Chapter 16: Strange Zombie Horde…

(Marinkia’s POV)

Rushing to the side, it wasn’t hard for me to evade the horde. But here was the odd thing… They didn’t chase me at all. They didn’t even seem to notice me, either.

Instead, their main focus seemed to be climbing up the wall. With so many zombies, it didn’t take that long until a big of enough pile was made. Using their fellow zombies as stepping stones, tones of them left this district.

Of course, there were many of them left behind. Only now did I realize something odd… The zombies, all of them had blue glowing eyes. That… that was an entire horde of them? Suddenly, before I could react, a zombie appeared in front of me.

Female Undead: “What a brave human… not fleeing at the sight of me or my horde?” She said with a thinking pose.

The woman was clearly rational, unlike most zombies. But she wasn’t a Numen. I know that she wasn’t, as her flesh was still rotted. She was… I guess that she would have to be a special zombie? Her eyes did shine blue, though.

Female Undead: “Have you met the zombies with blue glowing eyes before?” She asked.

Marinkia: “I have.” I reply.

The woman’s eyes didn’t force me to tell the truth, but I don’t think that lying right now would be a good idea.

Female Undead: “I see, I see… Anyway, you understand that they drop those crystals, right?” She asked.

Marinkia: “I do.” I say with a nod.

Female Undead: “Then, please do not eat them. Unlike the novels, those crystals won’t give you cool powers. Instead, when I got bitten by one, I killed it and ate their crystal. Instead of gaining powers, I ended up a zombie that was still sane.” She advised.

Marinkia: “Are you sure that it wasn’t due to the fact that you were bitten before you ate the crystal?” I suggest.

Female Undead: “It’s possible… But I wouldn’t take any chances. Though, as the apocalypse goes on longer, maybe they will give people powers. That being said, you should kill the ones here that I am too lazy to bring with me.” She proposed.

Marinkia: “And you?” I ask.

Female Undead: “Like me, there are some evolved humans. You should try and avoid them. As for me, most of these special undead seem to follow my lead. I will flee and hope to find some cure for this horrible body of mine.” She answered.

Marinkia: “Thanks for the information. I do hope that you find a cure. My suggestion would be to find zombies with different colored crystals. Maybe a higher ranked one can help you?” I propose.

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Female Undead: “Maybe… For now, I will leave without giving you my name. Don’t tell me yours, either. If we both survive and somehow meet each other again in the future, then let’s come clean about our names.” She suggested before leaving over the wall quickly.

Marinkia: “…”

That undead was pretty fast… I wonder if Mai and Mercedes are that fast, if not faster? God… my head is going to fucking explode… Didn’t I just complain about having too many questions? And now, seemingly just to spite me, life throws yet more questions my way. Eh, think later, zombie killing should be my focus for now.

Much Zombie Killing Later.

The increased speed, intelligence and strength of these special zombies were kinda annoying. I could still deal with them, but in such numbers, it was really hard. After all, I do NOT want to get bitten by any other than my wives.

Come to think of it, I wonder why that woman let me go? It was a good thing that I didn’t have glowing eyes at the moment, as she would know that I was a Numen.

And before you ask, I found a makeup mirror in my backpack after leaving Anna’s camp. Even after fighting many zombies, my eyes haven’t changed colors again. Maybe it was because I haven’t felt in danger at all again?

Anyway… she really did help me out. That is, if these crystals were actually something very special. All in all, there were over eighty zombies left behind in her group. It was a fight, nonetheless, but I still killed them all in the end.

Now I had so many cores. Having OCD, it was annoying that it wasn’t a good number. Why 85 crystals? I would have honestly preferred just 80 of them instead… God, I am so damn weird…

Oh, well… I guess that I should actually make my way back now, huh? I had explored most of this forest already. As it wasn’t really that big at all. With a sigh, I went back the way I came.

Hours Later.

I had a new problem now… The night was pitch black out, and I didn’t have anything that could light my way at all. Due to how the sun left my side fast today, I was still in the forest.

As annoying as it is to admit, I was actually lost. Can you blame me? I never came here in the night, and the forest was just a black blur of none nondescript trees in the night.

Grab!

All of a sudden, a hand had grabbed onto my shoulder. Ah, please don’t be a Numen, please don’t be a Numen, PLEASE DON’T BE A NUMEN!!! Brushing the hand off quickly, I turned around, drawing my sword.

Marinkia: “…”

Ah, thank God. It was just a zombie. Wait… it was a fucking zombie!? Holy shit… Was I really that close to dying? All because of my own stupidity? No, I was sure that I cleared the forest of undead…

Zombie: “…” It said nothing, but walked away after pointing in the direction that it walked in.

Marinkia: “…”

It wants me to follow it? Oh… this must be one of Mai’s or Mercedes’s zombies. After all, why would it lead the way rather than try to kill me? Wait… does that meant that they have been watching me this entire time!? Even all the times were I’ve talked to myself!? Oh, my, god… I am so fucking embarrassed!!!

Much Self Consolement Later.

Silently, and still with a red face, I followed the zombie. Even in the dark, as long as I was close enough to it, I could still see it. Soon, I was back in the city. The difference was that it wasn’t any part that I’ve been to before.

Marinkia: “Thanks.” I say to the zombie.

Zombie: “…” It said nothing, but gave me a thumbs up and left in the opposite direction.

Marinkia: “…”

My wives truly like to mess with me, huh? That’s kinda vexing… Ah, using old words does make me feel better. It seemed that they also saw me pouting with being bored. As this was a new place that I have yet to explore.

Both in this new apocalypse world, and in the old one, I mean. From my memories, this place should be somewhat interesting… Jokingly getting on my knees, I pray to God not to run into any more Numens. It’s getting ridiculous at this point, after all…