◆Chapter 4: Grantz Kingdom
◆Chapter 4: Grantz Kingdom
“SEEING it up close is pretty daunting…”
The capital of Grantz is a fortified city, surrounded entirely by tall stone walls you have to crane your neck to see the top of. This kind of structure exists in the world I come from, too, but I’ve only ever seen pictures of it. I’m totally overwhelmed by seeing the real thing in person.
“Hey, since this is a fortified city…does that mean you were at war?”
Several moats and canals encircle the city walls. We are currently lying low in one of the dried-out canals, but the mere fact they went to such lengths to prevent invasions gives me the sneaking suspicion they had something they were trying to stop from coming in.
“No. Grantz has never gone to war. These defenses are not for us to partake in war, but to keep others from dragging us into wars. The other two major countries have been fighting for many years now…” Cia sorrowfully relates, squeezing my hand.
Incidentally, the zombie stench has vanished from my right hand. I purified a handy poisonous swamp we had passed along the way and scrubbed my hands in the clean water.
“I’m glad your country isn’t at war, Cia. I wouldn’t really want to purify a country that’s war hungry…”
“Rest assured Grantz is a country that symbolizes peace.”
“And it is Grantz’s Royal Knights who protect that peace,” Lex proudly continues after Cia.
“Hear, hear.” I nod along with him. “You really are amazing, Lex.”
“Nay. This is what a knight is called to be.”
“I respect you. I do. Anyway, I’m heading back to my island. Good luck.”
“Thank you, Lady Mizuha. Please be safe— Wait! Why are you leaving?! Please come back here, Lady Mizuha!”
I had made an about-face, but Lex throws out his arms and stands in my way. Sighing, I glance over my shoulder at the stone wall.
“This isn’t right. What the heck is with those numbers? There are hundreds more than what was in that horde. And that’s just what we can see!”
An absurd number of zombies are loitering in front of the city walls. At a glance, I can tell there are more than a few hundred. If it’s like this everywhere around the outer walls, then there are thousands of zombies in the area.
“Don’t you think it’s smarter to purify the lone zombies first? We’ll be surrounded by hundreds of them before I can get much purification done, and we won’t have the time to look after the people I succeed in purifying. Not to mention we won’t have anywhere to run once we set foot inside the walls.”
The more people we bring back from zombieland, the more information we can gather and the higher my chances of finding a way home become. But it’s ridiculously stupid to plunge into a place crawling with zombies. We would be literally rushing to our doom.
“I hate to say it, but your plan is insane. Or have you put more thought into it than what you let on, Lex?”
“Going forward, I want to keep the citizens you bring back to life with your holy powers as far from danger as possible. However, there is a limit to what I can do alone.”
Why is he okay putting me in danger but not the citizens? I really want to know the answer to that one.
“You plan to purify the Royal Knights and have them assist you,” Cia says, filling in the information Lex left out.
He nods and explains from there. “The Royal Knights’ primary duty is to defend the castle, including patrolling inside the city walls, which leads me to believe they are very likely still inside.”
“I won’t argue with you on how reassuring it would be to have lots of strong fighters on our side, but—”
“Aside from my desire to borrow the help of the Royal Knights,” Lex says over my objections, “I also believe the sturdy castle is an optimum temporary shelter.”
“Those are great ideas, but it’s still too dangerous. What’s your plan if there are even more zombies beyond the castle walls?”
“The zombies are slow-footed. They can’t catch us if we run.”
“Supposing there is somewhere TO run,” I say with a sigh.
I feel like I’m doing nothing but raising objections. I try to come up with a counterplan, but I have no better ideas than to search out lone zombies and purify them in small numbers. But it’s anyone’s guess if increasing our number of allies will actually make liberating the capital of zombies any easier.
As it stands, I’m the only one capable of purifying anything. When I consider the possibility of our new allies reverting to zombies on us, I can’t say boosting our numbers is necessarily a good thing. Taking all of that into account, Lex’s plan to purify a limited number of people inside the castle and use it as both a shelter and a quarantine zone might be plausible after all.
My biggest concern is Cia and her lack of stamina. From what I can see, the distance between the city walls and the castle spire is long. When it comes down to it, will we be able to safely make it inside the castle? Can Cia run that far?
I look searchingly at Cia, and she welcomes my gaze with determination brimming in her eyes. “I will do everything in my power to make it! If I begin to slow you down…please leave me behind.”
“Leave you behind? You’ll turn into a zombie!”
“If I do…I hope you will come back and purify me later.”
She isn’t joking—she’s serious. I can’t believe I’m being so indecisive when this small child has already found her answer. I feel kind of pathetic even when I set aside the fact that Cia is doing this for her kingdom.
Why am I stuck doing something like this? It’s not my problem. Those are my strongest feelings at the moment, but constantly running away isn’t going to change anything. I exhale and shift stances.
“Fine. I won’t raise further objections.”
“…Big Sister!”
I hold up my index finger when Cia breaks into a great big smile. “But you must promise me one thing. I can’t stand the idea of leaving someone behind. I don’t care how dangerous and difficult it gets—you must fight to survive until the very end. You hear me?”
“Yes!” Cia exclaims.
I answer her with a nod. I made her promise that, but even if Cia trips and is surrounded by zombies, I’ll go to save her without hesitation. The reason why is obvious—I never want to see such an adorable girl become a zombie again.
“You heard me, Lex. I’ll be counting on you to be our vanguard.”
“…Please leave everything to me. I shall put my life on the line to prot—”
“Please don’t. What are we supposed to do once you die or transform again?”
“I-I shall protect you while staying alive!”
“Good boy.”
I think there’s a problem with him thinking I have to be protected, but I’m in the unfortunate position of being a normal high school girl in a zombie apocalypse. I need to rely on him for what he can handle while I focus on purifying zombies and running away.
“First we have to figure out what to do with the zombies loitering in front of the walls.”
“I learned from my earlier experience with the horde that the zombies react to sounds within a certain range and have a habit of heading toward the sound. Our best bet would be to lure the zombies away from the walls by making a loud noise.”
“How would you do that, Lex?”
“With this.”
Lex walks over to a nearby battered cart lying on its side. He hauls it to the dried-up canal and throws it as if throwing a hammer, all the while crying out “HMPH!” The cart draws an arc through the air, crashing down on the ground a good distance from us and shattering with a loud KER-THWACK.
“Whoa! Hey! Uh?!”
I said I’d go, but this is too soon! I’m not mentally prepared yet. Even as I’m reeling in shock, a horde of zombies is moving toward the sound. As slow as they are, their pace is close to a brisk walk. We don’t have to wait long for them to be gone from the front gate. Lex leaps out of the canal.
“Now! Please follow me!”
STUPID LEX! I curse him in my heart, signaling the start of our plan. I stand holding Cia’s hand and break into a run after Lex’s armored back.
The zombies are still flocking around the shattered cart pieces, ramming into them while groaning “Bwah bwah.” Around ten of the hundred notice our presence, but they’re already too far from the gate to reach us in time.
We safely pass through the city gates, and the castle town comes into full view. A wide main street extends from the gates straight to the castle, with wooden buildings packed along either side. Though many of the buildings are in a state of disrepair, the spectacle hasn’t lost its splendor.
“Huh? There aren’t any zombies?!”
I totally thought the castle and city would be crawling with zombies. It’s anticlimactic, but it’s better for us if there aren’t any.
“Let’s charge straight ahead—though that seems impossible now.” Lex had been in the middle of giving directions when that familiar “Bwah” groan sounded from the shadows and zombies began to lurch out of the buildings in droves. Five, ten, twenty… They stagger into the street ceaselessly.
“I KNEW IT! They’re here too!” I shout.
“This way, ladies!”
The main street splits into two roads following the city walls. Cia and I run after Lex as he dashes down the right road. On top of it being significantly narrower than the main street, it’s also dimly lit because of the shadow cast on it by the tall walls. The fog hanging in the air adds even more to the horror movie feeling.
Just as I’m trying to shake the thought of a monster showing up, a black shadow drops down from above, instantly followed by the sound of bones snapping. Cia and I stop as one and fearfully look at the ground near our feet. My eyes meet those of a zombie crawling on its stomach.
“BWAHHH!”
“NOOOOOOOOO!”
A zombie fell down from the sky! Instead of a monster or a ghost, a zombie fell next to us! As we girls are in the midst of screaming our throats hoarse, Lex quickly grabs hold of a broom resting against one of the buildings and slams the zombie against the city wall with it.
“You saved us, Lex!”
“Th-Thanks.”
“I promised to protect you.”
What a reassuring line. Coupled with his gallant face, he pulled it off as cool as can be. It’s just the image is thoroughly ruined by the backdrop being filled with zombies dropping from the city walls like flies.
“Eek!” I instinctively cry out.
“It appears zombies have piled up on top of the city…walls!” Lex sweeps away one of the zombies falling toward his head. Cries of “Bwah bwah” come from all directions, taking away the ability to relax for even a moment. Zombies block our path forward and backward. Lex is frantically intercepting them with the broom, but the situation is growing rapidly worse.
It’s practically a given that the zombies out on the main street will show up if enough time passes. I swivel my head from side to side, scanning the area for anything that can help us escape. It’s then that I notice the majority of buildings have flat roofs.
“Hey, why don’t we use that to go up on the roof?” I point toward the outdoor stairs leading to the roof of one of the nearby buildings. “The buildings are close enough together that I think we can cross them to get closer to the castle!”
“G-Good idea, Big Sis! Lex!”
“As you command, Your Highness!” Lex powerfully swings the broom around in a giant circle, mowing down the nearby zombies. We dart up the stairs using the opening he created for us. “Use me as a step!”
“Sorry!”
There’s no time to hesitate. I step on Lex’s knee and then his shoulder to get onto the roof once the stairs end. I spin back around and pull Cia up after me. She’s so light. I sure hope Lex doesn’t think I’m fat after helping Cia up. Those stupid thoughts cross my mind for all but a second until seeing the zombies closing in on us brings me back to my senses. Rotting hands reach for Lex’s ankles.
“LEX!”
Lex jumps a fraction of a second after my shout. He kicks off the staircase rail, lightly flies through the air, and lands on the rooftop.
“Let us be on our way.”
Seeing Lex calmly hurry ahead makes me absently wonder, What the heck is with this superman?
◆◆◆◆◆
“CIA, be careful of the wider gap here.”
“O-Okay!”
We close the distance to the castle by traveling over the roofs. Sometimes the gaps between rooftops are wider than others, but they’re crossable by jumping. It hasn’t proved to be much of an obstacle.
I take a gander below. Hundreds of zombies are pressed up against the walls, chasing after us, but none are trying to climb up. They merely groan and moan as they reach their hands up to get us.
“It doesn’t look like the zombies can climb.”
“So it appears. Let’s draw near the castle while we still can.”
We steadily progress onward. Along the way, I look at the zombies falling over themselves as they relentlessly chase us, and I think this must be how a pop idol feels, but then I drop the idea since it’s rude to think of fans that way. Besides, the only cheers I’m getting from my zombie fans are to the chorus of “Bwah bwah.” Occasionally, they shake things up by throwing in a “GRAGH!” and “Arooh.” Also, they stink worse than rotten eggs put inside gym socks. Being chased by that stench is almost as bad as being chased by zombies.
“We are going to descend over there!” Lex instructs.
We have finally made it to the other end of the city. I had hoped the rooftops would continue on to the castle itself, but that would obviously be a hole in their defenses if it did. With Lex’s assistance, Cia and I safely jump off the roof and hit the ground running.
Perhaps it’s because we lured a lot of zombies out before we climbed on the rooftops that not many zombies are roaming in front of the castle. Even with their smaller numbers, there are still too many to dodge them all, so Lex cuts a path for us by shoving the zombies aside with his broom.
Another moat separates the castle from the city, and a drawbridge connects the two. We cross that bridge and arrive at the castle gate. I thought we were just going to go through the gates, but Lex veers off and takes the stairs to the right.
“Hey! Where are you going?!”
“I am going to drop the portcullis to isolate us from the outside!”
If I remember correctly, a portcullis is the name of a strong iron grating that’s supposed to be used at gates to prevent entry from the outside. I turn my eyes toward the top of the gate and see the sharp spikes on the bottom of the grate peeking out.
“H-Hold on! You’ll crush the zombies if you drop that now!”
The zombies that followed us are right under where the grate will fall! They are spilling into the castle grounds in a line, so the portcullis will impale at least one no matter the timing we drop it at.
“But we must hurry or we are doomed!”
“You can’t kill them!”
They are zombies right now, but I can turn them back into people if I purify them. In other words, killing the zombies is the same as killing people. I don’t want to make Lex kill the people he’s sworn to protect.
“Is there anything? Anything at all we can use to lure them away with?!”
The zombies are drawing nearer as we’re standing around dithering. More zombies begin spilling out of the castle buildings, turning the staircase into our only place of escape.
“Big Sis, how about this?!” Cia holds out a rusted helmet as soon as she retreats to the staircase landing. I look toward her and see a complete set of armor laying on the ground. She must have pulled the helmet from there.
“Nice find, Cia! I can use this!”
I take the helmet faster than I think it through and lean half over the staircase, tossing it as hard as I can outside of the castle gate with a sidearm throw.
“Go away!”
The helmet smacks one zombie in the head and clunks onto the drawbridge. The wooden bridge doesn’t make as loud of a sound as metal would have, but it still does the job. The zombies make a beeline for the helmet, leaving the portcullis clear of zombies in no time.
“Lex!”
The portcullis drops at my signal. The sharp iron spikes lock right into the holes in the ground with an earthshaking rumble. Attracted by that sound, the zombies outside whirl around and charge the gate, but the metal grates do a perfect job of keeping them out.
It looks like we’ve succeeded in isolating ourselves from the outside. Now we can take a break—except it’s never that easy in a zombie apocalypse. The zombies that have been spilling out of the buildings within the castle grounds are clamoring up the staircase toward us. A quick look at them reveals the majority as muscle-bound, armor-clad zombies. These have to be the Royal Knights Lex mentioned.
“Cia, run to the top of the stairs! Shoo, zombies! Shoo!” I let Cia run away first as I pick up the fallen pieces of armor and chuck the cuirass, greaves, and gauntlets at the incoming swarm of zombies. But the zombie knights don’t even flinch or stagger. Worse, their cries grow louder and they increase their speed.
I-I have to flee soon too or—
“URAAAAAAAAH!” Lex rushes past me. I have no idea where he picked it up, but he’s charging into the swarm holding a pavis shield large enough to cover the entire body. In one broad sweep, he drives the swarming zombie knights down the stairs and slams them against the nearest wall.
“Lex!”
“I finished isolating us from the outside! Lady Mizuha, please commence purifying them!”
Over Lex’s shoulder I make out his desperate profile. Kicked into motion by that expression, reflex takes over, and I run down the stairs. With my right hand I touch the five zombies he has pinned.
As the purification process begins, the area is filled with a bright light. Their skin transforms from a molten bluish purple to that of a normal human, but I don’t have the time to watch over them. At a glance, the surrounding area has a good twenty to thirty zombies gunning for us. Doubtless the rest of the castle is teeming with them.
“We can look after the purified later!”
“Roger that! Cia, don’t get separated from me!”
“O-Okay!”
Lex immobilizes the zombies, and I purify them in that order. There are a few cases where I could take a chance and purify some more on my own, but I restrain myself. Lex seems to be fighting while paying close attention to where Cia and I are located, so I don’t want to create more work for him by making the wrong move.
“Ugggh… Cia, please don’t hate me if my hands reek for life…” I whimper, holding my stinky hand far from my face.
“D-Don’t worry, Big Sis! If it’s your hands, I will sniff them no matter how bad they stink!”
“Uh, you don’t have to sniff them!”
As we’re conversing, I glance over my shoulder at the people I have finished purifying. All of them are suspiciously examining their bodies with expressions that scream, “How did I return to normal?!” I’d love to explain it to them, but the situation doesn’t allow for it right now.
“Tch!”
“Lex?!”
Lex had been taking on three zombies at once and hadn’t noticed the crawler latched on to his ankle. He’s visibly transforming into a zombie from his feet up to his head. Several seconds later, his face has turned bluish purple.
“B-Bw—”
“As if I’m going to let you say it!” I leap forward and touch him with my right hand, canceling out his “Bwah” groan. The color returns to his face, and he kicks the zombie off his ankle before slamming the shield hard into the zombies in front of him, sending them flying.
“You saved me again…!”
“All I did was touch you. Don’t worry about it. Anyway…there are way more in here than I thought.”
Additional zombies are coming into the outer ward from the front courtyard and the inner castle gate ahead. About fifty from what I can see. There seems to be no end to the line following behind them.
“My deepest apologies… I completely misread the situation.”
“Well, regretting it now isn’t going to save us. Our only option is to do whatever we can to survive.”
“Indeed!” Lex responds as he knocks down more zombies with his shield.
“Kyaa!”
I hear Cia scream. I quickly turn around to find her on her butt scooting away from the zombies lunging at her.
Where the hell did they come from?! The answer comes as quick as the question. Zombies are dropping down from the outer and inner castle walls like a hailstorm.
“CIA!” I spring into action as soon as I can, but I don’t think I’ll make it in time. The zombie’s filthy, smelly hand is inches from grabbing Cia!
Out of nowhere, a man decked out in full armor tackles the zombie with a kite shield, knocking it back with great force.
The suddenness of it all leaves me gaping. The man who saved Cia is a whole size bigger than Lex and is built like an ox, his muscles clearly visible even underneath his armor. He’s a sullen middle-aged man with distinctive white hair and beard. He was probably among the people I just purified, but…his presence is a cut above the rest.
Swallowing hard, I ask, “Who are you…?”
“I am the captain of the Grantz Royal Knights, Oden Jaxor.”
S-Someone with a delicious-sounding name just appeared!