Kohta dropped three zombies in two quick, fluid motions, before focusing on his aim and swiftly killed three more strays on his side.
He heard Tysone's roar of aggression, saw his frame descend onto one of the evolved, and felt the impact of his strike resonate through his entire body. He knew without a doubt that one day, that could be him as well, living up to his name as the King of Destruction; for now, though, he'd honorably concede that title to Tysone.
After all, it didn't matter where you were born. What your race or religion was. Or what gender you were. At the end of the day, strength and capability meant everything.
In this current apocalyptic world? It meant absolutely fucking everything.
Takashi continued forward. Kohta stayed behind. The horde of zombies seemed infinite, as five more zombies would come in to replace each one that fell down. Thankfully, Tysone and Saeko easily dispatched the troublesome evolved zombies, and thus managed to lend a hand in clearing the rest.
Tysone's show of strength was an indicator of how much one's own evolution stage could turn the tides in a battlefield. Back when they were still at school, a swarm of this size would've completely wiped them all out, even with Tysone and Saeko at their best. Now, this would just be a decent workout for them to release pent-up stress.
So... maybe not a workout for the most powerful people here, as they were just letting loose some frustration on the walking dead.
It didn't take long before Tysone, whose fists were wrist-deep drenched in infected ichor, to stand atop the last shredded zombie in the surroundings. In his hands, there were four cores. "Look at this! Guess who'll be the next one to get it?" He laughed at them.
The girls just snorted and made a silly gesture at him, and everyone laughed as the usual stress, anxiety, and seriousness washed out after their show of power.
"It's such a stroke of good luck we managed to collect so many cores in one fell swoop!" Rei was understandably very excited.
Tysone was too, but not for long as the realization of what it meant dawned upon him. "Yes, well, it's good, but it also means that evolved zombies aren't as rare as we thought."
His words echoed through the group. The good mood sobered up, the faint mirth being replaced with grim understanding.
"So we should expect something stronger than a simple evolved one, right?" Saeko chimed in, her visage stoic but determined; you could always count on the kendo practitioner to have your back.
Tysone glanced at Saeko and nodded, sighing. "That's my assumption. Four evolved came at once. Not one, but four. It's good for us because now we can gather more cores, but at the same time, it means we'll have to fight off a lot more zombies as well. With likely different attributes or even special mutated ones, like that fire zombie we barely managed to defeat."
Kohta sagged a little, rubbing the back of his head. "So, are we in danger or something?"
Tysone shrugged as he idly stared off into the distance, where groans of distant zombies could faintly be heard. "Can't tell what kind of mutant could potentially be lurking among such a big horde. However, we came here with a goal, let's at least achieve it so that the journey was not all for naught. We can discuss other alternatives at the mansion."
They all nodded as a cold wind blew between them.
"Let's get back in the truck."
"The Apocalypse Mule..." Kohta mumbled; he was proud of the name they gave it.
Tysone walked briskly, followed closely by the rest of the group. They returned inside the large warehouse, and took up a small box of tools for some upgrading purposes. Rei had finished loading up the rest, and there was still a bit of space for more loot. They all got inside the vehicle.
Takashi helped Rei stack the boxes to make more space.
Kohta got into his position, scope at the ready.
Saeko was at the passenger's side.
The engine rumbled to life, and Tysone drove out of the warehouse. His core pouch at his side. He reached a hand into it and drew one out. A little black shard, that could've passed off as a piece of mineral, was actually the key to superhuman strength.
As if it were a cheap coin, he threw it towards Kohta. "Here, as promised."
Kohta nearly fumbled with the core in surprise before clutching it tightly into his paw. His glasses glinted, eyes trembling, as he finally beheld an actual piece of a zombie core in his hands. The very same thing that turned his companions into killing machines. "YEES! With this the King of Destruction might step onto his next evolution phase!"
His mad laughter made them giggle a bit, but Tysone paid no heed and continued his course.
"Our trip was quite productive, after all." Rei was leaning down, eyes closed and smiling happily as she was pleased with what they could potentially do for the mansion's safety with the haul.
"It's not over yet." Tysone said. "Hurry up back there, Kohta. I need your eyes sharp.
"Loud and clear, my Liege!" Kohta announced before getting serious.
And then he crushed the core with his hand. It was surprisingly brittle once he applied serious strength into his limb. The crushed pieces stabbed his palm, opening tiny little wounds and seeping into them like smoke, completely dissolving into his flesh.
He wanted to laugh at the sensation, feeling the energy flowing through his blood vessels like electricity. It tingled a little, a nice warm feeling as if you had eaten a small spoon of something spicy; enough to start the mechanism of sweating, but not painful.
Then it all calmed down, leaving only a mild feeling of power circulating through his veins. The rush wasn't as noticeable, but he still felt stronger and quicker, with sharper senses. He felt so good that he probably didn't even need glasses anymore.
It felt awesome. Like a level-up, in an RPG.
With a manic grin, Kohta shoved his head out of the truck's rooftop, his eye already on the scope. His field of perception widened considerably, as if someone had dialed up his FOV to the highest possible.
The apocalypse had no idea the terror that was about to rain on the walking undead.
"Kohta, directions." Tysone ordered.
Kohta refocused, his gaze scouring the surroundings. "Um..." A hum rumbled across the surface of his lips, deep in thought. He observed every detail of their immediate vicinity. "Take a left there and drive through a dark alley."
He said. His instructions were followed swiftly without hesitation or fear. Tysone swerved and drove into the alley, and one quick look outside told them that the decision was a smart one as they managed to avoid a horde that was wandering right around the corner, patrolling the streets.
"Your new sense seems more accurate than normal now, don't you think so?" Tysone said, eyes darting sideways. He could almost feel the physical proof that Kohta was going on a sensory rampage.
"Yes! It's so crisp."
"Alright." He cut him off there. "Less talking, more searching."
Kohta roared, happy about the validation that what was his sixth sense became something worthy to be considered a valuable asset, not that he wasn't before, but now that he had reached the same level as Rei and Takashi, at the very least, made him more confident about himself, and had quite possibly gained something to flex at the police officer back at the mansion.
"Right there, turn right, there's another entrance into that massive building." Kohta said, indicating a double garage gate on the side of a big office complex. It was close by. To get there, naturally they had to run over a group of slow moving infected.
Tysone floored the gas. The sound of wheels running over solid meat was accompanied by a sickening crunching sound and squishy splatters all around.
With the extra weight added into the equation, the apocalypse mule's already sturdy body rocked like a ship during a storm.
The Apocalypse Mule didn't stop; it had literally ran over an army, the armored bumper still the pinnacle of obstinate refusal, not to say the suspension system was marvelous.
"We're in!"
Kohta cried out gleefully as soon as they crashed inside the garage gate, which was half-open anyway.
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.