Sovereign Of The Scarlet Night

Getting Out Of The Dormitory

He could feel he was more powerful than before.

"I have to save my sister."

But first he had to find a way down the building. He quickly got out of his room. Now armed with his new Chixiao sword, he felt more confident with the double-edged sword as he could kill the zombies now without getting near them. Slowly jumping over the already rotten corpses in the door, Garret scanned the hall, slowly moving towards the stairs. The only sound was the incessant groaning, a wet, guttural echo that traveled through the hallways. A day ago, this had been a high-rise full of neighbors, now, a horizontal tomb. He could feel two of the bastards moving up the stairs, their groans echoing up the stairwell.

"Why am I not scared of these zombies?" Garret smiled as he went down the stairs, meeting two of the hungries slowly walking up the stairs.

"Come to think of it, were they always this slow?" Garret wondered as he cleaved the two zombies. "What a good sword. I could barely feel any resistance."

Garret, now with vigor, hurried down the stairs, but he didn't let it get into his head. He somehow knew that zombies were actually weaker. Proof of it was the bee that had almost killed him. He didn't dare imagine what larger creatures had evolved to. Reaching the second floor, he searched the rooms for any survivors, but he didn't find any living thing. He found two zombies though, which he quickly killed.

{You have slain a level 1 zombie…}

He couldn't help but notice that he hadn't leveled up yet since the bee, and he had already killed four level one zombies.

"Maybe it's because my level is quite high."

He had become more urgent after finding no survivors. Quickly sprinting to the first floor, he didn't dare think of the worst. On reaching the first floor, the same result. The hallway was empty, and the rooms also had no living beings. Quickly ran to the first floor. Draven came face to face with what was a little army of zombies.

"So this is where everyone was."

Garret could almost guess what had happened. After the earthquake, the residents had fled their premises, some curious, some frightened, only to turn into mindless hungries. The door behind the small army was sealed shut. The creatures, almost in unison, marched toward him. They moved together like the remnants of a crowd, people once living in the building, neighbors, classmates. Now just hunks. The worst part? Some still wore faces that he recognized, a noisy sassy cheerleader, a woman in office heels, a small backpack dangling from one skeletal shoulder. But he knew these were not his neighbors, classmates. He had somehow very quickly come to the realization that it was a new and different world.

With the Chixiao in hand, Garret moved. The zombies staggered in the dim light, drawn by the scent of living flesh. They shuffled toward him, jaws slack, arms reaching. The first corpse lunged, his blade sang. One clean stroke, and the head slid off the shoulders, rolling across the floor. He didn't stop, the swing carried onto the next, splitting its skull from crown to chin. The horde groaned louder, surging toward him in a wave. Garret pivoted, feet light on the cracked tiles. A horizontal s***h cuts through two at once, spraying black ichor across the wall. Another stumbled from his left, he sidestepped, thrusted straight at its eye socket, and wrenched the blade free before it fell.

"When did I learn how to use a sword?" Garret wondered as he cleaved another zombie.

Three close in at once, arms clawing. Garret spins, his sword arcs low, slicing through his knees. They collapse in a tangle of limbs, crawling and shrieking. Without pause, he drives his boot down, crushing skulls into the floor.

Only five remain.

They lunged together, a wall of decay and hunger. Garret raised the sword above his head, let them get close, then brought it down in a two-handed cleave, splitting the nearest from shoulder to waist. The blade stuck for half a heartbeat, but with a grunt he ripped it free and whirled in a circle. Steel flashed. Rotten heads tumble. Silence falls. The ground floor is carpeted with twitching bodies, the air thick with the reek of blood and rot. Garret stood in the middle of the c*****e, the blade dripping, chest heaving.

{You have slain a level two zombie...

You have slain a level three zombie

You have leveled up... you gain two stat points...}

Garret smirked. But then suddenly

"Argh! My head," Garret shrieked as he held his head. He felt as if his brain was trying to tear itself apart. His vision wavered colors twisting and bending. All he could do was clutch his head, gasping through clenched teeth, praying for even a moment's relief. In his distorted vision he could see figures hovering over him

"These damn zombies."

He passed out

After what seemed like an eternity, Garret slowly regained his consciousness. His head was still hurting, but the pain was somewhat manageable. Slowly rising to his feet, he scanned the hallway. The corpses were still lying there, testament to his earlier m******e. But there were two figures on one of the corners, their eyes filled with wariness and fear. The older looking boy was at the front in what looked like an attempt to protect the little girl behind him. Garret, shocked, also quickly got up scanning the whole room looking for what could have caused the poor idiots to have such an expression. Finding nothing particularly scary, he looked at his hands covered in blood.

"Are these two idiots scared of me," Garret scoffed.

But then again, if he saw himself in a mirror right now, he was sure he would be scared to death. The black mantle particularly looked menacing, as if alive. His bloodied body and the zombies lying on the ground weren't very convincing either.

"Damn this cursed mantle," he mumbled. The shroud would give him the fighting prowess of its previous owners, but while also feeding from his sanity.

"What's your name?" Garret asked the boy.

The boy was visibly shocked and shaken, as if he had never imagined that the dreadful demon would be able to talk.

The boy, wide-eyed and in a trembling voice, responded, "Wh-what… what are you? Who are you? You—you killed all those zombies… oh God… you killed over fifteen of them…" He staggers back, voice breaking. "I—I saw it… I saw you slice through them like they were nothing… blood everywhere—bones snapping…oh no, no, no, no…"

"God, did I make one mad? Am I really that terrifying?" Daven mumbled in self-loath.

"Follow me if you want to live," he said to the boy while picking up his sword.

Garret couldn't afford to waste a second, every moment lost meant fewer chances of finding his sister. After getting out of the male dormitory, he could see the pair had decided to follow him but kept a distance.

"Now where do I find Eva?"