Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 249: Shamelessly Absconding

Zane was royally screwed, and he knew it. There was no escaping from this situation with his life intact. Not unless Lilith wanted him to. From a very simple observation of what she had said, and how she had acted so far. She held an intense hatred for him, no doubt because their mother showed him favoritism.

In addition to this, he had been a nuisance to herself and her siblings over the course of the last half a year or so. First by killing Eliza and seizing her territory, and then by taking out all the other Tier I Horde Kings in his area.

It would be no exaggeration to say that, among all of humanity, Zane was Lilith's least favorite person. Or so he would be if he were still human. With all of this critical information in mind, Zane needed to play the hand he was dealt, albeit very carefully.

And because of this, he was quick to answer the woman's initial questions. And she observed him. Almost like a human lie detector, Lilith examined every feature of Zane's face and every twitch of his muscle as he spoke to her.

"Gwen, let me win. Much like Beatrix. She found something out about our mother's intentions and went along with it. I don't know why, but that became blatantly obvious after we fought…."

Lilith stared intently at Zane for several seconds, closing the difference between them, and uncomfortably so, as she sniffed the man, almost as if she were trying to detect the lies in his words through his scent.

And every concluding that he was telling her the truth, she repeated the second part of her initial conversation, this time with a severe tone in her voice.

"Alright… Say I believe you about that, you still haven't answered my second question. And that is, who is responsible for Gwen's resurrection. We know all about it. She died, her very life force was snuffed out. And in the very next moment, it returns. Except she's no longer capable of communicating with us.

My siblings are convinced that our mother is responsible. Her scent is all over you after all. But I'm not so sure… You weren't one of us, not really. And now you are… There is no mistaking it. So how did this happen? Mother… She is the answer.

Now I want to know if mother gave you any special abilities, something she would not bless with the rest of us. So allow me to repeat myself. Who was responsible for Gwen's resurrection?"

Zane remained completely and utterly silent for some time. He did not know whether or not he should actually answer this honestly. After all, he was quite confident in his poker face. But at the end of the day, Lilith was a being whose power and ability were beyond measure.

Lying to Lilith may anger her, and cost him his life. But, if she was really so petty and jealous towards the affection that their mother showed him, then she might just kill Zane for telling the truth as well.

It would appear, however, that his silence was not appreciated, as Lilith quickly formed a blade from her own blood. A blade which protruded from her knuckle. It was hard and crystalline. Much in the same way Zane was capable of doing. Yet its sharpness could cut through a diamond without issue.

When pressing the blade against Zane's neck, he could feel the coldness against his skin. It was almost begging to slit his throat. And when Lilith looked the man straight in the eyes, he thought he saw a slight red flash appear.

But Zane was only consciously aware of this for a second. Once Lilith spoke again, he told the truth without a second thought or worry.

"Don't make me repeat myself, little brother… Who resurrected Gwen?"

As much as Zane had wanted to avoid answering altogether, or at the very least considered outright lying. The moment Lilith spoke to him, in that incredibly alluring and seductive tone, his voice spoke before his brain could properly think through his response.

"I did… After killing Gwen, I consumed her blood crystal and gained the ability to raise the dead and turn them into my servants…'

Lilith was immediately taken aback by this information, flinching backwards as if she had just been hit with an exorcism. She stammered over her words as she stared at Zane as if he was some kind of monster.

"I.. Im…Impossible! On..Only mother has… Has that kind of ability! You lie!"

In the next second, the spell which Lilith had enchanted Zane with collapsed, causing him to shake his head as his mind regained it clarity. He understood that he had revealed his secret to his enemy, and that he had not intentionally done so, but was instead forced by an unknown ability. One which Zane was quick to comment upon.

"How? How did you force me to tell you that!?!"

Lilith's eyes flashed red once more, and in doing so, Zane fell back under her spell. All the while, she approached the man with a complicated expression in her eyes. She had to know why her mother was favoring this man so much.

Thus she pinned her heel to Zane's chest, and in doing so revealing the undergarments she wore beneath her skirt, all the while demanding an answer from the man, who was too charmed to notice.

"Why? Why does Mother show you such favor!?! You're a nobody! Among our Tier I brothers and sisters, you rank somewhere in the middle. So why! Why does she give you an ability to command us all!?!

Who the hell do you think you are?"

Something was different this time. The more Lilith used her spell on Zane's mind, the weaker it became. And suddenly he found his clarity returning to him. Because of this, but he did not immediately reveal this. Instead, he droned on in a monotone voice as if he was still charmed by the woman who was interrogating him.

"I am her child… It is only natural for her to bless me with such gifts…."

The fury in Lilith's eyes knew no bounds. She quickly raised her fist, as if she were about to strike through the man's skull with the blade that protruded from her knuckles. She glared with an intense hatred towards Zane, all the while shouting at him in a shrill voice.

"You are not her only child! You are but one of many!"

Just when Lilith was about to end Zane's life, he did something completely unexpected. Zane dove out of his chair into a double leg takedown, lifting the tier V Horde King up into the air before slamming her on her back.

The woman was stunned, but not physically so. Moreso, surprised that Zane had escaped from her spell. And once he ended up with his knee on her belly, and his sickle manifested in his hand, which he held towards her throat, Zane smirked something devilish, as he whispered the truth in Lilith's ear. A truth which explained the difference between the two of them.

"The difference between me and the others is that mother actually conceived and gave birth to me. I am her only real child. The rest of your were just the first to be raised from the dead, and thus you are all mere pretenders who simply call yourselves her children, which is an insult to me, the prodigal son!"

Lilith breathed heavily and raggedly, not because she needed to do so, but because she was so outraged, she couldn't help it. She immediately tried to fling Zane off of her, which, with her superior strength, was an easy task.

However, just before she could attack Zane, a sound erupted in the distance. It was a thunderous echo across the landscape. Perhaps if Zane had not personally witnessed the early days of the apocalypse, then he would not fully recognize the sound, as it was one that was usually only found on a battlefield.

But Zane had heard the intense barrage of artillery as it wreaked havoc throughout the streets of Reno. Artillery used by the National Guard in order to repel the undead from what was then called the Safe Zone.

When Zane and Lilith both heard this echo, they looked in the direction of where the shots were being fired. Just in time for the shells to explode within the city walls, causing mass destruction to what had previously been a proverbial paradise.

Lilith was just as dumbfounded as Zane over where this artillery fire had suddenly come from, but unlike Zane, she had the eyesight to see who was attacking them. And she snarled when she witnessed the banner of old America waving in the distance.

She was just about to say something about this nuisance, one which she had previously thought that she and her siblings had already destroyed. When Lilith noticed something was wrong. Zane's weight was no longer on her stomach.

Quickly shifting her focus back to where the man had just been a moment to go, Lilith was baffled at the man's shameless attempt to abscond. It was only then that she realized that Zane had used the sudden interruption as a means to escape from her clutches, causing her to curse in a voice so loud and high pitched it might as well have been the screech of a banshee.

"You fucking prick! Get back here this instant! I'm not done with you yet!"

But Zane had bolted, breaking the sound barrier as he rushed out of the castle windows, and over its walls. Having been given a chance to escape from a Tier V Horde King, he would have been a fool not to act on it.