As Siobhan killed the final zombie, Damian, Lily, and Sky emerged from the passage.
"Good job, guys," Damian said with a nod.
Sky added, "Rain, you did well finding the weak point of the Dark Iron zombies. I also noticed you've mastered the poison claw technique—just energy transformation left now. And Siobhan..." She turned toward Siobhan just as Rain noticed Damian picking up the zombies' hearts.
Curious, Rain walked over to Lily and asked, "What's Damian doing?"
"He's collecting the hearts. They can be used to create weird items," Lily explained with a grin.
"Really?" Rain said, intrigued, as Damian approached and held out the five hearts in his hand.
"Rain, want to take one as a memento?" Damian offered with a smirk.
Rain nodded. "I can take it." He hadn't realized he could bring weird items like this back with him.
Sky added, "Dark Iron zombie hearts are one of the non-dangerous weird items, so you're allowed to possess them without special permission."
Rain took one of the hearts from Damian's palm, weighing it in his hand. Damian then turned to Siobhan, "Want one too?"
Siobhan wrinkled her nose. "No, thanks."
Sky clapped her hands. "Alright, let's keep moving. We still have more zombies to clear. And once we're back, I'll exchange the hearts of any zombies you kill for credits from the department."
Rain followed, watching the remains of the fallen zombies dissolve into the ground as they moved into another passage. He thought the domain might be absorbing its creations, with the hearts acting as a reward or lure for killing the zombies—like loot dropped in a game, drawing unsuspecting humans in with promises of riches, only for the domain to try to trap and consume them to increase its power.
The group halted, spotting light streaming from an opening further along the passage, leading to another cavern. Sky signaled for them to wait as she crept forward to scout. Moments later, the sound of a zombie's howl echoed back to them. Without hesitation, they rushed toward the entrance, where a fallen zombie with a fully dark grey body lay blocking their path, its head severed. Rain took in the scene, noting the presence of a late D-rank zombie. Ahead, Sky was locked in combat with another late D-rank zombie, and four decapitated zombies lay scattered around her—three middle D-ranks with dark grey torsos and pale white legs, and another late D-rank.
Rain observed the scene, noting that the zombies sprawled around them were not only decapitated but many had missing limbs—hands, legs, and mostly their heads. His eyes landed on one zombie whose head remained intact, yet it was writhing helplessly on the ground, both arms and legs severed, flailing like a fish out of water. Shifting his attention to Sky, Rain watched as she deftly sliced off one of her opponent's arms with her ice sword. He noted that even the sword's hilt was crafted from ice, realizing it wasn't the same weird weapon she'd used in the sheep farm weird domain, but rather a sword she'd formed entirely from her genetic energy.
Rain watched as Sky swiftly severed one of the zombie's legs, causing it to stumble and collapse before she drove her ice sword through its head, ending its struggle. She then turned to the zombie thrashing on the ground, dispatching it just as efficiently. With precise strikes, Sky used her ice sword to cut open the chests of the fallen zombies at her feet, exposing their hearts. Once finished, she dissolved the ice sword effortlessly.
Lily walked over the fallen zombie blocking their path, asking, "What happened?" as he and Siobhan followed, leaving Damian behind to break open the chest and retrieve its heart.
Sky gestured to the nearest zombie. "It was leaning against the wall, completely silent, blending in with the rock face." Meanwhile, Damian continued to collect the hearts from the dead zombies.
Sky pointed to two pathways branching ahead, one to the left and another straight on. "Now we've got a decision: which path should we take?"
After collecting the heart Damian joining them in the conversation, Damian said, " i say Straight ahead."
Siobhan and Lily both answered, "Left."
As everyone looked to Rain, he considered suggesting they split up but quickly remembered the C-rank Dark Iron Zombie Lord rumoured to be lurking somewhere in the domain's numerous caverns. With only Sky having the strength to match a C-rank zombie, splitting up would be asking to become prey. "Left," he said.
Damian huffed, "A man should back another man, Rain."
Rain chuckled, "If a man should back a man, then women should back each other too. And in our team, that's three women against two men. So, left it is." He shrugged, feigning innocence.
Lily grinned, "Damian, sometimes it's wise to know the outcome before arguing."
Sky smiled, "Alright, left it is." She led the way down the passage, and soon, they reached the entrance of another cavern. Sky went in to scout, returning a moment later. "Three late D-rank zombies ahead."
Lily spoke up, "Sky, I want to try handling them."
Damian raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Late D-rank zombies have dark grey skin over their entire bodies like metal; cutting through will be hard, and you're taking on three."
Lily nodded. "True, but their tougher skin also makes them slower. I want to test if my wind blade can cut through."
The team turned to Sky, awaiting her decision. Sky looked at Lily, then said, "Alright, but if you're in danger, I'm stepping in."
Lily nodded and started toward the cavern ahead. Rain followed along with the rest, observing the larger space compared to previous caverns and noting an additional passage on the left. Inside, he spotted the three late D-rank zombies, their entire bodies cloaked in dark gray, moving aimlessly. Their sluggish, heavy steps confirmed Lily's observation—they were indeed slower.
Rain saw Lily advance toward the zombies, her whip whirling with small wind blades spinning along its length. The sound of her steps and the high-pitched hum of the wind-coated whip alerted the zombies, their heads snapping toward her before their bodies began turning slowly. Before they could fully face her, Lily struck, her whip cracking against one of the zombies. A sharp metallic ring echoed as the whip connected, pushing the zombie back and leaving a shallow cut on its arm.
*Small cuts,* Rain thought, *but zombies don't feel pain.* He continued watching as Lily moved swiftly around them, landing strikes that left only shallow cuts. Yet, as she danced with increasing speed, they all noticed the depth of her cuts gradually growing.
As Lily held her stance, her whip began vibrating intensely, sending dust swirling around her. Rain noticed the dust cloud rising as the whip's tip touched the ground, pulverizing a small rock beneath it with its intense wind blades. As the zombies moved closer, Lily lifted her whip, striking diagonally through the air. A loud snap sounded, followed by a large, sharp blade of wind shooting forward from the whip.
In an instant, the wind blade sliced cleanly through the waists of two zombies and struck the palm of the third, leaving a deep gash. The first two zombies stumbled, their upper bodies separated from their legs and collapsing to the ground. The third zombie staggered back, its hand now partially severed and unable to grip or attack.The wind blade's force embedded itself into the rock wall behind them. The two zombies sliced at the waist were now immobilized, their bodies separated but still twitching on the ground. The third, oblivious to its injuries, continued moving toward Lily, black liquid dripping from its severed palm. Lily, weakened and kneeling after her powerful attack, looked up as Sky stepped forward.
Sky wasted no time. With her ice blade already formed, she drove it through the zombie's eye and into its brain, killing it instantly. She withdrew her sword, quickly dispatching the two immobilized zombies still struggling on the ground. With the threat neutralized, the team approached Lily to check on her condition.
Siobhan asked, "Are you okay?"
Lily smiled happily, "I'm fine, just used up most of my genetic energy with that last attack."
Damian nodded approvingly. "You've mastered the wind whip technique. With this, your ranking should definitely be within the top 100 in the upcoming competition."
Sky's expression was stern. "If she breaks through to peak D-rank before the competition, she might place in the top 100. But if she stays at late D-rank, her rank will likely be lower. The wind blade attack takes time to form, and competitors won't stand still like zombies. Plus, each strike drains half of her genetic energy. Still, good work, Lily."
Lily nodded, taking a genetic energy pill to recover. "Thank you," she said as she stood.
Damian moved to extract the hearts from the fallen zombies, and Rain followed, watching closely. Kneeling beside one of the zombies, Damian summoned a small blade of genetic energy, its edge emitting a faint bronze glow. Rain observed, noting that D-rank warriors typically couldn't focus their genetic energy to form fine edges or sharp points. Instead, they wove their energy into solid forms by splitting it into numerous fine threads and braiding them together for structure. The metal element infused into Damian's blade gave it its sharpness. Rain watched as Damian carefully cut open the zombie's chest, though with some effort, before finally extracting the heart. He repeated the process on the remaining two zombies.
As Damian placed the hearts into his side bag, Lily spoke up, "Let's keep moving. I've recovered about 60 percent of my energy; I can regain the rest on the way."
The team set off along a new passage with Sky in the lead and Rain at the rear. After some time, light became visible ahead, motioned for everyone to wait as she scouted ahead. She returned moments later. "Follow me."
They continued forward, and soon the passage widened, allowing Rain to see the cavern ceiling above, jagged with rock formations. When they reached the end of the passage, Rain realized they were standing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the cavern floor below. They would have to climb down to reach it.
From this vantage point, Rain spotted two zombies beside a dark pool below. These zombies were different; although their faces shared the same grey tone, their chests and backs appeared plated, like natural armour, and their arms and legs looked as though they were encased in metallic gloves and boots.
Damian's voice was low as he observed, "Peak D-rank zombies." The zombies seemed to react to his whisper, both heads turning in unison toward the group. Rain noted they seemed far more intelligent than the previous zombies; their eyes held a faint, focused gleam rather than the dull emptiness he'd seen before. They stood their ground, emitting a low growl, but made no move to advance on the sound alone.
Damian, not wasting a moment, said, "This time, it's my turn," and jumped down from the ledge. Bronze-coloured energy glowed around his hands as he approached the zombies, two energy gloves forming in preparation for the fight.