Fire-mage

"Now then, answer my questions truthfully, and you won't die. Got it?"

"…"

With no response coming from the group frozen in terror, Merlin repeated a little louder,

"Got it?!"

"Y- Yes!"

"Good. Then, why did you enter this house?"

"W- We saw the defences on the house."

"So we assumed that there were no zombies inside, and maybe even some food. So we went in the second we passed by the electric fence."

"And that is why you lot decided to break into the house?"

This time, the one kid that Merlin assumed was a pre-awakened spoke,

"Sir, We are sorry for the intrusion. We really didn't mean any harm. We were actually passing by and noticed the house. We even knocked a few times and no sounds came from inside. So we assumed that no one was home and so we forced our way in to find food. We were really short on it, you see."

"And how did this shortage come about. It's not even been a day since the apocalypse began?"

"Apocalypse?"

"Just answer the question!"

"Y-Yes sir! We were actually at the college when all of this happened. So we immediately took all the defence gear we could and ran for the parking lot underground. We soon found a bus and a car which had keys in them and so we took those vehicles and ran. However, along the way, there were countless zombies and the car had received a large amount of damage, to the point that it wouldn't move. We had to abandon the car, food, and people inside, in the middle of a zombie horde, and unfortunately, it had all the food we had been able to gather. Therefore we were low on food."

Merlin began contemplating after hearing this. 'These guys seem to have good response to tough situations and are swift in their action. The even have well-built bodies, enough to overpower normal zombies with brute force. With some information on killing zombies, and polishing of their fighting skills, they could be useful…'

With this in mind, Merlin said,

"Alright. Now, you have two options. One is to leave, try your best out there on your own. The other is to join my group and survive with us. Naturally, you will have to follow my orders completely. Of course, you can always try and overpower me and take over the group yourself, but seeing your current strength, I doubt that is possible. I will give you until the time we depart from this place, at 5 am. Rest up till then. I will have someone send over some food."

With this, Merlin ensured that the doors to the truck they were in was sealed close. For insurance, he took one of his metal rods and bent it around the exterior of the door, ensuring that the people inside could see it.

They were stunned beyond words. Not only was this man the leader of such a large force, manly consisting of the police, but was also ruthlessly cold-blooded, too fast for the naked eye to see, and strong enough to shape metal piped like wet clay! How could such an absurd being exist?

Completing the task of threatening and securing his prisoners, Merlin entered the house and met up with Alex and the Jacksons. The began talking about what they were doing for the past couple of hours since Merlin and Alex left home. They also spoke about how Merlin got such a large police force under his control. Time passed as Merlin explained to them what they were going to do.

Soon, it was almost 5 am, and Merlin got up from his sleep. As a level 3 human, Merlin only needed around 4 hours of sleep to feel completely fresh after words. Even if he didn't sleep for a few days, It wouldn't affect him in the slightest. Back in the future, those evolved humans didn't need food nor sleep or rest. Everything revolved around mana, as the greatest strength as well as support. This was why a mana absorbing monster like Zero was almost impossible to defeat.

He had sent Alex and the Jacksons of to bed at around 10 pm, saying that they needed at least 7 hours of sleep a day, and that he too was going to sleep.

Naturally, how could he go to sleep while his men stayed awake? So he went to the roof and began remembering all his past experiences. The people he had met, and lost. The bonds he had made, and yet were broken for small benefits. The strong opponents he had faced, and suddenly he felt the familiar scarred face of Zero, and shiver ran up his spine.

It was at this time that he was awoken from his stupor my some faint mana fluctuations. Looking over, he noticed that it was coming from the truck with the dozen captives. Suddenly, Merlin's figure faded away like smoke under a fan, as he darted towards the truck.

"Pst. Hey, Jack. Hurry up. What is someone hears us?"

"Yes, yes. I'm doing all I can. I need about 10 more minutes. Just keep your faces covered and don't let any of the smoke get into your lungs."

"Tch. Fine. Just do it quickly"

"If it goes into your lungs, you will die"

"Hiik"

With this, those annoying fools stopped pestering Jack as he was trying to cut through the steel door using his flame ability. He had already begun, about 10% underway to freedom, when a voice resounded in the air around them.

"Fire mage, stop breaking my truck."

With this, everyone froze. They clearly knew whose voice it was. The leader of the group, Merlin was standing outside, waiting for them. They suddenly felt as if they were heading straight for the mouth of an ancient beast, if they stayed near the door any longer. All of them tacitly moved away without another sound.

Suddenly, the sound of metal creaking could be heard from outside, before the door to the truck was swung open to reveal the terrifying young man.

"What is your name Fire mage?" he said as he looked at Jack.

"M- Me?"

"Hmm. I don't think anyone else has the talent of a fire mage. So yes, you."

"Jack, sir…"

"Okay. I was initially planning on killing you all for trying to destroy my vehicles. But the emergence of a pre-awakened fire-mage has changed my mind. You will become part of my group. If your followers wish to join, then they are welcome to, but they won't receive any extra treatment. Jack, you will now be one of my personal subordinates. Alright, get up. Let's go! You guys need to change your gear and equip a few weapons as well. Also, remember this. I can overlook a lot of things. But betrayal and disloyalty are not one of those. Immediate death awaits those people who disobey orders, or scheme against their own group members."

"…"

"GO!"