Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 194: Agent of Death

The words which Balthasar had spoken were enough to send chills down the spine of everyone who had heard them. Mother was shielding a living being? Preposterous!

She was the mother of death, after all, and all undead beings were her children. Why would she side with the enemies of her own offspring? It was simply unbelievable.

Had anyone other than Balthasar spoken these words, then it would have been akin to blasphemy. But Balthasar was different. He was the closest among the Horde Kings to their absent mother. If he were to suggest such a thing, then it was not Blasphemy. In fact, it was closer to a concept like that of divine truth.

Hushed whispers quickly spread across the hive mind, of which all Horde Kings were a part of. Brothers and sisters alike spoke their own thoughts on the matter, wondering if perhaps Balthasar was right.

That is until Damian finally spoke above them all. Judging by the tone in his voice, he was not pleased with the idea that their Mother would be assisting their enemies, and was quick to call the very idea into question.

"You can't honestly believe that Mother of all people is shielding the living from us? She created us! It is for her that we have conquered this world! So why then would she suddenly turn to the humans and protect them from our servants?"

Balthasar did not seem to enjoy the idea of someone questioning his authority on the matter, after all his tone was already filled with envy at the idea that this living being had been blessed by their mother, and it was clear he did not wish to pose such a concept to his siblings unless it was absolutely necessary.

For Damian to oppose him here, it was simply like pouring salt on an open wound. And because of that, his voice was hoarse as he hurled his insults towards Damian as if they were mortal rivals rather than estranged brothers.

"You dare question me? If I wasn't on the other side of the world from you, I would march my horde into your territory and force you onto your knees for such insolence!"

Despite the very clear threat made by the most powerful of his brothers and sisters, Damian did not back down, and instead once more questioned Balthasar's prior statement.

"Threaten me all you wish, my Lord… But you the fact remains that what you have said makes no sense whatsoever. Tell me, why would Mother be shielding this human man? You dare not suggest that perhaps he is her lover, do you? Even the great Balthasar would not be able to shake the charges of Heresy if you were to insist upon such a blasphemous thought!"

Balthasar's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets. Meanwhile, the veins on his forehead were about to burst from the overwhelming rage he currently felt. If not for the fact that he was already dead, at least by the standards of the living, then he surely would have suffered from an aneurysm just now.

But luckily for him, he was already dead, and thus such an ailment could not possibly afflict him. Instead, he stood up from where he was currently seated, not that Damian could see him, and cursed the man for his crass statements.

"You dare speak such blasphemy in my presence! I never once implied such a sacrilegious thought! I am merely stating the fact that this man has abilities similar to our own, despite clearly being a living being. And on top of this, Bartholomew's servants no longer heed his orders upon making contact with the man!

The only reasonable explanation is that Mother has blessed him for whatever reason that may be! Accept the reality we live in, dearest brother, or else I will not be so polite the next time we meet in person!"

The amount of tension in the room was sharp enough to cut through solid steel. If one did not diffuse this ticking time bomb, then it was only a matter of time before violence occurred between the two parties.

In fact, it already would have happened had they all been standing together in the same room. Seeing this as an opportunity to ingratiate herself with two of her more powerful brothers, Lilith was quick to step in as a mediator. Instead, posing an alternative hypothesis, one that was sure to invoke interest from all who heard it, and perhaps very well solve this matter once and for all.

"Pardon me brothers, but have either of you thought of the possibility that this man is actually one of us rather than one of the living human beings who he hides among?"

An all out brawl was avoided between two of the world's most powerful Horde Kings as they snapped out of their own obstinance and instead pondered deeply about the possibility that perhaps what their sister had said was actually true.

If the man in question was an actual horde of king, perhaps one who was not fully developed, then it would explain their mother's blessings being granted upon him. But if that were the case, then why was he killing his own siblings?

To blend in with the humans? Why? Humanity was on the way out. They were just a few years away from complete and total extinction. This much was evident. What with them being pressed into small pens like the cattle, they were.

Where their fate was to be feasted upon by the undead as they pleased.

And with the overwhelming amount of infighting that the humans seemed to love engaging in. It was only a matter of time before they went the way of the dodo bird. So why would this man who seemed to have been blessed with their Mother's boon hide among humanity? What purpose could such a thing serve?

It was then that another Horde King voiced her own opinion on this exact matter. Her voice was not as alluring as Lilith's was. In fact, it was quite meek, almost as if she were intimidated by the mere presence of her elder siblings. But the words she posed resounded with each and every one of them, almost as if it was the missing piece of the puzzle they had long since been searching for.

"What if this mysterious brother of ours is hiding among the humans so that he can learn the secrets of their newfound powers? Perhaps mother has sent him as a spy to hide among their ranks, and to learn everything he can about their mysterious abilities, which have coincidentally appeared along with the rise of our domains?"

What this feminine Horde King said made some form of sense. Especially when the rest of them had no better explanation to go by. Still, would their mother really sanction the second death of her beloved children for the sake of understanding the truth behind humanity's newfound powers?

One needed only think about this question for a single second before coming to the conclusion that yes, that is exactly what the Mother of Death would do. And because of this misunderstanding among the Horde Kings, Zane unknowingly gained a form of protection and a status among the undead who believed he was their double agent acting on the orders of their Mother.