The hallways that had been quiet until now were suddenly filled with terrifying screams coming from torn throats thirsty for blood.
Zombie hordes were already terrifying, but in this world, they were not limited to normal zombies—mutant aberrations existed, ranging from larger and stronger creatures to smaller ones capable of jumping and climbing.
Among this massive horde were a thousand hunters. As their name suggested, they were the most adapted to chase… to hunt.
Once these hunters entered the shopping mall, their instincts guided them through the hallways as if there were a path leading them straight to the survivors.
The deafening noise didn't exist for them—only a distant heartbeat becoming clearer as they approached.
...
"Quick! We have to go!"
Everyone quickly climbed into the vehicles, including the remaining survivors from the mall. Among them was Shimoda, who, despite the situation, still took the time to glance at the Humvee and click his tongue.
"Start it already!" shouted Teshima from the driver's seat.
"I'll go up to the second floor and cover from there!" said Hirano.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Teruma asked.
"Not for now, we're just escaping!"
Teshima stepped on the accelerator…
"Just sit back…" Shimoda scoffed as he propped his feet on a seat and relaxed. This made the girls from Fujimi riding in the bus frown.
Especially Misuzu, who had already noticed that unpleasant look he had given Shizuka, Yuriko, and Kyoko.
The girl felt danger from this man—he gave the same feeling as the deserter soldiers and Shido. She was about to pull out her gun.
'This man shouldn't be coming with us, that much is clear. Unfortunately, the situation caught us off guard, and this guy slipped onto the bus…' Misuzu trembled, 'We can't depend on Allen-sama forever, I…', She was an ordinary high school girl, but right now she was about to take her revolver and shoot a person.
Yui grabbed Misuzu's hand, making her look at her in confusion.
The braided girl whispered with a worried expression, "Misuzu-chan, right now we can't cause Allen any more problems. We have to get out first, and deal with everything else later."
They had weapons Allen had given them, but Shimoda was a large, seemingly trained man. If something went wrong—if they hesitated to pull the trigger or missed the shot—they would put themselves in danger against Shimoda, giving the rest of the group even more trouble.
Misuzu gritted her teeth, but held back.
Shimoda, for his part, looked at the girls, but quickly lost interest; he was someone who liked mature women.
'No woman this beautiful would be with me, but in this apocalyptic world, I don't need them to agree,' the man thought with a lewd smile.
....
....
Meanwhile, inside the Humvee, Shizuka looked toward the mall entrance, waiting for Allen and Saeko who had stayed behind.
The beautiful blonde was pale, and so were all the women. At this point, the ground trembled as the countless monsters rushed toward them at full speed, but the most terrifying thing of all was the noise—the sound of a horde was as massive as the cheers of a stadium full of people, only far more horrifying.
*Boom*
An explosion coming from inside the mall startled the girls, but before they had time to react, Allen and Saeko emerged from the mall doors. However, behind them rose a sight that sent chills down the girls' spines.
Hundreds of zombies appeared, all running at tremendous speed. In that moment, every woman in the vehicle—even Rei—thought the same thing: if they had to escape on foot from those creatures, they would not survive.
Of course, Allen and Saeko were not normal. Their running speed let them leave the zombies behind with little effort.
Rei leaned out through the Humvee's roof hatch. "This way!"
"Go!" Allen shouted.
Shizuka, who always obeyed Allen, did as told. The Humvee surged forward.
Allen picked Saeko up in his arms and accelerated even more—his running speed surpassed Usain Bolt's world record long ago. He sped up further, catching up to the Humvee and jumping several meters into the air before landing on the roof.
The Humvee sped away from the mall, leaving the horde behind. Allen set Saeko down and the two sat on the roof.
Kyoko let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God!"
"Allen, I'm so glad you're safe," said Rei as she hugged him.
"That was close!" Saya exclaimed while looking in the rearview mirror.
Allen gently stroked Rei's head, and Saeko closed her eyes as if silently agreeing to allow this small display of affection and worry between Rei and Allen.
"I'm fine. On the contrary, I'm relieved that all of us got out of there safely…"
Although Allen remained calm, deep down he knew just how dangerous the situation had been. It irritated him—he had never been someone who reacted well when his loved ones were in danger.
Loved ones?
"…" Allen looked at the girl clinging to him, then at Saeko seated beside him.
She opened her eyes and smiled softly. "Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing…"
Allen shook his head. Sometimes he was annoyed by how easily he let people (women, specifically) into his heart. Only a few days had passed and he couldn't even imagine a scenario where some of these women died.
"Allen, what are we going to do now?" Anemone asked as she brought her motorcycle closer to the Humvee.
Allen blinked. "Rei, where's your neighborhood?"
Rei looked up, and her confused expression quickly shifted to fear.
"Mom!"
From the mall, Rei's neighborhood was a twenty-minute walk away. At the horde's pace, it would arrive in ten minutes.
"Shizuka."
"Understood!"
Knowing the danger, the nurse pressed the accelerator. Allen informed the bus that they would move ahead, taking a small detour, and that they should continue toward the police station.
Three minutes later, they reached the street where Rei lived—a typical suburban street full of small, independent houses. As soon as they arrived at Rei's house, she rushed out of the vehicle.
"Mom! Dad!"
Rei entered her home but found no one.
Allen opened his minimap while climbing onto the roof of Rei's house. With his enhanced vision, if there was anything alive nearby, it would appear on his minimap.
"There are people alive—five houses ahead!"
Rei ran out of her home and they all headed there...
...
In front of one of the houses sheltering the last survivors of the neighborhood, a woman stood outside. She carried a spear and a backpack.
"What were you saying?"
The woman frowned, realizing they didn't want to let her in—they only wanted the supplies she had brought back.
"I'm sorry, Miyamoto-san, there are too many of us inside."
"Huh? First, you ask me to go look for supplies, and now you won't let me in?!"
"Mom!"
The woman turned around just in time to catch Rei jumping into her arms.
"Rei!"
This woman was Kiriko Miyamoto—Rei's mother.
Allen stopped and looked at the woman. Unlike Saya and her mother, who shared some similarities but weren't remarkably alike, Kiriko was the spitting image of Rei. It was like seeing a mature version of the girl with shorter hair.
"I'm glad you're safe."
Kiriko smiled gently. She had trained her daughter, so she trusted Rei would be fine, but deep down she had still been worried. Only after seeing her again was she finally able to breathe in relief.
The Humvee parked behind Allen, and Saya leaned out the window anxiously.
"Allen."
Allen stepped forward. "Sorry to interrupt, but we don't have time. There's a horde coming. There are too many."
Rei immediately panicked. "It's true, Mom, we have to go!"
Kiriko looked at the young man before smiling. "It's nice to see you again, Allen-kun."
"...?"
Allen was confused at first, but then he understood. If he had been in some kind of relationship with Rei for two years, even if it began as convenience, her parents must have met him.
"Hm? Strange, something feels different..." Kiriko could sense a different aura in Allen, though she couldn't tell what it was.
"Well, some things happened." Allen smiled, making Kiriko's eyes widen in shock.
"Kiriko."
Anemone climbed off her Hayabusa and looked at her silently.
"Anemone-chan?!" Kiriko was surprised to see Anemone, but her expression immediately turned serious. "And Tadashi?"
Anemone shook her head. Kiriko clenched her fists for a moment, her gaze turning somber, but she quickly hid it.
"I understand. Allen-kun, you said we need to leave?"
Kiriko was a woman with strong mental fortitude. She wouldn't fear zombies and would even take the initiative to go out for supplies. Someone like her could bear difficult news well.
In fact, she had already prepared herself for the possibility of never seeing her husband or daughter again when the apocalypse started. Of course, that didn't mean it didn't hurt—she simply knew how to endure it.
"They're coming! Get in the Humvee!" Saya leaned out again. She had a drone in the air and could already see the horde heading toward them.
It wasn't an exaggeration—this time they couldn't do anything. Not even Allen could fight that many zombies.
Rei grabbed her mother's hand, but Kiriko paused for a moment, glancing one last time at the house where their neighbors waited, before following Rei.
As the woman passed beside Allen, he spoke.
"Putting your loved ones first instead of strangers doesn't make you a bad person."
"Thank you," the woman smiled.
Allen shook his head before glancing at the house. "I know you can hear me! Whatever happens, don't make any noise!"
I wish you luck
....
....
Inside the house, the people watched Kiriko leave with Rei and that group.
"I can't believe Rei-chan was alive."
"Old man, we should've let them in."
"Hey..."
"You're stupid. It was already hard with Kiriko—did you want to bring even more people in here?!"
"She'll be fine. Didn't you see she has a group with her?!"
"Hey!"
"What?!"
"Don't you hear something?"
Everyone went silent—and then they finally noticed it: a "sound" approaching.
They quickly recognized it. That nightmare noise circulating online—the roar, the snarling, the guttural moans of zombies. But unlike all the previous times they'd heard it, this time it was multiplied thousands of times.
The ground shook.
The windows rattled...
It was a stampede—a horde of killing machines, rampaging wildly through the streets. Some crashed into windows, others fell and were trampled.
Once they reached the street, they seemed to follow Allen's trail with precision.
Everyone inside the house was horrified. They had never seen anything so terrifying, but they still knew what to do—this was the third day of the apocalypse. At this point, any survivor had at least basic knowledge of dealing with zombies, so they stayed quiet and watched the horde run past.
However—they made one mistake.
A brilliant strategy only worked against blind zombies.
These were different. Not only were they fast—
Their blood-stained appearance, bloodshot eyes, and rapid, heavy breathing made them the embodiment of slaughter.
One of them stopped in front of the house, looking around as if searching for something.
Realizing this, the survivors tried to move away from the windows—
But it was too late.
Those wild, bloodshot eyes locked onto them.
RAAAHHHHH!
With a piercing howl, the vanguard of the horde—made up of hunters—stopped and changed direction.
Their prey had been found.
The doors of the house shattered as they rushed in like a tidal wave.
The first man—the loudest one who acted like the spokesperson of the neighborhood—was the first to be attacked. A Hunter jumped onto him, knocked him down, and bit his nose off.
"Aaaahhhgg!"
The second victim was a fifty-year-old woman with a bouffant hairstyle. She tried to escape but was caught, knocked down, and devoured.
Two others tried to fight back, but a frying pan and a kitchen knife were useless. One of them was pinned down by three Hunters, who tore him apart with their claws.
"Help!"
Even in the face of absolute death, there was still room for human cruelty.
A man, seeing the fate of his neighbors, didn't hesitate—
He threw his wife toward the zombies and ran to the second floor.
"What?! No! Why?!"
His wife's desperate screams didn't stop his feet.
Through tears, the man used the woman he had sworn to protect as bait.
Upstairs, he locked himself in a room. The door wouldn't hold for long, so he went to open a window—but the windows had been screwed shut.
The door was hit so hard that it began to splinter.
As a final act of desperation, the man jumped through the window, breaking the glass and falling. He started bleeding from the cuts, but thankfully, nothing was broken. He stood up and tried to run—but when he reached the backyard, he froze.
In front of him were dozens of Hunters jumping over the fence.
His mind accelerated, seeing everything in slow motion.
As the claws closed in on him, he wondered why he had sacrificed his wife.
In the end, it didn't matter.
The man was torn apart—
And this wasn't a metaphor. While he was still alive, the zombies pulled his limbs in different directions, tearing him into pieces.
No one survived.
From the moment they were found, it was game over.
...
Inside the Humvee, the atmosphere was somber.
"We..." Kyoko murmured, hugging herself. "We used those people as bait?!"
Allen climbed down from the roof, sat next to Kyoko, and hugged her.
"No. It was an unfortunate coincidence that they were discovered by the hunters. But beyond that, it was my order that led the horde to that place."
"No, I wanted to go find my mother!" Rei said, her face pale.
Allen shook his head, then gently wiped Rei's tears. Even if they had been idiots for leaving her mother outside, they were Rei's lifelong neighbors. Of course, she felt guilty.
Allen flicked her forehead lightly. "Don't try to carry something you can't handle. That thing—that giant horde—was too much for us. Even I can't say for sure I'd make it out alive from something like that. What makes you think you can save anyone in that kind of situation?"
"I..."
"Listen, Rei. Be glad you saved your mother. Not everyone will be able to say that."
Rei looked melancholic. She grabbed Allen's hands, and smiled, "Thank you..."
"Whenever you need strength, come to me." Allen smiled arrogantly.
Rei blushed.
Kiriko, who watched, was first surprised—then sighed.
'Takashi-kun wouldn't stand a chance…'
Kiriko glanced at Allen again, then at the rest of the group, realizing something that made her laugh softly.
'It seems our Rei also has many strong rivals~'
Still, her impression of Allen only improved. After all, if a young man could attract so many beautiful women, there had to be a reason.
====
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