Maeda was terrified. His body trembled uncontrollably, his fear escalating by the second.
Ding-ling-ling~
The crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling began to sway slightly, the chimes clinking in eerie harmony. The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Utaha Kasumigaoka's face turned pale. "What's going on? An earthquake?"
Before anyone could respond, a deep thunderclap echoed in the distance, followed by the chaotic flutter of birds taking flight.
Panic quickly spread.
Sosuke Kitahara narrowed his eyes and turned toward the source of the noise.
Crash!
A pair of tall glass doors rattled violently. This time, it was far more intense than before. Heavy breathing and frightened glances began to fill the room. Outside the windows, the sky turned darker. Heavy clouds descended, and the distant wails of zombies grew louder and more gut-wrenching.
"Sosuke! Something's not right!"
Yukino Yukinoshita reacted first, instinctively drawing her sidearm. Haruno Yukinoshita followed, both rushing to Sosuke's side.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out.
Glass shattered like snowflakes under a hailstorm. A massive arm, thick enough to defy logic, smashed through the full-length window, clawing up chunks of the red carpet.
A grotesque, swollen blue face followed, pushing through the debris and into the second-floor corridor, blocking the only stairway like a collapsed building.
"Ghhhk..."
Mrs. Yuigahama gasped, her eyes wide with horror. Utaha and the others stood frozen as well, their minds instantly recalling the last encounter at the shelter the monstrous creature that tossed cars like toys.
This... was a Tyrant.
Screams erupted all around them.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Someone call Ultraman!"
"Idiot! He's not real! RUN!"
Sosuke watched chaos erupt. People scattered like ants, trampling each other. Someone even panicked enough to smash open the zombie containment rooms.
Mrs. Yuigahama instinctively tried to flee too, but terror rooted her in place. The Tyrant's mountainous head twisted in her direction, its eyes locking onto her.
She raised her pistol, trembling, but before she could fire, a hand clamped over her mouth and dragged her aside.
"Shh. Don't move."
Panicked, she struggled until she caught the scent. That familiar, calming presence.
It was Sosuke.
She removed his hand from her mouth and whispered, "Sosuke... What is that thing? Why is it so... huge?"
"It's a Tyrant."
Sosuke kept his voice low and led her into a nearby restroom. Inside, the rest of their group had already taken shelter Keiichiro, Hiramiya, and the rest.
Mrs. Yuigahama's face flushed red. She peeked over at Sosuke, who was cautiously watching the hallway.
Outside, the scene had turned into a nightmare.
A sea of zombies swarmed the airport plaza. Tens of thousands. An unstoppable black tide.
"Oh no..." Haruno gasped, covering her mouth. "Weren't they heading toward Tokyo?! We avoided them on the way here!"
Before she could continue, Sosuke darted toward her and pulled her into a corner.
Everyone followed, hugging the walls. No one dared make a sound.
"Shh!"
Sosuke looked up.
A vent-like window on the wall led to the corridor. Moments later, a massive shadow passed overhead.
BANG!
A fist as thick as a tree trunk smashed through the vent, shattering plastic and glass. Shards rained down on them.
No one dared cry out. Everyone clamped their hands over their mouths.
ROAR!
A monstrous growl thundered outside. The Tyrant's skull shoved against the vent, its jaws wide, drooling bloody mucus.
Seven Seas Amami burst into tears. Her stomach spasmed. She was about to wet herself.
"Don't!"
Sosuke lunged, pinning Keiichiro's arm.
The old prison guard had pulled out two grenades, clearly intending to toss them into the Tyrant's mouth.
Even his wife panicked, helping Sosuke restrain him.
Luckily, the restroom's structure held. After a few failed attempts to break in, the Tyrant let out a furious growl, then backed away.
Everyone exhaled in unison, collapsing in exhaustion.
"Good thing none of you were on your period..." Sosuke muttered. "Otherwise we would've had to fight."
He grabbed his rifle and stood. Utaha rushed over.
"What now? That thing's outside... and there's a horde. We can't just hide in here forever!"
"Forget everything else. We're heading to the hangar. That's our only shot now," Keiichiro said seriously.
Sosuke nodded. If it were just the Tyrant, he'd be fine fighting. But with tens of thousands of zombies outside?
Too risky.
"The Tyrant's about to break into the fire door," Sosuke said. "Once it does, the horde will flood the building. But that's also our chance. The hangar might clear out we can launch the plane."
He didn't mention what might be in the skies.
"What?! You're... you're going to use them as bait?!"
Hiramiya stared in horror.
Sosuke didn't flinch. "Their survival is in their own hands. They never planned to escape with us. And let's be honest they wouldn't make it anyway."
BOOM!
The ground shook.
Before anyone could stop him, Hiramiya threw open the door and bolted with his rifle.
Sosuke called after him, but the guy didn't look back.
"Leave him. Let's head for the underground passage."
AHHHHH!
Sosuke had just stepped out when a scream rang through the terminal.
The Tyrant had torn through the fire door. Half its body squeezed inside. It grabbed a man and shoved him into its mouth.
That man... was Maeda.
Two bites. Gone.
"Fuyumi! FUYUMI!"
Hiramiya screamed like a madman, spraying bullets.
They bounced off the Tyrant's hide like pebbles. It ignored him, still grabbing, still eating.
BOOM BOOM!
Two grenades exploded, blasting the Tyrant backward.
Sosuke stepped out, rifle in hand.
"Grab the gear and meet me later. I'll go help them."
He rushed forward, another grenade in hand.
Keiichiro stayed behind, guarding his family. The surviving flight attendants ran.
But the Tyrant wasn't dead. It rose, furious.
Another woman got caught. More crunching. Screams.
ROAR!
Furious, it swiped at nothing. Hiramiya had opened another fire door. The crowd surged through it.
"RUN!"
Sosuke screamed.
The Tyrant leapt to its feet, smashing through walls.
"You bastard..."
Sosuke didn't retreat. As the beast roared, he hurled a grenade directly into its mouth.
BOOM!
Fire burst from its jaws. Its teeth shattered. Its lips exploded like rotten tomatoes.
The Tyrant fell.
But Sosuke didn't trust it.
He grabbed a pack, turned, and ran.
Never underestimate a Tyrant.
A grenade inside its mouth wouldn't kill it just delay it.
He fled toward the terminal's main hall.
There he saw them.
Utaha.
Yukino.
Haruno.
Mrs. Yuigahama.
All standing at the gate, waiting for him.
His heart swelled and clenched.
"RUN! Don't follow me! I'll draw it away!"
"SOSUKE!"
Utaha cried.
He darted past them, the Tyrant sliding behind him, plowing up dust.
Knowing she'd only get in the way, Utaha bit her lip, turned, and led the others toward safety.
"Damn it... this guy's persistent!"
Sosuke raced up the second floor, spotted a shattered window, and leapt.
Below was a jet bridge.
Ten meters up.
He landed hard on a luggage tractor.
CRASH!
The Tyrant barreled through the bridge behind him, crashing out and falling.
BOOM!
It slammed into the ground like a meteor, crushing dozens of zombies.
But it got up.
Snarling.
Furious.
It batted aside the undead like bowling pins.
And charged again straight at Sosuke Kitahara.