threat appraisal

"Kami! H-his heart, it's stopped!"

As soon as he heard Rei voice cries, surprised, Alex immediatly knows that the first of the undead he would face; awoke. By the time his head turned to her, he had sawed Rei being struck viciously against the staircase's separation.

The declared dead was already on her, soundlessly opening his jaw wide and ready to bite her throat.

-Those fucker are quick, even quicker than average human?!- Shooted CS alarmingly in his mind.

'That not it, they are simply expressing the human body limit. Without the fear of the mind subconsciously restraining our potential not to injure ourselves, they can display its upmost limit.'

Thankfully for him, Alex had never been limited by the human constitution since the ritual that unleashed his bloodline. Those limits were even surpassed since he received his blessing and allowed to follow it's a movement with ease, but more importantly, react.

Knowing how resilient it was and that it wouldn't let her go without striking hard, Alex's feet crashed on his head with the minimal amount of force he was capable of.

He heard the cracks before he felt his feet barely sunk in its head, only moving it to few centimetres, but too weak to dislodge it from Rei prone body. It hadn't been his aim, knowing that the vice-grip it had on her would leave at least horrible wounds and a worst broke bones and mangled fleshes. Even then, he was surprised and worried about the lack of reaction.

'I struck with the force of an I ranked Level 1 adventurer, and this fucker tanked it?!' Alex didn't like the fact that an undead born of a still unmatured male body had the potential of tanking blow of a newly blessed adventurer.

But this was nothing comparate to the horror of discovering their disturbingly fast regeneration rate.

-With this type of regeneration, they can easily be counted as H ranked Level 1 monster. If you don't insta-kill them, their inherant magic will heal fatal wounds in seconds.-

Alex stopped to hold back on CS words and took out his two blades and pounced on it, immediatly severing both wrists, freeing Rei, before a rapid spin and delivering a mule kick to its chest. When he saw the undead rebound on the wall with the strength of the blow, he slashed at its head, severing it while pushing the body back to avoid any blood splatters.

When he saw the dark-red blood, a smell of magical corruption assaulted his nose. Turning to Rei, he saw her gaze locked on him but didn't focus on her eyes.

Rapidly scanning her body, he immediatly tore the fore-arms part of her uniform, preventing the blood drop to made contact with her skin.

~~

Unwilling to left two potential threat assault them from behind, he sectioned the two nape of the students still against the wall, who started to stir. Turning back while letting a deep breath out, he caught the gaze of both females looking intensively at him.

He expected the flushed face of Saeko, but not Rei one. Looking closer at them, he could see their dilated pupils and the ragged breaths.

-Here we go again.- Snickers CS, fully knowing what was happening to the girls. Before Alex could ask anything, Rei body crashed in his. As she throws herself in his arms, Alex connected the points and smiled wryly inside. The sobs of the girl weren't able to cover the suspect deep sniffs she took. Looking at her and apparent abnormal behaviour for a Japanese teen, Alex momently closes his eyes and felt his magic rapidly invade the girls, albite slower for Saeko.

Feeling his partner question, CS responded. -Your pheromones usually are a deadly weapon, now? Just after saving the girl life two times, you can't expect your magic, not react. Before even encountering her, you had some attraction, even if it was just curiosity at her counterpart here. Now that you saved her life two times, your magic simply claims her as yours. With the multitude of factor, both external and internal, it was just a question of time before it happens.

And happen it would, again. With this world now rapidly sinking into the apocalypse, any women you found above the rest and who share a mutual attraction to you will surely turn into a mate. It the perfect ground for you to growth your 'pack', after all.-

'What about Saeko?' Asked Alex while briefly looking at the girl. If it were anyone, he would through she was just flushed, but he could easily catch the slight shuffling of her thighs rubbing slightly on each other. A discreet sniff told Alex that his eyes were deceiving him; Saeko was clearly aroused from his action.

- You may not have seen it, but I caught her sight several times in the last month. Ever since the event of the first day, she seems to give you some attention.- Alex mental facepalm at this.

'Of course, she did. She would naturally feel curious about someone unbothered of the damaged I dealt with those two with her history. It might have been nothing but curiosity at first, but with what happened to her, she might start to see me as someone similar to her.' To give CS all the info, he sends a brief resume he had on her encounter with the men in her past.

-If that the case, then you could be assured that she will be another mate. We are always attracted by women that can defend themselves. Saeko practically the best mate material for you.-

~~~

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Her utterly different reaction and whispers made his lightly squeezing her in a hug. "Your welcome, but we need to move." Alex wasn't a hypocrite; if Rei was indeed a mate candidate, he won't turn around the pot and let something or someone take er away; he would strike fast and made her unable to leave his side.

Rei looked unwilling, but she still let him go and stood to Saeko side, which rapidly retook control of her ragging arousal and emotions.

"What now, Evans-san?" Asked Saeko, suspecting that he seems to know more than he appears to be on the matter. With his previous action, it was natural for her to follow his instructions.

"Did any of you had someone close in the school?" Both shooked their head, surprising Alex that Rei wasn't going out with Hisashi but didn't let it stop him. "Then call your parents, if they showed sign of being sick, it's mean their partially immune and won't slip on their own. Tell them to gather their essential and move to the Takagi estate. To not confront any undead or don't have the choice, aim for the spine or the head base. They must avoid contact with the blood at all cost." Said him, trying to stay concise to not lost time while giving the cellphone Yuriko given him when he returned to the island to Rei. "I need to make sure someone I know is safe. If possible, make your hand on some practice weapon from the clubroom. After that, try to find a place to stay, something like the club's room or the rooftop. There you should be able to be safe for a time. Don't try to seek a face-off; they're too strong for this; if you must, use long-range weapons."

Both nodded, and he immediatly run down the stair.

~~~

-Whose first?-

'Shizuka Marikawa, as a nurse, her skills are essential for us. I trust Saya to be able to stay out of trouble until I rejoin her. Her class was made with un-infected. As long as she locks the room and stays quiet, it should be alright.'

CS kept quiet but nodded. As they passed the second-floor class, Alex spied on some class, seeing that students displayed minor headache at most. Of all, the most worrying were teachers, but the majorities seem already out of class, after the headmaster short call for them to reunite in the staffroom.

'As we hadn't heard the call for an emergency, Shizuka should be in her office, as the guideline asks, in case of a medical emergency.'

-Hmm.-

'What on your mind.' Asked Alex feeling CS not completely here with him.

-Did you not see the pattern? Until then, it seems the parasite affects them by age, with a particular exception. Your teacher showed a similar state that slips, but the lower years display only light symptoms until then.-

Alex didn't stop but thought about it. 'It a magical disease! And like in our first world, the older, the more it easy to succumb to the symptoms! I should have thought of this! Thank buddy.'

-It's nothing, but that a good thing, until we have to walk back. By the time the higher students would start to slip and attack their classmate. Following it, they may begin to roam the corridor and go down, attracted by the one under them.-

~~~

With CS' hypothesis, Alex didn't immediatly go down the stairs but exit the building, walking down the bridge linking the building to the staff office. Spying on the gathered people inside, he could see almost crumbled on their desks, with the remaining not affected looking over them.

"You were right, their minutes, if second to slip, let's go." Said him while welding the door close, trapping this exit.

Rather than pass through the classroom building, Alex jumped from the catwalk, landing silently six meters down. Entering back, he gets rid of his shoes and burst into a sprint, crossing the eighty meters separating him from the infirmary in less than four seconds.

"No, stay away!" The distressed cries coming from inside confirmed Alex fear that others already been sent to the infirmary. Entering by vanishing the door in his storage, Alex caught the sight of three undead surrounding the desk behind the busty blonde nurse stood. Thank it put against the wall, she had a small space as a buffer zone, but Alex knows it wouldn't stop them much longer.

The slight airhead look she had when he crossed path with the woman during the last month was gone, replaced by fear but not incomprehension. It didn't take him much to understand that the nurse was habitually facking a part of her persona. To which end, he didn't know, but all could be solved later.

-Two adults, a student.- Analysed CS, basing it on the style of clothes the three undead wore, as they were of similar height. -Be careful; the one before was already a peak. I, perhaps H, rank level 1 adventurer; nothing told us about them here.-

'I will.' Taking a knife in each hand, Alex said, before rushing to the three. Crossing the office in less than a second, Alex brought down the blade in two of the undead spine. Twisting them, he heard the sound of breaking bones but was surprised by the amount o force he needs to do so.

'CS?' Asked Alex, While jumping back and avoid the third one that assaulted him too fast for him to retrieve the embedded blades.

His partner stays quiet, seriously observing as much as possible from Alex side view, while he faced the third one unarmed. The third undead, an adult one, was much faster than the student Alex dealt with in the previous minutes. Everything was different, better. Speed, strength, agility, dexterity, those four abilities were vastly enhanced and while he seems to lack intelligence, its instinctive response forced Alex to up his game.

-Careful!- Shouted CS, just in time to warn him of the two other undead, who healed rather than die. Fighting the three in the wide-open area of the infirmary wasn't doing Alex go. Taking out the third blade, he had just enough time to sink it in the skull of the lesser student, the undead who threw itself at him, jaw wide open.

'It's skull hardness is greater than the one before!' Grumble him as his third knife was lost for him, leaving him only once for the two.

-If I were to rank them, the one you just downed would be at least a G and seeing the two are stronger, at least F for them.- Said Cs sombrely, not liking the power of that freshly turned undead. -It's evident that the longer they have turned from, the stronger, they siphon magic like crazy.-

Heating the power scaling, Alex curse, knowing that it wasn't even based on a run the mill adventurer, but peak ones. Thank his original condition, he was past those rank, but it was the first monster he fought with this strong.

A Level 1 monster rank was generally a rank stronger than a corresponding adventurer, as they rely on instinct, and the adventurers are experience-less. With them at F' rank, it was like he was facing two E ranked adventurer instead.

~~~

Knowing he hadn't the choice, Alex movement suddenly turned unnaturally superior to human limits. Taking out his last knife, he severed the fingers of the hand, trying to grip him. As the blade passes through the appendage, he felt the resistance against his blade.

'If they continue to become stronger, steel weapons would be useless against C rank and above, and small calibres firearm might stop to be effective against level 2 ones!' Frowned him at the worrying news. If that was the truth, Alex was possibly the only person able to craft weapons to face stronger undead soon. Along with the global threat of the undead, Alex had very little hope for humanity's survival at this point.

Cutting and slashing, Alex barely made any progress, as their regenerative abilities kicked in, healing severed limbs too, even if slowly.

'They healed their neck wound in lest than ten second and need around fifteen or so to regrow fingers. The larger the missing limb, the longer, but that valid CS though, without killing blow rapidly dealt, they will heal and come back.'

Evading at open hand, Alex pounced forward, passing below the limbs and landing at their legs. In a quick motion, a large gash appears on each leg, making the undead fall. Before they could raise or heal, He finished hacking the limbs and struck their shoulders.

Left with nothing other than gushing torsos, Alex turned both on their stomachs and slashed at their nape and bury his knife in the other head. Seeing none recover, he sigh but not let himself relax.