Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 166: The Empty Road.

The group rode forward cautiously, until they were in the middle of both watchtowers, weapons drawn and waiting with bated breath for an attack from any direction.

The sense of unease kept building in Ren's chest. From here on out, he was operating under the assumption that he was late, and the Red Plague had already happened. But why was it quiet everywhere? The red zombies were anything but quiet.

After more than a minute of watching and waiting with weapons drawn, their heads roving watchfully, there was still no attack.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Thorn chuckled. "I think this place is well and truly deserted."

Ren said nothing, taking in the watchtowers as everyone sheathed their weapons. Why would the border outpost be deserted? "Thorn?"

Thorn smirked, glancing at Elias. "I guess it's our time to shine."

He and Elias dismounted, each one moving towards one of the twin watchtowers. Ren, Lilith, and Valen, watched as they climbed the watchtowers, searching every corner of it.

As they did that, Ren used the opportunity to scan the trees around the horizon, in case they were being watched. They were not.

Minutes passed before both men returned.

"Nothing." Elias said, wiping his hands on his trousers. "No guards, no signs of recent occupation. Dust on everything."

"Same here." Thorn added, glancing around. "This place has been empty for a while. A month, maybe more. And the best part? Or worse depending on how you think about it, there was no sign of struggle or that they left in a hurry."

"Any signs of explosions? Burnt wood?" Ren asked.

"No. I didn't see any." Thorn turned to Elias. "You?"

"Nothing." The guard answered. "My guess is that they were recalled back to the cities of Elnoria."

Ren frowned as he took in their report. Why would Elnoria recall its border guards? And if it wasn't the Red Plague, then what?

From what he knew, the plague didn't care about borders. The zombies wandered aimlessly, and this meant that if the plague was really active, the zombies should have gotten to the border by now.

"Valen?" He turned slightly to the soldier from atop his horse. "Are the border outposts deserted sometimes?"

"No, Lord Ren. While this is one of the minor roads into Albion, Elnoria doesn't just abandon its border posts. They monitor everything. Even the less important crossings."

"So what happened here?" Lilith asked.

Valen's brow furrowed slightly and Ren caught the movement.

"What?" He asked. "Did you notice anything?"

Valen glanced around them before speaking. "I noticed something… odd. I didn't think it was relevant until now, but... we haven't seen a single merchant since we crossed the hills. No carts. No caravans. Nothing. This road should see at least one merchant taking this route between Albion and Elnoria."

Ren turned to face him fully, eyes narrowing as his horse whinnied. "And you waited until now to tell me?"

Valen inclined his head slightly. "Apologies. It didn't seem important at the time."

"If you notice anything strange. Anything strange at all," Ren said through gritted teeth, voice hard, "you tell me. Immediately. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Ren."

"And that goes for all of you." He turned to glance at his companions. "We don't have the luxury of waiting until the threats are in our face to speak up about it. We might be uniquely powerful individuals, but even an immortal could fall to whatever is waiting for us."

Valen's eyes narrowed at Ren's wording but the man said nothing.

As for Ren, he exhaled, taking in the watchtowers again. Even being immortal meant nothing if the plague got to them. All that would create is an immortal zombie.

Lilith tilted her head. "So, what now?"

Ren signalled to Thorn and Elias to mount their horses. "We ride to the nearest Elnorian village. Fast. We need to see if this lack of people is an isolated incident or something worse. Be on guard, people. We don't know what we'll meet."

They spurred their horses forward, the party moving at a hard gallop across the open fields. The wind whipped past them, and even Thorn kept quiet, knowing how serious the situation was. If the soldiers had been recalled because of something, how powerful was it that they'd exhausted all soldiers they had and had to recall the border soldiers?

An hour later, they spotted the tall wooden walls of the Elnorian village closest to the border. The buildings inside rose, taller than the fence, smoke rising gently from the chimneys, but there was no sign of people. The wooden gates were wide open, swaying slightly in the wind.

"There should be guards." Elias said, slowing his horse.

"It's just like the watchtower." Thorn muttered, eyes narrowed. "Way too quiet."

Ren raised a hand, signaling them to slow as they approached.

They rode past the open gate and into the village, their horses' hooves loud and almost echoing against the cobbled road. No dogs barked. No people stared from windows. The place wasn't decayed or destroyed. It was simply empty.

The main road cut straight through the village, with homes and stalls lining either side. Baskets of fruit sat rotting on a vendor's cart. A pot steamed over a small fire, now reduced to embers. Whatever had happened here, it had happened fast.

They rode until they reached a wide intersection in the center of the village. That's when they saw her.

A girl, maybe eight years old, was hunched over in the middle of the road. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, her body shaking with sobs.

"Who's that?" Lilith whispered.

Ren raised a hand, slowing everyone to a stop. "Wait."

"She looks hurt." Elias said.

"Let me handle this." Thorn offered. He dismounted slowly.

"Hey, wait." Ren hissed.

"Come on, it's just a crying kid." Thorn chuckled. "She can't be that dangerous."

Ren's eyes narrowed but he allowed it. After all, he hadn't heard of a red zombie crying before. They shouldn't be that intelligent.

Thorn walked forward slowly, his voice soft. "Hey there, little one. Are you okay? What happened here? Why are you crying?"

The girl didn't respond.

Thorn took a few more steps forward, holding his hands out gently, palms up. "It's alright. We're here to help. What's your name?"

The girl stirred.

She raised her head.

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Ren's blood ran cold.

Her eyes were entirely red. Not just bloodshot, just red. Her pupils, her irises, everything. Red veins traced out from her eyes, webbing across her face like cracks in glass. Her mouth twitched.

"Thorn!" Ren shouted, drawing Freedom in one motion. "Get back!"

But it was too late.

The girl's body pulsed unnaturally, swelling and twisting.

And then, she exploded.