The mansion wall cracked before collapsing, sending the zombie crashing inside. A maid screamed and ran at the sight.
The mutant zombie roared in fury as thick mist poured from every part of its body, quickly filling the entire hallway and blocking visibility.
"RAAHH!"
"GAAHHH!"
Each monstrous roar of that soulless creature, every howl of rage from that mindless abomination, made the mansion's windows tremble.
This wasn't an ordinary zombie but a Chimera — a creature that had mutated from the Harran Virus into this infernal being.
Soon, all of Soichiro's servants and staff fled the mansion in terror — all except for one man walking toward it.
"It's a strange feeling..." murmured Allen.
Despite the chaos, Allen's face showed no hesitation; his expression was sharp and dangerous.
"Ha..." His breathing quickened, his muscles tensed further, and his rage intensified.
[Beast Mode – Strength, Agility, Endurance at 200%. Corruption State – Controlled.]
"I can feel it... the virus inside me is reacting to the Chimera... it's slowly stirring an instinct... whispering..."
With a grin of both mockery and anger, Allen stomped forward, entering the mansion through the hole in the wall and into the thick mist.
The Chimera, ready to strike, froze at Allen's sudden advance. Unlike any human it had hunted before, this one was charging straight at it.
"Bad luck for you..."
Allen didn't give it time to move. He grabbed the monster and slammed it against the wall. Then he began striking it with his metal pipe — each blow so powerful that the wall cracked even more.
"If you had shown up an hour later..."
The enraged zombie launched itself from the wall, spewing more mist to hide. But Allen cut through it, refusing to let it escape. Of course, a Chimera wasn't a regular zombie — it reacted and slashed Allen's chest, leaving a bloody mark.
"I wouldn't be here!"
Allen didn't care. He raised his hand and summoned the chainsaw. It roared to life, flames bursting from its chain. With one swing, Allen slashed the zombie's chest, leaving a deep wound — returning the favor.
"AAAAHHHHHH!"
The Chimera screamed in pain as the wound burned through its body.
Allen went for another strike, but the zombie darted away at high speed, trying to create distance.
He wouldn't allow it. Allen put away the chainsaw and pulled out Ivory & Ebony. His eyes glowed red as he spun the pistols and opened fire.
Allen emptied the magazines.
The bullets tore into the Chimera's exposed flesh, shredding its bloody muscles and piercing its organs. Blood splattered across the walls and ceiling, painting the hall crimson. The damage was immense — but not enough. The creature kept running.
Allen frowned. The defense and endurance of this zombie were on another level.
Even so, he wouldn't let it escape. This time he aimed for the back of its knees. Because of its speed, he missed several shots, but one bullet hit, sending the zombie crashing to the ground.
Before it could rise, Allen appeared behind it, grabbed its leg, and hurled it against the wall, smashing it through the plaster.
Allen was about to follow, but the Chimera tackled him first, slamming him into the wall.
"RAAAAHH!"
It tried to bite him, but Allen turned his head to dodge, then headbutted the monster, forcing it back.
Once free, Allen summoned a shotgun, pressed it to the zombie's abdomen, and fired point-blank.
Blood sprayed everywhere as the creature staggered back a few steps but didn't fall. It slashed at him with its claws, and Allen fired again.
"You ugly son of a bitch..."
Allen fired another point-blank blast into the zombie's gut, then reloaded and did it again.
Blood pooled across the floor, mixed with torn muscle and entrails — yet the Chimera, showing absurd endurance, remained standing despite the punishment.
"Ah!"
Allen holstered the shotgun and, with a roar, unleashed his full strength — amplified by the Harran Virus.
He began pummeling the Chimera with his fists. Each blow was like a cannon strike. For the first time, the zombie seemed reluctant to fight and tried to escape by leaping away — but Allen caught its leg, yanked it back, and smashed it against the floor.
"Ahhh!"
Once it hit the ground, Allen raised his foot and stomped on the Chimera's head with such force that the mansion floor cracked beneath them.
"RAAHH!"
The Chimera refused to die quietly. It slashed at Allen's leg, but he caught its arm and pulled while stomping its chest. Consumed by rage, Allen sought neither technique nor efficiency — only brutality.
To crush his enemy. Pulverize it. Dismember it. Destroy it. Annihilate it... devour it...
....
"Sir, we didn't mean to!"
A man pleaded on his knees before Soichiro. He had a hiking backpack full of stolen supplies and was ready to flee.
Soichiro didn't even look at him. He made a small gesture, and one of his men raised a rifle and shot the thief dead.
"That's the fifth one... but a dozen already escaped..."
Soichiro felt his anger build. The so-called rebellion was easy to handle — it was just frightened people who didn't know what to do — but the real damage came from those bastards who looted the warehouse.
"Boss!"
One of Soichiro's men ran up, sweat dripping down his face, his expression anxious—clearly, bad news.
"Speak," said Soichiro coldly.
"The situation at the gate is under control, but a dangerous zombie has infiltrated. Allen Walker is fighting it inside the mansion."
Soichiro frowned, glancing toward the mansion. It wasn't far, but with the screams of hundreds of people and the endless gunfire, it was impossible to tell what was happening just by sound.
"We're going back to help."
"But boss, many survivors escaped!"
"Leave them. They'll soon learn how hard it is to survive — at the cost of their lives."
Just as Soichiro said, many survivors climbed the walls to escape, only to encounter a horde of zombies drawn toward the Takagi mansion. Most were cornered against the walls and devoured alive.
....
At the front gate, the situation was even worse. Somehow, the Chimera's influence seemed to affect the zombies, making them faster, wilder, and far more dangerous.
Everyone fought bravely, but without Allen, the pressure on them was immense.
"Yamada! Help Tsunoda!" Saya shouted through the drone's speaker.
Yamada turned and saw Tsunoda pinned to the ground, a zombie trying to bite him. He rushed over and pulled it off.
"Damn it!" muttered Hirano, aiming and firing the carbine Allen had given him.
"Stay calm... keeping your composure in situations like this is what separates a rookie from an expert."
Hirano turned to see Anemone, who was firing an M4 — each bullet finding a zombie's head. Her aim and speed mesmerized him, leaving him speechless until Saya's voice burst from the drone.
"What are you doing?! Shoot!"
"Y-Yes!" Hirano began shooting in panic.
At the same time, Yuuki fired her Glock at a zombie charging three times as fast as a normal one. Unfortunately, she wasn't Anemone or Hirano — her first two shots missed, and the third hit the zombie's neck, leaving a gruesome wound that would kill a human but barely slowed a zombie.
"No!" Yuuki gasped in panic.
"Watch out!" Kyoko shouted, firing a crossbow bolt that struck the zombie's head.
The voluptuous red-brown-haired teacher ran over to Yuuki and patted her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Kyoko smiled. She had left Alice and Zeke in the Humvee; with things this bad, she couldn't just sit back anymore.
"Sensei..." Yuuki nodded weakly.
Saya sighed in relief at the sight. She might hate Yuuki for being a seductive flirt — and especially for trying to win over Allen — but she still saw her as a comrade and didn't want anyone to die.
Yuriko, standing beside her, grabbed her arm. "Saya, get into the bus or the Humvee. You can control the drone from there."
"Mom, what are you going to do?"
Seeing her daughter's worry, Yuriko smiled. "The same thing your friends are doing — fight to survive."
Yuriko raised her SMG and began firing into the horde, cutting down dozens of zombies in a hail of bullets.
Elsewhere, Teshima decapitated a zombie while Hisashi smashed another's skull beside him. But the most impressive of all was Saeko, who seemed to be possessed by the spirit of vengeance itself. Her katana sliced through zombies as if they were made of paper.
Zombie after zombie fell before the deadly beauty. Rei did her best, striking down as many as she could, but she couldn't match Saeko's rhythm.
Rei had trained with the naginata since childhood, under her mother's instruction. Her skill was exceptional, among the best for her age — yet she was still a level below a true prodigy like Saeko. She had to admit, at least in terms of strength, she was outclassed.
"But!" Rei stomped her foot and pierced through two zombies' skulls with her spear. "That doesn't mean you're going to win!"
The battle seemed won, but... at some point, it had to happen...
Several zombies got too close to Toshimi. She couldn't handle the pressure and tripped. Just as she was about to be bitten, Misuzu jumped in and shielded her — and ended up being bitten on the arm instead.
"Ahh!"
"Misuzu-chan!"
Kawamoto, Yui, and Yuuki immediately killed the nearby zombies, but it was too late. Misuzu's bleeding arm made them all turn pale.
"Make way!"
Shizuka rushed over with a large first-aid kit. Kneeling without wasting a second, she quickly tied a tourniquet around the girl's arm.
She opened her kit and took out a bottle of water, cleaning the wound to reveal the bite mark.
"Good, it's not too deep, so the bone's intact," said the blonde, who usually seemed clumsy and unreliable but was, after all, a capable nurse when needed.
Shizuka grabbed a small jar filled with green powdered herbs. She poured a teaspoon into a bottle cap, added a few drops of water, and then spread the mixture over the wound.
"This should neutralize the virus. I'd like to use more to heal your arm, but we have to save some for later."
"Don't worry, Marikawa-sensei, thank you," Misuzu said with a smile, despite the pain in her arm.
Green herbs were practically a cheat item — they didn't just neutralize viruses; they healed health, cured illnesses, and even regenerated tissue. But they were extremely difficult to find.
Everyone knew that.
That's why they had to be cautious about using them. Shizuka took that responsibility seriously; she was in charge of everyone's lives.
She had spent a lot of time thinking about how to help Allen as well, eventually concluding that she had to make every herb count.
A full green herb could heal, regenerate, and neutralize infection — but a smaller dose could still achieve the desired effect. With that in mind, Shizuka decided that unless the wounds were fatal or disabling, she would only use the amount necessary to neutralize the virus — the main threat.
She finished cleaning and bandaging Misuzu's arm, then gave her some antibiotics and common painkillers.
"There, all done~" said Shizuka.
"Thanks," Misuzu replied. She didn't care about a bit of pain, knowing how few healing supplies they had left.
Misuzu stood, grabbed her weapon, and went back to fight once more. Everyone sighed in relief. Of course, if zombies devoured you, it didn't matter whether there was a cure for the virus — death was still death. But knowing that a bite didn't mean a game over — at least for their group — gave them hope of surviving this hell.
"Everyone, keep fighting!" Teshima shouted.
"You don't have to tell me, sensei!" Morita yelled back, kicking an old zombie away.
The group's morale improved — but not for long.
RAAHH!
A deafening roar shook the entire area. Everyone froze in fear. For a moment, they thought it was the same zombie Allen had gone after, but it wasn't. A familiar tremor rippled through the ground.
Sweat rolled down their faces as the color drained from them.
"No way… a Tank?..." Saya muttered, remembering the monster that had nearly killed them.
RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!
The horde was torn apart from behind. Something was coming — zombie corpses flew through the air. This creature didn't have the slightest sense of camaraderie.
"EVERYONE, PREPARE YOURSELVES!" Saeko yelled, her eyes sharper than ever as she faced the monster that had nearly killed Allen.
It was massive. Terrifying. But it wasn't a Tank — its face resembled that of a Volatile.
[Chimera: "Special-Class Zombie", Name: Defect, Origin: Advanced Mutation of the Harran Virus]
....
The giant zombie roared and slammed the ground, sending debris flying everywhere.
"Ahh!" Takashi was hit in the head by a rock, blood dripping down his face.
"Arghh!" Morita took a chunk of debris to the chest.
Saeko moved at lightning speed, slashing the zombie's skin with her katana.
It tried to strike her back, but it was slow, and Saeko easily dodged.
"It's not as strong as a Tank!" Saeko shouted. "And it's not as tough either!"
A Tank was a biological fortress — it could survive missile strikes. This creature was large, but not on that level yet.
Hearing her words, everyone felt a surge of courage and began firing. The enraged zombie tried to kill them, but every time it targeted someone, Saeko intercepted it. The fight continued as bullets slowly tore through the creature's body.
It tried to rip up a chunk of the ground to throw, but Saeko sliced through its wrist, stopping the attack.
"We can do this!" Hirano yelled. Even without Allen, with all the weapons they had, maybe they could win—
RAAAHH!
RAAAHHHHHH!
Everyone turned pale as another roar echoed. If one Chimera was already deadly, facing two was suicide!
A second Defect appeared — just as large, just as monstrous, just as dangerous!
.....
Allen panted heavily, his surroundings soaked in blood with no trace of the Chimera Mist left.
He had destroyed the zombie far more brutally than necessary.
[Are you alright?]
"Yeah… I didn't lose control, but saying it didn't affect me would be a lie..." Allen held his head. "I should be able to handle it..."
[Good to hear. But I discovered something interesting.]
"What is it?"
[The Chimera was a failed evolutionary form of the Harran Virus. However, from its DNA, I extracted data that can improve your compatibility with the virus. Doing so might not only stabilize it, but also increase your power.]
"How sure are you that it'll work?"
[Mm… about 94%.]
"That's more than I expected."
Allen trusted his system completely — it had been his greatest ally for years.
[Thank you. Then let's begin!... Starting extraction process... obtaining GSB... success... checking compatibility... 100%... initiating enhancement sequence.]
Heartbeat
"Urgh!" Allen grunted as pain surged through his body. He endured it, but fell to one knee.
RAAAAHH!
A roar echoed again in the distance.
"Looks like the party isn't over yet..." Allen muttered as his eyes turned crimson. Something inside him had changed — he felt stronger, faster.
He leapt forward just like Mist had, bursting through the window. His goal was clear — kill the mutant zombies and protect his group.
– Found you –
In midair, Allen suddenly saw himself surrounded by black spheres with blinking red lights. He had been through enough to recognize what they were instantly.
Grenades.
"Fuck!–"
Three explosions engulfed Allen, shaking the entire Takagi mansion.
At the worst possible moment — just when he was needed elsewhere.
====