BOOM!
A figure crushed into the rubble of a collapsed building.
Vincent stared at the supermarket entrance.
His eyes trembled in terror.
A colossal figure stood before the entrance—a hound twice the size of the previous two demon hounds.
It stood on its four.
Yet Vincent's head barely reached its chest.
The dust settled.
Silence descended.
A calm before the storm.
The demonic hound observed around. Its glowing red eyes locked on the targets, on guard for sudden movements.
Prim lay in the rubble.
A puddle of green blood formed before him.
His arms had twisted in strange ways.
The elbow bones tearing and sticking out of his rotting flesh.
His arms were unusable.
'Take its attention quickly!!'
Vincent screamed in his mind.
He didn't freeze. He couldn't,
Adrenaline rushed.
The shadow of death loomed over him.
Swoosh!
Prim dashed at the demon hound.
"VINCENT! RUN!"
Livia stormed back.
She didn't wait for him.
She ran into a narrow alley between the collapsed buildings.
She disappeared.
Her shout echoed. But she said not a word more.
Swoosh!
Vincent stormed in the opposite direction.
His heart pumped blood and adrenaline.
Truly, one could only rely on oneself.
What companionship? What friendship? Kinship?
In the face of death, surviving was king.
Everyone prioritized their own skin. Their life.
'Stall it at all costs!'
Vincent gave one last order.
He disappeared behind the rubble of the collapsed buildings.
Bom! Bom!
The sound of flesh colliding echoed.
The demon hound and Prim battled.
Each hit, each impact, tore into Prim's flesh.
He couldn't retaliate. His arms unusable.
He could only avoid or take the hit.
With each hit landed, the claw tore chunks of flesh.
But an undead couldn't feel pain.
However, he was heavily outmatched.
Shluuck!
Blood sprouted.
The demon hound tore his hanging arms apart.
ROOOAR!
Prim stumbled.
The demon hound seized the opportunity.
It bit.
The jaw wrapped around his entire waist.
The sharp teeth pierced.
Effortlessly, the demon hound lifter Prim lifted in the air.
The hound raised its head.
It held Prim horizontally between its teeth.
Splash! Crack! Crack!
Green blood splashed.
Bones broke.
The demon hound bit.
Prim's body stretched strangely.
Thud!
Two halves fell.
The demon hound bit Prim in half.
Rotting organs splattered on the ground.
Intestines hung through the gaps between the teeth.
Rotting stench filled the air.
Uarghhh...
Prim's upper body still moved.
The demon hound glanced at him.
Pop!
The massive paw stomped.
Prim's head splattered. Unable to hold the weight.
Sticky, black brain matter stained the demon hound's paw.
Prim perished.
The corpse that brought Vincent a sense of safety perished.
The reason he neglected Aurielle perished.
Wasn't it all in vain then?
The demon hound raised its head.
It glared in the direction Vincent escaped.
...
"Haaa...haa..."
Vincent panted.
Desperately gasping for air.
[Notice]
A new notification window appeared before the already existing one.
'Damn!'
Vincent's world turned upside down.
[Your undead creature (Prim) has been killed]
[Remaining undead creatures: 0/3]
His shield. His safety.
It vanished just like that.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
His legs burned. Chest stung with every breath.
But he dared not stop.
'I must escape.'
His heart pounded in fear.
The demon hound shook him down to the core.
'If I stop running even for a second, I'll die.'
With a thought, the notification of Prim's death vanished, revealing the window underneath it.
[Species: Demon Hound (Low-Grade)]
[Strength: 21]
[Stamina: 26]
[Agility: 22]
[Perception: 27]
Vincent had used his skill Probe.
He knew information was essential.
But the information only birthed the opposite effect.
It plummeted his morale.
It shrouded his heart in terror.
'Prim's boost expired. '
Vincent's thoughts raced.
He birthed and eliminated possibilities in seconds.
'Even with the boost, he is no match. It's no surprise to be torn to shreds.'
'How can I escape this disaster?'
He gnashed his teeth.
'Even Prim, a zombie, could smell Livia throughout the hospital.'
Vincent's heart sank.
'The demon has a perception close to thirty...'
Tears welled in his eyes.
[Notice]
Another notification followed.
[You killed a lowest-grade demon]
[You received: 60 Exp]
Memories flashed in his mind.
'The demon I fed the blood,'
Hope. Faint hope.
[Ding]
Immediately, a notification followed.
[You reached the requirement]
[You leveled up]
[You received: 2 attribute points]
[Current level: 2] - [Exp: 58/150]
The first joyful notification since meeting the demon hound.
[Stamina: 10]
He didn't hesitate.
The two attribute points went into stamina.
A sensation assaulted his entire body.
His throat, lungs, muscles burned.
The burning turned into tingling—needles pricking him from inside.
But at the moment, seconds separated him from death.
Stopping meant death.
He pushed through.
The burning sensation gradually disappeared from his muscles, remaining only in his lungs and throat.
But it was far less compared to before.
More importantly, his exhaustion significantly diminished.
He could continue running.
[Notice]
Another notification followed.
[You received a quest]
[Main Quest: Level Up Apocalypse]
[Description: The zombie virus is at the initial stage and is weak; thus, it produces low-grade zombies. Upgrade the zombie virus]
[Requirements:]
[100 corpses] - [0/100]
[10 awakened corpses] - [0/10]
[1000 iron ores] - [0/1000]
[Reward: (Zombie Virus Level Up)]
[Time limit: 40 days]
[Penalty for failure: Death]
'Zombie virus upgrade?'
It caught Vincent off guard.
'Hmph!'
He scoffed internally.
Determination flashed in his eyes.
'Humans have a hard time even now. I won't strengthen the zombie virus!'
His heart shook.
He read the last words on the status window.
Penalty for failure - Death!
His determination washed away.
But quickly, he shook his head.
He emptied his mind.
Right now, he couldn't care for that.
His life hung by a thread.
He had to survive.
...
Vincent ran for several minutes.
Adrenaline pumped, pushing his body to the limit.
[Notice]
He received another notification.
[You killed a lowest-grade demon]
[You receive: 55 Exp]
'The Exp decreases the more I kill,'
He deduced. But didn't entertain the thought further.
'Ahhh...'
He grabbed the left side of his chest.
An inexplicable sense of fear engulfed his heart.
His body trembled. Breathing grew shallow.
Boom!
"AGHHHHHHHHH!"
His fear arrived.
Vincent's heart sank.
He abruptly turned back.
A dust cloud smoked not a great distance behind him.
"SAVE ME!"
Horrified screams tore the air.
"A Monster!"
Swoosh!
Vincent didn't second-guess. He stormed, running.
The demon hound had found survivors.
The fear in him intensified.
But he didn't stop to help.
No, the thought never even crossed his mind. Not for even a second.
'Damn! It's chasing after me!'
He cursed internally.
His only thoughts and wish were to escape.
In fear, he didn't know where he was running.
'Damn! Damn! Why does it have to have such a high perception?'
He continued running at full speed, not stopping for even a second.
But the more he ran, the impending doom over him grew.
'Zombies!'
Vincent's eyes flashed with hope.
He saw a few zombies moving aimlessly in the distance.
'If I camouflage my scent as a zombie...'
An idea flashed in his mind.
'No.'
His eyes flashed with a better idea.
'Although I doubt it eats zombies, it doesn't mean it would refrain from killing zombies.
The only way out is to gather a large enough group of zombies and make them stall for time until I escape. After all, they attack anything alive.'
But as he approached the zombies, flaws in his plan emerged.
'I have no way to gather the zombies.'
A crucial flaw.
''They are too weak. I need a huge amount of them.'
Screech!
Vincent reached the walking corpses.
A cry tore the sky.
Vincent looked in the direction of the cry.
The dark violet monster, the size of a human, flew into the sky, its gaze locked on Vincent.
'Damn!'
The grave situation turned graver.
'Does the heavens want me dead?'
His heartbeat pounded out of his chest.
His troubles seemed never-ending.
Swoosh!
The monster descended.
Its speed terrifying, threatening to pierce through him.
Vincent's teeth creaked.
He had no way to escape.
His body froze.
Heart thumped.
Legs trembled.
Yet he maintained a clear head. His eyes turned sharp.
Ideas to dodge, to survive, clashed in his mind.
Screech!
The hollow beak opened.
It reached Vincent, intending to devour.