Becoming a Monster

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Marked for Prey

Ishii had already entered his stance to activate his ability, the sensation of the skill had triggered the zombies’ senses as its attention fully gravitated towards him.

The zombie took just a moment to ponder, at least it was impossible to tell if it was thinking. However, a moment later it let out a shriek, one that was annoyingly loud.

At the sound of its cry, almost twenty other zombies were already converging to where they were. Ishii only had a few seconds to deal with the zombie. Despite the strength to still contend with the oncoming reinforcements, there was still a chance that out of the approaching zombies, one or maybe two of them could be unique zombies with special traits that could endanger him. His abilities were unbelievably powerful, but such power usually comes with a price.

To retain such power that allowed him to temporarily pass his limits for such a long amount of time was still taxing on his body. There was no guarantee how long their struggle would continue, and as one of the powerhouses in their group, Ishii had to maintain a level of endurance that he could ensure he could continue fighting till the end.

With his body put immediately into his stance, Ishii unhesitantly activated his unique ability. The haze between the two was even more distinguishable than before, showcasing just how much stronger the current zombie was to the previous one.

Suspiciously, Ishii’s gaze became even more confident. His ability wasn’t merely just a way to strengthen himself, it was also a way to check the strength of his opponent. Normally, the creatures that posed the most threat were able to resist the effects of his ability.

If the power he accumulated from the monster was lackluster compared to what its previous actions showed, or if he felt a strong resistance from his spiritual energy that seeped into his foe, then he knew the creature was potentially life threatening.

With what he observed, the creature would have been just barely a threat if he hadn’t accumulated the strengths of the two prior zombies.

His stance deepened, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword. His eyes were analyzing every muscle before he striked.

A second passed, the zombie spread out its arms as it flexed its muscles before it initiated its attack, but that brief moment was all it took for Ishii to explode forward.

Absorbing both the stats of the zombies’ speed and strength, the zombie couldn’t react fast enough. Ishii had already jumped into the air, descending down with his sword cleaving downward. His sword managed to cut through its skull, slicing down through its face until the blade lodged itself deep into the creature’s torso.

The kill was effortless. As he prepared to retrieve his sword from the still-standing corpse, Ishii twisted midair, planting his feet on the zombie’s stomach to propel himself forward. As he did, his sword followed, dragging through the creature’s body. Barely a moment later, all six of the zombie’s bladed arms crashed into its torso and had replaced the position he was last in.

Ishii’s eyes narrowed, he quickly processed the supernatural scene, clearly seeing the innards of the zombie’s flesh between the two halves he created, its tendrils of nerves and tissue quickly melding back into one.

He didn’t know the limits of the zombie’s regeneration; with his current stats he could eventually chop it into pieces until it had nothing left to regenerate.

Yet, his gaze merely shuffled to his sides and behind him. The people who were fleeing were already a significant distance away.

With one last look towards the zombie and the others approaching, he disappeared back to his group.

The time and energy he spent there could potentially lead to the death of even more people and those he cared about. His stern expression was even colder than before. Although he didn’t necessarily lose, failing his objective still left him feeling bitter.

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Mark had already seen the interaction, his expression remained the same as he took in Ishii’s retreat. He understood, Ishii had made the right call.

His attention instead returned to the battlefield. How many zombies did they kill so far, and how many people have they already lost?

They could still fight, but from what he could see, their ”protectors” were getting closer to the building, they were retreating!

At this rate, no matter how strong they were, eventually, Mark and their group will be overrun with numbers alone, not to mention the strong auras he was still sensing within the horde of seemingly endless zombies.

His fist clenched, rage and inner conflict ignited in his eyes. His desire to protect everyone was strong, but his responsibility to those who followed him was stronger.

”Everyone, retreat to the building! We will stand our ground there!” His voice was loud but not overbearing. It was a sound that was carried by the passive of his heroic aura, making sure that everyone in the area successfully heard it and was influenced by it without question.

”Jas.” His curt call was met with an immediate response. Out of everyone, Jasmine was the only one who had yet to take action. Their familiar exchange played out once more as he placed a hand on her shoulder. The aura surrounding everyone else withdrew, only to surge back even stronger, this time, concentrated entirely around Jasmine.

”We only need to get Paul out of there, and we need time to make sure everyone can retreat.”

His words were confirmed with a strong nod. Jasmine’s eyes were filled with a resolve that was vastly different from the uncertainty of her past self.

Her hair danced in the air under the powerful energy, as a more lifelike fairy materialized around her. The moment her arms raised into the air, the ground all around them quaked. The pavements were once cleared of the many plants and budding roots from the overgrowth of vegetation, but their removal didn’t mean the removal of their origins. Roots surged forth, growing and stretching unnaturally.

Jas didn’t have the potential to grow or create plants from nothing, but she was able to enhance and manipulate any greenery around her. With so many roots uprising from the ground, to be able to control them all was seemingly impossible. However, she had a little helper. The fairy, whose appearance more resembled a dryad itself, was able to control the roots with effortless control.

The small mound of zombies hurdled over Paul was instantly disrupted. Tens of zombies were struck and pinned into the air. The titan zombies in the vicinity were only able to be pushed back, but no one was exempted from the attack. While the fairy led the attack, Jasmine was focusing all of her energy to supply each and every root.

With such a display, one would believe Jasmine alone could take only half of the zombies there, but such a drastic attack also comes with an excessive use of mana. Even then, her attacks were only able to take care of the zombies that Mark didn’t necessarily view as the problem.

Almost a minute went by before Mark had her stop, Paul was now safely retreating and the others as well. If they were to stay any longer, the true threats would soon reach them.

As the two retreated, two pairs of eyes watched their departing figures. The monstrous titan from before, a being that resembled a monster rather than a zombie, watched them. its eyes reflecting a sense of intelligence beyond many of the others. The creature’s massive body was seemingly made of melding stone that turned into dense armored plating. Two massive and long horns curved avowed its flat head, while its arms were each the size of its entire body.

It didn’t approach like the others. Instead, it merely was taking a stroll through the lot, picking up the corpses of humans and zombies alike, stuffing it down its mouth like an appetizer.

Another zombie was already feasting on a human, one that was in the same path as the creature. The zombie wasn’t even aware of the shadow that blocked out the sun before it felt its senses growing dark, its body being squished before it was crushed within the creature’s jaws. Its feast took more of its attention than the humans running away, so much so that it had nearly forgotten about them when there were so many meals along the way.

But something taped its head. A Creature that could barely even reach its ankles was standing atop of it, a creature very similar in appearance to it. The two were twins, once very strong awakeners with the bloodlines of Kaju’s as their unique trait. And now, those two twins became the embodiment of those traits after becoming zombies.

The small Kaju wasn’t just small, but it was also slim, slim yet compacted of muscle and its armored white scales. The tail behind it constantly tapped on his brother’s head, its two slits for eyes were only attentive to the human fortress, more specifically towards Mark and Jasmine. The aura the two had released was a display of power to the humans, but to the Kaju zombie, they had merely made themselves a target for its growth.

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Mark had just made it back to the others when his body snapped in the opposite direction. The malice and danger in that stare was impossible for him to ignore.