47: Bastard (1)

"Zombies at 0900!" - exclaimed a soldier as he saw a group of undead walking in their direction as if they were marching.

"You know what we have to do!" - Yuriko exclaimed as she grabbed her gun and pointed it at the human-shaped monsters - "We've done it for over four hours!"

Just as the leader of the group had said, the reconnaissance operation had started four hours ago, during which time the group of survivors had found more healthy people, as well as useful supplies for the people left behind in Taiei.

"I hope this is the last wave" - Cloud said with a frown as he folded his arms. With all the zombies that had died during his stay in this world, he had reached the maximum level possible in this world, so there was no need to fight unless necessary, not to mention that unlike Saeko, who was slicing through everything in her path with a huge smile on her face, he took no pleasure in killing weak creatures, although this was possibly due to a sense of pride befitting someone who had managed to reach the limit of what was humanly possible.

There were many moments during the trip when Saeko asked him why he had such a drastic increase in power, though it wasn't as if the young blond could answer, so he simply kept silent, though this annoyed Saeko because it sounded as if he didn't trust her.

Cloud had to tell her that she couldn't talk because it would be dangerous, so for now she had to holding on, and that she might soon learn the truth.

Saeko was a little skeptical, though she quickly nodded, after all, she trusted Cloud with her life, and would follow him to the end of the world like a loyal dog.

"Ok, we're done with this area, I want to get a kill count!" - Yuriko exclaimed as she looked around with a frown.

"Two deceased, my lady!" - exclaimed a soldier as he frowned slightly because one of the dead was an acquaintance of his - "We are incinerating their bodies, so they won't turn into those things!"

"Understood, I want you to save their ashes to give them to their families, we won't allow their efforts to go unrecognized, nor will we allow what's left of them to go without a dignified farewell" - Yuriko said seriously as she turned around and walked towards the main vehicle, although inside she was excited. She could feel the drastic increase in power after becoming a [recruit] of Cloud, not only because she was now of a higher level, but also because she felt that her abilities were much easier to use, especially her control over firearms and her sword.

"My lady, we have a few soldiers that have been scratched by those things, we don't know if they are infected or not" - said a soldier with concern.

Yuriko was silent when she heard these words as she started to think - "How many are they?"

"They are 5, my lady" - replied the soldier with regret, after all, one of those affected was his clueless younger brother.

"I understand, I want you to isolate them for a few hours, watch them carefully, from what we have notice so far, humans transform into zombies in around 30 to 60 minutes, although the symptoms show after 10 minutes" - said Yuriko while frowning - "Separate them from each other, after all, we cannot allow the healthy ones to be affected by those who are possibly infected."

"Understood" - said the soldier as he prepared to keep an eye on his younger brother, and if necessary, be the one responsible for finishing him off with his own hands.

* * * * *

"You sons of bitches!" - exclaimed a beautiful brown-haired woman who was wearing a janitor's outfit, possibly the only thing she had managed to find to change into that might fit her - "Open the damn door!"

"I'm not going to sacrifice my livelihood because of some kids who aren't even mine..." - said the man who seemed to be leading a group inside the building that he'd managed to retrieve - "If you want to blame someone, you can blame yourself for trusting strangers."

"Bastards!" - roared the brown-haired woman angrily, after all, this son of a bitch had thrown all the children out of the school while she was leading a small group in search of supplies nearby.

"Obasan (aunt).... Kiriko Obasan..." - said a little girl fearfully as she ran to Kiriko Miyamoto, Rei's mother.

"Calm down, little ones, we will be safe soon, I promise you" - Kiriko said with a small smile as she tried to calm the frightened children. They had been the original survivors of the building from which they had been cleared, the Tokonosu elementary school.

"What are we going to do, Kiriko-san?" - asked a policeman while frowning, after all, he hadn't attacked for fear that the children would get scared and run away, not to mention that he didn't want to contaminate their little minds with death and blood.

"We'll move to a nearby building and try to get help, we can't move with so many children with us" - Kiriko answered as she looked at her husband's friend standing next to her - "It's the only way we have to get out of this trouble."

"I volunteer to go get help" - said a father as he looked at his daughter.

"No need, I plan to do it myself" - Kiriko replied while frowning - "I made the mistake of trusting those bastards, I'm going be the one to fix this..."

"Then we'll go with you" - said the policeman while pointing at half of his armed group - "The others will stay as security for the children.

Kiriko was silent before nodding - "Sounds perfect to me, after we solve this problem, we will go to the others."

"Understood" - nodded the policeman as he organized everything, so they could leave.

* * * * *

"This area seems strangely clear" - said Cloud with a frown as he looked around with his trusty katana, although at the same time he felt that this weapon was too light - "Maybe there is a good group of survivors in this place"

"It's possible, that's why we have to be vigilant in case of an ambush" - Yuriko said with a frown.

"Hai!" - exclaimed the soldiers as they took their weapons firmly.

"How are you guys?" - asked Cloud as he looked at his group, or at least at those who had decided to participate in the operation.

"Fine, though a bit tired" - replied Rei as she looked at her bayonet and then at her fingers - "I can go on".

"That's good to hear, although I have to admit that you're getting more and more skilled with your weapon" - Cloud said while stroking his chin - "Maybe before long you'll be able to handle using two weapons at once, one short range and one long range"

"I'll be looking forward to it" - said Rei as she sat down, so she could take a well-deserved rest.

"I'm fine, I haven't fought much because I've been concentrating on ordering the soldiers while my mother is worried about the offensive" - replied Saya as she crossed her arms - "Although this made me understand some things and appreciate my father a little more..."

"You're doing a fantastic job, Saya" - Cloud replied as he put his hand on the girl's shoulder, who simply blushed before looking away.

"We're fine ourselves, though we're a little short to be in perfect sync, we still fight for our prey" - Kohta said with a wild grin as Asami rolled her eyes at him, though she had to admit that working with her boyfriend was equal parts easy and exciting.

"I'm enjoying this mission, though I'd rather you fight by my side, Cloud" - Saeko said with a frown - "I feel like you're slowly drifting away from the battlefield."

"I'm not having unnecessary fights, besides, those things aren't strong enough to make me feel the thrill of battle" - Cloud replied as he shook his head, and ignored the looks of the girls who seemed to be telling him that they were expecting these words from the swordswoman.

"Oh, I see, it makes sense" - Saeko said while nodding - "It's obvious that it's no fun if you only kill the weak, as a warrior I can accept this idea, although I still think that you could come and fight by my side."

"I understand, I'm going to do it during the next fight" - Cloud replied as he nodded - "Leaving that aside, I'm going to go check on the injured soldiers and make sure nothing weird happened."

"Ok" - nodded the girls as they started talking to each other.

"What are you talking about, and where is Cloud?" - Yuriko asked as she crossed her arms.

The girls looked at the newcomer, who was accompanied by Shizuka and Rika, who had been helping with the food.

"He went to check on the wounded" - answered Saya as she looked at her mother.