Bang! Bang! Bang!
The empty can Roy threw clattered crisply against the ground, like a signal of some kind. All the zombies on the street lifted their heads in unison.
They surged toward Roy in a vast tide, their charge carrying the oppressive momentum of an advancing army.
The first zombie to reach him lunged forward, clawing at Roy with both hands as it opened its blood-filled mouth and bit down viciously.
Roy drew the Muramasa sword and gave a light swing.
A sharp flash of sword light passed by. The zombie's movements stopped abruptly—its head split cleanly in half horizontally, the upper portion sliding off, its exposed brain clearly visible.
These zombies had to have their heads destroyed to die completely. With ordinary blades or blunt weapons, it would take several strikes to kill one. But the Muramasa sword was so sharp that even hard bone was sliced through with ease.
The first zombie fell, yet the ones behind showed no reaction at all. They continued advancing, their stiff faces devoid of fear—just like dungeon monsters, lacking reason and driven only by the urge to tear apart the human before them.
A feral grin spread across Roy's face. Using the convenience store as a stronghold, he slaughtered zombies nonstop, holding the entrance alone, carrying himself with the heroic air of a lone warrior blocking ten thousand foes.
One zombie came—one zombie died. No exceptions!
Their base stats were roughly on par with goblins, but a bite carried poison. Without the development ability Abnormal Resistance, Roy wasn't confident he could withstand corpse poison. Fortunately, his limit-breaking Agility allowed him to nimbly evade every attack.
Corpses piled up like mountains. Blood flowed like rivers.
When the kill count reached one hundred and sixty, the number of zombies assaulting the convenience store began to decrease.
[Strength: 630 → 636 (C)]
[Endurance: 678 → 698 (C)]
Seeing the update on his status panel, Roy noted the significant increase in Endurance. He rubbed his slightly sore shoulder and couldn't help but smile wryly.
This really was physical labor.
With the zombies' basic stats, as long as he didn't do anything stupid, they basically couldn't hurt him—but killing a thousand of them was no easy task.
After cutting down three to four hundred zombies at most, his stamina would be nearly exhausted and his movements would noticeably slow.
Stepping over zombie corpses, Roy left the convenience store, casually cleaning up a few nearby zombies before striding straight down the street—cutting down anything that stood in his way.
[Zombie kills: 182]
[Zombie kills: 201]
[Zombie kills: 228]
…
By the time Roy carved his way through an entire street, dusk had fallen. At the end of the road stood a school.
Looking at the sign by the gate—Fujimi Academy—Roy recalled the plot of this world. He had arrived at the protagonists' school.
Perfect timing. Compared to other places, schools tended to have a higher concentration of zombies.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Roy knocked on the stainless-steel barrier at the school gate. The crisp sound echoed throughout the campus.
Countless zombies slowly raised their heads before surging forward in a dark mass, like students rushing out after the lunch bell.
Roy burst forward in a single step, moving as if through an empty field. The Muramasa sword in his hand whistled through the air, harvesting zombie heads in a frenzy as blood sprayed everywhere.
Such a commotion naturally attracted the survivors hiding inside the school buildings.
"Hey—what's with that guy?!"
Students had barricaded classroom doors with desks and chairs to block the zombies. Hearing the noise, they peeked out the windows and saw Roy wreaking havoc in the open ground.
The same went for Komuro Takashi and the others in the teachers' office. They stared in shock at the boy's crazed smile, as if he were declaring to the hundreds of zombies before him: You're all surrounded—by me alone!
"Is that even a human?" Miyamoto Rei muttered, her mouth slightly open.
His ferocious movements were like those of a wild beast, yet he deftly dodged every attack, cutting through hundreds of zombies as if activating some unstoppable mode.
"I don't know. At the very least, I don't think a normal human could move like that," Busujima Saeko said. As the captain of the kendo club and a national tournament champion, she considered her close-combat ability far beyond ordinary people—but in front of that boy, she felt utterly outclassed.
Takagi Saya's eyes lit up. "This is our chance! While that guy draws the monsters' attention, let's get out of the school!"
The office fell into a heavy silence.
Noticing the strange looks directed at her, Takagi Saya frowned. "What? What's wrong?"
Busujima Saeko asked quietly, "You're suggesting we use him as bait. Then what happens to him?"
The zombie outbreak had only just begun. Everyone still clung to basic notions of right and wrong—and they were students, after all. Choosing to survive at the cost of sacrificing someone else was not an easy decision.
"So what?" Takagi Saya argued. "It's not like we forced him to do this. He chose to fight the monsters himself. If he dies, that's on him."
No one spoke. They had already planned to break out at this time. Now someone was conveniently drawing the zombies away—it was a heaven-sent opportunity.
"Let's go."
Busujima Saeko broke the oppressive silence.
Opportunity wouldn't come twice. With no better option, they accepted the outcome. Komuro Takashi and Busujima Saeko took point front and back as guards while the group carefully descended the stairs, making as little noise as possible.
With Roy drawing most of the zombies' attention, they reached the parking lot without incident, boarded the school bus, and started the engine.
They weren't the only ones clever enough to take advantage of Roy. Another teacher, Shido Koichi, led several students over. After sacrificing a male student to distract the zombies, they also boarded the bus.
"Shizuka-sensei, pick up that boy," Busujima Saeko said as she moved beside the driver's seat.
"Okay!"
Marikawa Shizuka replied, guilt weighing heavily on her heart for having used him as a distraction.
One blond male student brought along by Shido Koichi shouted angrily, "Hey! Are you kidding me?! Look at that—who exactly are we supposed to be saving?!"
Everyone followed his gaze.
The black-haired boy was like a god of slaughter incarnate. Hundreds of zombies couldn't get close to him. Every swing of his long sword precisely claimed another head.
Cold. Ruthless. Merciless.
At this rate, no one doubted that the zombies on campus would all be wiped out by that boy alone.
"Humans have stamina limits," Busujima Saeko said firmly. "Shizuka-sensei!"
Marikawa Shizuka nodded, gripped the steering wheel, and slammed the accelerator. The bus shot forward like an arrow, smashing through several zombies in front of Roy.
Busujima Saeko shouted, "Get on—now!"
A trace of surprise flashed deep in Roy's eyes. He wasn't unaware that these people had used him to draw the zombies away—but he hadn't expected them to come back for him.
It genuinely caught him off guard. And just in time—his stamina was nearly depleted.
[Zombie kills: 348]
____________________
If you think this story is fun and interesting and you want to read the next chapter earlier than the daily release, you can visit: patreon.com/dzeref887