"You all right, kid?" One of the party members asked, extending his hand so Kazuichi could prop himself up. He knew that Kazuichi was their only hope, and they had to assist him even if it meant laying down their lives on the line.
Muttering a soft thanks, Kazuichi obliged with the gesture and used his hand to get up. He calmly breathed in before exhaling in relief. For a moment back there, he thought he was dead. And yet, for some reason, he survived another bite— he survived another bout of the virus entering his system.
If it were any other regular hybrids, they'd have turned into a mindless zombie on the first bite. However, Satoshi had already survived more than two bites and he was still as sane as ever... or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. For all he knew, he could already be running amok on a rampage, and everything he was seeing right now was an illusion.
Amaya bashfully approached Kazuichi, squeezing him by the hand to confirm that he was all right. With a smile, Kazuichi squeezed her hand back, petting her on the head as thanks for worrying about him. "Let's go inside. These guys are more trouble than we thought, I but I can take them on."
Without saying another word, Kazuichi raised his hand and signaled for everyone to follow him. Adrenaline was coursing through his system, and his senses seemed to be more hypersensitive than usual. Nodding his head, he headed inside the abandoned complex, not even bothering to carry a torch since he could see pretty well in the dark.
"Wait... why is everything so clear? My vision wasn't like this before." Kazuichi muttered to himself in amazement. He could even see the Aberrants from afar, leaping all over the place while searching for an opening so they could torment the group.
Not only that, Kazuichi felt lighter than usual. It's as if he could jump up and fly due to how light he was. He didn't try doing something stupid though, since failing would just make him appear like a crazy person.
From a distance, Kazuichi saw the Aberrants sneaking in closer and closer. They knew just how limited everyone's eyesight was, that's why they were overly confident that they'd be able to sneak in an attack and defeat the party without them ever fighting back. There were at least a dozen of them, and they certainly outnumbered the headcount of the party.
Three Aberrants circled the party, trying to flank the group so they could attack the party from both sides. But Kazuichi could see them, that's why he warned the party members on the rear side beforehand. While they couldn't deal with the fast Aberrants, they should be able to defend against them if they knew where the Aberrants were going to attack.
One of the Aberrants ran out of patience, and it struck by the rear, letting out a shriek. It wasn't aiming for anyone other than Amaya, since it knew that getting rid of the canary would make it easier for their group to defeat Kazuichi's party. The Aberrant was determined to get rid of Amaya even if it meant that it was going to die.
Kiahk~!
Kazuichi saw through his actions though. Although he didn't realize it, Kazuichi could actually perceive everyone's movements at a slower pace. Not only had he gotten faster, but his reaction time had improved significantly as well. Without missing a beat, he grabbed Amaya by the arm and pulled her towards him.
"I got you," Kazuichi uttered under his breath as he mightily swung his arm at the charging Aberrant.
As soon as he did so, Kazuichi felt the drastic change that his arm underwent. His skin turned into a visibly darker color, and he felt the strength in his arms increasing at the peak of his swing. Adding to that, his fingernails seemed to extend, almost as if they were the retractable claws of a predator.
Sensing the danger, the Aberrant let out a shriek as it tried to run away, but it was too late. It had been caught in the middle of the swing, and Kazuichi had no reason to stop its attack.
Fwip~!
Kazuuchi felt like his fingernails were cutting through strips of paper, or rather, he felt like he was slashing through a stick of butter. His fingernails dug into the flesh of the Aberrant and continued their course until they had cut the Aberrant into three separate pieces. A dying groan could be heard, and the Aberrant's body pieces fell like useless lumps of meat as it plopped lifelessly on the ground.
With one of their kins gone, the other Abberants became enraged and they started thrashing and shrieking around. The two other Aberrants who were flanking the group started attacking, but they were too loud and the party members managed to deflect their attacks despite their speed. This gave Kazuichi the opening he needed, and they too died as his fingernails cut them straight through.
Within the darkness, a flash of red could be seen, and a steady low growl emanated from within a certain figure. Kazuichi's pupils shone a nice scarlet color as he embraced himself as a Hybrid, and the low growl was a steady warning to the Aberrants that they'd die the moment they get close.
Despite being the main attack force of the group, the party members couldn't help but feel afraid. Even Sano, who was Hybrid, felt a tad bit threatened at the way Kazuichi was acting. He was close to a feral zombie, and it bothered them a bit.
Then again, he didn't do anything to harm the group. In fact, he was keeping them safe while they were infiltrating the nest of Aberrants. That's why they couldn't complain.
Three more Aberrants jumped in, but they met the same fate. Kazuichi had already gotten used to their speed and attack patterns. Whatever they tried to pull off, it won't work. They'd die at the hands of Kazuichi.
Fighting a losing game drove the Aberrants into the corner, and they finally retreated.
A different kind of shriek was heard, and for the first time ever since they infiltrated the nest, Kazuichi felt goosebumps run up and down his body.
Something was coming. Something dangerous.
As they tried to figure out what was going to happen next, the ceiling of the abandoned complex was torn open, and the Omega Zombie peered through the gap, staring straight at Kazuichi with fury in its eyes.
"Ah, shi—" Kazuichi breathed.