Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Chapter 266: Secret Meeting Part I

While Zane could have traversed the distance between Reno and Las Vegas fairly quickly if he chose to sprint at full speed. At least much quicker than he would have if he was travelling by car. Or even by plane, for that matter.

The reality was that Zane chose not to do this. His first and foremost reason for taking a slow journey was to set up his camp and explore what it was capable of to the best of his abilities before actually arriving at his destination.

While his secondary purpose was because the Horde Kings expected him to do just this. After all, why wouldn't he travel as quickly as he could to get to his eventual destination? It was only logical.

And it was because of this expectation that he took as long as he could. After all, the longer his journey lasted, the more likely they would have believed that he was further east than he actually was. It was a simple misdirection to throw off his pursuers.

Because of this, night fell before Zane reached Tonopah. He was quite literally travelling slower than a car at this point, albeit still faster than one would if they were walking or riding a bike. In fact, he set up his camp a mere 10 miles away from the isolated town.

Tonopah was different than Hawthorne insofar as there was no military base to keep it occupied and funded. It existed solely as a rest stop between Reno and Vegas. And the people who lived there generally performed jobs that suited these needs.

But the tale of Zane's encounter with the small town would have to wait for another time. Rather, at the present he was busy leveling up his camp. Having reached the second level the night before. Zane now had the means to unlock new blueprints. And craft new stations.

Primarily, what he had access to was a stone building set, a kiln to make pottery, and class in. And a primitive forge. Which was like a grim forge, but only capable of producing level 1-10 gear. In other words, for his horde, which was currently ranked mostly between Tier IV and Tier V undead.

The gear he could currently produce at his camp was less than ideal to outfit his troops with, let alone the Horde Kings bound to his will that acted as their commanders. But Zane spent the night building these things, regardless. As well as the shoddy furniture crafting kit whose blueprints he purchased for slightly extra.

---

An unusual occurrence was taking place on this night. While Zane himself was currently in the midst of enhancing his camp so that he could raise it to a Level three camp. Several powerful figures in the world of Horde Kings gathered in person to speak with one another.

To say that their usual lines of communication were compromised was an understatement. No doubt Zane could listen in to their telepathic communications. He was after all one of them, and had even revealed his presence during a single slip up.

If this was the case, then more drastic measures were required to be taken in order for the Horde Kings to communicate with one another without being listened in on by the heretic. Considering how powerful Tier V Horde Kings were, it was no exaggeration to say that they could travel the distance between North America and Asia in a nearly instantaneous time span.

Even crossing the vast oceans was no small feat for the likes of Lilith and Damian, who, as the most powerful rulers in the borders of the former United States of America, were summoned by their older siblings to the land of the rising sun.

Balthasar's domain was in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, and what had once been a thriving and prosperous city, a jewel of mankind's achievements within the 21st century, was now a smoldering ruin. Unlike Lilith who had rebuilt her domain after damaging it beyond repair. Balthasar liked to be king of the ashes.

His Horde wandered aimlessly throughout the ruins of Tokyo, where not a single living soul still remained. Balthasar had reached the peak of what a Horde King could be. Unlike Lilith he was far more short sighted despite his overwhelming power.

It was because of this that he had not created isolated communities where he could regularly feast on the flesh of humans. No, everything that had been living was either devoured by his horde, or turned into one of its many, many undead.

Gathered in the ruins of a tower, which surprisingly still stood, albeit in very poor condition. Were four Horde Kings. Balthasar, Ophelia, Lilith, and Damian. These four Horde Kings were at the zenith of power and were in many ways rivalrous towards one another.

Ophelia was the exact opposite of Lilith. While Lilith took the form of a mature beauty, whose appearance could rival the various human gods associated with physical appearance and lust. Ophelia took the form of a small girl. Much of the same vain death had done when she appeared in this world as Maya.

But unlike Maya, Ophelia did not have blood-red eyes, nor was her hair parted in two distinctive colors. No, her hair was as black as midnight, and tied into twin drills. She had blunt bangs, which covered her jet black eyebrows and had eyes as dark as the abyss much like Zane.

Her skin was porcelain, almost as if she were a living doll, and she wore a distinctive gothic Lolita style attire. All while holding onto a white stuffed rabbit which appeared to have one of its eye sockets forcibly gouged out.

The stark contrast before the sinisterly adorable gothic loli, and the heavenly beauty, was not the only parallel that existed among these Horde Kings. Balthasar and Damian could not be any more opposite themselves.

Damian took the form of a young man at the end of his adolescence, roughly the same age as Zane, actually. Maybe a year younger. But unlike Zane who had grown up for the most part impoverished. Damian had the smug and entitled appearance of a true WASP. His fashion sense was no less arrogant.

The smug git had short, slicked back golden hair, and matching eyes. While his regal features reflected that of old nobility, despite the fact that his horde was centered on the east coast of the United States. A land famous for its republic, and a rather belligerent expression of freedom which was endowed to its people by their creator.

Whereas Balthasar, whose power was second only to death herself in this world, he took the form of a middle-aged Yakuza member. His body was covered in tattoos that were exposed due to the wide open collar of his purple shirt. Their design was similar to those that would commonly be found among the Yakuza.

Balthasar's hair showed visible signs of greying, while his rough and unkempt stubble matched in this regard. The color of his eyes was undetectable behind his gold-rimmed aviator glasses, which had a bronze tint to them.

And around his neck were several gold chains that glistened beneath the light of the sun. Currently, Balthasar was sitting on a pile of rubble while smoking a cigarette. All the while the other Horde kings stood surrounding him, creating a full circle with him at the top of it.

Ophelia had a smug smirk as she gazed upon Lilith, who glared fiercely at her older sister, despite the Horde King's childlike appearance. And the gothic Lolita was quick to speak in a voice that was unfitting by the sinister words which they expressed.

"So… Let's cut the shit shall we? Balthasar you summoned us all here for a reason. And though you didn't tell us why, I'm certain we all know what this is really about, now don't we? This has to do with the heretic doesn't it? The one who claimed to be Death's only child?"

Lilith growled as she heard this. She quickly clutched her pendant, which had been fashioned by Zane's blood, as if to calm herself. After all, Zane had escaped under her watch, and had uttered such blasphemy to her in person.

She may not be as fanatical as her siblings, but… They held her responsible for the fact that Zane's head was still attached, and because of this she remained silently perturbed. Balthasar, however let out a puff of smoke before lowering his glasses to reveal greyed eyes, much in the same vain a blind person would have.

Despite this perceived disability, their sights focused upon Ophelia who dared to act so smugly in his territory. They were very clearly filled with hostility towards the Gothic Lolita as Balthasar raised his voice towards her.

"If it weren't for the fact that there was a heretic among our ranks, I would have taken offense to the fact that you spoke without permission just now. But considering our circumstances I'll pretend that didn't just happen. This will be the only time I do so.

And yes, you are correct in your assumptions. This matter is about that heretic, not about his nonsensical claims, mind you. But to discuss what exactly we are to do with him.

I mean, he managed to escape from Lilith. That is no easy feat. I'm more concerned with how this little rat managed to do so when you claim, dear sister, that he only has the strength of a Tier I Horde King….

I myself would have a difficult time breaking free from your charms should you dare to wield them against me. So tell me, how did such a whelp manage to escape from you after you set your eyes upon him?"

Lilith remained silent for some time. She had to calm her nerves before telling her side of the story. Because if she slipped up and was caught lying, then it was as good as declaring war on a fanatic like Balthasar…