Just as Asher hammered another wave of undead with a storm of jagged icicles, the night itself seemed to exhale more horror.

From every side of the shattered street came the sound of bone on stone—hundreds of footsteps dragging through rubble. Shadows thickened until the whole avenue looked drowned in moving corpses.

A streak of lightning split the dark. Blue light blurred through the horde, a thunderclap of speed that scattered dust and ash. Sparks hissed across broken pavement as the figure screeched to a stop in front of Asher and the others, leaving a haze of ozone in the air.

When the smoke cleared, Aria stood there, chest rising fast, eyes wide with outrage. Her gaze flicked to Brian.

"W-what the actual hell was that bony thing you were riding?!" she barked, fists on her hips, hair crackling faintly with residual charge.

Brian only pulled Mirai a little closer, his expression maddeningly calm. "Nothing special," he said with a shrug.

The words stung more than any lightning. Aria—Eldoria's fastest S-rank hunter, a woman whose nickname Flash Queen was etched into tavern songs had just been outpaced by a man barely ranked C. Her pride smoldered.

"I'm fast. Flashy. Fabulous," she muttered under her breath, forcing a thin smile. "Yeah… still the only one."

From the gore-slick stones behind them came a wet scrape. The shattered remnants of Natalie were knitting back together, bone grinding on bone. She staggered upright, a rotting marionette, and lurched toward them with a low, inhuman moan.

Asher stepped forward without hesitation. Ice blossomed from his palms, hundreds of razor spears that whistled through the air and pinned the corpse to the ground. Natalie shrieked as cold burned through her decayed flesh.

Derrick flinched so hard his teeth clicked. "Gods…" He clenched his fists, helpless. There was nothing he could say to stop Asher.

"Instead of clenching your fists," Asher said coolly, eyes never leaving the writhing body, "find a way to bring everyone back to normal while I keep them pinned."

Derrick swallowed hard. "Yeah… easier said than done. I...I don't even know where to start."

"I cut down plenty on my way here," Aria added, her voice quieter now. "Some of them… a few seconds after my attacks, they went back into.normal humans. Then the infected bit them again and—" She shook her head. "It didn't last."

Asher's eyes narrowed. "Can you launch that same attack on one I've pinned?"

"Sure… I guess." Aria crouched beside a twitching corpse skewered with Asher's ice. She drew a deep breath, lightning dancing across her knuckles, and drove her fist down.

WHAM! The ground cracked. Blue arcs flared.

The corpse spasmed. Rotten skin flushed with living color; the woman's eyes cleared and she screamed, a raw, shivering cry.

"I-it hurts… argh!" she wailed, fingers trembling.

"It's Asher's damn icicles," Derrick snapped. "They're tearing her apart!"

"Well, at least she's back," Asher replied, voice like cold iron. He gripped the woman's neck, studying her. "My suspicion's confirmed."

From behind, Rose rose to her feet, Anna limp in her arms. "Figured something out, hubby?"

Asher didn't answer with words. He simply tossed the screaming woman into a cluster of unpinned zombies. They fell on her in a wet frenzy. The alley filled with the slosh of blood and the stench of rot.

Derrick and Aria gasped, hearts jolting. "W-why would you throw her into.the hoarde again. She's human again!" Derrick shouted.

"Urgh, shut up already. You're now annoying," Brian groaned. "Think, genius. She was crying in pain. If she turns back, the zombies' regenerative effect might heal the damage. Then we can fix her again."

"But—"

"Just shut it," Mirai cut in, her voice slicing the chaos. She turned to Asher. "You said you've figured something out?"

"Yeah," Asher said, crouching beside a squealing zombie. His tone deepened, measured. "I believe this infection isn't about rot at all. It hijacks the brain's electrical rhythm."

"What?" Mirai blinked. The others exchanged uneasy looks.

"It's like a microscopic fungal parasite," Asher continued. "It nests along the thalamus and frontal cortex, releasing compounds that scramble normal gamma and beta brainwave patterns."

Everyone stared blankly.

He exhaled, a wry smile ghosting his lips. "Sorry. Inner doctor talking. Simple version: there's a parasite in the brain. It needs a steady electrical resonance. Hit it with a sudden jolt of lightning or a powerful crushing blow and the false frequency collapses. The person comes back."

Brian's eyes lit. "That explains it… When Anna was berserk, she grabbed Mirai's head really tight earlier, maybe that's why she snapped out of it!"

"That wasn't Anna," Asher said quietly. "Someone else was using her body. Someone dangerous."

Derrick raised both hands in mock quotes. "Before everyone calls me annoying again, can you do that whole 'collapse the false frequency' thing on my girlfriend?"

"With pleasure." Asher's mouth curved in a sharp grin. He yanked the ice shards free from Natalie's limp form, then let lightning roar through his palm. The crackling strike slammed into her skull. Her body violently jolted like a fish tossed into the fire, but then, her skin brightened; she gasped, alive once more.

Asher chuckled. "Alright. Theory confirmed. Aria—help me smash the rest, one by one."

Aria's pulse raced after seeing Asher hit Natalie with lightning. How could he use all these elements? Who was this boy?

And yet, she hadn't seen the wildest part.

Minutes stretched into half an hour. They worked side by side, lightning flashing against the endless dark. Corpses twitched and cried as life returned, but the horde kept coming. Aria's breath grew ragged; her legs trembled. Still Asher fought, unflagging, his mana like an endless storm.

"Is the brat even human?" she muttered, sinking to her knees. "How's he still going?"

She was now completely exhausted.

"That's Asher for you," Brian said, almost proudly. "Doesn't surprise me anymore."

Nearby, Derrick cradled Natalie, shielding her bare body with his own. Her mind still wandered the edge of nightmare.

Finally, silence fell. Every zombie in sight lay breathing, alive once more. Asher wiped a sheen of frost from his hair and turned to his friends.

"Well. I think I've done what was expected. No one died."

"But they're screaming in pain!" Derrick shot back.

"Oh, those ones?" Asher waved a hand. "I got tired of yanking the ice out first. Brought them back with the spears still in. My lightning should've melted some of it—it's not that deep."

Derrick pressed a palm to his temple. "Yeah… whatever."

Aria stepped forward, head lowered. "As embarrassing as it is, you were of great help, Asher Reynolds. As a senior S-rank hunter, I should have led. Instead, you carried us. I can't thank you enough. Words can't express it."

"If words can't express it," Asher said with a sly wink, "you could always show it through actions."

She looked up, catching the glint in his eyes. "I know that look. You're joking, right?"

That naughty look was unmistakable.

"Not in the slightest."

Her heart gave a treacherous skip.

But the moment shattered as Rose's voice cut through the quiet. "I think it's best we kill the vessel, master. Next time, Draegonoth won't let his guard down. The world will fall."

Asher turned, brow lifting. "Are you kidding me? That's my wife."

"Exactly why I should be the one to end her," Rose replied evenly. "One life for everyone else. Isn't that the most logical choice?"

Asher's throat went dry.

To be continued

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