The Last Gentleman

[Dom River]

The secret sewer right below,

grew dense with death as the concentration of demise rose. Lifeless stones were bestowed with skull structures of the dead form. Walls made of clustered skulls constantly emitted mists, sealing the environment with the absolute label of death and blocking all perception methods.

Even the natives of the Old World would avoid areas constructed with dense skulls or shun discussions about the “Death Plague” upon seeing or hearing them.

Disregarding the warnings of death and acting disrespectfully could possibly summon a terrifying legion—the [Death Plague Knights] under the First Dead Man.

It’s rumored that every dead being chosen for this knight order wields the strength to stand on their own, leaving mountains of bones in their wake.

At present, inside the deepest skull room of the sewer,

Levinhome’s first battle force, the founder of Sun Secret Medicine and the director of the Sunlight Hospital—Dis Campbell, was gasping for air. Half of his clothing, with a skin content of over 50%, was already tattered, and the sunlight radiating from him had significantly weakened.

Moreover,

The third member of the team, the vice director of the Sunlight Hospital and a resident doctor who only needed one more year to be officially appointed, [Neurological Sense – Avat], had died in the fight.

He was a sensing talent who made “Sensing” breakthroughs and had passed one of the organization’s most difficult trials, “Doctor Selection,” a year ago.

In the five senses test, he exceeded his peers by more than three times, specializing in sensory-focused healing and enhancement. He was the successor most favored by Director Dis.

Even with such outstanding senses, he still couldn’t avoid the enemy’s attacks and was beheaded alive.

To be beheaded by [Harvester – Rotweis] is to be condemned to death on a conceptual level, and even timely reattachment of the head to the body would only yield a lifeless living dead.

A decaying vice director’s skull was tossed up and down in Rotweis’s hand, like a ball.

The silvery skull mask allowed a soul-snatching, deadly quiet voice to pass through:

“How persistent. According to my calculations, by this time you all should have been killed… yet, I’ve only managed to kill the weakest among you.

It seems you’re not completely worthless; you’ve managed to develop something of your own thanks to the opportunity provided by the Skin Market.

Not bad, my knight squadron could use some expansion; you guys barely make the cut. After you’re dead, you’ll join their ranks.”

Just as Harvester – Rotweis prepared to continue beheading,

a faint stinging sensation came from the back of his hand, like a single hair being plucked away.

Completely disregarding the two humans before him, he turned his head in a certain direction as if he could see through the layers of the sewer walls to a distant area thousands of kilometers away.

“In such a low-level town, someone can actually absorb the ‘Death Plague Breath,’ seems to be just a young human.

Pity that I don’t have much time left, in a few minutes I’ll be sent back… Can’t let this guy continue to absorb, go kill him, try to bring back his complete soul.”

That said,

a strand of the Death Breath Origin within Rotweis’s body was transferred ‘mouth to mouth’ into the vice director’s skull.

Then something astonishing happened,

with the skull as the core, black threads representing death rapidly wove together. ‘Neurological Sense – Avat’ appeared in full form as one of the dead.

He knelt on one knee before Rotweis, seeing him as his eternal master, and took the command.

Upon seeing this, Director Dis immediately touched the ground with both palms, deploying his ability.

“Sun Breeding”

The ground and walls of the current area immediately sprouted numerous sun vines, and over a hundred mini suns lit up at the tips of the vines, sealing the room and unleashing the maximum amount of solar radiation.

However,

Whoosh~ Without any fancy movements,

The black-haired Rotweis simply made the most basic slicing gesture, and every sun and vine that had grown were cut and pronounced dead, dim and withering.

The resurrected vice director had already departed.

…

[Sunlight Hotel]

Although the spread of the Death Plague was difficult to contain, when the first gentleman patient appeared at the hotel, the plague began to spread wildly.

However,

before the contagion reached its peak, Yi Chen, a gentleman with ‘antibody’-like qualities, arrived to assist.

Under his call, including Barry, a total of nine gentlemen who had reached their limits were integrated as a team, effectively cleansing the hotel of the dead,

As the killing progressed, the cleansing became more proficient, and even the whole team managed to escape unscathed.

The entire squad grew more confident in this process, believing that if they continued this way, they could eliminate death throughout the entire city and restore Levinhome to its former state.

Once the dead were cut with a wound that transcended thirty centimeters, the gentlemen of the squad would shout William’s name.

Clang~

Spiked iron chains would shoot out immediately, entangling the dead and extracting the ‘Death Plague Breath’ from the wound.

In just one hour, the cleansing was nearing its end.

At the very top of the Sun Hotel, with a puddle of dead birds and rotten fish scattered in front of Yi Chen, the last patient was cleared.

“15…” Yi Chen whispered a number that only he could hear, signifying the count of gentleman patients slain.

“If only there were more~ Even with fifteen absorbed by me, the aura stored within me is still insufficient, not enough to cause a real qualitative change.”

At that moment, a heavy palm landed on his shoulder, and with a gasping voice, asked:

“Huff~ William, are you really okay? You look incredibly pale, practically like a dead man.”

“Ah, really?”

Yi Chen casually entered the bathroom attached to the guest room, checked that there was no sign of death, temporarily removed the black cloth, and saw his frighteningly pale face reflected in the mirror, like it was coated with white powder.

However, Yi Chen didn’t care at all because he had always looked like this before he died.

Assuring himself that he was fine, he continued to cover his eyes with the black cloth.

“Don’t worry, I have experienced real death before, this aura won’t take my life.

By the way, have all the survivors in the hotel been taken care of?”

Barry nodded his head excitedly, “The gentlemen who haven’t reached their limits have already taken the civilians who were lucky to survive to the hospital for refuge. It’s only a ten-minute walk from here to the Sun Hospital, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Since the hotel’s situation is dealt with, let’s head over there too~”

Yi Chen also wrapped an arm around Barry’s broad shoulders, walking out of the room together.

The members of the temporarily formed squad were waiting in the hallway, instantly giving Yi Chen looks of admiration and even worship,

Following the cleansing of the entire hotel, they all surrounded him, eager to inquire about Yi Chen’s profession, origins, the iron chains, and how he was able to absorb death.

However, such inquiries made Yi Chen sense a dissonance,

His hearing and smell had improved from being blindfolded and fighting over a long time, and it seemed like there was one person’s voice and aura missing from the squad.

“Wait, are we missing someone?”

When Yi Chen asked this, the others also began to look around. After all, they were all temporarily teamed up and not very familiar with each other.

“Yes, Miss Bole is not here.”

“Strange, wasn’t Miss Bole following us? She even helped to kill the dead in the previous two rooms.”

However, not long into their discussion, Yi Chen noticed another anomaly.

“Hold on, why do I feel like there’s one less voice again?”

Upon checking the team again, Mr. Andrews, who was supposed to stand on the periphery and had spoken just ten seconds ago, was nowhere to be found.

To think that in a team where everyone was a powerhouse with some attribute at its limit, someone could suddenly vanish.

“Everyone, gather in the guest room and set up a barrier!”

Following Yi Chen’s call, the whole team crammed into the nearest luxury guest room.

The middle-aged gentleman who walked last in the team disappeared once again, without a scream, without any movement, without even leaving the slightest trace.