"Safe route your ass!"
ROAR!!!
"This place is crawling with undead!"
BANG!
Just like Saya complained, the route mapped in the diary Hisashi found at their previous stop wasn't safe at all.
It was supposed to be a route established by the authorities—police, firefighters, medical officers, and even volunteers at evacuation shelters—meant to serve as an evacuation path for survivors on the east side of Tokonosu City.
The streets had been strategically blocked and barricaded with cars and trucks, preventing the undead from breaking through the designated road.
There were even outposts set up at certain houses and stores, and the drums used as bonfires suggested they had remained operational even after the blackout two days ago.
Yet every outpost their group had passed while fleeing the undead horde that had broken through the barricades had been either abandoned or overrun by undead.
Still, the route did have fewer undead compared to the main road—a horde their group could manage while carefully forcing their way forward.
Although they still didn't know what awaited them inside the outpost they were about to reach—a house at the end of the street.
ROAR!!!
The slow-moving undead horde continued to close in from behind.
BANG!
Saya fired her shotgun again, blasting multiple undead and slowing their advance, despite the risk of attracting more of them with the loud gunshot.
"Please conserve your bullets, Takagi-san," Kohta reminded her, urging Saya not to forget how many rounds she had left.
"I know what I'm doing, so focus on your own task," Saya replied, pointing toward an aggressive undead breaking away from the slowly advancing horde.
ROAR!
The aggressive undead charged forward—BANG—but Kohta dropped it instantly with a single headshot.
Saya and Kohta continued defending the rear, with three of Saya's bodyguards protecting her. Behind them, Naomi and the other three girls held lanterns to light up the surroundings.
Meanwhile, Shizuka stayed in the middle of their formation, protected by the last two bodyguards. Takuzo, Yamada, and five other boys fought around them.
Nach, on the other hand, led the front together with Rei, Hisashi, and Hiro.
"Don't let your guard down even after cutting off their heads!" Nach shouted, reminding everyone that some aggressive female undead could still move even with their heads badly damaged—or completely gone.
As a precaution, Nach focused on those aggressive female undead, chopping off their heads and splitting their bodies through the torso with his axe.
Rei quickly copied what Nach was doing, surprising everyone—especially the boys—with how fast she moved and how powerful her strikes were with the spear.
Their group advanced slowly but steadily toward the outpost, enduring the relentless pressure of the undead horde.
Until suddenly—ARGHHH!
One of the boys screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground, bleeding heavily.
He had been attacked by an undead—but it wasn't a bite. Instead, a cleaver had sliced straight through his chest, even cutting his machete in half when he tried to block it.
Nach assumed as much when he saw a large undead fireman with a deep cut across its face, holding a bloodstained cleaver.
Why the heck is this one wielding a weapon? Nach thought.
Before he could even process the thought—ARGHH!
Another boy fell, his right hand badly wounded after being struck by another undead wielding a machete.
More undead carrying weapons emerged from the horde as their group drew within a few meters of the outpost.
One held a katana.
Another raised a handgun and aimed straight at Nach.
BANG!
A shot rang out—but it didn't come from the undead.
"Hurry up and get inside!" shouted a policeman standing on the second-floor balcony. He had fired his assault rifle, shooting down the undead policeman before it could pull the trigger on Nach.
Looking toward the gate, Nach saw two firemen in uniform waiting to open it.
"Someone get those boys inside the outpost," Nach ordered as he charged the undead fireman wielding the cleaver.
The undead fireman was slow like the others, but stronger than an average man—which was why it had easily overpowered a mob high school boy.
Still, Nach took it down quickly.
He swung his axe, severing the arm holding the cleaver. A second strike followed immediately, cleanly beheading the undead.
Rei moved on instinct as well. Her spear pierced the head of the undead man wielding a machete before she split his skull open.
Their group retreated toward the outpost—only for the two firemen at the gate to hesitate when they saw the injured boys Takuzo and Yamada were carrying.
"You have to leave those two outside!" one terrified fireman shouted.
"What are you saying? They weren't bitten, so they won't turn!" Shizuka protested, refusing to abandon the wounded boys.
"You don't understand! It's already too late for them!" the other fireman said, which only confused Shizuka even more.
Nach himself couldn't bring himself to leave them behind—partly out of sympathy, and partly because Shizuka would likely see him differently if he did.
"Whatever your reason is, I'll take responsibility for dealing with them if they turn," Nach said.
Reluctantly, the firemen opened the gate and allowed the group inside.
***
Inside the house, Takuzo and Yamada laid the injured boys down in the already bloodstained living room.
ARGHH!!
Nach and Shizuka rushed over to treat their wounds. But before they could even touch them, a warning came from the policeman who had just come downstairs, adjusting his glasses while holding his assault rifle.
"I suggest you avoid touching their blood directly."
"Kato-san..." Rei murmured as she recognized the officer.
"Tadashi would be glad to know you're alive, Rei-chan," Kato said, referring to Rei's father—his fellow officer.
"What do you mean we can't touch their blood?" Shizuka asked, interrupting their reunion.
Nach, meanwhile, had already reacted to the warning, grabbing Shizuka's hands to stop her from touching the blood.
Seeing the worried looks on Takuzo and Yamada—who had carried the injured boys and were stained with their blood—Kato tried to explain.
"We're not sure if blood alone can infect someone through skin or open wounds. But getting injured by those bloodstained blades will definitely turn you into one of them. After all, those undead carrying weapons were once members of this outpost."
"You're saying they're some kind of undead slashers?" Nach asked.
"That's ridiculous..." Saya muttered.
Before anyone could question it further—ARGHHH!!—the two injured boys screamed in agony, their bodies convulsing violently before suddenly going limp and dying.
"Now," Kato said, looking at Nach, "didn't you say you'd take responsibility for dealing with them?"
"Step aside, everyone."
Nach stood up and grabbed his axe.
"You can relax now, kids."
ROAR!!—SLASH