"Why are you so eager to become a Revenant, Darling?! It's all over if you die!" Josephine yelled.
I wrestled my arms away from her and frowned.
"Then your words from earlier were empty? This is the problem with smart people. You all use logic too much. So, what if by all accounts I am going to my death? I should have died long ago. Yet I still am here, aren't I? I played it safe all my life before I became a Reaper. It gave me nothing but regret in my last moments."
"That was only for an E-rank undead. An Undead Brute is D-rank. It is impossible for us! We are done to the beef!" Bella cautioned.
Done to the beef? Had to be a Brazilian saying. Ignoring them, I turned around and resumed walking. I waved goodbye as I added.
"Stay safe, everyone. Now that I have my {Fate} in my hands, I get to decide how I live and how I die. I no longer wish to die with any regrets. Wait for me here. I'll come back after I kill this fucker."
While making my way, I began to scout the battle I was about to join. The majority of the zombies continued to approach the ape's arrow formation. Projectiles of all kinds shot out and rained down on the undead. But as the enemy was in the thousands, it hardly mattered.
Surprisingly, despite the brute walking with large steps, he lagged behind the Normies. It made me wonder whether this fucker strolled deliberately or if he was simply slow.
Flaming mountains scattered about lit the zombies on fire like torches. As the undead were dumb as shit, they bumped into the walls and each other, spreading the fires.
The sight of hundreds of burning corpses coming for you would scare the shit out of even the bravest souls. Even from where I stood, it smelled like ass.
A cacophony of guttural moans and growls made the experience even more frightening. With {Perceive}, I could see several Reapers shivering with fear. They gripped their weapons so hard that their hands bled. Panic, terror, and disgust radiated from their very bodies.
At that moment, the black gorilla let out a loud, thunderous roar. Blood-curdling howls immediately followed, inducing fear and terror in the already tense atmosphere. The gorilla and his werewolves broke rank without warning.
Contrary to my expectations, the gigantic primate moved faster than even the werewolves. It barreled through the zombies and used its arms as sledgehammers. Each swing of its tree-like arms sent the zombies flying.
Due to my enhanced vision, I saw the extent of damage done to the Normies and Bigfoots. The werewolves, on the other hand, tore the zombies apart with their teeth and claws. I then noticed that a group of over fifty reapers followed them. All carrying flashy soulweapons.
'These people should be the assault squads formed by the gorilla.'
Before I could study the weapons themselves, I saw a familiar face I would never forget until I die.
"Found you, Red."
It was the bastard who used me as zombie bait. He carried a glowing longsword that sizzled with lightning. Red was at the forefront of the assault group, slashing wildly after the gorilla. My blood, already stoked, now soared to even greater heights.
"How convenient. I just so happen to have the perfect playmate for you," I remarked.
While I tried formulating a plan, I noticed the remains of the arrow formation in shambles. Once the distance of Red's group from them increased, zombies flooded the gaps. Blood drenched the ground anew as the Reapers left behind began to die like swine.
Due to being alone, hardly any of the zombies noticed me as I approached the brute. I had my arms holding the gun aimed in front of me. Bella taught me the proper footwork of making small steps while moving with a gun. They supposedly called it a "combat glide."
Along the way, I shot the ones who wandered toward me. Like a seasoned soldier, I downed body after body as I walked forward with the finesse of an assassin. The adrenaline began to fill me with immense pleasure.
My arms began to get sore, though. Due to saving my souls for {Rewind}, I used {Reload}, so the repeated shocks to my arms didn't get healed. Still, as long as I would get to use {Rewind} at some point, I should be fine.
I didn't even wait for the bodies to drop. With {Identify}, even the Chuckies in hiding got a surprise long before I stepped in front of them. But then a Normie faced toward me and growled. It then charged at full speed like a long-distance runner.
"What the hell? I thought you guys didn't run!" I exclaimed.
While it was surprising, it was hardly anything serious. With {Aim}, I followed the crosshairs and bam! The sprinter crashed in a dramatic fashion as the back of his head burst open.
As I continued, I began to pass the flaming walls farthest from the platform. Heat enough to make me sweat came off them while I was a good thirty yards away.
"{Save} {Rewind}."
I got over 100 souls from my own kills. I got around seventy from being near dying ones. Being in top form remained the biggest challenge in prolonged battles. With {Rewind}, so long as I kept on killing, this would never be a problem for me.
'I wonder what these zombies react to. Sound? Light? Blood?'
Unlike when I was still human, most of the zombies ignored me when I got into their range. Yet, the ones around Ape's army attacked in a manner that looked absolutely insane.
Like rabid animals, they tried to maul the Reapers. Chuckies got on top of Bigfoots and dive-bombed unsuspecting targets. Normies who got slashed or torn to pieces continued to attack. Within seconds, the Reapers who failed to kill them paid the price for their negligence.
Vomit threatened to come up my throat as I watched the gruesome hell that was Reaper combat. It was different to see dead people getting killed. As I heard the chilling screams of those who were being eaten alive, it caused my trauma to resurface.
Unable to endure, I stopped walking and got down on one knee. My head grew hazy. A severe migraine caused my brain to throb painfully. I bit my lip to focus as my temples continued to hurt like they were getting hammered. Closing my eyes, I calmed myself down.
'Suck it up, John,' I ordered myself.
At that moment, I heard rushing steps coming toward me.
'One. Two. Three. Great, three sprinters.'
I opened my eyelids even as my head felt like it weighed 50 tons. When I tried to aim, I noticed my vision was blurry.
"Shit, I am going to die if I stay like this. {Rewind}."
I got rewound back to my last {Save} and confirmed the nausea and pain I felt were gone. One hundred souls might be expensive, but I only had one life.
As the silence of the night lingered around me, I began to feel lonely. I missed having the girls around. Although even without them here, I intended to keep moving forward.
"Right. Becoming a Revenant is my goal, not theirs. It can't be helped."
I slapped both my cheeks to shake off the loneliness.
"Now, where are Brute, Gori, and Red?"
As I checked the battle, I found that Gori and Brute had already met in combat. Even if he was smaller, Gori held his ground. His werewolf posse was busy clearing out the undead escort around the boss. Meanwhile, Red's group slowly inched forward toward the rampaging titans.
"Good for you, Red; I would have felt bad if you had turned over a new leaf."
The assault group Red was leading had started with over fifty people. At this moment, though, they were already less than half of that. Red, with no regard for those who couldn't keep up, left them behind.
Being left behind at this point meant certain death at the hands of the undead horde. I could kill him without remorse if that was the case. I then saw Red grab a slim boy in an orange shirt. He threw the kid at the approaching sprinters.
"Up to your old tricks, you asshole."
Two people ran after the boy. A tall Viking and what looked like a ninja.
"None of the three have glowing weapons. They must be Formless. But it seems like it hardly mattered if you could fight. To the Manifested, Formless were expendable."
It was stupid for the Viking and the ninja to separate from the safety of the main group. All for a Formless kid. But somehow, I found them incredibly desirable. Such loyalty was more valuable than gold.
'What an interesting group. If I could get them on my side, that would be the best outcome.'
I suddenly heard groans coming from me from three directions. Yet, despite the danger, I remained still. The moment I had waited for finally arrived. Unable to contain my glee, I smiled from the bottom of my heart.
Three people moved to protect me.
A speeding arrow swiftly took down the Normie to my left.
To my right, a busty figure dashed past me. Her blonde hair flowed like golden sunlight as she skewered a zombie in the face.
In the same moment a beautiful and familiar voice echoed, "Get down!"
I followed. A woman then used my shoulder as a foothold and leaped toward the last zombie. the small woman then brutally drove her knife into its eye socket as she took the undead down.
With a giant grin on my face, I welcomed the return of my beautiful angels.
"About time. Let's move."