While running at an astonishing speed, carrying Sora in his arms, Haru whispered frantically within his mind:
'Eve… can Upgrading Tickets be used to enhance someone else's physical abilities?'
[That is possible.]
Haru didn't stop running, but he slowed his steps for a second, looking at Sora in his arms. She was trembling, her face pale, and the sound of the students' screams and the roars coming from the corridors were pressing heavily on her nerves. She clung to his chest, trying to hide her ears from this terrifying reality and listen only to his heartbeat.
'Can the enhancement… be applied to others as well?'
[That is possible.]
His eyes regained their focus, and a decisive resolution passed through his mind without hesitation.
'Then… use a Silver Upgrading Ticket to enhance Sora's physical abilities.'
And before Eve could utter any confirmation, Haru quietly raised his hand. With a swift, precise movement akin to a studied martial arts technique, he struck a specific point on the side of Sora's neck.
His force was perfectly controlled so as not to injure her, only to knock her into a brief coma.
Her body went limp instantly in his arms.
"Rest for a bit…"
Haru whispered with a rare gentleness, and a serene, extremely tender smile appeared on his lips—a smile he only showed to her alone.
The chaos around him was escalating, the zombies approaching the infirmary building… but at least, Sora was now out of this terror.
The corridor leading to the infirmary was like a small hell.
Dozens of zombies staggered in every direction, bodies mangled, bite wounds gaping, and dead eyes staring into the void.
Suddenly, Haru understood the reason—
Most of the injured had rushed towards the infirmary seeking treatment… only to complete their transformation there.
"Annoying…"
Haru growled through his teeth, his tone deep and full of displeasure.
He didn't have the luxury of wasting time, and their sheer numbers made crossing nearly impossible while carrying Sora in his arms.
And before he could take another step—
Swish!
Something inside his body stirred… awakened… responded to his brand-new combat instinct.
Four crimson tentacles shot out from his back, writhing in the air like tails, covered in a faint metallic sheen resembling petrified blood.
The Kagune Ghoul had fully manifested—brutal, alive, and hungry for battle.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
The tentacles surged through the corridor in swift red streaks, moving with an instinctual chaos the human brain couldn't even follow.
Every strike produced the sound of tearing flesh and the clatter of shattering bones.
And in less than seconds—
All the zombies in the corridor fell, sliced to pieces. Some were headless, others split in half, while the tentacles left dozens of deep slash marks on the walls and floor.
Only the smell of blood and scattered crimson spray remained in the corridor…
And Haru, standing firm, holding Sora in his arms, as if he wasn't in the midst of a massacre but merely clearing his path calmly. The red tails had moved in a chaotic yet swift and powerful manner, slicing all the zombies in the corridor and leaving several slash marks throughout.
After Haru finished clearing the corridor of zombies, he didn't glance back at the mangled corpses or the heavy metallic smell filling the place.
All that occupied his mind now was Sora.
He rushed inside the infirmary and pushed the swinging door with his shoulder, his steps steady despite the chaos he left behind.
His eyes scanned the room for a moment before finding an empty bed in the corner. He headed straight for it and placed Sora on it with utmost care, as if she were a precious thing he feared might break.
And as he brushed strands of her silver hair away from her face, the system's floating screen appeared before him:
A pale blue light… numbers rising at an astonishing speed.
[15%]
Haru looked at the screen for a moment, then at Sora.
He could see the changes happening before him—
Her warm skin became slightly tougher, her pulse more regular, and a strong heat seemed to glow beneath her skin as if her entire body was being reshaped from within.
Even in his arms moments before, he could feel the transformation…
Her muscles, tendons, bones…
Everything was being rebuilt to become stronger and more resilient, as if her body was undergoing years of intensive training in mere seconds.
He murmured softly as he watched the rapid progress before him:
"…Good… keep it up, Sora."
"W-who's there?!"
The voice came from behind Haru, trembling, brimming with anxiety, as if its owner barely dared to speak. Haru turned slowly to find a boy about his age, with messy black hair and wide brown eyes behind glasses that shook along with his hands. He was holding an IV stand as if it were a weapon, raising it in a defensive posture that showed more of his fear than any courage.
"…"
Haru stared at him for a moment, unsure what to say. The boy before him seemed too fragile, as if any harsh word might break him immediately.
From his appearance, fear literally dripped from him—his raised shoulders, his tense grip, even his stance suggested he was more ready to flee than to fight.
Haru took a deep breath, then said in as calm a tone as possible:
"No need to worry… I'm a living human, not one of those things."
He paused briefly before continuing, trying to keep his voice normal despite the surrounding tension:
"I came here to rest a bit with my little sister… she was very tired. By the way, where is Marikawa-sensei?"
"I see… it's good to see a human alive."
The man audibly sighed with relief upon hearing Haru's words, as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. Yet, confusion was still evident in his every movement. So consumed by fear or tension, he hadn't even noticed that moments ago the infirmary door was swarming with zombies; he didn't question how Haru managed to get inside without a scratch, as if his mind could no longer process more than what he saw before him.
Then he continued, his voice a bit lower:
"Marikawa-sensei… she's in the side room. She went to fetch some equipment and medicine to help Okada. The situation wasn't good, so she rushed off immediately to find what she needed."
After a short moment of silence, as if he finally remembered the simplest rules of human interaction, he straightened up a little and said:
"By the way… my name is Ishii Kazu, from Class 1-B."
He carefully placed the IV stand aside before offering a weak smile that reflected his sudden relief at seeing another person still alive amidst this madness. That small happiness was clear in his eyes, though he seemed ready to start trembling again at any moment.
"1-D, Kasugano Haruka."
Haru introduced himself briefly, his voice quiet but firm, before moving directly to a nearby window to check the situation outside. He seemed uninterested in wasting time on pleasantries, as every second in this place could be a matter of life or death.
Then he turned to the other boy and said in a decisive yet not harsh tone:
"Ishii-san, help me block the windows and doors with furniture… we must prevent the zombies from breaching this place by any means."
"R-right away!"
Kazu paused for a moment as if shocked by Haru's quick decision or his confident tone, but he didn't allow himself to hesitate. He immediately rushed to help, realizing what Haru said was the only logical choice now.
This way… perhaps, just perhaps, they would have a better chance of surviving amidst the chaos that was slowly swallowing the school.
Soon, the two began working without delay. They started by pushing the heavy cabinets towards the infirmary door, trying to block it as much as possible, then moved to the windows where they used tall pieces of furniture to cover them. Neither of them really knew if the zombies in this world possessed abilities different from those in the movies. Could they see? Could they distinguish shadows? Could they track movement from behind glass? There was no time for certain answers, but leaving the windows exposed was a risk they couldn't afford.
For Haru, the work was deceptively simple; his unnatural physical strength made moving heavy pieces feel like handling empty boxes. But Kazu… was the complete opposite. He was panting heavily, his back soaked in sweat, and his hands trembling from exhaustion. Every push and every lift required double the effort from him, but he didn't utter a single word of complaint.
"Let's rest for a bit…"
Haru said this while wiping his hand across his forehead before suddenly narrowing his eyes, staring towards one of the beds in the corner of the room. He adopted a dangerous expression for a moment and bent slightly, holding his breath as his sense of smell picked up something abnormal.
Then he muttered in a voice so low it was almost inaudible:
"…A smell of decay."
Kazu didn't notice his words, but he didn't need to. Haru's sharp senses were enough to tell him there was something else in the room.
There… behind the curtain, on the bed mentioned earlier.
Okada.
The man Kazu spoke about moments ago…
He was no longer human.
...
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