"Wind-Style: Double Air Slash!"

Slice—shrrrk!

Black blood misted across the cracked stone floor. Derrick's blades of wind carved through the charging dead, severing at least five in a single sweep. But within seconds those same bodies twitched, joints popping as they lurched upright again.

Despite women being known for courage and strength greater than men, Natalie did nothing to defend herself or protect the others. Maybe it was the shock of seeing people she knew stumbling forward with cracking limbs and the stench of rot. Or maybe it was witnessing Anna—her friend—become something out of a nightmare: a real demon lord, a horn pushing through her forehead, her voice deep and her aura steeped in malice. Whatever the reason, Natalie's knees weakened and her stomach twisted.

Meanwhile, Mirai had no one to hide behind. All she could do was protect herself. She gritted her teeth and punched at any zombie that came close, rampaging through the horde on the left side and leaving her back wide open, trusting Derrick and Natalie to cover her.

At least, she thought she could.

"I… I can't take this anymore!" Natalie's voice broke into a whine. "I give up! Just let them bite me!"

"What—are you insane, love? We'll get through this together!" Derrick shouted, his breath ragged.

WHAM! Derrick slashed another wave of zombies with a burst of wind, but he felt it in his bones; his mana was almost gone. There could be no giving up, or they would all die.

Then Natalie did the unimaginable. She sprang to her feet and bolted past Derrick, throwing herself into the horde.

"It's okay! You'll find a way to turn me back!" she cried, hurling herself into the swarm.

"NOOOO!!" Derrick yelled, racing after her. But it was his worst mistake—he broke their formation and left Mirai uncovered. Sensing the chance, the remaining horde charged at her.

"Argh… t-that hurts!!!"

BITE! BITE!

Zombies sank their teeth into Natalie's shoulders, dragging her down and feeding on her fragile body. Her skin soon turned pale, dark, and crumbling.

"Natalie! My girlfriend—no!" Derrick's voice cracked.

Another scream, higher, and rawer ripped across the battlefield. Derrick spun to see Mirai buried beneath a writhing pile of corpses. Her cry echoed like a bell of doom.

Through the smoke curling skyward, a white skeletal dragon hurtled down at terrifying speed. It slammed into the ground so hard it nearly crushed the unconscious Lorraine, who had fallen earlier to a blow from Draegonoth. Half the horde was pulverized beneath the beast as its bones screeched and splintered, scattering debris—and one massive shard crushed the newly turned Natalie.

Brian leapt from the dragon's spine, caught a huge piece of bone mid-air, and landed beside Mirai, smashing the zombies attacking her. But when the last one fell, he froze.

"Chubby Bun…?" His voice wavered. "It's okay... I'm here to save you!" He shook her.

But now, Mirai's eyes were hollow voids; her skin, corpse-pale and sour with decay. She hissed, small fangs glinting as she snapped at him.

Brian's own eyes glazed with tears.

He turned to Derrick, his jaw tight, chest heaving.

"It's all your fault!!" he said, voice low and thick with anger and sorrow.

"You crushed my girlfriend!! You crushed Natalie!!" Derrick was crouched on the ground, touching the chunks of flesh and bone that had been Natalie.

"You turned your back on Mirai and let her get attacked by a swarm of zombies!!" Brian barked, gripping the bone weapon tighter. "I saw you!! From the sky!!"

"It's not my job to look after your girlfriend!! If you saw her, why didn't you arrive sooner and help her yourself?"

"I was three hundred meters away, damn it!" He snapped back, ready to hit him with his bone.

Before either could strike at each other, a sharp gale swept between them. They looked up.

Anna....or what once was Anna—stood there as Draegonoth incarnate, one clawed hand gripping Mirai's head. The demon's single horn gleamed like obsidian.

"Kekeke… humans," Draegonoth purred. "Such fragile friendships. One misstep and your bonds crumble. Tiny-hearted, inelegant things."

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY CHUBBY BUN!!" Brian roared, hurling the bone.

Draegonoth tilted his head aside to dodge it, but the shard whipped back like a boomerang and struck the back of his skull, forcing him to release Mirai.

Mirai slumped into Brian's arms and, impossibly, began to turn back to normal.

"Don't hit my wife like that, you moron!!" a cold, familiar voice rang out.

Asher stepped from a shimmering rift, eyes like frozen steel.

"Kekeke… Asher Reynolds joins the party. I thought you'd run awa—"

"I was still fighting you, BASTARD!!"

WHAM!

Rose lunged, aiming a punch at Draegonoth's face. He sidestepped, seized her wrist, and slammed her hard into the ground, dust and debris swirling.

"You should've stayed knocked out!" the demon sneered. "I hate dealing with you! Your fighting style is boring, sweetheart. I want something new!!" Draegonoth mocked.

Asher said nothing. He simply made ice spread beneath Draegonoth's feet, locking him in place. Then he turned invisible, vanishing in a blur, reappearing with a crushing grip on the demon's skull, and drove him into the ground.

"Icurus Cuora," Asher whispered.

Draegonoth's eyes flared in sudden terror.

"No! How—where did you learn mnemomancy?!"

His grin faded; the horn sank back into his forehead.

"Go to sleep, you insufferable fossil. I'll find a way to deal with you once and for all," Asher said coldly.

"Kekeke… y-you have grown… stronger. I'll… keep my guard up next… time."

The black evil aura bled away like smoke on the wind.

Rose pushed herself up, brushing grit from her hair, eyes wide. "Wow… can't believe you just dealt with Draegonoth that easily!!"

"I didn't defeat him," Asher said evenly. "I erased the negative memories Anna suffered today. The terror that let him control her is gone, so his power vanished."

"Still counts as dealing with him. Who would've thought erasing bad memories could stop a demon?"

"I didn't know either. It was a gamble," Asher admitted.

"But it makes sense," Rose said. "Without the host's dark emotions, the energy Draegonoth draws from the atmosphere has no base."

"Yeah… beef stew doesn't taste good without the beef," Mirai murmured weakly, opening her eyes.

Everyone turned toward her.

"Chubby Bun!! You're back!!" Brian cried, hugging her tightly.

But Derrick knelt apart, tears streaking his blood-spattered cheeks. Around him the mangled zombies twitched, merging together, reforming back into their bodies.

"Crushing them doesn't kill them," Asher said, a fireball blooming in his palm. "Only fire keeps them down."

"No!" Derrick leapt between Asher and the horde. "Natalie's in there! I don't want her to die, damn it!! I have to take her to the farm. She wants to see my goats!!"

Tears streamed freely.

"Killing the infected stops the spread. A small sacrifice for everyone else. Move," Asher said.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Derrick's face drained of color. "Where's your humanity?"

"It's the logical move," Asher snapped.

Derrick shook his head, horrified. "Are you even human? No—are you even Asher Reynolds? The Asher I know wouldn't say that!"

The words stung, though Asher didn't show it.

"Mirai turned back to normal," Brian chimed in quickly. "If she can, maybe the others can too."

"Which means there's hope! Everyone could come back without killing them!" Derrick shouted.

Asher exhaled. "Fine. No killing." He lowered his right hand, then raised his left and fired a cluster of icicles. Derrick felt them whistle past his ear.

His face went even paler. "You said killing is off the table!!"

"Yeah… that's why I didn't use fire," Asher replied, launching more icicles to pin the zombies in place.

Derrick rolled his eyes. "Yep. Definitely not human anymore."

To be continued…

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