Chapter 226

My breath came in ragged gasps, my legs burning with exhaustion. I felt like I was about to collapse, but I couldn’t stop. I pushed myself harder, drawing on every ounce of strength I had left.

I had to survive.

I couldn’t die here.

It would be too unfair.

To die at the hands of those damn undead that had suddenly appeared on campus would be the most frustrating death imaginable.

But then…

Thump, thump, thump!

The heavy footsteps of a monster echoed from behind, drawing closer with every terrifying thud.

“Damn it.”

Diana’s face contorted in frustration.

What should we do?

“Side path! Take the side path!” Amy shouted urgently.

“Got it!”

Diana didn’t hesitate, immediately veering towards the narrow side path. It was the opposite direction of the side gate they had been aiming for, their original escape route, but they had no choice.

It was blocked, so they had to find another way.

Escape routes didn’t matter right now. They had to survive first and think later.

Tap, tap, tap!

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

They ran with all their might, their footsteps pounding against the pavement.

They knew that if they slowed down even for a second, the monster would catch them.

“Huff, huff, but what do we do now?” Diana asked as she ran.

“Huff, huff, what?” Amy panted, her breath ragged.

They were both exhausted.

“Huff, huff, there’s no exit that way, is there?”

They didn’t know yet that the entire school was sealed off by a barrier.

Because the barrier was invisible.

That’s why they had tried to escape in the first place.

“Huff, huff, there isn’t,” Amy admitted. She had suggested the side path, but she knew it was a dead end.

“Huff, huff, so what are we going to do?”

“Huff, huff, let’s hide.”

“Huff, huff, hide?”

“Huff, huff, yeah.”

“Huff, huff, where?”

“Huff, huff, the storage shed. There’s an unused storage shed that way.”

Diana remembered.

There was an abandoned storage shed on the academy grounds.

There had been talk of repurposing it or demolishing it and building something new, but construction hadn’t started yet.

And that abandoned storage shed seemed to be in this direction.

“Huff, huff, okay.”

If they couldn’t escape, hiding wasn’t a bad option.

They couldn’t even attempt to approach the other buildings, which were swarming with monsters, but maybe the outskirts were different.

They ran towards the storage shed with all their might.

* * *

“Huff, huff, huff, huff…”

“Huff, huff, huff…”

They finally reached the storage shed, their bodies trembling with exhaustion.

Fortunately, there were no monsters or other undead in sight.

They bent over, gasping for air, before approaching the shed.

“Ugh, it’s creepy.”

“Sigh, what the hell is going on?”

The exterior of the storage shed, like the other buildings, was covered in bones.

Even the door.

It was so repulsive that they hesitated to even touch the doorknob.

But disgust was a luxury they couldn’t afford in a life-or-death situation.

“I’ll open it.”

Diana volunteered, reaching for the doorknob.

A small skull head was grasped tightly in her hand.

She pulled, but…

Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.

The door only rattled, refusing to budge.

“Damn it, it’s not opening. It seems to be locked.”

“Wh-What?”

Amy’s eyes widened in panic.

She hadn’t expected this at all.

“What do we do?”

“Wh-What do we do? I should be asking you that!”

Thump, thump, thump!

To make matters worse, they heard the sound of monsters approaching from behind.

Giant skeletons clad in armor.

Terrifying monsters they couldn’t possibly defeat in a fight.

“Eek! Open the door! Open the door!”

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Amy pounded on the door frantically, her face pale with terror.

Diana was about to drag her panicking friend away, to find any place to hide, when…

“How many are there?”

A voice suddenly came from inside the shed.

A young man’s voice.

Amy and Diana’s eyes widened.

What? It wasn’t locked by the school? There was someone inside?

“Two! Two! There are two of us!”

Amy shouted urgently.

“Really two? I’m not letting in more than three.”

“It’s really just two!”

“Your voices.”

Why was he being so persistent?

Even in their desperate situation, Diana couldn’t help but wonder.

But Amy, focused solely on getting inside, didn’t seem to care.

“Oh, come on. One here!”

Amy urged, her voice frantic.

“Diana, say something!”

“…Yes, there are two of us here.”

Diana reluctantly replied.

The situation was too urgent.

That question seemed trivial compared to the possibility of getting inside.

“Hmm. Alright, fine.”

Click.

Creak.

The door finally opened.

“Come in.”

Amy and Diana rushed inside.

Thud!

Click.

And the door was locked again.

* * *

The Death Knight’s territory.

It wasn’t small.

No, it was vast.

And they weren’t the kind of undead that could be killed with a single Holy Light scroll.

“Now.”

Rip.

At my signal, Brett and Fabiola tore their Holy Light scrolls.

That was their role.

They were no match for the Death Knights in a direct confrontation, but they could certainly contribute in this way.

It was an efficient division of labor.

Holy Light erupted, engulfing the Death Knights.

Groan!

Groan!

The Death Knights writhed in pain.

They weren’t the kind of undead that could be eliminated by Holy Light, but it was enough to inflict pain and slow them down.

Their movements became sluggish.

And then.

“By the great words and grace that heal and revive all things…”

Annette’s Healing Song.

With the Holy Light and the area-of-effect debuff against undead stacked on top of each other, even the Death Knights were significantly weakened.

It meant I could finish them off.

– Speed Slash Form.

Thwack!

My fastest sword strike decapitated one of the Death Knights.

I didn’t stop.

I leaped high into the air.

And then.

– Falling Slash Form.

Whoosh!

Crack!

My powerful downward strike, infused with speed and weight, shattered another Death Knight’s body.

Whoosh!

As I landed, another Death Knight swung its sword at me.

I spun around, my body moving instinctively.

– Rotating Slash Form.

I narrowly dodged the attack and countered with a spinning slash.

Crack!

Another Death Knight was destroyed.

Meanwhile,

Camian and Allen had also teamed up to finish off two Death Knights.

“It’s… It’s over!”

“W-We’re alive! We’re alive!”

The students, who had been watching with bated breath, cheered with relief and joy.

Some of them were still bleeding profusely, their injuries severe.

But it was better than being dead.

They would have definitely died if we hadn’t come.

“Th-That was amazing!”

“To defeat those monsters so quickly…”

They looked at us, especially me, with admiration.

But we didn’t have time to bask in their praise.

There were still many others who needed our help.

“Stay here if you want to live. You don’t seem to be in any condition to help.”

I didn’t ask for their assistance.

They had injured people to take care of, and I didn’t see anyone who seemed capable enough to be of help.

It was better for them to stay here, where it was safe.

“O-Okay.”

“Y-Yes, senior!”

They understood.

I moved again.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

We quickly cleared the Death Knight’s territory.

Thanks to the scrolls I had prepared with my money, we were able to clear it out faster than ever before.

At this rate…

We might be able to minimize the casualties.

No, we could do it.

Including myself.

“We’re splitting up here.”

There were two places left.

And as the places we were going to last, they were likely to be the most dangerous.

So I decided to split the group to save both places simultaneously.

It would weaken our overall strength, but it would be fine for this one time.

“Sp-Splitting up?”

Allen blinked in surprise.

“Yeah, you, Brett, Fabiola, and Annette go that way. You’ll be fine with Annette and the scrolls.”

I added Annette to the group, just to be safe.

That should be enough.

“Got it.”

Brett replied firmly.

The other members nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with determination.

“Then go quickly. Let’s hurry too.”

Camian and I headed northwest.

Towards the abandoned storage shed.

A place where terrible things happened, despite its random location.

Even more so because the deaths there weren’t caused by undead, but by humans.

‘The probability was almost 50/50, wasn’t it?’

The fact that the probability was that high meant that the villain had been intentionally placed there.

“Push yourself, even if it’s tough.”

I urged Camian on, putting more power into my own steps.

* * *

The abandoned storage shed.

Fortunately, the inside was still intact.

It would have been horrifying if it had been turned into a bone field as well.

“A first-year?”

“Yes, senior.”

The person hiding inside was a male student who looked surprisingly decent.

I had imagined someone with a more abrasive personality based on his harsh voice, but it seemed like it was just due to the circumstances.

“My name is Doz.”

Doz.

Even Diana, the head of the well-informed Newspaper Club, had only vaguely heard of his name.

It meant he was an ordinary freshman with little presence.

Well, most of them were like that.

“I’m Diana. And this is…”

“Ah, I know. The baguette girl.”

Doz chuckled, pointing at Amy with an amused expression.

That’s right.

Amy, who had been nicknamed “Baguette Senior” because of someone, was still holding a baguette.

Even in this situation… Well, she always carried a baguette with her, so she had just been caught up in this mess as she was.

“Tsk, stop calling me baguette girl.”

As expected, Amy hated the nickname.

But she seemed to have resigned herself to it these days.

She still hadn’t stopped resenting Max, the cause of it all, though.

“Ah, sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”

Doz apologized immediately.

He didn’t seem to be a socially inept freshman.

“It’s okay. Anyway, thank you. For letting us in.”

Amy didn’t say anything more and expressed her gratitude.

“You’re welcome. So, how’s it outside?”

“Not good. It’s swarming with giant skeletal monsters.”

Diana replied, frowning.

“Ah, as expected. It seems like the situation hasn’t improved yet.”

“Yeah.”

“But it’s okay. We’re safe here.”

Doz shrugged.

Diana felt a sense of unease from his words.

He seemed to be boasting about this place, showing it off.

As if it were his own possession.

And that feeling wasn’t a mistake.

“It was a wonderful twist of fate that I was the only one who landed near this place. It’s what God wanted. He doesn’t want me to die. Because I’m special. Ahahaha.”

His laughter was unsettling.

Diana soon realized why.

Because only his mouth was smiling, while his eyes remained cold and emotionless.

But he was free to laugh however he wanted.

The problem was what he was saying.

His words were filled with narcissism.

It wasn’t a normal way of thinking.

Amy also seemed to sense it, her expression turning sour.

“Ah, right. The important thing is that we’re alive.”

She responded politely.

He had saved them, after all, and there was no reason to pick a fight with him.

But.

“I’m the master here. This place is mine. Right? Ahahaha.”

Doz continued to say things that crossed the line.

Was he joking?

His expression and tone didn’t suggest so.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Diana finally snapped.

She couldn’t just let it slide.

But Doz didn’t even flinch, his mouth curving into that same creepy smile.

“What am I talking about? I’m saying you do what I say if you want to live. If you don’t like it, you can go out and die.”