Ariya stood quietly for a moment. She looked at her hands, then at Kokushibo.
"My lord," she said. "I want to get stronger. I don't want to be weak. I don't want to be a burden to you."
Kokushibo looked at her with his six eyes. He understood what she meant. She wanted to leave. She wanted to become powerful.
"Okay," he said. "You can go."
Ariya bowed. "Thank you, my lord. I will return when I am stronger."
She turned and left. She disappeared into the dark streets. Kokushibo watched her go. Then he was alone again.
Now he could focus on hunting. The night was still young. He started looking for more mutated zombies. He walked through the empty city. His eyes scanned the darkness.
He found a few normal zombies. He killed them quickly.
After some time, he found another mutated zombie. This one was bigger than the last. It had long arms and sharp claws. Kokushibo killed it easily. He absorbed it. His Muzan's Blood percentage went up a little.
He kept hunting through the night. He found more mutants. Some were fast. Some were strong. But none were challenging. He killed them all without effort.
The sky began to get light. Sunrise was coming. Kokushibo found a building to hide in. He went inside and found a dark room. He waited there as the sun rose outside.
Finally, the sun set. Night came again. Kokushibo left his hiding place. He went back to hunting.
As he walked through the streets, he saw a group of survivors hiding in a broken store. They looked scared and hungry. Kokushibo saw them, but he didn't care. He didn't plan to help them. Their survival was not his concern. He walked past them without stopping.
He kept looking for mutated zombies. After some time, he found one. This one was different. It was bigger and stronger than any he had seen before. It had thick skin and multiple arms.
Kokushibo opened his Transparent World. He looked at the mutant's body. He could see its muscles and bones. He could see how strong it was.
"This might be interesting," he thought.
He started fighting the mutant. He could have killed it quickly. But he decided to take his time. He was bored anyway. He wanted to see what the mutant could do.
The mutant attacked with its many arms. Kokushibo dodged easily. He moved around the mutant, studying it. He wanted to see its abilities.
Then he noticed something. The mutant's mouth was opening wide. It looked like it was going to spit something.
Kokushibo prepared to dodge. The mutant spat a liquid from its mouth. Kokushibo moved aside quickly. The liquid hit the ground where he had been standing. It sizzled and smoked.
"Acid?" Kokushibo thought. "Interesting."
The mutant spat acid again. Kokushibo dodged again. He watched as the acid burned through concrete and metal. This was a new ability. He hadn't seen a zombie spit acid before.
He continued fighting the mutant. He wanted to see if it had other abilities. But after several minutes, it only spat acid. Nothing new.
Kokushibo decided it was time to end the fight. He had seen enough. He moved in quickly and killed the mutant with one clean strike.
He absorbed the mutant. It gave him more Muzan's Blood than the others. It was stronger, so it was more valuable.
As he finished absorbing the mutant, he heard something. He looked up and saw armored cars stopping in the distance. They were about two blocks away. They had just turned the corner and seen him.
The cars stopped. Men with guns got out. They pointed their weapons at him.
Kokushibo stood still. He watched them. He wondered what they would do.
---
The two women stumbled through the ruined streets, their clothes torn and dirty. They had been running for what felt like days. Finally, they spotted military vehicles parked outside a large school building. Soldiers in uniform stood guard at the gates.
"Help! Please help us!" the first woman screamed as they approached.
The soldiers raised their weapons but quickly lowered them when they saw the women were unarmed and clearly terrified. They opened the gates and let them inside.
The school had been turned into a military stronghold. Classrooms were now living quarters for survivors. The playground was filled with tents. People moved around slowly, their faces tired and hungry, but they were safe here.
Soldiers brought the two women to the principal's office, which now served as the commander's headquarters. Commander Harris sat behind the desk. He was a large man with a stern face and closely cropped hair.
"Sit down," he said. "Tell me how you survived out there."
The women sat in the chairs across from him. They told him everything. They explained how they had been hiding in the storage room. How the armed men had found them. And then they described the creature.
"It had six eyes," The girl said, her voice trembling.
Commander Harris nodded. "That sounds like a mutated zombie. They develop unusual features from consuming large numbers of humans."
The other girl leaned forward. "But it talked to us. It spoke actual words."
The soldiers standing guard by the door exchanged doubtful looks. One of them shook his head. "Zombies can't talk," he said. "Their brain functions are too damaged."
"This one did," The girl insisted. "It said 'your efforts are meaningless' right before it killed all those men."
Commander Harris studied their faces. He saw the truth in their frightened eyes. "I need to report this to my superiors immediately," he said. "Wait here. Don't speak to anyone else about this until I return."
He left the room quickly. The two women sat in silence, drinking the water the soldiers had given them. They were safe now, but the memory of the six-eyed creature still haunted them.
At the command center, Commander Harris found General Roberts studying a map of the city. "Sir, I have an unusual report from two survivors," Harris began.
The General listened as Harris recounted the women's story. When Harris mentioned the talking zombie, General Roberts laughed. "That's impossible, Commander. Zombies don't have the cognitive ability for speech. These women are clearly traumatized."
"With all due respect, General," Harris said, "they're consistent in their story. And they described details that match other reports we've received about a six-eyed creature."
General Roberts sighed. "Bring them here. I want to hear this for myself."
The two women were escorted to the command center. They stood nervously before General Roberts and his staff officers. They told their story again, this time with even more detail about the creature's appearance and behavior.
When they finished, the room fell silent. General Roberts looked from the women to his officers. "Thank you for your report," he told the women. "You may return to the survivor quarters now."
After the two women left, General Roberts turned to his officers. "I don't like this. If there's a mutation this advanced, it represents both a significant threat and a potential opportunity."
He paced around the room. "We need to capture this specimen alive. If it possesses intelligence, if it can communicate, it might hold the key to understanding this plague - perhaps even ending it."
The officers began planning immediately. They would assemble specialized teams. They would comb the city systematically. Their orders were explicit: capture the six-eyed creature alive at any cost.
For days, the military prepared. They selected their most experienced soldiers. They equipped them with non-lethal weapons and capture equipment. They drilled the teams relentlessly, reminding them constantly: if you encounter the six-eyed zombie, you must take it alive.
The search teams spread out across the city. They checked every building, every alley. Then, on the fourth day, they found what they were looking for.
---
I am Captain Mark Reynolds. I'm leading this military operation. In my fifteen years of service, I've faced insurgents, terrorists, and every kind of danger you can imagine. But nothing has prepared me for what I'm seeing now.
I look through my binoculars at the six-eyed creature standing in the middle of the street. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to retreat. This thing is dangerous in a way I've never experienced before.
I think about my daughter. She was only seven when the outbreak began. She got bitten while we were trying to evacuate our neighborhood. I had to lock her in our basement to prevent her from attacking others. Every day, I hear her scratching at the door, moaning that horrible moan. I promised her I would find a way to make her human again.
When General Roberts said this mutant might hold the cure, I volunteered immediately. I have to believe this is the answer. I have to believe we can save my daughter and all the others.
I look at the soldiers under my command. Some of them are trembling so badly they can barely hold their rifles. Others are sweating despite the cool evening air. They feel the same primal fear that's coursing through me right now.
But I can't let fear control me. I have to be strong for my men. For my daughter. For all the people counting on us to end this nightmare.
I take a deep breath, forcing my body to stop shaking. I look once more at the six-eyed creature. It hasn't moved. It just stands there, watching us with those unnatural golden eyes.
I raise my hand, then bring it down sharply.
"Fire!" I shout.