Chapter 735

Crunch, crunch...

Cromwell devoured the Elder's body ravenously.

Mindlessly, like a starved beast, she focused solely on consuming the flesh of what had once been alive, oblivious to everything around her.

The survivors, frozen around the wide-open main gate, began to cautiously step back.

"Quietly... move carefully..."

"Don't make any noise, back away slowly...!"

Inside the main entrance of the cathedral, there was another large inner door dividing the interior.

If they could retreat behind this door and establish a new defensive line, there was still hope for the survivors.

With this plan in mind, the survivors near the main entrance carefully moved back.

That was until one of them accidentally knocked over a nearby candlestick.

Crash-!

The fallen candlestick hit the floor with a resounding noise.

The survivors, who had been cautiously retreating, froze in place.

Cromwell, having already devoured the Elder's upper body, lifted her head and looked in the direction of the fallen candlestick.

Her bloodstained mouth slowly opened.

"...Huh?"

She spoke.

"Here, is...? I, am..."

Relief and astonishment flashed across the faces of the survivors.

"Commander Cromwell?!"

"Have you regained your senses? It's us, your legion members...!"

"Ah..."

A surprised Cromwell covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh...! My loyal legion members...?"

"Yes! You remember! It's us...!"

"But why didn't you save me when I died?!"

Moving with inhuman speed, Cromwell lunged forward and tore the throats of the two survivors at the front.

Splurt...!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

In the face of this horrific slaughter, the remaining survivors who had momentarily felt relief stiffened in terror.

Crunch, crunch...

Cromwell continued to chew on the heads of the dead survivors and muttered in confusion.

"Huh? I... died? Was I dead?"

"Y-yes...?"

"It feels like my brain was eaten... My whole body hurts... Especially my head, it itches constantly, driving me crazy..."

Cromwell raised her claws to scratch inside her skull but could only scratch the surface because her antlers covered the top of her head.

After a while of struggling to reach her brain, Cromwell gave up. She looked at the survivors with vacant eyes.

"Give."

"W-what?"

"Give it to me."

"What do you want...?"

"Give me everything in your brains, what else would I be asking for, you meatbags!"

Cromwell lunged forward, grabbing the next victim's head and ripping it apart.

As she tore and devoured the nearby survivors one by one, she roared.

"Making sentences is so hard, I'm not even that smart, so why does everyone call me the future of the legion? I'm sorry for not getting perfect scores, I'll do better, so..."

The remaining survivors had lost the will to resist.

They fled in terror, running away one by one.

"I don't want to kill, but I have to because it's more important than being hungry, it's fitting to be a commander, I told you."

"Run, run away...!"

"But why is there a hole in my insides? Why do I keep feeling hungry even after eating? It's driving me crazy, why won't you help...? Please go inside and patch the hole. Hurry."

Cromwell continued to babble incoherently as she devoured the fleeing survivors one by one.

"Give me meat, Dad. I'm the youngest and need to grow the biggest, so give me lots. I'll grow up strong and lead everyone."

"Aaaah! Aaaahhhh!"

"But why don't you taste good? That's strange? Why don't you taste good? Why don't you taste good? Why don't you taste good? Why don't you taste good?!"

Then Cromwell's twisted face showed a childlike smile.

"Hehe, never mind. It tastes good. Daddy's dinner is always the best."

Vwooom!

Suddenly, a brilliant green light emanated from the massive antlers atop Cromwell's head.

Groaa...

Graaa...

The green light seemed to signal the waiting zombie monsters outside the cathedral, causing them to drool and rush inside through the main entrance.

"It itches, it itches, it itches, inside my brain, under my skin, behind my eyes, it itches and I can't scratch it, let's eat, eating will make me forget."

With Cromwell's bizarre cries, the zombie monsters formed a green wave and poured into the cathedral.

The defenses were concentrated outside. Now that the monsters were inside the main entrance, the cathedral was effectively doomed.

The remaining survivors tried to close the inner door and continue their stand, but...

"I have a responsibility to lead our legion. Picky eating is bad, so I'll handle all the delicious leftovers, let's open our skulls and have a truthful conversation."

With a simple gesture from Cromwell, the inner door and the survivors trying to close it were torn apart.

Deep inside the cathedral, the remaining survivors, trembling and hugging each other, turned pale.

It was truly over. They would all be eaten by the zombies and become new zombies themselves...

"Don't give up-!"

A roar echoed, followed by a massive burst of flames.

Whoosh!

It was Dearmudin. The human archmage summoned a huge pillar of fire that blocked the open inner door and pushed its immense power towards the main entrance.

Dearmudin's magic was powerful, but in such a confined space, its strength could be a limitation, risking the lives of allies.

But with the survivors outside the inner door already wiped out, Dearmudin cast his spell without hesitation.

Fwoom!

The zombie monsters that had flooded into the cathedral were instantly incinerated. Maintaining the immense pillar of fire, Dearmudin shouted.

"There's a teleport gate prepared over there! Let's escape together, hurry!"

Deep inside the cathedral, the human side had built a teleport gate.

In this worst-case scenario, Dearmudin urged the survivors to escape to Crossroad.

But right after,

Thunk-!

The enormous pillar of fire wavered as a massive figure burst through its center.

It was Cromwell.

Even against the overwhelming flames of Dearmudin, she charged straight at him.

"Vow! I swear to serve my legion members with undivided loyalty in all seasons, in heat or cold!"

Cromwell's arms and hands swelled and split open in the next instant.

Her fingers, swollen and split through hyper-growth, extended, and her claws stretched out in all directions.

Her transformed arms, resembling grotesque maces mixed with bones and flesh, swung towards Dearmudin.

Crash!

Her arm, which smashed through one side of the cathedral wall, reached Dearmudin in an instant.

'What...'

Dearmudin was too shocked to react to the sudden movement.

Splurt-!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Dearmudin widened his eyes, seeing the splattered blood and torn limbs flying in front of him.

"...!"

It wasn't his own. It was from another demon survivor who had jumped in and pushed Dearmudin out of the way, taking the blow instead.

"Stop her!"

"Restrain Commander Cromwell!"

"Everyone, attack-!"

While the elder demons took turns attacking Cromwell to buy time,

"Grandfather, this way!"

"Huh...?"

"We can't hold out for long! Hurry to the gate!"

The young survivors forcibly lifted Dearmudin and ran towards the gate installation site deep inside the cathedral.

Meanwhile, Cromwell, letting out a terrifying roar, continued to slaughter the remaining survivors. The zombies that had been scorched were now trickling back into the cathedral.

"Sacrifice!"

"Sacrifice!"

"Sacrifice...!"

The surviving demons, sacrificing themselves to boost the combat power of others, mounted their final resistance.

One by one, the oldest survivors offered themselves as sacrifices, enhancing the strength of the next demon who then fought the zombies until they were devoured.

"Aaaaah! Aaaaahhhh!"

Realizing they couldn't hold off Cromwell any longer, Dearmudin gritted his teeth and headed for the teleport gate.

Vwooom!

Dearmudin activated the teleport gate and turned back.

"Go, quickly! I'll keep the gate open as long as I can, everyone...!"

"No."

But the children who had followed Dearmudin shook their heads bitterly.

"We demons are drifters from another dimension."

"We don't have an inherent 'anchor' of existence. We can't use this world's teleport magic."

"...!"

"Go, Grandfather."

The final resistance of the survivors was collapsing.

The cathedral was now filled with zombie monsters tearing apart and devouring the remaining demons. Blood, screams, and cries filled the narrow space.

Turning their backs on this scene, the children nodded heavily.

"Thank you for the brief time."

"..."

"From now on, it's our legion's matter."

The faces of the once-naive children had turned into those of warriors.

Recognizing their resolve, Dearmudin bit his lip and managed to utter a word.

"Good luck."

The children smiled.

"Take all our luck with you."

As Dearmudin threw himself into the teleport gate, he couldn't understand.

They were supposed to be enemies by nature.

Yet, after just a few days of alliance and conversation, why did he feel such pity?

Why...

Flash-!

Dearmudin vanished through the gate, and the children turned back.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

Cromwell had already approached.

She had a piece of someone's arm dangling from her mouth like a lollipop.

"Your Excellency."

Preparing for their final stand, the last remaining children spoke.

"We will not become your sacrifices."

"Huh? Oh, sacrifice?"

Spitting out the arm with a "Ptooey!", Cromwell scratched her teeth with her fingers and tilted her head.

"What was that again?"

And in the next moment,

Cromwell, opening her mouth as wide as her upper body, charged at the last remaining survivors like a bolt of lightning.

***

This place, the abandoned cathedral, functioned as a sacrificial altar on its own.

The demonic consumption that took place here was a ritual in itself, transferring power to the predator.

"Watch over me, Daddy."

As a result, Cromwell, who had devoured all her surviving kin,

"Just as you taught me..."

Though incomplete and maddened,

"I will devour this world for our legion."

She regained a sliver of sanity.

"I will eat it all."

Muttering to herself while gnawing on her fingers, Cromwell looked up with a blank gaze.

"I'm hungry."

Staggering, she stood up and exited the cathedral.

"I need to eat more."

Her antlers, sprawling like branches, scattered a radiant green light...

And following that ominous glow, the zombie monsters, now forming a chaotic and violent horde, trailed after her.

Not just from the cathedral, but from the entirety of Zone 10, the zombie monsters followed her in a long, swirling vortex.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

An eclectic, zombified monster legion.

They all began their march, towards the living.

To devour everything alive.