Fear

Wading through the ranks of the zombies with every swing of his hammer decimating multiple abominations in his path as he rushed to begin engaging with the horde leader, Otto had a ferocious expression on his face which was further accentuated by the indomitable killing intent leaking from his body.

As if he was a god of war, his stalwart body filled to the brim with power flattened all the zombies in his vicinity into meat paste with his herculean hammer.

Releasing a growl of rage, he increased his speed as the bloodlust surrounding him became more tangible, covering him in a red hue as he blasted his way through the enemy.

Evan, meanwhile, appeared to be enjoying this battle as a feral grin spread across his face as adrenaline coursed through his veins, tingling every single nerve of his body with excitement during this fight of life and death.

One single mistake and his fate would be sealed with him transforming into a wretched creature, forever losing his humanity, which was so dearly protected by the other members of his race at the beginning of the apocalypse.

This life and death battle was even more pronounced due to the harrowing infection that the zombies possessed, able to contaminate even the most stubborn of opposition by forcibly altering their existence into a pile of malevolence.

As his sword flashed, sending two heads rolling, it presented a glaring problem to Evan as his feral grin changed into an expression of sombre indifference.

'My stamina is not going to last. Right now I've used 30% of my total stamina, with the expenditure increasing the deeper I travel into this horde of vile things, as they are progressively growing stronger.'

Zombies followed the same classifications as humans, with the only difference between them depending on how many living things they have devoured, whether that be monsters or fellow zombies.

Every time a zombie devoured a living being, a subtle change would occur in their body before rising up like a tsunami as they reached a threshold before reaching the next rank.

So keeping himself from being corrupted after a single touch from a zombie, Evan had to constantly cover himself in a membrane of mana that acted as a barrier between him and the green abominations slowing the infection that was trying to erode his body to a minimal level.

This obviously increased the mana consumption as well as the consumption of stamina to keep it active, all the while continuing to fight at the same time.

Hence, why he was so alarmed.

Deciding on a course of action, Evan resolved himself as he the effort he put into slaying these revolting creatures doubled.

Inhaling lightly, it was once again time to activate the Demon Reaper art!

'First Form—Black Death'

Following this, a black hue sprung from his body as it coated the blade, causing the stalwart weapon to turn darker as it appeared to turn into a manifestation of death.

Muscles bulging as a new surge of power was released from his muscles, Evan's body became taut with tension before he released all the pent-up power in a strike as his sword arced forwards decapitating multiple zombies as their severed heads tumbled into the ground with a thud.

As he continued doing all he could to get rid of the horde of zombies within his sight, he felt his heart beat wildly, resonating with the rhythm of the battle playing out.

Feeling as if he was right at home, Evan continued slaughtering his way forwards, becoming an unstoppable killing machine.

Found deeper into the sea of green was Otto as he travelled deeper and deeper into the horde, as his and the zombie leaders' gazes met.

Gazing into the bloodshot eyes of his enemy, Otto made a startling discovery as he found that deep within the zombie leader's eyes were traces of intelligence as he used his minions as sacrifices without any hesitation.

This provided him with enough time to prepare for the battle, as the zombies surrounding him ran into Otto's path, impeding hisassaultt for a few seconds.

Growling in frustration, he swung his hammer with even more might as all the obstacles in his path were swiftly obliterated in no time as he and the horde leader finally came within 5 metres of each other.

Swinging from overhead, Otto smashed his hammer downwards with great force as the zombie leader attacked with a punch compressed with tons of force.

Both attacks collided, generating a massive shockwave which flung away all the weaker zombies within a 3-meter radius of their clash.

'A rank 3 zombie!'

Otto exclaimed in his mind, feeling the fluctuations of force coming off the greeny-brown zombie's fist as his face turned even more serious, using all the power in his muscles before sending out an even greater strike with his hammer.

Blocking the strike with its arms in relatively relaxed ease, the horde leader's mouth grinned exaggeratedly as their sharp row of deadly teeth became even more pronounced.

Clenching their fist, the leader punched out toward Otto, transferring the momentum of the previous strike into his attack.

Face turning grim, Otto gritted his teeth as he used the handle of the hammer to block the incoming blow as he sank his feet into the ground, refusing to allow his body to budge even an inch.

The ground beneath their feet cracked as fine miniature webs travelled along the grey-ash road before a massive crater sunk downwards causing a curtain of dust to enshroud the duo who were engaging In a fierce fight.

As the dust settled, it revealed the figures of both combatants as Otto's dishevelled state was revealed.

"Cough… Cough"

Spluttering up some bright red blood, a fire of determination began blazing in his eyes as a massive surge of power suddenly erupted from his being, shocking the zombie leader, who retreated as fast as they could.

'First Form—Giants decree'

Right after that, Otto's body swelled, enlarging into a greater height resembling that of an infant giant, as his clothes were torn apart, unable to accommodate his larger frame.

Gazing at the human who suddenly got larger, the zombie leader's eyes were blank as the little traces of intelligence it possessed were unable to provide it with any sort of answer to the phenomenon which just occurred.

Clenching his fist, Otto compressed his now larger fist to the maximum as it sped towards the zombie leader's face.

As the fist grew larger in the green abomination's vision, traces of a deep profound emotion appeared in its eyes as it stood rooted to the spot.

For the first time, in its life, the zombie leader felt the intense fear of death every sentient being felt at the end of their ropes as the enormous fist crashed into It blasting it toward the afterlife, with its life dissipating instantly as the rest of the rotting body became crushed into a green paste.