Vincent's pupils trembled, eyes wide open.
Unbelievable.
"Turns out, killing a monster is not difficult. You need courage, some previous training, and a special ability," Marin tried underwhelming himself purposefully.
He knew to strike when the iron was hot, knowing that his words would have an opposite influence on Vincent. It would boost his image, casting a psychological shadow over Vincent, making him easy to subdue.
Vincent kept quiet, staring at the ashes of the incinerated cigarette.
"Vincent, when I killed the Shark, I took over everything he had. So, now you owe me the debt." Marin revealed a grin.
Vincent remained quiet.
'Why? Is this my fate?? WHYYY!!' His eyes trembled in anger. 'WHY IS IT MY FATE TO BE A DOG! WHY IS IT MY FATE FOR OTHERS TO DECIDE MY LIFE OR DEATH? WHY IS MY LIFE NOT IN MY HANDS!!!!! GODD! WHY IS THIS MY FATEEE!'
Seeing Vincent's unresponsive state, Marin clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Vincent, a debt is a debt."
The veins on Vincent's forehead popped up, his face twitching in anger.
"Even if money is worthless, you have to repay what you owe." Marin continued pushing. "You have to repay me for saving you as well."
"WHY ARE YOU MAKING MY LIFE HELL!!!" Vincent snapped, throwing himself forward.
Thud!
The chair fell. He hit the floor face-first.
"Aghh...agh..." Vincent groaned as he breathed heavily. Immense pain attacked him as he moved.
He could barely breathe from the pain in his shoulder.
Blood soaked the temporary clothes Marin had tied around his shoulder in an attempt to seal the wound.
"Why can't you just let me live!? Even when the world has already become like this?" Vincent mumbled, his voice sounding like a plea.
He didn't even attempt to get up. Just gave up.
Marin stood up from the chair and walked to Vincent.
Thud!
Just as Vincent raised his head, a foot slammed on his head, pushing his face to kiss the floor.
"Vincent, just accept it. That is your fate." With a look of superiority, Marin twisted his foot on his head, as if stepping on a cigarette. "I am the chosen one, after all." A cold light flashed in his eyes.
'Fate?' Vincent's expression froze. 'Is my fate to be a slave? To die for others? To live a life worse than a dog?'
Crack!
As thoughts crossed his mind, his anger grew.
His gritted teeth cracked.
Marin crouched, grabbing him by the hair and raising his head.
Their eyes met.
'That look in his eyes...' Vincent's eyes widened. 'Full of disgust. As if he is looking at a dogshit on the side of the road.'
The anger reached its peak.
'FUCK FATE! FUCK EVERYONE! I would rather die than continue living like a dog!'
"What do you think? Submitting to me increases your chances of surviva..."
PTUI!
Marin closed his eyes.
Saliva drooled down his chin.
"FUCK YOU. AND FUCK YOUR SURVIVAL!" Vincent roared, a crazed smile creeping up his mouth. "Just go to hell and die!!! Bitch!"
Swoosh!
Marin's eyes snapped open, murderous intent flashing in them.
THUUD!
Bloodied teeth flew as a punch landed on Vincent's jaw.
Swoosh!
Just as he raised his fist and threw it, Marin stopped.
"Get up,"
He went behind Vincent and grabbed him by the hair again.
He lifted him and returned the chair to its original position.
"Don't blame me. I showed you the ladder. You chose the dirt."
Angrily, he walked back to his chair.
"Boss, let me take care of him," Dorin, the bulky man, spoke angrily.
"No," Marin glared at Vincent coldly.
"Hmph..." Vincent smirked, showing his blood-filled mouth, missing the two front teeth.
Ptui!
He spat blood.
"Go ahead." He spoke calmly. "Kill me,"
"Finn. Kill him," Marin ordered.
"Huh?"
Finn froze.
He raised his head, staring at Vincent in shock.
Never had he expected things would come this far.
"B-Boss...I...I..."
Marin glared sharply at him, his eyes murderous.
His expression showed no room for negotiation.
Deep down, he knew if he didn't obey, Marin would kill him.
Finn's legs moved on their own. Or was that what he wanted himself to think? To ease his consciousness?
Deep down, he had probably long made the decision. Likely the moment they met.
With shaky body and tear-filled eyes, Finn slowly approached Vincent.
Vincent carefully observed him, his eyes filled with a mix of emotions.
Resentment? Anger? Betrayal?
However, he understood Finn's situation roughly. It's not like he could blame him, could he?
Finn glanced at Vincent.
Their eyes met.
"Hmph..." Vincent smirked mockingly, mocking his own naivety. "I fed a snake,"
At the end, no matter how logical Finn's actions were, Vincent was still unwilling.
To get killed by the person he took in and fed for a week, to get killed by the deadweight he carried around? He was extremely unwilling. It was unjust. What did he do to deserve this?
"DAMN SNAKE," He gritted his teeth. "Don't try hiding your fangs. It'll make it easier for both of us,"
Swoosh!
As Finn reached him, he raised his fist. But he hesitated, glancing back.
Swish!
A flame erupted in Marin's palm.
"Finn, I'll incinerate you," He threatened. His eyes cold, murderious, without a shred of mercy.
"I-I'm sorry..."
All restraints broke.
Thud!
A strong punch landed on Vincent's face.
"Hit his face. Don't you dare hold back," Marin instructed as he watched, dousing his anger with each punch that landed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The dull sound of punches echoed in the dimly lit room, mixed with Vincent's groans.
Finn had tears in his eyes while his punches landed. The others? They observed mercilessly.
The punches continued landing.
A metallic scent filled the room—the fragrance of blood.
...
"Stop," Marin ordered.
Immediately, Finn stopped.
He backed away, panting heavily, his hands covered in blood and trembling. Trembling in pain as the skin of his knuckles had come off.
As for Vincent, one couldn't even look at him—his bloodied face with several open cuts caused by the punches. Blood dripped from his broken nose and mouth.
"Aghh...aghh..." His groans and heavy panting filled the dead, silent room.
"Vincent, I'll give you one last..."
"Come..." Vincent interrupted him, barely uttering." Why...did you stop? Come on...continue...Kill me!"
A cold light flashed in Marin's eyes. "It seems you have decided."
He turned to Finn. "End him,"
Without waiting for a reply, he walked towards the door. "Throw punches at his face. Just his face. Beath him to death," He added and left, followed by the two lapdogs.
Finn and Vincent remained alone in the room.
"I...I..." Finn's voice trembled.
"Don't bother...pretending guilt...continue..."
Thud!
Without hesitation, Finn threw a punch.
Vincent calmly closed his eyes and took the punch.
Then the next one, and next one, next, next...until he lost all sensation in his face.
Thud!
The punches stopped
Finn collapsed to the ground, exhausted, unable to throw any more punches.
Finn silently cried. "The world suddenly turned out like this. I don't want this. I don't want to die. I don't want to suffer.
So what if I beat you up? So what if you suffer a bit? Besides, this is all your fault. If you submitted to him, you wouldn't have suffered. So how am I to blame?"
Thud!
He hit his fists on the ground.
"I didn't want it to end like this..." Tears fell on the ground. "I never wanted to betray your kindness..."
But silence. No reply.
Vincent sat in the chair, his head hanging back, his face a bloody mess.
His chest still went up and down faintly, showing weak signs of life. But he either couldn't reply or didn't bother.
'Why do I have to suffer?' Vincent thought. He couldn't see or smell anymore. He could barely breathe through his mouth. His nose? Smashed.
The sounds grew distant, dull.
He could hear footsteps going away from him and the door opening. Finn left.
'That back-stabbing bastard! This goddamn apocalypse. Those goddamn monsters!!' His thoughts grew louder as his anger soared within him. 'Why are humans such trash?' Images of Marin and Finn flashed through his memory. 'Repaying kindness with enmity!
'How can I become his slave? How many times did he beat me? How many times did he take my money and refuse to report to the Shark, taking my money as his? My debt kept increasing because of him! Just how many times did he add to my struggle and pain!!'
'Ohh, now that I think about this...' A thought reached him.
A thought completely out of nowhere, unrelated to his anger or injustice.
'Strange...what was that? And why am I thinking of that now, in my final moments?'
Vincent knew his state. He knew this was his end.
'It said something about starting the zombie apocalypse.' Vincent's memory resurfaced, clear as never-before.
'Strange, why can I remember it so clearly?'
'Revenge?' Again, a completely unrelated thought resurfaced in his mind. 'Opportunity for revenge?'
'Come to think of it, Marin babbled something about his ability. Could this be my ability?'
'But what can it do in my current state?'
'Ahhh...I don't care anymore.'
His hatred soared as he thought of the injustice.
'I don't care what happens. I want this all to end. I want them to suffer. I WANT THEM DEAD!'
[Do you want to initiate the zombie apocalypse?] - [Yes/No]
As if in response to his will, a neutral voice rang in his mind, deep and robotic.
'Yes,' He confirmed internally.
[Reminder: The changes are irreversible. Do you wish to proceed?] - [Yes/No]
'I don't care about anything. I want Finn and Marin to die!'
An overwhelming bloodlust surged from the depths of his soul.
Bloodlust so strong, almost as if it didn't belong to him...
[Integrating the zombie virus into the host's body]
"AGHHHHH!"
Vincent's almost blinded eyes flew open as an excruciating pain attacked his whole being.
Suddenly, all the pain he couldn't feel before came at him, intensified with a new kind of pain.
As if someone had pierced the insides of his body with needles.
'Aghhhh!' Vincent struggled on the chair.
Just as his senses returned, they left him. He lost his voice, his mouth foamed. Body twitched.
Everything turned black.
Only the constant pain remained.
At first, it was as if someone pieced his insides with needles. But it was just the beginning. The vessels and veins in his body hurt. The blood pumping in his veins caused him excruciating pain.
The veins throughout his whole body popped up, turning violet.
The injuries on his body rapidly healed, visible to the naked eye, yet, on the contrary, his pain grew.
Every single fiber of his body hurt, his organs, flesh, vessels, and bones, as if someone was grinding them.
New teeth grew.
And his four canine teeth elongated, turning sharper with all the other teeth. Far sharper than those of humans.
'Let me die! I want to die! I want this pain to end! Aghhhh!' In just a few seconds, that felt like an eternity; the pain already made Vincent want to give his life.
If he could move, he might reach for his own life.
[Congratulations, you are now a carrier of the zombie virus]
As the notification rang in his mind, the pain gradually faded, and he regained his senses.
"Haaaa! Haaa!" He took greedy breaths.
He almost suffocated.
An overwhelming feeling of pleasure washed over his body as the muscle memory of the horrendous pain slowly faded.
'My injuries healed...' He still couldn't speak or move.
He had no strength.
[Ding]
[Main Task: Spread the zombie virus]
[Bite a living organism to spread the zombie virus]
Another system window appeared before his eyes. And immediately after, another followed.
[Status window]
[Name: Vincent]
[Race: Human (Carrier of the zombie virus)]
[Race: Progenitor (Conditional)]
[Level 1] - [Exp: 0/100]
[Stats:]
[Strength: 6]
[Stamina: 4]
[Agility:6]
[Perception: 8]
[Mana: 10]
'Spread the zombie virus?' Vincent sat on the chair. His eyes dim, his body void of strength.
Creeak!
The door opened. Vincent couldn't catch a breath.
Vincent's eyes gleamed with malice as Marin, followed by Finn, walked in.
"Are you sure he is dead?"
"Yes, boss. I made sure."
Vincent could hear their conversation.
His heartbeat increased, his strength rapidly recovering, his desire for revenge igniting. 'Spread the zombie virus? Doesn't that mean...' His eyes shone with desire.
"What is this?" Marin frowned, his eyes flashing with murderous intentions as he glared at Finn.
"B-Boss, I swear I beat him up. H-He was dead." Finn explained, his voice begging.
"How come he is unharmed?"
Swish!
A fireball ignited in Marin's palm.
Thud!
Finn collapsed to his knees, grabbing Marin's feet.
"B-Boss, I don't know. I truly don't know. I did as you asked." His voice cracked.
'Hmm...' Marin glanced at Finn's fists. 'True. His hands are covered in blood. Those injuries are from punching. Not to mention, when I left, Vincent was already in a bad state.' He returned his gaze to Vincent. 'So how come he is unharmed?'
Suddenly, his eyes flew open.
A possibility.
"Have you awakened?"
As he spoke, Vincent's body jolted. A reaction. Enough to confirm his suspicion.
Vincent's lips moved.
It didn't go unnoticed.
"What? Speak louder?"
But once again, his lips moved, but no sound came out.
Raising his alertness, Marin slowly walked closer.
He only dared do so because Vincent was still tightly tied for the chair.
But as Marin walked closer, Vincent spoke again, mumuring something.
"Bastard!! Speak properly!!" Marin roared, hitting Vincent's leg.
"B-Boss, m-maybe he doesn't have the strength to speak after going through that beating," Finn spoke fearfully, attempting to appease Marin's anger.
Vincent's lips moved again, but they couldn't hear.
"Tsk!" Marin clicked his tongue in annoyance. 'Forget it. Looking at his state, his ability is likely a healing ability.'
He lowered his ear near.
His curiosity got the better of him.
'Aghh...' Suddenly, just as he was about to act, a sharp throb pierced Vincent's heart.
His eyes faintly glowed red.
An irresistible aroma reached his nose, an aroma of a five-star meal.
Vincent's canines elongated further, and saliva dripped from them.
An intense hunger attacked him, hunger like never before.
He felt as if someone had drilled a hole through his stomach, as if he had never eaten. He felt he would die of hunger.
He felt his body.
He was not in control.
His head raised, his eyes landed on the source of the appetising aroma.
Marin's wide open neck.
The sound of the blood pulsating in the carotid artery called to him.
Swoosh!
Vincent's body jumped, his salivating mouth opening and aiming at the tender neck.
Vincent's hunger wasn't human anymore.