Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25 - Volume 2
Chapter 26 - Volume 2
Chapter 27 - Volume 2
Chapter 28 - Volume 2
Chapter 29 - Volume 2
Chapter 30 - Volume 2
Chapter 31 - Volume 2
Chapter 32 - Volume 2
Chapter 33 - Volume 2
Chapter 34 - Volume 2
Chapter 35 - Volume 2
Chapter 36 - Volume 2
Chapter 37 - Volume 2
Chapter 38 - Volume 2
Chapter 39 - Volume 3
Chapter 40 - Volume 3
Chapter 41 - Volume 3
Chapter 42 - Volume 3
Chapter 43 - Volume 3
Chapter 44 - Volume 3
Chapter 45 - Volume 3
Chapter 46 - Volume 3
Chapter 47 - Volume 3
Chapter 48 - Volume 3
Chapter 49 - Volume 3
Chapter 50 - Volume 3
Chapter 51 - Volume 3
Chapter 52 - Volume 4
Chapter 53 - Volume 4
Chapter 54 - Volume 4
Chapter 55 - Volume 4
Chapter 56 - Volume 4
Chapter 57 - Volume 4
Chapter 58 - Volume 4
Chapter 59 - Volume 4
Chapter 60 - Volume 4
Chapter 61 - Volume 4
Chapter 62 - Volume 4
Chapter 63 - Volume 4
Chapter 64 - Volume 4
Chapter 65 - Volume 4
Chapter 66 - Volume 4
Chapter 67 - Volume 4
Chapter 68 - Volume 4
Chapter 69 - Volume 4
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202 - Epilogue
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Categories Genre: Action, All, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Ongoing, Psychological, School Life, Seinen, Supernatural, Tragedy Status: Ongoing Alternative names: 아이작, ______
Total Chapters in book: 206
Estimated words: 651706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3259(@200wpm)___ 2607(@250wpm)___ 2172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 651706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3259(@200wpm)___ 2607(@250wpm)___ 2172(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 206 Page No. 205 Page No. 204 Page No. 203 Page No. 202 Page No. 201 Page No. 200 Page No. 199 Page No. 198 Page No. 197 Page No. 196 Chapter 172
Chapter 172
The Security agents stood in an orderly formation. A sense of familiarity welled up within Isaac, seeing the agents stand motionlessly. All of their faces were new, but every eye Isaac’s met welcomed him.
When Isaac exited the airship into the open, Colins, who had left the airship in advance and now stood at the head of the formation, shouted to the agents.
“Men, attention! Salute!”
All of the combat agents saluted Isaac. Did they no longer need to hide themselves? Their salute wasn’t that of this world’s. It was the salute of the past world’s—their right hand right at the edge of their eyebrow.
Isaac faced the soldiers head on and saluted them back. When Isaac dropped his hand down, Colins shouted.
“At ease!”
A Korean army drill performed in perfect unison. The agents lowered their arms and smiled at Isaac. Their smiles, filled with anticipation and nostalgia, weighed heavily on Isaac’s heart.
There were four groups each consisting of a hundred men. It was the size of a battalion. All these men had joined forces for a single objective, unlike himself. And Isaac now had to stand in their way.
‘I won’t hesitate.’
Isaac regretted losing his sunglasses. He may have been able to dodge the waiting stares if it was still in one piece…
Isaac instead took out a cigarette as the agents sent another look of greeting before dispersing. Isaac blew out the smoke and looked at the three next to him, who watched the agents disperse with stiff expressions.
“… Strange. How did I not know this?”
“This is impossible.”
“We have to contact immedia… No, we need to move.”
“Hahaha. I must apologise for arriving so suddenly without Surveillance’s assistance. But since it’s gotten this far, why don’t you watch until the end?”
Colins commented with a smile, but it was closer to a warning. The agents dispersed, but they didn’t go far. They scattered about and watched closely, positioning themselves to form a perimeter.
“… How did I not know this?”
Reisha and Rizzly stepped in front of Kunette, who growled at Colins.
“Huhu. Your power has been quite the hassle, even for us, Kunette. That’s why we had to hide it until the very end. I’m sure the Surveillance has realised by now, but it’s too late. Not all non-humans like humans, you see.”
Kunette grit her teeth furiously, when the Three-eyed, Tiger and Wolf walked past them uncaringly. Kunette shouted.
“You guys knew this, right?”
“Would anything have changed if we didn’t?”
“Why?!”
Kunette asked, her eyes welling with tears from anger. The Three-eyed looked back with his third eye.
“I simply prioritise the prosperity and safety of all races. And it was you who rejected our compromise.”
Reisha screamed in retaliation.
“How do you call culling their numbers and strictly controlling their reproduction a compromise!”
“You should be aware how dangerous humans are.”
“Not all humans are possessed by greed!”
“I agree. But humans holding power and authority or those forming society—they are dangerous..”
Reisha couldn’t argue back at the Three-eyed. She grit her teeth and glared, but the Three-eyed coldly turned his head and moved on. The Tiger and Wolf followed behind him, belittling Reisha and Rizzly to their heart’s content.
“Eek! I’m so mad! And I can’t even hit them!”
Reisha stomped her feet about furiously, when Isaac smiled and picked up Kunette.
“Isaac, you know, right? You know what they’re about to do.”
Kunette pleaded to Isaac, looking up to meet his eyes. Isaac sighed and patted her head.
“It’s something only monsters can do.”
“… Are you going to join them?”
“I’m a monster too.”
“Tell me.”
Isaac smiled bitterly and shook his head. There was no need for her to know. What the Independence Army wanted would never happen. Isaac kept his mouth shut despite Kunette’s constant pestering.
“… What’s with the mood? Did something happen?”
Rivelia exited the airship, which had been travelling at top speed to get here. She approached Isaac’s group and realised that something was off. She naturally grabbed for her sword, but Colins intervened.
“Now, now, calm down. As according to the First Contract, I hope you will be here as the successor of Pendleton—not as the Vice-Director of Security—and remain neutral.”
Rivelia’s face paled.
“… How do you know about the First Contract?”
“What is the First Contract?”
Isaac asked, and Rivelia replied, not for a second taking her eyes off Colins.
“The First Contract was a deal struck between the first Pendleton and Grand Council, to remain neutral in all matters regarding humans. Even if it involves the destruction of the Empire.”
“That’s possible?”
Individual ties formed like spider webs, both creating a social structure and entangling human society within it. This phenomenon got worse as you rose up the social ranks. So it shouldn’t be possible for Pendleton to remain silent while the Empire falls. Their vassals would rise up in revolt even if they tried to remain neutral.
“… The Pendletons have abided by the contract thus far. Branch families aside, no members of the main family joined with the nobles of the Empire. There have been few cases, but none of those families survived.”
Isaac spoke back dumbfounded.
“Isn’t it a bit skewed?”
“But the Pendletons have the right to veto the Grand Council’s judgement. And if the Pendletons veto, the Grand Council must abolish their resolution.”
“They have to abolish it, not rethink it?”
Rather than a contract, it was akin to a mutual defence treaty. The Pendletons moved independently from the Empire, but from humanity’s point of view, they could mitigate the extremities of the non-human’s propositions.
Now that Isaac thought about it, it was always the Empire who spilled blood. Did that mean the Pendletons could stop the Queen’s plan? Colins smiled as if he read Isaac’s mind.
“It doesn’t matter if they veto it. This isn’t the Grand Council’s resolution.”
“… Cunning.”
The Pendletons could only veto the decisions of the Grand Council. But the Queen acted without their decision. But since it was a conflict between humans, the Pendletons could not intervene.
Even if they broke the treaty and intervened, Pendletons had to make a choice. Either to accept the Queen or shatter this world into pieces. It was obvious which choice they’d make.
‘I was wondering why they were so confident. So there was that restriction.’
Isaac finally understood why the Pendletons only expressed their displeasure and made no move despite having multiple opportunities to do so. They couldn’t act even if they wanted to.
Unlike humans, non-humans never broke their promises. So this treaty was humanity’s final piece of insurance for survival in the worst case scenario.
“Now, I would like you to give a very brief explanation, since we’ll be entering the county soon. The broadcast is live, so don’t forget your roles and make sure you don’t slip up when you speak. Well, it doesn’t matter if you do. It’ll just needlessly increase the casualties.”
Rivelia, who was still confused as to what was happening, tried to grab Colins, but Colins quickly pointed to Isaac and ran away.
“What is happening?”
“Uh… Hm…
Just looking at Rivelia’s fiery gaze demanding an explanation, the veins on Isaac’s face almost seemed to materialise out of annoyance.
No crowds welcomed them into the city. Gatherings in itself were madness when the plague spread with such ferocity. In the desolate City Plaza was Mazelan and a few others greeting Isaac.
“Why did you come alone? Where’s the rest?”
Isaac greeted Mazelan with his eyes. Isaac could see Mazelan had been through some rough times with just a quick glimpse.
“They’ll be coming soon. They weren’t in a state that we could have soothed with just a few words.”
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
“You don’t need to know. It’ll just drain you when you find out. So how’s the situation?”
Mazelan was left curious, but he decided to overlook it as it wasn’t the main priority.
“Thankfully, it can’t be transmitted via air. So the plague hasn’t spread as badly as we thought. But we haven’t found the cause or a way to fight it. And it has a 100% mortality rate. You catch it, and you die. There hasn’t been a single patient with a natural immunity to it.”
“What’s the number of infected?”
“There’s about one thousand dead. I don’t know how many people are in the beds at this point.”
“… What?”
Isaac asked back, dumbfounded. Mazelan shook, remembering some very recent horrors before speaking with great disdain.
“That number of dead wasn’t because of the plague. The entire city has turned to anarchy. Looting, murder, mugging, rape, arson, you name it. I’ve learned that humans without their sanity are little more than mere beasts.”
“Then what about the patients?”
“Whether fortune or misfortune, the first infection was in the Milros Family. So the plague was contained to people within the keep, but the main Milros family and the branch families fell victim. So did their vassals and their families. It all turned to chaos because there wasn’t anyone who could quell the chaos. We’ve quarantined the keep as an infected area. We haven’t entered it ourselves as well, only throwing in the necessary goods into the keep.”
“You don’t know anything that’s happening within the keep?”
“We’ve done aerial surveillance using the airships, but there hasn’t been a single person outside. We tried to enter the keep, fearing that everyone was dead, but the Emperor told us to standby until you arrived, which is why we remained so.”
“How much information did you get?”
Mazelan tilted his head.
“Information? There’s information I don’t know?”
“Did the Emperor say anything when he sent you here?”
“I know it’s dangerous here. The Emperor apologised to me personally for sending me to such a dangerous location.”
“Tsk. This is why every person in politics is a snake in disguise.”
Isaac clicked his tongue unsatisfyingly. What the Emperor apologised for wasn’t what Mazelan thought it was for.
“Can you share what you know… Ack, they’re here again.”
Realising that Isaac wasn’t happy, Mazelan tried to ask when a group of people entered the area behind Isaac. Mazelan frowned in disgust and moaned.
Isaac turned to see what the fuss was about. There was Rivelia, Kunette, Rizzly, and Reisha; and around them were the agents of Strategy, surrounding them in a protective circle. There was a separate group which made a commotion as they entered.
“W, welcome. If we join forces, I am confident that Milros County will return to peace… No, I am full of confidence… I mean….”
Isaac smirked at Mazelan, who nervously stuttered while the members of the broadcast wandered about, pestering about needing more footage.
“Just do how you normally do. Why are you so tense?”
Mazelan sighed and whispered to Isaac, closely watching the broadcast workers at the same time.
“Aw, shit, I didn’t think the broadcast could be so powerful. Back home, everyone made a commotion about me being sent to a dangerous area on the outside, but they also loved seeing me on screen.”
Isaac glimpsed at the broadcast workers and their equipment. He then ordered them as arrogantly as he could.
“Good. You have worked well. Now withdraw.”
“What?”
Total Chapters in book: 206
Estimated words: 651706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3259(@200wpm)___ 2607(@250wpm)___ 2172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 651706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3259(@200wpm)___ 2607(@250wpm)___ 2172(@300wpm)
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