Kurogane Ryu - The Only Thing They Fear Is...

Ryu's foot inched forward with a feeling of joy in his chest.

Was it the blood qi building in his veins or the excitement of being unleashed on the world with no more rules?

The only ones still lingering in his heart...

Sebastian, his mother and that pesky woman who just had to be his rival in martial arts and the woman he could never truly have were not here to hold him in check.

'Those three idiots are too weak.'

'Despite being annoying, I wouldn't mind using them as bait for stronger monsters.'

His eyes locked onto the oncoming zombie jock that lunged forward with his large upper body, shaking off the female corps like dirt.

The thick arms of this guy were larger than Ryu's, but the movements were slow, clunky as if enduring constant cramps as his right shoulder lowered, thrusting upwards with his right palm, fingers curled.

*Thud*

"Grrrrr..."

Ryu's strike smashed the underside of the zombie's jaw, snapping the bone. His explosive power was now beyond his imagination.

Three times an average adult wasn't a joke.

"Ryu, you are the only hope for our clan to ever return to our homeland!"

As he stepped forward, his father's words echoed. Words from when he was young, accidentally having broken a Shirogane student's neck with the brutal techniques of the Kurogane school.

He felt empathy and shock back then, seeing the blood pooling from the broken jaw. A warm, powerful hand landed on his shoulder as he doubted himself.

"Ryu, the Kurogane School's way is that of murder."

"Never show mercy to the enemy!"

"Never hold back your techniques!"

"Even if it's the king of the world, kill him in battle if he dares to provoke us."

"If he has the strength of a thousand, kill him with a single strike."

"If he wields a sword of immortality, tear his tendons and snap his bones!"

"Ryu, our entire Clan is built upon those teachings. Remember these words as if they were carved into stone."

Ryu, with his eyes glowing red, a small aura of red surrounding his fists, as the jock was smashed upwards.

*Crack*

His strike hit the zombie's solar plexus, shattering its rib cage and sending it forcefully in an upwards arc. A strange skill from the cultivation technique, a powerful uppercut before his body followed with a swift spinning kick.

*Boom*

A rush of blazing wind gathered as Ryu's leg spun, his body low to the ground, and with each rotation, his speed increased, rising upwards. The zombie's body was sent flying into the air, tumbling.

*Wham*

The zombie smacked into a classroom, the impact so loud, it shook the nearby walls as the red Qi entered his body.

Ryu stood triumphant, his face calm, cold.

[Blood QI 3/100]

[Current Points: 1120]

"Not enough."

Ryu's face was cold, his voice soft as his body charged forth, his red aura pulsing.

Blood Qi was necessary to increase his combat abilities, and this Zombie Jock was no challenge, but he didn't know the limits of his power; being an hour behind his mind acted like he'd lost time.

"Ah... but I seem to have some luck." His eyes shone as the noise attracted a group of 5 zombies, all shambling towards him.

⟪Abyssal Barrage⟫

His body moved swiftly, dodging a zombie's outstretched arm and lunging towards the next.

*Wham*

"Grrroarrrggg"

Ryu's fist slammed into the nose of the zombie, breaking the cartilage.

A powerful hook followed, smashing against the jaw, shattering the bone before striking another zombie's abdomen with a fierce elbow strike, causing the zombie to keel over, exposing its head to a brutal roundhouse kick.

His leg smashed the zombie's head, the sheer force sending it flying and tumbling back into a classroom.

"Ggraarreeeee"

Two zombies, enraged, rushed him with their arms outstretched, but Ryu's smile widened, his left foot taking a step forward, his hands following, a powerful double-fisted smash smashing directly into the zombie's chest.

*Wham*

Ribcage shattered.

*Wham*

His crimson qi flared, Ryu's knee slamming upwards, cracking the skull and crushing the brain.

The zombie dropped like a sack of potatoes.

"Grader"

Ryu's crimson qi flared as he dodged a flurry of claws and a bite from the last zombie, his body shifting and weaving, avoiding the attacks.

Then, Ryu's knee rose, smashing the zombie's solar plexus, crushing the lungs and shattering the ribs. It didn't cause much damage; these monsters lacked pain, but Ryu began to learn that if you broke their bones, their form and danger collapsed.

The female zombie strumbled to the floor while Ryu's crimson blood qi rose, flooding down his body as his leg descended, before smashing down with an axe kick to the back of her head.

*CRACK*

Cerebral fluid and grey matter splattered the ground.

[Blood Qi: 8/100]

[Current Points: 1170]

Ryu didn't mind it, his crimson qi rising, flowing throughout his body as he focused his eyes towards the distant classroom where the jock had crashed, only to find three trembling idiots hiding under a pile of desks, the scent of ammonia extremely powerful.

'No way are these idiots here... They should have been safe in the infirmary.'

"Yo, clowns, come out. It's me."

Only silence greeted him briefly before the sound of wood crashing to the floor and people crawling along the floor with slightly wet clothes and shoes.

"R-Ryu!? Is it you..?"

"No way, brother... they said you died!"

"Ryu! They killed Miss Grayson... her huge tits lost forever, now a damn maneating corpse!"

Ryu's cold gaze turned towards the trio, his body stepping over the corpses and blood qi slowly calming after the fight.

"How did you escape the infirmary?"

The trio trembled, their faces pale, their eyes wide, their pupils dilated, and Ryu's eyes widened, realizing he was in a heightened state, causing these normal people to shudder and feel the sensation of their deaths.

"Sorry, fighting these things made me a little too serious."

"N-no way, boss! We would have died without you coming."

The tallest of the three was called Max, and despite being quite stocky, he was useless in a fight, lacking coordination and balance.

His shaved head also made him seem like a thug, but honestly was just a guy that liked cute girls.

Ryu smirked at them, his handsome profile causing them to stiffen because they rarely saw him smile in the many years of being his friend.

"H-hey... did the boss just smile?" Max whispered.

"Ah... if only we were girls..."

"I can hear you guys, ya know?"

"Hahahaha!"

The group gave a slightly out-of-place laugh but probably needed to do this. Otherwise, they might collapse from the weight of the situation.

Ryu glanced at them, his eyes glancing out the door and windows before he grabbed a nearby desk, pulling it near the door, covering the entrance.

"This is better than waiting."

"Yeah, I doubt any of the teachers survived, and there are no police, no fire brigade, and the army was fucking useless..." Darren, the small and chubby boy, muttered.

He was a bit of an otaku, but Ryu didn't judge them because when he was at his worst, it was these idiots who were willing to become his friends, following or speaking to him.

"Haha, Darren, you just wanted it to be like that anime where they easily dealt with the otherworld enemies."

"Shut up, Max; there are no hot magical girls or cute cat-eared elves in this zombie apocalypse."

"Brothers, please, now isn't the time." Ryu cut the conversation, his eyes flashing.

"Shhh!" Placing a finger to his lips, he removed his jacket, an expensive customized fabric thanks to his father's donations; it was strong enough to endure a blade attack.

Ryu slid it to the quiet Chao motioning for him to put the jacket on his body, as they were similar heights and body shapes.

Chao was like Ryu and had an Eastern heritage.

His family ran a nice restaurant. "Use this to protect your body; one bite and it's over."

Unlike Darren and Max, Chao didn't have his blazer or jacket.

"B-boss... what about you?" Chao muttered after seeing the muscular arms of Ryu, filled with slight scars from his training and upbringing.

"I'm fine, even if they bite or claw me." Ryu chuckled.

Now he constantly felt his crimson qi pulsing, his body moving to the windows, glancing outside, his glossy black hair ruffling with the wind.

"Boss... what will we do?" Max asked as he glanced around the room, finding a baseball bat.

"Follow me, but don't get too close during combat. I lose the sense of ally and enemy; do you have any information before we leave? What about that woman and meddlesome guy, Shinji? Did they try to gather people?"

Darren shook his head, his eyes focusing on Ryu's movements as he adjusted his glasses.

"She tried to gather the injured, and Shinji was doing the same. I think those two idiots are probably together with the student council and their disciplinary committee."

Ryu nodded, seeing they all had weapons and were covered. He decided to check the shop for anything that might help the group.

'Is there anything, a basic martial art... something to help these kids survive?'

As the data window opened, his face smirked before pressing buy 3 times. "Bingo!"

"Let's go, guys; we need to kill some zombies. You three need to learn martial arts."

"H-huh!?" Darren stuttered, and Ryu chuckled.

"BOSS!!!" Chao and Max yelled with bright faces.

"You guys can't fight zombies with just a bat, so listen and learn my clan's most basic technique."

Ryu lied, knowing they all dreamed of joining his family dojo.

Well, it wasn't much worse...

He left the classroom first, his shoulders and back relaxed as a large group of zombies shambled towards them, "Oh, look, Max! So many cute girls want to get your number."

Ryu's words caused him to get excited before seeing the girls with their faces rotting, bite marks and bloody wounds with flesh hanging, causing him to wretch violently.

"B-boss... my tastes are extremely wide, but not THAT extreme."

However, Ryu was already halfway towards them without a care for his exposed chest.

'I have to force their hearts to accept the situation, or they will be weight down and die...' Ryu worried, looking at their shaking bodies.

His body lowered as he filled his limbs with blood qi feeling it empowered him by a small amount, like a small buff in video games.

"Come on! You need to overcome your fears. The only thing they should fear..."

"Is you!"

The moment he spoke, like a beast, he leapt into the sky, smashing into the crowd with a dropkick, his feet glowing faintly red as his body tore through the zombie group of more than 12.

"Shit Boss!!!" Darren cried out, rushing forward with his bat."

"Damn... I'm so fucking scared... but the boss is in danger!" Chao's teeth were chattering, but he rushed forward.

"Boss... The only thing they fear is you.. not us."

Max, the last one, knew he sucked in a fight but clenching his fist tightly, he too rushed forward, but the moment he did, something was strange...

"Why can I move so well!?"