Yoan took a deep breath. Slowly opening his eyes, he launched into action faster than ever.
Even if mutant zombies were trickier than the usual fare, one thing remained comfortingly simple: chop off their heads, and they stayed down.
“Ahaha! This is what you call true flames of fury, you dumb zombie fucks! Dare to challenge me? Eat this!”
Yoan nearly stumbled at the sound of Kira’s voice behind him.
He’d thought the guy was all nerves and flinching, but apparently, give him a bomb and he transformed into a gleeful pyromaniac.
No wonder Sasha had called him insane when they first met. With explosives in hand, Kira was a whole different species.
Sasha was no slouch either. Between the two of them, the wall of zombies pressing in was rapidly turning into a pile of corpses.
If we can just keep this up…
But the endlessly surging horde seemed to mock the very idea.
Graaaaahhh!
Gaaaahhhhh!
“Gahh! There’s no… end to them!”
Sasha shook black blood off her hands, looking on the verge of tears.
“Where the hell are they all coming from?” Yoan snarled, grinding his teeth. “Did someone just turn the entire country into zombies?”
He quickly weighed their options and made a decision.
“Staying bunched up like this is dangerous. I’m going to draw them away.”
“Where?”
“Sasha, don’t follow me. Stay here.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. Just turned and ran, firing one of his blank rounds into the sky as he went.
BANG!
Groooaaarrr.
The zombies reacted exactly as expected, groaning and staggering after him.
Got ’em.
Quick headcount—at least a hundred were giving chase. Possibly more.
He was already running low on energy, which made this whole plan even less brilliant.
But unless they split up this wave, they had no chance of winning.
“Yoan!”
“Sasha…?”
She caught up without even breaking a sweat. Which was impressive… and infuriating.
I told her not to follow!
She was usually the most obedient person on the planet. Why did she only rebel at the worst possible moments?
He was about to snap at her when she beat him to it.
“Where I need… to be,” she said, choosing each word with care, “is where… you are.”
Even with a hundred zombies hot on their heels... well, that was kind of romantic.
***
“Ugh!”
Did he seriously think I’d just nod and say “yes sir” and let him run off alone?
He’d fired a blank. Into the sky.
Which clearly meant he was planning to be bait. Again.
Utterly exasperated, I’d sprinted after him as fast as I could.
Why won’t he listen when it’s dangerous!
How could I protect him if I couldn’t see him!
And he seemed to keep forgetting—I’m a zombie. When it comes to running, I win.
Kraahhh!
“Move it!”
I barreled through the zombies in my way like a very determined battering ram and caught up to Yoan in no time.
“Yoan!”
He looked surprised, which was fair. I had just blatantly disobeyed him.
But I’d made my decision.
“Where I need… to be... is where… you are.”
“You’re seriously stubborn.”
He sighed the sigh of a man who’d given up on arguing with the tide.
But honestly, since the female lead’s already a zombie, it only seemed fair to at least try protecting the male lead.
“Can’t be helped. Let’s finish these guys off and get back.”
“Yeah!”
We’d ended up near a cliff—narrow terrain, limited space.
Good for bottlenecking enemies. Also good for falling to your doom if you weren’t careful.
It was a double-edged strategy. Very on theme.
“Sasha. Catch.”
Yoan tossed me the greatsword he’d been lugging around.
“Why this?”
The last time I’d asked for a weapon, he’d refused on the grounds that it was more dangerous for a newbie to swing a sword than not.
I looked at him, thoroughly confused.
“This is an emergency situation. Have you ever... swung a sword before?”
“U-uh, never.”
I gripped the heavy greatsword with trembling hands, half-certain I was going to drop it.
“Sasha. First, relax your body.”
“Huh?”
Before I could question it, he moved behind me, wrapping around me like a human instruction manual.
His hands covered mine on the hilt.
It wasn’t the words—it was the closeness.
I was so surprised, I forgot to be tense.
“That’s right.”
With his hands guiding mine, the sword moved in a slow, deliberate arc.
Kaaahk!
He brought the blade up diagonally—low to high—and a zombie fell, black blood dripping from the steel like ink off a quill.
“Focus. Going again.”
The smell of wet earth and metallic blood filled my nose.
I didn’t even have time to nod before my body moved again—another arc, another clean slice through a zombie’s neck.
“Whoa.”
That slipped out on its own.
“That’s the feeling. Got it?”
Nope. Not even a little. What if I accidentally chopped off his head next?
I wanted to cry, but this wasn’t the time for tears.
I gave a vague nod instead.
“Then I’m counting on you.”
He stepped back, and suddenly the air felt... colder.
What the hell is wrong with me!
Now wasn’t the time for fluttery feelings.
I smacked myself hard enough to hear it, gripped the sword, and narrowed my eyes.
“Come at me!”
“Yeah, that’s the spirit. Sorry, but I’m staying back for my own safety.”
Yoan grinned and moved out of range. Honestly, I was grateful.
The zombies surged forward like a tidal wave. I met them head-on, swinging the sword with all the elegance of a chainsaw.
Krrrk. Krurrrk krurrrr?
“Huh?”
Krrrk. Krurrrk krurrrr!
“The heck?”
One of them was trying to talk. Like me or Aria—still partly conscious.
“Can’t speak zombie.”
It went quiet.
“Write it. With a finger.”
Miraculously, it understood. It traced letters in the air.
[You’re zombie too. Why their side?]
“Hm.”
[Why?]
When I didn’t answer, its face twisted in rage.
[Traitor!]
Kraaaaahhh!
At its roar, all the nearby zombies charged at once.
Faced with a mixed bag of mutant types, my reaction speed faltered.
I had to end this fast and get back to Yoan.
I glanced toward him.
He was swarmed. Way more than expected.
“Darn! Get! Away!”
I fought through the horde, flailing with increasing desperation—until I saw something I absolutely shouldn’t have.
Wait. Was that... a bite?
“Y-Yoan!”
Panic hit me like a freight train.
I bolted toward him, zombies lunging at my back.
My skin tore. Chunks of flesh ripped away.
I didn’t care. I ran.
“Huff, huff.”
“Sasha, you—”
“Shut up.” I cut him off and checked his neck. “Ah.”
There it was. Clear bite marks. Right where his armor didn’t cover.
I bit my lip hard, mind racing.
If it had been anywhere else, I could’ve tried cutting it out or burning it.
But his neck?
How long had it been? Fifteen seconds? Twenty?
“Damn it. This is dangerous.”
Even now, Yoan was worrying about me. He took a step forward.
“Idiot!”
I grabbed him from behind and locked my arms around him.
We needed to get out. Now. Surrounded like this, we didn’t stand a chance.
Before he could say anything else, I threw myself off the cliff.
Gravity did its thing.
I’d calculated the height, checked what was below. Doing it was still a different story.
The fall stretched on and on.
I clenched my jaw and curled around Yoan, trying to protect as much of him as I could.
He was large, and there was a lot of him to cover.
Please, please, please…!
“Oogh!”
Branches broke our fall—just like I’d hoped.
“Ugh! Agh! Ow!”
We crashed through vines, bounced off limbs, and finally hit the ground.
“Yoan! Are you okay?”
“Ughh… Sasha. Are you crazy? What if we’d both died?”
He was still talking. Still himself. That was good.
But what now?
When I’d been poisoned, my body had somehow purified it.
Maybe...
I spread my palms dramatically, magician-style, and yelped.
“Hyah!”
Absolutely nothing happened.
“Argh…”
Fine. Only one method left.
“What’s with that look? What are you planning?”
“Sorry.”
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I bent down and pressed my face—more accurately, my lips—against Yoan’s neck.