Stepping Up

Seeing their party leader murdered in cold blood, the entire party froze in fear as they tried to figure out what just happened. It took them a couple of seconds to get to their senses. They couldn't even see the attacker until it stopped. There was something so sinister about this Aberrant, and they couldn't put their finger around it.

For one, the Aberrant resembled the large Omega Zombie which was roaming around the city. It had spikes on its back, and it almost walked on all-fours, leaning forward like a crazed beast who was there to devour. It panted heavily before darting its face from one end of the crowd to the other.

"Watch out!" Kazuichi screamed at the top of his lungs.

It's as if every sense in his body kicked in as his inner zombie came out in a snap of a finger. One moment, he was holding Amaya on his shoulders; the next moment, he was charging at the Aberrant. Simultaneously, he threw Amaya at Tris, fully assured that Tris would be able to catch her even if she reacted late.

Kazuichi's instincts proved to be correct. The moment he jumped in the fray, the Aberrant was already charging at another person in the crowd. It moved so fast. Even with Kazuichi's sense of sight working overtime, he could barely follow the movements of the Aberrant.

Krrhkrhrk~

The Aberrant let out a low creepy gurgle as it turned its head at Kazuichi. Although Kazuichi wasn't as fast as the Aberrant, he reacted a little earlier; that's why he was able to catch up. Wide-eyed, the Aberrant couldn't believe that Kazuichi was right up his face when he was about to decapitate another person. Before he could react, Kazuichi gave him a good solid punch at the solar plexus.

"Everyone! Get out of here! You can't survive this one!" Kazuichi screamed, trying to drive everyone away from the nest before more Aberrants showed up.

Without wasting a breath, Kazuichi ran up to the disoriented Aberrant and shoved his hand through its neck. Since the Aberrant was down, it wasn't able to defend itself, giving Kazuichi an easy kill. "These Aberrants have evolved so much. I don't think you're a match for this nest."

"No, we're staying," Sano said, tapping into his inner Hybrid Hound. He stepped forward, just like everyone else who was in the group. Despite the fact that their party leader had just died in front of them, they didn't dare tuck their tails and run away.

Notwithstanding the danger, they were fully aware of the threat that this particular nest could bring to the Scarlet Blood Shelter. If what Kazuichi said was true, then they couldn't just leave this nest alone. If they were to let it, it would evolve into something more dangerous, and it might even pose a major threat to the shelter. Furthermore, there was no way they would leave Kazuichi behind.

While he was able to defeat the first Aberrant that showed up, it was more or less a mere fluke. Who knows what would happen if two or more Aberrants of the same level were to attack him? He wouldn't be able to escape, let alone survive.

"We're going with you, Kazuichi." One of the party members called out, also stepping forward whilst wearing a false bravado. "If you're going to take down this nest, then you'll need all the help you can get. Besides, we have Amaya with us. If we need to clear out an escape route, we can do it in an instant."

Even Tris, who wasn't that keen on going forward, also nodded her head. She'd rather stay in the main group than take her chances going back. She still didn't fully believe in Amaya's abilities, and that's why she wouldn't dare risk running away with her. The safest place to stay was with Kazuichi, and there was no denying that fact.

"I'm telling you, guys, this is dangerous. You saw how your leader got killed. This is not going to be an easy road. Even me, I doubt that I'd be able to bring this nest of Aberrants down." Kazuichi explained. "At the very least, though, I'm fairly certain that I'd be able to go all out. I'd be able to decently damage this nest at the cost of my life. If you were here, though, I can't guarantee that you won't get hurt when everything goes down."

"We're coming with you, Kazuichi, and that's final," Tris said with great resolve in her voice. There was a hint of shakiness there, but she did a good job covering that up by clearing her throat before she spoke. Tightly, she held her younger sister's hand. In her mind, she thought that she was assuring her younger sister's safety— when in fact, she was impulsively holding onto her because she needed the assurance.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Kazuichi heaved a sigh. Thanks to his enhanced senses, he could tell that everyone at the party was nervous. However, he could also sense their determination. There was no backing down for them, and they were willing to go to hell and back with Kazuichi, even if it meant putting their lives on the line.

Taking in a huge breath, Kazuichi stepped forward, assuming the place of the party leader. If they have any chance at succeeding, he should be the one giving orders— taking the charge.

For a shut-in, this was a great hurdle to conquer, but Kazuichi decided to approach the situation like a video game. He was just a party leader in the video game, giving commands to his party in this literal and realistic game.

Nearby, Kazuichi could hear the shrieks of the Aberrants, who were frolicking inside the abandoned apartment complex. There were at least a dozen of them, and each of them was as strong as the first one they encountered.

A shadow appeared from a gap between the walls, and then an Aberrant came out of it, shrieking as it brought down its claws at Kazuichi.