"Aghhh,"
Vincent's eyes snapped open.
His body covered in sweat.
Images of his last moments flashed before his eyes.
His chest rose up and down in panic.
"Aghhhhhhhh..."
THUD!
Instinctively, Vincent twitched his body as an excruciating pain attacked him, snapping him back to reality.
"I...I'm alive?"
A long sigh of relief escaped him, the corners of his lips curling into a smile. Joy.
He was alive.
His heart pounded so hard it hurt- but for the first time since the madness began, he was grateful to feel it.
HE WAS ALIVE!
However, the joy didn't last long, and his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw his situation.
Sitting on a chair, his arms and legs tightly tied.
'Who could have done this?' Not a trace of joy remained; instead, replaced by a crisis.
Vincent raised his alertness.
His thoughts raced, but with the limited information he had, he couldn't make sense of the situation.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a blue window appeared before his eyes.
[You awakened the Zombie Apocalypse System]
[Do you wish to initiate the zombie apocalypse?] - [Yes/No]
'What's this?'
To add to Vincent's confusion, this appeared now.
'Initiate an apocalypse? Wasn't that already happening?'
Clack! Clack!
Before Vincent could even focus on the strange window floating before his eyes, the sound of a lighter rang in the room.
Clack!
Sparks flew in the air.
A small fire ignited a few meters from him, revealing the figure of a person, but the light was too weak to reveal the face.
"You're finally awake,"
A voice reached Vincent's ears, echoing in the room—a familiar voice.
"You are..." Vincent's eyes widened as a name and a face resurfaced from his memory.
Swuuuush!
Several candles lit up, lighting the room.
As the room lit, four men came into view.
The man with the lighter sat on a chair not far from Vincent, while the other three stood behind him.
Surprisingly, they were far from the candles. None of them could have lit them, let alone lit all the candles simultaneously.
It was as if the candles lit magically.
"Vincent, who would've thought, we'll meet again?" The man sat backward on a chair, playing with the lighter around his fingers.
A very familiar face to Vincent.
Behind him stood Finn, a bulky, mean-looking man, and a tall, slim person with a sunken face.
"Marin!" Vincent gritted his teeth, haunted by unpleasant memories. "What's the meaning of this?" He glared hatefully.
"Now, now!" Marin reached into his pocket, taking out a pack of cigarettes.
Calmly, he put a cigarette into his mouth.
"Boss," The bulky man took out a lighter and ran to Marin, lighting his cigarette.
"Hooo..." Marin took a puff and exhaled. "Is that the way you talk to your savior, Vincent, my old friend?"
"Savior?" Vincent looked at him, puzzled. "You saved me? How? And Why?"
Marin calmly took another puff before answering. "As the old saying goes, Vincent, never abandon a friend in need, right?" He looked at Vincent with a smirk, carefully examining his expression. "I even killed that monster, avenging you. After all, a friend's revenge is mine as well. "
"Impossible!" Vincent shouted in denial.
How could he believe that a human killed a monster like that?
"I know what you're thinking. But you can ask my new subordinate if you don't believe me." Marin looked at Finn.
"Subordinate? Finn, what is he talking about?" Vincent glared at Finn.
"Finn has joined me." Marin extended his arm.
Clap! Clap!
He slapped Finn's cheek. "Isn't that right, Finn?"
"Y-Yes!" Finn lowered his head obediently.
"I saved him from the monster. I killed the monster. Did I do it, Finn?"
"Y-Yes, Sir!"
"Good boy," Marin slapped Finn again and turned his attention to Vincent.
"See?"
Vincent's face turned purple in anger. Though they had only known each other for a week, he and Finn risked their lives together.
He didn't want to see him treated this way.
How could he not see that in Marin's eyes, Finn was nothing more than a disposable? Not to mention, he knows what kind of person Marin is.
"Cut your bullshit!" Vincent spat. "Saving a friend in need? We both know what we were, Marin - parasites feeding off the same rot."
"DID THE SHARK ORDER YOU!!!" Vincent's anger exploded, glaring murderously at Marin.
His body trembled. 'WHY! EVEN IN THIS APOCALYPSE!' He cursed his own existence. 'WHY DOES THE PAST HAUNT ME!! EVEN WHEN EVERYTHING IS ALREADY OVER! EVEN WHEN CIVILIZATION HAS COLLAPSED! WHY!!'
"Hahaha!" Marin laughed, amused by Vincent's reaction.
Thud!
The bulky man standing behind Marin slammed his fist into his palm.
"Boss, I can't let him disrespect you like this. Do I teach him a lesson?!"
"Boss?!" Vincent's expression suddenly changed as his ears caught this word.
His murderous gaze turned into mockery.
"Hahahaha!" He threw his head back, laughing heartily. "Boss? You are just someone's dog, running here and there to collect debts for the Shark."
"I'll teach you a lesson!" The bulky man didn't wait for Marin's reply and raised his fist, stepping forward.
Swoosh!
Marin extended his arm, blocking his way. "Dorvin, get back," He ordered, his expression dead serious as he stared at Vincent.
He barely contained his anger.
"Vincent, the circumstances changed." Marin dropped the half-smoked cigarette on the floor, stepping on it. "The Shark is dead."
'Dead?' Vincent's heart jumped in joy. 'If he's dead, doesn't that mean my debt is gone?' However, he quickly realized the absurdity of Marin's words.
"Lies," Vincent muttered, having a difficult time believing.
Hundreds of men willing to die for him. Illegal guns. The Shark had all the means to protect himself, unless a building collapsed on him.
'No,' Vincent rejected the idea internally; it didn't make sense. 'The Shark operated on the outskirts.'
"He burned. Like the rest of them," Marin's eyes gleamed in the candlelight.
He extended his arm and opened his palm.
Swuush!
Fire erupted.
A small fireball danced an inch above his palm, entirely under his control.
"You think monsters are the only things that changed, Vincent?"
Vincent's thoughts froze for a moment.
'I-Impossible...' He shook his head in denial, his eyes wide open as he stared at the fire dancing in Marin's palm.
'He burned. Like the rest of them.' Those words rang in his mind like a gong.
He didn't need explanations. Clarity washed over him.
'H-He killed him...And his underground gang...' Suddenly, the figure of Marin enlarged in his mind, growing until Vincent was just an ant.
"No, no...that's not possible..." He whispered, his voice cracking.
But the fireball in Marin's palm was an undeniable truth.
Swoosh!
Marin threw the fireball down.
The fireball hit the cigarette on the ground, incinerating it instantly.
"This is also the ability that saved you."
...
Several hours ago.
"Aghhhh!!" Vincent roared in pain as the monster pinned him to the ground, sinking its teeth deep to his collarbone.
Blood splashed around as Vincent struggled desperately, but in vain.
The monster didn't even flinch.
"Finn! Save me!! FINN!" He roared in pain, but as he glanced to the side, his faint hope betrayed him.
Finn stood, frozen in fear.
The knife in his hands trembled as he stared in disbelief and terror. His body refused to react, and deep down, he didn't want to.
Slowly, Vincent stopped his futile struggle.
His consciousness faded.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, loud footsteps rang behind Finn.
A man ran out of the building.
Finn didn't even notice. His life flashed before his eyes.
Swoosh!
The monster instantly let go of Vincent and sharply turned to Finn. It showed its razor-sharp teeth stained with Vincent's fresh blood as it growled.
"Don't just stand there. Make yourself useful!!"
A voice roared from behind Finn.
Thud!
Before Finn could even turn back, a strong kick landed on his back, throwing him forward at the monster.
"Grrahh!"
The beast instantly bit at the incoming Finn.
Finn's eyes widened as he saw his reflection in the monster's eyes, as if in slow motion. He fell forward while the sharp, bloody teeth approached his head.
He came face-to-face with death.
Swoosh!
The figure hidden behind Finn jumped to the side, revealing itself to the monster. Marin.
The monster noticed him too late. It couldn't retract its bite.
Holding a cooking knife in his right hand, Marin acted.
Swoosh!
Instantly, he extended his left arm and opened his palm.
Swi-Swis-Swuush!
A few sparks flashed in his palm.
A small flame emerged.
In a breath, the flame erupted into a decent fireball, slightly larger than his open palm.
"DIE!"
Swoosh!
The fireball flew out of Marin's palm.
THUD!
Just an inch before the monster bit Finn's head, the fireball hit the right side of his head.
The monster jolted its head to the side in pain.
The fireball saved Finn in the last second, intentionally or unintentionally.
ROOOAR!
The monster roared and slammed its head forward.
THUD!
Finn's abdomen exploded in pain as he flew backward.
The air escaped his lungs, rolling on the ground.
Swoosh!
The monster immediately attacked Marin.
Fearlessly, Marin ran at the monster.
Swoosh! Thud!
Before the monster reached his head, Marin rolled to the right, immediately jumped up, and thrust the knife at the right eye.
The fireball had previously damaged the skin and eye.
Not enough to blind it, but just enough to cloud its vision, balance, and sense of distance. Enough to spill the doom of the beast.
Sensing the threat, the beast retracted its head.
It pulled back - too late. The ruined eye betrayed it.
SHLUUCK!
The knife pierced the eye.
Roar!
The monster roared in pain, violently shaking its head, throwing Marin around.
But at this decisive moment, Marin tightly held onto the knife.
He pushed down.
The knife went deep into the skull of the monster, reaching the brain.
"AGHHHHHHH!" With a roar, Marin pushed one last time, embedding the knife deeply into the brain, his fist entering the eye socket.
ROOOOAR!
With one last roar, the beast used its remaining strength to struggle.
Marin flew to the side, rolling on the ground.
Immediately, he jumped to his feet and turned to the monster.
The monster took a step forward, its body swaying to the side.
Thud!
It collapsed. Dead.