The giant undead still tried to struggle, using its arms to crawl toward us, growling fiercely.
Chris, who had become a bit more sane after crushing its legs, reversed the jeep and turned it around.
"This is actually fun," he commented, getting ready to do the same again.
Once more, he accelerated the jeep, hitting top speed in one go and launching it toward the undead and stopped before the impact. Stopped before the impact?
I looked at him, about to ask why he would stop midway, but then-
He seemed pale, as if his life had been sucked away.
"I'm drained."
This shit?
He had exhausted all his mana driving the jeep so recklessly that he had none left to use again. Meaning… the giant undead, whose head alone was bigger than the jeep itself…
It glared at us, its hollow eyes glowing red.
"Grrrr…" A deafening roar escaped its mouth.
Its giant hand was coming straight toward us.
"Run!" I yelled at Chris and jumped out of the jeep as fast as I could.
Chris also made it out in the nick of time, but the jeep we had brought was crushed under the undead's palm and...
Boom!
It exploded against the undead's body, taking away one of its arms with it.
Both of us ducked instinctively from the sudden blast, but in a way, it brought us good luck.
Now the undead only had one arm and half a body left.
It was already on its last breath.
And yet, it was still stronger than both of us.
"Chris, I'll hold it off for a while. In that time, crush its head." I commanded, pulling out my chains again.
I glanced at them, then at the undead. No way they would be enough to kill it, but I only needed to hold its arm long enough for Chris to finish the job.
Chris heard me and took out the hammer we had picked up earlier, from the burning car.
I rushed ahead to bind the undead in place.
It was already struggling to move its massive body, yet… with the last strand of life in it, it crawled with just one arm.
A mere undead shouldn't have such resilience. There must be something controlling them all.
"Grrrr… grrrr…" It roared again, but more than fury or rage, it felt like a cry for death.
You're already dead, why beg for it again? I actually envy you, in a way.
"Don't worry, you'll be free soon."
I ran toward it, but instead of facing it head-on, I moved to its back. There was no need for me to engage in a frontal battle.
No need to panic either. The giant had already become too docile. And yet, I couldn't believe how huge it was, I looked like a newborn before this monster.
"Give me the hammer," I said to Chris, who stood ready to strike.
Chris looked at me, his face visibly tired from exhaustion.
"There's no need to panic. This thing's as good as dead already. Give me the hammer, I'll finish it smoothly."
Hearing my words, Chris handed it to me. I slung the chains back onto my shoulder and gripped the hammer.
It was heavy, maybe 5 kg. Raising it high, I swung it down at the undead's skull.
Bang!
A loud crack echoed through the ruined streets.
But the undead was still intact. I had expected that. Its skeleton was tough, but in the end, they were just bones. If one strike couldn't break them, then ten would.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I struck the same spot again and again, each blow louder and harder, until the skull finally began to crack.
"Grrrrhhh…"
Sensing its death, the undead cried out for help. I could see its bones loosening under my strikes.
Just a few more…
Bang! Bang! Bang! Crack! Bang! Crack! Bang! Shatter!
After almost a minute, the skull finally split open, revealing a red crystal-like fragment inside its head.
Another fragment.
Ding~
[Congratulations, Awakener. You have killed a Mutated Giant Undead from the Licht Army.]
The system's notification soon followed.
I reached into its skull and pulled out the fragment.
Ding~
[You have obtained 15 Star Fragments.]
[Collect 25 more to form a Star.]
By the time the notification faded, Chris came up beside me and asked, "How many did you get from this?"
"15."
"Oh, that's great! We can make a star now."
He was excited... and maybe I was too.
"Yeah," I replied casually.
As much as I wanted to see what would happen after making a star, we needed to move. The undead's cry had been too loud; more would surely come this way.
"Let's get out of here. It's not safe."
If another undead showed up now, we'd be dead for sure.
And with no jeep and no mana left in Chris, escape by car wasn't an option.
"Hey! Over here... quickly, come inside!"
Suddenly, a shout came from a nearby house. A man was waving at us from the balcony.
This wasn't the time to think twice. Both of us ran straight for the house.
The man who called us opened the door for us and closed it as soon as we went inside.
END of Raven's P.O.V.
***
Thanks for reading.