SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The sound of heavy impacts mixed with the cracking of bone echoed throughout the corridors of Fujimi Academy.
Zombie bodies fell one after another, their skulls crushed by precise blows from the wooden sword gripped in a girl's hands.
Amid the rapidly shifting shadows, Saeko's long purple hair flowed freely, dancing with every twist of her body—every leap, every swing of her weapon—each movement elegant and lethally beautiful.
Her motions were not wild.
Not panicked.
There was no excess emotion.
Only absolute calm, like a dancer performing upon a stage of death.
A zombie lunged from the side.
Saeko merely shifted her foot half a step.
WHAM!
The zombie's arm snapped before it could even touch her. Then Saeko spun lightly, swinging the bokken toward its skull—
CRACK!
The skull burst apart like a watermelon, red fluid splattering across the wall.
Even so, the number of zombies was still overwhelming. One growl after another filled the corridor, making it feel increasingly narrow and suffocating.
Yet Saeko's gaze remained steady.
She drew a slow breath.
"One… two… three…" Saeko counted calmly, her voice flat and composed. "Their numbers are increasing. This is getting a little troublesome."
Two zombies charged at her from the front at the same time. Saeko leapt lightly backward, then stepped forward in a swift motion.
THUMP!
The bokken struck the left zombie's jaw—its head snapped violently backward.
Without even looking, Saeko twisted her wrist, reversing the bokken to the right, and the second zombie's skull cracked cleanly.
Then Saeko returned to her original stance, the bokken drawn back, her body lowered close to the ground.
Her movements were smooth, yet every swing carried crushing force.
"Don't stand in my way…" she whispered softly, her voice barely more than a murmur.
"If you block my path… then I will remove you."
The zombies staggered forward.
Saeko met them with a sharp gaze—a predator who had finally found the rhythm of battle she longed for.
She stepped forward. In an instant, bodies fell one after another. Their numbers had been troublesome for a moment, but not a single one could offer Saeko any meaningful resistance.
Now only a few zombies remained, blocking the corner ahead of her.
STEP. STEP. STEP.
As the last corpse fell, another sound echoed—rapid footsteps, lightly rebounding along the corridor. Saeko's ears caught it immediately.
It came from beyond the bend ahead, an area almost completely clogged by a line of zombies dragging their feet forward.
Saeko frowned slightly. Her focus did not waver in the slightest. She tightened her grip on the wooden sword, her body tensing as she prepared to face whatever might emerge from around the corner.
A flurry of notifications popped up, and because his presence was far too conspicuous, the zombies that had been surrounding Saeko immediately turned their attention toward him.
Meanwhile, Saeko observed quietly.
Her gaze narrowed—not out of surprise, but in assessment.
His movements… were fast. Faster than most humans. But what truly caught her attention wasn't the speed—it was his eyes.
Two glowing blue orbs in the middle of the corridor—a cold light that didn't look human, nor was it a mere reflection.
The irises and sclera, which should have appeared normal, were completely absent. Instead, intricate geometric lines spread across them, like magical circles from a fantasy anime or complex sci-fi patterns.
"Contact lenses?" Saeko muttered softly. "No… probably not. Are those… fake eyes?"
At that moment, the door to a nearby classroom burst open. A female student, already turned into a zombie, lunged directly at Saeko.
Without any excessive movement, yet maintaining her graceful composure, Saeko stepped back once and swung her bokken.
Instantly, the zombie's head shattered, blood spraying into the air.
Moments later, Gabriel finished the task. With one final swing of his white shovel, the last zombie's skull cracked like fragile pottery.
The lifeless body wobbled for a moment before collapsing to the floor, joining the trail of carnage that had filled the corridor.
Gabriel stood upright in the middle of the chaos—his breathing steady, expression calm, as if what he had just done were nothing more than a mundane routine.
Slowly, he lowered his shovel. A drop of blood fell from the tip of the white metal, hitting the floor with an almost inaudible sound.
From the back of the corridor, a soft yet trembling voice broke the silence.
"Wait up… I'm way too lazy to run, you know."
Gabriel turned his head slowly.
Someone had just appeared from around the corner—a woman with long blonde hair, slightly tousled, a proportionate figure, and half-asleep eyes.
Her appearance clearly didn't belong in such a dangerous zone. Her white uniform was wrinkled; a stethoscope hung around her neck.
There was no doubt: Shizuka Marikawa.
Earlier, while on the way to Saeko's location, Rian had briefly stopped by the infirmary to rescue the survivors there. In the end, only Shizuka had been able to make it out alive.
And even though Gabriel hid behind his chuuni mask, he still carried a twinge of self-reproach—for arriving late.
Shizuka's steps halted just a few meters in front of Gabriel.
Hearing her shallow breaths, Gabriel could guess what the woman was seeing: the blood-soaked floor, the scattered zombie body parts, and him—standing calm, his white shovel stained red.
"O-Oh… u-uh… a-are you okay? You… you killed so many of them… along the way… um… more than ten…?"
Shizuka's voice trembled—not from fear, but from the innocent confusion that was so characteristic of her.
"Heh. Just lowly shards of darkness daring to bother me."
Gabriel replied with a nonchalant, stylish tone, clearly exaggerated, yet delivered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
After speaking, he slowly shifted his gaze—toward Saeko, who had been watching Gabriel fight all this time—his movements, his techniques, his strange way of speaking, and… his eyes.
Shizuka turned to look as well, seeming slightly relieved to see another "student" had survived.
"Ah… you… you're another student, right? Thank goodness… I thought you—"
Shizuka stopped mid-sentence as she noticed Saeko's expression: calm, focused, unshaken.
Saeko slightly lowered her head. "Busujima. Busujima Saeko. From the kendo club."
"Oh! Saeko-chan! You're okay th—"
Before Shizuka could finish, Gabriel flicked his white shovel, straightened up, and fixed a cold gaze on Saeko, far too dramatic for the real-world situation.
"So you are the swordswoman whose aura I've been sensing all this time," Gabriel said, his voice as if speaking to a legendary rival.
Saeko simply blinked. "…If by that you mean observing me earlier, then maybe."
Gabriel turned his face for a moment, clicking his tongue lightly as usual. Though he wanted to look cool, his lips tensed slightly from the embarrassment of being addressed so realistically.
"Focus, Gabriel. Focus. The Ash mask must not crack."
He raised his shovel, then pointed down the long corridor leading out of the building.
"You two. We need to get out of this school immediately."
Shizuka looked confused. "Eh? We? I-I don't even know your name yet…"
Gabriel turned slightly, his hair falling over half his face. His voice deepened.
"The name of this existence is Gabriel Michaelis. But that name was long discarded. My true name is Ash. The Pale Mist that Watches the Stars."
Shizuka: "Eh… alright then… Gabriel-kun."
Gabriel lifted his chin slightly, as if accepting the world's acknowledgment.
Then he turned his gaze to Saeko.
"Swordswoman Busujima… you'll walk behind. Protect Shizuka's rear."
Saeko observed Gabriel for a moment—evaluative, unimpressed by his strange way of speaking. Then she nodded slightly.
"Alright. Holding the rear position is the right choice."
Shizuka hesitantly raised her hand. "I-I… in the middle?"
"Yes," Gabriel replied quickly. "Stay close to us. Darkness is still lurking."
Shizuka bit her lower lip, unsure whether the "darkness" Gabriel referred to meant the zombies… or something entirely different.
His words had sounded odd from the start, but honestly… they were a bit amusing too.
So she chose to follow.
Gabriel moved ahead.
Shizuka stayed in the middle.
Saeko closed the formation from the rear, her steps calm and precise.
Their initial formation was still stiff, full of distance and mutual assessment.
Yet this was the starting point of their strange journey out of the school that had become a living hell.