going to great lengths to keep Ethan close, trusting him implicitly. Ethan’s resourcefulness made him invaluable—so much so that Theodore had wanted to recruit him as an ally.
If Theodore trusted Ethan that much, it wasn’t entirely surprising he’d send someone to find him.
Ethan, however, wasn’t buying it. He tilted his head and asked sharply, “Are you really with the Kingdom’s military? That rifle you’re holding isn’t standard-issue for our forces.”
Huh?
I glanced at the rifle pointed at us, but it wasn’t like I could tell whether it was military-issue or not. Ethan’s words, however, hit a nerve—the soldier’s face tightened in a way that gave him away.
Wait, seriously?
If this guy wasn’t from the Kingdom’s military, then it wasn’t Theodore sending someone to find Ethan. Who the hell was impersonating the military just to track him down?
“Damn it,” the soldier muttered. “Apologies, Sir Lancaster. I was ordered to bring you back, even by force.”
Wait, what? Kidnap Ethan?
Could it be that someone else knew Ethan had antibodies for the virus?
Before I could fully process this, the soldier abruptly fired at a nearby cabinet, seemingly to divert Ethan’s attention.
But Ethan was already moving. In one fluid motion, he kicked off the desk, leapt into the air, and landed behind the soldier.
Click.
The unmistakable sound of a revolver being cocked echoed as Ethan pressed the muzzle against the back of the soldier’s head.
Holy shit.
I clapped silently, thoroughly impressed.
“Who’s your ‘boss’?” Ethan asked, his voice low and mocking as he emphasized the word.