episode_0040

I ran as if bursting out towards the sound of gunshots.

Fortunately, the distance wasn’t far, and I soon reached the scene.

‘Civilians with guns? Surviving soldiers?’

Regardless, there were people fighting back with modern weaponry.

The alley between the buildings was swarming with zombies, having burst out from who knows where.

The zombies were pouring into the entrance of a small convenience store on the first floor of the building, like a flood.

However, the resistance inside was fierce, and they couldn’t easily enter, their bodies piling up in layers on the floor, turned into pulp.

The survivors inside the convenience store were barely holding off the zombies by utilizing the narrow entrance.

But…

‘Too many.’

It truly was nothing less than a surging wave of rotten flesh.

They were barely holding on, but slowly being pushed back.

I pondered what to do.

I had no obligation to jump into those rotten blood sacs and save them.

Just as a brief moment of hesitation began.

‘What is that?’

A zombie I had never seen before caught my eye.

Its grotesque appearance, even more so than other zombies, was difficult to look at.

It looked, literally, like the embodiment of the word “fucking ugly.”

In any case, it was undoubtedly a zombie.

But that one was just standing there, watching.

It just stood there, glaring into the convenience store.

I wondered what it was doing, but put my curiosity aside for now.

Following the grotesque zombie’s gaze, a faint silhouette came into view.

‘…Soldiers.’

Moreover, the shouts heard amidst the zombies’ roars were young voices.

The moment those shouts were heard, there was no more hesitation.

Immediately, I drew my gun.

I hid behind a utility pole and aimed at the horde of zombies ahead.

Click! Click!

“Wh-why is it doing this?”

I was momentarily flustered.

The gun wouldn’t fire.

Then one fact popped into my head.

I had never handled a gun in my life.

All I’d seen were shooting scenes in movies.

I’d loaded it, but the trigger wouldn’t pull.

I didn’t know why.

Who knew that being exempt from military service would come back to haunt me as such a weakness….

That sudden realization pierced me like a dagger.

But there was no time to panic.

The zombies right in front of me had recognized me and started rushing forward.

“Tsk!”

Clicking my tongue, I put the gun back into my inventory and took out something else.

One in each hand.

Weapons I knew how to use right away!

Clink- clink-

Immediately, I bit the pins off with my teeth and threw them to cut off the zombies heading for the convenience store entrance. My target was just ahead, a little distance from the entrance.

More precisely, it was in front of the fucking ugly zombie.

When you don’t know what something is, hit first.

“Grenade out~!!”

Two grenades landed, overlapping, drawing pretty parabolas.

A moment later.

Groan-?

Boom-!!

Several meters around where the grenades landed violently exploded.

Simultaneously with the explosion, zombie flesh and bodily fluids shot up like a fountain.

The wave of zombies recoiled for an instant.

Not missing the chance, I rushed forward.

In my right hand, I pulled out and gripped my beloved weapon, the crowbar.

In my left hand, I held a grenade.

The zombies that had fallen from the recent explosion’s impact got up and rushed at me again.

Whoosh-! Thud!

The head of an approaching zombie was smashed by the swinging crowbar.

Swinging the crowbar at high speed to create a gap, I bit the safety pin of the grenade with my teeth.

Pulling with my left hand to remove the pin, I threw it straight ahead.

“Grenade out~!”

Having seen it somewhere, I shouted “Grenade out!”

Wasn’t it said to be essential, in case allies might be harmed?

Boom-!!

Though not as good as when I threw two, the effect was excellent.

The grenade landed right in the middle of the rushing zombie horde.

The small, adorable explosive did its job perfectly.

Simultaneously with the explosion, chunks of flesh and black blood droplets scattered in all directions.

Among them, some zombies were seen flying into the air.

With just three grenades, I cut off the zombie charge.

Unfortunately, they faltered but then the zombies immediately poured in like a flood.

However, their direction was slightly different.

They surged towards me, the obvious target.

The sight was typical of monsters that had lost their intelligence.

It was as if they saw nothing, rushing wildly.

Meanwhile, fallen individuals were simply trampled over.

It was a continuous cycle of falling, being tripped, and running over others.

Their sole purpose was to harm me, right in front of them.

As this repeated, it created the illusion that the zombies’ bodies were rippling like a wave.

Groooaaan-!!

Screeeech-!!

The uncountable zombies’ chorus echoed through the alley.

It felt like hearing a roar from inside a monster’s belly.

Too many.

Seeing the shape of the zombie horde rushing right at me, my eyes grew dizzy.

But-

‘It’s possible!’

Lowering my center of gravity, I stepped forward slightly with my left foot.

My body relaxed, ready to shift my weight at any moment.

I lightly gripped the crowbar with both hands.

I regulated my breathing and relaxed.

Estimating the distance to the incoming zombie wave, I visualized one thing.

Instead of the mana I now lacked, my own reserves would suffice.

I gathered my physical strength, converting it into a form of usable combat power.

It was purely a realm of imagination, envisioned in my mind, but my body remembered.

I pulled the lost mystery into the realm of martial arts.

Every cell and all my senses throughout my body awakened, and everything began to feel incredibly clear.

A mysterious sensation, as if the world had regained its true colors.

Thump-!!

Different from the original, but clearly feeling the power and intense vitality within me.

Everything within me linked together smoothly.

This feeling, etched into my body from countless repetitions.

Power surged, as if it had been waiting.

Towards the zombies, now almost upon me, I swung the crowbar.

My target was a pinpoint in the zombie wave that caught my eye.

Swish-

A different sound was heard, not the usual ominous wind-cutting sound.

It was like the sound of a thin wire being swung through the air.

The crowbar landed precisely on the spot I aimed for.

But I wasn’t aiming for the zombie’s head.

Thwack-!

Upon impact, a dull thud erupted.

At the same time, the struck zombie’s body half-burst open and it flew backward.

A hole was instantly torn in the giant wave of flesh.

Not missing the opening, I bravely pushed through.

Pop-pop-pop-!!

Bursting sounds erupted in succession, like drums.

Not crushing or breaking, but bursting.

Small shockwaves burst from the point of impact.

Small, sonic-boom-like shockwaves.

Though limited in range, it felt like a type of splash damage.

A technique that was perfectly effective against opponents who charged mindlessly, like now.

Its power couldn’t compare to before, but it was enough against zombies.

If I had been surrounded front and back, there would have been nothing I could do.

But the zombies were stupidly pushing in from the front.

The location was an alley, neither too wide nor too narrow.

The incoming enemies were limited, but my attacks were unimpeded.

In this situation, limited as it was, a one-man army was possible.

As proof, the flow of zombies, which had been pouring in like a flood, began to break.

Whether hit by the crowbar or the small shockwaves, they burst apart and were pushed back.

Seizing the momentum, I stood firm, creating a barrier with the crowbar as if it were a sword.

Pushing back and bursting.

The high-speed, ceaseless attack pattern was both a shield protecting me and a sword dismantling the enemy.

As the attacks continued, a sound like a skilled drummer drumming at high speed emerged, and that sound gradually began to drown out the zombies’ roars.

Now, as the flow was repeatedly broken.

Eventually, the wave of rotten blood collapsed.

The remaining zombies charged in sparse clumps, but that was all.

It was no problem at all.

Without letting my guard down, I proceeded to finish off the rest.

“Whew~!”

While I held on frantically, the number of zombies had noticeably decreased.

Parts of zombies were splattered everywhere.

The scene spread before me was, how should I put it…

It was like the aftermath of a rampaging beast.

Or perhaps the spot where a large, dull-bladed blender had passed.

The majority of the zombies that had filled the alley had turned into chunks of flesh.

The few remaining zombies mostly just writhed or rushed forward, unable to control their instincts.

The greatly reduced number of zombies seemed ready to be finished off.

‘…If that Old Man had seen this, he would have been foaming at the mouth.’

I thought of someone who would have raged furiously at the diminished power.

I relaxed my stance and slowly rotated my stiff shoulders and arms.

I moved towards the zombies still writhing like insects.

Just as I took a step, dragging the crowbar on the ground.

Roooaaar-!!

A zombie suddenly appeared from among the zombie corpses.

The grotesque zombie I had seen earlier roared in fury at me.

I had clearly dropped two grenades right at that one’s feet…

“It survived that?”

Its left arm was torn off, and its thigh was so mangled it was hard to recognize, yet that zombie was standing up, snarling at me.

“…What happened to its skin?”

Its appearance was as if most of its outer skin had been ripped off.

Black veins were interwoven haphazardly, as if to prevent muscle fibers from unraveling.

It even had only one eyeball.

The corpse’s gleaming gray single eye glared fiercely at me.

Immediately, it let out a screeching cry, like metal being scraped, and lunged at me.

Perhaps due to its already tattered body, the zombie staggered as it approached.

Just as I was about to slowly approach to finish it off.

Bang-!

‘Ah, fuck! You startled me!’

I was truly startled by the sudden gunshot from behind.

If I had been a little more surprised, I might have jumped.

Simultaneously with the gunshot, the grotesque zombie’s remaining eye burst.

‘Did we get it?’

Screeeaaam-!!

‘…What? It survived a bullet to the head?’

I don’t know if this grotesque zombie felt pain or if it was enraged from losing its eye, but it was thrashing wildly and rolling on the ground.

By this point, I was really curious about its identity, but my thoughts stopped there.

“It’s not dead yet! Keep shooting!”

Several soldiers, presumably from the convenience store, simultaneously unleashed a barrage of bullets at the thrashing zombie.

Seemingly fearless, they slowly closed the distance, continuously firing.

The concentrated firing continued until their magazines were empty.

“Th-this is impossible.”

The soldiers were dumbfounded, and I was surprised as well.

Its body was pulp, and a bullet had even lodged in its head.

But the grotesque zombie was still twitching.

Startled, I rushed over and struck the twitching zombie’s head with the crowbar.

Thwack-!!

Splat-

With the sound of a thick watermelon bursting, sticky brain matter splattered onto the ground.

Only then did the grotesque zombie completely stop.

‘It took all those bullets and still moved. What on earth was it?’

It had taken a direct hit from a grenade and was riddled with bullets like a beehive.

Yet, it hadn’t been finished off.

It was a monster that hadn’t died even after being shot in the eye.

I had no idea where such a creature could have come from.

‘Still, it seems its weakness is indeed the head….’

I wasn’t a scientist, and there was nothing more I could learn from a dead zombie anyway.

More importantly, it wasn’t the situation for that.

“……”

“……”

The sharp gazes of the soldiers felt on my back.

I turned my body to face them.

‘…What now?’

Now that the situation had been resolved.

Amidst the splendidly scattered zombie fragments decorating the alley, I and the young soldiers merely stood awkwardly facing each other, unable to say a word.