Author's Note:

Last chapter! Stay tuned to the trivia chapter after this! If you hang around, I'll tell you something interesting about Trishy's name ;)
(Yeah, it's NOT a random name I just picked up XD)

Thanks to June Ellie for beta-reading this chapter.

(And in case you haven't see it) I also fixed the previous chapter a bit after June Ellie's suggestions! (See the EDIT note in the author's note.)

【Chapter 7: Ars Magna / The Great Art】

Marc listened to Robert's story earnestly. He clenched his fists, frustrated that he was ignorant while all this was going on right under his nose.

"Kid... Remember when we first met?" Robert called out weakly, "We shared the same ideal about not using our agents as tools. You let the chief be and this will just continue. The VSSE has no right to carry out its missions after what it did." He paused, looking up at Marc.

"What are you going to do when you get back?"

Marc thought for awhile. Looking at the dead bodies around him, he felt that he'd certainly go ballistic himself if his partner Luke were to ever use the drug, even if it was to save the world.

"...I know that it could be necessary to use the drug sometimes, but I find that I can't agree with it," he replied. "But still, despite its methods, I think the world needs the VSSE. Remember how we always did our best to successfully complete our missions and do what is right? I think all our agents are sincere about saving the world. You used to be that way too, right? Our ideals and justice, it's not a lie at all!"

"..."

"But yes, when I get back, I'll make sure I punch some sense into the chief. I have the feeling that if you even offer such a drug to someone like Luke, he'll go ahead and use it without thinking! I mean, the idiot's probably okay with it, but not me!" Marc folded his arms and shook his head.

"VSSE agents are dependable and powerful, so I'm sure we can come up with alternative methods to get ourselves out of hairy situations without using any zombie drug shortcuts. I'll destroy the drugs myself if the chief tries to make us use it again!" He said with determination.

"Heh, I was right in counting on you to be a great agent in future, after all," Robert managed a smile, trying to fight back the effects of the zombie drug that was beginning to cloud his vision.

"Go look for your friend now," he said to Marc, "I have nothing against the two of you, so I missed him on purpose. He should be lying somewhere in the rubble."

"...!"

Holding Trishy's ring tightly, Robert took his handgun and held it to his jaw. "I can take care of myself here. Go now, and make a better world from the one I've destroyed. Also..." He paused for a moment.

"Keithーif he's still alive, tell him that I know he won't forgive me for everything I did, but I wish him luck and I'm glad to have worked with him in the past."

"..." Marc gave Robert a sad smile and nodded, taking his leave.

A gunshot echoed through the empty halls as the sound of Marc's footsteps faded into the shadows.

Luke was a little wounded, but otherwise completely fine when Marc found him. Marc hugged him tight, just glad that he got to see his easygoing friend again.

They immediately headed back to where everyone was. The moment Marc saw the chief, he just couldn't help punching him, to everyone's surprise. He then explained everything that happened. Marc would have passed on Robert's message to Keith as well, but he was out cold. Glad that Keith was at least alive and properly patched up, Marc made a mental note to tell him later.

"I see. So Robert did it for the reasons I suspected, after all," the chief said, his face clearly showing that he felt the weight of his responsibilities. "All of you probably want to punish me for that, huh? Although I wouldn't know what I can do to make up for all this. I have no excuses," he said, motioning to the destruction all around him.

"..." The other surviving agents looked at him silently, unsure of what to do. Luke waltzed in to do what he was always good at.

"No use crying over spilt milk!" He said, waving his arms, "The worst we can do is get into a fight over personal matters. We're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, so we need all the hands we can get!" Luke turned to the chief.

"Sir Chief! You're the only one here who knows how to get us together as a team, so if you really want to help, do your best to put this world back together, won't you?" He grinned.

"Except no zombie drugs this time!" Marc added. Catherine sighed, leaving Keith to get some rest and walking up to them.

"Well, you two are the only field agents who are still in good shape out of all of us. Hope you're ready to be on the front lines!"

"Hey! I'm tired and want a break, too!" Luke complained.

"Just how would a bunch of people like us take on this entire mess? We're totally outnumbered!" Marc said, looking at the zombies overrunning all the roads around the building. A voice from a megaphone interrupted him.

"Attention VSSE agents! This is Agent Richard Miller!"

Everyone looked up to see a chopper lowering itself to their rooftop. Richard was standing there at its door. Other surviving agents were peeking out from behind him.

"Agent Miller!" Catherine cried out in joy. Everyone around her looked relieved, pointing at the chopper and cheering. Richard hopped down from the chopper once it got close enough to the roof. He greeted the chief.

"Sir! Glad to see that there are survivors. We've come to rescue all of you."

"Sir Miller!" Luke jumped up and down, asking him excitedly, "Are there more survivors?!" Richard smiled at him and explained the situation.

"We fought tooth and nail, and we managed to secure several prisons in the US to use as our fortresses for now. Surviving agents are protecting the civilians in it under Agent Lambert and Agent Dunaway's command. We've also received confirmation from Agent Bruno and Agent Bernard that the agents in Europe have secured some useful areas. As of now, I'm expecting further news from the other VSSE agents around the world."

"YES!" Luke cheered, happy at the good news. Marc smiled at him, then looked across the horizon at the burning world around them with courage.

Time to bring back the beautiful world from this pile of ashes.

【END】

【Epilogue】

A week later, things had settled down, the surviving VSSE agents securing safety in their various strongholds. Keith, having finally recovered after slipping in and out of consciousness the whole week, stood by himself on the prison rooftop, looking out into the darkness of the night and reflecting on what Marc told him.

"Hey." Keith heard Marc call out to him as he approached. He turned back to look.

"You should be sleeping," Keith said.

"A little worried about you," Marc said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I was the one passing the message after all. I feel responsible to at least make sure that you're taking it well."

"Heh, I don't need to be looked after by a rookie," Keith joked.

Marc scratched his head. "So... You still angry at Robert?"

"Yeah," Keith said with a sigh, "A lot. But more than being angry for what he did, I'm angrier that he kept all that suffering to himself. I wish that he had come and shared his pain with me, his partner."

Keith turned around and looked into the distance again. "But well, that's Robert for youーalways pretending to be strong and taking on everything by himself. Despite what he did, I think that deep down, he's not a bad person."

Keith looked up at the starry skies, then. "With his part over, I wonder if he's watching over us now."

Marc smiled at him. "Yeah, pretty sure he is."

【Epilogue End】

(This story's trivia collection in the next chapter →)