WARNING: This chapter contains disturbing scenes.
...
"It worked!!"
Livia exclaimed happily, stepping back.
She stared at the zombie slowly rising from the ground.
Varlo had entirely turned into a zombie.
Vincent gritted his teeth but refrained from showing a reaction. Rage burned within him. How could she show such disregard for human life? But despite the anger burning deep within, he couldn't act. He was not her match. He didn't want to die.
The zombie stood on the spot.
For a moment, Livia was mesmerized by it, carefully observing it.
"Hey," She turned to Vincent. "Can you control the zombie? What are your abilities?"
Vincent gave her a puzzled look.
"Certainly, your ability is not just to turn people into zombies? You must have some other abilities?" She couldn't hide her excitement. Clearly, the zombies deeply intrigued her.
A light flashed in Vincent's eyes. "I can tell you," he said, forcing a smile. "But you'll have to tell me about your ability and how you gained it."
"Hmm..." Livia thought for a second. "Alright. Then, I'll start first."
"I gained my ability thanks to the virus." She said. "My ability enhances my eyesight. When I use it, my vision improves several times.
At first, the virus caused me pain. But the pain quickly faded. As if something unlocked within me, I gained the ability. It came so naturally, as if it was always a part of me.
Something also unlocked within my brain. I gained all the information of my ability. It felt like that information was always there; I had just forgotten it."
Vincent listened carefully.
"I confirmed it with Varlo as well. He experienced the same thing. The knowledge of his ability just emerged in his mind."
Vincent nodded.
"Then, it's your turn." Livia finished. "How did you gain your ability?"
Vincent looked at her thoughtfully. "To answer your first question. Yes, I can control zombies, but only if I form a contract. The number of zombies I can control is limited."
"As to how I gained my ability... sigh..." He let out a heavy sigh.
Vincent explained what happened with Marin. He only adjusted the details regarding his ability.
He didn't mention the system but instead said the knowledge of his ability just emerged in his mind under the threat of death when they were about to kill him.
"Hmmm..." Livia stared at him seriously, her eyes hinting at an extraordinary visual prowess and deep intelligence hidden behind them.
"If you can control zombies, why did you get so injured fighting a demon?" She asked.
Vincent sighed again. "At the moment, I can contract only three zombies. I can't waste precious space contracting ordinary zombies."
'At the moment...' Livia immediately understood the keywords. 'Which means the number will grow in the future.'
"Then, you can contact him." She looked at Varlo.
Uaghhhhh!
The zombie let out a lowly groan.
"I can," Vincent nodded. But it won't be appropriate here," he pointed behind her.
The deceased around had turned into zombies and slowly started rising one by one.
Uaghhhhhh!
SWOOSH!
Varlo jumped at Livia.
It took some time for a zombie that just turned to start moving, but once it did and smelled human flesh, it wouldn't hesitate to attack.
Swoosh!
Livia landed several steps back. Before Varlo even attacked, she had jumped back.
Her perception was high, and with her eyes, no way she wouldn't see his attack coming.
"I'm not strong in combat." She shouted, running towards the door.
The other ordinary zombies that had just risen stood still in place.
"I'll leave it to you here."
She ran out of the room, closing the door behind her.
BOM!
With a smack of his fist, Varlo cracked the door.
CRASH!
And with the next punch, the door shattered, and he could leave the room.
Though Livia was not in sight anymore, he could smell the lingering scent of human flesh.
Varlo chased after her, breaking the doors in his way. He followed her scent.
Vincent was not in a hurry. He didn't want to save her at all, but Varlo was an awakened human. Contracting him would be great.
He looked at the transfusion device.
The blood bag on it was almost empty.
Slowly, he pulled the needle out of his arm and rose from the bed.
Though he felt pain in his arm, it was nothing compared to his previous pain.
He followed after the zombie, leaving the room.
He walked through the rooms until he reached the corridor.
BANG! BANG!
The sound of banging on metal rang throughout the whole hospital.
Vincent reached the stairs. He found out he was on the third and last floor of the hospital.
Bang! Bang!
The banging came from below.
Vincent walked down.
He passed the second and first floor and arrived on the ground floor, but he still couldn't see the source of the banging.
It came from below.
Vincent followed the sound and arrived at a corner of the hospital.
The door was broken, revealing the utility room.
The cleaning tools were all around, broken.
A broken metal floor door lay on the utility room floor. It had clearly been torn open with force.
Vincent didn't waste time and walked down the stairs leading underground.
Bang! Bang!
With the banging growing closer, he was certain he was on the right path.
Soon, the zombie Varlo came within his sight.
Vincent arrived in the underground room, which resembled storage.
The zombie banged on a metal door leading to another room. The metal door was filled with dents, slowly giving out.
'Do I save her?' Vincent pondered, his expression growing dark. He clenched his fists. At this moment, he abandoned his consciousness as hatred overwhelmed him. He wanted her life.
She killed innocent people. She killed them as if plucking grass. He wanted to bring justice to them.
'No,' Vincent shook his head, relaxing his fists. 'I need to calm down. I can't let emotions control me,'
He grimly looked before him, analyzing unbothered despite the banging.
'I don't know what's behind that door.' He thought. 'Most likely, it is something useless, but if it's not and she could use it to defend, if I turn on her, she'll take my life.'
'And I don't precisely know the strength of the zombie.' Vincent still hadn't used the attribute points he got. He refrained from using his mana because he had already used it once for the inspect skill. If he used it again, his mana wouldn't recover in time, and he would be forced to spend one more attribute point on mana.
[Mana: 24/30]
[Attribute points: 4]
Vincent stared near the bottom of his status window, thinking.
'I can't underestimate her.' Finally, he shook his head.
He made his concrete decision.
Thud!
Vincent slammed his palm across his nose.
A line of blood flowed down his nose.
He willed in his mind and allocated two attribute points to mana, bringing it to 44.
He touched his nose and extended his arm at the zombie.
'Contract. Activate!' He willed in his mind.
Immediately, he felt something significant drain out of his body.
A strange emptiness filled him.
The blood floated off his fingers, turning into a few drops in the air, floating above his fingers.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, the blood droplets flew forward.
They reached and entered the zombie's body as if it was transparent.
Instantly, the zombie halted.
[Ding]
After several seconds, Vincent got the notification.
[Congratulations, you contracted your first undead]
[Name your undead: ...]
'Hmm...' Vincent pondered for a few seconds.
"How about...Prim?"
[Name set: Prim]
Immediately, the status window of the zombie appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Prim]
[Species: Undead - Awakened Zombie]
[Awakened Ability: Super Strength]
[Strength: 16]
[Agility: 11.4]
'It's stats are good,' Vincent's heart fluttered. With this zombie, he would be safe.
He willed in his mind, and the zombie retreated from the bent metal door.
"I contracted it. You can come out now. It's safe." Vincent spoke.
Slowly, the metal door opened, and Livia walked out.
She quickly closed the door and put a lock on it.
"What took you so long?" She asked casually, pushing her hair back, bringing her beautiful face to the limelight.
'She looks relaxed,' Vincent frowned inwardly but tried not to show it on his face. 'AS expected. Most likely, she could've dealt with the zombie.'
"What is behind that door?" Vincent asked, ignoring his question.
"The generators are inside," Livia replied.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Suddenly, a deafening cry echoed throughout the hospital.
Swoosh!
Livia ran past him and headed up.
Vincent's heart sank, and his expression turned dark. He stormed after her, controlling the zombie to go with him.
While Vincent was saving Livia from the zombie, the other zombies in the room started moving.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
They ran up the stairs.
Vincent's heart beat rapidly, not as much because he ran, but in fear.
Thud!
Livia arrived at the room on the third floor, slamming her hands on the door frame to halt.
"No..."
But as her gaze fell on the room, she shook her head in disbelief.
"What happened!" Vincent arrived a second later. "Is she alright!"
However, as he gazed into the room, his eyes widened in terror.
His world suddenly turned upside down as his head spun.
Bleeeghh!
Instantly, an urge surged in him, and he vomited all over the floor, the scene deeply engraved in his mind.
In the room, the zombies had gathered around Aurielle.
Despite her scream, they arrived too late.
She had died.
Blood flowed from her mouth. She had died with her eyes wide open, tears rolling down.
The abdomen of her body was torn open, and blood and intestines flowed on the floor.
Munch! Munch!
The zombies greedily grabbed her intestines and internal organs, eating them.
The zombie of her grandpa held intestines in both hands, devouring them.
The zombies were preoccupied with the corpse before them; they didn't even notice Livia or her scent.
"Bleeeg..."
Vincent couldn't stop vomiting.
Such a gruesome scene he never imagined he would see.
Livia turned and looked at him.
SLAP!
A loud slap rang through the hospital.
Vincent's cheek immediately turned red.
"Why did you leave her? Why did you leave her here alone!!" She shouted. "I had to run from the zombie! But you didn't even think of her!!!"
Seeing her position, Aurielle was stuck close to the bed's right side, opposite where Vincent stood up. With her petite body, the fact that she was unconscious, and the intense conversation he had with Livia, he had forgotten about her.
"I-I didn't see her," He uttered.
"You didn't see her!!" Livia shouted. "Didn't you just now reprimand me for killing! What have you done now? You killed her with your own hands!" Tears rolled down her eyes.
Vincent's eyes widened as he realized the truth within her words.
"I-I killed her..." His body and voice trembled as he took a step back, stepping in his vomit.
He looked at Livia in terror, pale as if he had seen a ghost.
This time, it was not their fault. 'Why is she crying?! Wasn't she indifferent?' He tried searching for an excuse to dump the fault on her. 'Ohh, Aurielle was awakened. So she lost as well,' But he couldn't find one. 'I-I really killed her!'
Vincent looked at his palms, teardrops falling on his dry skin.
While Vincent couldn't cope with reality and was preoccupied with his own thoughts, Livia's face suddenly turned ice cold.
'Hmm...' Livia looked at the zombie grandpa eating his own granddaughter. 'This experiment confirms it...After turning into a zombie, the person doesn't refrain even a bit of consciousness. He completely disappears, and his body turns into a walking corpse, led by instincts. Even to the point...of a grandfather devouring his granddaughter.'
Immediately, an expression of urgency replaced her expression.
"What are you waiting for? " she roared hastily. "Quickly order your zombie to kill them."
"R-Right!"
Vincent immediately willed the death of these zombies.
Prim stormed into the room.
Splash! Splash!
Green blood splashed around the room, and the corpses of the zombies fell on the ground as Prim almost effortlessly burst the heads of those ordinary zombies.
The green blood mixed in with the red blood and intestines on the ground.
Lumps of hair floated above the puddles of blood, forming a truly gruesome scene.