The golden flames washing across the corridor and bursting into the room gradually died down when the energy fueling their rampage was exhausted. The dying embers hissed as they licked against the scorched concrete, leaving behind a suffocating heat that shimmered in the air.
Yet what appeared in their wake was a majestic sight, one that would have shocked anyone fortunate, or perhaps unfortunate, to see it.
Kael stood amidst the settling ash of wooden doors, but the fire that burst from his body didn't die out with the explosion. Instead, the golden flames condensed, wrapping around his frame like a regal garment. It was a coat of living sun-fire, the edges flickering against the air and flapping with every slight shift of his weight. It didn't just burn; it pulsed with the rhythm of his ENERGI, turning the one-armed boy into a silhouette of molten gold.
The air distorted around him, making it look like he was standing in a shimmering mirage.
Yet, Kael's dark-as-night eyes, that now glowed with a golden light, were entirely cold, his face void of warmth.
His eyes trained on the LV. 23 zombie that had almost brought him to the point of death.
The undead had been flung to the other end of the corridor by the shockwave generated by the explosion. Yet, despite the smell of burnt flesh coming from it, the monster still appeared largely uninjured.
Not that Kael expected any different. After all, he had yet to use the upgrade of his new skill. It was what was currently wrapped around him like a fabric made of golden light. The previous explosion was merely the passive effect of activating the skill.
Kael took a step forward, the parts of the red-hot tiled floor yet to be destroyed sending a wave of heat through him.
He watched as the undead growled and shook its head several times, almost as if it was disoriented.
- GRRRR!
Its bobbing head suddenly snapped forward, red crimson eyes locked onto the approaching Kael with predatory focus as it released a menacing growl
Before it could stand properly, another undead suddenly burst out from the entrance behind it, lunging above and past it as it hurled its hulking frame right at Kael. Yet, Kael remained undaunted at the sight, his cold eyes ignoring the swiftly approaching LV. 18 undead, remaining fixed instead on the also rushing LV. 23 juggernaut.
He had lost the effect of his boost due to the near-death situation he was in, and with the activation of this upgraded skill that cost a whopping ten ENERGI points, Kael was only left with seventeen ENERGI in his reserve.
He pushed one Energi into his mind, instantly entering COMBAT TRANCE, at the same time the first undead bridged the distance.
Kael twisted his body calmly to the side, his golden coat flapping from his sudden movement, as his eyes followed the black claws of the first undead raking through the air before it smashed into the wall opposite him from its inertia. His eyes narrowed slightly from the nauseating aura surrounding the undead, but his actions didn't even stop for a moment as he broke into a sprint, the LV. 23 undead roaring in manic frenzy before jumping at him. Yet, Kael slid smoothly beneath the hulking mass, the massively outstretched mouth and razor-sharp teeth flying just a few inches above him. The proximity was so close he could smell the cloying, sweet rot of its breath as it sailed over him.
Their bodies crossed in an instant, and from the sound of flesh pounding against flesh, Kael could tell both undead must have collided together. Yet, he didn't stop for a second and swiftly dived into a room, stopped, and waited at the side.
He added another point into Mind, his perception of time further slowing down as he accumulated every ounce of strength he could before raising his right foot and smashing forward in a herculean kick just in time for the snarling head of the LV. 23 undead to enter.
- BANG!
The undead head burst through the burnt door of the side bathroom, its massive body smashing into the tiled walls, sending marble chips flying about and causing spider-web cracks to spread out for several meters.
Kael quickly drew back as the second undead lunged into the room. He rolled to the side smoothly, evading another attack and causing the creature to smash into the bunk bed, destroying it and sending wooden fragments flying.
The undead in the room shook its head once more and stood to its feet, but Kael had already escaped the room by then.
The chase continued for over a minute, yet it felt like years. The amount of destruction caused by the rampage of the zombies within this short time left the third floor of the dormitory in almost complete ruin. Only a few rooms were barely standing at this point.
Of course, Kael wasn't simply weaving around the two—no, now three—undead for fun. He was trying to draw as many zombies as he could so he could take advantage of his new skill and dispatch them together. After all, his Energi reserve was already running low. With Ember Regeneration having fully healed the wound on his neck, and his further usage of Energi to boost his stats in this short timeframe, he was left with seven ENERGI points.
He wasn't disillusioned that he had received a massive power-up. No! The new skill he got was simply an upgraded form of Ignition Fist and was simply an area-of-effect one. So, he still had to play it safe.
'Why is no more coming?' he thought as he dived, rolled, and sprinted around the floor. 'I can't wait any longer.'
With his decision made, he ran with all his strength into a room before pivoting and rounding about. His feet dug into the tile, causing cracks to spread out from the indent, as he lunged forward with all his might, his body lowered slightly.
The new LV. 18 undead, who looked different from the previous two, had the size of a human. Yet, red flames surrounded its decayed flesh like an aura, making it just as dangerous as its counterparts.
'A failed mage perhaps!' Kael thought briefly as he closed the distance to the burning zombie that had chased after him into the room. Before the undead could react, Kael speared it, both of their bodies bursting through the room and into the next in a violent explosion of concrete, the wall crumbling entirely behind them.
Kael ignored the flame burning around the undead. In fact, the zombie was the one getting scorched from his regal coat despite it being covered in fire.
He quickly grasped its arm and bent it backward in a sickening crack before doing the same with its other limbs, ignoring the zombie's bites and snarls. He grabbed the undead by the neck and rapidly retreated from the room, arriving at the almost destroyed corridor. Then he sent it flying towards the other end of the hallway, in front of where he had seen Alice take the others.
"ROSE!"
He shouted, his eyes still cold. Feeling movement behind him, he could only hope Rose and the others understood his intentions, as he quickly pivoted once more and sprinted towards the lunging zombie.
He jumped against the right wall, kicking off it with his right leg and sending the already compromised structure crumbling. But it was enough to launch him quickly to the left, evading another lunge from the undead.
Kael's left foot connected with the opposite wall, and using it as a support, he jumped over the second undead, rolled on the ground smoothly, and leaped back to his feet.
He closed the distance to the first room from the stairwell—the same room Natalie had found the LV. 11 undead that almost killed him in.
Then he moved to the opposite side and quietly waited. It didn't even take two seconds before the two hulking masses smashed through the entrance together in a frenzy, breaking the front wall.
He wove around them once more for a few seconds, and for safe measure, he quickly rushed into the half-destroyed bathroom, the two undead following on his heels. The small room suddenly felt smaller at their entrance, yet Kael simply watched their approach with cold eyes before a demonic smile surfaced on his face as he said a single word, his voice a low, lethal murmur:
"Boom!"
The world seemed to hold its breath as the two undead arrived directly before him, their shadows looming over his small body. Yet, before they could even do a thing...
- BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
*****
AN: Thank you for reading. Vote power stones if you enjoyed the chapter😁.