Dan couldn't believe what he just heard. Since there were zombies in the lobby, the people that managed to leave the building must have had a decent level of strength. If even those people died instantly, he didn't know what kind of creature was waiting for them outside.
"Allen, where's the Guild Master? Shouldn't he be able to help in this situation?"
"I'm not sure. He went out for an errand with his wife and kids on the morning of that day, but he never came back. The situation was too hectic, so none of us were able to go outside to look for him."
"Dammit."
Dan was previously acquainted with the Guild Master in this city. Although they had only sparred a few times before in the past, neither of them were able to overwhelm the other, which was a testament to the Guild Master's strength.
Dan then directed his attention towards the group of adventurers on the side, since he noticed the three idiots from earlier had woken up.
"You guys over there, what are your classes and levels?"
"Why should we tell-"
"Hah??"
Dan easily quelled any thoughts of defiance by glaring at them.
As the adventurers gave in and revealed their status, it turns out that most of them had melee classes such as Warrior, Swordsman, and Fighter, with a level range between 10 to 25. As expected, the three highest leveled adventurers in here were the trio that had vile intentions towards the girls.
They reluctantly spoke about their status, since they knew it was impossible to resist. However, their desires towards the girls had never faded, as there was still a glint in their eyes whenever they briefly made eye contact.
Dan was disappointed when he heard their levels were a lot lower than he expected. He had hoped that some of these guys were at least level 30, so they would be able to help him defend the building.
"E-excuse me, but do you happen to have any food to spare?"
While Dan was thinking about their next course of action, Allen spoke up as none of them had eaten anything for a few days already. Although there was a pub nearby, it required them to walk outside the building to reach it, and none of them were willing to take that risk.
Although Dan didn't have much food left, he took out a bit for everyone, as he wasn't willing to watch them starve. When Kaori was about to speak up and share some of her snacks, Luna pulled on her sleeve and shook her head.
Luna knew how despicable humans would become if they are desperate enough. If Kaori shared her food once, they would always think she had more, even if she denied it. Dan was strong enough to repel them, but Kaori was only a frail girl with no means to protect herself. If she happened to leave his protection for a moment, who knows what would happen to her.
Although Kaori didn't completely understand Luna's intention, she decided to refrain from sharing her food for now.
While the guild advisors and adventurers were having their long-awaited meal, Dan and the girls took this time to check out the surroundings.
Although he hadn't seen the threat for himself, the guild advisors had no reason to lie to him. Besides, his instincts had similarly warned him of the danger outside.
He used all the different windows on the first and second floor to observe the surroundings, yet he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
The streets all around the building looked deserted, with nobody in sight.
"Wait... Something doesn't make sense..."
Dan took a few minutes to recount Allen's story from earlier. His mind quickly skimmed through the details as he recalled everything that he heard.
"How can this be?!"
"What is it?"
"Look outside. Don't you girls think there's something strange going on?"
"???"
None of the girls were able to make sense of what Dan was hinting at.
"Think about it carefully… Remember when Allen mentioned that the infection struck this place about a week ago?"
As soon as Dan gave a clue to them, Kaori instantly realized what was wrong.
"Ah! Where are all the zombies outside?!"
"That's right. Based on what Allen said, there should've been some infected humans that ran outside a week ago. If my assumptions are correct, a majority of the population here should've gotten infected by now. However, there's not a single zombie in sight."
"!!!"
"Even though our vision is limited due to all the buildings, we should still be able to see up to a hundred meters."
"Then… where did all the zombies go? Or maybe the people that ran outside weren't infected?"
"Impossible. I can sense something ominous lurking outside somewhere. Anyways, let's go back upstairs, since we won't be able to figure anything out by just thinking about it."
"Kay…"
After they went back upstairs, Dan didn't mention his previous conjecture since it wasn't a good idea to incite panic.
"Allen, we're going to borrow one of the other rooms to rest for tonight, since the girls don't feel comfortable staying here."
"That's not a problem."
As Dan and the girls occupied a different room, the rest of the day passed by uneventfully.
***
*Chatter*
In the morning, a faint noise from outside the room woke some of them up. The only exception was Luna, as she was still enjoying her sleep.
While Kaori was busy trying to wake her up, Dan opened the door to take a peek outside the room.
"...s"
"...shit"
"...what happened here?!"
Dan slowly walked closer to the railing as he heard the sound of people talking from downstairs. Although the people down there didn't have any visible injuries on them, he didn't have a clue as to who they were, since he had retired from the adventurer scene many years ago.
After a few minutes, Kaori and the other girls came out of their room and moved towards Dan to observe the situation. Allen and a few others also came out after they heard the commotion.
"Allen, do you know who those people are?"
"Yes. Their party has risen in popularity lately as 3 of their members have reached A-rank, while the other 3 are still at B-rank. Even though they are still young, the guild has high hopes for them due to their potential."
Dan was slightly impressed that a few of them managed to reach A-rank at such a young age. He was about to call out to them when one of them suddenly walked towards the door.
"NO! DON'T OPEN THAT!"
"Huh?"
However, Dan's warning had come a second too late as he had already opened it. Less than a second after he heard Dan's shout, parts of his body fell onto the ground, while bits of his flesh slid off to the sides. He didn't even have a chance to react to the assailant that killed him.
"Kyaaaah!!!"
"What the fuck just happened?!"
The remaining five adventurers in the lobby quickly backed away from the door, as they tried to assess the situation. They knew it was too late to save their friend, so they just focused on defending themselves.
A large, bulky man stepped in front of the two girls in his party, as he held a large triangular shield in front of him. Both of the girls clutched a large staff in their arms, so it was obvious to Dan that they had some kind of magic-based class.
The remaining two guys had split off to the left and right, as they were equipped with a sword and a pair of gauntlets respectively. Aside from the tank, Dan could guess that the other two males had some kind of melee class, due to their choice of weapons.
It only took a few seconds for the five of them to get into a defensive formation, which was evidence of their teamwork and adaptability.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!"
The male with the sword shouted, as he assumed the perpetrator was some kind of assassin due to how his party member died. Each piece of flesh had been cleanly sliced off, as if some kind of blade was used to dismember him in less than a second.
It took a minute before a tall, dark figure showed itself from the door. The figure was shrouded in a cloak, with one hand holding a pitch black sword, while the other couldn't even be called a hand anymore. The disproportionate arm was a few meters long, with fleshy veins snaking along the surface.
Along the backside of its arm, there was a sharp edge that ran from the end of its arm, to the elbow. Its fingers couldn't even be seen anymore, as if its arm was a fusion between a thick claymore and a thick piece of flesh.
Needless to say, everybody was stunned when they saw the sight of the monstrosity that appeared from the door.
"HAAAAH!"
*ROARRR*
Without giving the party of five any time to readjust their state of minds, the figure lunged towards the man with the shield, since that guy had used a skill to taunt the figure.
Although everyone was shocked by the sight of that creature, Dan was startled for a different reason.
"That sword… it can't be…"