Even Zombies Have Fandoms

Chapter 84

“Hup!”

“Quiet. Muyoung, cover your ears right now.”

After warning Kyungho who gasped in shock, Seokjae slapped Muyoung’s bottom, who was dazed by the situation in the playground.

BOOM!

Muyoung, who had been in a trance, startled and immediately covered his ears, and fortunately, the thunder rumbled after that.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes…”

Muyoung was able to respond to Seokjae, who was checking on him, in a fairly normal state. His head was still pounding painfully enough to blur his vision, but it was more bearable than before. Perhaps he was starting to adapt.

‘I wish it would keep striking frequently like earlier… Then I could adapt faster.’

Then he wouldn’t be such a burden in this serious situation.

While Muyoung glared resentfully at the sky, completely forgetting how he had been trembling just moments before, Seokjae spoke calmly, trying to comfort Kyungho and Junwoo who were frozen with fear.

“It’s fortunate that so many are outside.”

“What?”

“How is that fortunate…?”

“If that many are outside, then most of them must have come out of the building, and there’s no way survivors could be inside a building where that many were. It means we won’t encounter anyone. That’s fortunate, isn’t it?”

As Seokjae grinned, seeking agreement, the expressions of the two people who had been stunned gradually brightened.

“Y-you’re right.”

“Then we just need to get to the school. Great.”

There was no certainty that all the zombies in the playground had come from the school. But based on their experiences so far, the two blindly trusted Seokjae’s words about survival without a moment’s hesitation. Even Muyoung, who was being carried by him, seemed relieved as he quietly exhaled.

‘Too easy.’

He wasn’t expecting them to challenge his certainty. Despair wouldn’t help when they might face any number of zombies ahead. It was a good development.

However, passively following words based on probability meant that if the speaker was wrong, they’d be in trouble.

‘Hmm, I could probably handle five or six at once. If more show up, there’s nothing I can do.’

Of course, Seokjae wasn’t one to feel burdened by others’ lives. He was confident that if something was impossible despite doing his best, it would fail regardless of who tried.

And…

‘At least Kang Muyoung will survive, so it doesn’t matter.’

If zombies swarmed them en masse, even if Muyoung revealed his secret, they’d be helpless without a place to hide. Either way, he was alone and couldn’t fight.

If everyone in the group were to die here, the shock Muyoung would experience from losing everyone who had cared for him in an instant would be unimaginably great. It was obvious without seeing it. But far from worrying about this, Seokjae actually thought it was good.

‘If you’re going to die, you should die as horribly as possible so it’s absolutely unforgettable.’

After all, they had extended their already doomed lives thanks to him. Except for Kang Muyoung, he had no regrets.

If anything, it would be perfect if Muyoung developed enough trauma to prevent him from getting close to anyone else in the future. Then he would be Muyoung’s last friend.

After making this incredibly selfish resolution, Seokjae hugged Muyoung more tightly to savor what could be his last moments with him, and said:

“For now, let’s stick to the edge as much as possible. They don’t have good eyesight, so they probably won’t notice us. Even if they do, they won’t easily chase us.”

Those same conditions applied to them as well, but Seokjae deliberately didn’t mention that fact.

The four people turned back from the central area where they had gone to look for the goal post, heading toward the garden. Since they had confirmed the building’s location, there was no need to check the center anymore; they were using the ledge dividing the garden and path as a guide.

Beyond that, it wouldn’t be difficult to reach the school by following the neatly landscaped small trees and stones.

However, there was one thing…

‘I wish I could check once more before getting closer.’

He hadn’t been able to check near the building.

Seokjae tried his best to recall the interior he had glimpsed for a moment, but there were gaps in his memory that made him click his tongue inwardly. Stupidly, he had forgotten the most important place because he was distracted by the shocking scene before him.

Given the distance and brief moment, he could have only confirmed the presence of zombies around the building, but that information was crucial now. When escape was difficult, avoiding them as much as possible was important. If zombies were crowded at the main entrance, it would be better to find another entrance.

‘Won’t lightning strike again?’

It wouldn’t be good for Muyoung, but just three more times. He didn’t need many. Just that much would allow him to determine the number and positions of zombies, and find a breakthrough.

But contrary to Seokjae’s expectations, no lightning struck as they reached the end of the path up to the main school building.

‘Should I rely on luck…’

Thinking he’d have to rely on his vision and senses that had somewhat adjusted to the darkness, he stood on the path connected to the entrance. And just as he signaled the two behind him to stop, Seokjae’s wish was belatedly granted.

FLASH-

A light burst without warning, so bright it made everything appear white for a moment.

Seokjae quickly scanned with his eyes. Compared to the playground, a significantly smaller number of zombies were wandering in front of the main building.

‘There aren’t as many as I thought, but it’ll be difficult to avoid them all.’

RUMBLE-!

Glancing at the thundering sky, Seokjae inwardly reached two conclusions: either take time to eliminate them one by one using the noise as cover, or risk attracting more by using flashlights briefly to clear them out with better visibility.

He had no intention of asking the others’ opinions. If he was going to do it, he would do it alone. The rest just needed to run away well.

FLASH.

Another lightning bolt flashed. As if granting his wish for three strikes, the light spread chaotically multiple times like a broken bulb.

‘Now!’

Seokjae didn’t miss the opportunity. He focused on finding a breakthrough, examining obstacles on the path and the doors of the main building that he hadn’t seen earlier. In doing so, he failed to notice the eerie movement that had begun on the ground.

BOOM! CRASH!

The loudest sound yet shook the earth.

“Ugh!”

Muyoung, who had been letting his guard down as his condition improved, let out a small moan. Even while rapidly scanning the area, Seokjae hugged Muyoung’s back firmly in response.

At that moment-

Thud.

As lightning flashed once more, Seokjae’s ankle was gripped by a strong force.

‘…!’

Quickly looking down, Seokjae met the rotten fish-like eyes of a zombie that had raised its head from among the bushes under a low tree that didn’t even reach his thigh.

“KAAARK…!”

The zombie’s howl rang out loudly. Before the other three could react, Seokjae moved.

He immediately raised his leg and stomped on the zombie’s head along with the bushes.

CRUNCH—!

Crack- Crush.

In that brief moment, because he had targeted the upper part rather than the lower jaw, its neck was torn backward. The zombie met its end, crushed under his foot.

But having remarkably noticed the hunting sound of their kind amidst the thunder, the predators’ gazes all turned in their direction.

“Really having the worst luck today.”

“I-I’m sorry. It was because I made a sound.”

Despite the rain blurring their vision, the manic stares directed at them were vivid. As Seokjae muttered lowly, Muyoung apologized with his spirit crushed.

“No, if they had reacted to that sound, they would have come barking at us already. It just happened to crawl on the ground and grab my leg. So don’t worry and hold on tight. I won’t be using my hands for a while.”

Seokjae quickly reassured him and completely removed his hands from Muyoung. A fierce howling sound that seemed impossible to come from human vocal cords spread dully over the sound of rain.

‘There’s no time.’

Fortunately, they were far enough from the playground that they couldn’t hear the movement of large numbers, but that was only for now. If the commotion continued, hungry creatures would soon find them and swarm in packs.

Additionally, they couldn’t enter through the main entrance anymore. If the zombies that had come out due to the thunder went back inside the building and attracted the attention of any remaining zombies inside, it would be an even bigger problem.

In that case…

“GRAAAWL!”

Crack, thud.

A zombie rushing with its mouth wide open had a large blade embedded in its neck. Then its upper body was kicked back, and its dangling head was torn off before it even hit the ground.

The head rolled sideways, knocking over another zombie.

Scratch…

As the fallen zombie tried to scratch the ground with its fingers to stand up, its half-crushed head was also stomped by a large foot. Finally, both of them completely stopped moving.

Having dispatched two zombies at once, Seokjae shouted in an angry voice at the two people frozen by the shocking scene:

“Snap out of it!”

Not intending to wait for a response, he immediately focused on killing the next zombie. With eyes now fully adjusted to the darkness, he dodged a zombie rushing toward him with arms outstretched like a jiangshi by moving sideways, then swung his knife at its neck.

Crunch! Thud…

And just like before, judging it efficient to take out two at once using a head, he grabbed the hair before it fell to the ground and threw it into the air. He intended to use the flat side of the blade like a baseball bat to send it flying.

Thwack- Crack!

A zombie running from afar was hit and fell backward. It probably wouldn’t die from that, but it didn’t matter as long as they gained time to move forward.

And so, Seokjae continued his hunt, taking them out one or two at a time.