Terror Infinity Side B
Chapter 2, H.O.T.D 2
Shin: "...Ahhhh... I wish I was still wearing the seat-belt."
Shin regretted his decision that went against proper vehicle safety greatly as he hit his head against the roof of the bus's first floor that had now become the floor when it had flipped over. A collision like this should have killed or knocked him out cold, but because of high stats and other enhancements, he got away with just a cut on the scalp which was already starting to heal. Shin felt that if he was in Unlocked Mode he would have had the reaction speed and judgment to use Silver Dragon Scales for protection or correct his balance and step onto the roof as the bus flipped over, but there was nothing he could do about that now and so he just took in his surroundings.
When the bus flipped over those not wearing seatbelts like him had died or were seriously injured with the exception of the soldiers armed with assault rifles and Kodachi Blades, but even they weren't in the best conditions. As for those who were smart to wear their seat-belts like Komaru and Grim Ash, they were all okay. Just suspended in midair in their seats, which was now on the roof of the turned over vehicle. The situation inside the bus wasn't the worst it could have been, but the situation outside was the worst possible scenario they could face at that moment.
THEM.
Zombies had the bus completely surrounded.
Shin, Komaru, Grim Ash and the others could hear the disturbing noise of undead fingers scraping on the walls and windows of the turned over bus, eagerly wanting to taste their living flesh. The windows were beginning to crack from the force THEM were putting on them, and it wouldn't surprise Shin if any second now zombies would flood inside the bus to devour all the humans within. Shin was about to call the others. All he needed to do to connect to the others was for him to call out to Hikari, and as long as she was still conscious, yet the yelling of a man in his late thirty giving out orders interrupted his plan.
Commander: "All men prepare for battle with THEM! Enhancers over level 10 head out first and take care of those who will cause us trouble, and handle THEM at close combat with Kodachi Blades, followed by those under level 10 to offer support with gunfire! Clear a way for the civilians, and we'll see about regrouping with the rest of the fleet if they haven't been taken out! All civilians must follow all instructions, or get left behind! Under military law, getting in our way means execution without a trial or lawyer present! If there are any Enhancers present, please assist with the defense! Don't test me and get to it! Show them the power of Tokonosu City's brothers in arms!"
ALL Soldiers: "Yeahhhh!!!"
With those clear orders, the soldiers moved out filled with fighting spirit and justice in their hearts. There was a total of twelve soldiers. All men who looked to be in great shape. Along with the commander, four others took out swords and rushed out of the bus through cracked windows. They were then followed by five soldiers armed with their assault rifles. The last two were also armed with assault rifles and gave orders to the civilians to evacuate the bus in an orderly fashion. For the moment Komaru and I went along with them and then witnessed a shocking scene. A fat man who looked well off protested to the soldiers about getting special treatment and said he would pay them handsomely, but in the middle of his sells pitch the fat man had his brains blown out by one of the soldier's guns.
Soldier: "Special treatment? Go to hell for making me waste the bullets! Anyone here who dares to talk nonsense like that and hold us back can head off to the afterlife! Those that can't follow orders can go get bitten by THEM or take a bullet in their head! What will it be?!"
No one dared to speak up after that. Men, woman and even young children as they cried softly all obeyed the soldier without making a scene. It seemed obvious that they were used to such strict treatment by law enforcement and the like after the apocalypse. Komaru by Shin's side looked a little pale, so Shin reached out for her hand and told her that it'll be fine.
Shin: "Come on, Komaru. Compared to Monokuma these guys aren't scary. We've been through worse, and if they dare bother us I'll deal with them myself! This will be the last time you'll be placed in danger, so call on your inner heroine and stay strong."
Komaru: "I'll be okay. And you're right. Adults killing adults in a zombie apocalypse is far better than children and adults killing each other in a social apocalypse of Despair. What's to be scared of?"
Shin couldn't tell if Komaru really meant that, but she didn't show anymore worry on her face and so he just had to take her word for it. The civilians on the bus were lead out of the bus one by one following the directions of the soldiers and a minute later Shin, Komaru, and Grim Ashes still wearing the heavy cloak exited the bus as well, but what they found outside was not order, but chaos. Hundreds, no thousands of zombies, surrounded them along with the hundred or so civilians and soldiers.
The soldiers were desperately fighting against the zombies firing nonstop with assault rifles and for those that got close were beheaded by Kodachi Blades, yet it didn't appear that they were making a dent into the zombie horde's numbers. Shin was impressed as he saw the soldiers slashed out with their swords, taking out one zombie after the next as if it was second nature, but there were just too many of THEM. Shin had a thought as he watched them fight. Wouldn't it have been better for everyone to use their guns instead of half of them wielding swords, but the answer came to Shin a second later. They didn't have the ammo. They didn't own unlimited ammo guns or a storage bag to hold thousands of bullets, so it had become their style to save bullets by engaging in close quarter's combat.
Shin: (But even so this isn't the time or place to hold back... although the end result would be the same.)
It was obvious to all that the protection provided by the soldiers was going to fall any minute and half the civilians attempted to flee in all directions despite the official orders, but in the end, they didn't have to lift a finger to punish them for disobeying orders... The zombies did that for them. The zombies hungry for their living flesh followed after the escaping civilians and caught them all without exception and were eaten alive. Shin saw that the situation wasn't good and it was doubtful that he could just rely on the to handle the situation. Especially when he saw an especially tall and large red skinned zombie standing at seven feet tall with large bulging muscles throughout its rotten flesh.
This zombie was obviously special. It had especially large hands, easily capable of squashing the heads of grown men like water balloons. It gave a sense of danger greater than the mindless horde of normal zombies and didn't possess their slowness as it moved around. The five soldiers including the commander who went out of the bus first were engaging it in battle. These soldiers were not ordinary men and have gone through low levels of enhancements as well as military training, so their sword swings were ruthless. Looking at them Shin felt they could even do well in the normal undead monsters of the rank Labyrinth in the world of Apocalypse Alice, yet things didn't play out as he imagined. Their above average power and Kodachi Blades were ineffective as they could only delivery shallow cuts across the red skinned zombie's body.
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Shin saw one soldier panic and open fire on the zombie with an assault rifle, yet each bullet simply bounced off its body. It was then that Shin finally noticed that most of the irregular zombie's body was covered in a layer of hardened flesh like an armor of sorts, and when bullets hit this armor sparks would ignite as they scrapped off its body. The large zombie seemed to be ticked off by all the bullets flying at him and rushed towards the soldier firing the assault rifle. The zombie moved with speed five times faster than the average adult male and punched the soldier with a right straight.
Everyone at that moment heard the sound of something snapping and next they saw the mangled body of the soldier fly through the air for twenty meters before crashing into a group of normal zombies where the remains were devoured. The commander from before looked enraged and jumped at the large zombie with his Kodachi Blade raised high. The sword glowed with a fierce light and left behind a dazzling radiance as it was swung, chopped down on the large zombie and severed its entire left arm. The commander's companions cheered in excitement, but both Shin and the commander didn't share that feeling.
Shin saw that whatever the commander did had exhausted him greatly and may not be able to display that might again whereas the large zombie was already countering without a care for its loss arm, thus displaying the benefits of being a mindless zombie which did not know fear or pain. The battle was already a loss and only could be saved if Shin stepped in, yet he wasn't sure if he should. He had the confidence to break out of the entrapment of zombies alone, but if each zombie were like this irregular one here than he couldn't be certain. At least while Komaru had to be protected it wasn't a good idea to make a stand.
Shin: "Cross Series Plot, huh? This is H.O.T.D for certain, but it has combined with the story of the chinese web novel God and Devil World. If that's the case... then that would make this large zombie the L-series power type evolved zombie. It resembles the L1, but its battle power is above an L1 and closer to an L2 if low-level Enhancers and light weaponry firepower weaponry can't inflict much damage. Is this a change of plot, or is this just a mission to challenge Team Japan? Fuck! Even when we ally with God, we still have to deal with this crap!"
Shin decided to immediately call Jin for advice. The soldiers could at least last another minute or two, so he had the time call the others quickly. Hikari used Soul Link to connect him to Jin, and before he had a chance to speak Jin quickly apprised him of the situation. Zombies were attacking the fleet of buses and despite Hikari keeping a vigilant watch with Psyche Force Scan she couldn't see them. Hikari couldn't even see the zombies on her scans as they were right in front of her, but reinforcing her Psyche Force with her Persona finally displayed them on her scan, which revealed an abnormality.
There were thousands of threads of Psyche Force on the back of the heads on the zombies. She couldn't tell what purpose it served, yet it felt like someone was looking through the eyes of all the zombies all at once. Of all twelve buses of the fleet, only three are operational. While others flipped over, they simply crashed, and the drivers were knocked out. Jin told everyone to meet up at these three buses, and they'll drive together to their destination.
Jin SL: (I spoke to the driver of my bus before he passed away from a head injury. The fleet of buses was taking 1200 civilians from a fallen survival camp and was headed to a new one. One of the largest ones in Japan and is centered on the organization founded by Saya Takagi's parents. I got more information from others, but that can wait. Shin, abandon your group and meet up with bus 2, 6, or 9, which are still operational. Feel free to show your might in front of others too. This is a world were super powers seems to exist now, but hold back on Sci-fi weapons and the truly insane abilities. Best for us if others see us as powerful to establish our influence in this world, but too powerful will lead to problems later on... but if it gets too bad don't hesitate and go all out. Just make sure no one is around to tell anyone how strong we really are!)
Shin SL: (I don't know what you have planned, but okay. Hikari, tell the others about what we just discussed and to meet up at the buses. Also, I have your three DRAGOONS in my dimensional belt since you couldn't carry them, but do you need them? I can meet up with you, or just let you remotely take control of them from-)
Hikari SL: (No need. The bus I was on has over thirty strong soldiers who are holding their own for now, and Aqua has joined me here. You are also the farthest away from bus 2, so head to bus 9."
Shin SL: (Alright. Coordinate with the others and have them meet up and also see about finding the Newbies. Most likely, Jin has already accepted that by the end of the day we are going to be at -3 Team Points. If it happens it happens, but it's still -6000 Points to all of us. Who else except me can take that kind of hit, so we'll be forced into a team battle even in the unlikely event Team Kenya wants peace? That's it. Contact me if anything happens.)
Shin disconnected with Hikari who went to inform the others of the plan but not before installing the Game Map of her Persona, Adrasteia. After exchanging for Psyche Force Scan the details of her mental map shot up and could even highlight key points, Ally positions, and enemies positions and how hostile they were, and the map itself will update from her future scans. Hikari could only speak to three others and connect their minds, but with this Game Map, no one on Team Japan would get lost. Still, she pointed out that the Game Map would probably miss the zombies who were cloaked from her scans without using Persona, so we were told to stay vigilant at all times and treat the Game Map as just a regular map rather than a real-time surveillance.
According to the map, Bus 9 was three miles away on foot with his speed thus would take less than ten minutes without rushing, but protecting the physically weaker Komaru and fending off possibly thousands of zombies made him feel that it would take much longer. Shin took one last look at the battle between the human soldiers and the zombies, and finally set off with Komaru and Grim Ash. As they set off towards bus 9, Shin had Grim Ash take off its cloak to display its true form. A full-body demonic skeleton wearing western style magic armor with a layer of bone over it. If this was the God and Devil World he knew of, then his familiar would just be mistaken as the same special summoned skeleton skill that the stories MC first received.
Shin: "Ash! Clear a path for us! Don't you dare let any of THEM near Komaru!"
Ash: "!!!"
After finally being given the order to fight Grim Ash's eyes lit up with a demonic flame and rushed out like a lightning bolt. It extended its right hand out, and bone fragments began to expand from its palm, and in seconds a large bone covered Barbatos Mace formed on full display. It was Ash's first real battle, but the special skeleton didn't show any wavering as if it were a veteran warrior of many battles. Ten zombies stood in the way and scrambled towards his master Shin and his woman, and that was unacceptable. Ash twirled the staff handle of the Barbatos Mace like a helicopter blade from left to right with inhuman strength enhanced by D-tier Undead Strength.
The mace smashed into the ten zombies, and with sickening zombie-to-mace contact, blew them away as mangled pieces of rotten flesh. More and more zombies stood in their away giving them no breathing room, yet Ash simply continued its assault and more and zombies were blown away or smashed into the ground and were turned into paste by the mace. Both Shin and Komaru gasped at Ash's display of might, especially Shin.
The normal zombies could hardly be called a threat to someone with superhuman levels of power like himself, yet seeing zombies, monsters with a human form sent flying for tens of meters was still a surreal sight for him. There was only death whenever Grim Ash swung its mace, and he soon reaped the lives of over one hundred zombies in less than a minute. The skeleton was like a storm god of the underworld which no one could come close to, and he wouldn't allow anyone or thing to come close to its master or Komaru.
Shin: "...What a waste of points."
Komaru: "What are you talking about?! Look how fierce and dominating Ash is! If we had him before in my world, just imagine how easy we would have had it! Apologize to Ash! You'll hurt her, no I mean his feelings when he's just doing his best for your sake!"
Shin: "Huh? When did you two become so close? Also, I wasn't talking about Ash as a waste of points. It's the armor! It's a low tier magic armor that doesn't need rank rewards, but it was still a thousand points! Look! My familiar is so powerful and skilled that not one zombie has even gotten close to scratching that armor of his! It's a waste! If I knew he was this good, I wouldn't have bothered with the armor and just raised your stats Komaru instead."
Komaru: "Oh... Wait, why didn't you increase my stats!? I can proudly proclaim myself of having an average physical ability for a high school girl!"
Shin: "...I forgot (Although you've never been inside a high school). Sorry, but I got you some jewelry instead, so..."
Komaru could only helplessly look at her boyfriend... and fall for him even more. Shin was so hopeless and no good despite having so many protagonist-like qualities that he began to look even more handsome in her eyes. Komaru hated to admit it, but she was definitely into guys like Shin. Helpless fools who needed looking after. Shin was unaware of her feelings, more for the better than the worse, at this time too busy keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings.
The streets were filled with zombies rushing towards his group, yet with Grim Ash and his extraordinary strength and endless endurance due to him being an undead allowed him to by himself swept away all the enemies who dared to approach or got in their way. Shin was beginning to think everything would be okay and they would easily regroup with his team, yet he soon discarded such optimistic thoughts and entered Unlocked Mode for precaution.
Shin couldn't believe that that this level of danger was a twelve-man mission for Team Japan. A twelve-man mission wasn't like a fifteen or twenty-man mission with a high possibility of a wipe, yet it's still difficult. No member of his team would have a hard time fighting his or her way through the zombie horde or running away. Even Hikari or Shuai who were physically the weakest could manged without revealing their true powers. Just armed with guns and the Unlocked Mode, it would be too easy for the two to escape any danger in this world.
Shin: (God placed us at a disadvantage from the get go, but you could hardly call it a challenge. He gave us soldiers and hundreds of human meat shields we could use to distract the zombies with. Things would have been worse if they all came after us and I still have the option of flying away with Void Movement. There has to be more to-)
Then all of of sudden a sense of danger swept over Shin, and he immediately stopped his train of thoughts there and picked up Komaru, and without warning jumped high into the air. The feeling of danger had come from below his feet, so he jumped into the air and kicked the air with Void Movement landing near Grim Ash who was up front holding off an army of zombies. A split second later a giant hand half the size of an adult male broke through the earth where he once stood and then retracted back into the earth. Shin had no idea what the hell that was even with his knowledge of H.O.T.D and G&DW, and he had no time to figure it out. Countless large humanoids crawled out of the hole and stood up facing Shin's group. There was a total of ten power type mutant zombies or L1s for short. They observed Shin's group with greedy flesh looking eyes but for a moment before they rushed forward. Each step they took crushed the cement paved streets and brought them closer and closer to their prey.
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Proofread by Azarza and Deltoren