BEACON OF HOPE
Michael's piercing scream reverberated throughout the courtroom, the electric chair still delivering shockwaves to his trembling body. Some of his hair turned ashen white, his facial veins pulsated, and his vision gradually darkened as he gazed up at the courthouse ceiling, eventually succumbing to complete darkness. In the midst of this void, Michael caught a glimpse of a flickering spark of magic, concealed within the shadows. Magic particles began to materialize, intertwining with blood that emerged from within the darkness. Whirling rapidly, the blood and magic gives birth to crackling lightning that surged towards Michael.
Reality snapped back, leaving Kiren paralyzed with fear as the electric chair ceased its torment. Outside the courthouse, Will grappled with guilt, his attention drawn to smoke billowing around Old Berry town. Kiren, anticipating another jolt, closed his eyes, only to discover the absence of any electrical shock. Perplexed, Cameda finds herself perplexed as to why Kiren is not experiencing any electric shocks. Abruptly, Cameda is then struck in the head by a sniper bullet, fired by Mai from a distant rooftop. As he fell, all the sitting zombies in the courtroom rose to their feet. The SWAT and police zombies takes up their defensive positions around the court house, alerted by the sound of an approaching vehicle emerging from the smokescreen.
Xai maneuvered the armored van while Stella leaned out of the window, unloading rounds from her assault rifle into the mass of SWAT zombies. Mai maintained her perch on a rooftop, signaling the other snipers from Stella's crew positioned on various buildings, as they took aim at the SWAT zombies before the courthouse. In response, the SWAT zombies formed a shield wall using their riot shields to impede the advancing armored van, struggling to push forward. Will engaged nearby police zombies, fiercely battling against their overpowering numbers, Will is quickly overwhelmed and wrestled to the ground by a horde of police zombies.
Another armored van emerged from the smoke, driven by Megan, with Simbad and Agustin positioned atop the vehicle, armed to the teeth. Simbad clutched a katana, while Agustin wielded a pair of daggers. Megan rammed the van into the riot shields held by the SWAT zombies, propelling Simbad and Agustin into a graceful leap over the obstacle, launching a relentless assault on the police and SWAT zombies, aiming to disrupt their formation while the bullets raining down from Mai and Stella's men.
Simbad displays remarkable skill as he skillfully dispatches numerous SWAT zombies with his katana. The SWAT police retaliate by drawing their flesh guns and opening fire on Simbad. Closing his eyes, Simbad concentrates, surrounded by a faint aura of magic as he senses the incoming bullets. With a combination of swift dodges and deft blocks, Simbad manages to evade and deflect the majority of the bullets.
Agustin rushes to his aid, swiftly throwing a dagger into the head of a SWAT zombie. Continuing his relentless assault, Agustin employs his daggers to stab and throw at the surrounding zombies. Activating a button, Agustin causes the thrown daggers to explode, adding to the chaos. The shield formation of the SWAT police gradually crumbles under the combined efforts of Xai and Megan, who manage to drive through the SWAT zombies.
Suddenly, a car emerges from the smoke, driven by Rune, with Ezzy armed with a stun grenade. Ezzy throws the stun grenade into the midst of the zombie crowd. Meanwhile, as Will battles against the police zombies, he notices one of the zombies leaping toward the stun grenade, realizing that its impact would be minimized. Will instinctively pushes forward and drop-kicks the falling police zombie, preventing it from reaching the stun grenade. The explosion stuns Will and the surrounding zombies.
Rune and Ezzy exit the car and join the fight, eliminating many SWAT zombies in their path. Cameda rises from the floor as the courtroom door swings open, and a horde of zombies rushes out. As Cameda's head gradually regenerates, he becomes excited, anticipating the long-awaited moment when humanity will unite and face him. The human flesh surrounding the courthouse forms eyes on the roof, gazing at Rune, Ezzy, Megan, Stella, Simbad, Agustin, Mai, and Will. Cameda ponders who will become humanity's beacon.
Kiren notices the electric chair slowly transforming into a gelatinous substance and attempts to break free from its grip. Outside the battle, Stella retrieves her giant bazooka with five barrels, expressing delight in finally using one of her favorite weapons. She fires five rockets at the courthouse's door, where the zombies are emerging. The resulting explosion propels Cameda, who is sent flying into the judge's stand. Slowly rising, Cameda absorbs the judge zombie, fully recovering his head.
Spotting Kiren approaching him with a plank of wood, Cameda taunts that he will grant Kiren the death he deserves. Cameda brandishes his electric baton, unleashing a lightning beam that strikes Kiren's chest, dragging him across the benches before crashing into the wall. Perplexed, Cameda witnesses his lightning beam gradually fading and questions what is happening.
Suddenly, Michael throws an uppercut, connecting with Cameda and launching him into the air through the ceiling. The human flesh around the courthouse catches Cameda and hurls him back, causing him to crash onto Michael. Cameda retaliates by delivering a massive lightning beam directly into Michael's stomach, forcing him deep into the ground. Cameda's laughter fills the air, reveling in the presence of numerous beacons of hope.
He then departs from the courthouse, witnessing his army's decline, summoning shields to block incoming sniper bullets. Cameda spots Mai in the distance and shoots a powerful lightning beam in her direction. Although Mai narrowly avoids the attack, the beam strikes a building, causing it to crumble. Mai plummets from the roof but is protected by shadow magic, which dissipates upon impact with the ground. Mai is filled with confusion as she wonders about the source of the unexpected shadow magic that shielded her during the fall. Observing multiple screens on her phone, Mai notices that the zombies outside the smoke in Old Berry town are being drawn towards the battle. Realizing the urgency, she urges the others to hasten through the earpiece.
Meanwhile, Will positions himself in front of the shields blocking Cameda, pleading for him to stop, not wanting to witness the death of his friends and Cameda himself in this battle. Cameda asserts that a beacon of hope must endure arduous battles to become a true beacon. Raising his baton to the sky, Cameda releases massive lightning bolts that strike everyone in the battle. Will seizes the baton, enduring the shock in an attempt to halt Cameda.
However, to their surprise, the lightning bolts have minimal effect, as most of the energy is absorbed into the ground. Confused by everyone's unharmed state, Cameda watches as the lightning bolts are absorbed, and a colossal lightning bolt emerges from his feet, propelling him into the sky. The human flesh surrounding the courthouse intercepts Cameda, encasing him in a sphere of flesh. Expressing frustration, Cameda declares he has had enough and unleashes a giant zombie arm from the sphere of flesh, which dives into the courthouse, seizing Michael from deep within the ground.
Squeezing tightly, the arm causes blood to pour from Michael's eyes, nose, and mouth. Mai, still focused on her phone, notices an anomaly on one of the screens. She witnesses Adam wielding a street sign pole, striking multiple zombies with incredible strength around the outside of the smoke. Adam hurls the pole at the giant zombie arm, severing it and freeing Michael. Kiren regains consciousness, seeing Michael teetering on the edge of a massive hole. With glowing eyes, Michael calls out to Kiren, who crawls toward him and pulls him up. Kiren surveys the sight of police and SWAT zombies flying through the air, noticing Adam entering the courthouse holding onto the iconic hammer.
Kiren is astonished by the sight of Adam but also perplexed to see him as a child. Mai then declares that Adam is none other than a Special Star. Cameda gets anger, prompting him to unleash a barrage of human flesh bullets from the sphere. Rune, Will, and Ezzy take cover behind a pile of corpses, while Stella, Xai, Simbad, Agustin, and Megan seek refuge in the armored vans. Kiren pulls Michael under fallen pillars to shield themselves from the bullets. The bullets claim the lives of some of Stella's men on the rooftops, and Mai is hit in the shoulder, but Frank comes out of the smoke and shields her, taking several bullets to his back.
Adam bravely faces the bullets head-on, with some passing through his body. In a decisive move, Adam hurls the hammer at the sphere, breaking it and piercing Cameda's chest, destroying his heart and halting the bullet onslaught. Cameda is caught off guard by Adam's incredible strength, and acknowledges him as the true beacon of humanity. Mai checks on Frank's back, relieved to see him again and that he has a bullet proof vest on. Cameda retaliates by releasing a massive lightning bolt from the hole in his chest, striking Adam and dragging him across the streets.
The lightning courses through Adam's body, flashing his memories in his eyes, reminding him of Sam, Lia, Conor, and Leona. Overwhelmed by emotions, Adam breaks the lightning bolt with his bare hands and loses control of his mind. Screaming, he clutches his head. Cameda slowly begins to heal his chest as he collapses onto the street. Will approaches Cameda and urges him to give up and come to his senses. In response, Cameda declares that if Will won't be on his side, he can die along with the rest.
Cameda releases a lightning bolt, but it is absorbed by Michael. Simbad and Agustin join the fight, attacking Cameda with their weapons. Cameda's body breaks apart and forms into a chunk of flesh, dodging the attacks, attempting to slide away. However, Rune slams his weapon in front of the chunk, halting its movement. Cameda emerges from the chunk and attacks Rune with spikes of flesh. Will jumps in the way to shield Rune, and both are sent crashing into a pile of corpses, with Will sustaining severe injuries and Rune having a couple of holes in his arm.
Ezzy and Stella fire bullets at Cameda while he shields his head. Xai and Megan drive the armored vans from both sides and crash into Cameda, but he catches both vans with his arms and hurls them away. Agustin throws exploding daggers, but Cameda continues to shield his head and retaliates with flesh spikes, cutting Agustin's stomach. Simbad manages to sever one of Cameda's arms, and Rune cuts off the other. Cameda releases more spikes from his body, but Simbad and Rune evade them by jumping backward.
In the midst of the chaos, Will, covered in blood and flesh wounds, leaps through the spikes towards Cameda. Despite his flesh being torn by the spikes, Will remains determined and pulls out a pistol, shooting a bullet towards Cameda's head. Cameda, witnessing Will's desperation and seeing their shared memories flash before his eyes, willingly makes no effort to dodge, resulting in the bullet piercing his head and ending his life. Cameda drops lifelessly as Will falls beside him, bleeding out. Will utters that he will soon join Cameda, his condition worsening.
Mai and Frank rush to Will's side, attempting to help, but Frank sadly shakes his head, indicating it is too late. The entire group becomes aware of the approaching zombies emerging from the smoke. Stella checks the armored van to retrieve Xai and also checks the other van, finding Megan absent. Kiren notices the hammer on the ground and picks it up, pondering Adam's fate. Adam, overcome with tears, curls up while the zombies draw closer. Megan eliminates the zombies surrounding Adam with a knife and approaches him, but Adam remains immersed in his grief, oblivious to his surroundings. Kiren approaches them, attempting to uplift Adam's spirits and reminding him that he is a hero who provided the group with a significant advantage against Cameda.
Kiren and Megan become aware of numerous vehicles approaching, and 20 riders emerge from the vehicles, demanding that they accompany them. However, Kiren and Megan refuse, prompting one of the riders, named Jarvis(35), to take out ropes and insist that declining is not an option. The riders swiftly wrap Kiren and Megan in ropes, forcibly dragging them into a truck. Kiren cries out for help to Adam but he ignores him, still unable to handle his emotions. The rest of the group is preoccupied with defending themselves against the zombies.
One of the riders contemplates whether they should take Adam as well, but Jarvis dismisses the idea, stating that they have no need for a child. Frank and Mai rush to Adam's side and witness Kiren and Megan being kidnapped by the riders. Ezzy attempts to shoot bullets at the riders, but it proves futile as it is already too late. In a resolute tone, Ezzy loudly declares her promise to save them all. Kiren is filled with fear, uncertain of what will happen next, while Megan remains calm and accepts her fate as they are whisked away.