A few days ago, in the makeshift command center of the military stronghold, the highest-ranking officers held a crucial meeting. The stronghold was the school building, and this room had once been the principal's office. Now, maps of the ruined city were taped to the chalkboard. They were discussing the most dangerous mission they had ever planned.
General stood at the front of the room. He looked at the other officers sitting around the table.
"Let's be clear from the start," General said, his voice low and serious. "This mission to capture the six-eyed mutated zombie... it's a suicide mission. I want everyone to understand that."
The other officers shifted in their chairs. They looked at each other with worried faces. They all knew he was probably right.
"We've all read the report from the two female survivors," the General continued. "According to their testimony, this creature can dodge bullets. It moves faster than a blink. It cut apart armed men with a sword before they could even react."
Officer Colonel spoke up. "With all due respect, General, nobody can move like that. Not even our best special forces soldiers. And definitely not a zombie. We know the virus damages the brain and the nervous system. That's why the regular ones are so slow and clumsy."
Another officer, nodded in agreement. "It's what makes them predictable."
"But what about the mutated ones?" asked Captain Lee, the youngest officer in the room. "We've all seen the reports. Some zombies get faster and stronger. They develop claws or thick skin. They're different from the slow ones."
"True," General said, turning to a small whiteboard. He drew a quick chart. "Let me explain the difference. The mutated zombies you're talking about, the fast ones with claws... they are still just zombies. Their bodies changed, but their minds didn't. They are still driven only by hunger. They see a human, they attack."
He then tapped the whiteboard again. "But this target... it's a completely new class of mutation. According to the survivors we rescued, it didn't attack them. It looked at them and ignored them. It walked away. It showed... discretion. It didn't act out of mindless hunger. This is the most advanced mutation we've ever encountered. That is the fundamental difference."
Captain Lee looked down at the survivor report. "So you're saying the regular mutated zombies are just upgraded versions of the slow ones. But this target... it represents an entirely new level of mutation."
"Exactly," General said. "The fast mutants are like rabid wolves. This thing... it's something entirely new. A thinking mutation. That's why we need to capture it alive - to study what makes it different. It could hold the key to understanding how the virus is evolving."
He held up a data tablet with schematics. "This is why we are deploying the Alloy Shock Nets. They're our only hope."
He pointed to the specifications. "The nets are from old, pre-collapse military stocks. The wires are made from a special alloy, stronger than steel but flexible. They deliver an electric pulse between fifty thousand and one hundred thousand volts. If this mutant's nervous system has evolved to allow it to think and move with that precision, the shock net should overwhelm that system and immobilize it."
The Major shook his head. "That's a big 'if,' General. And even if it works, the moment our soldiers open fire, the sound will attract every zombie for miles. They'll be surrounded in minutes."
"I'm aware of the risks," General Roberts said, his voice growing quieter. "But consider what we're facing. The human race is on the brink of extinction. If this advanced mutation holds any key to understanding how the virus is changing, or better yet, finding a weakness in these mutations... can we afford not to take this risk?"
The room fell silent. Each officer knew what he meant.
Colonel Smith finally spoke. "How many soldiers are we sending on this suicide mission?"
"Three squads," General Roberts answered. "Twenty-four men in total. All volunteers. They know the risks. Three of them will be equipped with the shock nets. Their orders are to capture the creature alive at all costs."
"Twenty-four good men," Colonel Smith muttered. "Probably going to their deaths."
"Probably," the General agreed. "But if they succeed, they might give us the knowledge we need to fight back against these mutations."
Another officer spoke up. "What if the shock nets don't work? What if this mutation is too advanced?"
General Roberts looked at him for a long moment. "Then we will have lost twenty-four soldiers for nothing. And we will be no worse off than we are now. But if there's even a one percent chance this mutant holds the key to understanding the virus's evolution... don't you think we have to try?"
No one answered. No one needed to.
"The preparations are already underway," General Roberts said. "The soldiers are training with the shock nets in the gymnasium. They leave in forty-eight hours."
He looked around the table at each officer's face. "This may give us our first real breakthrough in understanding these mutations."
The officers nodded slowly. The meeting was over. They stood up and began to file out of the room, their faces grim.
As the last officer left, General Roberts remained standing, staring out the window at the schoolyard-turned-compound. He whispered to the empty room, "Please God, let this work."
---
Captain Mark Reynolds lowered his hand. "Fire!" he shouted.
The night exploded with sound. Dozens of soldiers opened fire at once. Bullets flew toward the the target standing in the street.
Kokushibo watched the bullets coming. He was confused. Why were these humans attacking him? He hadn't bothered them. His sword moved in blurs, deflecting bullets with sharp ping sounds. Other bullets he simply dodged, moving aside effortlessly.
Captain Reynolds watched through his binoculars. His hands shook. The reports were true. This mutant was deflecting bullets with a sword. It moved faster than anything he had ever seen. He forced himself to stay focused. "Keep firing! Don't let up!" he yelled into his radio.
Kokushibo decided he had enough. These humans were becoming annoying. He moved forward, his sword cutting through the air. He killed the first soldier with a quick slash. Then another. And another. He moved through them like a ghost, his sword never stopping.
One soldier fired a bazooka. The rocket shot toward Kokushibo. He sidestepped it easily. The rocket exploded behind him, shaking the street. Before the soldier could reload, Kokushibo was already there. He killed the soldier with a single stroke.
A sniper bullet came from the left. Kokushibo tilted his head, and the bullet missed. He could see the sniper hiding behind a car. Kokushibo raised his sword. "Moon Breathing, Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon – Incessant," he whispered. A crescent-shaped energy wave flew from his sword. Kokushibo unleashes a storm of crescent blades that travel far and wide and cut through the car like paper. The car split in half, along with the sniper hiding behind it.
Captain Reynolds swallowed hard. This was worse than he imagined. But he saw an opportunity. The creature was focused on the sniper. This was his chance.
"Launch the shock net now!" he ordered.
A soldier fired the alloy shock net from a special launcher. The net spread out, heading straight for Kokushibo. The wires crackled with electricity - 100,000 volts ready to paralyze their target.
Kokushibo didn't even turn around. His sword moved behind his back, slicing the net into pieces before it could touch him. The cut wires fell to the ground, sparking uselessly.
The remaining soldiers stared in horror. Their best weapon was destroyed so easily. They were scared. They knew they were going to die. But they kept firing. They had to try. They had to capture this thing.
One soldier's gun clicked empty. He had no ammo left. He looked at his comrades dying around him. He made a decision. He screamed and ran toward Kokushibo, pulling out his combat knife.
The other soldiers saw him and stopped firing. They couldn't risk hitting their own man.
"Brother, no!" someone shouted. "Get back!"
But he kept running. He lunged at Kokushibo with his knife, trying to stab him.
Kokushibo was impressed. This guy had no chance, yet he still attacked. Such desperation. Such will to fight, even when facing certain death.
He dodged the knife easily and sliced off his arm. The soldier fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding stump.
"Why?" Kokushibo asked, his voice deep and echoing. "Why fight when you know you cannot win?"
He looked up, his face pale with pain and fear. "For my daughter," he gasped. "For everyone... we have to stop this plague..."
Another soldier saw his chance. While Kokushibo was talking to the soldier, he fired another shock net. This time from closer range. It couldn't miss.
But Kokushibo's sword moved again. Without even looking back, he sliced the second net to pieces.
The soldier who fired the net fell to his knees. "M-Monster..." he whispered. Then his head was gone, cut off by Kokushibo's blade.
The soldier screamed in anger and grief. "I'll kill you!" he shouted, trying to stand with his one remaining arm.
Kokushibo looked at him almost sadly. "Foolish." His sword moved once more, ending his life.
The remaining soldiers were being cut down quickly now. One by one, they fell. Their bullets never hit their target. Their weapons were useless. Within minutes, only Captain Reynolds was left alive.
Captain Reynolds stood shaking. Sweat poured down his face. He knew this mission would be dangerous. He knew many would die. But this... this was a massacre. Three squads - twenty-four of their best soldiers - wiped out in minutes.
He remembered his last conversation with General Roberts...
Flashback
"Mark, I know we're asking you to throw your lives away," General Roberts had said. "But this is our only chance. That mutant might hold the key to ending this virus."
The General handed him a small canister. "Take this. If everything else fails... it might work."
Captain Reynolds took the canister. "What is it, sir?"
"Just... use it if you have to," the General said. He looked guilty. "I'm sending good men to their deaths."
Captain Reynolds saluted. "We understand the risks, sir. For the world. For my daughter." A tear fell from his eye as he saluted.
Present
Now he was the last one standing. All his men were dead. He slowly reached for the canister the General had given him.
His plan was simple. If this went successful he would run to where one of his soldier's body lay. The soldier still had the last shock net launcher strapped to his back. If he could just get it, he might still capture this thing alive.
Kokushibo walked toward him. Step by step. His six golden eyes glowed in the dark. He stopped in front of the Captain.
Captain Reynolds saw his chance. Kokushibo was right in front of him. This was it. His trump card. He quickly raised the canister and sprayed it directly into Kokushibo's face.
Pepper spray.
The strong, irritating mist covered Kokushibo's face.
Kokushibo stood completely still. He showed no reaction at all.
Captain Reynolds stared in disbelief. The pepper spray had no effect.
The two stood facing each other in the silent street. Kokushibo's expression was unreadable. Captain Reynolds' face was full of terror and confusion.
Kokushibo: "..."
Captain Reynolds: "..."
Kokushibo ignored his dumbest attempt and looked at him. He spoke in his deep voice.
"You dared to steal my prey," he said. "And you tried to kill me. I would kill you now but I already killed your men. I will forgive you this once."
The captain was frozen. He was too scared to move. Sweat covered his face.
Kokushibo continued. "There will not be a second chance." He stared hard at the captain. "Know your place, fool."
Then Kokushibo turned away. He walked over to the dead mutated zombie. The zombie's body dissolved into Kokushibo's body until nothing was left.
Then Kokushibo vanished.
Captain Reynolds stood alone. All his soldiers were dead around him. He was still holding the empty pepper spray canister. He fell to his knees.