48: Bastard (2)

"It's fortunate that none of you have been infected by those things" - Cloud said as he looked at the embarrassed soldiers in front of him - "Although I hope this is not a recurring thing, because it's quite possible that next time you won't be as lucky"

"We know, and we're sorry, Cloud-sama" - one of the soldiers replied as he bowed his head.

Cloud simply nodded before ordering them to go get something to eat.

"You've shown a good attitude, Cloud" - Rika said with a small smile as she folded her arms.

"I have to keep this attitude" - Cloud replied as he shook his head - "Someone has to be the villain in the movie."

"It's better to say that someone has to be the tough guy who keeps everyone on the sidelines while the leader bathes in glory" - Rika said as she understood what was going on - "Seriously, you shouldn't show yourself with such coldness, you're going to look like you're a bastard who let the power go to his head."

Cloud simply shrugged his shoulders as he thought about the future - "I don't care, as long as the people I really care about know the truth, everyone else can fuck off and think whatever they want."

"Hmm, you're stranger than I thought, though in a good way" - Rika said with a small smile - "Anyway, I better get back to the others because the rest time is about to end already"

Cloud rolled his eyes at her before turning around and walking towards the next place he had to see.

Rika watched as his silhouette entered a nearby building, possibly so he could observe the surroundings from an upper balcony.

* * * * *

"It's just as we thought" - Yuriko said as she saw a group of rotting corpses on the sides of the street - "There are armed survivors, a group of about 30 to 40 people, maybe more..."

"This is good and bad, after all, we don't know if they are allies or enemies" - Cloud mused as he started to think - "Other than that, I feel there's something weird about this place..."

Yuriko was silent for a few seconds while looking around and holding her nose because the smell was nauseating - "I know, this rotten smell is too strong..."

"Watch out, I heard something!" - Saya exclaimed as she looked around.

"Be careful, this place feels strange!" - Saeko exclaimed as she took her sword and looked at the corpses, only to notice how they looked strange, not only because of how putrid they were, but also the bite marks, as if someone had eaten their flesh.

"Wait here, I'm going to check more carefully" - Cloud said as he picked up his katana and pistol before walking down the empty street that seemed to be harboring hundreds of corpses.

"Be careful" - muttered Yuriko as she signaled her subordinates to prepare to attack when she gave the signal.

Cloud tightened his grip on the hilt of his katana firmly as he advanced slowly, though a strange feeling of dread gripped his body because it felt as if he had entered a different place, and to his surprise, he seemed to have hit the nail on the head.

[Warning, the player has entered the nest of a group of corrosive zombies!]

"Corrosive zombies?" - Cloud repeated in surprise, though his expression changed as he watched the corpses begin to rise one after another.

The soldiers watched in terror as the decomposed corpses began to roar and crawl against the blond, who was watching everything with a pale face.

"Shoot!" - Yuriko exclaimed as she felt her heart pounding a mile a minute.

"ROAR!" - the zombies roared again as they increased the speed of their movements. They were not only twice as fast as a normal zombie, but they seemed to have regained their sense of sight as well.

"Shit!" - Cloud exclaimed with a cold sweat running down his back. He quickly grabbed his pistol and began to kill all the rotting creatures in his vicinity, though this caused more of those things to join the party from the sound of his gunfire - "This is bad..."

Cloud began to advance carefully as he cut down the zombies, though this was starting to be concerning because the moment he killed one corrosive zombie, two would take its place, as if they were constantly multiplying, and what was worse, those things were coming out of the paved area, which showed their sheer physical strength.

"Keep firing!" - Yuriko exclaimed while breathing heavily, after all, she didn't want to lose Cloud now that she had accepted his presence in her heart - "Don't leave any of those things alive!"

Saeko quickly grabbed her katana and ran to the place where Cloud was, although this made her frown slightly because when she tried to get closer, she saw how a group of normal zombies appeared from the buildings - "Are those things starting to lay traps?"

"I don't know, I don't think it's necessary to dig further either, now we just have to kill those things and help Cloud" - Rei said while biting her lip because she could see how the situation was getting worse for the boy she liked.

"Keep shooting!" - Saya exclaimed in fear - "Empty all your magazines, don't leave any bullets in your guns!"

The sound of the hail of bullets echoed through the place as Cloud was still doing his best to rejoin his group, but the zombies were getting more dangerous - "Kill them all!"

* * * * *

"There's noise over this area!" - Kiriko exclaimed excitedly - "Let's go!"

"But we have to be careful, Kiriko-san, we don't know if they are good or bad people" - said a soldier with a frown.

"Obviously, but that doesn't mean we can't observe them from a distance" - Kiriko replied calmly as she led her group in the direction where the gunshots were heard.

The group advanced slowly, until they saw with surprise a huge group fighting some rotting corpses, and to Kiriko's and the others' relief, there were military men in this group.

"Perfect!" - Kiriko exclaimed, though her expression changed when she saw someone familiar in the group who had appeared out of nowhere. The first was a beautiful purple-haired woman, who was accompanied by a pink-haired girl, and finally, the person who shocked her the most, a beautiful brown-haired girl of about 18 - "Rei?! That's my daughter!"

The expression of Kiriko's group changed drastically when they heard these words, more so when they noticed how their leader ran off in the direction of this group to help them.

* * * * *

Cloud gritted his teeth as he dodged the green blood of the zombies he had cut so far because it was obvious that it was toxic, and not just because of the zombie virus.

"This is ridiculous..." - Cloud muttered as he tightened his grip on the hilt of his katana that looked like it would break at any moment from the cracks - "I really need a better weapon."

The katana he was using, was a ceremonial sword, so its resistance was basically nil, this weapon had been created as ornamentation, and now he was suffering for this.

Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he was breathing heavily, however, he could feel how he was slowly adapting to perfection with his abilities.

Sword wielding, firearms, physical endurance, resistance against pressure, all of his stats were increasing at great speed as he continued to fight relentlessly. Strength, vitality, agility, his physical Stats were also increasing in the face of this tense situation in the process called awakening.

"Let's go!" - Cloud roared as he once again slashed at the monsters rushing at him - "I'm not going to die, I'm going to keep fighting! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Cloud let out a laugh full of excitement as he left his entire being in battle.

Dodge, dodge, counterattack, he was trying his best not to take damage because he wasn't sure if his body could withstand the corrosive power of these monsters, nor did he plan to experience it.

"Right, right, left, back" - Cloud muttered as he watched his opponents closely - "Bite at the shoulder..."

Cloud quickly stepped back as he dodged the monster's attack.

"Bite to my leg to try and slow me down, those things are learning..." - Cloud muttered as he took a leap to dodge the monster and used the momentum to crush its head like a watermelon, though he quickly jumped back so as not to suffer the effects of overexposure to that thing's blood - "This isn't as corrosive as I thought, or maybe it only affects human biological material..."

Cloud was silent as he watched the zombies pause, as if they were waiting for something, although this was excellent for the young blond because it was a break after being fighting with his body at full power.

"This is exhausting..." - Cloud muttered as he wiped the sweat from his brow, only to be surprised when he heard the sound of gunshots coming from another direction. He quickly looked towards that location, only to find a group of policemen being led by a strangely familiar woman who was wearing a janitor's outfit - "I don't know who you are, but your help is more than welcome..."