Gazing at the firelight from the explosion in the distance, and especially the terrifying Magical Power erupting throughout the city, Alexia wore a conflicted, worried expression.
After realizing that breaking out of the city would mean fighting more than a dozen monsters as strong as Princess Iris, if not stronger, they had taken Cid's advice and decided to hide for the time being. They evacuated the city center to avoid the seemingly endless sea of zombies there and made their way to Christina's home in a relatively sparsely populated area.
Along the way, they saw firsthand what a true human tragedy looked like. Every person transformed by the drugs distributed by the Thirteen Nightblades was practically immortal. Unless they fought one for over ten minutes and wore it down to a bare skeleton, their only other option was to bludgeon its head and then cut the body into several pieces.
And those were only ordinary zombies. If the person had been a powerful Magic Swordsman while alive, their strength increased dozens of times after becoming a zombie, and their immortality became even more absurd. Even if their head was destroyed, they could grow it back given enough time.
But such terrifying power came at a corresponding price. The monsters had absolutely no control over the power surging inside them. Their life force and Magical Power were draining away at an incredible rate, and in order to keep themselves from dying from the strain, they eventually turned to predation.
At first, they attacked living people. Once there was no one left alive nearby and their bodies had deteriorated to a certain point, they began attacking and devouring their own kind. Once there was nothing left to eat, whether they burned themselves out or started eating themselves, their final fate was the same. Death.
"Worried about how we're going to get out? Don't worry. As things stand, these super zombies are strong, but they're not absurdly strong yet. At the rate they're burning through energy, they'll probably all be dead before the sun rises tomorrow."
Noticing the worry on Alexia's face, Cid thought for a moment before sharing some of what he had observed along the way. There was really no need to worry about this kind of suicidal zombie. They would eventually die on their own.
"That's assuming we survive until then."
Alexia replied expressionlessly. Even from half a city away, she could still sense the terrifying Magical Power in the distance.
Those monsters were losing energy far faster than they were gaining it. In other words, they were trading the destruction of their own bodies for greater strength. But by the same logic, as long as they could obtain energy faster than they lost it, their power could continue rising indefinitely.
"Maybe we should've tried to break out from the beginning. If we had, we might've had a chance to survive."
Alexia spoke in a subdued voice. She had no idea what she had been thinking when she actually followed Cid all the way here.
Yes, the area was sparsely populated, so the zombie hordes were unlikely to wander this far anytime soon. But whether they could avoid the zombies was no longer the real problem.
"You can tell yourself that if you want. Unless some god suddenly descends to save us, we'd be eaten alive by those zombified Knights and City Guards at the gates.
"This is much better. There aren't many people living nearby, so there aren't many zombies either. All we have to do is bet that none of them becomes so insanely enhanced that it can wipe out our entire group by itself before they all die off. Our odds are way better than painfully carving a path through a sea of zombies, reaching the outside of the city, and then fighting dozens of S-class zombies."
Cid analyzed the situation rationally. As far as he was concerned, Alexia was talking nonsense. Hiding quietly and waiting for the zombies to die on their own gave them far better odds of survival than trying to force their way through.
"...Cid, have you forgotten that you could turn into one of those monsters at any moment!?"
After a brief silence, Alexia finally snapped and shouted at him. She simply could not understand how Cid could still speak so casually when, according to everything they had deduced, he himself was about to turn into a zombie.
"I already told you, that's only a guess..."
In truth, Cid had already privately confirmed that it was not a guess at all, because his biological limiters had automatically disengaged. However, since he normally kept his Realm operating at one hundred percent, and the ultimate realm of martial arts was complete control over one's body, he had simply forced it shut again.
Still, Cid could not figure something out. Even if the body's protective mechanisms were disabled, increasing physical strength by a few times would already be impressive. So where did the zombies' severalfold increase in base attributes and enormous reserves of Magical Power come from?
"We both know whether it's really just a guess. Maybe if we try to break out now, we can still reach another city and find some way to stop you from turning into a monster..."
"There isn't enough time."
That single sentence sent Alexia back into silence.
"Wahhh... Cid, I can't believe you're going to die so soon, and as a zombie too. That's really pitiful."
Kanade's voice came from beside him, and Cid's expression darkened as he was dragged out of his thoughts.
"I'm not dead yet. Could you at least say something nice about me? Kanade, I think you're asking for a beating."
"Waaah!"
Kanade shrieked when Cid suddenly appeared right in front of her. She fell to the floor, then scrambled on all fours to hide behind the sofa.
"These monsters are appearing in this world for the first time. From everything we've seen so far, Cid, you're definitely doomed. How am I supposed to say anything nice?"
Kanade grumbled. On their way from the city center to Christina's house, they had rescued several people. From what they observed and learned afterward, being bitten by a zombie did not necessarily turn someone into one. They might simply bleed to death. But anyone who ate something given to them by the Thirteen Nightblades really would turn into a zombie and attack them.
Judging by the information they had gathered so far, Cid really was doomed. At best, he would simply turn into a zombie a little later than the others.
"Short hair, short on knowledge too. This situation is a little different, but something similar has happened in this world before."
"Huh?"
The moment he said that, Alexia looked over. Kanade stopped fooling around as well and turned toward Cid.
"When? How come I've never heard about it?"
Alexia asked skeptically. Something this serious, with that many casualties, would certainly have caused an uproar. So how could she, the Princess of Midgar, have never heard a single word about it?
"Ahem... It is said that..."
Feeling everyone's attention settle on him, Cid coughed several times and cleared his throat before speaking slowly in an air of mystery.
"Once, in the dark reaches of the world, a great disturbance erupted in the Lawless City. The Blood Queen, who had slumbered for a thousand years, awakened and turned the citizens of the entire Lawless City into her Vampire minions.
"Those former Humans, now transformed into Vampire minions, possessed tremendous power and an insatiable craving for the flesh and blood of the living. With reason gone and only desire remaining, they unleashed chaos throughout the Lawless City..."
"How come I never heard about any of this? And as far as I know, the Lawless City still exists."
Unable to stop herself from interrupting, Alexia felt like an idiot for having taken him seriously.
"Don't interrupt. I'm still telling the story."
Cid snapped at Alexia in annoyance, then continued.
"Just as the Lawless City was about to be destroyed by the evil Blood Queen, a black figure appeared and thwarted her sinister plot to rule the world.
"Even after the Blood Queen, the source of everything, was defeated, the Vampire minions she had transformed did not stop. Taking pity on the lives being lost, that figure caused a green light to envelop the entire Lawless City. When the light faded, the black figure had vanished, and everyone who had been turned into a Vampire minion had returned to normal."
"He sounds like a very compassionate and tragic person. Sacrificing himself to save an entire city... How noble. Cid, you should learn from him."
Kanade, who had quietly listened to the whole story, sighed in admiration. Cid, however, gave her a strange look.
"I never said he died."
"Huh? But the way you told it, Cid, I thought... Whatever. Since things have already come to this, do you know that person? Hurry up and call him over to save us."
"You met him a few days ago."
"Huh?"
Kanade froze. She mentally ran through everyone she had met over the past few days, while also considering the conditions Cid had described. Her expression gradually twisted.
"Cid, the person you're talking about couldn't possibly be..."
"Yes. Shadow."
Cid nodded, confirming Kanade's guess, and her expression twisted completely.
"By the way, even I, the Princess of Midgar, never received intelligence about this. So how did you know about it, Cid?"
Alexia narrowed her eyes. Something did not add up.
"Well... probably because I was in the Lawless City at the time."
After a moment's hesitation, Cid told the truth.
"What were you doing there?"
"I heard there was money to be made, so I went there to work."
"You're lucky you didn't die."
After making that remark, Alexia frowned again.
"So now we know someone who can solve the problem, but that doesn't really help. We can't force Shadow to save anyone. We can't even find him."
Even if you did find him, it wouldn't help.
Cid answered Alexia silently in his mind. Back in the Lawless City, he had been able to purge the Vampire genes from the bodies of the Vampire minions. But the people in this city had undergone natural growth and transformation. Even if he restored their biological limiters, they would still end up as masses of flesh.
"I have a plan, you two."
Pressing down the hat on her head, Kanade suddenly sprang to her feet, immediately drawing Cid and Alexia's attention. Both stared at her in confusion, unaware of the shocking wisdom she was about to unleash.
"Since Shadow can cure zombies, why don't we name Cid 'Shadow,' then have Cid use Shadow's invincible power to save everyone? Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"..."
"Why aren't you saying anything, Cid?"
Kanade looked at him in confusion. Normally, Cid would have jumped to his feet by now and loudly berated her brilliant wisdom while she fled in embarrassment. Why had he suddenly fallen silent?
"Kanade, are you even sane!?"
In the end, it was Alexia who stood up and tore into Kanade's astonishing wisdom.
Cid watched the scene coldly, paying particular attention to Kanade as she dodged away. Slowly, he lowered the hand he had been keeping behind his back, and the Slime Crowbar vanished.
You just saved your life, Kanade.
Cid lowered his head. He had only been trying to lay some groundwork for his future background-character resurrection, but he never expected Kanade to suddenly land such a massive hit.
Come to think of it, he had already shielded Kanade several times, including from the Thirteen Nightblades' candy. Now she had even guessed his true identity. Could Kanade actually possess astonishing wisdom?
"Dinner's ready, everyone."
Christina came upstairs carrying the food, called out to them, then sat down.
"Um... there are man-eating monsters all over the place outside. Is it really appropriate for us to sit here eating?"
Alexia glanced at the tragedy outside the window, then at the lavish spread on the table, and spoke hesitantly.
"Nothing in the world is more important than a meal, Princess Alexia. We've been running around all day without eating anything."
"I agree with Kanade. If I really am going to become a zombie, then at least let me become one on a full stomach."
Kanade and Cid spoke one after the other, then took their seats.
"Time to eat."
Cid announced it, picked up his chopsticks, and then...
"Thud!"
A heavy crash rang out as Cid toppled backward onto the floor, chair and all.
"Aaaah! Cid, are you turning into a zombie!?"
Kanade screamed and immediately drew her sword.
"Don't worry, Cid. I'll kill you before you turn into a zombie so you can preserve your dignity as a Human."
"Just for saying that, Kanade, I swear I'm taking you with me before I die."
Cid grabbed the blade with one hand and pointed at Kanade with the other, speaking through gritted teeth.
"Phew. What happened? Are you all right, Cid?"
Seeing that Cid seemed fine, Christina breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for asking, Christina-san. It's nothing serious. I just felt like I got hit by a sixty-quintillion-ton Truck-kun. I'm fine."
"Looks like you really are fine."
Seeing that Cid still had enough energy to joke around, Alexia turned her face away and hid the concern she had been showing.
"Yeah. I just need to use the restroom."
Cid nodded, got up from the floor, brushed off his clothes, and started to leave after giving that brief explanation.
"Huh? Cid, you still have time to worry about using the restroom right now? Didn't you say you wanted to die on a full stomach?"
Kanade stopped him and kindly tried to talk him out of it.
"...Listen. From what I've observed, becoming a zombie does make you stronger, but because you're already dead, your control over your body gets worse. All that strength just gets thrown around recklessly. So..."
"So...?"
Kanade instinctively prompted him when he deliberately trailed off. The next instant, Cid grabbed her by the collar, yanked her close, and forced her to stare directly into his contorted expression.
"So if you make me turn into a zombie that runs around while taking a dump, then even if it kills me, I'm dragging you down with me. Got it?"
"Got it, got it..."
Kanade imagined the scene and realized that if someone caused her to end up as that kind of laughingstock, she would probably drag them down with her too. Frightened, she quickly nodded and moved aside to clear a path.
"Compared to turning into something everyone would laugh at, giving up on dying with a full stomach sounds much more acceptable... Wait. Now that I think about it, didn't something like this happen to Cid before?"
Kanade watched Cid hurry toward the restroom, muttering to herself before suddenly realizing something.
"Could it be... that the last incident was just a rumor too?"
After thinking for a while, Kanade arrived at that conclusion.
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