From that point onward, the duel between Leon and the Old Granny became a blur of flesh and blood. Each time they clashed, the ground shook, sending waves of tremors through buildings. It became so dangerous that even Leon's group had to focus on steadying their feet while fighting the remaining first level zombies.
Slice!
Leon's blades sliced open the back of the zombie, exposing her spine. This was surprising. Why? Because he couldn't achieve this before his transformation. No matter how much strength he put into his blades, they normally wouldn't cut that deep. Yet, now he sliced open the zombie's back with a bit of effort.
Surprised by the turn of events, Old Granny stumbled forward, then reached back to yank Leon off her.
Of course, Leon couldn't allow such a opportunity to waste. Why would he?
He revealed a chilling grin, then stuck his clawed hand into the wound, seizing the zombie's spine. A few bones pierced his palm but he ignored the pain and tightened his grip.
As the zombie yanked him off her, she indirectly helped him tug on her spine, then snap it.
GAAHHH!?!?
Releasing a deep wail, the zombie collapsed to the ground, rolling in pains. Leon crashed into a car, ruining the vehicle. Still, he was unscathed.
With a blank expression, he walked towards the zombie with slow steps. He hadn't planned on doing that since the beginning. However, it seemed like an instinctive action. Something ridiculous but plausible.
'After all, why would you think about breaking the spine of an opponent stronger than you?'
Still, this method had worked perfectly. Even if the Old Granny was a zombie, all zombies originated from humans. A human with a broken spine was as good as a cripple. So why would zombies be different? Of course they could heal and all, probably even completely reattach the bones after some time, but right before their opponent?
'Impossible.'
RARHH!
The zombie tried to attack him while unable to move. However, Leon effortlessly dodged the attack. The power behind it barely left a scratch on the ground. Looking at its pitiful state, Leon couldn't help but frown.
'Before cunning, strength can only do so much.'
He knew very well that he could be in the zombie's position in the future. However, that was not his concern right now. His mindset was simple. Leave the future problems for the future.
His swords flashed, and after a bit of resistance, the zombie's head fell. With the leader of the horde dead, the remaining first level zombies grew chaotic. They scattered about, no longer focusing on entering the skyscraper.
Instead, they seemed eager to devour Old Granny's essence crystal. After all, zombies also devoured other lifeforms' essence crystals to increase their strength. How could the killer allow that? In just a few minutes, he made a quick work of them, letting a strange silence reign over the area.
He could sense the strange gazes of Bob, Scarface and Johnson, but he ignored it. Instead, he was focused on the system message before him.
[You have slain a Third Level Zombie]
[Consume its body to improve your evolution]
Leon was slightly surprised by the messages. After all, even in his past life, he hadn't seen or heard anything similar. Knowing it might be related to his race, he checked it out.
[Race - Undead Devourer: A new species of undead who preys on the whole body of any lifeform]
He was momentarily confused, thinking this wasn't any different from a zombie. However, he soon realized something important. The description had said he could consume any lifeform.
Zombies couldn't do that. Although they could devour each other, humans, and most mutated beasts, they couldn't just eat any living being. There was a race of aquatic mutated beasts which were toxic to zombies. These beasts were often used to ward of zombies, according to what he remembered.
However, such restrictions didn't apply to him at all. He could simply eat anyone he wanted at any condition. Still, the description made him look like a gluttonous creature. Well, it wasn't entirely wrong.
His gaze moved lower to his evolution level.
[Level: Second Level Undead Devourer]
[13% to next evolution level]
The additional information made him raise his brows. So the apocalypse system was generous to the point it even showed him his current progress? He couldn't help but reflect on the system and come to a realization.
He didn't know anything about it!
What the system was, how it came to existence, or how it had become something that was available to humans alone, he didn't know. However, he knew it was surely connected to the Code 408D dubbed the 'Apocalypse'.
'I'm wasting too much time.'
Realizing he had been standing in a daze for too long, he approached the Old Granny's corpse and pulled it into a dark corner, his intentions obvious.
He could have eaten it right there in the open but he decided to spare his group from such a gory sight.
Half an hour later, he left the alley in a good mood. Perhaps because of his confirmed race, the zombie meat ended up tastier in his mouth. His progress had also increased from 13% to 39%, a startling rise.
Holding a blue crystal in hand, he walked towards the group who had just finished collecting the crystals from the horde. Bob took a step back, inwardly nervous. He wondered why the others hadn't bolted yet. Hadn't they seen the inhuman monster he had transformed into mid-battle?!
Seeing Leon approach, Anna reported in a cool tone.
"No losses. Fifteen Second Level Essence Crystals, and almost three hundred First Level Essence Crystals."
Leon wasn't surprised by the outcome, he already expected that. "Alright, that's good enough. Send someone to fetch a black cat's body on the sixth floor. It'd be of good use for you guys."
Anna was slightly surprised but nodded. Turning to the others, her eyes landed on Bob who was paying attention to their conversation with an uneasy heart.
"You go."
He immediately wanted to refuse but shut his mouth after receiving a glare from Anna.
Damn it! Being scared of someone younger than me... He lamented inwardly, then complied.
Looking at the others who weren't surprised, Leon whistled.
"Rest a bit. In an hour, we're returning."
Standing at the back of the group, Johnson whispered to Scarface.
"Are we the only normal humans here?"
Scarface did reply, but the intensity in his eyes showed his agreement.