All four of them stepped out.
The moment the door closed behind them, a gust of cold wind swept across their faces, tugging at their clothes and clinging to their skin like icy fingers. Merek lifted his gaze to the sky—dark, brooding, and heavy with clouds.
It was about to rain.
As that thought crossed his mind, a jagged streak of lightning tore through the heavens, followed by a thunderclap that made the air quake. A heartbeat later, the skies broke. Rain poured down in thick sheets, soaking them instantly as it splattered across their skin.
"Let's go," Felicity said sharply, already moving ahead.
But she only made it a few steps before she halted.
A dozen zombies emerged from the misty downpour ahead—shambling, snarling, their limbs twitching as they staggered forward. Their soaked uniforms clung to their rotting flesh, and their hollow eyes glowed faintly with lifeless hunger.
Tevin didn't hesitate. With a grunt, he hurled his bone-forged spear. The weapon shot through the rain, whistling sharply before it pierced the skull of one zombie with a sickening crunch, pinning the corpse to the asphalt road.
Without a word, Felicity vanished.
She blinked across the space between them, appearing once, twice, each teleport a blur of motion, before reappearing in the heart of the zombies. Her twin curved swords, glinting even in the murky gray of the storm, danced through the air like silk ribbons. Flesh parted. Bone shattered. Heads rolled.
In under three seconds, eleven zombies fell, cleanly, silently, mercilessly.
Merek stood motionless a few steps behind, eyes narrowing as he analyzed her. Short-range blink teleportation... at least two jumps within 100 meters... variable range, likely depleted essence pretty fast. But it was undoubtedly Dangerous.
Her skill was fast, efficient, and no doubt ranked high—possibly close to his own telekinesis in versatility.
Tevin's eyes widened at the display. Nero's expression remained unreadable, but the slight curl of his lips betrayed a hint of amusement—particularly at Tevin and Merek's stunned faces.
They pressed forward, heading east. The cafeteria was their destination, but the path was far from clear.
Zombie blockades forced them to push through waves of the undead. Felicity led the charge, a blur of steel and grace. Her footwork was graceful, each step calculated, each slash deliberate.
Tevin followed close behind, slower but just as devastating. Encased in his bone armor, he waded into the horde without fear, each thrust of his spear sending skulls bursting like overripe melons.
Nero fought from the rear. White smoke curled from his fingertips as he conjured flameballs, hurling them into the ranks of zombies with surgical precision. But the rain hampered him, the downpour snuffing out his fire mid-flight or weakening the bursts.
Merek hung back, his pace steady, not due to laziness, but because he wanted to watch them. Behind him, his three armored undead; Yuki and the Vultures, moved in lockstep, their boots clinking softly beneath the storm's howl. He didn't rush. Instead, he kept watching. He allowed Tevin to kill and level, observing with quiet satisfaction as the boy's strength rose to level eight.
Then, they saw it.
Through the sheets of rain, silhouetted in the distance, stood the cafeteria, its outline shadowy but distinct. They were close now. Barely 300 meters away.
But the moment they spotted it… they were spotted in return.
From all directions, over 200 zombies turned. Attracted by the scent of the living, they howled and gurgled, grotesque faces twitching as they began to stagger and lurch toward the group. Some were missing limbs. Others had gaping wounds on their necks and faces. All were clad in school uniforms, now torn and bloodied, skin sloughing off in strips.
Their collective growl rose like a wave, sending shivers even down Felicity's spine.
"We're too exposed," she muttered. "Nero can't do much with this rain. We should retreat and replan."
"No need."
Merek's voice was calm. He stepped forward, lifting a hand.
With a flash of motion, Yuki and the Vultures leapt past him, blurring through the distance and colliding with the horde. Blood exploded as Yuki's long sword danced like a scythe. Her movements were impossibly fast, cutting through zombies with a style that even made Felicity's pupils shrink.
The Vultures were worse. Wrapped in chains and armor, they fought with terrifying brutality. Chains coiled around the necks of zombies and tightened with sickening snaps. Blades carved through limbs like butter. Their eyes burned with a wrathful, pale white light as they tore through the enemy.
Nero shuddered.
Something about the armoured beings' relentless, intelligent slaughter chilled him.
Inspired or provoked, Tevin let out a yell and dove in, swinging his spear wide. Heads flew. Limbs spun through the rain. Felicity joined once more, flashing between corpses, her movements like a deadly waltz.
Then, the air shifted.
Suddenly, dozens of zombies floated up off the ground, limbs flailing helplessly as if suspended by invisible hands.
Felicity paused mid-step, blinking in disbelief.
Her gaze darted toward Merek.
He stood calmly, raising two fingers. Then, with a flick—BOOM!—the floating zombies slammed into the ground with spine-snapping force, craters forming beneath their corpses. None moved again.
And he wasn't done.
He spread both arms outward, as if breaking an invisible barrier. Twenty more zombies were hurled sideways, crashing through walls and windows like ragdolls.
Tevin slowed, awe flickering in his gaze. 'This gap… it's like I'm riding a bike and he's on a bullet train.'
Eventually, the last of the zombies fell, crushed by Merek's telekinetic mastery.
All was quiet—except the rain.
Nero clenched his jaw, fingers flexing. He hated it. Hated how easily Merek had stolen the spotlight. But more than anything, he hated the look Felicity gave Merek—true shock. Awe. Not indifference or cold calculation.
A genuine amazement.
"They'll harvest the cores," Merek said flatly. "Let's check the cafeteria."
He moved ahead, careful not to strain his injured leg too much.
Not far from there, someone else had been watching.
Carla, once the center of attention at Emerald High, crouched in the shadows of the second floor of the adjacent building. Rain poured through the shattered window beside her. Her chest rose and fell with heavy, uneven breaths as her wide brown eyes locked onto Merek and his group.
She trembled.
Not from fear… but from something she hadn't felt in four days.
Hope.
Her full figure, once flaunted with pride, had become a curse after the fall. When the world collapsed, her beauty painted a target on her back. Riven Taleth, a senior with a powerful job class, had turned the school into his private kingdom. Most girls who came to him seeking protection were reduced to toys.
Carla almost suffered the same fate… but she'd fought. Chose violence. Chose escape.
She'd been hiding ever since.
No food. No allies.
Her stomach growled painfully. She clutched it with one hand as her other held onto a sharp mop stick she used as a weapon.
She looked through the glass wall, heart pounding.
People.
Alive. Strong. Untouched.
All of them displayed terrifying inhuman strength like Riven. And while something about their presence, especially the one in a black coat, stirred unease in her heart, whispering warnings about the kind of people they might be, Carla knew she had no choice.
She could either risk meeting them… or die of starvation.