"So, you're telling me that there is a council of Viruses out there." (Y/N) asked, interrogating Elena alone. All blame we're directed at her after the incident.
"Yes." Elena simply answered.
"And is this council... similar to you, or do they have their own variations of the Virus." He continued the interrogation. So far, Elena's been honest.
"Each member has their own place, or a domain as they call it. Previous towns governed by the Kingdoms, now controlled by them." Elena explained, wishing she had one too.
"And how do these council members acquire the cities without the interference of the Large Kingdoms." (Y/N) asked, confused. How easy is it to acquire a whole town without the King noticing?
"They lay waste first to the town. Kill everything, destroy everything and hide immediately." Elena started. Seeing firsthand how her adoptive brother took his domain.
"The King or noble will call investigate but will suddenly lose interest once they see that nothing can be salvaged or saved." She continued, garnering the interest of (Y/N).
"The ruler will then sell the land for a low price, seeing all the reconstruction needed." She added. (Y/N) was in disbelief... why didn't he think of that?
"Then the members of the council will buy the land and make it a base." (Y/N) continued, understanding the concept.
"How do they reproduce or make more infected?" (Y/N) asked. Theirs were through the usage of Mold and C-Virus.
"They have no capabilities whatsoever. I don't know how they do it, but my brother rebuilt the town and housed people in it." Elena answered, not needed to continue as (Y/N) already got the concept.
"Brother?" (Y/N) asked, confused as to why Elena would leave the group if she had family in it.
"My adoptive brother, Allen, is one of the members. He has four domains." Elena bluntly answered. She still loved her brother, and revealing too much might make him a target.
"How did they find you? Are the Viruses here casually spawning, or did they make you?" (Y/N) asked. It's impossible that Viruses just spawn.
Back in Yggdrasil, you can't find Viruses spawning around. You have to buy the base material to build one and can only encounter one in the arms of another Guild or player.
"They made me... My brother explained that he was genetically made too. But that's as far as he revealed." Elena answered. (Y/N) narrowed her eyes at Elena, though it seems like she's not hiding something.
"Back to your brother. Why did you leave them, even if you had family back there?" (Y/N) asked, seeing if she'd reveal this without any convincing.
"Cateline..." Elena growled, clenching her fists in anger. She stared at (Y/N), he nodded, waiting for her to elaborate.
"There's this Virus named Cateline. She was always adamant about throwing me out because I was physically weak." Elena answered with tears forming in her eyes. (Y/N) felt bad calling her inferior earlier.
"So that's why you left." (Y/N) said comfortingly, patting Elena's back as she cried her eyes out.
"No. I didn't leave... I... I wanted to prove how strong I was and tried to take over E-Rantel. Its size and protection made it a golden target for us Viruses." She answered, gritting her teeth in anger.
"I tried to do it alone and released some of my Viruses inside, but they got easily eliminated by the adventurers." She continued, crying at the feeble attempts she made.
"But when I found out about that necromancer who was going to overrun the city with Zombies, I gave the Green Flu in hopes of conquering it with him. But he didn't use it..." Elena said, calming down a bit as (Y/N) continued comforting her.
"Anyway, domains are a ranking system of us Viruses. The more domains you have, the higher your rank is... I don't even have one." Elena sniffled. Her eyes were puffy from crying.
'This group looks like my kind of people. But I still have to make sure.' (Y/N) thought, from what Elena told him, they're not all that different.
"What are their goals, Elena? Like the master plan, the ultimate execution of all they've been doing now." (Y/N) asked. He had a plan. He just needed all their wants to match.
"They want to eradicate all life on this world, human or non-human." Elena answered. (Y/N) frowned.
His plan was not that different, but he didn't want eradication. Even if humans are hard to live with, there are still good ones, and having diversity in a place is not that bad.
If he were to eradicate everything, the world would be nothing. It will be his, sure. But there'd be no more people to fight or converse with, and he doubts Ainz also wants total annihilation.
"You're already their enemy." Elena said. (Y/N) was surprised. Are these individuals not thinking? Enemy or not, he's still a strong adversary.
"How come?" (Y/N) said. These people didn't even think twice and already considered him hostile.
"You are not from the lab. The leader doesn't like outsiders, especially those who deem themselves superior." Elena explained. (Y/N) laughed.
"So they won't accept me since I think myself as better, bullshit! That is some weird-ass rule." He laughed, knowing full well that leaders who don't like their members bringing themselves up is a sham.
"Who are the other members, Elena. Don't lie to me now." (Y/N) asked, seeing Elena hesitate slightly.
"I don't know the others besides my brother, Cateline, and the one they call Mercer." Elena said. (Y/N) stared at her closely.
"I haven't been included in the meetings yet, so my information solely depends on what my brother told me." She added. (Y/N) sighed, accepting the answer.
"From your look, I know you don't have the slightest knowledge of what mutations these individuals possess." (Y/N) asked. Elena nodded. There's no lying now... she already revealed most of it.
"Is Mercer the leader?" (Y/N) asked. Out of all the names, Mercer stood out. He sounds like a menacing person.
"No. Mercer is the overseer, as said by my brother. The leader is the person who created us." Elena answered. (Y/N) was shocked.
'Could the leader be one of our previous guild members? But that can't be it. We should've been transported at the same time...' (Y/N) thought before shrugging it off for now.
A knock on the door can be heard. (Y/N) glared at the door but opened it. Marguerite and Jack were outside, holding a cake that said. Welcome, Elena.
"Elena, come here, and let's continue the celebration. We can follow up the interrogation tomorrow." (Y/N) said. Elena smiled, seeing the couple in front of the door. They were like the parents she never got.
The celebration continued back at the barn. (Y/N) announced that Elena had honestly answered his questions without reluctance, easing the crowd who saw her as an enemy.
"I have a gift for you tomorrow, Elena." (Y/N) whispered before he continued entertaining the other guests.
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Elena slept wonderfully on the King-sized bed that was made last night by the fast-working J'avos. It was decorated to her liking, as well as the room given to her.
"Rise and shine, Elena." (Y/N) knocked on the door. He knew powerful Viruses didn't require sleep, but he still did it as a nod to his previous humanly life.
Elena yawned and walked to the door. She opened it to see (Y/N) out there with a wide grin on his face, "Remember? I promised you a gift last night." (Y/N) said, pulling Elena out of her room and escorted her outside.
Elena stood awestruck. Stood outside was her special infected. They all look remotely the same as the ones she had back then, but there was a change.
"They are a better version of those you had. I took some of the Green Flu, replicated it, mutated it, and made your Special Infected powerful in any way." (Y/N) exclaimed with pride.
"Devorah, would you kindly?" (Y/N) asked. Devorah nodded and walked closer to the Boomer. She wore protective clothing from her head down to her feet.
Devorah used a sword and pierced the Boomer's stomach, and it exploded, coating Devorah with Bile... much to her dismay.
"Yeah, the Boomer is a one-time use Virus." She sadly admitted, lowering her head in shame.
"Not anymore!" (Y/N) shouted in an announcer kind of way. Elena was shocked. She stared at (Y/N) and back to the obliterated Boomer.
She saw some chunks of the Boomer move and converge. It became a massive blob that returned to its original look.
"Your Boomer can now infinitely revive itself as long as you keep providing it with Biomass." (Y/N) explained.
"That is so cool! How did you do this?! Even I was having a hard time managing the Green Flu!" Elena squealed in pure joy, jumping up and down at the upgrade.
"That will not be revealed for now." (Y/N) said, "Onto the next upgrade!" He shouted. Devorah left to clean up while Heisenberg took her place.
"The Smoker?" She asked, seeing Heisenberg step closer to the Smoker.
'So that's why smoke came out of it when we killed the failed experiments.' (Y/N) silently chuckled, remembering how his subjects all ran out the first time they eradicated one.
The Smoker used its long tongue to snare a J'avo who volunteered to be the test subject in exchange for a special ticket that could give them a chance to request a dish from Marguerite herself.
"You can do this, Joe!" Max cheered along with John. Joe, who was now snared by the Smoker, gave his buddies a thumbs up.
"Heisenberg! Show us the goods." (Y/N) said with a smile. Heisenberg used his electromagnetism to raise different blades from knives, axes, etc.
"The Smoker now has almost adamantite like tongue durability!" (Y/N) said, nodding at Heisenberg.
The man smiled and used the knife, axe, sword, longsword, broadsword, dagger, and many other weapons, but it did no damage.
"It can now pull the target relatively faster than the initial one." (Y/N) continued. Elena watched in wonder, seeing it pull the J'avo with ease.
"And for our newly acquired skill. This!" (Y/N) shouted, gesturing to the Smoker. It can now willingly spew toxic smoke out its whole body to suffocate the target or infect them.
"Thank you!" Elena shouted, hugging (Y/N), who just smiled and gave Heisenberg a thumbs up. Heisenberg nodded and left.
'But I am not that stupid. All these creatures have a self-destruct command to which I will use if Elena ever tries to betray me.' (Y/N) smiled. He was not stupid as to completely accept someone who belonged to an enemy.
"Where is he going? What about the other Special Infected?" She asked, fearing that the others weren't upgraded.
"Heisenberg can't stay for too long. He has work in the mines and his passion project, the Soldats." (Y/N) explained. The Soldat project is one of Umbrella Corporation's best advancements.
"If you want to see the upgrades of your Special Infected, you have to see it yourself in action sometime." (Y/N) said, smiling at Elena.
"If I may just ask... why did you put me in a higher position even though I'm weaker than almost all of your subjects." Elena asked, really curious about your reasoning.
"You might think that I'm reckless, giving you a position unfit for you... well, I know you have the drive to be a great leader. My subjects are dependable and smart, but they require my orders to act, unlike you." (Y/N) explained.
It's true. It is drilled onto the minds of (Y/N)'s subjects that any action not on impulse must be walked over the Creator first. Unlike Elena, who is independent but still needs guidance.
"And for survivability as well. If I placed you at the lowest rank and left you here. It won't be a surprise if I found you dead once I get back." (Y/N) darkly stated, scaring Elena.
"I'm the leader of this place, not just in position but in power as well, I can control them, and you can't. My commands are absolute." (Y/N) explained, knowing his orders will be followed without question.
"Can't you just command them not to kill me?" Elena chuckled nervously, really not wanting to get massacred in a place she barely knew.
"Let me be blunt, Elena." (Y/N) sighed, "I don't trust you. Yet. If I gave that command, I might as well give my whole Kingdom away." he continued. Elena fully understood but was slightly shocked.
"So, I gave them conditions, they won't touch you as long as you don't go snooping or forcefully pry into information not for you." (Y/N) elaborated further.
"If you want to know something, I highly suggest you ask me and nobody here so I may tell you if you are allowed to have that information." (Y/N) advised. He stared at Elena and saw the effect to her after revealing all this.
"Enough of that." (Y/N) laughed, "It's a bright sunny day, don't want to ruin it." He continued, "Would you kindly give your hand to me?" (Y/N) requested.
Elena slowly stretched her hand out to (Y/N). The Scientist grabbed a syringe and injected it on her wrist. Elena yelped in pain and glared at (Y/N).
"I know where you were looking at, Elena. Don't go asking Marguerite as well. She might be a kind lady, but hell hath no fury than a woman scorned." (Y/N) laughed. Elena doesn't want to be on her bad side.
"What did you inject me with!?" Elena asked, looking at her wrist in pain. It throbbed as she felt something move through her bloodstream.
"The upgrades, this will be more advanced than your Special Infected. I also gave you minimal regeneration." (Y/N) simply said before turning his hand into a blade and cut Elena's hand.
Elena hissed in pain and glared at (Y/N) as he laughed, "Would you not cut or inject me without my consent!?" Elena growled but was soon was captivated as she saw the wound heal quickly.
"You willingly gave me your hand, so the injection was with consent." (Y/N) teased, staring smugly at Elena, who kept her glare.
"So, are you going to give me a tour or at least get me acquainted with your Subjects?" Elena asked. She's seen some pretty diverse individuals and wants to know them better.
"Let's see who is available for a quick talk." (Y/N) smiled. This is free time, not much going on, so why not relax for a bit.
(Y/N) and Elena walked around the Kingdom, leaving her Special Infected outside, unmoving. Can't let them wander around, or there'll be bile everywhere.
"Here. Let me introduce you to the Dimitrescu Sisters." (Y/N) said, pointing to three girls sitting in the shade of a tree.
"Are you sure? They look... rude." Elena said, seeing the outfits of girls that look glamorous as the beautiful jewelry on their necks.
"Don't be shy. Let's go." (Y/N) said, pulling Elena towards the girls, "Hello girls, let me introduce our new member, Elena!" (Y/N) said happily.
The sisters all stood up, eyeing Elena as she recoiled back uncomfortably. The three walked closer and started smelling her. Elena chuckled nervously.
"They're like... animals." She said, seeing the three walk around her, looking her up and down.
"Yea..." (Y/N) muttered. He was embarrassed at how the girl's acted. They're supposed to be an advanced Virus, yet these three smell the newcomer like wild animals.
The Scientist's eyes widened, seeing Daniela open her mouth behind Elena, wanting to take a bite of her shoulder. (Y/N) nervously laughed and pulled Elena closer to him.
"Now, girls. Why don't you introduce yourselves." He said, glaring at Daniela, who didn't see it, still preoccupied looking at the newcomer.
"Hello. I'm Bela Dimitrescu! These are my sisters Cassandra and Daniela." Bela said, closing her book to introduce herself and her sisters.
"Can I see your hand?" Daniela asked. Elena was confused, staring at (Y/N). He tried to tell her not to, but Elena was pressured by the three.
She slowly stretched her hand out for Daniela to inspect. Chuckling at (Y/N), "I guess this runs in the family." She teased, smiling at the Scientist.
Elena suddenly felt a sharp pain in her hand, shouting in surprise. She stared at the girls to see Daniela with her fangs deep in her hand.
"Daniela! Drop it!" (Y/N) ordered. Daniela narrowed her eyes at (Y/N) and slowly opened her mouth. Elena took her hand away, thankful for her new healing abilities.
"Well... I think she's been bitten enough. Good day, girls!" (Y/N) said, leaving the three to play under the tree as he pulled an unwilling Elena.
"Does all your subjects inflict pain without any warning?" Elena asked, scared at some of the... larger subjects, she might lose her hand completely.
"No. Those girls just like tasting new things. They've got quite an appetite, but if you really want to get your hand bitten off, you should meet their mother." (Y/N) chuckled, trying to raise the mood.
"No. I don't want to get my hand bitten off!" Elena exclaimed, slowly walking away from (Y/N) until she hit something tall behind her.
'Oh no.' (Y/N) thought, seeing Alcina there, ticked off.
"So, you're the new member that's been the talk of the people here." She said, picking up Elena to inspect her.
'She's so tall!' She thought, awestruck as Alcina picked her up with both hands with relative ease, "This better not awaken anything in me." She mumbled before staring eye to eye with Alcina.
"Alcina. That is not how you talk with those shorter than you." (Y/N) scolded. Thankfully, she didn't try to do this with him, or he would've fainted right then and there.
"Forgive me, Creator. I just need to examine this fine specimen." She said, continuing her examination.
"So, she is a Virus? But different from us." She asked, making sure to inspect Elena thoroughly. The girl, too nervous to even speak.
"Yes, Alcina. Think of her as an extended cousin." (Y/N) said, profusely sweating as he watched how Alcina moved Elena around.
"Would you put her down?" (Y/N) requested. Alcina took one more good look before following her Creator's orders.
"Creator. I want to request something." Alcina said. She looked relatively happy, finally seeing her Creator.
"Continue." (Y/N) said, patting the dazed Elena beside him.
"Heisenberg has been flaunting that Tyrant of his! I want to put an end to it. Might I request one for myself as well?" She requested. (Y/N) thought about it.
"Sure. It's not like the Tyrants are doing anything." (Y/N) said. It'd be an exercise for the Tyrants and a spectacle to watch two of them clash.
"Thank you, Creator." Alcina hurriedly said before walking behind the Scientist.
"Heisenberg! Come out and face me!" She shouted, now having the power to acquire a Tyrant of her own, she will not put up to Heisenberg's bragging.
"This is not good..."
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Alright, Chapter 21. To prove that I really am back.
Yo! This is chapter 21, ya'll. This is to prove that I really am back to writing. College has been rough, but I got some free time and decided to drive the story forward.
Bet you weren't expecting an update this early.