They cooked a simple meal together, since none of them were very experienced with cooking.
While helping, Damien learned something surprising about Jennifer. Her parents were high-level political officials in the city, and they also owned a large company called Blackhouse. It was a famous brand that made furniture and also sold or auctioned ancient antiques.
Hearing her background, both Damien and Alice were shocked. They themselves came from simple families. Even with the apocalypse happening, Damien and Alice were only a little worried for their parents. This was because their parents lived in the outskirts of the city, in a village area with very few people.
At least there wouldn't be thousands of zombies like in the city. For now, they hoped and believed their parents were safe.
After having breakfast, Damien was ready with his skeletons to clean the whole building. He took all his skeletons with him except one, which he left behind with Jennifer, since she was an ordinary person. Damien also wanted Alice to stay with Jennifer, but she insisted on going with him to use her powers.
"At least I will be useful for you," Alice said.
She had become more clingy after last night, Damien thought.
"Okay, but the same rules apply. Don't go too far, and if you see something dangerous, just come back. We'll investigate it together," Damien said.
"Okay, okay, fine. How many times do you have to say it? I'm not a little girl," Alice replied shyly, especially at the last part.
Damien chuckled at her shy tone. "Alright, let's go," he said.
With his 14 skeletons, led by Captain Skeleton and the Swordsman Skeleton, they started heading downstairs.
Seeing his skeletons march with discipline filled Damien with confidence.
After going two floors below, the action began.
Captain Skeleton ordered the skeletons to form a shield wall. With precise movements, the wall of bones moved forward toward the zombies.
Hearing the noise, the zombies rushed to their location. Damien and Alice stayed behind the skeleton formation.
The zombies charged, but the shield wall held firm. Tireless and fearless, the skeletons stood their ground. Then, like butchers, they started cutting down the zombies one by one.
The swift, simple attacks of the skeletons were very effective. The zombies were no match.
But as the fight went on, more zombies appeared and started coming at them.
One zombie burst out of a nearby room and charged at Damien and Alice. Damien quickly gripped his katana. When the zombie entered his attack range, Damien slashed it with a clean horizontal strike, killing it in one blow.
After the surprise attack from the zombies, Damien and Alice decided it was better to split up and clear the rooms while the skeletons handled the hallway.
"Okay, I'll take this side, you take the other," Alice said as she prepared to move.
She carried a sharp sickle-shaped knife, which could shift into a longer blade—perfect for an assassin's style of combat.
Alice kicked open a door, and two zombies rushed out. In a flash, she melted into the shadows, moving swiftly out of their sight. The first zombie stumbled in confusion—then a blade slit through its chest as Alice emerged and struck.
The second zombie froze, confused by the sudden disappearance of its prey. Its head jerked left and right, searching. That hesitation was all Alice needed. With a sudden movement, her knife pierced through the back of its skull, dropping it instantly.
On the other side, Damien was doing the same—cutting down any zombie that managed to slip through the skeleton formation. His katana slashed with speed and precision, leaving no room for mistakes.
Together, the two of them worked through each room, moving methodically while the skeletons butchered the ones in the hall.
Hours passed. By the time they were done, every floor was cleared—except for the ground floor.
Damien's grip tightened around his katana. He could feel it—the presence of something stronger lurking below.
"We'll rest for now," he said firmly.
Alice also agreed, and the two of them retreated into a relatively clean room to rest.
Damien sat down on a chair, closed his eyes, and began drawing in the faint traces of death energy that lingered in the air after the slaughter upstairs. Slowly, the invisible energy was absorbed into him, converging within his spiritual seed—a pitch-black core nestled deep inside his mind-space. It pulsed faintly, releasing a sinister yet steady glow.
When Damien had first broken through, he had discovered this mysterious seed. By focusing inward, he had realized every awakened being possessed one, though each was unique, shaped by their path and profession. Some had seeds resembling swords, others staffs, or blades, symbols of their destiny.
His, however, was different. Dark. Hungry. A true Necromancer's seed.
This knowledge had not come from himself but from the inheritance he carried—the Book of the Dead, a tome of forbidden lore left behind by a legendary God of Death in ages long forgotten. Damien had been lucky, blessed even, to obtain it when he first awakened. The book was more than a manual; it was a gateway to power, containing methods to grow stronger, secrets of death energy, and even a godhead of death itself. If Damien ever reached the level of a demigod, this godhead would allow him to ascend—to become a God of Death in truth.
From the book, he had also learned the importance of nurturing his spiritual seed through meditation. Drawing in ambient death energy not only strengthened his powers but also accelerated the growth of the seed itself.
But perhaps the most shocking revelation came when he delved deeper into the book's forbidden pages. The apocalypse he was living through… was not a random disaster. It was a trial. A test imposed by the world consciousness itself.
If humanity could survive this tribulation, they would gain something beyond comprehension—the chance to step onto a far greater stage, to come into contact with countless civilizations that had endured similar trials.
The more Damien read, the more the truth sank into him. Out there existed beings capable of wiping out civilizations as easily as snuffing out a candle. Gods walked among them.
And if he wanted to survive—if he wanted to protect Alice, Jennifer, and himself—then he needed to become one of them.