Something was definitely wrong. That much should have been obvious as Nach looked at the undead running like crazy toward his direction.
"This wasn't like the undead of Highschool of the Dead anymore!" Despite his complaint, Nach continued to blast the car's horn to attract the attention of the undead.
From category one—slow-walking undead like those from The Walking Dead—the undead's danger level had now ranked up to category two: aggressive undead like those from World War Z.
Yet it wasn't all the undead.
Nach's "die-version" attracted not only the undead lurking around the school grounds in front of him but also the undead on the street outside the metal fence behind him. But all of those undead were still slowly moving, just like the original concept of undead in Highschool of the Dead.
The ones that started acting and moving differently were those that came from within the school building. Not from the ground floor, but from the classrooms at upper floors—were the students had locked themselves in only to be trapped and devoured by the undead, then became undead themselves.
They broke through the windows and jumped off the building. Though the first ones who landed on the ground crushed their heads and died on the spot, the rest that followed were cushioned by the corpses below. They swiftly rose in a disturbingly non-human way and aggressively ran toward Nach, growling like hungry beasts.
Something had definitely happened to the undead on the upper floors of the school building while Nach had been sharing intimacy with Kyoko.
Whatever it was, it wasn't the only thing Nach was trying to figure out.
Who the heck was that girl? Nach thought, looking at the silhouette of a female student—someone surely not undead or dying—looking in his direction while standing in the third-floor hallway where the aggressive undead had come from.
He squinted his eyes to adjust his vision, blurred by the morning rays of sunlight at sunrise. But before he could get a better look at the female student, the first aggressive undead finally reached him.
Spinning the baseball bat in his right hand to build momentum—and to look cool—Nach then gripped its handle and brandished it not merely as a baseball bat or wooden club, but as a deadly blunt weapon that smashed the head of the incoming aggressive undead in a single strike.
He then looked back toward the third floor, but the female student had already disappeared.
This lazy and lousy new plot is definitely heading in a bad direction.
Nach grumbled again before taking his stance, preparing to hold his ground and take on the incoming aggressive undead one by one for as long as he could keep his diversion for the main cast, the side characters, and the other students to reach the microbuses at the parking lot where Kyoko was waiting.
---
Fuck, shit… This is actually freaking scary!
The more aggressive undead Nach took down, the more his confident grin was overwhelmed by anxiety, making his hands tremble and his legs weaken in fear.
Even for a zombie-apocalypse enthusiast like Nach—who never failed to watch all the zombie movies, anime, and manga that came out every year like it was some kind of tradition for the entertainment industry, or perhaps even a ritual to prevent a real zombie outbreak—seeing an actual aggressive undead charging at him and knowing it would devour him scared Nach to death.
Regardless of his growing fear, a sudden thought came to Nach.
Just like in every other normal dream about zombie outbreaks, maybe he would wake up right before getting bitten and devoured by the undead. However…
"Only a complete idiot would try and test that!" he shouted, trying to overcome his fear as he smashed the head of another aggressive undead with his now blackened, blood-stained baseball bat before retreating toward the fence.
Running at full speed—almost breaking his indoor slippers—Nach jumped, grabbed the top of the metal fence, and pulled himself up with only his left arm, hovering mid-air to reposition his body before landing safely in the middle of the undead swarming the street. Yet despite being surrounded, his current situation was far better than just a moment ago.
If it was against the usual slow-moving undead… "I could take out a dozen of you at a time!"
Nach caught the first undead that lunged at him, grabbing its neck to keep it from biting him and gripping it so tightly that its blackened blood spilled from its mouth. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he abruptly rose with all the strength he could muster, swinging the undead as he spun to push back those surrounding him before finally crushing its neck.
That move alone exhausted him more than he already was, but he didn't have time to relax—not with the aggressive undead crowding at the metal fence, about to break through and reach him again.
"This should be enough." Nach sighed, watching through the holographic screen of READER'S VIEWPOINT as the main cast and side characters safely exited the school building without losing anyone.
Or so he thought.
He tossed the undead he was still holding over the metal fence, then dashed away, running through the perimeter of the campus toward the gate where he would meet up with Shizuka's group.
---
[READER'S VIEWPOINT – Extra in Highschool of the Dead]
Name: Nach Smith
Progress: Act.2 (Page 49/58)
"RUN!!" Takashi shouted as a male student accidentally made a loud noise when his staff hit the door frame at the entrance of the school building.
Don't ruin my noble sacrifice, you freaking MC!
"Why did you yell!?"
The sound of the staff hitting the metal door frame was indeed loud enough to catch the attention of the slow-moving undead still lurking at the entrance. But for Nach—and even for Saya—Takashi's yell was even louder and attracted a few crazy aggressive undead.
"SHUT UP AND RUN!!"
Come on, Takashi, I know you can shout louder than that. Nach thought as he ran with the aggressive undead chasing him further behind.
Just as the students and teacher were about to reach the microbuses—with Kyoko waiting, ready to give the keys to the designated drivers—Takuzo was grabbed by an undead, just like in the original plot of the story.
That towel is freaking bad luck. I should have nabbed it from him yesterday.
Seeing Takuzo about to get eaten, even Nach felt sorry for him. But before the undead could bite him, Saeko swiftly rushed forward, bashed their heads with her wooden katana, and effortlessly took down both the one about to bite him and the one grabbing the towel wrapped around his neck.
"I can't keep them back!" Saeko shouted, glaring at the group of slow-moving undead heading their way—and even noticing the crazy aggressive ones running behind. "Everyone! Get in your buses!"
"Ahh, this isn't the same as my car… Umm, A-B-C, A-B-C…"
While Shizuka panicked, trying to get accustomed to the gears and transmission of the bus, the other buses with Kyoko, Takuzo, and Takayama already had their students inside and were ready to leave.
Right then—
"STOP!!"
Shido's group—with Yuuki Miku—finally appeared, running toward Shizuka's bus.
As for where his group had been hiding all this time, Nach couldn't trouble himself to figure it out anymore as he speed up, trying both to reach the gate in time and not get caught by the aggressive undead closing in behind him.
"We're ready to go!" Shizuka shouted, telling Saeko and Takashi to get inside.
"Let's wait a minute!!" Takashi protested, wanting to save Shido's group despite the undead gathering in front of their bus. He even rushed out, wanting to eliminate the undead when Shizuka argued that the bus would flip over if they ran them over—only to be stopped by Rei.
"No… We're not helping him!"
"Rei!! What the hell are you saying!?"
"We shouldn't save him! That kind of person is better off dead!!"
Nach wouldn't take sides between Rei and Takashi—between Rei's hatred and Takashi's morals. Even he didn't want to save Shido, but that meant not saving Miku as well.
After Shido kicked the male student in the face—one who stumbled and twisted his ankle—his group boarded Shizuka's bus.
Then Shizuka drove, running over the few undead in her path.
---
"Go! Stick to the plan and don't stop, Kyoko!" Nach shouted as Kyoko worriedly looked his way the moment her bus passed through the already-open gate.
Like she promised, she didn't stop and led the second and third buses away from the school toward their destination.
Nach reached the gate as Shizuka's bus made it outside. He rushed to the door, waiting for Shizuka to open it. But suddenly…
"Don't stop the bus or open the door, Marikawa-sensei! There's no use saving that man! He was already bitten by the undead!"
What the fuck are you blabbing, you shit bastard!?
"That can't be true... Nach…"
Although Shizuka defended Nach and tried to open the door, Shido grabbed her hand and stopped her from pressing the button.
"Are you going to endanger the lives of our students for some unknown man!?"
"But Nach is also a teacher…"
"A teacher or not, he was already bitten!"
"You can't prove that Nach-sensei was bitten, Shido-sensei." Seeing Shizuka panic—unable to decide whether to open the door to let Nach in or protect the students—Saeko stepped in to defend Nach, holding onto her morals and refusing to abandon someone who had sacrificed himself so they could escape safely.
"He wouldn't come to us if he was bitten and would put us in danger!"
"And can you prove he wasn't, Busujima-san? Are you sure he isn't just trying to drag all of us into his death?"
Shido's argument scared the students from his group—even Miku—causing them to glare at Saeko, yet she refused to back down.
While the argument continued inside the moving bus, Nach watched the scene through the READER'S VIEWPOINT, still running to match the bus's slow speed.
Between getting caught by the undead behind the bus and his depleting stamina, none of that concerned Nach. He was thankful Saeko stood up for him and worried Shizuka might crash the bus while panicking, driving with only her left hand while her right was still restrained by Shido. But what Nach was really concerned with was…
Why the fuck are you just sitting there in silence like a MOB, you freaking MC!? Where is your moral compass you just showed for Shido earlier!?
As the argument heated up inside the bus, Saya made a decision. Perhaps wanting to repay Nach for saving her life yesterday—or simply annoyed by Shido's nonsense—she grabbed the bus mallet attached near her seat and smashed the window beside her, shattering it.
"Pervert-sensei!" Saya shouted, telling Nach to get in through the open window.
Nach grabbed the edge of the window and lifted himself up.
As Saya stepped back and glared at Kohta to help, followed by Hisashi and Imamura pulling Nach inside, Takashi finally stood up, grabbed Saya by the collar of her blouse, and lashed out at her.
"Are you trying to put everyone's lives in danger, Takagi—"
"If you're going to complain… then complain to me, you brat!"
The punch Nach threw straight into Takashi's face didn't just knock him out. Takashi flew, slamming into Shido before the two of them crashed into the front glass of the bus, causing it to crack.
"Nach…"
"Nach-sensei…"
"Pervert-sensei…"
"I'm sorry for my sudden outburst, everyone…" Nach murmured, catching his breath. "Please take us out of here, Shizuka."