Aiden checked his kit one more time, serious and meticulous, then took point through the door.
With the top dog stepping out first, the students finally scraped together their courage and, one by one, shuffled after him.
The corridor beyond was vast and dead quiet.
Dismembered infected lay strewn in jagged patterns.
Sticky, blackened blood stains clung to the tiles—silent testimony to how ugly the fighting had been.
As they pushed on, faces changed.
A flicker of surprise became open-mouthed shock.
"These… all these infected—Aiden-kun and Yukino took them out?!"
"There are so many… How could just two people do this?!"
"As expected of Aiden-kun… even with a girl in tow, he solo-cleared the whole building!"
They didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was everywhere: blade marks where bodies had been split; arrows still jutting from neat holes.
"Yukino… is this strong."
At the back of the line, Hayato's eyes carried the same astonishment.
He'd assumed the kills were all Aiden's.
But the arrow wounds told a different story—Yukino was no bystander; she'd carried her weight.
The cool, solitary girl from his memories overlapped with the clear figure in a tactical vest walking ahead.
Hayato's focus blurred a little.
Without noticing, that little girl had grown into this.
"Yukino…"
Utaha watched Yukino's back and quietly clenched her hands.
Everyone compares.
Next to Yukino's decisive pace, Utaha felt like she'd been behind from the start.
She knew the rumors.
Both of them had entered with top marks, and the school had buzzed.
The nicknames stuck: "Ice Queen" for Yukino—
—and "Honor Student" for Utaha, the two reigning beauties on campus.
Utaha didn't care for childish rankings, but when it came to a rival, her will to win ran deep.
Especially when… Aiden clearly valued Yukino.
A small, sour knot tightened under Utaha's ribs.
She wanted recognition.
She'd been wrong before—but she refused to keep being wrong.
…
After leaving the classroom, Aiden led them back to the top floor.
There were snacks they hadn't had time to haul from the principal's office.
Now, with numbers, they could carry more.
Food and water lifted the mood a notch, and respect for Aiden's command only grew.
In the faculty office, someone found both a campus map and a city map.
"So, the school's 'Berkeley High'… and the city is 'Oakwood City,' named for its quality oak," Hayato read aloud, turning pages.
He tried to sketch how a whole city could have fallen.
"From this Oakwood travel guide, it's clearly a first-tier American city," he went on. "On par with places like D.C. or Philadelphia."
"Total area—about 1,030 square kilometers. Population—over six million. A global economic-finance node, very developed."
"The wall calendar says late November, and the power's still on in this office… My guess? Even in the worst case, this city won't take more than a week to collapse fully."
"Maybe we can find other survivors… if we're lucky, even a military unit that hasn't evacuated."
His optimism tugged their spirits upward.
In the face of the end, ordinary people still wanted to trust the government.
…
Aiden stayed quiet.
That thinking was a little too naive.
America had a reputation for… decisive measures.
If the city had truly gone full disaster-flick,
the military wouldn't let contagion spread.
They'd cut off the limb to save the body.
Worst case? Exactly like Resident Evil—
a tactical nuke to make sure nothing escaped.
But looking at their lifted faces, he didn't ruin it.
Bad breaks had stretched every nerve to snapping.
They were under crushing pressure.
He still needed these "meat shields" to help carry his arsenal out.
He couldn't let the hope leak out now.
"Looks like… a fight with those things is unavoidable…" Taisuke muttered, staring at the packed hordes beyond the windows, fear chalking his features.
Crass as he was, he also flubbed the mood.
A few simple words and the fragile calm Hayato had built started to crumble.
"H-Hayato… I'm scared…"
Makoto stared out the window, felt the blood rush in his skull, vision narrowing. His legs shook so badly he might faint.
His courage wasn't big to begin with—killing a single zombie was a stretch, never mind charging into the streets with the squad.
"Makoto, don't be scared… I'll cover you."
For all his faults, Taisuke could be a decent friend.
He clapped Makoto's shoulder and flexed like a goof to cheer him up.
(End of Chapter)
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