“-!”
The distance between Fear and Arian was about 5 ters.
The mont it allowed that gap, Arian thought this would be the end.
All zombies would charge madly at the sight of a human.
That went for mutants like Brutals as well.
So Arian expected Fear, upon noticing her presence, would lose its composure and lunge at her.
And she anticipated it would et its demise on her blood-drenched blade.
However, Fear didn’t act as Arian had expected.
Thud!
The creature flung its massive body backwards to create distance.
Such was the power in its legs that the ground trembled with each step Fear took.
As a result, Fear’s speed was remarkably swift for its gigantic fra.
Zap!
Arian’s blade narrowly missed slicing into Fear, rely grazing its clothing instead.
Even that was enough to tear through the sturdy ballistic plates with a screeching sound, but nothing more.
Fear distanced itself from Arian without suffering any damage.
“That bastard...!”
Arian imdiately tried to give chase, but zombies obstructed her path.
Of course, if they had been ordinary zombies, Arian could have simply ignored them.
But these were all mutants.
Monsters capable of slaughtering dozens or even hundreds of humans each.
“Grraaaaahh!”
“Oooooogh!”
Those monsters surged towards Arian like a tidal wave from all directions.
Having leapt into the enemy’s midst in her pursuit of Fear, Arian now found herself in a literal predicant.
However.
Kkwak! Chwaak!
Even with fists like sledgehamrs dropping from above, or spiked monstrosities pushing their entire bodies against her, Arian didn’t retreat a single step.
Trailing behind her was a massive crimson sphere of blood.
The eerie blood streams flowing from it split into multiple tendrils, butchering the corpses alongside Arian’s blade.
From those severed surfaces, a sickly green rotten blood erupted like showers, distinctly different from the vivid red human blood.
But despite Arian’s onslaught, the path to Fear didn’t easily open up.
The rates at which the mutants sward and Arian felled them were nearly matched.
So while the distance to Fear didn’t widen, it also didn’t narrow any further.
It was at the mont Arian felt that impatience that...
Bang!
A clear gunshot rang out from sowhere, blowing apart the head of a mutant that had been about to crush Arian from above.
It was Aiden.
And those gunshots didn’t cease after just one.
Every 3 seconds, precisely tid, one of the mutants surrounding Arian had its head pierced by a high-caliber bullet.
Thanks to that, Arian’s breathing room opened up.
The thick wall of corpses that had felt impenetrable gradually thinned.
But it was then.
“...!”
Arian’s senses detected the presence of zombies converging on this location, and she recoiled in shock.
The marching direction of every single zombie that had been consuming Phoenix from west to east was changing course.
The zombies that had been drawn by the commotion at the apartnt.
The corpses that had simply been heading west, oblivious to the lights and sounds.
They had all suddenly turned their heads and were now surging towards this very intersection before the baseball stadium.
Dozens of thousands of zombies were closing in on Arian.
“Ha...!”
Even so, Arian let out a derisive snort.
From the very start, this battle had been a race against ti.
This overwhelming force she wielded couldn’t last forever.
So no matter how many zombies sward in, nothing would change now.
No, if the zombies’ objective shifted to Arian instead, it might even reduce the burden on Sadie at the apartnt.
However, continuing to play decoy amidst the mutants would still be a waste of ti. So she might as well stake everything here instead.
With that judgnt, Arian’s crimson eyes burned with resolve.
Simultaneously, the blood spheres responding to her will vibrated intensely.
Then, that blood was absorbed into the blade Arian was holding, as if being sucked in.
The crimson aura enveloping the blade explosively intensified.
What had rely been a faint glow was now completely devouring the blade itself.
Additionally, the outward form of the machete consud by that blood was no longer the sa as before.
The viscous, eerie blood flowed through the air, extending the blade’s length and width.
The result was a greatsword over 2 ters long gripped in Arian’s hands.
Arian raised that sword high.
“Kiii-“
At that very mont, a mutant tried to pounce on Arian from behind.
But...
Twack!
It was instantly struck in the center of its forehead by one of Aiden’s bullets piercing through the darkness.
The surrounding mutants let out collective roars at the ominous sight of that colossal blood-ford blade.
There were no further interruptions.
Arian swung downwards with the greatsword she had created by expending most of her blood reserves.
Chwaak!
But Arian’s sword rely cleaved through empty space.
Moreover, the blood blade she had swung scattered towards the ground upon landing.
Like a carelessly splashed baptism of water, it simply seeped into the earth.
To any outside observer, it would have seed an utterly futile spectacle.
At this, a nearby Hedgehog flung its body towards Arian.
That was the mont the anomaly began.
The sound of rotten flesh and bones being sliced could be clearly heard.
A crimson protrusion had abruptly burst forth from beneath the ground, impaling straight through the Hedgehog.
The Hedgehog didn’t seem particularly fazed by this. It was a monster accustod to having countless blades and spears stabbing into its body.
Just like all the other knives and spears within its body, this red stake would likely just break partway through, becoming yet another of the Hedgehog’s countless needles.
But that crimson stake was different.
By the ti the Hedgehog realized this, the stake that had pierced its thigh was already reaching its neck.
Crunch!
It ultimately burst through the Hedgehog’s skull.
While the brain-impaled Hedgehog imdiately went limp, that blood stake didn’t stop there.
The stake continued growing until it reached the mutant’s full height, lifting the Hedgehog’s massive fra into the air.
Kwa-kwa-kwadak!
Those eerie stakes sprouted from all directions.
Dozens of mutants were skewered and hung in the air by those stakes.
The sight resembled crimson trees bearing corpse-like fruits.
The road that had been blanketed with those corpses transford into a forest of blood-ford trees.
Within that otherworldly scenery-
Tat!
Arian, having finally cleared a path, charged straight towards Fear.
Blood stakes also sprouted from beneath Fear, but the creature didn’t even try to evade them.
Arian clicked her tongue in frustration.
It would have been easier if that vile creature had simply been skewered and killed as well.
However, it didn’t really matter.
Arian had already closed the distance to Fear’s imdiate vicinity.
Arian’s machete was aid squarely at Fear’s massive head.
Claaang!
Accompanied by the shattering sound of steel clashing against steel, sparks flew.
It turned out Fear had grabbed a broken road sign in its hand, using it to deflect Arian’s initial strike.
“Ha...!”
Arian’s eyes burned with intensity, as if determined not to let this chance slip away.
She didn’t have many opportunities left now.
Not only was her blood nearly depleted, leaving her unable to create more stakes, but dozens of mutants were swarming back in despite the many she had felled in a single strike.
If the corpses obstructed Fear’s path once more, that would be the end.
Realizing this, Arian fiercely launched herself at Fear.
Swoosh!
But as if warning her not to approach.
Fear nacingly swung the road sign it was holding.
A strike powerful enough to create gusts of wind sweeping the surrounding area.
However, Arian scoffed as she leapt into the air, sailing towards Fear.
Chwaak!
Fear couldn’t react to that unexpected movent.
The arm holding the road sign was severed clean off, sent flying through the air.
“Wooooookh!”
Fear let out a wail in response.
Unable to do anything, it staggered back several steps.
Arian didn’t let this opportunity slip by.
Like an arrow loosed, Arian’s figure shot straight towards Fear’s front. Her machete, aiming to end this once and for all, lunged towards Fear’s neck like a striking viper.
But just before that blade could connect.
“Wha-“
Arian’s eyes wavered upon seeing what Fear’s sole remaining hand had retrieved.
It was... none other than a grenade.
The grenade Fear carelessly tossed as it staggered back exploded right before Arian’s eyes.
* * *
“...!”
Aiden’s eyes shot wide open at the abrupt detonation.
The intense battle between Fear and Arian that had been unfolding until now.
Aiden had been desperately trying to provide support, but.
The clash between those two beings, defying all common sense, repeatedly exceeded Aiden’s expectations.
However, this latest explosion was an especially unfavorable variable.
Arian, caught in that blast, was sent tumbling to the ground in a shower of blood.
A grenade... did it use one?
Aiden’s brow furrowed deeply.
Co to think of it, he should have anticipated this long ago.
For a creature wearing bulletproof vests as armor, it was only natural that it would know how to wield weapons as well.
However, Aiden’s regret didn’t last long.
Fear, having regained its senses, was now moving to finish off the fallen Arian.
There was no ti to hesitate.
“...”
Aiden silently centered Fear within his scope’s crosshairs.
Part of his mind was concerned over Arian’s state, but for her sake, he had to stop Fear first.
Fortunately, Arian hadn’t just suffered Fear’s attack.
Right before the explosion, her blade had struck Fear.
On top of that, the shrapnel from the grenade detonating at such close range had also hit Fear, leaving a large gash on its head.
Beyond the torn, rotten flesh, a glimpse of the white skull beneath could be seen.
At best, it was a gap no larger than a finger’s width.
An extrely small target that would have been impossible to hit from hundreds of ters away.
“Kwoooh!”
But in the next instant, Aiden’s bullet struck that exact spot with precise accuracy.
The bullet that had burrowed through that gap finally shattered Fear’s skull.
Due to the sheer density of the skull, the bullet’s trajectory was altered, rely grazing the brain.
But even that was enough to splatter part of the brain matter onto the ground.
Witnessing this, Aiden thought it was over.
But it wasn’t.
Astonishingly, Fear didn’t collapse.
Despite convulsing violently, the creature didn’t drop to its knees.
Instead, its dull eyes turned towards Aiden.
Right at the mont Aiden prepared to take his next shot.
“Uaaaaaahh!”
“Kiiiiii!”
Suddenly, the zombies all around let out cries from every direction.
The ones that had been converging on this location lost their sense of direction.
Then, they began rampaging wildly.
As if so suppressed instinct had awakened, the mutants indiscriminately slaughtered regular zombies. While even the ordinary undead that would normally flee now turned to tear into those mutants instead.
It was utter pandemonium without parallel.
Creatures already filled with frenzy, but now clearly exceeding even that state.
Their reaction resembled the zombie horde’s response when Aiden had brought down the Commander in Pittsburgh.
But Fear itself was still alive.
Did this an it had intentionally relinquished control?
Or had it been forced into this state?
The latter possibility seed more likely.
Considering Fear’s cautious nature, rather than causing this chaos itself, it had likely tried to rally the zombies to protect its own body, only to lose control instead.
While not killed by that partial brain damage, it clearly wasn’t unaffected by it.
“...”
But regardless of the reason, Aiden’s task remained the sa – to finish off the creature.
He reloaded and peered through his scope once more.
It took only 3 seconds.
However, in that brief span, Fear had already retreated from Aiden’s line of fire.
It had moved into a nearby small house.
Had it visually confird Aiden’s position in order to find a safe zone?
“...”
At this, Aiden’s brow furrowed deeply.
There was no point in confronting a target that had left his firing solution.
“Ughh...”
Fortunately, at least, the fallen Arian was now feebly struggling to rise.
But her staggering steps made it clear she was far from unscathed.
It was an imnse relief that the surrounding zombies, preoccupied with tearing into each other, couldn’t divert their attention towards her.
anwhile, Fear hesitated montarily beyond the wall of the house it had taken shelter in.
As if conflicted over whether to attack Arian or retreat instead.
There wasn’t a complete lack of options.
Moving erratically to evade Aiden’s shots while eliminating Arian was entirely possible for the creature.
But it clearly rembered.
That vile sniper’s bullets hadn’t missed even once amidst the chaotic battle.
Soon, Fear’s shadow slowly receded behind that house.
Its massive fra, dwarfing the rampaging zombies and houses, subrged from view as if sinking into water.
Confirming this, Aiden imdiately descended from the lighting pole.
He rushed as swiftly as possible towards Arian’s location.
“Are you alright?”
Even as he asked those words, he knew how foolish they sounded.
Shrapnel from the grenade was still embedded in Arian’s body.
It was fortunate her entire body hadn’t been torn apart.
Even so, Arian answered with only a slight grimace.
“...I’m fine. Just a bit painful.”
“Let’s return to the apartnt first.”
To the injured Arian, Aiden, despite being a surgeon, had nothing he could offer.
The only thing capable of healing her wounds was human blood.
Arian nodded at his words.
Aiden escorted Arian back towards the apartnt where the others were waiting.
The cries of zombies that had broken free from Fear’s control echoed from all directions.
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