Red and the ApocalypseVolume 2
Chapter 53 — The Strongest Among Them
The battlefield had become a sea of blood.Smoke curled upward from overturned vehicles while hundreds of infected littered the bridge, their lifeless bodies forming grotesque hills of flesh.Yet...The battle wasn't over.
A dozen Horde Leaders burst through the collapsing horde.Unlike the ordinary infected...These ones still possessed enough instinct to recognize the greatest threat standing before them.Their crimson eyes locked onto one man.Tokita.
He slowly lifted his head."...Finally."A faint smile crossed his face."You guys took your sweet time."The twelve Horde Leaders screeched simultaneously.The bridge trembled beneath their charge.
Chunks of concrete exploded beneath their feet as they rushed him from every direction.Behind them...Thousands of infected followed like an unstoppable tidal wave.
Natsuki glanced over his shoulder."Tokita!" "You need help?"Tokita didn't even turn around."No.""Enjoy yourselves." "I'll handle this."His voice was calm.Almost bored.
The first Horde Leader reached him.Its massive claws sliced toward his throat.Tokita disappeared.The infected froze.Its pupils shrank.
A hand had already wrapped around its neck."...Too slow."BOOOOOOM!!Tokita drove it headfirst into the bridge.Concrete exploded.A crater several meters wide formed instantly.Without stopping—He pushed off its corpse.His body spun effortlessly through the air.
The remaining Horde Leaders leapt upward together.Trying to intercept him.Tokita landed lightly...On top of one of their heads.CRACK!The infected's skull caved in beneath his foot.Using the collapsing body as another foothold...He launched himself again.
Every movement flowed naturally.No wasted motion.No hesitation.Only efficiency.Another Horde Leader lunged.Tokita twisted sideways.His elbow smashed into its jaw.
The monster's neck snapped completely around.Its body crashed into three more infected below.The remaining Horde Leaders roared.Tokita sighed."...You're making this harder than it needs to be."He dropped into the center of them.Instantly...He was surrounded.Hundreds of infected closed in from every direction.The Horde Leaders led the charge.Tokita simply stood there.His hands slowly rose.His palms remained open.His thumbs rested lightly against his index fingers.The infected were almost upon him.Five meters.Three.One.
Tokita smiled."...Goodnight."SNAP.He flicked both hands outward.The sound was tiny. The result...Wasn't.BOOOOOOOOOOM!!Two invisible shockwaves erupted from his fingertips.Everything caught between them...Exploded.
Bodies burst apart.Concrete shattered.Vehicles flipped through the air.The bridge itself groaned beneath the pressure.
Over a thousand infected disappeared in a single instant.Blood painted the air crimson.Silence followed.Tokita lowered his hands."...About six hundred remaining."He looked toward the others."They're all yours."Meanwhile...
On the opposite side of the bridge—Kaito watched the remaining horde charging toward them."...I've got an idea."He spread both hands.The air distorted.Gravity twisted.One infected suddenly stopped moving.Then another.Then ten.Then fifty.Within seconds...Hundreds of infected slammed into an invisible barrier.Those behind continued pushing forward.The entire horde compressed together.Bones cracked.Bodies piled atop one another.It looked as though an enormous transparent cube had trapped them all inside.
The infected clawed desperately at empty air.They couldn't escape.Kaito gritted his teeth."Now!""Aoi!"Aoi immediately understood.
She dropped to one knee.Her palm pressed against the bridge.The concrete shimmered.Then changed.Solid asphalt transformed into layers of crystal-clear ice.Beneath the ice...Water flowed.Thin.Fragile.The trapped infected immediately lost their footing.They slipped.Fell.Crashing into one another inside Kaito's invisible prison.Kaito inhaled sharply.With a powerful swing of both arms—
The entire gravity cube lifted from the bridge.The compressed mass of infected floated helplessly in the air.Natsuki's eyes widened."...No way."Kaito roared."Move!"Without hesitation—Natsuki blurred into blue lightning.He grabbed Nezuko around the waist."We're getting out of here!"Before the gravity cube crashed back down—They vanished from the impact zone.
BOOOOOOOM!!The cube slammed into the frozen section of the bridge.The infected tumbled over one another helplessly.
Aoi stood."...Perfect."Mira stepped forward."So this is the plan..."She smiled.Blue mana gathered around both hands.One stream flowed into Kaito.The strain on his body immediately eased.The second stream surged toward Natsuki.Electricity exploded around him.
His right arm glowed brilliant blue.Even the sky began darkening overhead.Gray clouds gathered above the bridge.Tiny arcs of lightning danced between them.Tokita looked upward."...Interesting."Natsuki slowly clenched his glowing fist."So...""...this...""...is what a real buff feels like."He crouched.The bridge cracked beneath his feet.Then—BOOM!!He vanished-
BOOM!!
The bridge exploded beneath his feet.
He disappeared.
Only a streak of blue lightning remained.
The compressed horde looked upward.
For the first time...
Fear appeared in their crimson eyes.
Natsuki flipped once in midair.
His glowing fist pulled backward.
Every strand of electricity surrounding him gathered into one arm.
The light became almost blinding.
Then—
He descended.
"...LIGHTNING."
His fist struck the frozen bridge.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The thin layer of ice shattered instantly.
His fist pierced through it...
Reaching the flowing water beneath.
For one heartbeat...
Everything became silent.
Then—
The water became a conductor.
CRAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK!!!!!
Lightning erupted through every crack in the frozen bridge.
It branched outward like the roots of a colossal tree.
Every infected trapped inside Kaito's gravity prison convulsed simultaneously.
Bodies exploded.
Heads burst apart.
The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
The entire bridge glowed blue.
A pillar of lightning shot skyward.
Like a beacon.
Visible for miles.
The roar echoed across the ruined city.
Silence followed.
Smoke slowly drifted upward.
The infected...
Were gone.
Nothing remained except charred corpses.
Natsuki landed gracefully.
"...Told you."
"The cake's mine."
Kaito wiped blood from beneath his nose.
"We literally did half the work."
Aoi sighed.
"You only landed the final blow."
Mira folded her arms.
"We all contributed."
Natsuki pointed proudly at himself.
"Doesn't matter."
"A finishing blow is still a finishing blow."
Tokita chuckled.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
The group laughed.
For a brief moment...
The battlefield felt peaceful.
Then—
Tokita's smile disappeared.
"..."
His instincts screamed.
Something...
Was wrong.
Far away...
Beyond the smoke...
Beyond the ruined buildings...
A colossal silhouette slowly rose.
Its outline blocked the evening sunlight.
The ground trembled.
...
...
...
THOOM.
One step.
The bridge vibrated.
THOOM.
Another.
The vibration became stronger.
Natsuki frowned.
"...What is that?"
Nobody answered.
The silhouette continued approaching.
Every step sounded like thunder.
The closer it came...
The more impossible its size became.
It towered above the surrounding buildings.
Its swollen flesh dragged across the broken streets.
Scars covered its enormous body.
Bullet wounds.
Burn marks.
Deep sword cuts.
Proof...
That someone had already tried to kill it.
And failed.
Tokita narrowed his eyes.
"...Guys."
His voice had lost every trace of humor.
"I don't think..."
"...that's a normal infected."
The giant silhouette finally emerged from the smoke.
It stopped.
Slowly lowering its massive head...
Until its crimson eye met theirs.
The bridge fell silent.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The monster simply stared.