The intense wind, unlike anything on the surface, kept slapping against my face.
My field of vision began to widen far beyond what I could see from the rooftop.
SOS signals scattered across building rooftops, acrid smoke billowing from burning buildings, hospitals teeming with zombies, and occasional explosions and gunfire—all came into view.
As I gained more altitude, a bird's-eye view of Liverpool unfolded before me, appearing as a tapestry of dots.
But a particular movement stood out, with clusters of those dots writhing and converging toward one spot.
"Zombie wave…"
This was nothing like the small groups I'd encountered before. This was a tidal wave.
Predicting their general movement wasn't even difficult; it was glaringly obvious.
"…They're heading for the shelter."
Every zombie in Liverpool was converging on the soccer stadium, Anfield.
And I couldn't help but wonder—how was such coordinated movement possible?
'But, I shouldn't expect any logic…'
After seeing a mutant strong enough to crush a tank, I'd long abandoned any expectation of logic, but this… this was far too systematic.
"Is it the noise from the military's defences?"
As I stroked my chin, observing the waves, one segment of the horde suddenly came to a standstill, almost as if blocked.
Descending for a closer look, I immediately grasped the situation.
"Grrrrrr!"
A fierce battle was raging between the zombie wave and the military forces trying to stop them.
"Claymore! Detonate the Claymore now!"
Boom!
The ground shook as shrapnel from the Claymore shredded the leading zombies into mincemeat.
The problem was the endless swarm of zombies still pouring in behind them.
"Fire at will! Don't hold back!"
As the commanding officer's desperate orders rang out, a relentless barrage of gunfire mowed down the charging zombies.
But it still wasn't enough.
Roooaaaarrr!
From behind, a mutant brute barrelled forward, crushing even its own kind under its massive frame.
With one swing of its arm, it sent an abandoned car—a makeshift barricade used by the soldiers—hurtling into their ranks.
"Aaaaargh! Sergeant! M-my leg!"
"It's a mutant! Focus fire on the mutant! Throw grenades, anything you've got!"
The brute lifted a car like it was a toy, prompting the soldiers to unleash everything they had.
BOOM! BOOM!
A series of grenade explosions rocked the area, followed by the continuous blaze of a Light Machine Gun.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—
Roooaarrr!
Even the brute couldn't completely shrug off the relentless assault. Its massive frame began to tremble, wounds forming all over its body.
It discarded the car it was wielding as a weapon and crossed its arms to shield its face.
But the soldiers weren't only being targeted by the mutant.
With all their firepower focused on the brute, their defensive line against the regular zombies had faltered.
The zombies seized the opportunity, closing the gap in an instant.
"Grrrrrrrrrr!"
"Aaaaargh!"
At such close range, their firearms were no longer effective against the zombie wave.
One by one, the soldiers on the frontlines fell, and the defensive line collapsed like dominoes.
From that moment, it became a one-sided massacre.
Roooaaaarrr!
As the brute pummelled fleeing soldiers with its massive fists, one soldier—seemingly resigned—looked up at the sky.
And then our eyes met.
"…Huh?"
The soldier's eyes widened as he let out a small gasp.
"Hel—"
"Grrraaaaah!"
Before the soldier could finish, zombies swarmed over him.
Tears streamed from his eyes as he was pinned beneath the horde.
I didn't need to hear the rest of his words to know what he was trying to say.
He was begging to be saved.
Floating in the air, I extended my hand toward the mutant, aiming to concentrate my telekinesis on the back of its head.
Roooaaaarrr!
"…Doing both at once is impossible."
As mana drained rapidly, I immediately realized it.
It was still beyond me to maintain levitation and attack simultaneously with telekinesis.
Abandoning the attempt, I let my arm fall, dismissing my mana.
Then, without a shred of hesitation, I resumed my flight toward my original destination.
Even as I left, I could feel the soldier's gaze fixated on me.
But there was no reason for me to save him.
***
Swoosh—
After an hour, my feet finally touched the ground.
I landed on the rooftop of a nondescript residential-commercial complex.
The significant reduction in my mana was palpable.
Observing the zombie wave had delayed me far longer than expected.
I needed time to recover my mana.
To my left lay the long stretch of "Art Road" and "Central Neighbourhood Park."
In the past, this area would have been bustling with pedestrians and cars. But now…
The asphalt roads, where cars once zipped by, were smeared with dried bloodstains under the sun.
A five-minute walk to my right stood Liverpool City Hall.
Just below the city hall was my destination—the library.
"I'll restore at least half my mana before moving."
As I munched on an energy bar from my inventory, something in the distance caught my attention.
Walking down the middle of the road was… something.
If it had just been a zombie, it wouldn't have stood out so much.
But no—this was something else entirely.
With short arms and legs, it waddled awkwardly across the asphalt.
"…A kid?"
If it were an elementary school-aged child, I might have understood.
Even in a world like this, sheer luck could have kept someone alive.
But this… this was far too young.
At best, the child looked no older than three.
The toddler was walking aimlessly down the centre of the road, completely unperturbed, as if from another world entirely.
"…Creepy as hell."
The moment the toddler stopped in its tracks; it slowly turned its head—directly toward me.