While Lothe and Seana rested after the exhausting battle, chaos continued to spread across another part of The Crowns Academy.
Panicked screams echoed through the campus as mutated beasts, swarms of gigantic flying insects, and bloodthirsty zombies rampaged through the grounds, turning the once prestigious academy into a living nightmare.
"N-No... please! Don’t bite me! Please!" a girl screamed, stumbling backward as a zombie lurched toward her.
The creature ignored her desperate pleas.
Its rotten claws raked across her shoulder before its decayed jaws clamped around her neck.
"Ahhh!"
She struggled violently, her desperate cries gradually fading into weak gurgles. Moments later, her body went limp.
When she raised her head again, the warmth in her eyes had vanished.
They had become a lifeless, milky white.
She was no longer human.
She had become one of them.
Another girl froze in horror.
She stared blankly at her best friend, unable to believe what had just happened. Her mind refused to accept the horrifying reality before her.
The newly turned zombie slowly twisted its neck toward her.
"Graaah..."
It staggered forward with stiff, uneven steps.
The terrified girl remained rooted to the ground, her legs refusing to move.
Only when the zombie was almost within arm’s reach did she finally regain her senses.
"No—"
Crack!
A sharp sound interrupted her scream.
She slowly opened her tightly shut eyes. The zombie’s skull had split apart.
Its body collapsed onto the blood-soaked ground with a dull thud, dark blood splattering across the broken pavement.
"If you want to live..." A calm feminine voice rang out behind her.
"Follow me."
The girl quickly turned around.
Standing there was a young woman with long dark hair and an expression as cold as ice.
Although her academy uniform was torn in several places, she stood perfectly composed, as if the apocalypse had failed to shake her resolve.
Relief instantly flooded the girl’s face.
"T-Thank you so much, Senior Nyren!"
Nyren’s icy gaze swept over the frightened girl.
Despite the dirt covering her uniform, she could still make out the embroidered name stitched onto it.
Mia Voss.
Without saying another word, Nyren looked away and focused on the approaching monsters.
A low growl echoed through the courtyard.
A gigantic mutated dog emerged from between the ruined buildings.
It stood nearly 1.8 meters tall at the shoulder and weighed well over 400 kilograms. Its swollen muscles bulged beneath patches of coarse black fur, while thick ropes of saliva dripped continuously from rows of jagged yellow fangs.
Its crimson eyes locked onto the group.
Then it charged.
The ground trembled beneath every step.
The students cried out in terror.
Mia instinctively hid behind Nyren, as did the others.
The mutated dog leaped into the air.
Its enormous claws slashed downward, powerful enough to rip a person apart.
Several students collapsed to the ground, covering their heads in despair.
Nyren remained perfectly calm, she slowly raised one hand.
Cold air instantly gathered before her.
Four crystalline ice spears condensed into existence, each one shimmering with an icy blue glow.
With another gentle wave of her hand, they shot forward like bolts of lightning.
Puchi!
Two of the spears pierced straight through the mutated dog’s chest.
The beast let out a miserable whimper before crashing heavily onto the ground, its massive body skidding several meters across the cracked pavement.
The remaining two spears streaked past the corpse without slowing.
A pair of giant mutated flies had been diving toward the students from above.
Before either could react—
Puchi! Puchi!
The ice spears pierced cleanly through their heads.
Both insects dropped lifelessly from the sky.
Unfortunately...
The scent of fresh blood, combined with the sounds of battle, drew the attention of an even greater threat.
"Graaah..."
"Grrrraaaah!"
Dozens of zombies emerged from the surrounding buildings.
Some stumbled through shattered classrooms while others crawled over overturned vehicles, all converging on the students.
Nyren’s expression remained unchanged.
"We’re heading for the library," she said calmly.
A male student swallowed hard before speaking.
"B-But... Senior... how are we supposed to get there?"
His voice trembled as he looked at the growing horde.
Among the ten students gathered behind Nyren, only five were boys.
Every one of them was terrified. Yet simply standing behind the beautiful young woman somehow made them feel safer.
Nyren glanced at the boy. A trace of disgust flashed through her black eyes.
She offered no explanation.
No reassurance.
No encouragement.
She simply continued watching the approaching horde, her expression unreadable.
The boy nervously opened his mouth, intending to ask another question.
Before he could speak—
Whoosh!
Dozens of iron spikes shot through the air from another direction.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
The spikes pierced the heads of the front-row zombies with deadly precision, dropping them one after another.
Before the remaining undead could react, a gigantic hand of compacted earth erupted from the ground.
Boom!
The earthen palm slammed into the horde, crushing several zombies beneath its immense weight while sending countless others flying. Their formation instantly fell into disarray.
"Nyren!" A familiar voice called out.
A tall young man with neatly combed black hair rushed over, several students and two teachers following closely behind him.
His handsome face was filled with relief.
"Thank God you’re safe."
His worried expression softened the moment he saw Nyren standing unharmed.
"Adrian."
For the first time since the apocalypse began, the icy expression on Nyren’s face eased ever so slightly.
Among everyone in the academy, Adrian was one of the few people she trusted.
Adrian glanced at the frightened students gathered behind her before looking back at Nyren.
"You’re heading for the library too?"
Nyren gave a small nod.
"Then let’s move together. We were planning to head there as well."
Before Nyren could reply, another voice interrupted.
"Well, well... if it isn’t Crown Academy’s brightest genius."
A young man with curly brown hair stepped forward with his hands tucked casually into his pockets. Despite the monsters surrounding them, he wore a relaxed smile.
His sharp eyes rested on Nyren.
Daniel.
"Cut it out," Adrian sighed.
He had never understood why the two seemed incapable of having a normal conversation whenever they met.
"We don’t have time for this. The library is the safest place nearby. We can regroup there, search for supplies, and come up with a proper plan."
Daniel shrugged.
"I wasn’t arguing." His gaze swept over the frightened students.
"But don’t expect me to save anyone who’s too weak to save themselves."
His words made several students lower their heads in embarrassment.
Daniel had always despised people who relied entirely on others instead of fighting for their own survival.
Without another word, he stepped forward.
Three enormous earthen arms burst out of the cracked ground.
They rose several meters into the air before Daniel thrust both hands forward.
"Go."
The gigantic arms surged toward the zombie horde.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Each swing crushed multiple zombies, turning broken flesh and shattered bones into a gruesome mess.
Several girls stared at Daniel with sparkling eyes.
"So... so strong..."
"He awakened an earth ability..."
"I knew Senior Daniel was amazing..."
Adrian could only shake his head with a helpless chuckle.
He raised one hand.
Pieces of broken steel scattered across the ruined campus suddenly trembled.
Metal rods.
Iron pipes.
Fragments of collapsed railings.
Everything made of metal floated into the air.
Under Adrian’s control, their tips sharpened into deadly points.
"Go."
The barrage of metal shot forward like a rain of arrows.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
Zombie after zombie fell, their heads pierced before they could even get close.
Beside him, Nyren calmly lifted her hand once more.
Dozens of ice bullets condensed around her.
Unlike the earlier spears, these projectiles were smaller, faster, and far more numerous.
With a flick of her wrist— They exploded forward.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
The battlefield became a massacre.
Ice bullets shattered skulls.
Iron spikes pierced brains.
Earthen fists crushed everything in their path.
The three Awakened advanced side by side like an unstoppable force, leaving a trail of corpses behind them.
The students hurried after them, afraid of being left behind for even a second.
From the surrounding classroom windows, countless students watched the scene unfold.
Some desperately banged on the glass, screaming for help.
Others stood silently with tears in their eyes, hope flickering across their exhausted faces for the first time since the nightmare had begun.
Watching the trio carve a path through the endless swarm of monsters made them realize something.
Humanity... still had a chance.