Schriiik!
A demonic cry tore the air, carried by the wind.
Nine men surrounded a demon.
A demon with glowing red eyes and tentacles growing from the mouth, twitching in the air. A tentacle demon.
The air stank of rot.
Several corpses lay around, both human and demon. Blood flowed, painting the ground.
The chests of the nine people moved rapidly, their breath ragged. Sweat drenched their backs, and wounds riddled their bodies.
Swiiish!
The wind wailed.
Dead silence engulfed the battlefield, but the air grew heavier.
As if all stopped breathing, waiting for the decisive moment.
The men clenched their weapons, long, sharp swords, and a few shields.
Blood oozed from the open wounds on the demon's body, but it disregarded them.
The tentacles extended, preparing for battle.
Rummble!
Thunder echoed in the distance, and dark clouds approached. A storm was brewing.
But on the other side, the sun was setting, casting crimson rays.
The sky split in half.
On one side, a fiery sea of red, on the other, a dark, gloomy sea of clouds.
"ATTTACK!"
Vincent roared.
Swoosh!
The men lunged forward, rapidly approaching the demon.
Vincent followed, his step fast and eyes sharp.
Schrriik!
The demon moved. It attacked.
"Damn!"
The unlucky target of the demon cursed, but it was too late to dodge or regret.
It was already upon him.
He could only brace for impact.
The veins on his arms bulged, and the grip on his shield tightened.
"Impenetrable defense!"
SWIISH!!
Golden light erupted from the shield, coating it.
BOOM!
They clashed.
The demon slammed headfirst into the shield.
"AGHHH!"
The man groaned, sliding back from the force of the impact.
BOM!
The demon lunged again, slamming into the shield.
Swoosh!
The tentacles moved, going around the shield, threatening to pierce the man behind.
"Gerold!" The man closest by roared.
He crouched. A green layer of energy enveloped his legs. The veins bulged.
"Wind Speed!"
A whisper escaped his lips.
Swoosh!!
His body shot forward, several times faster than before.
Slashh!
Gerold swung his sword.
Blood splashed in the air as the sword slashed several tentacles, but many remained.
They threatened to pierce his chest and eat out his heart.
"DIE!
The man with speed ability arrived.
He slashed.
Shluck!
Several more tentacles fell.
"Damn!"
Gerold cursed.
A few remained.
SHLUCKKK!
The tentacles pierced his shoulder.
"AGHHH!"
A pained groan escaped his lips.
Blood splashed, soaking his shoulder red.
The man slashed again, cutting off the tentacles stuck to Gerold's shoulder.
"KILL IT!"
Vincent roared.
They all were upon the tentacle demon.
Shluck!
Shluck!
Swords pierced the body of the tentacle demon.
Despite its terrifying strength, it couldn't resist. It was outnumbered and exhausted.
"AGHHHH!"
Vincent jumped in the air, bringing the sword up.
"DIIIEEEEE!"
He thrust downward as he descended.
SHLUCK!
The sword sank deep.
Black, soft matter burst from the skull, flowing out. Brain matter.
Black, demonic brain matter.
Vincent slew the demon.
Rummmble!
The sky thundered.
The dark clouds swallowed the remaining of the sky as the sun set behind the horizon.
Tap!
A raindrop fell.
Tap! Tap! Splash!
The rain started pouring.
Vincent stood on top of the tentacle demon, still holding his sword, not removing it from the skull.
His chest moved rapidly.
"Aghhh..."
Gerold collapsed to the ground.
The remains of the tentacles on his shoulder twitched.
But mercilessly, he plucked it out, along with the flesh the tenacles held.
"Sighh..."
A long, tired sigh escaped Vincent's lips.
He looked up at the sky.
The rain drenched him.
His long, wet hair stuck to his face.
His shoulders hung low, weighed.
Water flowed down his face, yet one couldn't distinguish.
Was he crying, or was it just the rain?
"It's finally finished."
A man walked up to Vincent, his voice muffled by the pouring rain.
Vincent nodded, pulling his sword out of the skull.
The demon blood and brain matter mixed with the water. But Vincent had grown used to the gore. This was the new normal.
He glanced around. His heart ached.
Corpses littered the ground.
Dozens of demon corpses and several corpses of his subordinates.
His fallen subordinates—subordinates he brought here. Subordinates he was supposed to lead, but he led them to their deaths.
"Yeah," Vincent nodded, taking his gaze off the corpses.
He glanced at the massive, half-collapsed supermarket in the distance.
"Retrieve the weapons from our deceased brothers," Vincent ordered coldly.
He was not the same Vincent he was eighteen days ago.
The world outside the shelter was getting increasingly more dangerous.
Each venturing out to retrieve resources meant sacrifices. Today, it was his subordinates. Tomorrow, it may be him himself.
He was clear of the dangers. And his heart grieved, but he learned to live with it.
As the leader, he had to carry it on his shoulders and carry on.
"We'll recuperate in the supermarket,"
"Yes,"
The man obeyed.
They moved, quickly looting the corpses of their fallen comrades.
Vincent snapped out of his thoughts.
He glanced around, alert.
'Good thing it started raining,' He sighed in relief internally. 'The rain will wash the smell of blood. No zombies should gather.'
But it would also mask him.
Taking the opportunity that no one paid him attention, he took a glass container from underneath his belt.
A container filled with thick, violet liquid.
He poured the blood into the skull of the demon and slowly walked away.
'Status window,'
He willed.
A pale bluish system window appeared floating before his eyes.
[Name: Vincent]
[Race: Human (Carrier of the zombie virus)]
[Race: Progenitor (Conditional)] - [8 days 11:13:39]
[Level: 8] - [298/5000]
[Stats:]
[Strength: 15]
[Stamina: 15.3]
[Agility:15.1]
[Perception: 14]
[Mana: 60/60]
[Skills: (Contract); (Command); (Probe)]
'Killing the tentacle demon only gave a bit more than 200 exp.'
Vincent's expression grew darker.
'Just killing it claimed 4 lives. Not worth it...' His nails dug into his flesh. His heart ached. But there was no medicine for regret.
'So not worth it...'
He could only swallow bitterly.
His companions retreated into the supermarket. He walked last and slowly. The rain poured on him.
He was in deep thought.
'Its stats are ridiculous,'
Another status window appeared with a thought.
[Species: Tentahirudo (Mid-Grade Demon Hound)]
[Strength: 37]
[Stamina: 40]
[Agility: 39]
[Perception: 44]
'So unworthy...' Vincent sighed internally once again.
Heavy-hearted, he entered the supermarket.
Darkness ruled inside the supermarket.
"Impenetrable Defense,"
A golden light erupted around Gerold's shield. It lit the supermarket.
The group walked deeper inside.
Vincent glanced outside.
Night descended.
The supermarket was like a beam of light in the darkness—a watchtower amid a storm.
"Find a suitable corner. We'll spend the night here." Vincent ordered hurriedly.
The longer Gerold's ability lasted, the more attention they would bring to themselves.
Attracting attention in this rotting world was the least they wanted.
In a minute, the light disappeared. The supermarket returned to normal. Abandoned.
Rummble!
The storm raged.
Thunder tore the sky occasionally, and lightning lit the night.
"We'll wait till morning,"
Vincent spoke.
The group agreed quietly.
No one had strength or will. They silently ate the canned food, their hearts weighed by the loss of their comrades.
Of the original group of 10, only six remained.
It was not their first time losing comrades, but it never gets easier. The burden, the self-blame, it was the same every time.
But in the end, they could only sigh helplessly.
"How unlucky to encounter the tentacle demon hound." A man spoke after some time, breaking the silence.
"It still went well," Gerold added, his broad shoulder wrapped in clean white bandages. "Last time we faced one, we lost seven men and still didn't kill it,"
"Hmph!" A man snorted at Gerold. A slim, tall man with two daggers at his waist and a sword by his side. "What went well? Had I not saved you, you would've died."
It was the same man who saved Gerold from the tentacle demon.
No one commented.
"Now, we just need to wait for the tentacle demon hound to turn into an undead so that Vincent can contract it." Another one said. "Our return trip will be safer."
The others in the group nodded and slightly relaxed.
Vincent nodded. "It would be best if it turns by the morning."
Vincent never revealed he is the cause of the zombie apocalypse. But for convenience, he revealed that he could contract undead creatures.
As to why his blood was violet? It was related to his ability. Even he doesn't know why it's like that.
Such a simple expectation, no one suspected him.
After all, just the thought that everything could be caused by him, a single person, was ridiculous.
And a theory circulating among the survivors also helped him.
A theory that the towers were the source of the apocalypse.
Rummble!
The skies raged.
The rain poured.
And only doom awaited.