Chapter 82 – Dead men do tell tales

Splat went the zombie, as Fayette’s broom smashed into its head. Splat it went again, when the damage was relayed further and the monster collapsed into blood. Splat went the blood as it sprayed onto the ground, missing the [Maid] with unnatural precision.

I can’t believe even something like this eventually starts to feel mundane, Fayette thought as she observed the circular patch of not-bloody ground around her. It was her ninth zombie of the night and she was only getting started, but already it was getting tedious. But… such things did have their rewards.

[Keep up the good work!]

[Level up: You have reached Maid level 23! Congratulations!]

[1 Skill point gained!]

[Progress towards next level: 0%]

“Finally,” Fayette muttered under her breath, somewhat relieved. Her work at the orphanage had given rather good experience, but the final 5% had been missing, and she had been waiting with each zombie smash if it was finally time to get some levelling done.

She had a plan after all.

[Skill up: Cutlery Control has reached rank 2!]

One point spent, one point still in reserve, and her immediate concerns were done. She edged out of the narrow alleyway into an even narrower one and turned her eye up. A child jumped right over her—soon followed by many more.

“Everything good up there?” Fayette asked quietly, knowing her words were being relayed further. A [Lady’s] skills had quite a few benefits for stealthy communication.

The reply came immediately, spoken right by her ear. “A few of the kids seem nervous, but most are behaving well. Where are you?”

Fayette kept her eyes up and saw a flutter of a longer skirt pass above.

“Right under you.”

After waiting two seconds, she finally saw Marie look down from the rooftop, and waved her a hello. “Any idea on where I should head out next?”

“Oliva’s given the all-clear for now. A somewhat larger horde was headed to the north, so we’re adjusting our route just a bit south,” Marie said, this time speaking without skill enhancement.

Fayette nodded and started stepping out of the alleyway, toward the opening which led to a bigger street. “Right then—I guess I’ll do some investigating for a bit.”

Escorting a group of civilians and children through monster-infested territory was a challenging thing, but the group had approached the task with meticulous precision. Marie was staying near the kids, guiding them on the rooftops and keeping a close eye that nothing unexpected could get them, while Mireille kept a watch from a bit further, looking for any errant foes.

The [Maid] naturally had the dirty work for herself. Who else? She was the only one actually sticking to the ground level and was making short work of anything which needed dealing with. But Fayette also had a second task. It was not just walking dead and monsters down there.

They had come into the city for answers, and for questions. Fayette eyed the boarded-up windows lining the abandoned canal front housing, and spotted a few shaded figures ducking out of sight. Yes, with the immediate perimeter secure for the moment and the kids nearby, she finally had the time to make some house calls.

She chose one house where the windows were not boarded up, and started making her stealthy way forward.

—

Theo watched the sight with incredulity. Children—at least two dozen of them—were just marchingon the rooftops, with white masks on their faces, as if they were headed on an ordinary school outing. He pushed the blinds more to the side and eyed the women leading them. Some who peered around with fear and doubt, and others who corralled them on with a relaxed ease.

Those two have to be professionals. Have the officials finally come? Are we being saved? He could scarcely believe it. If he followed, would he finally find safety and food too? His fingers itched to jump through but his legs quivered at the thought of following anything through those accursed streets again. Should I try to leave?

“Interesting show, is it?” A voice suddenly asked, coming from directly behind him.

“Wha—”

Theo spun around on the spot and froze. A woman, no, a [Maid] was standing right behind him, an eerie mask on her face. And a blood-smeared broom in her arms. She quirked an eyebrow.

“Hey, I asked you a question.”

Theo blinked. “Umm… sorry, what was the question again?”

The [Maid] sighed and leaned onto her broom. “Just… what are you up to here?”

“Hiding, what else?” Theo carefully kept his hands to his sides, wary of this woman who seemed to radiate danger, even if her body was relaxed as one could be. He pointed out the window. “I just want to know what’s going on. Are you with them?”

The [Maid] pushed herself up to a straighter posture and furrowed a brow. “I’m asking the questions here, okay? But… help is arriving. Slowly. Some big-time [Mage] is supposed to do something in a few days.”

Ah, she is here to help. Theo relaxed and let out a tense breathe. Then he suddenly stood straighter and looked out of the window again. “[Mages], you say?”

“Yes. Have you seen anything odd here? I’m investigating”

“Not here… but last night, I was closer to the island’s edge, and some folk in robes were drawing symbols into the ground. Had some serious looking guards with ‘em.”

He looked back and saw that the [Maid] was nodding. “That would be the other hunter parties who were sent out, I think…” She said, “They didn’t tell you help had arrived?”

Theo shook his head. “I wasn’t sure who they were, and they moved out very fast. I didn’t have time to go near.”

The [Maid’s] eyes stayed on him, and her hands stayed on her broom. “That might be for the better… because you… Haven’t you heard that [Infected] classes are a nasty thing—a thing one shouldn’t mess around with?”

The ragged man froze as sweat suddenly beaded on his forehead. She knows?

“B—It’s only… I haven’t—!”

“Yeah yeah, I get it,” The [Maid] said, waving her broom at him. “Survival and all that. I see that patch of rash on your arm. A bit of illness can cause quite the spook. But… you aren’t only level 1, are you?”

Theo gulped but kept his gaze steady. “It was a mistake. The illness spread so fast I panicked and took this class, but I got a disease resist skill on level 1, I didn’t need any more—I swear. It was enough to help me fight this off…”

The black-clad woman did not waver. Her eyes stayed on him, and stayed cold. Not that they had ever been warm. “But you did level more.”

“As I said—it was a mistake. Needed to get food. Scavenged an abandoned building. Bumped into a family who were looting the same place. I talked with them a bit, shared information. After we parted… I got the notification. Good job spreading the love or some such. It took an hour.”

The [Maid] frowned and rubbed her forehead. “You didn’t use any skills on them? I guess that is… gah! I don’t know how to deal with this type of thing! Are you even telling the truth? Annoying!”

She took a step closer and brought the broom nearer, and Theo stared at the marks at its end. And the blood encrusted there—too thickly set to wipe off easy. He shivered.

“Listen up here! I don’t know if you’re telling the truth or lying or what should be done or what is legal or anything! Just… Don’t. Make. Trouble. It’s only a few days more. Someone else can figure this one out.”

Theo nodded rapidly. “I promise.”

The [Maid] eyed him, and slowly lowered her broom. Then she looked out the window. “Curses! They’re that far away already? Umm… where did I have it…?”

She dug a hand into her apron and searched through it madly until she finally came up with a notebook in hand. The broom got tucked in her armpit and suddenly she was making rapid notes to the paper with a pen almost flying with energy.

“[Mages] drawing things… have you seen anything else suspicious?”

Theo blinked. “Not… really? I’ve mostly been hiding away. Why, with all the danger about, I—”

“Short answers! Don’t ramble! Do you know where this plague thing started?”

“Near the factory—but not there exactly. I was at a plaza nearby—first monsters came from the east.”

“Good… good…” the [Maid] muttered, jotting the words down, then raised her head up from the paper. “Anything else to add?”

Theo blinked his eyes slowly. “…no?”

The notebook slapped shut and was tucked back into the apron in half a second, then the broom was back in hand in the second half-second. The [Maid] didn’t pause to say any more words—in the next instant, she jumped right out the window on Theo’s right, landed gracefully on the ground outside and started sprinting across the street.

Theo followed her figure with his eyes until it vanished into an alleyway, then collapsed to his knees, finally letting out all the panicked breaths he had been holding in. I didn’t know [Maid] were that scary!

—

Fayette moved on. She smushed a few zombies that wandered too close, interrogated some frightened civilians who were hiding out in an abandoned store, and even spotted one of the [Mage] groups shuffling through town under a cloaking spell of some sort. All the while keeping a steady eye on the procession of children marching on the rooftops of course.

A [Maid] had to know how to multitask.

Even so, when she found her second [Infected] quarry of the day, Fayette was starting to feel irritated. She had seen many suspicious figures on the streets whom she had wanted to question, but only rarely was the army of orphans positioned properly for her to do so.

So it was, that as she tapped a raggedy man on the back of his neck with a broom, she felt a bit relieved. Finally, a suspicious figure who was doing the proper thing and skulking in narrow alleyways, not just hiding in a bothersome-to-enter house.

“Excuse me mister, I have some questions for you,” Fayette said as the man spun around, gripping a rusty knife in his hand. Fayette gave the dull blade a tap with her broom. “Easy there, no sudden moves if you please.”

He took a step back but stumbled on broken pavement, then fell to his back right in a puddle of muddy water. Fayette used just a hint of water magic to make sure it all splashed down on him, not her.

“Who are you!?” He shouted while stumbling back to his feet, until Fayette blocked his path back up with a broom over his head.

“Just a concerned party making some enquiries,” she answered, in a manner she imagined a cool detective might. She gestured at the man with her broom as if it was a pipe. “Lots of trouble about here these days—might you have any clue as to the cause?”

“I dunno nothing!” He shouted, backing away from her on all fours.

Fayette quirked an eyebrow. “I’m not stupid, you know. That implies that you do know something, doesn’t it? Let me be more blunt. I see your class. You’ve probably been out and about more than most, perhaps even directly involved. Do you know where this epidemic came from? The factories?”

He stayed silent, staring up at her, until he finally shook his head slowly. “Wasn’t the factories—no. I used to work there. We had a sickness, yes. Workers dismissed for a bit. But we came back after we got better, and the sickness came after. Not from the factory—from the east.”

Again, the eastern parts mentioned, Fayette thought, nodding. “Do you know anything more?”

“No—I’m not from round there. I was working when things suddenly changed. My illness flared up again too.”

Fayette bit her lip as she pondered the issue. Again this thing with the disease having a sudden shift all at once… So many have mentioned that. Is some one person really holding so much influence over it?

“W-will, you let me go?” The man asked, troubled by Fayette’s continued silence.

The [Maid] eyed him, or to be more precise, something unseen right above him. A shift in the ambient mana. “I would have, you know. I let that other guy go—even if I don’t know if I should’ve. But you… really shouldn’t have tried to use whatever skill you’re using right now.”

His eyes opened wide and he began to flinch up, and Fayette saw the tendril of plague mana emanating from him jitter forward more—but she was faster.

She jumped back five steps before he could get back up, well out of range of the tendril, then threw a fork right above him. A bucket set on the rooftop tipped over, and a slime of considerable acidity fell right on his head, covering it and sticking on tight—muting all screams.

Fayette watched the struggling form gradually grow quiet. It was a quirk of the body that the legs could stutter quite a bit even with the head half-dissolved to slough. She waited a bit after, then sighed. No experience notification for him… I was hoping that the style points on that kill would be counted.

She left the slime to feast on a deserved bounty and took the moment to jot down his words to her notebook, right next to the other testimonials she had gotten. Many things in them were contradictory, but some elements did remain the same. Chiefly the first monsters coming from the east, and that the change in the sickness was very sudden.

I probably need to investigate that district more thoroughly after… but first—

She threw another fork up at the bucket, and caught it in her hands as it fell, then collected up her slime—now satiated from a good meal. Then she stepped out the alley and looked west, at the trail of children hopping over the last few rooftop crossings before their destination.

Fayette moved to follow. Let’s get this thing over with.

—

[Excellent job chaperoning the children!]

[Progress to next level: 15%]

“Ooh, I got some decent experience for this one.”

“Please don’t brag like that, Fay, I’m still behind by a lot,” Mireille said, pushing another of the children through the abandoned warehouse’s secret tunnel.

“But you should start catching up now—right?” Fayette asked. “I remember how I felt after my class upgrade…”

“Shut it!” Mireille said, throwing one of the used-up disease-resist cloths at Fayette. “Don’t talk like some old veteran! You haven’t had the class for that long.”

Fayette dodged the cloth and took cover behind one of the room’s wooden support pillars. “A lot has happened in that time, it feels a lot longer, okay?”

They had managed to make it back in good time, and after a brief chat with the sentry posted at the warehouse, had started corralling the children through to safety. But Fayette itched to head back out. Mirielle threw another handkerchief at her, and this time an attached string made it swing right around the wooden pillar, hitting Fayette in the face.

Marie poked her head out of the tunnel, took one look at the two, and sighed. “Hey, please no fighting right now, the [Doctor] back there is checking on the kids, but we’re still missing one.”

Fayette grimaced and ripped the handkerchief off her face, then looked to her side. “That would be… you, Hailey. What are you doing?”

Indeed, one of the children was still in the room. Right next to Fayette in fact, taking cover behind another of the supports. He turned his head to the left and gave the [Maid] a serious nod. “I’m practicing for when I become a [Maid] too.”

“Trying to mimic me, are you?” Fayette asked while hiding her smile. She stepped to the center of the room and pointed at the dust covering all the room’s surfaces. “First you should focus on the basics: sweeping dust, mopping floors and all that. Taking cover from projectiles is a more advanced technique for better-trained [Maids].”

Hailey’s eyes widened, and the orphan bolted to stand right in front of Fayette. “I’m sorry for my failure, miss!”

Fayette eyed him and gave a slow nod. “At least you show spirit… now—do you know what you need to do next?”

He stared up at her, thought for a moment, then spoke hesitantly. “Should I… be sweeping dust?”

“No!” Fayette shouted, with a pointed gesture to the tunnel entrance and Marie, who was waiting there, an amused smile on her face. “The [Lady] gave an order, so you follow! Off to the tunnel you go! Move move move!”

No further encouragement needed, the boy sprinted into the gloomy corridor with a fury, leaving Marie catching up behind. He definitely has the right spirit for the job…

“Are you serious about training him up?” Mireille asked, stepping to Fayette’s side.

Fayette shrugged. “Maybe? Who knows? No harm in giving an enthusiastic kid something to do.”

“Well, I suppose that is true. I wonder if any of them are interested in seam work…” Mireille said, stepping toward the tunnel and giving the camouflaged hunter by its side a nod. Reaching it, she turned back to her friend. “Are you coming, Fay?”

“Actually… I was wondering if I might stick around and do some solo exploration for a bit. I got a lot of leads to explore, and I want to see what’s going on in the eastern district.”

Mireille took a step back from the tunnel entryway. “Are you sure you don’t need me to come with?”

“Well… I think I can move better alone. Easier to run away from anything truly bad if you only have to worry about yourself.”

The [Seamstress] nodded. “I don’t doubt you’ll manage fine, to be honest. Just promise to not do anything risky while alone. Don’t stick around until night—don’t know how these monsters get then.”

Fayette answered her nod. “I promise. Good luck with getting the children settled in there!”

Mireille snorted. “You know, I think I’ll try and offload that job to Marie… she was quite amusing in how she handled them.”

“Oh, I know all right. It was quite the sight! see you soon.”

With that, she stepped out the door and sprinted out into the alleyways outside. The day’s rounds of interrogations were only beginning.

—

Fayette tapped the housewife on the shoulder with a broom and kept up her best civil smile when the woman spun around in fright, clutching a knife.

“Who are you? H-how did you get here? All the doors are closed!”

“Hey—please don’t be frightened. I just want to ask some questions. Put that nasty thing down. Hey, why are you backing away?”

—

Fayette poked the [Merchant] in the nape of his neck with her broom, and the man jumped a solid foot straight up.

And fell to the ground on his face. Fayette grimaced.

“Ouch, that looked like it hurt. Are you okay? I have some questions.”

The man spun around, eyes wild. “Who are you? How did you get here?”

Fayette rolled her eyes. “This is starting to get repetitive…”

—

Fayette stood in front of a building and tried to psyche herself up. She smacked her cheeks and made a fist, using one more [Eavesdrop] to make sure there were indeed humans inside. Right, this time, I’ll make sure to not frighten anyone! No more surprising people from behind!

She stepped forward and banged her fist on the door.

“Open up! I need answers! Stop hiding! Wait, why are you running away? I can heaaaaaryouuuuu. There’s no escape! I’m breaking down this door!”

—

Fayette pried open the floorboard, and smiled into the gap at the face of a stunned woman staring at her. “Hello, my name is Fayette, I came for a talk.”

—

Finally, a good while later and a good few dead zombies later, Fayette sighed as she stood on a rooftop, surveying the scene. The scene of the beginning. A district that had once been a sort of slums, but now had fallen into true disrepair.

It had taken her a few hours of searching and questioning, but she had finally managed to narrow down the origin point of the epidemic to a degree that she felt rather certain on. Especially when she saw what was there. But that was also part of the issue.

She looked over streets filled with an order of magnitude more devastation than elsewhere in the city. Collapsed walls, dug up brick, houses that seemed to have just been… knocked over. Zombies—weaker types and stronger ones too, packed tightly in seemingly every alleyway.

And the dead. So many dead, many with flowers laid out in memoriam over them. Fayette frowned. How am I supposed to get answers about what happened out here, when everyone seems to be dead?

Not even her [Maidsense] or [Eavesdrop] revealed any traces of living, breathing people—just the endless eerie groans of their monsterified remains. She kicked her feet over the rooftops edge aimlessly and took a look at setting sun.

Only an hour more before I have to start heading back… Was this all a waste after all? She thought for a moment, then shook her head. Definitely not—she had gotten decent experience after all. For every person she managed to interview, she had been forced to clear out three zombies, resulting in a decent bit of progress.

And she had also maybe made some progress in becoming more capable of socializing. Why, the last two people she had interrogated hadn’t even tried to run away in fear! It was a stunning amount of progress for just a few hours of work.

But still… Fayette leaned backward, and let her back fall onto the rooftop—the only completely intact one in four blocks. She had dusted her spot at the ledge mostly clean, so she was able to lounge without worry. A [Maid] always had to be on guard for danger, dirt or anything else.

And that preparedness let her catch the subtle change. A slight shift in the magical auras engulfing the rooftop, a slight disturbance to the dust in the air and on surfaces. Only the slightest shift, but for a [Maid] her level, it was clear as footsteps approaching.

Which was precisely what it was.

Fayette got up warily and turned around, then saw a woman. Just a kindly middle-aged woman, standing right on the other side of the rooftop. Smiling at her, like a caring adult would smile at a child. She was holding a bouquet of flowers in her hands and nodded at Fayette relaxedly.

“Evening, a most pleasant day for a stroll, isn’t it?” The woman said, taking a step closer. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to say.

Fayette felt herself instinctively relax et her easy-going bearing. Something about the woman was just so calming, like the air in a flowery meadow. A pleasant diversion from the scents of rotting flesh.

Fayette smiled at her and took a step closer too. What had the woman said? Fine day for a stroll or something of the sort? Fayette looked at the sky above her and breathed in the fresh air. “You couldn’t speak truer.”

The woman took another step closer and measured Fayette with wise eyes. “What would someone of your sort be doing out here? These are troubled times.”

Fayette blinked twice at her, trying to process the words. Right—why was she here? Where was she? She was… “I’m… looking for someone. The person behind everything that’s happened here. I think?”

What hadhappened here? It suddenly felt so very distant to her, as if only this rooftop and the woman standing opposite her existed. She blinked her eyes again, feeling them grow even foggier.

The woman nodded at her answer and kept walking forward at a slow pace. “Did somebody send you? Is the government searching?”

“No… they… they don’t need to search. I came on my own.”

“Just you?”

“Just me.”

The old woman smiled, then reached to her bouquet and picked out a brilliantly red rose that seemed to be at the height of its bloom. She drew it up like a precious jewel, then held it out for Fayette.

“Would you care for a flower? Fine ladies like you deserve them most of all.”

Fayette stared in front of her, and almost wobbled on her feet, then managed to barely stay standing. She blinked her eyes again. Why am I feeling so sluggish?

The flower in front of her seemed so inviting, so friendly, and she started to reach out for it, slowly.

But something felt wrong.

Her hand paused midway, and Fayette frowned, trying to look at the woman’s face. She had been trying to do that all day—remember what people’s faces looked like. It had been shocking to find that her memory of such had been slipping with bandits, so she had taken special note to ensure it wouldn’t repeat.

But no matter how hard she squinted, she just couldn’t make out what the woman’s face looked like. Fayette only saw a hazy outline, and a vague impression of a kindly old woman. Not an actual face, but an impression like one of every caretaker she had ever had layered all on top of each other.

She took a step back and brought her hand back. She blinked again. Why can’t I…? It’s always been the memories before, not the moment…

“Miss… who are you?”

The woman’s voice grew tighter and she advanced a step. “You’ll take my flower, won’t you?”

Fayette’s head ached. Something was wrong. Why was she here in the first place? Where was she? She shook her head, then finally sensed something—a second set of eyes. Or one eye, or none, something of the sort. A distinct entity in her mind.

She reached out, and felt at her slime’s senses, coming from a bucket sitting just a few feet away from her. The slime was watching the scene too—even if it didn’t know what it was watching.

But Fayette finally saw. The woman’s true features.

A rotting, bulging figure, with twisted imitations of flowers growing straight out the skin, with leaves growing out from under nails, and with dark, black eyes that shone with no light at all. Fayette’s senses started to feel clearer, though her mind was still fuzzed.

But she finally managed to reach for more. For skill and magic.

[Maidsense] and magic, she reached for both, trying to sense what was standing in front of her.

It was like her face hitting a brick wall from a run. Her sense of mana told her of a vile nuclei of diseased mana, spinning in an enclosing vortex all around her, centered on the rose. Her skill told her of something indescribably vile and large, almost as large as the three important men had been, like the festering corpse of a whale compared to her tiny body.

Her eyes opened wide open, and she saw her foe at last. She sensed the difference in levels.

The rotted thing pretending to be a kindly woman noticed too and jolted. “You—”

Fayette did not wait. She leaped back, caught hold of her bucket, and jumped right off the ledge. Oh, hells no!

She landed on her feet on a street lined with corpses, and finally really took note of the flowers laid over each and every corpse—she had seen them earlier too, all over town. Especially where the diseased mana was thickest. And Fayette knew she had her culprit.

But first she would have to escape.

A thud announced a foe landing behind her. “It’s rude to leave a woman hanging like that.”

Fayette looked back warily, but kept backing away. She eyed the woman’s form, and noted that the landing seemed to have hurt her. “You don’t seem too fast. I think I’ll be taking my leave.”

The woman smiled, revealing rotted teeth. “I’m not the one that does the chasing.”

And she threw the rose at Fayette.

Fayette threw a fork right back, and hit the rose midair, skewering it to the ground. She almost breathed a sigh of relief. But the rose had been only the diversion. Suddenly, she heard roars from all around her. Shifting debris and creaking boards. Zombies started piling out from every direction.

She already used a skill on me? What?

But though her eyes roamed the street for a moment more, Fayette didn’t stop to think it through. She knew this wasn’t quite the time for it. With no further words, she spotted the one gap in the amassing mob, made a dash for it, and broke through.

But even at the next intersection, foes were coming from all directions. Ghouls, zombies, and some other things too—and she aimed for the weakest gap in the formation. Her eyes narrowed. Broom! Acid mop form activate!

She dipped her broom into her bucket, then discarded the metallic contained to the ground and kept running forward. Except a slime was now on the bristles of her broom, attached as securely as a [Cleaning Slime] could be.

Fayette dashed forward and swiped with her newly-forged weapon, and spared no strength. She slathered the slime thick onto the monsters, and as they started collapsing, jumped right over, not heeding the damage the slimey corpses did to her clothes.

The [Maid] leaped into a narrow alleyway, spun a circle and lathered a thick layer of acid behind her, then kept running. She heard the zombies and ghouls pile on each other as they all tried to squeeze into the narrow alley at once.

She kept running, dodging two more packs and breaking through one, and then finally managed to get up to the rooftops. Fayette stopped for only a second to take a look behind her, saw the amassing zombies agitated by the coming night and the chase, and decided to keep moving.

But as Fayette ran the remaining distance to the secret tunnel, gradually getting away from the horde and free from their senses, when the fire pumping in her veins cooled, she didn’t shiver in fear of what she had seen, nor did she feel dismay in the levels she had felt from the foe.

Because she had finally found their foe. There was something concrete to fight—something immediate for her to do. As she shambled into the abandoned warehouse housing the tunnel, Fayette greeted the sentry holding watch with a wide smile.

“Hey, you’re a hunter too, right? I’ve finally found something to hunt!”

A/N Pardon the pause, I had to gather some energy before the final push, so I watched around 30 samurai and horror movies. I think it was worthwhile.

5 chapter left until volume 1 end. Let us push through!

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