The heavy sword clashed against the claws of the flying zombie. The humanoid zombie was sent flying, crashing into a small building which collapsed from the impact and its poor condition.
The humanoid zombie struggled to its feet, but it was useless. The flying zombie had been faster, sinking its claws into its prey's body with one leg and tearing off its head with the other, causing dark blood to gush out.
What followed was something Matthew had expected, yet it still surprised him.
The flying zombie brought the humanoid zombie's head to its beak and, with a single bite, broke it like a nutcracker. It then swallowed and continued devouring the remains of its hunted zombie.
The flying zombie devoured the humanoid zombie with incredible speed, finishing it in less than an hour, after which it returned to its flight around the rift.
Matthew remained hidden for several hours, which allowed him to observe how the flying zombie devoured all the zombies in rank C- to rank C+. Up to that point, no other zombie had appeared in rank B, so Matthew could not verify the behavior of the flying zombie in the face of a significant threat.
"System, do they improve like I do by devouring other zombies?"
[Don't worry, host]
[They improve because devouring zombies that have adapted to the virus allows them to strengthen the virus in their bodies and mutate even further; however, they mutate within the threshold of what they were before mutating.]
[The host, by devouring zombies, relies on an enhanced system, not a simple virus.]
[The host is a more versatile being.]
[Devouring to regenerate, restore, or replace useless parts will expand the host's skill threshold.]
"I understand," Matthew saw a D+ rank zombie enter the "space rift" and was annoyed that he hadn't been able to hunt it down.
Matthew reasoned that if that flying zombie was similar to the flying zombie in that city, it was very likely that it saw Matthew as a target, so he decided it was best to remain hidden until the tireless flying zombie decided to retreat.
"It seems I made the right decision back then, considering that the flying creature I heard flying around that city I was in before wasn't a nocturnal creature. These are zombies with advanced abilities that have taken a qualitative leap by reaching rank C-. I mustn't forget that," Matthew concluded as he continued waiting inside a building for the flying zombie to fly away.
...
A few days passed, and the flying zombie had vanished the instant the rift began to fluctuate.
"Night will soon fall. I think I should leave. If even that flying zombie didn't want to enter the 'space rift,' it must be a sign of great danger." Matthew checked that the creature wasn't nearby and left the building where he had been hiding.
A chilling croak!
"Damn it!" Matthew exclaimed upon hearing the sound coming from the clouds high in the sky. Matthew thought as fast as he could, and the only place that would allow him to save himself was the 'space rift.'
Matthew didn't even look at the sky; he knew danger was approaching at great speed.
Sigh!
Jump!
Spin!
Matthew spun in the air and with his right arm threw his spear at the head of the flying zombie.
Light!
Matthew only saw a blinding light as he passed through the "space rift."
Bang!
Bang!
Kill them!
We have to resist!
The magical scientists are finding a way to seal that dimensional portal!
Don't let them into the city!
The environment that Matthew saw seemed absurd to him.
A high, metallic ceiling with white lights illuminating the metallic walls with large panes of glass that allowed a view into some of the rooms, a metallic floor, and soldiers in futuristic armor that covered their entire bodies while wielding large metallic weapons that fired lasers that destroyed the heads of the zombies. Other soldiers fought using their physical strength, and there were some who used swords with a futuristic style.
"It's dangerous," Matthew thought.
But he hadn't planned to stay in the rift; after all, he was a zombie.
He used his right arm and ripped off his own head, hurling it forcefully toward the "space rift."
Bang!
The zombie's head flew through the air. Matthew saw the blinding light, and his head slammed into the body of an F-rank zombie.
He knew that if there were so many zombies on the other side, it wouldn't be hard to find one.
Matthew's head was like a cannonball to an F-rank zombie.
The F-rank zombie lay prostrate on the ground, making futile attempts to get to its feet, because the impact of the head had been like a cannonball that finally destroyed its already deteriorating body. [Limbs devoured but not fully digested]
[Regenerating zombie body]
[Rank decreased]
[Zombie: Rank F+]
Matthew grew grotesquely elongated limbs and a thin body.
Although his body resembled that of the fast zombies, it was a deteriorated version from which its best qualities had already been extracted.
In just a few minutes Matthew had a new body, but it was a body in deplorable condition.
Seeing his clumsy, slow, and labored movements, Matthew thought that this must be how old people feel.
This time, near the portal, there was only the jet-black spear that seemed to have pierced an eyeball still attached to the extraocular muscles, which extended like filaments of somewhat grayish flesh.
Matthew sighed; it was a relief that the flying zombie wasn't nearby, but he believed that with his reduced rank, he would hardly attract the flying zombie's attention.
Matthew didn't walk toward his jet-black spear because he knew that in his current state he couldn't lift it.
He looked at the hundreds of zombies and launched himself at the body of an F-rank zombie and began to devour it without letting his guard down.
A few hours later, Matthew had a more stable body.
With his elongated limbs and his nearly 2.20 meters of height, he dragged an F+-rank zombie inside a building.
Since he didn't have the same strength as before and only his teeth were resistant at that moment, Matthew devoured his own right arm with bites, then devoured the right arm of the F+ rank zombie.
[Regenerating the host's right arm]
Seeing that his normal arm had regenerated, he felt satisfied and devoured its other arm.
In the end, Matthew devoured the rest of the zombie, but due to distance and a lack of the ideal angle, he couldn't devour the remaining parts of its body.
Deciding to address the issue of its body later, in the following days, remaining vigilant, he lured several F+ rank zombies to the ruined building he used as a refuge.
...
About three days later. Under a sunny sky. The "space rift" disappeared.
"Just like the futuristic soldiers said." Matthew understood what they meant because the system had used a rapid process of analyzing and interpreting the sounds and emotions of those beings. That's what Matthew had understood when he had asked the system.
In the last few days, he had eaten several F+ rank zombies, and although some didn't provide any benefits, he considered it a saving grace in case he had to lose his mind again.
He had also eaten about three E- rank zombies, which allowed him to reach E- rank again.
After the "space rift" dispersed, some zombies began to walk erratically, others simply wandered off aimlessly, and another group advanced like a horde of nearly 100 zombies, among whom was Matthew, who had tied his jet-black spear to his back because its weight made it useless to him until he rose in rank again.