Chris and Momo returned to the harbor to find Gnarl playing cards against some browns. One of the browns looked at Gnarl and said, "Gots any threes?"
Gnarl banged his head against the table and shouted, "For the last time, we're playing spades, not go fish!" He rubbed his forehead in irritation before noticing Chris. His eyes brightened immediately. "Oh, Master, you're back—thank the Almighty. I take it the quarry is ours?"
Chris answered while stretching his shoulders, "Yeah. Sorry it took so long."
Gnarl blinked at him, confused. "What do you mean? It's only been six hours."
At that, Chris and Momo both froze. "What?" they said in unison.
"Yes, six hours," Gnarl repeated dismissively, waving a clawed hand. "But enough about that—can you summon Grubby yet?"
Chris said, "Uh, yeah, hang on." He held out his hand, and a brown sigil appeared on the ground. From it rose a brown minion wearing a hard hat and holding a pickaxe.
"Grubby reporting for duty, Master! What we be building?"
Gnarl walked up with eager purpose. "Grubby, first things first: draw up some plans to build a seawall. We need this harbor fenced in, so to speak, so we can start a fish farm."
Chris sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I take it the sea's dead?"
Gnarl shrugged. "More like empty of anything but plants. We're going to have to farm our own fish."
Chris replied, "In the meantime, I've got plenty of meat, and a dungeon that can let us secure more. And when we're ready, Momo can help us start a farm."
Gnarl clapped his hands. "Oh, that is splendid news! I take it the young lady has evolved?"
Momo crossed her arms with a proud, playful smirk. "Yep. Nice to officially meet you, you old goblin."
Gnarl looked at her, then burst into cackling laughter. "Ha! That was a good one, you little pink menace!"
Chris brushed off his armor dust and said, "Alright, me and Momo should rest, but I doubt the shopping district will be too hard to capture. So while Grubby is busy getting the seawall construction started, I'll go see if I can get Giblet. The rest of the minions need armor, and I want some weapons made."
Grubby raised a hand. "Master need blues first."
"Oh, right." Chris gathered mana, then used 1200 mana to summon two hundred blues. "Alright, boys, you're gonna do whatever Grubby says until the seawall is built. Understand?"
All the blues said, "Yes, Master!"
Grubby immediately started giving out instructions, and Chris and Momo took off toward the shopping district.
Once they arrived, Chris's watch beeped.
New Quest issued:
Conquer the shopping district
Reward: 1 Overlord level
Chris looked around at the empty district—ruined shops and restaurants, an abandoned gas station, several food trucks stripped bare. "Where is everything? There's no people or undead."
Momo scanned the area, her tail swaying thoughtfully. "Maybe all the zombies got wiped out."
Chris frowned. "By what?"
Before either could guess, a scream echoed through the street. Up ahead, three people sprinted toward them.
At the front was a young woman with brown hair tied in a ponytail and brown eyes, wearing a tattered blue izakaya uniform. Next to her ran a tall young woman with short pixie-cut black hair that had a single braid on the right side, blue eyes, a yellow sweater, a brown jacket, jeans, and white tennis shoes. Bringing up the rear was a mid-twenties man with short black hair and brown eyes, also wearing a tattered blue izakaya uniform.
The woman in front shouted desperately, "Hey, you two! Run away—they're right behind us!"
Chris and Momo calmly looked behind the trio and saw zombified monkeys chasing them.
Once the three ran past, Chris and Momo drew their weapons from their inventories and cut the monkeys down with swift, decisive strikes.
The trio stopped running and stared at the two of them in amazement before cautiously approaching.
Chris asked, "Any of you bitten?"
The man shook his head, his eyes flickering with relief. "No, none of us. Um… thank you for saving us."
Chris gave a small, sincere smile. "No problem. Name's Chris."
Momo raised a hand in a gentle wave, her tone light but confident and cheerful. "You're welcome, I suppose. My name's Momo."
The man nodded. "I'm Nobuyuki Yazawa."
The brown-haired woman bowed politely. "Thank you. My name's Shinobu Senke."
The tall girl, a bit breathless, added, "Yeah, thanks a lot. My name's Karen Kohiruimaki — please call me Karen."
Chris leaned forward, concern softening his expression. "You three have been surviving here?"
Nobuyuki rubbed his sleeve. "Yes. My izakaya is in this district. We were safely hiding out there until recently… then we were found by the undead, and we had no choice but to flee."
Chris grimaced, sympathy in his eyes. "Sorry to hear that."
Karen frowned. "What are you guys doing in this district, then?"
Momo shrugged in an easy, almost cheeky way, flashing a mischievous grin. "We're here to capture it."
Shinobu's eyes widened. "Capture it? What do you mean?"
Chris looked at Momo with raised brows, silently asking really?
Momo laughed softly, unbothered. "We're not the good guys, Master. Why pretend otherwise?"
Chris sighed, his voice firm but honest. "I'm taking over the city district by district. Once I've cleared all the undead out, it's mine. Everyone who's still alive can either leave — in which case, good luck — become one of my subjects, or one of my subordinates. I'm not a saint, but I do treat my people fairly."
Karen took a deep breath, determined. "And how are you able to take over?"
Without hesitation, Chris waved his hand — and thirty brown minions appeared, materializing in a swirl of earth and magic.
The trio stepped back, clearly stunned and unsure what to make of the little creatures.
Chris's voice was calm, commanding. "I've got an infinite supply of these guys. A never-ending army. I can more than hold this city. Now, I'll make it clear: you have three choices — exile, subject, or servant. I won't force you to decide right away. My minions will take you to my advisor, Gnarl. Ask him whatever you want, then make your decision."
They exchanged glances — hesitation, fear, and a cautious hope mingling on their faces — then looked back to Chris.
Nobuyuki swallowed, firming his resolve. "Very well. We'll do as you say and think things over."
They followed the browns toward the harbor district, moving quietly but determined.
Momo watched them leave, her expression softening. "That was generous of you, Master. I would have just left them to die," she said in a thoughtful tone, more gentle than harsh. She turned and started walking in the direction the monkeys had come from, her posture relaxed but alert.
Chris let out a long sigh, his gaze distant. "Looks like the corruption is already taking hold."
He paused, then added, "And I recognized those three. Two of them are from Izakaya Nobu, and the third is from the Sword Art spin-off. I wonder who else I'll run into."
they walked, they passed several faded advertisements for a zoo.
Chris glanced at one and muttered, "Maybe that's why this place is so deserted. Hard to survive next to zombie animals."
Momo tilted her head thoughtfully, her tail flicking behind her with mild curiosity. "I wonder if we'll find Nana here," she said, her tone casual despite the grim topic.
Chris raised a brow. "Your sister you mentioned earlier? You both got bit, right?"
Momo nodded, her expression softening with a rare hint of worry. "Yeah… she's probably a zombie already. And if she kept her powers like me, she's probably controlling the zombified animals."
Chris sighed. "In that case, we'll have to take her out."
Momo's lips curled into a mischievous smile, her eyes gleaming with playful curiosity. "Ooh? And what will you do with her after, I wonder?"
Chris shot her a flat look. "Why ask? I'm obviously taking her as a subordinate like I did you."
Momo nodded quickly, almost relieved. "Good. She may be annoying, but she's still my sister. I'd rather have her around. And plus, since I became yours first, I can boss her around."
Chris said. "Stop getting ahead of yourself. We've got to beat her first."
Momo waved a hand dismissively, confidence radiating off her. "Eh, no problem. After the dungeon? I'm not too worried about zombie Nana."
As they stepped into the zoo, they entered the central plaza—only to find the zombified Nana already waiting. She stood eerily still, staring at them with dull violet eyes. Her once bright pink pigtails were dirty and dull, and her skin was bruised, cut, and rotting beneath a tattered school uniform.
Momo stared for a long moment, then sighed, shoulders slumping. "Oh, Nana… you look absolutely horrible."
She glanced at Chris, a horrified pout forming on her lips. "Did I look that bad?"
Chris didn't hesitate. "Yeah. Pretty much."
Momo gagged dramatically, sticking out her tongue. "Ugh— I want to vomit just thinking about it."
Zombie Nana raised her hand and let out a low, guttural growl. From all over the zoo came thundering footsteps and screeches—zombie lions, zombie monkeys, zombie hyenas, zombie rhinos, and even zombie zebras barreled toward them in a frenzy.
Momo groaned in exasperation. "Of course she has friends. Why wouldn't she?"
Chris tightened his grip on his weapon. "Alright, Momo. We've done this enough that you know the drill."
Momo straightened up, her expression sharpening into focused excitement. "Yes, sir." She spun her halberd with practiced grace, sparks of determination flickering in her eyes, before charging forward and slicing through anything that dared approach.
In mere minutes, Momo had completely decimated Nana's backup with terrifying efficiency. Without hesitation, she lunged forward and skewered Nana, putting her down in one swift, clean strike.
Chris whistled under his breath. "Damn… that was cold."
Momo shrugged, completely unfazed. "Eh. She's being brought back anyway."
Chris gave her a long look. "You're becoming evil a lot faster than I thought."
Momo stared at him, blinked once, then broke into a bright, airy laugh. "Master, I was always like this. Just now I act on what I want with no fear of the consequences."
Chris nodded slowly. "That makes more sense. Watch out—I'm going to get this resurrection started."
Just like with Momo, he resurrected Nana and made her his subordinate. As her body restored itself, she obtained a smartwatch identical to Momo's though hers was red.
Chris's watch beeped the screen lighting up with glowing text:
[Quest Complete]
Rewards: 1 Overlord Level
[New Ability Added]
Green Minion Summoning
Forge Master Summoning
[New Spell Added]
Evil Presence
Description: A dark spell that corrupts all it touches, turning them into a darker version of themselves. Can also pierce through light magic.
Chris stared at the display, eyebrows lifting. "That's cool… and a bit disturbing," he admitted. "Oh well. Let's head back to Gnarl. Now that we have the greens and Giblet, we should take the industrial area—probably break it down too and build Giblet a forge."
Momo walked beside him, hands clasped behind her back, tail swaying with casual interest. "You think Gnarl managed to talk those three into joining?" she asked, her voice light and amused.
Chris shrugged, adjusting his grip on his weapon as they moved. "Not sure. But their choices are live here under my rule, or try their luck in a completely different zombie-infested city." His tone made it clear which option he found more realistic.
Nana followed silently behind them, her expression unreadable as she trailed after her sister and new master as the trio made their way back toward the harbor district.