​Three days had passed since Vorkund sank into a sea of corpses, yet Zero Castle still stood firm amidst a siege of silence.

​Dayat stood motionless on The Terrace of Equilibrium. The coffee cup in his hand had grown cold an hour ago, leaving behind a bitter, scentless dreg. His eyes narrowed, staring straight toward the east. He hadn't truly slept soundly since Wabil revealed herself. Every time he tried to close his eyes, that faint smile behind the veil of black hair haunted him. And every time he jolted awake with labored breath, the first thing he did was check on Dola—simply to ensure his wife was still breathing.

​"You need to eat, Dayat."

​Dayat turned slightly. Lunethra stood in the doorway of the terrace, clutching a tray with wheat bread and a bowl of steaming soup. Her green gown appeared slightly rumpled, and soot stains remained on the edge of her sleeves—she was just as sleep-deprived as the rest.

​"I'm not hungry, Lunethra." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

​"Hmm... that isn't an answer I can accept right now," Lunethra countered, placing the tray on the marble table with a soft clink. "Kancil and the children need to see you standing tall. If the Architect himself looks shaken, they'll all lose their footing."

​Dayat stared at the soup before him. The broth was clear, with wilted vegetable scraps floating on the surface. Food supplies had dwindled drastically since the mass evacuation, yet Lunethra never stopped stirring the cauldron. It was the only way for her to maintain her own sanity.

​Gulp. Dayat swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. "Fine, I'll eat. But give me another moment."

​Lunethra was about to protest, but the sound of heavy, frantic footsteps cut her off. Dalgor appeared from the corridor, his face deathly pale. His hands trembled so violently that the digital tablet he held nearly slipped.

​"Master Dayat... they... they've arrived."

​The control room felt tighter and more stifling than usual. Binary screens on the walls flickered dimly; some were still unstable following Morbis's previous assault. However, the main monitor remained functional, and what it displayed was enough to make the blood in Dayat's veins freeze.

​Red dots. Tens, hundreds, and increasing like a colony of starving ants.

​They moved from the east, crawling out from the ruins of Brassvale. Slow but certain, the mass moved like an unstoppable flood. The castle's sensors, which only had an effective radius of five kilometers, began to struggle under the data load. From the density of those dots, Dayat could imagine the scale of the disaster heading their way.

​"What's the exact count, Dalgor?" Dayat asked, his voice deepening.

​Dalgor swallowed hard. "Hard to calculate accurately. Thousands... or perhaps far more. They're piled on top of each other."

​The sliding door opened, and Dola stepped in. Shh... her white cloak swept across the obsidian floor with grace despite her wobbly steps. Her electric blue eyes stared sharply at the screen. "Plagueborne…" she murmured softly, almost a hiss. "That scrawny bitch."

​Dayat processed the information in silence. "How long until they reach the front lines?"

​"An hour. Maybe less, depending on how fast those Ghouls run."

​One hour. Dayat closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart. One hour to prepare the fortress. One hour to ensure that everyone's lives didn't end in the jaws of the undead. One hour before hell truly knocked on their front door.

​He opened his eyes again, his gaze now sharper. "Gather everyone in The Heart of Logic. Right now!"

​The atmosphere in The Heart of Logic felt vastly different this morning. The silence that usually shrouded Dayat's purple throne was replaced by a chest-tightening tension. Kancil stood with his hands on his hips, his Desert Eagle already tucked into his thigh holster. His messy brown hair was overgrown, but his eyes glinted with alertness. Loy and Riri stood tall beside him; though their faces were tense, there was no hesitation.

​Lunethra stood near the entrance, her fingers tightly gripping her magic staff. Golden mana began to pulse faintly around her. In another corner, Dalgor was busy tapping away at his tablet, his breathing heavy.

​Dola stood right beside Dayat, her white cloak wrapping around her fragile frame.

​Dayat did not sit on his throne. He stood before them all, looking at each face that now staked their fate on him.

​"We don't have much time. The Plagueborne forces will be here in minutes." Dayat's voice boomed calmly. "Remember, this is no small threat. This is Wabil's core army—the Harbinger who just devoured Brassvale in a single night."

​Silence. No one argued, yet no one stepped back.

​"Kancil. Take your position with Loy and Riri at the backyard. That's our blind spot. Don't let a single one of those disgusting creatures creep into the castle through there."

​Kancil nodded firmly. "Ready, Brother. Leave it to us."

​"Lunethra. Take your position at the front yard, right beside the main gate. Don't let them get near the energy shield."

​Lunethra nodded slowly. "Understood."

​"Dalgor. You stay in the control room. Monitor every inch of the sensors. The moment the shield shows signs of cracking, notify me immediately through the earpiece."

​Dalgor gave a trembling thumbs-up.

​"Dola." Dayat turned to his wife. "You stay by my side."

​Dola met his gaze with a thin, determined smile. "I won't move an inch."

​An hour later, "they" truly came.

​Initially, it wasn't the sound of footsteps—for Zombies never walked in unison. It was the sound of mass friction. The sound of flesh being dragged over wet soil. The sound of branches snapping simultaneously as they were trampled. Crack... crack...

​Then, the smell arrived. The stench of oxidized rotting flesh, the smell of forced-open graves, and an aroma of death so pungent it induced nausea. It was the same smell Morbis had brought, but this time, it was thousands of times more concentrated.

​Dayat stood at the front lines, right before the main gate. His beloved HK416 was gripped tight, a magazine full of Adamantite bullets loaded. Beside him, Dola raised her hand. A pale blue energy shield appeared covering the gate, vibrating softly. 30%—that was all the power left in the castle's reactor.

​Lunethra stood several meters behind them. Her hands were raised to the sky as golden mana flowed into the ground. Black roots began to sprout from the cracks in the obsidian stones, writhing like snakes ready to strike.

​In the backyard, Kancil did a final check on his Desert Eagle. Rack-clack. Loy and Riri held their Glocks with both hands. "Remember Brother Dayat's message," Kancil whispered, his voice sounding remarkably mature. "Don't panic. Aim for the head. If they get too close, retreat while firing. Never stand still like a statue."

​Loy nodded, cold sweat dripping down his temple. Riri, on the other hand, appeared remarkably calm. She was ready to pull the trigger.

​Then, the first wave broke.

​A single Zombie emerged from the darkness of the trees. Its skin was blackened, its eyes hollow and pupil-less. Its jaw hung loose, revealing rotting teeth. The creature limped with one broken leg dragging on the ground, yet its steps never faltered.

​Behind it, dozens more appeared. Then hundreds. They crawled out from the forest darkness in an irregular line but with a single shared purpose: to consume everything within the castle.

​Dayat raised the muzzle of his weapon. "Don't fire yet. Let them hit the shield. We need to conserve ammunition."

​The first Zombie slammed into the energy shield. Bzzztt! Its body was repelled with a spark of electricity, yet it rose again as if nothing had happened. A second Zombie followed. A third. A fourth. The more they piled up, the stronger the pressure on the shield became. They clawed, slammed their heads, and pushed with the full weight of their rotting mass.

​In the control room, Dalgor watched the numbers on the screen in horror. 28%. 27%. 26%. "Master Dayat! The shield is dropping drastically! They're too dense!"

​Dayat heard the shout through his earpiece. He was still waiting. 22%. 19%. 17%.

​"Now... FIRE!"

​Dayat's HK416 barked violently. Bang-bang-bang! Adamantite bullets sped out, shattering Zombie skulls one by one. Dola raised her hand, releasing a massive telekinetic wave that pushed back dozens of corpses at once, creating breathing room for Dayat to aim better.

​However, their numbers seemed bottomless. And behind the slow ranks of Zombies, the Ghouls began to reveal themselves. They moved faster, crouching low and climbing the energy shield with their black claws, searching for the smallest opening.

​Lunethra unleashed her magic. Roots from beneath the earth shot out to snare the Ghouls' legs, causing them to stumble and fall. Dayat immediately finished them off with precision shots. Yet, for every one that fell, three more leaped to take its place.

​In the backyard, Kancil heard the sound of scraping behind the high castle walls. "Get ready!" he whispered.

​Three Ghouls leaped from the wall crevices, landing with soft thuds. They immediately lunged at the children.

​Bang! Bang! Bang!

​Three precision shots. Two hit the heads, one hit the chest. The first and second Ghouls collapsed instantly. The third Ghoul staggered but still tried to crawl forward, before Loy finally shot it right between the eyes from point-blank range.

​"Good job, Loy! Stay focused on your sectors!" Kancil shouted.

​But the invasion hadn't ended. More Ghouls began climbing the outer walls. Five. Eight. They came from every direction. Kancil, Loy, and Riri quickly pressed their backs against each other, forming a perfect circular defense.

​Bang! Bang! Bullets scattered through the backyard air. The Ghouls fell one by one, but one creature managed to slide fast toward Riri with claws bared.

​Riri didn't shriek in fear. Instead, she stepped aside nimbly, letting the Ghoul land on empty ground, then coldly shot the creature in the crown of its head from above. "Got him!" she shouted briefly.

​"Great, Riri! Keep it up!" Kancil gave a thin smile amidst the encirclement of death.

​At the front gate, the situation grew critical. The binary shield began to flicker erratically. 12%. 10%. 8%.

​Then, a massive tremor was felt.

​A Dullahan emerged from the mist. Its rusted black-armored undead horse neighed with a hoarse voice that pierced the ears. Its massive greatsword gleamed coldly under the dim light. Without warning, it spurred its horse and slammed its sword into the energy shield with full force.

​5%. 3%. 2%.

​Crash!

​The energy shield shattered into pieces like broken glass.

​The Dullahan burst through, dust and smoke billowing around it. Dayat stared at the headless knight coldly, then glanced at Dola. "I'll handle this knight. You hold back the rest of the trash."

​Dola nodded firmly. "Do your duty, my Husband."

​Dayat stepped forward. The HK416 in his hand vanished in a flash, replaced by the lethal glint of a purple-green blade. His blue-silver armor began to envelop his body.

​The headless knight spurred its horse, its massive sword raised high. Dayat didn't flinch. He waited for the perfect moment.

​And the true battle erupted.