Nightfall had descended with an eerie sense of foreboding, signaling the rise of the Demon Zombies. Their guttural growls slithered through the darkness, merging with the thunderous roars of Demon Monsters. As the ominous sounds intensified, the remaining survivors scrambled for the scant safety of hideouts where the likelihood of encountering these monstrosities was reduced.
“Fuck, they’re coming…!” one of the people I was with yelled, his voice cracking with terror.
In an instant, I saw them emerging from their concealments. Enormous, grotesque zombies stomped forward, their growls reverberating through the ground and causing it to shudder beneath their weight.
The sheer number of them was overwhelming. It seemed we’d have to carve our way through this monstrous tide. I drew the katana from my back, feeling the sharpness of the blade as it glinted in the dim light, and braced myself for the confrontation. The pistol in my hand had been my lifeline for the past three months of the Demonic Ruination, and it was ready for action once more.
“Raaaaaaah!” The roar shattered the night, making us turn to see a hulking, bulging Demon Zombie charging toward us. Its physique was grotesquely immense, muscles straining and red veins throbbing beneath its mottled skin. It charged with a bone-shaking force, the ground quaking with each of its thunderous steps.
Other nightmarish Demon Zombies joined the fray—one with slithering, writhing tentacles, and another with grotesque, membranous wings unfurling menacingly.
“Incoming!”
We all snapped into battle mode, adrenaline surging as we prepared for the inevitable clash.
I surged forward, charging straight at the colossal zombie while the others took on the less intimidating threats. I couldn’t fault them for their caution—they clearly didn’t want to risk getting pulverized by those massive, bulging arms. We hadn’t exactly formed a cohesive unit; we hadn’t even exchanged more than a few words. We’d only come together by chance over the past week, and it showed in our lack of coordination.
“Shoot it! Shoot it down!” one of the survivors yelled, desperation in his voice as he aimed his rifle at the Winged Zombie. The Winged Zombie, however, was as elusive as a shadow, dodging bullets with a dragonfly’s uncanny speed. In a horrifying instant, the shooter’s head vanished as if it had been snatched away.
“Wha…?” another survivor stammered, eyes wide with shock. The head of the man fighting the Winged Zombie had simply disappeared. It quickly became apparent that something far more sinister was at play. “It’s fucking invisible?!” he shouted, his voice a mixture of terror and disbelief.
Our attention snapped to the new threat. The Invisible Zombie had materialized briefly, taunting us with a mocking gesture before licking its hands and vanishing back into invisibility.
“Stay alert! There’s an invisible one!”
We refocused, keeping our eyes on both the massive monsters before us and the elusive, invisible threat.
I managed to slice into the thick, muscular arm of the enormous zombie, but the blade didn’t cut through completely due to its sheer bulk and dense muscle. The Demon Zombie retaliated, swinging its enormous fist toward me. I quickly abandoned the katana, now lodged halfway through its arm, and drew my pistol. I fired rapidly, the sharp crack of gunshots piercing the night air, each explosion sending gunpowder swirling through the atmosphere.
The colossal zombie barely flinched as my bullets hammered into it. Its immense bulk continued its relentless advance, its arm retracting before swinging toward me with crushing force. I nimbly dodged, the air whistling past as its massive fist grazed where I’d been.
A sharp prickling sensation on my left side jolted me. I fired a shot blindly, and the Invisible Zombie emitted a pained groan, confirming I’d hit it. But that didn’t mean it was down. I continued to shoot, each bullet ripping through the air with a sharp crack, reloading and firing again as I danced around the enormous zombie’s sluggish punches. Its slow speed allowed me to evade its blows, but the constant pressure kept me on high alert.
“Aaah! No…!” A piercing scream cut through the din of battle.
From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the survivors ensnared by the tentacled zombie. Its grotesque appendages coiled around her, squashing her in a nightmarish embrace.
“N-Nooo! Help… me!”
The tentacled zombie’s grip tightened with terrifying force, turning her face a ghastly blue as the life drained from her. The sickening crunch of bones breaking under the pressure filled the air, her eye sockets leaking dark streams of blood as her skull splintered. The horrific sound of her bones snapping and popping echoed around us until she was crushed to death, her head hanging limply as the last of her life slipped away.
“You bastard…!” one of the survivors roared in rage. He drove his spear through the tentacled zombie’s head with a fierce thrust, the creature’s grotesque form convulsing before going still. He wrenched the spear free and delivered a brutal kick to the now lifeless body, his anger palpable.
“Keep your eyes open! There are three more!” another survivor shouted, his voice strained with urgency as he pointed out the remaining threats.
One of the survivors, however, broke into a terrified scream and fled in panic.
“Aaaaaaah! I can’t do this…! I just can’t…!” he howled, his voice breaking as he ran for his life. That was a deadly mistake. The winged zombie, with its blindingly fast movements, dove down and snatched him out of the air. “Aaaah, noooo!”
The flying zombie soared high above, its monstrous claws gripping its prey. Up there, it began to tear into him with brutal efficiency.
“Aaaah, n-noooooo! Nooooooooooooo!”
His screams dwindled into the distance as the zombie carried him off into the sky. Blood rained down in a macabre drizzle, staining the ground below as the monster feasted on its victim.
Seeing the carnage around me, a suffocating sense of hopelessness gripped me. There were only two Demon Zombies left, but the battle was turning increasingly brutal. These weren’t the last of the demons we’d face on our path to that building. What if I met my end before even reaching it? The dread clawed at me. What if I was doomed to die here, only to rise as one of those nightmarish monsters? The despair was almost too much to bear. For three months, I’d been surviving alone, and I knew just how bleak things could get. So many had chosen to end their own lives rather than face becoming a monster. They wanted to die as humans, with a shred of dignity.
No, that was weak and foolish of me.
I couldn’t afford to give up here. I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t let the life that Ichinose-kun—no, Tsubasa-kun—had saved go to waste. I was going to survive this, no matter what.
With that resolve burning in my mind, I swiftly reloaded my gun and resumed firing at the invisible Demon Zombie. Thanks to the blood now coating its form, I could finally make out its shape. I kept my shots steady and relentless, while also evading the massive zombie’s swinging fists. As one of its colossal hands slammed down onto the ground, I seized the opportunity. I yanked the katana free from the flesh, and with a powerful push, I sliced through the huge hand, severing it completely.
“Graaaah!”
The cry of agony from the hulking monster fueled my determination. I bolted toward the now-visible Demon Zombie, knowing that decapitating it would be straightforward. I struck with precision, sending its head flying as blood sprayed in a crimson arc from the stump of its neck. Without missing a beat, I moved behind the remaining massive zombie, launching myself into the air. My katana plunged into the back of its head, the blade cutting deep towards its mouth. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to finish it off.
The zombie, its remaining arm flailing wildly, tried to grab me from behind. I leaped clear, narrowly avoiding its grasp. It spun around, charging at me with a roar, its arm pulled back to deliver a crushing punch. I jumped back, dodging its attack, all while firing relentlessly with my pistol.
The other survivors joined in, their bullets tearing into the monster’s massive, quivering bulk.
“Raaaaaagh! Raaaaah!” The zombie roared in agony as the relentless barrage of bullets battered it. Weakening rapidly, it finally collapsed to its knees. Seizing the opportunity, I dashed behind it, yanking the katana from its skull. I plunged it back in with a fierce thrust. The beast convulsed one last time before going limp and crashing to the ground.
To our dismay, the relentless barrage of gunfire had drawn the attention of a whole new wave of Demon Zombies, and they were coming in fast. From the horizon, a massive, grotesque horde emerged, their hungry eyes glowing with malevolence as they surged towards us.
“Shit…!”
“We’re screwed! There’s no way we can handle this fucking mess!”
“Run, goddammit! To the building!”
In sheer panic, we sprinted for our lives. The image of the approaching army of horrors fueled our desperation as we raced towards the safety of the building, our only hope in this nightmarish fight for survival.
