The heavy wooden door flew open with a loud bang as Flame kicked it off its hinges.
Reian rushed in right behind him, his rifle raised and his heart hammering against his ribs.
But the moment they burst into the room, both of them froze.
There was no monster.
There was no bloody struggle.
Silya and Silvia were just sitting there comfortably in wooden chairs, sipping hot tea.
They had just finished taking a bath, and both of them were wearing nothing but white towels wrapped tightly around their bodies.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then, Silya and Silvia looked up, their eyes widening in pure shock.
Reian and Flame stared stupidly, their faces instantly turning completely bright red.
Flame, who was standing right in the front, couldn’t even find his voice.
But Silvia recovered from the shock first.
Her face flushed with anger, she jumped up, stepped forward, and threw a massive, heavy punch straight at Flame’s face.
BAM!
The force of the punch sent Flame flying backward out into the hallway.
“Get out!” Silvia screamed.
For the next ten minutes, the giant, expensive house turned into a comedy zone.
Flame was absolutely terrified, running for his life through the corridors, trying to hide behind pillars and couches to escape Silvia’s wrath.
Silvia chased him down like a demon, throwing anything she could grab at his head.
Meanwhile, Reian stayed back, trying his best to explain the situation to Silya while keeping his eyes glued strictly to the floor.
“Listen, I swear we didn’t mean to!
We checked the kitchen and the living room, and you guys weren’t there.
We thought something terrible happened to you!
We got scared…”
He kept talking and apologizing, but his explanation didn’t help at all.
A little later, Silya and Silvia came out of the bedroom, fully dressed in clean clothes.
Reian and Flame were both sitting flat on the hard floor, their heads bowed, looking like two dogs that had just chewed up a couch.
Flame had a massive bruise forming on his jaw where Silvia had hit him.
They begged for forgiveness until the girls finally sighed and forgave them.
Right then, the little girl stepped out of the bedroom, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“I’m really hungry,” she whispered, her stomach rumbling.
Then, she noticed Flame and Reian’s swollen faces.
“Huh?
What happened to your faces?”
Silya quickly covered for them, coughing awkwardly.
“Oh, they…
uh…
they just tripped and fell down the stairs together.
Don’t worry about it.
Look, they brought back a ton of food.
Let’s eat!”
They opened the canned food and shared a quiet, desperate meal.
Everyone was exhausted from the constant fear, so as soon as they finished eating, they found spots on the floor and bed and fell fast asleep.
But peace never lasted long for Reian.
The moment his eyes closed, the nightmare dragged him back in.
He found himself trapped in that same pitch-black, endless void.
Thousands of heavy, glowing metal chains were wrapped tightly around his body, pinning him high up in mid-air.
The chains hummed with a terrifying, ancient power that burned into his skin like hot iron.
Through the darkness, the massive, shadowy figure appeared again.
It let out a loud, evil laugh that echoed in Reian’s ears.
“It is not the right time yet,” the shadow hissed.
The figure drew a massive, pitch-black sword.
With a sudden, violent motion, it drove the dark blade straight through Reian’s chest.
Reian gasped, his eyes flying open as he sat up straight, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.
He looked around the dark room.
The room was quiet.
Flame, Silya, Silvia, and the little girl were all fast asleep.
Realizing his mind was completely messed up by the dream, Reian quietly slipped out onto the balcony.
The night air was freezing, but it helped clear his head.
He spent a few minutes stretching his sore muscles, and then he sat down cross-legged on the floor.
He closed his eyes and started to meditate for five minutes, forcing his breathing to slow down, hoping it would calm the storm inside his head.
Once his mind felt steady, he didn’t go back to sleep.
Instead, he quietly walked around the entire perimeter of the estate, patrolling the walls to make sure no zombies were trying to crawl inside.
By morning, everyone was awake.
It was time to leave the town before things got even worse.
Reian gathered everyone in the main hall to lay out the escape plan.
“We need to move smart.
We are going to carry only the most important things.
Silya, you take care of the food supply.
Little girl, you carry the extra clothes in your backpack.
Silvia, your job is to stay close to them and keep them safe.
Flame and I will walk in the front and clear the path.”
Everyone nodded, agreeing with the plan.
They packed their gear, gripped their weapons, and stepped out of the iron gates, leaving the safe house behind.
The journey through the town was brutal.
Reian and Flame moved like a well-oiled machine, taking down regular zombies left and right, painting the asphalt with black blood.
But just as they reached an open intersection, a heavy, terrifying shadow fell over them.
An enormous mutated zombie stepped out from behind a crashed bus.
It looked similar to the one they fought at the police station, but this one was twice as big, its skin hardened like stone, and its muscles pulsing with raw, terrifying strength.
“Get back!
Stay behind us!” Reian yelled to Silya and Silvia, quickly pulling out his pistol.
Flame didn’t hesitate.
He gripped his katana and got ready to rush forward.
The mutant let out a deafening roar and charged at them like a freight train.
Reian took aim at its legs, just like before, and pulled the trigger rapidly until the entire magazine was empty.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The heavy bullets slammed into the monster’s legs, but it didn’t even stumble.
Its skin was too thick.
Flame leaped into the air, swinging his katana with all his might.
The sharp blade cut into the monster’s shoulder, but it only went halfway through before getting completely stuck in the dense, mutated muscle.
The zombie roared in anger and raised its massive fist to crush Flame.
Flame reacted instantly, letting go of his sword and twisting his body in mid-air to dodge the deadly swing.
The shots tore into the creature’s face, drawing thick black fluid.
But instead of dying, the pain just made the zombie completely lose its mind.
It went into a blind rage, spinning around and lunging straight toward the group.
Reian’s brain scrambled for a plan, but there was no time.
Through the corner of his eye, he saw Flame trying to recover his balance on the ground.
The giant mutant was already right on top of him, its massive fist swinging down to smash Flame’s skull into the pavement.
Without thinking, Reian threw himself forward.
He sprinted into the danger zone and hit Flame with a brutal body check, shoving him completely out of the way.
CRACK!
The mutant’s massive fist connected directly with Reian’s chest.
The force of the blow was horrific.
Reian was sent flying through the air like a ragdoll.
He crashed violently into a brick wall across the street.
The impact was so hard that the wall shattered, collapsing entirely and burying Reian under a pile of heavy bricks and concrete dust.
Only his head was visible beneath the rubble, tilted to the side.
Thick, dark blood began to pour from his forehead, running down his pale face.
His eyes were closed.
He was completely unconscious.
“REIAN!”
Silya, Silvia, and the little girl screamed his name at the top of their lungs, tears instantly streaming down their faces.
Flame scrambled up from the dirt, his eyes widening as he looked at his friend buried under the rocks.
The sight of Reian bleeding and motionless hit his brain like a physical blow, freezing time around him.
Suddenly, a rush of memories flooded Flame’s mind.
He saw himself and Reian sitting in the back of a boring chemistry class, whispering jokes to pass the time.
He remembered the time Reian accidentally mixed the wrong chemicals in the lab, causing a small explosion that covered both of their faces in black soot.
He remembered all the sarcastic insults, jokes, and roasts Reian used to throw at him every single day.
The memories vanished as quickly as they came, snapping Flame back to the horrific reality.
A cold, heavy knot twisted in his chest, and hot tears spilled from his eyes.
Looking at the rubble, a dark, uncontrollable rage took over his mind.
“REIAN!!!” Flame roared, his voice cracking with pure agony.
Something inside Flame snapped completely.
Forgetting all strategy, Flame picked up his fallen katana and charged at the giant mutant like a madman, screaming at the top of his lungs.
He swung his blade wildly, hacking at the monster’s legs and torso, his eyes completely bloodshot.
Silvia stood back, frozen in absolute shock by the sheer terrifying anger coming off Flame.
But Flame’s blind rage wasn’t enough.
The mutant’s skin was too hard.
The zombie easily caught Flame with a brutal backhand, sending him crashing hard into the dirt.
Flame coughed up blood, his body broken and exhausted, but he forced himself back onto his knees.
“No…” he growled, spitting out blood.
“I will stop you…
even if it kills me!”
The giant zombie ignored him, turning its bloodthirsty eyes toward Silya, Silvia, and the crying little girl.
It raised its arms and rushed straight at them.
Flame screamed out in pure desperation, reaching out his hand—
Suddenly, the entire world went completely pitch-black.
The sounds of the street vanished.
And out of the absolute darkness, two massive, terrifying eyes opened, glowing with a horrific, ancient light.
hope you enjoyed the new chapter!