Standing in the cold expanse of what was previously called North America, Leon's cold eyes watched his own teammates get torn apart by hordes of monsters.
His grip on his own sword tightened. From the side, he watched as a teammate scrambled towards him.
"Where's the reinforcements from the Main Camp?!"
The teammate bellowed in anguish.
Meanwhile, Leon simply glanced at him and said flatly. "They're not coming."
The poor guy seemed to realize this too and slumped his shoulders, watching as the horde of monsters drew close.
Before long, the horde tore apart the rest of the formation and descended on the two of them like hungry wolves.
The rest was obvious.
.....
[Sequence Completed]
[Restart System Initiated]
[Standout Check]
[Glitch Check]
[Detection Overruled]
.....
As the words settled into the lonesome void, Leon felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Leon? You're blocking the line."
Turning back, he was met with the piercing yet kind eyes of Mira, the school beauty and idol.
'Huh?'
Mira? He dug into his memories, trying to clearly recollect who she was. Before long, he remembered her status in the college. But still, why was the situation oddly familiar and absurd?
Eyes widened, he leaped away from her with startling ease.
By now, everyone in the cafeteria was looking at him with a confused expression.
'Is this a monster's ability?' He thought rationally. 'Being able to draw people into an illusion of their past while it destroys their real body.'
However, no matter how he denied it, there was no sense of falseness in this particular reality. No one looked suspicious. Everyone behaved just like how they used to. At least those he still remembered.
Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared before him, slightly surprising him. After all, he was quite accustomed to this. The apocalypse came along with its own system.
[Re-entrance Card Used]
[Memories Untampered]
[5 Days to Code 408D]
However, the contents within the screen sent his mind reeling. Re-entrance Card? That was a seemingly useless reward he'd obtained from a dungeon. And the Code 408D? That was the horror humans called 'The Apocalypse'.
'5 days to the apocalypse?'
Leon froze, ignoring the gentle shake of his friends as he stared blankly into the air.
Finally, everything clicked. Although absurd, he forced himself to believe it. The Re-entrance Card had brought him back to the past, exactly five days to the apocalypse.
Unknown to him, a wide demented smile stretched across his lips.
.....
"Hey Leon, are you sure you're okay now?"
Vlad asked as he watched Leon eat absentmindedly. Ever since Leon's weird performance in the cafeteria, the young man's countenance had changed. His usually bright violet eyes had grown darker, something unsettling within. Even his movements had become more refined, like a veteran at something.
"Yes. I'm good. Never been better." Leon answered, trying to flash a pleasant smile.
Although Vlad wanted to pursue the matter, he didn't. He believed Leon would pull himself back together.
Abruptly, four shadows loomed over them, prompting the duo to look up.
Four burlies, all in their final year, were glaring down at them.
Vlad shrunk under their gaze, while Leon... he simply stared back, then clicked his tongue.
"Huh? Did you just snicker?" One of the burlies muttered, brows furrowed.
"Leave that aside." Another growled. "Lady Mira touched you. It's a taboo. And because of that, we'll be breaking your shoulder."
As guessed, the four were fanboys of Mira who was in the same year as Leon. Although Mira had many admirers, she wasn't really attracted to anyone except Leon who looked exotic because of his white hair and violet irises. She had even called him a beauty once.
Leon sighed to himself.
'I'm sure these idiots didn't survive the first year of the apocalypse.'
Holding up a spoon harmlessly, he suddenly jammed it into the elbow of the one closest to him.
"Arrrggghhh!"
The guy collapsed to the ground with a loud scream that startled everyone in the cafeteria, holding his elbow in pains.
"W-what did you do?" Another asked in fear, stunned.
"Want to find out?" Leon asked chillingly, a small, playful smirk on his lips.
Ignoring him, the other quickly helped the injured one up and rushed him to the cafeteria after leaving a warning.
"Don't think it ends here bastard!"
As the four boys left, Vlad raised his lowered head. "Are you crazy, Leon?" He scolded harshly.
"Injuring one of them means trouble. They'll surely beat crap out of you!"
Although Vlad scolded him, his big eyes were filled with worry for his friend.
Taking the last bite of his lunch, Leon rose to his feet. "Nevermind. I'll be fine."
.....
After the bell rang, Leon quickly rushed to his apartment, not even bothering to wait for his usual go-home crew.
He had work to do.
Immediately he got back, he tossed his bag on the bed and slid into his chair, powering up his laptop.
'If I want to survive the first wave, not like last time, I need food.'
He thought. When the apocalypse had started, many of the surviving population had endured starvation. Only the brave ones were bold enough to venture out to look for food.
'How can I make much money in a short time?'
Betting!
Surfing through the internet, he quickly assessed the upcoming football matches. Although he didn't recollect the outcome of most, his eyes shined when he spotted one particular game.
Arsenal vs Barcelona.
He quickly opened the betting center and realized the odds were heavily against Arsenal. Smiling to himself, he decided to bet his entire fortune on Arsenal for an over 6.5 odd.
"Damn, I forgot I still need money."
Still, he didn't mind. The Apocalypse was drawing closer.