The long-awaited Zenon’s Chronicle Volu 30, eagerly anticipated by readers worldwide, was finally announced for release.
The mont the news spread from the publisher, people started lining up in front of bookstores.
Determined to be the first to read it, so readers began waiting from the very day of the announcent.
So even resorted to camping outside, creating a phenonon reminiscent of historical events before the advancent of modern printing technology—sothing rarely seen in recent tis.
However, the cliffhanger ending of Volu 29 reignited the sa fervor as before.
The conclusion of the previous volu was like a lit fuse, triggering an explosion of anticipation.
Readers suffered each day waiting for Volu 30, but today, their long-awaited redy finally arrived.
They rushed to find out whether Jin was truly dead and how the story would unfold.
[Jin, turned to dust in front of Lily. Lily trembled as she caressed his broken horn, sobbing uncontrollably.]
[The world, like Lily, was instantly drowned in tears.]
[In the end, Zenon killed Jin, leaving a deep wound in every reader’s heart.]
And then, the tactical nuke fired by Isaac beforehand descended upon the earth.
The world was instantly engulfed in sorrow, and Jin’s death echoed through every corner of society in a chorus of mourning.
The foreshadowing of Jin’s death had been laid out well in advance, so it was sowhat expected.
Yet, the actual execution far exceeded anyone’s worst fears.
He didn’t just die—he was reduced to dust, leaving not even a proper corpse behind.
Only the necklace that Lily had once gifted him remained on the ground, a stark and hollow reminder of what had been lost.
It was not a happy ending.
It was a tragic ending that left deep scars in the hearts of the readers.
Perhaps on Earth, such an ending would have been tolerable.
But in this world, it was so agonizingly painful that it felt as if tongues had turned to dust from the sheer bitterness.
[This is what true ‘tragedy’ is. This is what makes a ‘story’ great.]
[An ending that elevates the work’s completeness to its highest level.]
[With Jin’s death, Zenon’s Chronicle has reached its conclusion.]
[The happiest monts in life are when we create mories with our loved ones. The saddest monts are when those loved ones beco re mories.]
While readers were drowning in grief, critics remained coldly objective.
Most praised the work, showering Zenon with accolades.
Readers, in contrast, were outraged by these reviews.
However, deep down, even they had to acknowledge the validity of the critiques.
Jin’s death accentuated the tragedy of the demons and underscored the importance of love.
The work’s completeness had undeniably increased because of it.
Had Isaac suddenly reversed the plot without any justification, both readers and critics alike would have lambasted him.
But the damn coherence of the narrative prevented even that avenue of complaint.
Regardless, Jin’s death sent shockwaves through the reader base, triggering a fascinating phenonon—one that followed the well-known five stages of grief.
Stage 1: Denial
[No. There’s no way Jin is actually dead. Zenon will bring him back.]
[Jin and Lily can’t possibly end like this. The epilogue will surely revive him.]
At first, readers refused to accept it.
They murmured in disbelief, unable to fathom how the story had ended this way.
They clung to desperate hopes—perhaps he would be resurrected in the epilogue, perhaps Zenon had so hidden thod.
They generated all sorts of theories to keep the “happy circuit” running.
But it didn’t last long.
Stage 2: Anger
[Why? Why did it have to be Jin? Did he really have to die?!]
[Did you feel satisfied… after killing him… like that?!]
[Zenon, bring him back imdiately. If you don’t, I will co find you myself.]
Once the shock wore off, rage erupted.
Readers seethed over Jin’s death, furious at the outco.
The angriest group, unsurprisingly, were the hardcore Jin-Lily shippers.
They had been deeply invested in the couple, and to see them brutally shattered like this was beyond infuriating.
If it had been any other couple, perhaps the reaction would have been different.
But Jin and Lily had co to be regarded as the true protagonists, making their loss all the more unbearable.
Stage 3: Bargaining
[I’ll pay you. Just please change the ending.] — An anonymous noble offered a large sum.
[Lily should be able to bring Jin back. Please, make it happen.]
[If you revive Jin peacefully, no blood will be shed.]
Desperate negotiations followed.
So readers offered vast amounts of money to alter the ending.
But it was all aningless to Isaac, the author.
He already possessed wealth, fa, status, and even a beautiful fiancée (or fiancées).
He had everything a man could possibly desire.
In other words, negotiations were pointless.
Stage 4: Depression
[Why… why did Jin have to die…?]
[Did he really have to die?]
So fans who had passionately supported Jin and Lily sank into deep depression.
[More and more people are experiencing lingering shock, staring blankly into space all day.]
A few days later, the effects truly set in.
No matter how much they scread, Isaac gave no response.
And since the controversy was external to the work itself—since the story itself was flawless—there was no room for further protest.
Thus, the only thing left was resignation.
But the wounds ran deep, leaving behind emotional aftereffects.
Scholars took interest in this phenonon and even began researching it.
Stage 5: Acceptance
Eventually, people started to move on.
[The work is just a work. I can’t believe Jin is dead, but we have a precious reality to live in.]
[It will be rembered as both the greatest work of my life and a work of suffering.]
[It is an ending that will never be forgotten until the day I die.]
And finally, “acceptance.”
Since nothing would change no matter what, people gradually returned to their daily routines.
The demon-worshipper events, which had slowed down, also began regaining montum, and word spread that this ending had deepened the love between couples.
Most significantly, the perception of the demon race took a great leap forward.
Through Zenon’s Chronicle, they acquired a new image of “pure devotion.”
The ending of Volu 30 showcased both their dedication and nobility, making it inevitable that their reputation would improve.
Thus, after a long period of emotional aftermath, readers seed to slowly heal from their wounds…
[Since Zenon killed Jin, the funeral will proceed as planned. It was carried out with the support of countless people…]
The Jin-Lily couple still remained in the stage of anger—or rather, they fluctuated between anger and bargaining.
Newspapers reported that they were up to sothing unusual, yet, strangely, little information surfaced.
As if soone was deliberately “controlling” the dia, all that was ntioned was that the funeral would take place.
Moreover, the world was focused solely on Jin’s death, paying little attention to minor “events.”
[The Minerva Empire, deep within the mountains. Is this the work of demon worshippers? For the first ti in 20 years, famine has struck several major granary regions, including the Bellos Viscount family… Even the fertile black soil has lost its power.]
[The imperial upper class is hastily releasing their stockpiled food, but no one knows how long the famine will last…]
[Alvenheim is expected to provide aid to facilitate smooth relations with the empire…]
To make matters worse, another crisis erupted in the Minerva Empire, leaving no room for public attention elsewhere.
Whether it was the work of demon worshippers or not, a severe famine had struck the empire’s eastern region, which was known for its fertile farmlands—sothing that should have been impossible under normal circumstances.
It was the first major famine in 20 years, shocking the empire into taking imdiate counterasures.
With its enormous population, the empire had no choice but to prioritize resolving the famine over anything else, even Zenon’s matter.
Fortunately, Alvenheim, the land of milk and honey, offered to help, providing so relief.
But even with their support, the situation remained precarious.
Had things gone wrong, countless people could have starved to death, and as long as the demon worshippers were involved, even the granaries weren’t safe.
Thus, with the dia manipulation and the famine coinciding perfectly, the “funeral” was inevitably overshadowed…
“Tell how to solve this famine quickly.”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Your world had a population of 7 billion, didn’t it? You must have had a way to support that many people.”
“There is, but I don’t know how. I only know of it.”
As soon as Isaac learned of the famine, he got caught up in a conversation with Rina, completely forgetting about the “funeral.”
★★★★★
A region not too far from the Marquisate of Michelle.
Currently, a massive crowd had gathered in the plaza of that area.
The noteworthy thing was the sheer diversity of races bustling together.
Not just humans, but beastkin, demons, elves, and even dwarves.
Whether this was a mont of racial unity or simply an event so grand it transcended such differences, almost every race was gathered closely together.
“Wow. This is my first ti seeing so many different races in one place.”
“Sa here.”
Roy and Anne, adventurers who had co to the plaza for escort duty, admired the sight before them.
As adventurers who had traveled across the world, this was only the second ti they had seen so many different races gathered in one place.
The first ti, without a doubt, was last year’s Zenon Festival. This event was on par with that.
“If it’s on this scale, even Zenon would have to kneel in respect.”
Roy glanced around at the people who had gathered from all over the world for this event.
All of them had co for a single reason: a funeral.
Most of them were followers of the Jin-Lily couple, united in mourning for Jin, who had t a tragic end before Lily’s very eyes.
However, not everyone here was a supporter of Jin and Lily.
Given the sheer scale of the event, a substantial number of guards had been deployed to maintain order.
Aside from the mourners, so had co simply to watch, others out of boredom, and still others who mistook it for so kind of festival.
Despite being called a funeral, it was lively enough to be mistaken for a grand celebration.
“Are we really heading straight to the Michelle Marquisate like this? How are they going to manage all of this?”
Anne, standing beside Roy with her arms crossed, voiced her doubts.
She and Roy had joined this procession for escort duty.
The distance from this region to the Michelle Marquisate wasn’t too far, but it wasn’t exactly close either.
Several other territories lay between, with the capital at the end of the route.
With this kind of scale, the procession was bound to grow even larger, and the logistics of passing through multiple domains—including security inspections—seed like a nightmare.
“Oh, that? Apparently, they’ve already made arrangents with the territories along the way. Rumor has it that the Baroness of Michelle personally requested it.”
“The Baroness of Michelle?”
“Yeah. So even say she’s the one who organized this funeral, but that’s just a rumor. Still, at least this will cut down on travel ti significantly.”
“Hmm…”
If that was the case, it was a relief.
Honestly, this escort request wasn’t just decent—it was sothing they absolutely had to take.
The money they would earn from this one job was enough to cover three months’ worth of expenses.
The only downside was that it would take a long ti, but the reward made up for it.
“They say the dwarves made the coffin, and the demons will personally carry it. Apparently, it was crafted to fit demon customs.”
“They’re really going all out, huh?”
“Well, as long as it’s interesting, right?”
As Roy and Anne chatted, a voice suddenly rang out.
[We will now depart.]
The speaker must have been using voice amplification magic, as the sound carried across the entire plaza.
At the sa ti, the crowd began to move as one.
Upon closer inspection, those at the center of the procession were dressed in formal black mourning attire, just like a real funeral.
Even their gloves were pristine white, leaving no difference from a traditional funeral procession.
The guards surrounding them were also dressed in black for uniformity—Roy and Anne included.
Sticking to their roles, Roy and Anne began escorting the funeral procession as it moved forward.
“I wonder how Zenon would react to seeing this.”
“Do you really think this will bring Jin back?”
“Who knows?”
With yet another ‘nuclear warhead’ being kindly ‘launched’ toward the Michelle Marquisate…
“If it were , I’d be so dumbfounded that I’d actually bring him back to life.”
A mont of mutually assured destruction was achieved.
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