Beyond the corner was a doorless hall, and the poor visibility made it impossible to gauge its size.
Under the dim wall lamp, Yuuki couldn’t actually see clearly when he poked his head out; he only caught sight of a red, cylindrical object on the innermost wall.
A fire extinguisher??
Its distinctive shape momentarily stunned him.
After searching the old castle for several hours, he had long grown accustomed to the antique decor; even the elegantly styled wall lamps showed no signs of being electrified.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was the first modern item he had seen, but Yuuki didn’t have the luxury to observe it closely, because the second glance made him curse aloud.
Fuck.
Following the clatter of chains, and then the sound of them breaking, a giant human hand suddenly emerged from the shadows, coming straight at him like a wall.
It was too fast.
Fortunately, Yuuki had only poked out his head.
He instinctively pulled back, then felt a gust of wind sweep past his face.
Behind the hand was an forearm easily over a meter thick.
Bang!!
The wall was directly pressed inward, and as rocks flew, the entire basement shook.
Ai and Mai, who were holding their breath at the entrance, nearly jumped out of their skins.
What the hell is that!?
Before they could ask, they saw Yuuki rushing back, grabbing one of them with each hand, and running towards the entrance.
“Run! This thing isn’t something we can handle!”
Faster than when he dodged the Licker just now, Yuuki didn’t dare to look back.
He only heard the ‘crunching’ sound of bones being grasped.
He dove into the stairwell, tossed the two girls he was holding upwards, and then leaped onto the corner platform like a tiger pouncing on its prey.
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
The sound of crashing and breaking filled his ears.
Splintered stones cut several bloody marks on his face.
When he turned his head again, the wall at the corner had been riddled with holes by the flying rocks.
The three looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.
Then they heard the sound of chains breaking again and quickly scrambled upwards, using both hands and feet, climbing all the way back to the first floor without stopping.
Huff, huff, huff.
Yuuki leaned his back against the wall.
After such a frantic run, he felt like his lungs were about to burst.
He hadn’t had a drop of water for about five or six hours, and his lips were so dry they chafed his tongue.
“Phew, looks like that thing didn’t follow us.”
“You still have the nerve to laugh? How dangerous was that just now? Good thing the corridor wasn’t high.” Ai frowned slightly, but didn’t overly blame him.
“By the way, what was that thing?”
“Living Corpse.”
“The term ‘Living Corpse’ is too broad,” Mai interjected, inadvertently hitting on Yuuki’s thoughts again.
“Judging by its arm, its size is probably over five meters.”
It was indeed very large.
Leaving aside the things outside the wall, the blueprint for the gift should be the Licker. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Well, the monsters from Resident Evil could also be considered ‘Living Corpses’.
“It seems that losing biological life and still being able to jump around, whatever the reason, can be called a Living Corpse.” Yuuki made a temporary definition and stood up, leaning on his knees.
“You’re not thinking of going back to kill that monster, are you?” Ai also stood up, with an expression that said, ‘If you want to seek death, go by yourself.’
“Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid. Even with a terrain advantage, it wouldn’t work.” Yuuki gave a dry laugh, rubbing the hilt of his blade.
“I gained something from that adventure just now. Maybe I found the key.”
“The key?”
“Yes, I saw something interesting.” Yuuki looked up at the window, estimating the distance he had run earlier.
Counting the first basement level and the stairs, roughly three hundred meters?
The main body of the old castle was divided into front and back sections.
This one was on the south side, with a dense Garden outside, and beyond the Garden was…
The city wall.
Ai and Mai held their breath, afraid of disturbing the man’s thoughts.
Seeing his eyes light up, they also became excited.
“Do you have an idea?”
“I have an idea, but I’m still missing clues. If I act, it’ll be a gamble with our lives.”
Gambling with lives naturally required caution.
Yuuki didn’t give a definite answer, but the two girls simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
They didn’t know when it started, but they had begun to trust his judgment.
This trust stemmed from his combat power and also from the hand he held tightly during their escape.
In critical situations, Yuuki had made the correct choice several times.
The ominous moonlight stained the corridor red.
The few people, constantly swallowing, knew they had to be quick.
Several hours without a drop of water were pushing them to their physiological limits.
“Let’s go find Ryan first. We’ll need to borrow his…”
“Everyone, immediately gather at the top of the castle!!”
Yuuki hadn’t finished speaking when the old player’s roar came through the walkie-talkie.
This was so sudden that it startled all three of them.
Something had happened.
Ai was the first to rush to the window, sticking her head out to scan left and right.
She quickly saw a swaying figure rushing towards the castle gate.
Black skin, chef’s uniform—wasn’t that the black guy?
But his running posture was very strange.
His head was tilted to the side, his neck seemed to be torn in half, and muscle fibers were growing out from inside, forming long, slender tapeworms that writhed back and forth.
Bang!
A dull gunshot boomed, and a bowl-sized hole appeared on his waist.
But he only swayed for a moment, and even more tapeworms grew out from the wound.
“This guy probably went alone and ended up like this.” Yuuki walked beside Ai, guessing that the Licker had scared him into running around, causing him to break the taboo.
This was the consequence of going alone?
Mai’s scalp tingled.
Seeing that he didn’t look back and was still running outwards, she blurted out, “What does he want to do?”
“He wants to open the gate! Damn it, it turns out going alone not only causes mutation, but also turns them hostile!” Yuuki tightened his grip on his blade and quickly patted Ai’s shoulder.
“Let’s go, things have gotten troublesome.”
He had just finished dealing with the gift and hadn’t even had a moment to catch his breath when another surprise arrived.
Yuuki felt a giant rock pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe, but under the immense pressure, he became fierce.
You want me to die, but I will live!
The three quickly rushed to the front building.
Before they had run a few steps, they heard a loud ‘bang’, which made them instinctively turn their heads.
The black guy exploded in the doorway.
Maggots, accompanied by a blood mist, scattered, and the impact quickly deformed the heavy city gate, which then became riddled with holes from the maggots’ cutting.
Thump—
The city gate fell, and the blood mist and maggots were engulfed by the black shadows that squeezed in.
Yuuki’s pupils constricted; he couldn’t find an appropriate metaphor to describe what he saw.
Like a cafeteria opening for lunch, swaying Living Corpses surged in like a tide.
Those at the front fell and were immediately trampled into a muddy paste, while those behind continued to rush out, crushing the Garden, crossing the fountain, and instantly laying a carpet over the inside of the castle.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The gunshots continued.
That revolver was indeed no ordinary weapon; there was no reloading interval, and each shot could pierce through several Living Corpses.
However, against hundreds of thousands, it was merely a drop in the ocean.
‘Their running speed is faster than those in Resident Evil, roughly equivalent to an adult’s jog.
Their heads are also more flexible; they even know how to hurdle.’
Yuuki observed as he ran.
Based on the information he had, he knew that the Living Corpses had strengthened considerably within five hours, but there was no time for regret now.
Clatter, clatter.
Just as he rushed out of the central banquet hall, Yuuki saw the floor-to-ceiling windows shatter instantly.
Amidst the splashing glass shards, monstrous creatures with bared fangs and claws were passing through the castle hall.
“Mai, you run at the very front! Hayasaka, help me cover our backs, and remember to aim for the head!”
At this moment, no one dared to be modest.
Mai darted onto the stairs, running upwards with her head down, and then heard a series of sharp cutting sounds.
Swish—
After the glinting blade, several heads flew neatly into the air.
Yuuki stared at the blooming blood fountain, yet he was constantly retreating.
The gate, the broken windows, and the Living Corpses kept pouring in, showing no signs of stopping.
They were also quite clever, knowing how to climb over the railings on both sides of the stairs.
They advanced, treading through pools of blood.
As far as the eye could see, there were only grotesque heads, and behind them—
The Red Moon was full.