The sheer size of the Omega Zombie made everyone freeze in their tracks. Kazuichi felt like choking, and he could've sworn he peed a little.
"Everyone! We have to go!" Kazuichi screamed without further ado, rushing headfirst into the exit as he led the way. On his way out, he picked up Amaya and slung her on his shoulder. This would help them with their pace.
They could only hope to outrun the huge zombie. Adding to that, they still had to deal with the other Aberrants who were all over the place. Now that they noticed that the humans were retreating, their confidence was renewed, and they gave chase.
"How do we deal with that thing?" Tris asked under her breath as she stole a glance at the Omega Zombie which was steadily catching up to them.
Despite its size, the Omega Zombie could really run. Each of them could only hope to assume that the Omega Zombie wouldn't catch them.
"I don't know! It's the first time I've seen such a huge zombie!" Sano responded. He was a Hound, but he still couldn't help but panic at the sight of the oversized zombie.
The group weaved their way through alleyways, covering as much ground as possible while steering clear of the Omega Zombie. While they had difficulty running away from it, it easily plowed its way through the city, walking in a straigh line and destroying everything in its wake.
"We can't lead this to the stronghold... we have to go the opposite way!" Kazuichi suggested.
"But if we do that... we're bound to run out of energy sooner or later." Tris pursed her lips. Kazuichi's advise was rational but it would put their lives in danger instead of the stronghold.
Then again, they have no idea whether the stronghold could deal with such a huge zombie or not. If they couldn't, then the stronghold would fall, and it would be their fault when it does.
With not much of a choice, the group ran the opposite way with Kazuichi in the lead. They were going to steer the Omega Zombie away from the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. And then, once it was in the clear, they would try to shake it off and escape.
The Omega Zombie let out a roar, calling for the other Aberrants in the vicinity. The handful of Aberrants chasing the group had exponentially increased, and they had to pick up the pace.
Kiahk~!
With a shriek, one of the Aberrants jumped at Kazuichi, flailing its arms as it tried to get ahold of his head. However, it sensed Amaya as a Canary, and it tried to get out of there. It was too late though, and Kazuichi slammed him onto the ground and bashed his head in with the sole of his feet.
Another Aberrant jumped forward, and Kazuichi twisted forward before delivering a hook with his free hand. The Aberrant didn't have time to get up since Sano immediately beheaded him. He was right behind Kazuichi, keeping up with him while conserving as much energy as he could.
Things were looking bleak for everyone, but they pressed on.
The Omega Zombie seemed to have an endless supple of stamina. Despite its size, it was able to keep up with the group's top speed. It should've stopped running a couple of minutes ago, but it didn't.
"How's that zombie running like that? This is madness!" Sano exclaimed. Everyone else in the group nodded their head in agreement.
"Aghk~!"
Kazuichi and the others couldn't protect everyone in the group. One by one, the party members were snatched by the Aberrants, and Kazuichi didn't bother saving them since the Aberrants alread sliced them into pieces and ate them.
It was a gruesome sight, and Kazuichi didn't have any choice but to cover the eyes of Amaya so she wouldn't witness something so bloody. Pretty soon, the entire party was dead, and it was only Amaya, Kazuichi, Sano and Tris who were left.
Tris was nearing her limits, and Sano couldn't use his Hound form any longer. It wouldn't take long before the two of them completely exhausted themselves.
"Just hang in there a little longer," Kazuichi called out to them. He still had enough stamina so running wasn't a problem for him.
From a distance, strange sounds could be heard, and since Kazuichi needed to do something to lead the Omega Zombie away, he decided to lure it towrds the strange sounds. The sound was akin to two metals rubbing against each other, and the sound of a grappling hook hooking and unhooking on concrete.
Unbeknownst to the group, they've been running for more than half an hour now, and their direction led them to the next stronghold.
The Ice Wing Stronghold.
Just like the Scarlet Blood Stronghold, the Ice Wing Stronghold had a pretty large territory, and thanks to its army of Hybrids, they were able to defend their stronghold without much difficulty.
Unlike the Scarlet Blood Strongold, though, they've dealt with Omega Zombies in the past as well. In some sort of a weird coincidence, they also called these gigantic zombies as Omega Zombies, and the name stuck to them.
"IT'S HERE! I knew it, tonight's our lucky night!" Kazuichi heard from afar.
"All attackers at the ready. The stake, ready the stake!" Another voice was heard.
Something zipped in the air right above Kazuichi. One whiff of him and Kazuichi realized that he was a Hybrid, specificially a Merc. He was holding two grappling guns in hand, and he shoots it to maneuver in the air.
"We've got civilians! I repeat, we've got civilians!" The Merc screamed at his group. His sense of smell was not as sensitive as Kazuichi, but he could tell that Amaya and Tris were humans so he concluded that Kazuichi is a human as well.
'That guy's scent is a bit weird, to be honest... but they were probably outside for too long that the zombie scent stuck on him. I'm guessing he was the one doing all the fighting. As for that other guy... yeah, he's a Hound. He's not a threat.' The Merc thought to himself.
"Prioritize the civilians, they have a Hound with them!"
In the Ice Wing Stronghold, Hybrids are prioritized over people since they were the ones who could defend the Stronghold. Upon hearing that there was a Hound in Kazuichi's group, the Merc's group rushed towards them, giving them due protection before they dealt with the Omega Zombie.