The three adults and four children remained vigilant around Tora and the zombies. They were neither close nor far from them, peacefully huddled in the children's area of the bookstore.
The issue of showering was brought up during the topic of changing clothes. Tora wasn't sure if she should use her water ability to help with the water issue. But before she decided to say anything, the young man announced that he had a water ability and was willing to help provide for the bath.
No bathtubs were available in the mall, so Tora went around the apartments nearby and brought back a clawfoot bathtub. The children were the first to take a bath. Tora made sure to heat the children's bath water, allowing them to feel warm and comfortable.
After everyone was cleaned and fed, Tora dragged over multiple mattresses for the group to relax and sleep. She noticed the tiny eyes filled with wonder constantly glancing at her from inside the blankets.
What am I? A babysitter? Why am I doing everything?
'You've been such a good girl.'
Say that again, and I'll gut you.
'Blah.'
This is insanity. I'm going insane.
Tora left the store with her crew of zombies, giving the humans some space. The mall was large, four stories tall, and filled with low-tier zombies staggering around mindlessly. She ordered the six zombies to eliminate and consume the crystals, watching as they became more and more proficient at the killing.
[Achievement: 6 Zombies under your command has evolved to B+ [Outstanding]]
[Reward commencing...]
['Commander' 5[+2]]
[Ability: 'Glib-Tongued 1[+9]' acquired]
[Summary]
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Rank: Commander of the Dead]
[Tier: A+]
[Abilities: Flames of Judgement 3, Fire 2, Water 1, Wind 9, Infectious 7, Commander 7, Night Vision 10, Glib-Tongued 10]
[Inventory: Sword of Ire]
[Duration before the upgrade: 5 days]
"Hmm, I can talk normally now." Tora's eyes, towards the six that had evolved, became softer, showing the slightest hint of affection towards them. She was satisfied with her current speech abilities. "Well done."
The six felt something surge in their dead hearts the moment she praised them. Their liege's acknowledgment made them more confident.
[Lower-tier zombies detected: 87]
[Ability 'Commander 5' can be used on lower-tier zombies]
"How many do I have under my command?" Tora had never missed speaking out loud as much as now. The way the words rolled off her tongue was very pleasing to her.
[Command: B+ tier Zombies x6, E tier Zombies x4, F+ tier Zombies x13, F tier Zombies x20]
[Total under Command: 43]
so there were a few E and F plus zombies mixed in.
"Sigh..." Tora felt her life becoming even harder. "43 is more than enough." Not only did she have to babysit, but she also had to raise a few pets.
"Lord, what to do with the rest?" Noticing Tora's startled look, he quickly added, " It seems I can speak better now."
"Did my glib-tongued ability rub off on you or something?" Tora felt that this was a good thing. "Take the others and go to the bakery. Gather everyone. You will be tasked with clearing out the surroundings and feeding them crystals. Kill anything unrelated to me, got it?"
"Understood." They saluted her and left for their assigned tasks.
Massacre, here I come.
.
.
.
The seven sleeping humans were startled awake by the oppressive atmosphere. Their skins crawled and tingled. It felt like tiny needles were poking at it constantly, making them groan in pain.
It was like they were in the midst of a swamp, body deep in the mud, unable to move or wiggle. Although they couldn't see it, the aura of something powerful was choking them.
The firefighter felt a stir in the wind. The hands that were ripping apart its opponent paused. His eyes glowed as he stared in the direction of the mall. "The Lord has become a King. Continue what you were doing. Do not disappoint the liege."
[Upgrade successful]
[Rank 'Lord of the Dead' acquired]
[Tier: A+ —> King]
[Ability 'Monarch 1[+19]' acquired]
['Flames of Judgement' 3[+8] 'Fire 2[+5]' 'Water 1[+9]' 'Wind 9[+10]' 'Infectious 7[+13]' 'Night Vision 10[+10]' 'Glib-Tongued 10[+5]]
[Ability 'Infectious' 'Night Vision' 'Monarch' has reached MAX]
[Evolving MAX ability commencing...]
[Ability 'Infectious —> Contagious' 'Night Vision —> Divided Vision' 'Monarch—>Totalitarian' successfully evolved]
[Summary]
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Rank: Lord of the Dead]
[Tier: King]
[Abilities: Flames of Judgement 11, Fire 7, Water 10, Wind 19, Contagious, Commander 7, Divided Vision, Glib-Tongued 15, Totalitarian]
[Inventory: Sword of Ire]
Their hearts felt like they had stopped the moment Tora walked in. Dread was the only feeling that occupied them. The sickly-looking zombie was no longer the same. Her skin had a soft glow, looking more alive than the shivering bunch on the bed.
CLANG
Tora threw the bag filled with crystals. "Eat it. Ten each."
The kids started to whimper. Their faces were covered in tears as they froze. It was a pitiful sight, but Tora couldn't be bothered by it.
"T—this many?" The quick-witted female adult was the first to reach for the bag. Her eyes and hands shook at the amount of crystals in the bag. "A—are you sure we can have all this?"
"Don't waste my time with useless questions." Her voice was laced with annoyance as she stared oppressively at them. "I need results only."
Hearing this was enough for her to distribute and consume them quickly. Tora watched over them as they fell unconscious. She could feel their bodies evolving, strengthening, and developing.
Tora played around with her aura while she waited, learning to hide and use it at will. Her goal was to blend in seemingly amongst the humans.
I needed to play God, after all.
The kids were the first to wake up. Their eyes looked dazedly at Tora, feeling like they were still stuck in dreamland. The older sister they trusted and feared looked a lot more approachable. This left them confused, not knowing what to do.
"Sister...?" Ruby's voice was soft and cautious. She stole some glances while hiding her face behind Sandy.
"Yes?"
"How did you become a zombie?"
"Ruby! That's rude..." Sandy interjected. Her eyes were focused on Tora's expressions, watching as her body covered Ruby.
This child's shrewdness is impressive...
"I was betrayed by the sister I loved most. She fed me to a hoard of zombies, saying that my job was to ensure her survival." Tora pretended not to notice the three young adults who had woken up. She, instead, humored the child's question. She watched as their tiny faces contorted. "It's quite a pity that I didn't die."
"What a piece of shit sister you have!"
"Caleb! Language!" Sandy was quick with her slap, nearly knocking Caleb over.
"OW! I don't think someone terrible like that deserves kind words!" His tiny hands rubbed his shoulder. "I think you got stronger. That slap really hurt!"
"Um...thank you...for the crystals. I leveled up a tier. I feel stronger also." A cautious voice interrupted. "I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Kathy. I'm 26 years old and just graduated with a Master's in History."
"My name is Nathan. I'm 24 and went to school for Engineering. I was supposed to graduate in two months, but all this happened, so..." The young man took the initiative to introduce himself. He shyly rubbed the back of his head. His shy smile made him appear slightly charming.
So he's the popular type...
"This is my...twin sister, Belle." Kathy seemed reluctant to say the word sister in front of Tora. Her eyes studied Tora's expressions as she continued. "She's mute, so I'll translate anything she says."
Of course, she's reluctant. They all heard how I became a zombie.
"I'm Sandy. I'm turning 14 at the end of this year."
"I'm Caleb. I'm proudly a teenager now at 13." He puffed his chest out like a proud lion. The skinny child was happy to hear a chuckle from Tora, "You can rely on me from now on! I'm strong now."
"I'm Andy. I'm only 10..." Andy was the other boy who hadn't spoken much. His wrist was tiny and looked like it would break if grabbed too harshly. He looked like a little porcelain doll.
"His glasses broke, so he can't see well," Caleb interjected when he noticed that Tora was eying the boy from head to toe.
"This is Ruby. She's also 10."
"Me and Andy are classmates."
"That's right. Me and Sandy are classmates. We all go to the same school." Caleb excitedly explains. "The teachers took us out on a field trip to the mall. That's why we're all here."
The three adults gasps. Their hearts wrench and their eyes towards the children were filled with pity and sadness. Kathy opened and closed her mouth several times, seemingly wanting to say something, but couldn't find the words.
"I'm Nora. I'm currently 21." The shock on everyone's faces was evident. Tora didn't want to continue with the chitchat, so she changed the subject. "Alright, now that you're all awake, it's time for the history lessons."
"Ah...yes, of course." Kathy nodded and quickly got up off the bed. "Before we start...can I ask why you need to study History? Of course, you can! I'm just a little curious of why now, during all this..."
"Don't you find it weird that something like this happened? I'm not a scholarly person, nor am I smart. I never had the chance to attend school because I needed to work and raise my baby sister."
Aren't these people interesting...
'You're the most interesting one. What's this about not attending school?'
Shut up. Don't you know what bullshitting your way to success is?
"There must be something similar that happened in the history books, don't you agree?" Her reasonings were extremely convincing. Tora could see the slight pity in their eyes.
"You're right. The more I think about it, the more I find it similar to the Turnovers." Kathy had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Turnovers?"
"Ah, let me explain." She rummaged through the bag filled with history books, pulling out a thick one and opening it. "The Turnover is a term we use to describe the millennium apocalypse. It has been recorded to happen every millennium since the birth of living things."
She put the book down so that everyone could see it. The illustration depicted a scene of carnage, a clash between demonic beings and holy saints.
"There are lots of debates on how life begins in this world. The most popular are the theories by the magician's factions and the religious factions. The Magicians believe the world needed to protect itself from the underworld's invasions by the demon lord. To do so, it spared people and beings alike the ability to wield magic. That's why most people awaken during the Turnover times."
What a weird-ass world.
"The religious factions, however, believed that the abilities were gifts by the God of Creation. The Turnovers are events involving a God descending to our world through an incarnation. The God's ascension then attracts the God of Death, waking him from his slumber. The God of Death calls forth a war, bringing chaos and turmoils into the world so that he can join and culminate his strength through this chance."
Both theories are plausible. Although Tora wasn't religious, her experience with Asier led her toward the religious route.
If something like Asier were capable of dragging her soul around, I'd say the religious theories weren't too far off. Something as annoying as Asier is definitely not a God. Although, it's debatable whether or not those beings were Gods in the first place. Maybe an ugly alien, for all I know.
'You're very confident in your thoughts. I'm the most handsome thing you'll ever see.'
Tora gasped at the audacity that Asier had. Every time she interacted with him, it left a sour taste in her mouth.
Kathy thought Tora had gasped at the thought of Gods running around, so she quickly added her thoughts.
"I believe that there are truths in all theories. The Magic Tower is on a lonely island that can't be found unless permitted. You might not know this, but everything we use was created by magicians. The reason everything stopped working must be because the Magic Tower had gone dark."
"Is it not a known fact that magicians exist?"
"That's not it. The existence of magic and magicians alike are known, but they are treated more like urban legends because there's no proof that they exist outside the text. Magicians are extremely secretive. They love seclusion more than anything. People don't know that utilities and such are made by magicians because they are promoted as military creations."
"I know a magician!" Ruby excitedly announced. She sprang to her feet and pointed towards Andy. "Andy's Daddy is a magician!"
Everyone's eyes instantly fell on the boy. His eyes flickered around, trying to come up with something to say.
"But his Daddy is always away at work because something bad will happen. That's what Mommy said."
"..." Andy nodded his head. His face fell instantly, looking like an abandoned puppy.
"He will come find you. You just have to be stronger and live well." Tora reached over and patted his head roughly. Once she felt his tiny head nodding, she pulled away.
Tora didn't lie to the child. She remembered that there were mentions of magicians joining forces with Zack and becoming Kings in the base.
Has the Magic Tower truly fallen? Did the world truly face a blackout because of it? Tora didn't think so. Everything begins to work again once they join forces with Zack. The Gary Stu character is simply ridiculous. The amount of plot armor these protagonists have is killing me.
'You're ridiculous.'
Ah fuck. YOU'RE RIDICULOUS. Coward.
"You can tell me more later. That's all I need to know for now." Tora got up and pulled out her sword.
[Achievement: 6 Zombies under your command has evolved to S+ [Legendary]]
[Achievement: 37 Zombies under your command has evolved to A+ [Outstanding]]
[Reward commencing...]
['Commander' 7[+13]]
[Ability: 'Regeneration 1[+19]' acquired]
[Ability 'Commander' 'Regeneration' has reached MAX]
[Evolving MAX ability commencing...]
[Ability 'Commander —> Sovereign' 'Regeneration —> Immortality' successfully evolved]
[Summary]
[Status: Awakened]
[Class: Zombie]
[Rank: Lord of the Dead]
[Tier: King]
[Abilities: Flames of Judgement 11, Fire 7, Water 10, Wind 19, Contagious, Sovereign, Divided Vision, Glib-Tongued 15, Totalitarian, Immortality]
[Inventory: Sword of Ire]
"You can stay here and do whatever you want. I'll come by if I want to learn more."
"Where are you going?" Caleb saw her leaving and started to panic. He quickly grabbed her shirt, pulling gently as he blocked her way. "Take us with you."
Tora paused, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. She didn't know why these people would want to be near a zombie that was capable of snuffing out their little life in mere seconds.
"Massacre. I'm cleaning out the University and headed for the Military Facility. I'm building a fort there." She grinned as she stared at the boy. "Why? Do you like being around us zombies? We feel uncontrollable hunger every time we are near humans."
It was illogical for any human to want to be near a zombie. Tora pushed the kid aside. "Besides, staying here is better for all of you. I'm waging war with that pretty little sister of mine and her base of survivors. You wouldn't want to be caught up in that mayhem."
Her path was blocked again by an unexpected person. Her hands moved, signing as she tried her best to communicate with Tora. Desperation decorated her lovely face.
"She said, please take us with you." Kathy walked over and gently tugged at Belle's arm. Belle completely ignores this. She only had eyes for Tora. "...Please, I beg you. I can't forget what those bastards did to us. I'm not confident in being near humans. It's fine, even if we end up as zombies one day...Belle..." Kathy wore a tired and shamed expression. She had her head down while she held Belle's hands tightly.
'You're very kind-hearted.'
I'm evil if anything... Tora hated that Asier seemed to know what she thought and felt. Her lips were pressed into a straight line.
"Half an hour, that's all I'll give you to pack all necessities needed. Meet me at the front entrance." With that said, Tora disappeared.
The adults picked out a few large backpacks, stuffing them full of clothes, personal hygiene items, and food. The kids had their backpacks filled with snacks and lightweight products. All seven acted quickly, fearing they would be abandoned by the other.
When they arrived at the front entrance, their heart dropped. The overwhelming number of zombies nearly made them faint from fear. The oppressing power made them nauseous.
"Give them your bags." Tora felt the terrible feeling go away when she noticed them shaking. Her heart was filled with mischievousness, wanting to tease them more. "Carry them as well. We're in a hurry."
"Yes, Lord." Tora chuckled softly as she watched all six of them lie stiffly and obediently in the arms of rough-looking zombies. "And this one?"
"You're with me, little one." Tora picked up the excited Ruby, wondering if she was simply stronger or if this child weighed so little. Her tiny arms wrapped around Tora's neck, allowing her to snuggle in the arms of the older sister. "Keep your face hidden, or it'll numb from the wind."
The child nodded and obediently leaned into Tora's chest. The moment Tora dashed forward, everyone else followed. They kept up with her speed and soon arrived in front of the gated University.
The area surrounding this place was filled with zombies. The fragrant aroma of human flesh compelled them to look for the source. Their steps halted, seemingly hesitant to approach the group. Tora attributed this to her King tier.
"Lord, shall I take care of them?" The firefighter approached her, placing Nathan beside her. It was humorous how a lanky man was princess carried by a large guy. Tora nodded to his question.
"Leave the humans here. All of you take care of it." They immediately followed her order, jumping into battle and massacring the lower-tier zombies. She noted the pale expressions on the humans as they watched heads being torn off. "Collect all the crystals and give them to me. You people follow me in."
BOOM!
With her free hand, she sent the gate flying with a punch. It's probably a bad idea to break the gate, but I'm not keen on wasting time like Asier.
'Why are you suddenly cursing me? COUGH COUGH. I'm busier than you think.'
What the fuck are you busy with? Sending notes?
'...'
The moment they entered, she felt the ground shake and move slightly. Something deep in the dirt swerved around, quickly making its way towards them. Using the wind, she pulled all six of them and flung them towards the large building ahead.
Tora leapt forward, one hand hugging Ruby tightly while her other manipulating the wind and creating a cushion for them to land on. She glanced back, noticing large spikes made of dirt shooting up from the ground where they stood.
She picked up the faint scent of humans in the distance. Her eyes immediately scanned the area, watching for any shadows or movements of those that were hidden.
"OH LORD! I thought I was about to die!" Caleb shouted and patted his chest to calm himself down.
"Quiet." Everyone kept their mouth shut. They glance around and stick closely to Tora, fearing something else might happen.
In the corner of her eyes, she noticed the firefighter headed towards her with a concerned expression. She raised her hand, signaling for him to back off and finish what she had ordered.
She looked towards two buildings on the left. They were five stories tall, with multiple balconies. The other building towards the right was large and had a few windows.
Someone is definitely watching us from one of these buildings. Should I play around a bit?
Her lips quirked up as she handed Ruby to Belle. "You guys stay here. I'll be back in a few."
Tora had always carried the sword around physically. After becoming a King, she found that the sword had become a tattoo on her right hand. She could now hide or call the sword out whenever she felt like it.
The sunlight reflecting off the blade was blinding. The kids excitedly gawked at the silver blade turning golden. And just like that, Tora jumped onto the roof.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, where should I be striking first, oh~" It was a game of cat and mouse for Tora. Her life as a zombie was boring. With no stimulations, no feelings, no interest, and no excitement until she met the children. "The dormitory first, what do you say, Asier?"
'Try the other building. The third-floor window.'
"Hmm, alright." Tora jumped as far as she could, solidifying the wind and using it as a stepping stone in the air. Within a second, she appeared outside the window, kicking it hard and crashing into the room.
"EEK!" The sounds of surprise squeals could be heard. "W—who are you!?"
In the room were three young men, all holding a pipe each. "Aren't you going to thank me?" They wore confusion proudly on their faces, not understanding what Tora meant. "Should I just kill you?" Tora manipulated her flame ability. It spread from her feet, instantly warming the floor and burning everything it touched. The room was now alive with the chaos of the fire.
"T—thank you! Please, spare us!" Their backs were stuck with the wall, trying to escape from the flames that crept towards them.
"What are you thanking me for?" Her expressions illuminated by the flames were menacing. She looked like a devil, ready to drag them all to hell.
"You said to thank— AHH!" His shoe had caught on fire, scaring him silly. "OW! You're stomping me too hard!" His friend managed to put it out and yanked him to the door.
"Did I say you could leave after trying to kill me?"