Chapter 3: Name

Something was different– no. Something is different.

The Zombie could feel it. The sun was shining down on its face, as it had been doing so since the start of its existence… but something was different.

It could hear things that it previously was not able to. The maggots that were helping themselves with the Zombie's flesh were now being… a nuisance.

Annoyed. It was annoyed– another new feeling that was starting to build up inside it. The Zombie then grabbed its maggot-infested stomach… before tearing it from the rest of its flesh and throwing it away.

Still… something was different.

The Zombie then turned its head to the side, watching as its… kin walked aimlessly. The Zombie looked to the other side, only to see another batch of its kin doing the same.

Just waiting– waiting for something alive to appear. Waiting for something alive to devour.

How long? How long has the Zombie been walking along with… them?

They all looked the same, even the Zombie. The flesh on their faces, either rotting or mangled– completely different from those that were… alive.

Alive. What does that even mean?

There were hundreds of them gathered here– with some of the undead new to the Zombie's eyes; fresh. Perhaps they were alive just moments before?

There were hundreds of them gathered… but the Zombie stood alone. Its eyes, almost as if scanning and learning.

"Chris!" The Zombie then suddenly screamed. And as soon as it did so, all the other zombies surrounding it all turned their bodies towards it.

And very slowly, they made their way toward the Zombie.

"..." The Zombie then took a few steps back, watching as the rest of its kin gathered to where he previously stood. It watched for a while– and finally, it realized something.

Something was different. The Zombie was different– it was different from the rest of its kind.

"There's a horde there."

"..." The Zombie's pale blue eyes then widened as a voice suddenly whispered into its ear. The voice came from afar– the Zombie somehow knew this.

The Zombie could also hear their steps; perhaps belonging to 3 humans. And, just like before… they were getting near.

"..." The Zombie then looked toward its horde… before carefully walking and moving deeper into them. The Zombie knew it was different from the rest of its kind, yes… but the humans shouldn't know that.

And so, the Zombie hid– walking amongst the horde as its pale blue eyes waited for the group of humans to approach.

The Zombie wondered. Wondered– something the Zombie had probably never done before. But now, it did. It wondered why humans come and go to this place… knowing full well their lives were in danger of fading away, just like what happened to its last prey.

And soon, as the Zombie walked with the horde, the humans showed themselves.

They were standing above an abandoned bus; holding weapons that could… extinguish the existence of the horde as well as the Zombie's. And then, suddenly– something reflected the Zombie's eyes.

Something familiar, but at the same time, not.

In the hands of one of the humans, a man wearing a black cloak, a light appeared– a flame. The flame started to dance, reflecting on the Zombie's pale blue eyes. And very soon, this flame suddenly threw itself towards the horde.

"..."

The Zombie watched as the rest of its kin… still continued to try and reach for the humans standing above the bus. But why? The Zombie thought. Why would the horde do that when flames were now currently devouring their bodies?

"They won't die with just that."

The Zombie then once again turned its eyes toward the three humans as they began to speak. The words that breathed out from their mouth entered through the Zombie's ears was something that it did not recognize.

But there was this weird feeling again… that somehow, the Zombie was slowly starting to understand.

"If you want to kill them with flames, then you need to at least have the power of an E-Rank."

The oldest one amongst the three spoke– a woman.

"But it doesn't mean your flames are useless, Trap. It could serve as a distraction, just like what is happening now," the woman then grabbed one of the knives hanging from her waist– throwing it straight towards one of the zombie's heads,

"The rest of your team could finish them with just a tap on the head…

…you try it."

"..." The Zombie watched as the woman handed a knife to the other young man beside her. It watched as they killed another one of its kind– and for some reason, the Zombie once again felt something different growing inside.

It doesn't know what it is… the only thing that the Zombie could really do was just follow. Followed as its body suddenly ran through the horde and straight toward the bus.

"That one, kill it!"

"Y… yes!"

A knife was on its way toward the Zombie's head, but before the knife could reach its face, the Zombie blocked the knife with its arm. And without even any hesitation… it rammed itself onto the bus.

"!!!"

A small thunder erupted in the air as the bus trembled violently– not enough to push it, but enough.

Enough to cause one of the humans standing on the roof to fall.

"Trap!"

It was the one capable of creating fire.

The woman tried to reach for Trap… but before their hands could touch. The Zombie suddenly leaped towards Trap, grabbing and pulling him away into the horde.

"S… shit! Kill it!" The woman quickly grabbed the remaining knives hanging on her waist, throwing them straight toward the Zombie. But alas, with the rest of the horde blocking it, the Zombie suddenly ran away.

"Trap!" The woman was about to chase the Zombie… but that would mean leaving behind her other companion. And since she was actually training the two… leaving one for the other would mean death for them.

She hated to admit it… but Trap was as good as dead.

"W… what are we going to do, m… ma'am?"

"We… should leave," the woman could only grit her teeth as she looked away, "We need to report this to the Slayer Association…

…there's a Class-D monster roaming near the Wall."

***

[Skill: Summon Flames Lv. 1, Gained!]

[Host level, Up!]

[Would you like to distribute your Status Points?]

[...]

[.....]

[Failure to answer within the allowable time: Automatically distributing Status Points.]

[Determining Host's needed Status.]

[...]

[.....]

[Adding points to Intelligence.]

"..."

Once again, the Zombie found himself staring at the human it just devoured. It then turned its eyes towards the black cloak Trap was wearing… before pulling it away from him.

And almost as if in instinct, the Zombie started to cover itself with it.

"Nathan…" The Zombie then whispered, "Trap… Nathan… Trap… Name…

…Name... need...

Name...

...I need a name."