In an open field, a vehicle stood still.
Around it were Lior, Shai, Yuki, and the four guild officials.
In front of them—
A massive horde of zombies surrounded them completely.
One of the officials panicked.
"Why are there so many zombies?!"
Lior remained calm.
"There's nothing to worry about. They're just zombies… they shouldn't be that strong."
Yuki nervously raised his sword.
"R-Right…!"
Shai and the officials also prepared themselves.
The zombies rushed forward.
"Graa… graa…!"
Lior spoke quickly.
"Me and my friends will attack first. Any that get past us—handle them."
The officials nodded.
"Hmm."
Lior, Shai, and Yuki charged into the horde.
Swords clashed.
Bodies fell.
Yuki struck a zombie's head—
But another one suddenly attacked from the side.
He barely dodged and sliced it in half.
More zombies rushed him.
Step by step, he kept cutting them down.
Meanwhile—
Shai swung his sword once—
Three to four zombies fell instantly.
But more kept coming.
"Are… these things never going to end?!"
He kept fighting, not letting a single zombie pass.
Lior moved like a blur.
Every second—
Two zombies died.
Before any could even touch him, they were already cut down.
Gradually…
All the zombies were eliminated.
"Uff…"
"Finally… it's over…"
Shai and Lior were completely unharmed.
But Yuki had several cuts on his body.
Lior walked up to him and handed him a small green bottle.
"Drink this. It will heal minor injuries… and zombie bites too."
Yuki nodded.
"Thank you…"
The ground was now covered with zombie corpses.
Shai smirked.
"Hmph… Yuki, I saved you three times today."
"But you fought pretty well."
Yuki smiled awkwardly.
"Y-Yeah… thanks…"
Lior turned toward the officials.
"So what do we do with these bodies?"
One official replied.
"We'll take them. We can sell them at the guild."
"Okay."
Another official spoke quietly.
"I thought these kids wouldn't be able to protect us… but I was wrong."
"Hmm… me too."
As they began gathering the bodies—
Suddenly—
The corpses started shaking.
Yuki froze.
"W-What's going on?!"
Lior shouted.
"Move back!"
The officials panicked.
"What is happening?!"
Shai's expression hardened.
"!!"
All the zombie bodies merged together.
Flesh twisted.
Bones cracked.
A giant zombie was formed.
It was nearly 40 meters tall.
A crown sat on its head.
Yuki's voice trembled.
"D-Damn…!!"
Far away in the sky—
Polgerius was watching.
"I didn't expect them to defeat those zombies…"
He smirked.
"But no matter… this giant zombie isn't that easy."
He observed carefully.
"Hm… now that I think about it…"
"The second Nicul is inside that vehicle…"
"And those four guards are protecting it."
He looked down.
"The giant zombie will kill them all within a minute…"
"Unless they have some hidden move… they cannot win."
Back on the battlefield—
Yuki panicked.
"H-How are we going to defeat this thing?!"
Lior thought calmly.
Compared to that demon from two years ago, this is nothing…
But its size is huge…
I might need to transform into my dragon form…
No… not necessary.
He spoke quickly.
"Yuki, stay here and guard the car."
"Shai, keep attacking it from the front."
"I'll attack from the back."
Both nodded.
"Hmm."
"Let's go!"
Shai charged forward.
"YOU'RE DONE, ZOMBIE!"
"BLAZE FLAME!"
A powerful mix of dark red and yellow flames burst from his hand and struck the giant zombie.
"GRAAA—!"
The zombie took damage—
But with one swing of its arm, the wind pressure extinguished the flames.
It reached out to grab Shai—
But Shai dodged and slashed it.
"GRAAA!!"
Suddenly—
The zombie opened its mouth.
And spat out hundreds of tiny zombies.
Each one was only 2–3 inches in size.
They rushed toward everyone.
"Fuck—!"
"Oi, oi, oi!!"
Some officials were bitten immediately.
They fell to the ground.
Yuki fought desperately—
Cutting some.
Dodging others.
Blood covered his body.
But then—
Some zombies bit him.
Others, still alive on the ground, grabbed him.
"AAAA—!! AGH—!! HAA—!!"
Shai noticed.
He rushed over instantly.
"HAIYA!!"
In one motion, he cut down all the zombies around Yuki.
Yuki collapsed to the ground, trembling.
"T-Thank you…"
"Don't worry."
The small zombie attack finally stopped.
Shai looked toward the giant.
"Now it's Lior's turn."
Lior appeared mid-air behind the giant zombie.
Right near its neck.
He raised his sword.
"GIGANTIC SLICE!"
In a single swing—
The giant zombie's head was severed.
It crashed to the ground.
Dead.
Lior landed calmly.
But—
Three officials had been bitten badly.
Their condition was critical.
Shai asked quickly.
"Lior, do you have any potions left?"
"…Only one."
They rushed toward the injured.
"Don't you have healing potions?"
One official shook his head.
"No… we didn't think something like this would happen…"
Lior clenched his teeth.
What do you mean you didn't think…? Anything can happen!
If we don't act now, they'll die!
"What do we do?!"
Yuki spoke urgently.
"We should take them to a hospital as fast as possible!"
Shai shook his head.
"The city is still 4 hours away…"
One official muttered hopelessly.
"…Maybe today is their last day…"
The injured officials groaned in pain.
"Agh… haa… haa…"
Lior stepped forward.
"Let me check."
He was about to examine them—
When suddenly—
A beam shot toward him.
He dodged instantly—
But—
It hit Official 2 in the chest.
A hole formed instantly.
He died on the spot.
"What was that?!"
"Damn!"
Lior's eyes widened.
"!!"
From the sky—
Polgerius descended slowly, floating 6–8 meters above the ground.
"I thought that giant zombie would finish you all…"
He smiled coldly.
"But as you know… you can never truly judge someone's strength."
One official shouted.
"W-Who are you?!"
Polgerius replied calmly.
"Does it matter… who I am?"
Lior stepped forward.
"No. But what do you want?"
Polgerius's eyes locked onto the vehicle.
"What else would I want?"
"The Nicul Knife… inside that car."
Lior stood up fully.
Shai spoke sharply.
"You think we'll just give you that knife?!"
Polgerius smirked.
"When did I say I'd take it peacefully?"
"I'll obtain it… after killing all of you."
Lior's expression turned serious.
"…Then let's see."
He jumped forward—
Rushing straight toward Polgerius.
Shai and Yuki were shocked.
"Lior—!"
The last official stood in tension near the injured.
Polgerius remained floating mid-air—
Ready.
The battle… was about to begin.