Keratous is the alias for Big Mark, while Magna is Kara's.
They had to come up with another name in the event they encounter another group of survivors.
'What sort of opponent could make a Class-9 and Class-10 Awakened request for help?'
Erza's mind listed a few potential enemies.
He needed more information.
< Its arms are big and sharp! Its head is also impervious to crossbows!>
Feera desperately answered Erza.
'Sh*t!'
It's a Strain-2 (S-2) Infected!
The team was running towards the forest behind the school.
Each team member was equipped with a tracker on their battle suits.
That enables the team to locate each other at any time.
…
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Trees fell whenever a strike hit.
Pah! Pah!
Rooaar!
An S-2 Infected slashed and pounded on a tough, invisible bubble.
Inside the bubble, was a fierce-looking young man.
'Let's see how tough my Barrier is!'
"Come on! I haven't had fun for a while!"
Feera was sweating.
He has been receiving the S-2's swift and powerful attacks.
One of the weaknesses of psychic-based Awakened was their bodies.
Although a Class-9 Awakened's physical enhancement rivals five average adults, their physique is still exposed to harms that exceed the defense of five adults.
'As time progresses, the Infected will mutate further to overcome its weakness. We must too!'
In order to prevent damage from physical-based attacks, Feera trained his Psychokinesis to envelope his body, forming a protective barrier!
'All those nights perfecting the technique paid off!'
After they received the order from Erza to retreat, they began to run.
But the Strain-2 Infected was equally fast.
The battle started when they scouted the forest.
They flew the drone in and found a group of Strain-1 Infected.
They drew them out and sniped them from afar, just like how they practiced.
Just when they were about to approach the Infected corpses, they heard a loud growl.
'An Infected that did not fell for the bait.'
A Strain-2 Infected, or S-2, has gained some intelligence.
It's basic instinct still remains, only that they are now as smart as elementary school children.
Feera and Kara thought it was a wild animal.
Roooar!
What came out was a humongous humanoid monster.
'About 185 cms, weighing 150 kilograms.'
An S-2's distinct feature was its sharp claws attached to its muscular arms.
'It's head is also as tough as concrete.'
Only a certain caliber of firearms could penetrate it.
It's basically a stronger, faster zombie that possesses intelligence.
But even if it has gained intelligence, it could only think so much.
"Kara! Now!"
Blob! Blob!
The ground underneath the S-2 and Feera began to soften.
Gradually, it became a big pool of mixed clay and sand.
"It's working! It's sinking into the quicksand!"
Kara's Earth Manipulation not only enables her to track the residue of soil she touches, but she could also alter its properties.
As they could not outrun the S-2, they decided to fight!
'It was lucky that the S-2 could not understand languages.'
While engaging it, Feera told Kara about his plans.
Roooarr!
By the time the S-2 has sunken halfway into the quicksand, it was too late.
As for Feera, his Barrier made him float on top of the quicksand.
He commanded his spherical Barrier to roll on the quicksand's surface and head towards solid ground.
The S-2 plunged down faster as it struggles to break free.
'Its attack was so fast. I couldn't keep up.'
The mutated Doronavirus's advancement made the S-2 Infected blessed with the strength of four to five human adults.
Scientists believe this is the virus's response to the exploitation of its weaknesses.
The ratio was about one S-2 in ten S-1 Infected.
"Zephyr! Magna!"
A rushed yet charismatic voice was heard.
Both of them looked behind them.
It was Erza, Mr. Zayf, and Big Mark.
Mrs. Numee and Bucky were approaching from behind.
They have just run at full speed for a kilometer and a half without breaking a sweat.
After making sure Kara and Feera are uninjured, they shifted their attention to the quicksand.
Or to be specific, the S-2 Infected.
'The first Strain-2 Infected was said to have appeared in the second or third month of the apocalypse. What happened?'
Erza was afraid that with him exterminating so many Infected in such a short span of time, he triggered the 'Butterfly Effect'.
'Or did I remembered it wrong?'
Glup, glup.
The S-2 is now almost submerged into the quicksand, save for its head.
"Magna, can you solidify the surface layer of the pit? Just so that its head doesn't completely drown."
Infected won't die when they are trapped inside a quicksand because they don't need air to live, and it's brain still hasn't been crushed or damaged.
"Ok, Zeta."
She touched the ground and solidified the top part of the quicksand.
Warghk!
"Wow, so noisy."
The S-2 was flailing its limbs inside the quicksand, finding a way to escape and kill the humans in front of it.
"Team, this is a history-changing moment. We might have encountered the first of its kind: A Strain-2 Infected."
Erza told them everything about the physical description, behavior and ways to defeat it.
Siu!
A crossbow bolt was released. It was aimed at the S-2's head, but it bounced off.
"As you can see, the bolt was deflected. Its head has become tougher."
Kachak!
This time, a familiar gun was seen in Erza's hand.
Bang!
It was a handgun that he confiscated from the gangsters previously.
The bullet was aimed at the Infected's head.
"What the-"
"It's still alive? After a bullet to the skull?"
The team members were in disbelief.
This makes Evolution Nectar harvesting much more difficult.
There was smoke in the middle of the S-2's forehead, and a white scratch appeared.
"Although its skull is almost bulletproof, its eyes, ears and mouth are not."
Siu! Siu!
Three bolts were shot from Erza's crossbow.
It penetrated its ear, mouth, and eyeball.
"You'll need an unparalleled accuracy to aim for those spots."
Unless one was blessed with Talents that increase accuracy, only constant training and battle experience could hone their aiming.
The S-2 Infected would not always be staying put being stuck in a quicksand pit, so they have to learn how to shoot such tiny areas while running around.
Roooaar!
The S-2 Infected roared its final words before its death.
"Magna, please solidify a path for me to walk to the S-2."
Immediately, a maroon-brown bridge appeared in the middle of the quicksand pit.
'After performing all these feats, she hasn't felt any fatigue.'
Kara is one of the few Awakened who is graced with a higher capacity of Cell Energy than the others.
'I can see why she was called the Earth Princess.'
Erza sometimes couldn't believe that a famous figure is part of his team currently.
"And remember to Double Tap, guys."
As soon as Erza put his hand on its head, it began moving again.
'This Infected knows how to play dead!'
Hss!
The rest of them sucked in cold air.
They now truly realize that their lives aren't going to get easier from now on.
The thin and dainty crossbow bolts could not penetrate the skull, but it would destroy its sensory organs.
"We need to apply enough force and impact to break its hardened skull."
Erza shows the team the spot where the skull is the weakest.
Krak, boom!
An almost supersonic punch produced a deafening sound.
"Aim for the temple. It's the thinnest area of its head."
Erza used just 5% of his Super Strength to break the S-2's skull.
The head is now devoid of movement.
Erza twisted the corpse's neck like breaking a crab's shell.
He took out its spinal cord and crushed it open with his bare hands.
With his current Class-9 strength, he can crush concrete easily.
'Hello, beautiful!'
Erza took out a dark pink Evolution Nectar from the S-2's spinal cord.
"But the reward is worth it, guys."
Although an S-2 is harder to kill, the boost that an S-2 Evolution Nectar gives is ten times better than a Strain-1 Evolution Nectar.
Therefore, to evolve from a Class-10 to Class-9 would only require ten S-2 Evolution Nectars, instead of one hundred S-1 Evolution Nectars.
They were curious about the little ball that is a shade darker than their usual harvest.
"Team, harvest, and identify. Kara, did our target's trail stopped in the forest?"
Erza gave his instructions.
"Just outside the forest's ridge, actually. His tracks vanished from there but I saw tire marks heading outside the perimeter."
She could track the trail of the soil from the tire marks but it would take time.
'Little Sam must've followed another survivor group.'
The tire trail looks like it belonged to an all-terrain vehicle.
Based on the impression on the soil, it was a heavy SUV carrying quite a heavy load.
Erza looked at the distance.
'We'll find you, Sam. I promise on Uncle Ganon's grave.'
…
By the time they finished harvesting the Evolution Nectars and buried Cousin Danna with her family, it was already 6.45 pm.
"Team, we move out in five. We need to reach the Air Force base before dusk."
They had another mission today.
His family members grieved momentarily but re-focused their energy back on the mission.
At this point, they are calmer and less emotional after burying so many of their kin.
'That's why we have to get the helicopter!'
Although they developed an emotional barrier towards death, it doesn't mean they have abandoned their humanity.
Their desire to save their relatives faster becomes their only motivation.
'It's good to have goals. Especially during the apocalypse.'
If one doesn't have any motivation, they sink into depression and ultimately lose their willingness to live.
'The strong lives, and the weak dies.'
Such are the rules of doomsday.
Humans with weak mental strength would often not live long.
The mass suicide of the school shelter was an example.
They returned to their cars.
"Welcome back Master Zeta!!"
Aqua Rose and Director Jing jumped out of the car, greeting the team.
They were greeted by dejected and wearied faces.
Dried blood and dirt decorated their helmets and armors.
They boarded their vehicles.