Chapter 25-26: Pyro Vision

[Day 2]

Saya watched in abject horror as a monstrous figure, towering over two meters tall with a frame as broad as a bear's, lumbered out of the shadowy depths of the room. The man's once-human form had been grotesquely transformed, his body now a nightmarish vessel for a web of throbbing black veins.

Despite the considerable distance that separated them, the abomination's menacing, blood-red eyes seared into Saya's very soul, conveying an unspoken promise of raw destruction and pain.

'T-That sharp face…'

With a shock of horrified recognition, Saya realized that the grotesque mass of flesh and veins was none other than Moriyama-senpai, the once-handsome ace of the soccer club. The insidious disease that had rampaged through the school like a merciless plague had claimed him as its latest victim, warping his body and mind into something utterly inhuman.

"Ragahhh!!!" The abomination shook the very ground they stood on with its guttural, inhuman cry. "Humans. I must destroy humans. I must end them for the world."

Suddenly, the monster broke into a near-sprint speed, contrasting the monstrous strength that lurked beneath his sickly, pulsating skin. Each thunderous footfall echoed through the hallway, perfectly in sync with their own racing, fear-stricken hearts.

Saya and her companions stood frozen, paralyzed by the sheer, overwhelming aura of dread that emanated from the abomination as it barreled towards them.

The narrow hallway offered them no refuge from the sprinting menace. They'd undoubtedly be run over by the undead creature in this position, crushed beneath its massive bulk or ripped apart by its ravenous hunger.

Hisashi added another layer of desperation to their dire predicament. Bent on his knees, he spewed blackish blood, the terrifying disease having nearly consumed him, transforming him into one of the shambling, undead horrors that roamed the school's blood-soaked halls.

As a result of Hisashi's grave condition, Rei was reduced to a trembling mess of uncontrollable sobs and glistening tears that streamed down her face.

"H-Hisashi, you can fight it. I know you can do it." Rei tried to motivate Hisashi, who seemed to be unresponsive to everything around him. "Hisashi…"

In a flash of adrenaline-fueled clarity, Saya punched Komuro's arm. "Takashi, carry Hisashi. We have to move."

Takashi, his own heart pounding with a primal, fight-or-flight response, nodded grimly as he clenched his metal bat. Holding Hisashi's shoulders, he guided the sick gray-haired young man towards the stairs. Rei wiped the tears from her eyes before she held her 'Spear' in one hand and helped Takashi.

But as they reached the stairs, their hopes of escape were cruelly dashed. Another horde of undead abominations awaited them below, their gaping, tooth-filled maws stretched wide with an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

"We're trapped," Takashi said. "We have to fight him or them."

"T-They weren't here a moment ago."

"Must have been lured by the noise," Saya concluded, forcing herself to remain calm even as every instinct screamed at her to run. "Takashi, clear the way with Rei. I'll carry your friend."

"Understood!" Komuro let go of his grip on Hisashi's shoulders and let his friend lean on Saya.

Rei also reluctantly withdrew from Hisashi and charged down the stairs with her weapon.

Saya threw one last glance back at the rapidly approaching monstrosity, nearly freezing in place as its overwhelming aura crashed over her. Fighting back the mind-numbing terror, she encircled Hisashi's limp hands around her neck and began to half-carry, half-drag him down the stairs.

For a fleeting moment, a dark, insidious thought wormed its way into her mind, whispering seductively of the benefits of abandoning Hisashi. It would be so easy, so temptingly simple, to cast him down the stairs like the dead weight he was, to save herself from the looming threat of the giant at her heels, and to save herself from the inevitability of being bitten by an undead Hisashi.

It was a win-win situation, the cold, logical part of her mind insisted. But try as she might, Saya couldn't find the will to abandon Takashi's best friend.

"Let him go, you stupid little bitch."

Her reason and emotions clashed to the point where she could hear her psyche throwing shade at her.

"Takagi… cough, cough. Finish me…" Hisashi spoke through blood-covered lips. "I can't… I can't hold back these voices."

"I'll certainly do that after we get out of here."

Saya dragged her feet down the stairs. Carrying a tall man like Hisashi put a toll on her body. Still, she pushed herself to bring him along, even as the steps turned louder and louder.

Her nose suddenly picked up a strong stench and scrunched in disgust. The stench bothered her to the point she almost hurled her breakfast.

"Don't you want to see your Mama? Focus on surviving, dumbass."

She ignored the biting voice in her head, cautioning herself to not look back.

Further ahead, Komuro and Rei bashed the skulls of abominations with some teamwork you wouldn't expect from high schoolers.

'These two are made for each other.'

"But you aren't made for anyone, you foul-mouthed wench."

'Oi, that was uncalled for!'

Hisashi kept coughing blood as Saya approached Rei and Komuro, making Saya question the amount of blood in his frail body.

'He is gonna die. Save your own ass, you dumb bitch.'

'…'

And then, in a moment of heart-stopping terror, Saya felt a massive, unyielding presence make contact with her back, a touch that sent icy tendrils of pure fear racing through her veins.

"Kyaaaaa—"

*Crack*

The sickening crack of bone shattering under immense force reached her ears. In an instant, Saya's world was violently upended. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as she hurtled through the air and crashed into the wall with a jarring, bone-rattling impact. Pain exploded through every nerve ending, setting her body ablaze.

As Saya struggled to regain her bearings, her vision swam with a haze of crimson. Through the fog of pain and disorientation, her eyes fell upon a sight that sent a fresh wave of horror through her broken and battered body.

There, lying just ahead of her, was Hisashi, his body contorted at an unnatural angle, his limbs splayed out in ways even the most flexible athletes couldn't replicate. His pitch-black soulless eyes stared without a single blink.

'Is this… the end?' The thought drifted through Saya's increasingly muddled mind, a numb sense of hopeless resignation settling over her like a suffocating poison.

The hulking abomination loomed over her prone form, its massive foot raised high in preparation to stomp down and crush her skull like an overripe melon. Unlike the other mindless undead that roamed the school, this monstrous being seemed purely focused on unleashing destruction and sowing chaos.

As the foot began its descent, Saya's life flashed before her eyes in a dizzying rush of fragmented memories. Her carefree childhood, the tormenting disputes between her mother and father that followed in her middle school, and her newfound passion for writing — everything played out in her mind like a bittersweet montage. But despite the flood of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, one thing remained crystal clear — she wasn't ready to die, not like this, not now.

She couldn't let it all end here, in some godforsaken corner of the school, her broken body left to rot where even her own mother would never find her. She just refused to die and leave her mother behind.

In that moment, an indomitable will to survive burst to life within her. There was something else in her mind — an ever-compassing figure shrouded in warmth; the figure soothed her pain, allowing her to roll away from the crushing stomp by a breath of air.

As Saya pushed herself to her feet with trembling arms, her eyes blazed with fierce determination.

"Thou embody the passion…"

The voice that had spoken directly into her mind was both alien and strangely familiar, as if it had always been a part of her.

"Thou embody the fury… Thou art the perfect vessel for our flames!"

With the declaration, a fiery red gem manifested before her. The gem was encased within an intricate golden frame, emphasizing the mesmerizing dance of the flickering flames within.

Feeling an innate connection to the gem, she reached out and grasped it within her hand.

'This is…'

A rush of ancient knowledge and power flooded through her very being.

'A Vision.'

The flames that burst forth from her body were unlike anything she had ever experienced, their searing heat somehow soothing rather than painful. As the inferno raged around her, she felt her injuries mending at an astonishing rate, the agony of broken bones and torn flesh fading like a half-remembered nightmare.

Then the flames subsided, leaving her with almost too much information to process. But one thing stood out with crystal clarity — this gem 'Vision' was the key to surviving this nightmarish monster.

Saya deftly dodged another one of the abomination's massive, swinging punches, her movements fluid and graceful in a way they had never been before. Silently thanking the mysterious entity, she clutched the gem tightly in her hand and thrust her left arm towards the undead monstrosity.

"Flame Rush!"

A torrent of roaring flames burst forth from her outstretched arm, engulfing the creature in a maelstrom of searing heat and light. The flames licked at its rotting flesh, setting its tattered clothes ablaze, but seemed to do little more than superficial damage to its unnaturally resilient body.

Saya felt the rush of energy that had suffused her body diminish slightly with the attack, the mysterious force that the entity had called 'elemental energy' draining away like water from a leaky vessel. It was quite like the concept of mana that she had encountered in countless fantasy novels.

'I can do it. I'll kill this bastard and survive.'

She was only dimly aware of the profound changes that her mind had undergone in the span of a mere hour, the once arrogant but fundamentally caring girl now transformed into a hardened survivor, willing to go above and beyond.

The undead abomination leaned forward, its muscles bulging grotesquely as it assumed a menacing, crab-like stance. "I'll crush you, little girl."

Saya snorted. "I'm not afraid."

The creature let out a bellowing roar of fury and threw another devastating punch at her, but Saya was ready this time. She ducked low and rolled to the side, the monster's fist whistling past her head with inches to spare.

Saya disregarded the surprised look of Komuro and aimed her hands at the enemy. "Elemental Compression: Pyro Shot."

The flames that danced around her fingers blazed even brighter, coalescing into six fiery red orbs. Each one drained a significant portion of her remaining elemental energy, but she pushed on, determined to end this fight here and now.

With a flick of her wrists, Saya sent the flaming spheres hurtling towards her foe. One crashed directly into its face, searing its fetid flesh and causing it to howl in agony. Two more found their mark in the center of its chest, burning gaping holes through its rotting torso. The rest, however, flew past the creature's large frame.

Even with magical powers, her aim was worse than children.

Despite the grievous wounds she had inflicted, the undead monstrosity showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, it charged at her with even more fury.

"DESTROY!"

She channeled the rest of her elemental energy towards her hand. "Die with my EXPLOSION!"

The world around her exploded into a blinding flash of light and heat, the roar of her flames drowning out all other sounds. She felt her strength abandon her in an instant, her legs turning to jelly as she toppled backwards, completely spent.

But instead of the jarring impact of the hard concrete, she felt a pair of strong, gentle arms catch her before she could hit the ground.

"You did good. Leave the rest to me."

With the last of her rapidly fading consciousness, Saya forced her eyes open, her blurry vision struggling to focus on the handsome face that hovered above her.

'Marikawa-san?' She thought hazily, a flicker of recognition sparking in her exhausted mind.

And then, as the darkness rose up to claim her, Saya knew no more.