The heavy sound of tables breaking and bodies slamming on the floor quickly attracted those on the floors below as they rushed upstairs.
The rushed footsteps from the floors below grew louder—mixed voices, hurried breathing, the metallic clatter of improvised weapons. William ignored all of it. He gently laid Adam on a mattress in the old break room, the only place not covered in dust or stains.
Damn it…" William muttered as he knelt down. The gashes across Adam's torso were deep enough that bone was visible in places. Even with the bleeding stopped, the body couldn't last long.
Celeste floated lazily in the air above them, legs crossed, her long black hair swaying as if under water. "Your friend is half a step into the afterlife. Feed him the apple before his body shuts down completely."
William pulled out the Apple of Vitality (Tier 2). A gentle green glow pulsed from within it. Without hesitation he brought it to Adam's lips and pushed small pieces into his mouth.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
Fwoom!
A soft emerald light erupted from Adam's chest. His torn flesh wove itself together like invisible threads were sewing him shut. Bone reformed, muscle knitted, and the bleeding stopped entirely.Color slowly returned to his face, and his heartbeat steadied. William exhaled in relief and slumped against the wall.
He'll live," she said softly. "For a fragile mortal, he's rather tough."
William nodded, rubbing his temples as the adrenaline slowly drained out of him. "Good… that's… good."
But the room around him was filled with broken bodies—zombies groaning weakly, their limbs and jaws twisted at impossible angles from his earlier attacks. baring the sound the zombies made William felt at peace
But peace never lasted.
The heavy footsteps reached the doorway.
Henry, Sam, Elnora, and several other survivors burst into the room—only to freeze at the sight of the mutilated zombies sprawled across the floor and William sitting calmly among the carnage.
"What… what happened here?" one of the teachers stammered.
Sam's eyes narrowed. "Did you kill all of these alone?"
The moment Sam stepped forward, William's expression chilled a few degrees. He met the young man's curious gaze with flat indifference, his posture relaxed but his eyes razor-sharp.
"I don't owe you an explanation," William replied, calmly wiping blood off his sleeves.
Sam's jaw tightened. Henry quickly stepped in between them, raising his hands. "Alright, alright. Everyone's tense. We're lucky to be alive. Let's not start a fight after surviving all that."
But the murmurs behind them were growing. Fear. Shock. Unease. They stared at the broken zombies, the twisted limbs, the shattered spines—and at William.
"What kind of monster just… breaks zombies apart like that?"
"He didn't even use a weapon…"
"Was he always this strong?"
Celeste floated leisurely behind William, completely invisible to everyone else. She smiled mischievously as she leaned over his shoulder. "You're becoming quite the spectacle, little mortal. They fear you."
William didn't reply. His eyes remained on the shaky survivors crowding the doorway. These people felt like dead weight—weak, noisy, unpredictable liabilities. If not for Adam, he would have left them behind without hesitation.
Celeste twirled idly in the air. " You should probably just leave them all behind, now that your friend is healed."
"Shut up," William muttered under his breath.
Sam frowned. "What did you say?"
William's tone was neutral. "They were in the way."
The murmuring among the survivors grew louder. Half awe, half fear.
Elnora's icy blue eyes flickered briefly to Adam, then back to William. Unlike the others, she seemed unfazed by the sight of broken bodies.
"How did you take them out without killing them ," she said coldly.
"I don't think that's any of your business," William replied without blinking.
The room was thick with tension as Elnora's eyes narrowed, but instead of responding she simply walked past him and examined the writhing zombies.
Henry approached next, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "We came running because it sounded like the whole damn floor was collapsing and I don't think you should be so cold to such beauty."
"Noted" William replied curtly.
Henry laughed nervously. "Yeah… I can see that."
Celeste giggled softly from her floating position near the ceiling. "Mortals are so adorable when they're afraid."
William, who was expecting a barrage of questions from the survivors, was surprised when none of them seemed to notice her presence.
Shooting her a questioning look, Celeste drifted behind him, leaning chin-on-shoulder like a teasing demon."They don't need to know, little mortal."
Sam stepped forward wanting to ask more questions. "How did you—"
William walked past him, cutting him off.
"Alright, I'm going to need everyone to get out, my friend still needs rest." William said with a menacing aura
The survivors exchanged uneasy glances. A few stepped back instinctively, fear creeping in. Not just fear of what they saw, but the suffocating aura surrounding William.
Elnora frowned at his tone and was about to retort but she was stopped by Sam."You might be hiding your real strength, don't think that makes you invincible," she said with a cold glare as she left while everyone else followed her.
William didn't reply. But she wasn't wrong. He knew while he was strong, he couldn't take the rest of them head on.
After they left William shut the door and immediately went to work tying the bodies together with a makeshift tarp he made from sheets in the break room.
Dragging fifteen bodies down two stories is not something a normal human would have found easy at all, but with William's enhanced strength it was like a walk in the park.
The survivors all made way for him as he walked past them dragging a pile of bodies behind him. After disposing the bodies outside, William went straight back to the third floor.