Seven sat in her room alone, sitting on a bed, looking through pictures. Those pictures were of her and Rykei. The dim lantern beside her flickered along with her fingers as she skimmed through the pictures.
She remembered all of them, It wasn't too long ago, probably a few months ago, when everything was actually normal, and zombies were walking all over the place.
Memories replayed in her head, even correlating to the pictures she held.
[When the first met]
The university campus buzzed with the fresh energy of a new academic year, the courtyard bustling with newcomers and returning students. Among them was Rykei, his humor his shield, scanning the crowd with a nonchalant facade that barely concealed his nerves. He spotted Seven, an introverted girl with a stack of books under her arm, sitting alone under an oak tree. Taking a deep breath, he sauntered over, tripping slightly over a protruding root by accident, yet a perfect ice-breaker.
"Hey, I'm Rykei. Just practicing for the upcoming 'fall' semester. Get it?" he chuckled nervously, offering a hand to help her up. Seven, surprised, let out an unexpected laugh. Her eyes twinkled with amusement. "I'm Seven," she replied, taking his hand. "And that was pretty bad, but thanks for the laugh."
"Yeah so uh…do you uh..like..go out with people or..?"
Seven mocked, "Why..are you..speaking..so slow..?"
"Agh! Sorry. Sorry. Nervous. I don't do this at all."
[First Date]
A week later, they sat across each other in a quaint car near campus. Rykei's jokes eased the initial awkwardness, making Seven smile more than she usually would in unfamiliar company. "So, do you come here often to rescue girls from the seriousness of life?" Seven asked, a playful edge to her voice. Rykei grinned. "Only when I'm not busy tripping over myself. Turns out, it's a full-time job." As they shared a chocolate muffin, the evening air seemed lighter, filled with the promise of new beginnings.
[Movie Night]
Their next outing was a movie night in Rykei's dorm room. They picked a horror film, thinking it would be less awkward than a romantic comedy. Halfway through, Seven's grip tightened around Rykei's arm during a particularly suspenseful scene. Rykei looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Scared?" he whispered. "H-huh? Never!," Seven admitted, her face lit by the flickering screen. That night, amidst whispered jokes and shared fears, a deeper connection was forged.
"AGH! FUCK!" Seven screamed in fear.
Rykei laughed, "HAHAHA!"
"Damn you.." Seven threw popcorn at his face.
[The Starry Night]
One crisp October evening, Rykei took Seven to a secluded hilltop, perfect for stargazing. Lying on a shared blanket, they talked about constellations, life, and dreams. "You know, if I could, I'd write your name up there," Rykei said, pointing at a twinkling cluster. "It seems like a perfect home for it, mysterious and beautifully unreachable." Seven blushed under the starlight, her heart fluttering unexpectedly.
"You're getting better with the pick up lines, Rykei."
"Really?!"
"No."
"Fuck."
[Cooking Disaster]
Attempting to impress Seven, Rykei invited her over for a home-cooked meal. The kitchen was chaospasta boiled over, sauce burned, and salads wilted. Yet, through fits of giggles and flour fights, they ended up ordering pizza, agreeing that their culinary skills were better left unexplored. "Well, this was a disaster," Rykei joked, wiping tomato sauce off her cheek. "Memorable, yes," Seven smiled, her eyes saying all that her words didn't.
[Rainy Day Ramblings]
Rain poured, canceling their planned hike, so they settled for a quiet afternoon in Rykei's apartment. Wrapped in cozy blankets, they shared secrets and vulnerabilities. "I've never felt this understood," Seven confided, her voice soft but certain. Rykei's heart swelled; he felt the same, yet had feared it was one-sided. "You're my serendipity, Seven," he admitted, and the rain outside seemed to applaud their confession.
Seven snarled softly, "You know that word is too advanced for you."
"I looked it up before I got here."
"Cheesy."
[The Art Museum]
Their love for art took them to a museum next, where they lost themselves in halls adorned with paintings and sculptures. Rykei, ever the joker, posed mockingly beside statues, making Seven laugh. But it was in front of a particularly moving painting that they found themselves silently holding hands, the art speaking the words their mouths didn't dare to utter.
Rykei whispered, "Fuuuuuck."
Seven replied, "What is it?"
"So many rich people in here. I feel left out."
"Just act like we're rich."
"How in the HELL are we supposed to do that?"
"Like this."
Seven walked towards a painting, and said, "Hm. This art piece was 4 million?"
Some men and women dressed nicely looked over at her, and Seven continued, "The one at my house cost way more."
Rykei grinned, "Oh yeah I remember you showing your 20 million dollar painting. From that auction, right?"
"Indeed."
At that moment, many of those rich bastards made their way to them, asking them so many questions about art, what they do for a living, and so on.
Rykei whispered to Seven amongst the chatter, "We're so popular!"
"I know!" Seven smirked in her whisper.
[Then..]
It happened naturally, a culmination of months of growing affection and deep connection. Their Evening together was gentle and cautious, each touch and kiss a testament to the respect and care they had nurtured. In the dim light of Rykei's room, with soft music whispering through the space, they discovered each other in a more profound way. Seven, always guarded, found trust in Rykei's tenderness, while he, in his typically humorous way, whispered sweet, silly nothings that only deepened the intimacy of the moment. As they lay intertwined, the world outside faded, leaving only the palpable, overwhelming sense of unity between them.]
After reminiscing, Seven rubbed her own hair, saying, "Those cheesy ass lines he always came up with, he had an entire journal of those things, studied them before he went out with me. Rykei.."
Walking in the room, was Yamato, saying, "Yo!"
"I told you to knock."
"I think you wanna see this."
Yamato handed her a tablet.
Seven asked, "What is this?"
"When I sent Rykei out on his first mission, I bugged his outfit with a camera and audio plant. We heard and saw everything he went through and recorded it."
Seven gasped, immediately snatching the tablet, and began to watch everything that Rykei went through with the scouts, Haruto, and the Jester.
Yamato stated, "You're probably thinking, why are we stalking him, if I trust him? It's not for his safety or our safety, but because the doctors here want to study him. We want to know the source of his power, why he's so strong, what made him so strong, and the source of his regeneration. He's not like anyone else, he stands out more than them. From what I've seen so far. The transformation into a zombie was the icing on the cake."
Seven said, "You probably want to steal his regeneration."
"If it can help with making our own cure, then yes. And it wouldn't be stealing, I would just ask. I'm sure he would like to aid in saving the world, he seems like that type of kid. But delving deeper into that kid would surely give us the answers we've been looking for. I'm sure he would like to help us. And he's deep into this who apocalyptic situation going on, we have to be involved every step of the way along with him."
Seven watched the tablet more, watching every little detail, hearing everything. After a few minutes, Yamato had left Seven with the tablet, and Seven had finished watching everything on it.
She sat the tablet down, and stood up, thinking, '..Is that really the real Rykei? He fell down a pit, seeing memories, I could hear the jagged edges in his breath, the things he was saying. But he killed those scouts without mercy, ending them brutally without hesitation, like he was used to killing humans. Rykei has never been that violent. I can't talk. I wasn't violent before all of this, but being here, I had to kill many zombies and raiders, you grow into this lifestyle. Is that what Rykei did? If that's the case, comparing my situation to his, then that's him! He fought a clown thing, why is he involved in something so strange? By the things he said, he seemed confused about everything, if that's really Rykei….I wanna go through it with him.'m
"SEVENNN!" A loud voice erupted, turning the head of Seven.
"What do you want, Cupid?"
"Wanna do something with us?"
"Who?"
"The squad, duhh."
"No."
"C'mon, Seven! A little game won't kill you. Well, unless we make that a rule!" Cupid bounced around Seven, her voice a mix of enticement and barely concealed psychosis.
"What's the point of this?"
"Welll I've been noticing everyone has been seemingly down lately, and I wanted everyone to bond!"
"Did the others agree to this?"
"Yes!"
"..Tell the truth."
"I forced them, threatened them, begged them, easy."
Seven sighed, rolling her eyes. "If I play, will you shut up?"
"Promise!" Cupid beamed, clapping her hands, a dangerous sparkle in her eyes.
Seven thought, 'On the first day we met, Cupid was astonished to join the group, always screaming she hoped to make friends because she scared off everyone she ever knew before the zombie apocalypse.'
Grudgingly, Seven stood, following Cupid to a makeshift card table where the others were already gathering. Xiayou was nervously shuffling cards, his hands trembling slightly.
Yuuma slammed her fists on the table, making everyone jump. "Let's make this game bloody interesting!"
Kaido, ever the self-appointed leader, attempted to take control. "Okay, team, let's set some ground rules—."
"No one cares, Kaido," Yuuma grunted, rolling her eyes.
Hel mused aloud, "As Nietzsche once said, 'In every real man, a child is hidden that wants to play.' Though, interpreting that in the mundane act of card-playing may be an existential misstep..."
Everyone stared blankly at Hel.
"Whatever. Let's play," Seven muttered, snatching the cards from Xiayou, who gave a small yelp.
They decided on a game of Bullshit, a choice that seemed ironically fitting. Cupid dealt the cards with a wicked smirk, her eyes darting suspiciously as she did. "Remember, lying is the heart of this game, much like it is in love."
"Great, a game where lying is actually rewarded," Seven deadpanned, eyeing her cards with disdain.
Yuuma, who threw down a pair of twos, growled competitively. "I'm in my element, weaklings!"
Kaido, dropping a three, ordered, "I say we play strategically—."
"Shut it, Kaido," Yuuma snapped, already bored of his tactics.
"Watch your tone!"
Xiayou nervously put down a card, his voice barely a whisper. "One four."
"I sense deceit," Hel intoned cryptically, drawing a card from the deck. "The fabric of reality weaves many a deceptive strand."
"Hel, buddy, speak NORMALLY," Yuuma laughed, slapping him on the back hard enough to make him cough.
Cupid, with a flair, dramatically declared, "Two fives!" Her stare challenged anyone to call her bluff.
Seven, nonchalantly and barely looking at her hand, threw down some cards. "Three sixes."
"Bullshit!" Yuuma shouted immediately, eager to catch her in a lie.
Seven flipped her cards to reveal exactly what she said, smirking slightly. "Idiot."
Yuuma leaned back, feigning shock. "DAMMIT! SCREW THIS GAME!"
As the game progressed, the air filled with accusations, wild guesses, and an ever-escalating volume of voices. Kaido tried repeatedly to restore order, his commands drowned out by Yuuma's boisterous challenges and Hel's obscure quotes, which he insisted added a "philosophical weight" to the proceedings.
Cupid kept trying to engage Seven with quips and teases, leaning close and whispering, "You sure you're not a psychic, Seven? Because you've definitely stolen my heart."
Seven responded with a glare that could curdle milk. "Try less."
By the game's chaotic end, cards were strewn all over the rooftop, and no one was quite sure who had won. Xiayou, overwhelmed, just was glad it was over. Seven stood up, stretching nonchalantly. "This was the stupidest way to waste time."
'But I enjoyed it.'
Yet, as she turned to leave, the ghost of a smile played on her lips. Perhaps, just perhaps, it hadn't been entirely unbearable.
Cupid watched her go, saying, "See? She likes us. I can tell."
Yuuma snorted, picking up the cards. "Yeah, right. Let's clean up before she decides to murder us in our sleep."
Kaido, still trying to assert some leadership, sighed. "Next time, we'll play chess. It's more strategic!"
"And less fun!" Yuuma boomed, tossing a card at him.
"Damn you, oaf!"
Hel, quoted, "As the cards fall, so too does fate, ever entwined in the hands of chaos."
Everyone looked at Hel, "What?!"
The night air crackled with tension, thick with the scent of impending violence as the horizon buzzed with the low hum of incoming Humvees. The raiders, a group known in the wasteland for their ruthless tactics, came armed to the teeth with black-market magic and military-grade ammunition. Their leader, a gaunt man, peered through his night-vision goggles, surveying the ramshackle encampment of The Horde that sprawled across the base of abandoned high-rises.
"Tch. Damn Haruto.."
His partner replied, "He took too long."
"He said if he ever takes too long on the sacrifices, then we have to go distract the Horde, but in return, he gives us the crystals of power from the Pillars, which hold a small percentage of their power. And with that power, we can take over these little survivor camps."
"Why don't we just overrun the Horde? With the power we have, a small percentage of the Pillars power, we can easily overrun this base."
"But Haruto said just a distraction, not full on assault. He wanted us to keep them from sending another squad for him and eventually catching onto him just in case the sacrifice takes too long. We can't fully overrun the Horde for two reasons. One: Yamato. Two: Haruto said the Horde holds powerful ability users, and would be great sacrifices for The Jester. So killing them all would do us no good. No sacrifices, no power."
"If we can kill that Yamato, then we'll definitely be feared, survivor groups would want to give up their shit right then and there! Come on, what if Haruto doesn't come back? He hasn't responded in a while, has he? It's been an hour, and nightfall is approaching. The zombies come out more at night, he may be dead."
"Hm."
The first Humvee tore through the outer fence with a screech of torn metal, announcing their arrival. As they disembarked, gunfire erupted almost instantly, kicking off the chaos with visceral intensity. Bullets whizzed through the air, sparking against the crumbling concrete as magic-users of The Horde rallied their energies, manifesting shields and retaliatory blasts of fire and ice.
The Horde members exclaimed:
"Woohoo, another raid?"
"These bastards are persistent."
"Wait, these are different raiders."
"Kill them!"
"Get ready for a fight!"
The raiders exclaimed happily, "WOOHOO!"
"Let's fuck this place up!"
"Take down the Horde!
Viper, a slender woman with scales tattooed along her arms, slithered through the shadows, her long coat billowing behind her. Her eyes, a piercing yellow, scanned for targets as she conjured venomous curses that caused her victims to choke on spectral snakes, making their bodies explode in blood.
Rook, massive and clad in spiked armor, wielded a sledgehammer. His face, scarred and fierce under his mohawk helmet, grinned maniacally as he swung, each hit crushing a defender or flinging them into the fray, bones audibly cracking under the force.
Specter, ethereal and barely visible, draped in a flowing robe that seemed to blur the lines of his form. He moved through the battle like a wraith, striking unseen with daggers that left trails of icy vapor in the air.
Ignis, the firebrand, had hair like flames and eyes that smoldered with inner heat. She danced through the chaos, a trail of fire blossoms erupting in her wake, enveloping tents and barricades in hungry, crackling infernos.
Blackjack, the tactician, sharp in a tailored suit that seemed oddly intact amid the carnage. His cane was actually a sheathed blade, and with precise, calculated movements, he directed the raiders through the camp, his focus unwavering.
Viper smiled, "Aghhh! This is gonna be fun!"
Rook added, "Let ME be the one to kill Yamato!"
Specter scoffed, "No! Me!"
Ignis grinned, "No! Me! Please! I'll wear his head as a mask!"
Blackjack commented, "The honor to take his head is mine and mine alone. Haruto gave us the layout of the camp just in case anything happened. Follow."
Ignis stated, "So you know where Yamato is, right? We take him down, the Horde falls."
Blackjack replied, "We follow the layout Haruto gave to us. Just in case we needed to silence Yamato. We all share a fragment of the Pillar's power, and more will come the more we work with Haruto."
Viper reminded them, "Remember, Haruto might be DEAD. So maybe we won't get more power."
The cacophony reached a fever pitch. Zombies, attracted by the noise and chaos, began stumbling into the fringes of the fight, their groans adding a horrific undertone to the battle's symphony. The raiders found themselves fighting on two fronts, repelling the undead with kicks and stabs even as they parried the spells and bullets of The Horde.
Ignis roared with fury, extending her hands to unleash a stream of fire that swept through the zombies converging on her position. The flesh of the undead caught fire, illuminating the battlefield with their ghastly glow, the smell of burning decay filling the air. Specter appeared briefly from the edge of a destroyed wall, his dagger sinking into a Horde member who had come too close. He disappeared again, leaving only the sound of a body thudding to the ground.
Viper, tense and focused, formed her hands into fists, the tattoos on her skin glowing as they summoned another curse. A Horde fighter froze, his body locking up as imaginary vipers coiled tighter, squeezing the breath from him with terrifying supernatural force. Rook, still outside, found himself amongst a small group of Horde defenders. They fought desperately, their magic flaring wild and unpredictable in their determination. With a bellow, Rook swung his hammer in a wide arc, sending a shockwave that knocked his adversaries off their feet, their spells scattering into the night like broken dreams.
As they pushed forward, reaching an abandoned room large and shadowy, a sudden barrage of smoke grenades from Horde defenders enveloped them. The room filled with thick, billowing clouds, obscuring vision and creating an eerie, otherworldly scene.
"Smoke?!"
"Something's outside the smoke!"
"I can't see them!"
"Just their silhouettes.."
Inside the smoke, the silhouettes of The Horde members appeared, lit from behind by intermittent flashes of gunfire and magic. They stood formidable and unmoving, their poses oozing menace and confidence.
"Look out!"
In the smoke-filled room, the brewing standoff between the Horde and the raiders detonated into a fierce melee showdown, echoing with the clatter of metal and the whispers of magic.
Seven, Cupid, Xiayou, and Kaido leaped from the smoke, standing near each other as their magic and weapon brewed. Xiayou had four golden arms now, and each one held flaming spears.
Cupid smiled, "Ooooh, more raider friends to play with!"
Xiayou sighed, "M-More raiders we have to ki-kill?"
Kaido scoffed at the raiders, "The last set of raiders to try and take us down all died, and even though it seems like you all are stronger, you'll still lose."
Viper said, "Wanna-be heroes. We have so much power now, you don't stand a chance."
Blackjack stated, "To survive in this world, control is the only path to take. We take down the Horde, including Yamato, fear will induce the control we tend to seek out, which will lead to our own thriving community. Do not call us raiders, but opportunists."
Seven said, "Kill them."
As Viper lunged with a hiss, releasing a spectral snake from her sleeve, Seven parried with her green glowing daggers, slicing through the apparition, her shadow magic twisting around her blades like whips. A quick roll to the side evaded Viper's next cursed strike, letting Seven close in rapidly, her dagger finding a home in the raider's arm, drawing first blood.
Specter, appearing from thin air behind Xiayou, tried to drive his blade into the back of the four-armed giant. Xiayou responded by splitting two of his flaming spears behind him without looking, his intuition honed. The spears blocked the attack, a flick of his wrist sending a wave of flame toward Specter, who barely faded out in time, the heat singeing his robe.
As Ignis conjured a torrent of fire flowers, Cupid blew gently on a daisy, transforming the battlefield into a menacing garden. Thorny vines shot up, attempting to ensnare Ignis. With a fluid dance, Ignis scorched her path clear, her flames carving through the vegetation. But as she prepared another fiery barrage, a vine whip curled around her leg, dragging her down into the carnivorous blossoms which closed over her, sealing her fate with a bloody crunch.
Blood splattered everywhere, brushing Ignis like a mashed potato, and on her last breath, Ignis snarled, "W-We have power…so how…"
Cupid smiled, "You're just weak. Orrrr maybe you were LIED to, mhm."
Even as plants devoured her, Ignis's body became a pyre. Her final defiance was to burn as bright as possible, the flowers and vines blackening and retreating, but not fast enough to save her. Her scorched skeleton remained, a grim monument amidst the garden of horrors.
The battlefield shook under Kaido's stomp, sending shockwaves toward Rook. With a thunderous roar, Rook swung his hammer down, meeting Kaido's minigun as bullets and shockwaves collided. Kaido, encased in his juggernaut suit, weathered the strike, retaliating with a concentrated barrage from his minigun that pummeled Rook, the impacts sounding like a gruesome drumbeat against his armor, blood spraying with each hit. Rook's body shook like it was getting electrocuted, and he fell to the ground dead, blood leaking from his body in pounds.
Blackjack's sword danced like a conductor's baton, directing deadly strokes towards Seven who parried with a balletic grace, her shadow magic amplifying each movement. With a deft maneuver, she sidestepped, letting Blackjack's momentum carry him forward, and then struck her daggers plunging deeply into either side of his torso. He fell, his coat fluttering down like curtains after the final act, blood pooling theatrically.
"Agh! Dammit! those bastards…they didn't really give us power…did they?" Blackjack coughed up blood as he died.
Seven thought, 'Based on what I saw from Rykei's situation earlier, it seems Haruto was sacrificing strong members of the Horde to the Jester, in exchange for power, but in reality, the Jester wasn't giving them any power at all. He gave them something that would boost their confidence in their power, not giving them an exact fragment of it. People—survivors, are serving and turning to the Pillars as if they can save them. But in reality, they're doomed the moment they make contracts with them. And if the Pillars really want Rykei that badly, or someone close to Rykei's power, why don't they just come and hunt them down themselves? They must be scared of them, and most of all, Rykei. These raiders they're just trying to survive like us. But most of them get greedy, wanting power to feed on the weak. These Pillars, they're manipulating survivors, all for power of their own, making others feel like they're getting rewarded with power, but it's all an illusion.'
With her arm bleeding, Viper conjured a larger, more formidable curse, a serpent of pure venomous energy, aiming directly at a distracted Seven. But Seven, flicking her wrist, sent a blast of shadow magic that disintegrated the spectral beast into ethereal wisps, then darted forward, her dagger cleanly slicing Viper's throat in a swift, precise move. Blood sprayed on Seven, Viper dropped to her knees, choking as Seven just looked her in the eye.
Seven said, "You can blame that traitor Haruto for this."
Specter reappeared, aiming to ambush Xiayou from above. But Xiayou, with uncanny perception, extended all four spears skyward, creating a flaming cage that Specter barely escaped, his cloak catching fires that burned into nothingness as he retreated. Bloodied and battered, Rook charged one last time at Kaido. He swung his hammer with all his might, a blow that would crush any ordinary foe. Kaido caught the hammer with one hand, his suit's servos whining with the strain. With a grunt, he swung his minigun, the barrel smashing across Rook's face, shattering bone and spraying the room with blood.
Xiayou said, "L-Let's move on and he-help some other members!"
Kaido commanded, "We shall win today!"
Seven walked past them, saying, "Hurry. Rykei is coming back."
"Think about the war!"
"These bastards are weak. Look outside."
Kaido looked outside, seeing members of the Horde brutally kill the raiders left to right easily.
Under the bleak sky, in this abandoned city echoing with zombie howls, Renn, Yuuma, and Hel held their ground as a cadre of zombies and raiders prepared their onslaught. The air around them bristled with anticipation, pungent with the scent of decay and death as they stood, a formidable trio ready to unleash destruction.
Renn said, "Wow. These guys are relentless."
Hel stated, "We shall prevail, for thy enemies know not of our true strengths."
Yuuma slammed her fists together, "For once, Hel, that sounded badass! Let's clobber these bastards!"
"You're welcome."
"Don't ruin it."
Renn thought, 'Yamato warned us this would happen. He knew Haruto was making the members disappear, and he waited until Rykei went with his group to inform us of that. And he predicated raiders would come. He kept tabs on Haruto it seems, but why did he risk allowing Haruto to sacrifice Horde members for the Jesters? Was it to learn about them? Gain more understanding? I'm 13, so that makes Yamato avoid telling me anything, he always say everything will be revealed in due time, because apparently he sees things we can't. As soon as that peasant zombie human Rykei came, things got strange…'
As the raiders charged, a grim sneer spread across Renn's features. With a sudden flick of his wrists, black vines erupted from the ground, their surfaces glistening with an ominous energy. As the first raider approached, swinging a chain wrapped in fire, Renn's vines intercepted, smashing through the flaming metal with contemptuous ease and wrapping tightly around the raider's body. With a cruel tug, the vines constricted, pulverizing the raider into a grotesque sculpture of crushed bone and splattered blood, his screams ending abruptly with the snapping of his spine.
Simultaneously, Yuuma transformed, her skin turning to gleaming steel. Her large muscular body became an impenetrable fortress as bullets and blades bounced off her with harmless clinks. A raider with an axe charged at her, delivering a strike that would have cleaved an ordinary opponent in half. However, Yuuma caught the axe with her bare hands, the metal indenting slightly under her iron grip. With a swift motion, she headbutted the raider, her steel forehead connecting with his face, sending him reeling back with a shattered skull before collapsing in a heap.
Hel, twirling his revolvers with flamboyant skill, let loose a barrage of bullets. As the projectiles found their targets, raiders dropped like marionettes with cut strings. One particularly agile raider threw a ball of fire magic at Hel. With a smirk, Hel caught the fireball, his body glowing with absorbed energy. Sprinting forward, he repurposed the magic, sending a searing wave of flame back at a group of raiders. They screamed as the fire engulfed them, turning them into human torches before they crumpled to the ground, their bodies charred beyond recognition.
Turning his attention to the zombies, Renn summoned more vines, this time lacing them through the ground like sinister serpents. As zombies stumbled into the reach of the vines, they were swiftly decapitated or bisected, their body parts flying in different directions, spraying putrid blood that darkened the already filthy pavement.
Yuuma waded into the zombies, her steel fists smashing through decaying flesh with wet, squelching impacts. Each punch was a death sentence, heads and limbs detaching from bodies with sickening ease. Her movements were a blur, her steel form a devastating whirlwind of unrelenting force.
Renn stood, retracting his vines with a satisfied nod, their black sheen fading to a dull grey. Yuuma, reverting back to her human skin, cracked her neck, muscles relaxing after the thrill of battle. Hel spun his revolvers before holstering them, his face setting into a grim line as he surveyed the devastation.
Renn yawned, "I'm getting tired. These peasants bored me. Can't we fight any strong raiders?"
Yuuma snarled laughing, "Exactly what im saying!"
Hel said, "I enjoyed the scrimmage."
Renn replied, "Of course you did. Guess we'll help clear out the other areas. I have a bedtime, so I can't be out here all night."
Yuuma mocked, "A bedtime?"
"My parents gave me one. It's the only one I can honor them. Even when they're not here. I'm basically the main character, so I can do things like that."
"No you're not! I'm the main character!"
Renn walked forward, thinking again, 'I've overheard some of the raiders, saying they've gained more power. But they got killed easily. What are they rambling about? Their power stood no chance against ours.'
As the dust settled from Renn, Yuuma, and Hel's confrontation, another distinct group from the horde made their advance through the shattered city streets. They were the Tankers, a squad of heavily armored ex-football players, still sporting remnants of their old jerseys beneath layers of makeshift battle gear. At the forefront, the team captain, Brick, hefted a glowing football that pulsed with destructive magic.
"Alright, Tankers! Formation Iron Wall!" Brick bellowed, his voice booming over the chaos of the urban wasteland. The team quickly assembled into a defensive line, their boots thudding against the concrete, kicking up clouds of dust.
On Brick's signal, they charged forward. "Hut one, hut two, hut three!" Each shout synchronized their heavy steps. The Tankers slammed into a group of zombies, their reinforced shoulder pads crunching into rotten flesh and brittle bones with sickening crunches. Limbs and gore splattered as the ex-players plowed through like bulldozers.
"Delta Split, go!" Brick called the next play. The formation instantly dispersed, each Tanker taking a divergent path, only to converge on a group of raiders. Mack, the left tackle, spun into a devastating tackle, his special ability activating a shockwave emanated from his hit, disintegrating a raider into a cloud of blood mist.
"Watch this, Thunder Pass!" Brick yelled, drawing the magical football back. The ball crackled with volatile energy. He launched it towards a cluster of enemies, the spiraling gridiron grenade humming through the air. On impact, it exploded, unleashing a thunderous boom that sent bodies flying like rag dolls against the shattered facades of buildings.
"Blitzkrieg Bounce, on my mark!" Next came an even more exotic play. Three Tankers lined up, each bouncing off one another's shielded backs to gain height and momentum. This acrobatic feat allowed them to crash down from above, crushing several zombies under their combined weight.
"Formation Vortex!" Brick commanded for a final push. Together, the Tankers interlocked arms, spinning in a tightly knit circle. The motion formed a whirlwind of metal and muscle that sucked in and shredded any remaining assailants in a grotesque ballet of death.
As the vortex slowed, Brick caught the magically reappearing football, now dimmer but still potent. Covered in blood and bits of enemies, the Tankers regrouped, panting and checking their armor.
"Good game, team. Let's keep moving. The end zone is wherever we say it is!" Brick rallied.
"Tankers, roll out!" they responded in unison, their voices a mix of intensity and grim satisfaction as they jogged towards the next hot zone, their cleats clinking against the blood-stained streets. The sound was like a death knell for any raider or zombie unfortunate enough to cross their path next. Their brutal plays written not in a playbook, but written in the annals of survivalâ€"where every touchdown was survival, and every pass a kill.
Jin watched from a distance.
In the less trodden, shadow-drenched corridors of what once was a grand office building, now stood the make-shift but impressively fortified command center of Yamato, the enigmatic and formidable leader of the Horde. The room buzzed with scattered papers and glowing monitors showing real-time feeds of the surrounding perimeters, monuments to Yamato's swift and ordered reign over chaos.
"Well this has definitely gotten bloody." He puffed a cigarette.
The heavy door creaked open, and a figure stepped confidently into the dim light, a raider leader known for his ruthlessness, clad in a mixture of scavenged armor and tattered cloth, marked with symbols of defiance. His eyes, however, carried a sheen of respect, bordering on fear, as they fixed on Yamato who sat leisurely behind an aged, mahogany desk.
"I gotta admit, Yamato, I'm impressed," the raider started, his voice gruff, echoing slightly off the iron-clad walls. "Building all this," he gestured around vaguely, "a sophisticated survivor camp in just three days... How do you manage it?"
Yamato, his face half-shadowed, offered a sly, chilling grin in response. "Oh yeah, how did you know?" His tone laced with a cold, eerie playfulness that didn't quite reach his dark, calculating eyes.
"We weren't going to fully invade, but—"
"Haruto is dead, by the way. So this was your only choice, but with what i'm seeing, and my eyes can see many things normals can't see, all of your raider men are dying. We only lost a few, less than 10, but you, you lost over 50."
"Tch! I heard about you. Those eyes of yours.."
"Eyes of Ken, actually. Pretty cool, right? They do a lot."
"You're feared by many, some even more scared of you than the zombies walking around themselves."
"I see you are fearful as well. And after what you and Haruto have been doing sacrificing members of my group, you all deserve this. He ordered you all to distract the Horde if he took too long, because he knows I would send a rescue squad out to other squads who don't finish a task in the desired time I've allotted. Setting up those rules, that shows I planned everything since I created the Horde. Because of those protocols I've created, I'm steps closer to using the Eyes to find a cure for myself instead of depending on Dr. Sato. Because with these eyes, I know how this story will end, I saw hundreds of possibilities with how this will all end. The Eyes of Ken see many, but not all. It's like the eyes of a god, but with limitations, but if I wanted to see something I wanted, a limitation holds me back, which leads me to delve deeper into the knowledge of the zombies and the so-called Pillars running around."
The air grew tense as the raider's hand instinctively moved towards the weapon at his belt. The atmosphere, previously just shy of amicable, snapped like thin ice underfoot. With a grunt, the raider lunged across the desk towards Yamato, anger overtaking caution.
In an almost leisurely motion, Yamato stood, his movements graceful, predatory. As the raider's glowing yellow and white magic blade aimed for his face, Yamato caught his wrist with an iron grip. A ripple of unsettling calm flowed from him as he leaned close, his other hand touching the raider's forehead. "She's hungry," Yamato whispered, a malicious smile curling his lip.
Before more words could be exchanged, reality bent unnaturally around them, the room blurred with the whisper of displaced air, and suddenly, they were elsewhereâ€"a darker room within the same building, abandoned and cloaked in shadows.
The raider stumbled, disoriented, yanking his wrist free, but found that Yamato had vanished, the echo of his voice lingering, "She's hungry."
"What's going on?! Where am I?!"
As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, a low, guttural moan resonated through the darkness. From the shadows, a figure emerged a woman, Yamato's wife, Aoi known in whispered rumors to be as deadly as she was undying. She rose from the shadows with a predatory grace, her movements both enchanting and terrifying. Her eyes, hollow yet burning with a ravenous fury, fixed on the raider.
Panicked yet trapped, the raider scrambled for his weapon, but the zombie woman was swift. With unnatural speed, she was upon him, her hands ensnaring his arms with inhuman strength. He struggled, managing to land a few desperate strikes, but they were ineffective against her relentless, undead resilience.
Her attacks were brutally efficient, each movement precise and savage. Clawing, biting, each assault tore away not just flesh but any hope the raider had of survival. His screams echoed hollowly in the chamber, a macabre soundtrack to his impending doom.
Finally, as the raider's struggles weakened, the zombie woman delivered a crushing blow, her hands smashing into his skull with a sound like splintering wood. Blood and viscera painted the cold floor as his body went limp, a broken puppet with its strings savagely cut.
Silence reclaimed the room, except for the soft, eerie sound of the zombie woman shuffling back into the shadows, satisfied, leaving behind the remnants of her feast.
The aftermath of the entire raid was desolate. Smoke rose into the air, and raider bodies laid on the ground.
From a distance, Jin stood on a canyon, his hair glowing in the wind. And at that moment, Nacht was standing beside Jin.
Nacht smiled, "Wowww those Horde members are pretty strong huh?"
Jin answered, "You're late."
"Awww come on. Don't be like that."
"I've noticed something. These raiders are involved with Haruto and the Jester, but they're not strong. The Jester tricked them."
"Of course he did! Haha. You think a Pillar would WILLINGLY give a human power?"
"And here I was, about to make a contract with you."
"But I'm no Pillar. But an avatar of god. I don't play tricks, I make contracts with those whose plans aid my own plans. Is that what's holding you back from making a contract with me? All contracts made with god's creations must be upheld by a task given by the creation itself. And if I may ask, why do you want a contract? Why did you summon me?"
"…My father. That zombie hybrid kid Rykei. I want them dead."
"Oooh that's harsh. But there's an issue."
"And what is that?"
"After talking to god, there were bloodlines that posed somewhat a threat to him back in our realm during a war, thought to be extinct. Yamato, and Seven. They're a part of these. And you are too. But with the zombie hybrid boy, Rykei, god knows nothing about. The members of the bloodlines can grow in power, but the one with the body parts of Ken can grow into literal gods themselves, which our god fears. Us fighting them is a gamble, they could win, we could win, even though we are powerful. It's a 50/50 chance on both sides. Me, being an avatar of god himself, am not nearly as strong as god. I'm here to create contracts with the members of the bloodlines that were meant to be extinct since the war, set up the ritual of god, and to see how this story ends, because I'm a big fan of Rykei now."
"So you can't kill them? Then what good are you?"
Nacht smiled, "Hmmmm That depends. And yes I can kill them easily, but that's not my mission. That would make things boring. Rykei needs a reason to be this strong, he needs a motivation to make him do things that I BEG to see him do. Taking away Seven is going to make him lose his motivation. You want power to beat them yourself?"
"I don't want Seven dead. And I won't fall for that trick or giving me power like the others did. If it's a gamble that the Pillars have to fight Rykei, Yamato, or Seven, then I stand no chance. And Seven, I don't want you doing anything to her."
"Oooh? You like her?"
"I want her to be the one alongside of me to lead these people against the zombie army. Against your god."
"And you're saying that to me? A direct bridge to god?"
"I am. And if i'm gonna do it, I don't want Rykei or my father in the way. In this state, if I don't side with the enemy, we will lose. But a contract is all I need. Even if you need me to help you kill them the right way, then I'll do it. Sometimes it doesn't take brute force. Rykei can easily be knocked out with those blow darts, but based on certain footage, he's becoming immune to it slowly, the slightest noise can wake him up from it and then that's when he'll start his killing spree."
"Mmmmm. Okay!"
"In the meantime, I will be studying my father and Rykei, to see any flaws of their skills or abilities. I'll report to you every day about it."
"Great! But don't make me wait too long! Because the Pillars have already been warned, they're already aware of Rykei's fight against the Jester. They're actively hunting Rykei, and I will not stop them."
"What?! Why?!"
"Because I'm playing both sides here, human. I'm in this for my own gain, I'm simply making this story more and more exciting. The Pillars will hunt him, and are coming up with ways with their own abilities to try and counter Rykei's regeneration."
"They'll lose. A 50/50 chanceâ€"."
"…Anything could happen. The Pillars are pretty powerful, they're mission here is to lead zombies in certain areas to infect more people, and use those infected people to aid towards the creation of the ritual, the re-creation of the Dark Tower, the home of Ken and that nasty old woman who's supposed to be dead. And since the Pillars have a 50/50 chance of winning, they're gonna take the gamble. For god has set out a decree amongst our kind in this human world: whoever brings me the soul of the hybrid will be the to open the Dark Tower and receive all my blessings. These higher ranked Pillars have a chance of winning, but it will alway be 50/50 against Rykei and Yamato. But due to his regeneration, the other members of those bloodlines I mentioned earlier have a lesser chance. But can still grow to be a threat. Which is why Yamato, with the Eyes of Ken, must be countered and destroyed. If you pave the way for his ability to be countered and he dies, then you shall gain a contract from me, that's my only condition. Fair, right?"
"What role do you play?"
"I'm a messenger of god, an avatar but less powerful. Since god himself cannot physically materialize in this world due to his overwhelming power, I have to act as a bridge between where he is, and where this world is, being the connection the Pillars have to him."
"Mm."
"So do you accept?"
Jin looked into the sky, thinking, 'Sorry father. But if I'm going to be able to be the hero mom always wanted me to be, you have to go. I can't let you take what she wanted ME to be. I never was on good terms with you anyway, but only her. If I fail her, I fail myself.'
Jin said to Nacht, "I'll accept the conditions."
Nacht was gone, leaving Jin by himself.