They stepped inside.
The welcoming bell above the door rang softly.
TRING—TRING
Ren's face instantly went blank.
A slow sense of déjà vu crept into his mind.
Why am I getting a terrible feeling about this…
Like I've seen this exact scene before…
He cautiously walked forward.
Lucia followed behind him, curious.
The shop looked perfectly normal at first glance.
Colorful costumes hung from racks.
Masks covered the walls.
Shelves were packed with strange outfits.
Then they saw it.
Behind the counter stood a woman.
Or… at least her body.
She had no head.
And a zombie was happily chewing on what used to be her neck.
Blood dripped slowly down the counter.
CRUNCH
SLURP
Ren stared silently.
A long pause passed.
Then another.
He slowly rubbed his face.
Yep.
This is definitely the exact same bullshit as last time.
Lucia tilted her head slightly.
"…Is that normal?"
Ren sighed deeply.
"Honestly? At this point… yes."
The zombie finally noticed them.
It slowly turned its head.
Half of its mouth was still full.
CRUNCH
Ren crossed his arms.
"Man… can you at least finish your meal before wasting our time?"
But what he saw left Ren shocked.
He stared at the zombie carefully.
Something about it felt… familiar.
He murmured quietly,
"That hair… those small, badly shaped boobs… that eyesore of a figure…"
His eyes narrowed.
"It definitely—"
A pause.
Then silence.
…Where the hell have I seen it before?
He scratched his head.
His memory completely blanked.
Ren suddenly shrugged.
A bright smile appeared on his face.
"Whatever."
"Let's just take care of it."
Suddenly the zombie lunged toward him.
Its rotten face twisted with rage.
WHOOSH
"DIE… DIE… DIE… DIE…"
It screamed like a broken machine, bursting with anger.
Ren froze for half a second.
A bit of shock flashed across his face.
Did it just talk?
He raised his blade and moved to slice it—
But suddenly stopped.
Instead he dodged smoothly to the side.
The zombie crashed past him.
Thud!
Ren's lips slowly curled into a faint grin.
That's… interesting.
Ren looked at her closely as she lay on the ground.
The zombie struggled to rise.
GRRRGH
Ren narrowed his eyes.
He examined her figure carefully.
From top…
To bottom…
A strange sense of familiarity crept into his mind.
His gaze moved slowly over her pussy.
Then he froze.
A sudden realization struck him.
Ren's eyes widened.
A bright smile suddenly appeared on his face.
"Oh…"
"I can never forget that pussy."
Afterall its the first real one i seened with my own eyes.
For a moment, his face stiffened.
An awkward expression formed as he let out a nervous laugh.
"Ha… ha…"
Shock flashed across his face.
"Rachel?"
Inside his mind, confusion exploded.
How the hell did she survive that fall…?
Ren stared at the zombie again with disbelief.
This damn bitch…
Behind him, Lucia blinked slowly.
"...You know this zombie?"
The zombie suddenly lunged again, rage burning in its hollow eyes.
WHOOSH
"DIE… DIE… DIE…"
Ren scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
"Well… not for long, but yeah."
"I met her once."
He glanced at the zombie again, now seeing the pussy clearly.
"I can say it for sure after seeing her face now."
Lucia looked at him with a flat, unimpressed expression.
What kind of way is that to remember someone…
She slowly said,
"She really looks like she hates you."
The zombie roared and rushed toward Ren again.
WHOOSH
"DIE… DIE… DIE…!"
Ren stepped to the side casually.
STEP
The claws missed him completely.
He laughed awkwardly.
"What are you even saying?"
Lucia raised an eyebrow.
"Just spit it out."
"What did you do to her that she hates you this much?"
The zombie swung wildly again.
SWIPE
Ren leaned back.
WHOOSH
The claws passed right in front of his face.
He shrugged while dodging again.
"I really don't understand what you're talking about."
He said it while clearly ignoring her question.
Lucia stared at him with suspicion.
Really?
Meanwhile—
Rachel kept attacking nonstop.
WHOOSH
SWIPE
WHOOSH
SWIPE
Ren casually dodged every single attack like he was taking a slow evening walk.
Lucia watched the entire scene quietly.
Then she thought calmly,
He definitely did something.
WHOOSH
Rachel's claws barely missed his face.
Ren sighed.
"Looks like I just have to kill her."
Suddenly—
A screen message poped up.
---
Holy Liquid — Ultimate Restriction No.1
You cannot kill a Unique Female Zombie.
Penalty for breaking the rule will be instant dead.
---
Ren froze for half a second.
Then his eyes bulged.
"WHAT!?"
"THE FUCK?!"
Rachel lunged again.
WHOOSH
Ren barely dodged at the last second.
STEP
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Then how the hell am I supposed to get rid of her?!
Rachel kept attacking wildly.
"DIE… DIE… DIE…!"
SWIPE
WHOOSH
Ren jumped back.
Wait…
A thought suddenly appeared in his mind.
Right.
Lucia can kill her.
He slowly turned his head toward Lucia.
But the moment their eyes met—
Lucia's calm gaze instantly shut that idea down.
Her expression was completely flat.
Cold.
Unimpressed.
The message in her eyes was crystal clear.
Deal with your own mess.
Don't drag me into it.
Ren stared at her silently.
Lucia crossed her arms.
Her expression didn't change at all.
Ren's eye twitched.
Behind him—
Rachel screamed again and jumped at him.
WHOOSH
Ren barely moved aside.
This is going to be annoying…
Ren glanced around the shop while casually dodging another attack.
Ren's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Found it…" he thought.
Without wasting another second, he snatched a piece of weird rope from theo shelve and lunged forward in one sharp motion.
WHOOSH
His hand shot out like a snake.
He grabbed it in an instant.
Rachel launched at him again.
THUD!
SCRAAATCH!
Her nails tore through the air as she rushed forward like a rabid beast.
Ren didn't move.
He waited…
Waited…
And waited…
Closer.
Closer.
Even closer.
Lucia's eyes narrowed slightly.
This idiot…
At the last possible second—
WHOOSH
Ren moved.
In an instant he slipped behind her.
SWISH
His arms moved quickly as he tied her down with the rope.
But—
THUD
She fell to the ground.
For a moment…
Everything went silent.
Lucia stared.
Her face completely blank.
"…What am I seeing?"
Ren stood there.
He raised his hand to his head, wiping sweat like someone who had just finished hard work.
"Phew…"
"That was a close call."
He said with a bright smile while looking at Lucia.
But Lucia's face looked strange.
Red.
And blank at the same time.
Ren tilted his head.
"What happened?"
"Why are you acting like you just saw a fly breeding under a microscope?"
Lucia: "..."
Her expression didn't change.
Not even a little.
But the redness on her face slowly spread.