"I could hear someone trapped in the elevator, Nach-sensei," Saeko said as soon as their group turned the corner of the hallway and saw the lobby.
Fortunately, just as Nach had hoped, the horde of undead climbing through the main stairwell hadn't reached the 28th floor yet. But that didn't mean there were no undead waiting in the lobby.
A dozen of Saki's aggressive undead—sent floor by floor using one of the two main elevators—were gathered in front of the other elevator, bashing themselves against the doors, trying to break through the slight gap and devour whoever was trapped inside.
"What are we going to do, Nach?" Yui asked, leaving the decision to him—either break through the dozen undead and continue climbing through the main stairwell, or eliminate the undead and help someone who might turn against them just so they could save themselves.
Nach had no trouble abandoning strangers, considering he still thought everything that had happened since he woke up in the world of Highschool of the Dead was a dream. However, the cries Saeko heard earlier from those trapped in the elevator—cries Nach could now hear as well as they rushed toward the lobby—made him unable to abandon them.
After all, they were cries from children and even from an infant.
"We'll take them out quietly without using a gun. Saeko, Miku. Stay close behind, Yui."
"We can hold them off on our own, Nach-sensei."
"Leave these pieces of trash to us, Nach-sama."
At Nach's remark, Saeko and Miku rushed toward the undead.
Miku, the fastest among them, gripped her sledgehammer with both hands and made a powerful swing as she halted her charge, smashing one of the undead in the chest and slamming it back into the others.
Saeko, who was slowly catching up to Miku's speed, drew her katana and beheaded one of the undead with a sharp slash. She then gripped her katana with both hands and beheaded the second one on the return slash, before recovering her stance and thrusting her katana forward, impaling the third undead through the neck and chopping halfway through it.
While Saeko and Miku eliminated the remaining undead, Nach and Yui caught up to them.
Yui was already holding the assault rifle for Nach, which he handed over to her as he tried to forcefully open one of the elevator's sliding doors.
"Argh—!"
Nach exerted as much strength as he could, trying to overwhelm the elevator door's locking mechanism, only to question whether it was even possible with human strength alone.
"Nope. Miku—"
—BAM!—
He was about to give up and call Miku, who had somehow become even stronger than him, but with one last push, Nach managed to slide open one of the elevator doors.
Is the Reader's Viewpoint giving me a power-up now? Nach thought, but quickly set the thought aside upon seeing those trapped inside the elevator, which had barely reached the 28th floor.
"Nach-sensei?" Tominaga said in surprise upon seeing their rescuer through the one-meter gap between the elevator ceiling and the floor.
Alongside Tominaga were the old security guard, Hogosha, a middle-aged policeman, a young woman carrying a baby, two girls who seemed to be sisters, and another grade-school girl.
Tominaga had probably prioritized evacuating the children when Saki began her rampage—or so Nach assumed.
Regardless, he didn't have time to ask questions. Not only because of the horde of undead climbing through the main stairwell and nearing the 28th floor, but also because of the undead that might come down from the upper floors—or other survivors who might soon appear.
What truly concerned Nach was that Saki was surely watching them.
"Hurry and get out," Nach said, crouching down and reaching out his hand to help everyone climb through, starting with the baby, followed by the young girls.
By the time all the girls had climbed up, the elevator began to move again.
"Go first, Tominaga-san. Hogosha-san," the policeman said, lifting them up as Nach pulled them through.
When it was the policeman's turn to climb up—Ding!—the elevator doors on the 27th floor opened.
"ARGH!"
Before the policeman could grab Nach's hand, the elevator was swarmed by Saki's aggressive undead, devouring him in the blink of an eye.
—"Ojisan!"—
The girls cried out for the policeman who had protected them, even though they had been complete strangers to one another.
Their cries would attract more undead, but the horde was already below them—and even coming down from the floor above—leaving their now larger group with no choice but to find a room to hide.
"Hogosha-san," Tominaga said, prompting him to open a room using the master emergency key.
"This way, everyone," Hogosha said, ushering them toward the nearest room.
—BANG!!!—
Nach resumed firing the assault rifle as the horde reached the 28th floor and rushed toward their group. But the undead from the main stairwell weren't the only threat.
—ROAARRR!—
The gunfire attracted undead from the hallways ahead, even those who had already been devoured and turned inside other rooms.
Saeko and Miku took them down one by one, but their sheer numbers soon flooded the hallway, threatening the group from both sides—until Hogosha finally unlocked and opened the door.
However, those inside refused to let anyone in.
"Who the fuc' are all of you?!" shouted a completely naked delinquent high school boy.
"Don't bring us trouble!"
"Get out of our room!"
Two high school girls, covering themselves with large pillows, followed up, hiding behind the delinquent.
"Go die on your own—ARGH!"
The second delinquent brandished his metal stud, aiming to strike Hogosha, but Yui shot him with her crossbow, the arrow piercing his shoulder.
"Get inside, everyone!" Yui shouted, threatening to use her pistol next if the residents continued to refuse.
The delinquent and the two girls fell silent as they stumbled to the floor, trembling in fear while watching their friend squirm in pain and hearing the chaos outside—the gunfire and the roaring undead.
"Go first, Saeko. Miku," Nach said when only the three of them remained outside.
After glancing back and confirming there were no nearby undead behind him, Nach rapidly emptied the assault rifle to slow the horde in front of him, buying enough time to enter the room, lock the door, and barricade it with the cabinet Miku was already pushing into place.
"How dare you endanger us, you fuc' bastards!" the delinquent shouted, regaining courage—or rather, stupidity—once he realized they were safe again.
His stupidity, even though it wasn't directed at Nach specifically, sent Miku into a rage.
She rushed forward with full killing intent, brandishing her sledgehammer to crush the delinquent's head. Saeko moved just as fast, ready to pierce his face with her katana.
"Don't kill him yet, Saeko, Miku!"
Saeko's katana stopped a centimeter away from the delinquent's right eye.
—BAMM!—
Miku's sledgehammer swept past his face and smashed into the floor, right in front of his already shrunken rod.
Realizing he could have died twice—and lost his manhood—the delinquent wet the floor in terror.
"You disgusting trash!" Miku shouted in rage as she yanked her sledgehammer back before it could be drenched with piss.
"That's enough, both of you," Nach said, pulling Saeko and Miku away from the delinquent—his hands unintentionally grabbing their soft breasts and instinctively fondling them, which neither Saeko nor Miku minded.
Miku looked up at Nach, growing excited, while Saeko glanced at him, flustered—but somehow, both of them were aroused by his touch.
Nach, however, had another concern on his mind.
How exactly did you all get here? He thought, looking at the familiar set of mob characters.