Zombie Domination

The next morning, the group slowly stirred awake, rubbing sleep from their eyes as the golden light of dawn poured into the valley. One by one, they gathered around their small campfire to begin breakfast, hot rations, dried fruits, and instant coffee.

Julian stretched and yawned. "I'll be heading to bed now," he said, already walking toward his tent.

"If anything urgent happens, just wake me up," Julian added with a sleepy wave before disappearing into his tent.

Fey turned to Sebastian. "Aren't you going to sleep too?"

Sebastian gave a small, proud nod. "No need, Miss Fey. Mr. Julian graciously allowed me to rest yesterday. I slept quite soundly."

"Good," Rogan said, spoon in hand. "We'll need your analysis skills at full capacity."

Beatrix, who had been quietly poking her food with a stick, finally spoke with her usual bored tone, but a curious glint in her eye. "I've been meaning to ask since yesterday… Are you guys seriously planning to fight that Sky Whale?"

Everyone around the fire nodded.

"Seriously?" Beatrix raised an eyebrow. "Do any of you have, I don't know… divine powers or something?"

Rea snorted. "No, but this place is filled with lunatics, so does that count?"

Cindy kicked his leg.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"It's not impossible," Cindy said calmly, sipping her drink. "That's why we're analyzing it. We can defeat that thing, we just have to understand it first."

"Don't worry, Teacher," Dori chimed in cheerfully. "We've got this."

"Got this" Zoe added.

Beatrix looked at them like someone watching a group of daredevils prep a tightrope over lava. "Well… good luck not dying, I guess."

Then the mood shifted.

Everyone stood and began preparing for the day's mission. Rogan activated his [Hunter's Eye], the pupils of his eyes narrowing as he observed the distant sky, tracking the faint silhouette of the Sky Whale moving like a drifting island across the clouds.

Beside him, Cindy closed her eyes, activating [Hidden Spot]. Her senses extended outward, searching for weaknesses, patterns, blind spots, anything unusual in the whale's behavior.

Sebas activated his skill, [Analyze], his eyes glowing faintly as streams of data filled his vision. He silently focused, cross-referencing the information gathered by Rogan and Cindy, processing every detail of the Sky Whale's movements and behavior.

Meanwhile, Rea, visibly bored, sighed and stretched his arms. "Hey… how about we play something?"

Fey glanced at her with a sharp look. "Hey, we're not here to play around. This is a serious mission."

"Oh, come on. It's better than sitting here bored," Rea replied, pouting. His eyes shifted to Zoe, who was still calmly watching the massive creature drifting through the clouds. "Hey Zoe, why don't you go big again? Let's explore the area a bit."

Zoe gave her a blank look. "No."

"Ugh, boring," Rea muttered.

Then Fey, without looking at him, said flatly, "If you're bored, why don't you just stay quiet for once?"

Dori chuckled softly. "It's okay. We're all kinda bored too."

She looked around, then suddenly asked, "So… what did you guys do before the apocalypse?"

"I used to be just an office worker," Fey said calmly, stirring her cup of instant coffee.

Rea blinked, then let out a sarcastic snort. "Poor thing. From paperwork to monster-hunting. What a promotion."

Fey raised an eyebrow. "Still better than being stuck with a loudmouth who complains every five seconds. Honestly, maybe that Sky Whale should just eat you."

Rea leaned back, offended. "I do not complain—"

"Enough, both of you," Dori cut in with a sigh, her tone gentle but firm. "You're scaring the fire."

Just beside them, Beatrix sat cross-legged next to Zoe. With one hand, she gently patted the girl's head and said with lazy amusement, "Hoo... you're ridiculously adorable. Like a cat."

Zoe didn't respond. But the way she leaned into the touch, eyes half-lidded, and the faint purring sound coming from her throat betrayed everything. She was clearly enjoying it.

Then suddenly...

WROOOOOMMMM

A deep, otherworldly sound echoed across the sky like thunder rolling through the clouds. The earth itself seemed to hold its breath.

Everyone looked up.

Sebas narrowed his eyes, his pupils flashing slightly as his skill [Analyze] activated. Magical glyphs flickered faintly in his iris. "The Sky Whale… it's calling. That sound... It's summoning something."

"Summoning?" Cyndi repeated, standing up slowly. "You mean... it has friends?"

"It's highly possible." Sebas' voice was tense now.

Far ahead, Rogan focused his [Hunter Eye]. His vision zoomed in unnaturally fast, highlighting motion on the creature's upper spine. A translucent membrane pulsed. Then something twitched, Shifted and Opened.

"…Guys," he said quietly. "There's something coming out of its back..."

He turned immediately. "Wake Julian. Now."

But before anyone could move—

ZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZTTTT!

A harsh buzzing filled the air, unnatural and aggressive. Shadows passed over them. When they looked up, a swarm of grotesque, mutated dragonflies, easily the size of a grown man, was descending fast. Their compound eyes glowed orange. Their wings shimmered with a sickly, toxic green. Sharp legs clicked midair like knives.

Beatrix jumped to her feet.

"They're coming straight for us!"

Sebas reached for his weapon, eyes locked on the sky.

His voice rang out.

"Everyone, get ready. We're under attack!"

"I'll wake up Julian!" Dori shouted, dashing toward the tent without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Rea took a step back, eyes wide. "Woah, woah, woah! What the hell are those bugs?!"

Bang!

A sharp gunshot echoed. Rogan was already prone on the ground, aiming his customized sniper rifle. Smoke rose from the barrel as he fired. "Cover me!"

Fey reacted swiftly, manipulating her blue liquid ability. It hardened mid-air into spikes before launching toward the swarm of dragonfly-like mutated insects, thwip! thwip! thwip!—piercing through several of them.

Cindy dashed forward, wielding her rapier sword. With fluid, brutal strikes, she began cutting down the bugs in close range. "Their weak spots are the head and thorax!" she called out, her eyes glowing from activating her [Hidden Spot] skill.

Sebas joined in, pulling out his revolver and firing with precise aim, backing up the front line.

Zoe stepped forward next, claws gleaming, slashing through the air. "So noisy…" she muttered flatly before tearing several insects apart in a single sweep.

Still, the swarm was overwhelming.

Rea joined the fray, activating his [Mirage] and dashing into the fight with swift sword techniques. "There's too many of them!" she shouted.

Suddenly, a massive surge of electricity burst through the area—ZZZRAAK!—frying dozens of the mutated dragonflies mid-air.

In an instant, a blur dashed through the field, slicing down the stunned creatures with a glowing blade.

It was Julian.

His hair was tousled, his expression dark and annoyed.

After clearing a path through the swarming insects, Julian hovered midair and looked down at the others. "Status?"

Sebas, still shooting calmly, replied, "The whale seems to be aware of us. It may have sent these insects after detecting our presence."

Julian gave a curt nod. "Then we'll wipe them out and resume our analysis."

Everyone gave a quick affirmative, diving right back into the fight.

Julian shot upward, propelled by his gravity manipulation, then activated his lightning. With a swift motion of his blade crackling with energy, he sliced through another wave of dragonflies midair, their charred remains raining down.

Rogan provided cover, taking precise sniper shots at anything that tried to flank them. Zoe followed close, slashing wildly with her claws, not bothering to dodge as her thick skin tanked most of the hits.

From behind them, Beatrix raised her voice. "Hey! They're multiplying over here!"

Cindy responded dryly while lunging with her rapier, "Thanks for the info... very helpful!"

One of the insects tried to ambush her from behind, but Sebas reacted first, pulling the trigger and blowing it apart with perfect aim.

"Thanks, four-eyes," Cindy said without looking back.

Rea slashed her way toward the group. "They're surrounding us from all sides now!"

Fey, forming spears from her blue liquid and launching them with pinpoint accuracy, muttered, "This is getting bad... Captain, got any bright ideas?"

Julian, still cutting through the swarm midair like a thunderstorm given form, suddenly paused mid-flight. With a flick of his hand, he opened his inventory.

And pulled out... a helicopter.

Everyone stopped for a second, blinking.

"What the—" Cindy stared. "You have a private helicopter?! You're seriously rich, Captain."

Julian landed with a thud and said calmly, "Sebas, just like I told you yesterday."

Sebas nodded silently, then rushed over to the chopper and began activating it.

Julian turned to the others. "Everyone, get on board first. I'll hold them off with my shadows."

He raised one hand and his shadow expanded rapidly, forming into long, jagged tendrils around him.

"Fey," he called, "help reinforce the defense with your liquid. I'll stall them as long as I can."

Then everyone began boarding the helicopter while Julian and Fey held off the swarm of dragonfly-like insects.

As Fey launched another hardened spike of liquid, she asked, "Does this helicopter run on zombie energy?"