As Seraphine took a step forward, a pair of hands suddenly reached from behind and embraced her firmly around the waist.
It was Rina.
"Wh… what are you doing, Rina?" Seraphine was instantly alerted
Rina leaned in close, whispering softly into Seraphine's ear. "Where do you think you're going? I hasn't even tested my abilities yet, and you're the only guinea pig I can find, Sera." She let out a small, playful giggle.
"Th-that... should we really do it here?" Seraphine asked, staring straight ahead, unable to look back as she felt Rina's breath warm against her neck. "Can't we just do it some other time?"
"No," Rina said softly. "I've been curious ever since I got this spell. It says I can't heal the injury on your shoulder yet, so let's try it somewhere else."
"Huh? Where?" Seraphine asked, surprised.
Rina slowly raised one hand and touched Seraphine's forehead. 'How do I use it?' she wondered. The moment the thought crossed her mind, a light golden energy spread from her palm, flowing directly into Seraphine.
Rina watched as the gold light washed over Seraphine's forehead, down past her eyes, mouth, and neck. It pulsed through her heart, abdomen, and legs, reaching all the way to her toes before disappearing.
At the same time, Rina felt a distinct, draining sensation pulling from deep within herself.
A pop-up appeared immediately after.
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ATTRIBUTES :-
• MANA (awakened) : 30 (-2)
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At the same time, Seraphine felt an energy ripple through her body, like a small wave passing suddenly from head to toe.
It was subtle, but the effect was immediate; she felt refreshed and surprisingly energized, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest.
"Ri… Rina, I… I felt like something passed through me just now," Seraphine said, turning toward her. But as she turned, she saw Rina's eyes widen.
Rina was speechless. The change in Seraphine's face was startling. The dark circles under her eyes had completely vanished, and her dull, exhausted complexion had turned bright and clear. She looked completely out of place for someone fighting through an apocalypse.
"Sera, you look... beautiful," Rina complimented her with a warm smile. "You look exactly like the Seraphine who first enrolled in college." She paused, then added with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Very cold and very beautiful."
"Oh? And how exactly did I look up until now then?" Seraphine tilted her head, ignoring the teasing.
"Up until now? You more or less looked like a ghost, Sera," Rina giggled.
"A ghost?" Seraphine was a little surprised, but she just turned and started walking. As she moved ahead, she tossed a comment back over her shoulder. "Well, then just remember that you slept next to a ghost last night."
Rina picked up the metal bat and followed her, smiling playfully. "Haa… I don't fear beautiful ghosts~"
While walking, Rina decided to try out her new power on herself. She focused her mind, imagining that same golden warmth flowing through her own limbs, eager to see if she could erase her own fatigue.
But the moment she tried to channel the energy, a cold blue window snapped open in her mind, and the words made her heart sink.
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{ [Message] : Healing Spell (LvL :- 1) are not capable enough to cast on the caster itself }
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Rina was a little upset, but she didn't dwell on it for long. There were bigger things to worry about.
Both girls walked silently toward the main building. Since they were at the back of the campus, the area was unusually quiet no noise and no zombies, sharply contrasting with the chaos at the center.
The college itself was unusually large for a second-tier city, sprawling across several kilometers with multiple branches scattered here and there.
It took them quite a while before they finally reached the vicinity of the main building.
As they neared the area, faint sounds of munching... and scratching... reached their ears.
Seraphine's eyes darted around until she spotted a small, ruined structure nearby. The building had been crushed, likely by a stray piece of debris from the strike; only a single, jagged wall remained standing.
She grabbed Rina's hand and rushed behind it, pressing their backs against the cold stone.
"Shh... don't make sound," Seraphine whispered, her eyes turned sharp and alert.
Rina nodded frantically, her knuckles turned white as she gripped her bat tightly.
Both girls carefully peeked through the gap in the wall.
Their eyes widened.
Zombies...
Many zombies...
A whole swarm was strolling across the campus grounds.
The creatures hadn't noticed them yet, as they were still a little distance away.
Rina's cheerful mood collapsed into sheer terror. Fear crawled across her skin as she stammered, "Ss… Sera… wha… what do we do?"
She asked a series of trembling questions.
"H… how do we escape from all these zombies?"
"Are we… are we the only survivors on this campus?"
"Be quiet, Rina," Seraphine whispered firmly, then answered softly, "I don't think so. There might be other survivors as well. Like us, they could be hiding somewhere. We need to group up with them if we want to increase our chances of survival."
While she was whispering to keep Rina calm, Seraphine's gaze locked onto a single zombie. It was separated from the main pack, standing only thirty feet away from their wall.
The zombie was hunched over a dead body, devouring it piece by piece.
Rina nearly gagged at the sight, but as she looked closer at the half-eaten face of the corpse, her hands started to tremble. "S...Sera... it's... it's George. Fro...From our class," she whispered, clamping her hands over her mouth.
"Was it?" Seraphine said coldly. "It's not time to get emotional, Rina."
She watched the creature for a moment, an idea forming in her mind. "Rina, listen to me closely. I have a plan."
"What?" Rina asked, trying to push the image of George out of her head.
"You see that zombie over there?"
"Yes," Rina nodded.
"Can you kill it?" Seraphine asked.
(⊙﹏⊙)
"N… no way! I'm not heartless like you!" Rina exclaimed, her voice shaking as she clutched the bat tighter.
Seraphine sighed. "Fine, I know you couldn't kill it. Then will you be the bait? Can you draw its attention? I'll circle around and kill it from behind."
"Sniff... sniff... you... you're throwing your best friend out as bait?" Rina said, wiping away a non-existent tear.
"Oh, sorry, my best friend," Seraphine replied dryly. "I didn't know my words would hurt you so much. Fine I'll be the bait, and you go kill it with your bat. Will that be okay?"
O_O
"Okay, I'll be the bait," Rina said flatly, her dramatic act ending instantly.
"Good." Seraphine nodded, then picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at the zombie's head.
It was a headshot.
TUK!
The zombie instantly spun around toward the source of the noise.
"Graccck... grook... graaak..."
It screamed in fury, scanning the area for the culprit.
Seraphine quickly grabbed another stone and threw it against a metal surface to her left.
CLANG!
The zombie immediately shifted, slowly staggering toward the noise.
Seeing it move closer, Seraphine signaled Rina to step out from behind the wall.
Rina stepped out from behind the wall slowly, her knees wobbling so hard they practically knocked together. She gripped the metal bat, her knuckles white. "Y...you! Zombie! Y...you dare come here... I will kill... I'll kill you with this bat!"
The moment the words left her mouth, the zombie's head snapped toward her. It didn't hesitate as it launched itself forward, sprinting toward Rina like a starving dog to tear her apart.
Rina's eyes widened at the terrifying speed of the creature. All her bravado vanished in a heartbeat.
"Y...you! Don't come here!" she screamed, stumbling backward. "I wasn't serious! Don't... I didn't... I didn't mean it!"
Her grip on the bat trembled, the weight suddenly feeling heavier than ever as the monster closed the distance.