My Three Vampire Queens In The Apocalypse-Chapter 47: Reaping Rewards [2]

[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" says your actions were reckless but commendable.]

"...Well, that is new."

There was no mockery in it, no hidden insult waiting to jump out. It was blunt, but it did not feel hostile.

I kept reading, a little more focused now.

[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" acknowledges your courage in facing two Apostles alone.]

[She says most incarnations would have fled.]

"At least someone has working eyes."

[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" advises you to value your life more.]

[She says dying recklessly serves no justice.]

I let out a small huff, half-amused.

"Yeah... alright, fair."

It did not feel like an insult. It felt like a warning that actually meant something.

[The Constellation "Spokeswoman of Justice" says she will continue to observe your journey.]

A faint smile formed on my face as I read that.

"Do that,"

After that, I filtered the chat to show only the [System] messages, because I was honestly done dealing with constellations with god complexes. Which wasn’t wrong considering they were literal gods!

Anyways, the screen in front of me cleared up instantly, and this time only a few messages remained, looking sexy and beautiful like a paycheck received at the end of the month.

[You have defeated the ’First Apostle’.]

[2,500 coins have been awarded.]

[You have defeated the ’Second Apostle’.]

[2,500 coins have been awarded.]

I stared at the numbers for a moment, and a slow grin spread across my face as the exhaustion in my body felt just a little more worth it.

"Now this is what I am talking about..."

I leaned back slightly, letting out a breath as I thought about it properly. I had fought two Apostles in one night, survived by a margin so thin it could be mistaken for luck, and somehow walked out of it richer.

"People risk their lives for less," I muttered, clearly satisfied.

Still, the thought lingered as I looked at the numbers again, and my expression slowly shifted into something more skeptical.

"Only 2,500 each though..."

That was it?

That was the grand reward for almost getting turned into a tragic backstory? I tilted my head slightly, genuinely considering if I deserved more.

"Hmm... actually..."

A small nod followed.

"They might have overpaid."

Because if I was being honest with myself, that fight had not exactly been clean or impressive. I had panicked, improvised, nearly died several times, and at one point I was pretty sure I accepted my fate before somehow un-accepting it.

"Yeah, no... I would not pay me full price either," I added with a quiet chuckle.

But the light mood did not last. Not even a little.

The next messages appeared, and the moment my eyes landed on them, the humour drained out of me like someone had flipped a switch.

[The Madness in Washington D.C. is increasing at an alarming rate!]

My smile faded.

"...Okay."

That was not great.

[The accumulated Madness has reached over fifty per cent.]

My brows furrowed as I straightened a little, the fatigue in my body momentarily forgotten.

"...That is worse."

Then the final message appeared.

[Time left for the descent of King in Yellow: 24 hours]

For a second, my brain simply refused to process it.

"What in the holy grandma of heaven double rolling across the road fuck?"

I leaned forward, staring at the screen like it had personally betrayed me after all the effort I had just put in.

"Wait... no, that has to be wrong."

I read it again. Slowly this time.

Twenty-four hours.

"How?"

The question slipped out quietly, but my mind was already racing ahead, trying to piece together something that made even a little sense.

The Four Apostles were supposed to spread madness. That was their entire role in this scenario. Each one pushed people closer to breaking in their own twisted way.

Hiding worked like a paranoid nightmare, making people feel watched, unsafe, constantly on edge like something was breathing down their neck. Laughing was even worse, turning people into puppets who laughed until they died, like it was some kind of sick joke.

And I had killed two of them.

Two.

"In one night," I added under my breath, because that part deserved emphasis.

So logically, the rate of madness should have dropped. It should have slowed down, maybe even bought more time before whatever nightmare was supposed to descend actually showed up.

Instead...

It went from one week...

To one day.

"That is not just wrong. That is an insult to my efforts."

I leaned back, running a hand through my hair as the pieces refused to fit together, no matter how I arranged them.

"Did I miss something? Did I accidentally unlock a bad ending speedrun?"

Because the more I thought about it, the worse it sounded. What if killing them did not reduce the madness?

What if it released it?

What if everything they had been building up just got dumped all at once the moment they died? But that was stupid...

Nothing like that happened in [WOMD]. Not even once. I went still.

But there was no system message saying otherwise. No correction - no "just kidding."

Just a clean, cruel timer staring back at me.

"I put my life on the line for this. I nearly died, fought like an idiot, and instead of stopping anything... I made it faster?"

A hollow laugh escaped me, though there was nothing funny about it anymore.

"And where the hell is the so-called protagonist of this world?"

I scrolled through the messages again, slower this time, just to be sure I had not missed anything important.

Nothing.

No announcement and no confirmation.

No heroic achievement popping up on the screen.

"She could have at least taken down one," I muttered, irritation building with every passing second. "I am not asking her to carry the whole thing. Just... do something."

The silence in the store felt heavier now, pressing down on me as the reality of the situation settled in properly.

Twenty-four hours.

That was all the time left before something called the King in Yellow decided to descend.

This was bad.

Just then, a child-like voice entered my ears.

"I found them, big bro!"