The sound of shattering glass rang out. It came from the window of the room beside the school laboratory. Something burst out from inside.
At first, it was hard to see clearly. Whatever it was moved swiftly through the air—its silhouette resembling someone riding a flying board, gliding at tremendous speed.
Nieza and Forta strained their eyes to make sense of what they were seeing.
Then it became clear.
A man wearing a white shirt with a black tie and black trousers was riding on two massive blades, like a pair of flying surfboards. He hovered in midair, stabilizing his trajectory. At the ends of each blade's hilt, crimson flames roared, propelling the twin blades forward.
Most shocking of all—at the tip of one blade, a male body was impaled.
The man surged forward toward Nieza and Forta, but as the distance closed, he suddenly veered away, redirecting the blades toward the mass of Neopjevan students who had already turned into zombies. A powerful gust of wind blasted past Nieza and Forta as he changed course.
The zombies were struck head-on by the blades. At such extreme speed, their bodies were sliced apart and hurled away on impact.
About two hundred meters from Nieza and Forta, the man redirected the blades again—this time straight toward Forta—then brought them to a sudden stop. The abrupt halt flung off several zombies that had been skewered moments earlier.
Now the man was clearly visible.
It was Kira Rainhard, standing atop the two massive floating blades. He had torn the sleeves of his white shirt to bandage the wound on his forehead.
"Kira…?!" Nieza gasped in shock.
"He's still alive…?! Damn it—what did Zia do?!" Forta muttered in disbelief.
"I got lucky. My healing ability activated automatically the moment Konets Sveta began," Kira said coldly. "Hey, you idiot teacher—if you're looking for your partner, he's been enjoying a ride with me this whole time, right at the tip of my blade."
Kira pointed at Zia, now fully transformed into a zombie—the same one impaled on the blade when Kira burst out of the laboratory room.
"…Bastard!" Forta snarled.
"Now it's your turn!"
As Kira spoke, the crimson flames around the blade hilts flared violently, thrusting the blades straight at Forta. Riding the surge, Kira charged forward at full speed, intent on impaling him.
Forta accepted the challenge. He didn't dodge. Instead, he braced himself to block the incoming blades.
At roughly fifty meters from Forta, Kira leapt off the flying blades. He landed heavily on the ground, rolled, then sprang up and sprinted toward Nieza.
The blades struck.
One pierced partway into Forta's abdomen. He managed to grab them with both hands, stopping them from going deeper—but the momentum was overwhelming. Forta was forced backward nearly two hundred meters, crashing through and tearing into the school building wall along with the blades.
"Nieza! Are you okay?!" Kira shouted as he rushed to her.
"…Kira… I…" Nieza's words cut off as she collapsed. Kira caught her instantly.
"Nieza… what happened? Your body's burning hot…"
Nieza didn't answer. She only groaned in pain, clutching her abdomen. Kira activated his healing ability, sealing the wound. The injury closed—but her pain didn't subside.
"Nieza?! What's wrong?! Answer me!" Kira demanded, panic creeping into his voice.
"This is bad, Sir Kira," Aigis warned. "Nieza has been afflicted by a third-tier Diablo curse—Dizintegera. If it continues, both Nieza and Aliniere will disintegrate and vanish from this world."
"W-What?! Then what do I do?! What am I supposed to do?!" Kira shouted.
"Unfortunately, I do not possess the ability to cure a third-tier Diablo curse. My healing power only works on physical injuries. The only hope lies with Nieza herself—only a powerful soul can break this curse."
"…Damn it. There's no other way…? No matter what, we need to find somewhere safe for Nieza," Kira said, lifting her into his arms as he noticed the zombies closing in.
Carrying Nieza, Kira sprinted at full speed, weaving through the encroaching horde. Zombies gave chase, but with the aid of Aigis's Valkyrie Boots, Kira was faster.
"Sir Kira, where are you trying to escape to?" Aigis asked.
"Out of the school, obviously! At least we'll be safer there!"
Kira dashed toward the school gate. Escaping the grounds was the best option to secure Nieza's safety.
"Wait, Sir Kira—"
"DUAK!"
Kira slammed into something invisible—like a solid wall. He recoiled in pain, unable to see what he had hit.
"Ow! What the hell was that?!" Kira groaned.
"It appears an Avenger-class Monster has deployed a defensive barrier around the school," Aigis explained. "Judging by its strength, all exits from Neopjevan School have been sealed."
"…That damn teacher planned for every possibility, huh… Damn it," Kira cursed.
At that moment, the zombies closed in from all sides. There was no choice left but to find shelter somewhere within the school.
"Sir Kira, based on my analysis, the school storage building is the nearest location with no Monster presence detected."
"Where is it, Aigis?" Kira asked urgently.
"Approximately six hundred meters southwest from here."
"Got it! Let's move!"
As Kira ran, the zombies surged after him, claws outstretched. Using the Valkyrie Boots, Kira leapt twenty meters into the air, landed on a zombie's head, then bounded across dozens more with ease, using them as stepping stones toward the storage building.
After landing on countless zombie heads, Kira slipped into the storage building unnoticed. Still, it was only a matter of time before the horde realized where they'd gone.
Inside the storage room—a space about the size of a typical home garage—were unused desks and chairs, sports equipment, and mats. Kira grabbed a mat and gently laid Nieza down.
She was still in agony, sweat pouring from her body. Kira noticed the red triangular pattern on her abdomen growing more vivid.
"The red triangle is Lumina's emblem," Aigis explained. "It indicates that Forta's curse is still active."
"…Nieza," Kira whispered.
"Sir Kira, Forta has located us. Forta and all remaining zombies are heading here," Aigis warned.
"…Aigis. Please stay here and watch over Nieza. At the very least, let me know when she wakes up," Kira said as he stood and walked toward the storage door.
"Sir Kira, isn't this too risky? What are you planning to do?" Aigis asked.
"I'm going to kill every last one of them out there."
"But there are too many, sir! It's extremely dangerous!"
"…Don't worry. I believe Nieza will wake up soon—and help me," Kira replied calmly.
"But—"
"It's fine, Aigis. Nieza is strong. I trust that in a few minutes, she'll come and help me clean up this mess."
"…Understood, Sir Kira. Please be careful," Aigis said softly.
The storage door closed slowly.
Kira stepped outside, leaving Nieza and Aigis behind.