<Chapter 133>
#15. Epidemic (7)
Something akin to madness emanated from him as he staggered about, muttering bizarre words. The people crowding the store naturally pressed themselves against the walls, trying to distance themselves from him.
“Master Melty. You need to get away.”
“Wh-what? Huh? Pel-ssi?”
“I’ll hold him off, first get to the mansion…!”
Melty’s eyes widened in surprise at Pel’s sudden appearance. For Melty, who had no idea that Pel had been escorting him since leaving the mansion, his appearance couldn’t help but be startling. However, there wasn’t enough time to calmly explain the situation, so Pel quickly turned around.
Malek, realizing that what Pel was about to do wasn’t something his pregnant younger brother should see, quietly pulled Melty into his arms, letting him bury his face against his chest.
“Hold tight to hyung’s clothes. We’ll move quickly.”
“W-what’s s-suddenly happening?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s definitely not a safe situation.”
With a grimace, Malek moved swiftly. Melty, clinging tightly to Malek, felt him push someone aside and slip out the door. High-pitched screams could be heard from inside the store. Melty’s grip on Malek’s clothes tightened as he felt his heart pounding.
“H-hyung.”
“It’s okay. We’ll move away right now…”
“…Kekek. C-central b-bastards… Where do you think you’re going.”
Melty, who had flinched at the grotesque voice, slowly turned his head while keeping his eyes open. There stood a man whose body was bumpy and swollen in various places, similar to what he had seen in the store earlier. One of his eyes was almost invisible, so swollen with blisters.
“Y-you too sh-should be the s-same as us!”
His voice rang out eerily, as if mixed with metal filings. Frowning, Malek once again made Melty bury his face in his chest before moving quickly and decisively.
Without even making a sound, the man’s slashed body slowly fell downward. Melty’s shoulders instinctively contracted at the pungent smell of blood.
“It’s alright. It’s nothing. I really don’t know what’s going on.”
Malek casually flicked the blood off his knife with a slight shake, letting out a low sigh. Melty’s heart pounded at the sudden situation that had unfolded. He exhaled in relief at his kind brother’s touch and quietly rested his cheek on Malek’s shoulder. As Melty unconsciously moved his head, he suddenly froze.
“H-hyung.”
Melty’s voice was filled with fear as he tugged forcefully on Malek’s clothes. Malek responded with a puzzled expression.
“What?”
“B-behind!”
“Huh?”
At Melty’s scream-like cry, Malek turned his head and discovered that the blisters on the body of the man he had just cut down were swelling up as if about to burst.
“Damn it.”
Spitting out a brief curse, Malek hurriedly moved toward a secluded corner of the wall and shielded Melty. Simultaneously, there was a dull bursting sound. Melty’s body trembled, frozen from the strong smell of blood that hit his nose and the explosion sound that still made his ears ring.
“Are you okay?”
Looking up at the voice above his head, Melty nodded vigorously with tear-filled eyes. At Melty’s nod, Malek smiled deeply and let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Good. That’s a relief. What in the world is going on…”
“Is hyung okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Malek’s words were cut off by Melty’s urgent question as he clutched at his clothes. A smile crept onto Malek’s lips at his brother’s worried gaze.
“Ah. Of course. I’m fine. What do you take your hyung for? What in the world is happening…”
Malek lightly patted Melty’s head and slowly stood up. Despite Malek’s reassurance, Melty examined him all over with worried eyes.
True to his word that he was ‘fine,’ there were no visible injuries. However, the back of his clothes was soaked with blood. Feeling like he might retch from the strong smell assaulting his nose, Melty covered his mouth and nose with his hand. Quickly noticing this change, Malek obediently moved back.
“Melty!”
Turning his head to the side at the voice calling his name forcefully, Melty discovered Calix standing there, panting heavily.
“Calix-ssi…?”
It made no sense why he was here when he had been acting busy all day. Melty called out to him in a bewildered voice. Calix, frowning at the sea of blood soaking the narrow alley and the remains of what was once a person, quickly assessed the situation.
Hastily moving over to help Melty up, Calix thoroughly examined him to ensure there was no blood on his body.
“Ugh, w-why? W-what is it?”
Melty, being held and turned over by Calix, asked back in a dazed voice. Without answering Melty’s questions, Calix pulled him into his arms.
“What on earth is going on?”
Malek sighed, pushing back his hair as he asked. Calix’s expression quickly hardened as he carefully examined Malek’s blood-soaked body. Calix regained his senses at the sound of people gathering and murmuring, and spoke in a stiff tone.
“We should move before more people gather.”
***
“W-what are you saying? Why my hyung?!”
After arriving at the mansion and promptly bathing in warm water, Melty raised his voice with a shocked expression. The first thing Calix did upon arriving at the mansion was to bathe together with Melty.
Despite the circumstances that would normally have allowed for intimate skinship, he did nothing beyond washing. Melty had been about to hear an explanation about the day’s events with a serious expression. However, Calix, with a somber face, informed him that Malek had been quarantined in an outlying villa rather than the usual guest room where he typically stayed.
Under Melty’s piercing gaze demanding an explanation, Calix struggled with how to explain the situation. It was exhausting just to think about. He never expected such an incident would occur precisely when Melty went into town. Calix let out a deep sigh and slowly began to speak.
“Those people you encountered today were escapees. To be precise, they were patients from the isolated outer regions where infected people are quarantined.”
“The outer regions… The e-epidemic…!”
Melty mumbled with a pale face as he recalled them. Calix nodded at Melty’s words and gave a bitter smile.
“I went to the scene after you left today. It seems one person infected with the epidemic died this morning. It caused quite a commotion. As you saw…”
“…I think I understand.”
Melty bit his lips repeatedly and nodded. Though he hadn’t seen it directly, he could guess the situation from the blood that had soaked the ground and the dull explosion sound.
“I was planning to do a classification with Johaim today. We thought keeping everyone together might cause misunderstandings. The plan was to isolate only those showing symptoms elsewhere, but…”
“Th-then, the other people who came to the square today…”
“That’s right. It seems more people showed symptoms than expected. Some willingly admitted it.”
“Then those people… did they, escape?”
Even without Calix telling him, Melty could predict that much.
“…Yes.”
Calix muttered in a low voice and ran his hand through his hair with a tired face.
“They all ran out in panic. I don’t know what they were thinking, shouting things like, ‘We’re not test subjects!'”
Calix clicked his tongue, irritated just recalling it. He knew there were useless rumors spreading that Padrian was capturing healthy people for human experiments. But he never expected such a trivial rumor would cause problems at such a critical time.
“We had strengthened security to prevent them from leaving, but when one infected person died like that, the commotion grew. Some escaped during the confusion… I didn’t expect you would be in danger.”
With a low sigh, Calix buried his face in Melty’s hair.
‘If I had known this would happen, I would have killed them on the spot even if it confused others.’
As a Padrian residence, there were snakes throughout the place. And Calix could skillfully give them commands. The problem was that many people were gathered in that situation, and multiple gazes were focused on them.
If he had ordered the snakes or his subordinates to massacre the escaping people in that state, there would inevitably be problems with subsequent control. Despite knowing this clearly, Calix was certain that if he could go back to that moment, he would act without hesitation.
“…More importantly, why is my hyung being quarantined?”
“Ah…”
“Don’t tell me… No, right?”
Melty looked at Calix with an anxious gaze as he asked. Calix held Melty’s trembling hands in his own and let out a heavy breath.
“Nothing’s certain yet.”
“What does that mean? Then… you’re saying my hyung might be infected?”
“……”
Calix maintained a heavy silence in response to Melty’s question. He couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘There’s a high possibility.’ However, Calix’s silence was answer enough for Melty.
“B-but my hyung didn’t even touch those people! And he said he didn’t feel sick or have any wounds…!”
“We believe the transmission condition is bodily fluids. Blood is one of them, so I can’t say for certain right now. Symptoms tend to appear quickly when infected through a person, so we’ll just observe for a few days.”
Calix calmly explained the situation to Melty while massaging his still-cold hands. Despite his attempt to convey it calmly, Melty’s anxiety didn’t subside at all. After chewing his lips repeatedly, Melty asked with an anxious look.
“What about medicine?”
“We’re looking into it. We’ll hurry as much as possible.”
Despite having predicted this answer, Melty felt his heart sink. It felt as if a solid lump was blocking his throat, causing discomfort. Melty barely swallowed his dry saliva to moisten his throat and asked with a forced smile.
“If, if hyung is infected… how long would it take for it to spread completely… like those people?”
“I can’t be certain.”
Calix tried to comfort Melty by stroking his shoulders and back, but seeing Melty’s intense gaze, he let out a low sigh.
“Probably… about two weeks. That’s the current estimate.”
