Kikuchi Shizuka only saw one thing.
The moment Busujima Saeko opened the door—
A flash of steel.
A clean strike.
And a head split apart, blood splattering everywhere.
She didn't even get a clear look at the zombie.
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind Saeko as she rushed out into the corridor.
But the moment she stepped into the hallway, she noticed something strange.
The entire left side—
Was empty.
Not a single zombie in sight.
All of them—
Were rushing toward the right.
And from that direction—
A sharp, piercing sound echoed.
Like birds crying.
But what Saeko saw—
Was not birds.
It was lightning.
"Lightning Style… Chidori."
A streak of white lightning tore through the corridor like a blade.
Where it passed—
Heads flew.
One after another.
Bodies collapsed instantly.
The zombies couldn't even resist.
They didn't stand a chance.
"…So strong."
Saeko's expression shifted slightly, her hand instinctively resting on the hilt of her sword.
Then—
As the last zombie fell—
Figures appeared.
At the front—
A man.
Lightning still crackled faintly around him.
Cold.
Calm.
Terrifying.
"Hello, Busujima Saeko."
Ryujin stepped forward, walking past the corpses as if they didn't exist, a faint smile resting on his lips.
For an ordinary person—
This scene would have been horrifying.
A man who had just slaughtered dozens of zombies—
Now casually greeting someone with a smile.
It was unnatural.
Disturbing.
But Saeko—
Wasn't normal.
Instead of fear—
She felt something else.
Familiarity.
"…So he's like me."
The thought surfaced quietly in her mind.
Someone who could kill without hesitation.
Someone who could stand calmly in the middle of death.
"…A fellow monster."
Of course—
Ryujin wasn't like that.
He didn't enjoy killing.
He had simply grown used to it.
Meanwhile—
Ryujin had already moved on.
He glanced at the others, who had begun using their newly learned abilities, then calmly continued down the stairs.
Zombies kept appearing along the way.
Drawn by the noise.
Rushing toward him endlessly.
But before any of them could get close—
Lightning flashed.
Heads fell.
Instant death.
Step by step—
Kill after kill.
The staircase quickly filled with corpses.
Was it disgusting?
At first—
Yes.
The blood.
The bodies.
The smell.
Even Linglong had nearly thrown up.
But fear?
No.
Ryujin had fought in the Ninja War.
He had faced monsters like Hanzo of the Salamander.
He had killed countless enemies.
This?
Was nothing.
His discomfort lasted only a moment.
Then—
It disappeared.
To him—
This was just another battlefield.
Meanwhile—
The sounds echoed through the building.
Footsteps.
Impacts.
Low growls.
The survivors hiding in classrooms and the infirmary froze.
Their hearts pounded violently.
What was happening?
Someone… was in the corridor?
But that didn't make sense.
There were hundreds of zombies in the building.
Thousands across the school.
If someone really came—
They would die.
Everyone would die.
And worse—
What if they brought the zombies here?
In the apocalypse—
People didn't think about saving others.
They thought about survival.
Only survival.
Thankfully—
The sounds didn't last long.
The footsteps moved downward.
The noise faded.
Silence returned.
On the fifth floor—
Inside the infirmary—
Saeko narrowed her eyes slightly.
"…Someone's here."
Then slowly—
She relaxed.
"…It must be them."
From the guild.
"Ah? Busujima Saeko, what's happening outside?"
A soft, slightly clueless voice came from behind.
Saeko sighed and turned around.
Standing there—
Was a woman in a white coat.
Beautiful.
Well-proportioned.
At first glance—
A mature, elegant adult.
But the moment she spoke—
That illusion shattered completely.
Kikuchi Shizuka.
The school nurse.
Completely unaware of the apocalypse.
She still thought this was just some kind of violent disturbance.
Saeko shook her head helplessly.
"Stay here. Don't move."
"I'm going to check."
"My friends… might have come to help us."
"Huh? Help us? Shouldn't we just call the police and wait?"
Shizuka blinked innocently.
Saeko didn't answer.
Instead, she placed a spare sword beside her.
"For self-defense."
"Don't leave this room."
"I'll be back."
Then—
She walked toward the door.
The moment it opened—
A rotting face lunged forward.
A zombie—
Had been waiting outside.
It attacked instantly.
But Saeko—
Didn't flinch.
Her blade was already drawn.
Slash.
The strike was clean.
Precise.
The zombie's head split open—
And its body collapsed.
"Ah… Saeko… you…"
Shizuka's voice trembled from behind.
"…You killed someone?" 😨