Chapter 8 – Hordebreaker
The days of small skirmishes were over.
Raccoon City's decay was accelerating — each hour, more T-Virus victims rose, their hunger unrelenting. Kuro and Yumi had continued their grind in the outskirts, sweeping alleyways, rooftops, and abandoned metro stations. With every battle, Yumi became more surefooted. Her baton strikes were more confident, her healing pulses faster and more instinctive.
Kuro, however, felt the tension tightening. He was nearing the end of his first fragment quest. The final push wouldn't be a gentle one.
As they stalked through the twisted iron and broken platforms of the Metro Nest, the system chimed.
"System Alert: Infection Density Spike Detected in Vicinity. Estimated Infected Count: 800+"
"Warning: Ambush Probability: 87%."
"Mini-Event Triggered: Final Surge — Last Horde of Fragment 1"
Kuro's grip tightened on his sword. "It's time."
Yumi swallowed hard. "You think we can handle this many?"
"I think we don't have a choice."
They set up a temporary barricade inside an abandoned ticketing hall. Kuro used broken chairs, scrap metal, and old vending machines to form chokepoints. Yumi scouted the perimeter for health kits, adrenaline boosters, and a few flare bombs they could rig as makeshift traps.
Then, the system hit him with another ping.
"Warning: Detected T-Virus Variant Concentration Exceeding Safe Threshold. Prolonged Exposure Will Result in Infection."
"Recommend Immediate Immunity Acquisition."
Kuro opened his interface and hovered over the T-Virus Immunity Protocol.
"T-Virus Full Immunity: 40,000 IP – Grants permanent resistance to all T-Virus mutations and variants."
Without hesitation, he hit purchase.
"Confirmed. T-Virus Full Immunity Installed."
His IP dropped to near zero, but his pulse calmed.
He turned to Yumi. "Stick close. Heal when I say. Run if I fall."
Yumi didn't flinch. "We fight together."
Then the howling began.
The first wave burst through a rusted train car, over fifty zombies pouring into the hall. Kuro met them head-on — lightning surged from his blade, carving a path through the undead.
Yumi stayed back, throwing pulse waves to knock down the few that slipped past. One caught her side with a clawed hand, but she activated a quick heal and kept moving.
They fought for thirty minutes straight. Kuro's stamina burned low. Yumi's mana reserves were near empty. But just as the horde seemed to thin—
From deeper in the station came a Bloated Tyrant, a grotesque humanoid hybrid with bone armor and a writhing second head fused to its chest. Behind it came another hundred infected.
"Mini-Boss: Tyrant Brute Variant (LVL 32) Detected."
"Warning: High Explosive Potential. Do not engage in close quarters for prolonged time."
Kuro grit his teeth. "Yumi — this is it."
She nodded and activated Vital Surge, preparing to jump in at the first sign of his injuries.
Kuro went full throttle.
Lightning exploded from his body as he entered a berserker-like state. He jumped onto the Tyrant's back, stabbing at the second head, but it roared and threw him off, slamming him into a pillar.
"GAHH—!"
He barely rolled as the beast crushed the concrete where he lay.
Two infected lunged for him — and were blasted back by a sudden wave of blue.
Yumi stood over him, hand outstretched.
"Get up!"
With a smirk, Kuro surged to his feet and drove his blade into the Tyrant's knee, immobilizing it. He vaulted up, flipped, and sent a lightning arc straight into its second head.
The beast screamed — and detonated in a fiery implosion.
They didn't speak. The next hour was survival.
Wave after wave.
Body after body.
They moved through broken train cars, shattered stairwells, tunnels lit only by emergency lights.
Kuro's sword arm ached. He was using his lightning more as a torch than a weapon at times, just to clear corridors. Yumi's energy was draining. Her hands shook after each heal. But she didn't stop.
Once, they found a mother and her son trapped in a staff closet. The boy was bitten. Yumi froze — then kneeled and used her entire reserve to purge the infection before it spread.
The mother wept.
Kuro watched in silence, then placed one hand on Yumi's shoulder. "That... that was a good use of power."
Yumi simply nodded, lips pale.
They moved on.
At last, the final push.
The entire central metro platform had become a death zone. Mutated dogs, half-decomposed zombies, and flame-licked crawlers converged from every angle.
Kuro activated Slayer Mode, entering a trance-like state where every movement became fluid destruction.
Yumi poured every last drop of mana into her Healing Field, holding the line while Kuro carved it.
And finally—
"System Notice: Quest Complete — Kill 20,000 Infected in Raccoon City."
"Reward Granted: 50,000 IP, 50,000 EP, 50,000 AP, 50,000 SP."
"System Threshold Reached. Slayer Mode Enhanced. Title Earned: Hordebreaker."
They collapsed behind the shattered barricade. Kuro's breathing was ragged. "Yumi… we did it."
She dropped beside him. "I can't feel my arms."
They both laughed — exhausted, filthy, triumphant.
Then—
DING
"Fragment Quest 2: UNLOCKED."
The screen pulsed red.