Though Merek's wraiths were formidable, cleaving through enemies like scythes in a wheat field, the unrelenting swarm of zombies proved a far graver problem. Their numbers stretched far beyond the eye could track, a rotting tide of death that grew bolder with each passing second.
Merek had noticed it earlier—the sluggishness of those without job classes. While others slowed, gasping for breath, he ran unbothered. No burning in his lungs. No aching in his legs. Even after this prolonged escape, not a single bead of sweat touched his brow.
Around him, students panted heavily, their stamina fraying. Only four among them still breathed evenly: Professor David, Felicity, Nero, and himself. Even Tevin's shoulders had begun to sag with exhaustion.
Some had started sobbing, their minds cracking beneath the weight of despair. Then, without warning, Felicity came to a halt.
"Let's go underground," she said firmly, her gaze cutting through the fear as she looked at Fred, Nero, and Tevin.
Without hesitation, they rushed to the nearby manhole, yanking it open. A foul stench erupted from below, like centuries of waste and death churned into one noxious gust. But Felicity didn't flinch. She jumped in.
She had to. Without that first step, no one else would dare to move.
Her courage broke the paralysis. Others, driven by sheer survival instinct, began diving into the sewer one by one, their splashes echoing sharply off the stone walls beneath. Panic clung to them like a second skin.
Above, Professor David became a bulwark against the advancing tide. His hammer swung wide, launching zombies like ragdolls, bones crunching audibly on impact. When not swinging, he used a car door like a tower shield, bashing undead with brutal efficiency.
Beside him stood Merek, calm amidst the chaos. Yuki, his wraith, moved like death incarnate, her silver sword flashing with cold precision, cleaving zombie flesh like parchment.
Then, far off at the horizon, they appeared—Type Ones. Massive grotesque monsters without the covering of the flesh. It was like their flesh was peeled off. Though hulking, their speed was even better than the normal zombies!
When the last of the professors vanished into the manhole, Merek turned to David. "Let's go."
David nodded, flinging the battered car door aside. It crashed onto the asphalt with a hollow clang. The massive man leapt into the air and dropped feet-first into the open hole.
Splash!
Merek had gone first, landing in a shallow stream of filth and murky water. The stench punched his senses, and his stomach lurched violently. He swallowed it back.
Dirty water sloshed against his legs. The narrow sewer walls were coated in a sheen of slime and grease. Around him, the students stared with wide, trembling eyes, some barely holding themselves together.
Then David landed behind him, a wave of filthy water dousing Merek from behind. He grunted and dry-heaved, but somehow managed to keep his composure.
"You did good," David said, clapping a hand on his shoulder, completely unaware that Merek was one nudge away from vomiting his organs.
Then came the wraiths.
One by one, the armored figures dropped into the sewer with metallic thuds, each landing shaking the tunnel with a booming echo.
Their arrival stirred fresh dread in the group. The clangor of their descent, the glint of their steel, the eerie glow of their slit-like visors—it was like watching judgment fall.
And yet, in the suffocating gloom of the sewers, their glowing orbs brought an unexpected sense of security. Terrifying, yes—but also a reminder that something strong stood between them and the undead.
Yuki was the last to land. The ghostly white of her eyes flared within the slits of her helm, brighter now in the darkness.
David checked the manhole, nodded, and took point. "Let's move."
As Merek fell in step behind him, he noticed the crowd parting around him. They avoided eye contact, stepping aside without a word. Their eyes held something new—reverence.
His power had become their shield. A source of dread, yes—but also the reason they were still alive. In this hellish world, even an unnerving ally was better than a beautiful corpse.
Little did they know, he was fighting the dead… with the dead.
His gaze flicked toward Felicity. The runes on her twin short swords shimmered faintly. Silver blades, black hilts, arcane etchings—beautiful, deadly, and clearly enchanted.
Tevin sidled up beside him, whispering, "Did you see what she did back there? Six zombies—like a walk in the park."
Merek clicked his tongue. "My wraiths killed dozens," he muttered, scowling. "That's a real walk in the park."
"Let's go," he added, striding forward without waiting.
"Ugh! This place stinks!" a freshman girl moaned, clamping her nostrils shut.
Merek shot her a narrowed glare. Felicity rolled her eyes.
"We'll get out very soon," David said gently, his voice steady and warm. With that, the group moved forward, the sound of their steps squelching through shallow sewage echoed eerily in the narrow corridor.
For a time, all was quiet.
Then, Tevin leaned in again, voice low. "What if there are zombies down here?"
"If there are," Merek replied flatly, "they'll be too few to be a problem."
A moment later, a high-pitched scream tore through the tunnel.
Everyone froze.
The scream echoed off the slimy walls, fading into a trembling silence. Then came a rumble. The tunnel trembled.
Something was coming.
Many of them.
"Run!" Professor David bellowed.
Panic exploded like wildfire.
The narrow tunnel became a frenzy of shoving and trampling as thirty-four terrified people fought to get ahead, clawing at each other for space. Chaos returned, and the walls once again rang with screams—of terror.
The moment they reached a four-way junction in the sewer, something streaked out of the darkness ahead—fast, low, and silent.
A blur of black shot through the gloom like a missile.
Fred barely had time to react. His heart froze as instinct screamed at him to move. He flung himself to the side, crashing into the filthy water along the left path, his bat slipping from his hand with a splash.
Then came the scream.
A high-pitched, soul-curdling shriek shattered the silence. One of the girls—a sophomore—wasn't fast enough. She fell backwards with a cry as the shadow latched onto her.
Gasps filled the tunnel as everyone saw it clearly under the dim glow of Nero's firelight.
A rat—no, not a mere rat—a monster rat. Its black fur was matted with sewage, its eyes blood-red, and its size rivalled that of a medium-sized dog. The creature snarled, its jagged teeth embedded deep into the girl's thigh, and with a vicious yank, tore out flesh.
She screamed again.
Before anyone else could react, Felicity was already in motion.
With a silver flash, her twin curved blades carved through the air, slicing clean through the creature's thick neck. The rat's body dropped with a wet thud, its head bouncing into the water with a splash.
"We need to stop the bleeding—now!" one of the professors called out, rushing forward with panic in her voice.
"We can't," Merek said coldly. His voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
She whirled on him. "You would rather let a student die?! She has a family—she's just a child!"
Merek met her furious gaze with unflinching eyes. "If you want to die with her, be my guest. But I won't sacrifice everyone else just to save someone who's already doomed."
Gasps echoed down the tunnel.
He turned to the others, voice raised. "We need to move now. Her blood will lead those things to us. If you want to live, follow me."
"You… you heartless—!" The same freshman girl that didn't want him in the group, began to yell, but Professor David quickly covered her mouth. His expression was grave. He didn't say a word—he didn't have to.
"He's right," Felicity said, though her voice was lower, more conflicted. Her blades lowered to her sides. "If we stop now, none of us are making it out alive."
She didn't like the coldness in Merek's voice. But deep down, she understood. He could've left them back at the manhole. He could've abandoned them to the horde. But he didn't.
Even now, his choices—harsh as they were—were made to protect the many.
Her gaze shifted to Fred, who had recovered his weapon and said nothing through it all.
"You piece of scum," she muttered, venom in her tone.
Fred simply scoffed.
Then the girl on the ground convulsed.
"Argh!"
Her back arched violently as her fingers dug into the wet concrete. The professor kneeling beside her leaned closer, only to recoil with a scream as the girl's head snapped forward—and bit the professor.
Blood sprayed from the professor's forearm.
The girl rose unnaturally fast, her limbs twitching, her mouth soaked in crimson. A guttural growl escaped her throat, slowly shifting into a high-pitched shriek—the same haunting cry they'd heard just minutes ago.
"She's—!"
Shlick!
Yuki moved like a ghost. Her blade whistled through the air, cleanly severing the girl's head before anyone could finish the sentence.
The body dropped. Silence fell.
Yuki turned to Merek, voice low but clear. "The rats… they're here."
RUMBLE!
The ground trembled beneath their feet. Water began to ripple in wide circles, the vibrations pulsing through the tunnel floor.
Then they saw it.
A wall of darkness moving in the distance—hundreds of them. Hulking rats, their slick fur like the darkness of the night, their eyes aglow with crimson hunger. Teeth bared, claws scraping concrete. The tunnel behind them vanished beneath the swarm.
"RUN!" Professor David bellowed.
Panic erupted.
Everyone turned and bolted into the nearest tunnel, the sound of stampeding feet, splashing water, and shrieking students echoing through the narrow space.