I Am a Genius (1/3)

A student, his uniform completely stained with blood, staggered down the school hallway, clutching his neck with a grotesque wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He desperately called out for his mother.

The boy's plea was cut short by a bloodied hand that grabbed his face and threw him to the ground. The young man began to scream in pain as the zombie that knocked him down started to brutally devour his face.

Two students ran past this scene, quickly dodging the zombie and ignoring the boy's cries for help. Saya and Kohta continued running until they descended the blood-stained stairs and reached the first floor, where both leaned against a nearby wall to rest.

"Continuing to search for him like this is too dangerous, Takagi-san," Kohta commented, still panting from the previous run.

"It's you who wants to find Elijah, fatty. What do you suggest then?"

Kohta lowered his head in silence; he had no idea what to do or how to search for Elijah without ending up dead in the process. Sighing, Takagi crouched down and crept up to a water fountain in front of her, where she wet a cloth she found on the floor and looked towards a zombie wandering carelessly down the corridor.

"What are you doing, Takagi-san?"

"Trying to understand these creatures more."

Saya took the wet cloth and threw it at the cabinet near the zombie, making a noise. Following the sound, the zombie began to bang on the cabinet while growling fiercely.

"Apparently, they are blind and dumb," Saya commented with an excited smile.

"So we can keep sneaking quietly, and they won't see us. You're pretty smart, Takagi-san," Kohta said, encouraged.

"Of course, I'm a genius, but we still need something to defend ourselves; we have to find something useful that can serve as a weapon."

The two continued to sneak through the corridors, completely oblivious to the lurking danger. Entering a room filled with various wooden parts and work tables, they began to search. Kohta locked the door and approached Saya, who was looking at various tools she had gathered on the table.

"Anything useful, Takagi-san?"

"Look for yourself, fatty, you're the gun-obsessed nerd."

Kohta looked at the items on the table and noticed a gas pistol, an excited gleam appeared in his eyes, and he quickly picked up the tool to examine it. Saya found the boy's attitude strange and went to look at other tools, but most would only be for close contact, and hand-to-hand combat was not her thing.

A knock on the door caught her attention; a blood-filled hand was continuously banging against the door window while grunts could be heard from the other side.

"T-They're here! See if you can finish what you're doing with that pistol quickly!" Takagi said nervously.

As if oblivious to the imminent danger, Kohta murmured to himself while making some improvised modifications to the gas stapler. Unable to resist the number of zombies trying to force their way in, the door completely broke down, and like a wave, the zombies entered.

"AHHHHHHHHHH! HIRANOOO!" Takagi screamed as she retreated from the various zombies running towards her.

PAK! PAK! PAK!

Three zombies fell with a nail piercing their temples. Saya looked at Kohta, who held an improvised weapon made with the stapler and pieces of wood. The boy had a sadistic smile on his face as he continued to kill the zombies entering one by one.

"Takagi-san, put the items from the table into a bag, and let's get out of here," Kohta requested.

"W-Who do you think you are to give me orders?!" the young woman retorted as she nervously threw the items into the bag.

"Please, Takagi-san," Kohta asked with a kind smile on his face stained by the blood of the zombies.

Saya shuddered at the sight before running out of the room with the boy. Down the corridor, the pair dealt with the zombies along the way with more ease thanks to Kohta's precise aim.

"Where should we go now?" the young man asked after hitting the forehead of the zombie wandering in front of the staircase.

"We have to get out of the school, but walking outside like this is too dangerous. The teachers' lounge should still have their car keys," Saya replied.

"Do you have a driver's license, Takagi-san?"

"That doesn't matter anymore, fatty!"

Kohta gave an embarrassed smile and continued on to the teachers' lounge.

'Be safe, Elijah!' the boy thought worriedly. The two descended the stairs toward the teachers' lounge.

In the distance, a huge creature watched the pair descending the stairs with a terrifying smile. As they went down, Kohta took the lead, knocking down zombies while Saya guided him to the teachers' lounge.

"Turn right now, Hirano, the teachers' lounge is just around this corner," Saya pointed out.

"Roger!" Kohta shouted as he quickly cleared the path before reloading the gas pistol.

As they turned, a showcase with various trophies appeared, and further ahead, the sign reading "Teachers' Lounge" was visible. The space was wider than a corridor, and because of this, several zombies were already gathered there. The bloodstains on the floor showed the terror that the students who tried to escape through this place had suffered.

"Takagi-san, you'll have to fight too!" Kohta yelled as he was cornered by the numerous undead.

"W-What are you talking about? You're handling them well!" Saya retorted, her expression overtaken by fear at the sight of all the carnage and the number of creatures slowly coming towards them.

"My ammo is running out, and they're already getting to you! Use some tool from the bag!" Kohta warned before being surrounded by zombies.

Saya looked to the side and noticed a huge creature looking at her as it walked slowly, pushing the zombies in its path and crushing those that fell in front of it. The girl looked at Kohta, desperate for help, but the boy's situation was not good; he was completely surrounded, having to resort to hand-to-hand combat using the gas pistol to try to create some distance from the zombies.

The trembling girl looked at the ground and saw the huge shadow cast over her; something dripped on her shoulder, staining her uniform, and a heavy, suffocating breath resounded behind her. Turning around, the huge creature was right in front of her, smiling frighteningly while blood dripped from its mouth.

"N-No... h-help... H-Hira... m-mom..." Saya fell to the ground, overcome by terror as she crawled backward in an attempt to get away from the creature, which in turn approached slowly as if it found the poor girl's fear amusing.

Seeing the creature's mocking smile and the way it was toying with her, Saya's fear was replaced by deep hatred, her eyes glowing with a burning red as her choked voice exclaimed her disgust for the situation.

"Are you kidding me?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU FILTHY MONSTER?! I AM A GENIUS! HOW DARE YOU LAUGH AT ME!"

The girl's dormant mana awakened and began to resonate with the mana of the surroundings, responding to her hatred, which burned like a hot ember. The mana began to ignite and transform into a fireball in the girl's hands.

"DIEEEEE!" shouted Saya Takagi.

She hurled the two fireballs at the creature, which now had a confused look on its face. As they collided with it, a huge explosion engulfed the entire area while the thunderous sound echoed through the school.

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(Author's Note: Now that my vacation is approaching, the frequency of chapters will become more stable! See you next time!)