THE ZOMBIE SYSTEM-Chapter 52 - 51: The Verdict’s Shadow

"You’ve created a problem that can’t be solved with policy."

Leon forced himself upright. His ribs screamed but he locked eyes with Chairman Ethella. The man stood like carved marble, perfect posture, calculated stillness. Everything about him spoke of absolute control.

Leon kept his mouth shut. Words wouldn’t change the corpses he’d left behind.

Ethella studied him like a researcher examining a new species. Cold. Clinical. The kind of look that made men disappear.

"Tell me, Leon Graves. Do you understand what you’ve done?"

The question hung in the air. Leon felt the weight of it pressing down on his shoulders.

"You killed Tobias Virell. S-rank. Guild leader. Heir to a bloodline that’s shaped continental politics for three generations."

Each word hit like a hammer blow.

"ARES Guild is fracturing. Their remaining commanders are tearing each other apart for control. Blood in the streets. Contracts broken. Alliances shattered."

Ethella began to pace. Three steps left. Three steps right. Mechanical precision.

"Dragonspire Guild smells weakness. They’re moving into ARES territory. Silver Dawn is calling emergency meetings. Iron-fang wants to know if the Association can actually protect its members."

Leon’s throat felt like sandpaper. The implications kept building. He had caused this disruption blindly on rage but, he felt that was the right thing to do at that point.

"The balance we’ve maintained for decades—gone. Because one F-rank necromancer decided personal grievance trumped social order."

"He attacked my mother," Leon said quietly.

Ethella stopped pacing. His eyes could freeze fire.

"Personal motivations don’t excuse systemic destruction. Your mother is one woman. The guild structure protects millions."

The words cut deeper than any blade. Leon’s fists clenched.

"But that’s not the real problem." Ethella’s voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "The real problem is what you represent."

Leon felt ice forming in his stomach. What exactly was the Chairman saying, he represented nothing.

"F-rank to B-rank in weeks. Killed an A-rank commander. Eliminated an S-rank guild leader. That progression should be impossible."

The Chairman’s eyes narrowed to slits.

"Our entire classification system is built on predictability. F-ranks stay F-ranks. A-ranks require decades of training. S-ranks are born, not made."

Leon realized where this was heading and it might not be good for his survival.

"You’ve shattered that foundation. Proven our basic assumptions wrong. Made our centuries of data look like children’s fairy tales."

Ethella resumed pacing. Faster now.

"Your necromancy doesn’t follow established patterns. Standard undead are mindless puppets. Yours think. Learn. Evolve. Our scholars can’t explain it."

Leon remembered his warrior zombie’s tactical awareness. The way his assassin adapted mid-battle. They weren’t just reanimated corpses.

"Your system interface operates outside known parameters. The power scaling. The evolution mechanics. The tactical coordination." Ethella’s voice grew harder. "None of it matches our databases."

A chill ran down Leon’s spine. They’d been studying him. Analyzing him. Probably since his first dungeon clear.

"We’ve monitored hunters for three centuries. Documented every classification. Mapped every progression path. Built prediction models that are ninety-seven percent accurate."

The numbers felt like a noose tightening.

"You don’t fit the models. Your advancement curve is impossible. Your abilities contradict fundamental magical theory."

Ethella stopped directly in front of Leon’s metal slab.

"Do you know what that means?"

Leon stayed silent.

"It means either our entire understanding of hunter development is wrong—or you’re something else entirely."

The words hung in the air like poison gas.

"If our classification system can’t predict hunters like you, it’s worthless. If F-ranks can become S-rank killers overnight, our control is an illusion." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Leon understood now. This wasn’t about justice. It was about fear.

"Other anomalies exist. Hunters whose abilities don’t match their classifications. Progressions that defy explanation. We’ve kept them quiet. Contained them. Managed the narrative."

Ethella’s voice turned to ice.

"But you killed an S-rank in public. In front of witnesses. With recording crystals broadcasting to half the continent. There’s no containing this."

Leon felt the walls closing in.

"Guilds are asking questions we can’t answer. Why didn’t the Association predict you? How many other ’F-ranks’ are really hidden weapons? Can our evaluation methods be trusted?"

The Chairman’s hands clasped behind his back.

"Twenty-four hours ago, the Association was the unquestioned authority on hunter classification. Today, we look like fools who can’t tell the difference between sheep and wolves."

Leon watched emotions flicker across Ethella’s face. Anger. Frustration. Something that might have been respect.

"You fought well. I’ll give you that. Tactical intelligence. Adaptive strategy. Raw determination. If circumstances were different, I’d recruit you."

The praise felt hollow.

"But bravery doesn’t erase consequences. Skill doesn’t guarantee mercy. Politics aren’t decided by personal virtue."

Ethella turned toward the door.

"Your case goes before the Continental Council tomorrow. Seven representatives from the major guilds. Three Association board members. Two independent arbitrators."

The mechanical locks began disengaging.

"The verdict might not favor you."

The steel door swung open. Ethella stepped through without looking back. Multiple locks engaged with finality that echoed through Leon’s bones.

Silence settled over the cell like a burial shroud. Only the distant sounds of other prisoners broke the oppressive quiet. Whispers. Growls. Things that had once been human.

Leon closed his eyes and replayed every word. The Chairman’s clinical assessment. The fear hidden beneath authority. The implications he couldn’t ignore.

They weren’t just afraid of what he’d done. They were terrified of what he represented.

A classification system that could produce someone like him was a system that could produce others. The Association’s monopoly on power depended on predictability. Leon had proven their predictions worthless. More so, he has given a forgotten rank a voice among the other ranks.

If F-ranks could kill S-ranks, the entire social order was built on lies.

Leon opened his eyes. The suppression runes pulsed with steady rhythm. His mana remained caged. His zombies felt like distant echoes.

But his mind was clear. Nothing will remain the same again

Whatever judgment awaited him tomorrow, he’d face it without compromise. No begging. No excuses. No attempts to minimize what he’d accomplished.

The Continental Council would have to decide: was the Association’s credibility worth more than one hunter’s life?

Leon already knew the answer.

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