As the last mutated rat fell, the man swiftly returned to his position.
"It's done," he muttered, exhaling tiredly.
The scent of charred, rotten corpses from the dead and mutated rats filled the air.
The woman looked at the remains and nodded in understanding.
"Let's continue," she said, leading the group forward.
The man advanced beside her.
Meanwhile, the group followed behind, sighing in relief, their gazes filled with admiration and hope for the woman who wielded the overwhelming power of lightning and the man standing beside her.
***
Apart from Elias, several others had awakened unique abilities, acquiring skills and powers beyond what any human should possess. Many dared to face zombies and monsters head-on, either out of courage or simply because they had no other choice if they wanted to survive.
As a result, many of them grew stronger and were able to take survivors to safer locations.
At this moment, they were all heading to the gymnasium. Many of them wouldn't be surprised if they encountered each other there; after all, the gymnasium was at the centre of the campus and one of the few university facilities that could still be considered safe.
Sixteen minutes later, Elias and his group arrived at the gymnasium, only to encounter a complicated situation.
Wandering around the entrance of the gymnasium were close to a hundred normal and mutated zombies. The group immediately moved to a corner beside the building, knowing that any movement closer would draw the zombies toward them and expose their presence.
"Mr… what do we do now?" Mirabel asked, her expression troubled as she stared at the overwhelming obstacle blocking their only path to safety in this apocalypse.
"Stay here and handle the group. I'll come back to get you guys after I've cleared the way," Elias responded, his expression stern.
Mirabel wanted to respond. Truthfully, she was afraid Elias would abandon them, seeing them as liabilities, and head to safety on his own. She even considered following him just in case he did, since she possessed enough strength to protect herself.
However, she tried hard to force herself to believe Elias would abandon them at such a critical moment, so she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
In terrifying situations that make no sense, where people no longer possess the power to decide their own fate, they will choose to place their hopes on something, anything, that might work for their betterment.
Mirabel found herself in such a situation.
"Alright. We'll be waiting for you. Please be safe," Mirable nodded in understanding.
"We won't hesitate to help if you encounter any danger," Vincent, who had been crouching beside them listening to the conversation, suddenly spoke up. He nodded at Elias, his expression solemn.
"I won't be needing the help. Just stay here and protect the group," Elias said.
[Solar Ascension]
Elias activated the unique technique with a thought.
Instantly, he grew taller, his muscles bulging and straining against his already scorched, blackened attire. As though unable to bear the brunt of his transformation any longer, his shirt ripped apart, scattering into burnt black patches on the ground.
Elias frowned at the scene. He was glad his pants still held on. He grabbed the remaining pieces of fabric and tore them off, revealing his dark-toned, muscular body radiating a golden hue that enveloped him like sunlight surrounding the blue sky.
GULP!!
Several deep gulps sounded behind him, from Mirabel, Vincent, and other male students and teachers alike. Some of them simply couldn't understand how someone like Elias, who had awakened his abilities at the same time as them, could already be so powerful, possessing such a terrifying transformation.
Elias grabbed a brand new steel rod he had broken off on his way and charged toward the gymnasium, vanishing from their sight in the blink of an eye.
"Not every man is born equal," Vincent muttered.
This was the philosophy he had always believed in. These words were much more valid in the apocalypse.
The moment Elias appeared, he swung his steel rod against the heads of five mutated zombies in an instant, decapitating them and setting their corpses on fire immediately.
[You've killed five Level 11 Wide-Mouth Zombies. +1,650 Experience Points. ]
[You've killed six Level Eight normal Zombies. +960 Experience Points. ]
Elias moved through the zombie horde in a blur, striking down a zombie wherever he passed. To the outside, it seemed as though a shadow swept through the horde, and wherever it passed, five to ten zombie heads exploded, their upper torsos igniting into flames.
Suddenly, Elias saw an arrow strike a mutated zombie beside him, freezing it and exploding it into icy fragments.
The mutated zombie landed on the ground lifelessly.
Elias heard the sounds of battle ahead of him. He looked and saw two other people, a man with a quiver and a bow firing icy arrows at the unsuspecting zombie horde, freezing them and eliminating them instantly as their heads shattered into icy fragments on the ground.
The other figure was a man whose body was covered in a metallic sheen, pushing and kicking through the zombie hordes with his legs and fists, all while covering the archer and keeping the zombies at bay.
They appeared unstoppable. Their teamwork was flawless.
As Elias spotted them, they spotted him too. Their eyes widened in shock and astonishment as their eyes landed on his immense figure. However, due to the intensity of the battle, they paid him only brief attention before continuing their assault.
Elias knew he had less than a few minutes to eliminate the zombies and grant the group safe passage into the gymnasium, so he quickly returned to his onslaught. Another blazing swing of his steel rod smashed into the heads of two Wide-Mouth zombies, eliminating them instantly.
[You've killed two Level 10 Wide-Mouth Zombies. +600 Experience Points]
Elias leapt into the centre of the zombie horde.
[CRUEL FLARE]
He activated one of his unique skills.
Suddenly, a bright flare, resembling a dome of sunlight, erupted from Elias, enveloping him and the zombies within a ten-meter radius