Chapter 1204

“

Ah...

”

Siegfried covered his face with his hands, horrified at the scene before him.

“

Ughh...”

“P-Please... save me... please...”

The people of the city lay collapsed all along the streets, groaning in agony.

Their skin was covered in black patches, their lips turned ghastly blue, and their bodies were trembling uncontrollably as though gripped by winter’s chill. Anyone could see that the disease was consuming them, and it looked as if they could die at any moment now.

‘

What should I do?’

Siegfried had no idea what to do.

He was the Invincible Emperor, a physical burst-damage dealer class. His class wasn't a healer. There was nothing he could do as a DPS to alleviate the suffering of his people infected by the plague.

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

Oscar arrived and hurried over to his side.

She was wearing a mask enchanted with protective spells, which was only natural. Just as in the real world, one had to wear masks or face coverings to prevent getting infected when a pandemic occurred.

“I will take charge of this area, sire.”

“Are you sure, Oscar?”

“The situation is looking really bad, sire. It would be best if our forces directly controlled all entry and exit points to the plague-stricken areas.”

Soldiers were bound to serve their motherland, so it was their duty to act in times of disaster. With the city already devastated, there was hardly anyone left who could help those afflicted by the plague.

Thus, it was their duty as soldiers to move in and help the people.

“I will leave things here to you then. I’ll focus on investigating the source of the plague.”

“As you command, sire.”

Thus, Oscar and the Proatine Imperial Army moved into the cities and villages.

They sealed off all roads and passageways to prevent the spread of the plague to other cities, distributed potions to the people, and burned the bodies of those who had fallen to the plague.

But that was not all...

“Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty, Siegfried von Proa.”

A group of priests suddenly appeared and approached Siegfried.

“

Hm?

”

Siegfried instantly recognized their robes, and his eyes widened in surprise.

They were priests of the Church of Healing, those who worshipped the God of Medicine, Hippocrates.

“We rushed here the moment we heard that a plague had broken out in the Proatine Empire.”

The high priest of the Church of Healing smiled warmly at Siegfried.

“Your Imperial Majesty protected us when the angels invaded and persecuted us. Now, it is our turn to repay that debt. May Lord Hippocrates, God of Medicine, bestow his blessings upon Your Imperial Majesty and the people of your empire.”

“

Hahaha...”

Siegfried began to think that this was why people ought to live a righteous life. He had never expected any repayment when he helped them, yet now, they had come to return the favor when he needed them the most.

“Truly, I thank you.”

“It is nothing. From here on, our clergy will aid in containing the plague as well.”

Their arrival couldn’t have been more timely, as the priests of the Church of Healing were the perfect allies in such a crisis.

Together, the Proatine Imperial Army and the priests spread throughout the city and worked tirelessly to aid the suffering citizens.

“Let’s go, Hamchi.”

“

Kyuuu!

Let’s go!”

With Hamchi in tow, Siegfried began to search the city, looking for the source of the plague.

If it were a natural outbreak, then there would be nothing he could do about it.

However, if it was tied to the Forsaken City dungeon going berserk, then perhaps there was some clue on how to deal with this whole mess.

“

Kyuuu!

Why aren’t you wearing a mask, owner punk?!” Hamchi dressed in a white hazmat suit complete with a gas mask suddenly exclaimed at Siegfried.

‘

What the heck? Does this little guy have an outfit for every occasion?’

Siegfried wondered, shaking his head. Then, he replied, “I don’t wear things like masks.”

“

Kyuuu?

Don’t you need them?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Why not?

Kyu?”

“I’m immune to all poisons. Do you think a virus is going to stop me? I could drink a bowl of pure venom and still be fine.”

He was right. With a body that was absolutely immune to all poisons, Siegfried was resistant not only to toxins but to every kind of bacteria and virus as well. In fact, he could leisurely stroll through a plague-ridden city without any protective gear and still emerge unscathed.

***

Siegfried searched throughout the city in order to find the source of the plague, but he couldn’t even determine where it started. This was not the real world, so it was impossible to track every movement of the NPCs one by one, like how contact tracing was done in the real world during pandemics.

‘

Is this even a real plague?’

Siegfried wondered as he scoured the city.

Five hours later—

‘

This is hopeless...’

In the end, Siegfried did not manage to find a single clue.

Fwooooosh!

Meanwhile, the flames from burning the dead soared high into the sky, creating a thick black smoke.

The high priest of the Church of Healing approached Siegfried and said, “This is a dreadful plague, Your Imperial Majesty. Those infected are dying far too quickly.”

“Are they not responding to treatments?”

“Unfortunately, Your Imperial Majesty.”

If even the high priest of a religious order specialized in treating illness was reacting this way, then that was enough proof of just how terrifying this plague was.

“If we do not take measures within the first hour after the symptoms appear, then the patient’s mortality rate reaches almost one hundred percent.”

“Damn it...”

“We have already burned ten thousand corpses, but the casualties are only going to increase.”

“This is bad...”

“But perhaps you need not worry too much. I am torn to say whether this is a fortunate or an unfortunate thing, but I suppose it is fortunate.”

“

Huh?

What do you mean by that, high priest?” Siegfried asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“The plague is progressing far too fast. It is terrifyingly infectious, and those infected will die in less than five hours.”

“And how is that a fortunate thing...?”

“A plague that progresses this quickly will not last long, Your Imperial Majesty. Plagues are transmitted from person to person through various means, are they not?”

“Yes? I guess so?”

“But what happens if the patients die too quickly?”

“Well...”

Siegfried pondered for a moment before exclaiming, “

Ah!

”

He realized what the high priest was trying to say.

“So you mean to say that since the hosts carrying the plague die quickly, the plague will have a harder time spreading?”

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“Precisely. In most cases of plagues like this, it is normal for them to vanish very quickly. Those infected just die so fast that there is no time for it to spread.”

“I suppose that is what you meant by both fortunate and unfortunate at the same time...”

The high priest was correct; watching those infected die so quickly without even a fighting chance was indeed unfortunate, but perhaps the silver lining was that the plague would soon vanish after failing to infect a new host.

“In this kind of situation, the damage can be minimized if the city is sealed off.”

“Is that so? I understand. I will order the imperial army to seal things airtight.”

Siegfried took the high priest’s advice and summoned a signalman. Then, he issued a lockdown edict across the entire Proatine Empire.

Movement between all towns and cities was heavily restricted, especially the capital city, Preussen.

Soldiers were mobilized en masse to enforce the lockdown, making it impossible for even an ant to slip through.

Why?

It was all because the situation would spiral out of control and be unsalvageable if the plague reached Preussen.

Once the lockdown was issued...

‘

This should keep the plague from spreading further, right? I guess I should call it a day and start investigating again tomorrow,’

Siegfried thought, intending to log out and take a break.

“Your Imperial Majesty! We have just received word that the plague has broken out in the neighboring city!”

“What?! How?!”

“The symptoms were discovered in a patient only moments ago!”

“Damn it!”

Siegfried abandoned the thought of logging out the moment he received the report and hurried straight to that city.

‘

Ah, damn it... So much for sleeping tonight.’

While running, he had a strong feeling that he would not be logging out today or any time soon.

***

Siegfried went to the newly afflicted city where the plague had begun to spread and investigated the cause all night long.

However, he couldn’t find any leads just like in the city before.

‘

Is this a naturally occurring plague?’

Siegfried reached that conclusion and decided to focus on quarantine efforts in the infected city.

Several days later, the quarantine was a huge success, as the plague no longer spread and seemed to have disappeared completely.

Not a single new patient appeared.

“Lift the lockdown on the smaller towns and villages, but keep the major cities on lockdown.”

“As you command, sire!”

Siegfried decided to slowly relax the lockdown, believing that the plague had vanished.

On that same evening, however...

“Your Imperial Majesty! We have received reports that the plague has broken out again!”

“What?!”

In the middle of reviewing documents, Siegfried shot to his feet at Michele’s report.

“Where is it this time?”

“Here,” Michele said, pointing on the map to the place where the plague had started again.

‘

Huh? Here?’

Siegfried noticed that the area was about six hours away from the last afflicted city.

That distance seemed strange, and it was indeed suspicious. The plague would come to life whenever the lockdown was lifted, and then it would go quiet once a lockdown was imposed.

If the fact that the plague progressed rapidly and took half a day for those infected to die was taken into consideration, then things weren't adding up. Could an infected traveler really make it to another city in six hours while being afflicted by the plague?

No, they would die long before they could reach their destination.

After piecing everything together, it became obvious that someone was deliberately spreading the plague.

“Reinstate the lockdown immediately.”

“As you command, sire”

“This city has only about five thousand people, correct?”

“Yes, sire.”

“Then this should be simple.”

Siegfried moved straight to the city where the plague had struck.

Just like the other places, it had already turned into a living hell by the time he got there.

‘

There’s something here. I’m certain of it,’

Siegfried concluded that someone or something from the Forsaken City dungeon was intentionally spreading the plague.

‘

It moves to the next town or city and spreads the plague whenever the lockdown is lifted. That’s the only explanation, as those infected die too quickly to make the journey themselves.’

Since that was the case, there was only one thing he had to do.

“Bring me everyone who entered the city today,” Siegfried ordered the guards.

“Yes, sire!”

After about two hours, the soldiers brought three NPCs.

“Of the nine who entered today, six are already dead. Only these three remain, sire.”

All of the NPCs wore the enchanted masks distributed by the Church of Healing.

“Anyone here from Galloway City?”

Galloway was the last place struck before the lockdown was imposed.

“I came from Galloway City, Your Imperial Majesty.”

A young man dressed as a healer raised his hand.

“Why did you come here?”

“I came to help treat the patients when I heard that the plague had broken out.”

“When did you get here then?”

“About nine hours ago.”

The moment the healer said those words—

Shwiiik!

Siegfried drew his +10 Sky Piercer like lightning and pressed its speartip to the healer’s neck.

“The first patient here was reported only three hours ago, yet you claim you heard news of the outbreak nine hours ago? Did you come from the future or something?”

“T-That is... I merely—”

“Enough with your lies. Show your true face.”

“

Tsk...

Mortals these days are too quick to catch on.”

The healer’s body darkened, and a black aura spread throughout his body.

In mere seconds, a grotesque demon revealed itself.

Siegfried’s suspicions proved to be correct.

[Lord of Pestilence: Plague]

[A demon that spread pestilence and took countless lives during ancient times.]

[He is the younger brother of Rumulus, one of the Four Apocalypses.]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Demon]

[Class: Lord of Pestilence]

[Level: 650]

[Note: The plague he spreads is extremely potent. It is lethal enough to wipe out an entire city within just two days.]

“Everyone, stand back. I’ll deal with this one myself,” Siegfried said, clearing the area around him.

The Lord of Pestilence: Plague was a dreadful demon who had escaped from the Ancient Dungeon. Like his brother, Romulus, he specialized in massacring multitudes with the diseases he unleashed.

Thus, it was only right that Siegfried faced him alone.