Fight From The Grave IV

The mother zombie smile only stretches wider and she puts her rotten foot against my face.

"Hey‐-- ahhh!" She drove her bony foot down to my hand. Wedging my hand and her now leftover foot stuck on the rock.

Was she always this strong?!

I gritted my teeth and glare at her. I still had my bat in my hand. The knife sitting behind the mother and baby zombies.

Taking her by surprise, I swing the bat as hard as I could. I watch her body slice in half from her hips.

"Grr!!!" She falls down with her baby. The baby rolling off the edge.

"Goo, gaaahhh!" It cries and disappears into the darkness. I throw my bat over the edge, pull the foot out of my other hand and yell out in pain. I haul myself up and roll over to my back.

"Grrrr..." I immediately stand up and grab my bat. Ready to defend myself from the mother who had lost its child.

To my surprise, she wasn't even looking at me. I watch her drag half of her body over the edge. Tears were falling down her face as she wailed, looking for her baby.

"Mmy Babb bbyy." Her uncomprehensive attempt to speak really broke my heart.

It was just a few minutes ago when we were all trying to kill each other. I felt ashamed to myself.

These zombies were once human. They didn't choose to die like this. Every zombie she has been fighting were once human. They had jobs, families, and friend. They were working, studying and most of all... just living their lives. They were all alive at one point. Until the damn Gods and Demons decided to make a bet with all of our lives.

[DEMON'S POSSESSION]: COOLDOWN has ended.

I stood up and steeled myself. My bat in hand.

[7th DEMON PRINCE, BAAL SAY TO FINISHER THE MOTHER]

I walk towards the grieving zombie. She looks at me, looking dead and hurting.

"..." Determined to follow through with my decision, I fall head first off the edge.

"Active [DEMON'S POSSESSION] for 2 mana."

Darkness followed me, but with Ariel's light, I opened my eyes to look ahead of me. It was a big drop down, but it did not take me long to fine the zombie baby. It was sitting on the ground surrounded but not touched by the other zombies. It was silently crying.

"Babies should make a fuss." My deep demonic voice booms over them.

They all looked up on guard with me while they shielded the baby from me.

"Staaay... a..way..." One zombie says.

"Kiiiiilll uhsss innns tend...." Another offers.

"Ssspaare data bayyy beee," One cries.

My heart broke for them. These zombies... these once human beings.

"I won't hurt the baby." I tell them, "Let me carry it back to its mother. She is crying for you." I point at the baby, whose focus was now on me.

"Gooo gahh" It cries, lifting its rotting baby arms to me.

[7th DEMON PRINCE, BAAL IS SURPRISE AND ASKS WHAT YOU ARE DOING.]

[ARCHANGEL, ARIEL SAYS IS THIS YOUR CHOICE.]

"YES," I say out loud confidently, "I'm bringing this baby back to its mother."

I fly passed the zombie herd and pick the baby up. It clung to me, sniffling as we both make our way back.

WHOOSH!

Upon our arrival, I hover in front of the zombie mother.

"I believe your baby misses you." A tear falls down my eye. The zombie mother wails and reaches for the baby. Once she had her child in her arms, she cooed and patted the baby's head as it cried to her half body.

[DEMON'S POSSESSION] has ended. Entering COOLDOWN MODE. COOLDOWN ENDS IN: 599 seconds.

After the cooldown notification popped up. I am left with a big question in mind: Did I just throw away my only chance of getting out of here alive?

I feel something mushy around my calf. I look down to see the zombie baby hugging my calf with that creepy grin it always makes.

"Haha... Hi there..." I stand still contemplating whether I should kick it or not. Since it wasn't trying to kill me---.

"Oww!" I yelp and look back down to see my thigh bleeding from a stab wound. The baby gives me its creepy smile again and pretends to not know what it has done.

"I can see the knife hiding behind your back, you conniving thing." I kick it back to its mother, who was giving me a zombie chuckle.

"Kakaka."

" . . . "

A loud, blaring alarm that lasted a few seconds went off. A red screen popped up in front of me:

_____________________

DUE TO THE SUDDEN CHANGE OF THE SCENARIO, AN UPDATE HAS BEEN MADE:

SUB-SCENARIO: FIGHT FROM THE GRAVE

REQUIREMENTS: Save the remaining dead people who have died after you in the remaining time.

REMAINING TIME: 00:02:48:56

DEAD REMAINING: 333

FAILURE: Permanent Death.

_____________________

All the zombies seemed to have gotten the message because all of a sudden, they all come rushing around me. Their eyesless eyes, looking at me.

"Umm... I seriously have no clue how to save you guys." I put my hands up.

"Psst!" I whispered, "Do you guys know a way?"

[7th DEMON PRINCE, BAAL SCOFFS SAYING THAT ITS THE HUMANS PROBLEM.]

[ARCHANGEL, ARIEL SAYS HOLY POWERS MIGHT SAVE THEM.]

"It might just work!" I clap my hands, grabbing every zombies' attention.

"Everyone gather up!" I quickly say, excited to help them get out of here.

"First, let's the mom and baby up first." I put my hands on both of them.

Activating [HEALING OF AN ANGEL], 2 mana has been used.

White light shines on the two of them. Even I myself had to close my eyes at how bright it was. However, the white light suddenly turns red.

SINCE LUCK STAT IS YOUR HIGHEST STAT, LUCK IS BEING APPLIED.

When the light dimmed down, I finally looked.

"Huh?"

There stood a beautiful young woman, maybe in her later twenties. She had black hair, ebony black skin, almond-shaped red eyes covered by thick curled lashes, and plump lips. She was lean and had an athletic built.

"Ahahah!" A boyish laugh can be heard behind this lady. He pops out behind her and just like his mother he was just as gorgeous and cute.

"Mama!" He jumps up to her. Her deep voice chuckles at her son and picks him up. I look back at the save count and saw 331 left. It worked. By why do they have this black aura about them?

[7th DEMON PRINCE, BAAL INFORMS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN REVIVED AS VAMPIRES.]

"How's that possible? Weren't they humans---" I thought back at the strange appearance of LUCK being applied during the process. I guess that might have done it.

I was still kneeling. Just as I stood up, I find myself falling back on my knees.

"Huh?" The exhaustion hits my body and I lay flat on my back.

"Oh may god! Are you okay?!" The mother, now human, rushes to my side.

"Ah... yeah. I think so? I just suddenly got super tired." I nervously laugh at the idea of me just healing a semi-dead human to a vampire, "And don't say lord. They are a bunch of little---"

[ARCHANGEL, ARIEL: LANGUAGE .]

"What are you doing lying on the ground?" The little boy cheerily asks me.

[7th DEMON PRINCE, BAAL SAYS IT'S MANA EXHAUSTION AND SCOFFS AT HOW WEAK YOU ARE.]

"Gee... thanks." I huff out, "Don't mind me. It's just mana exhaustion." I tell the concerned mother and child.

"What's mana exhaustion?" They both ask.

"Umm..."

Opening [WRITER'S DIARY], Searching For: MANA EXHAUSTION.

"Sheets!" I flinch on the floor, staring at a floating familiar white diary I used to write on as a teen. FLIP, FLIP, FLIP.

"Are you guys seeing this?" I ask them, pointing at the diary. The mother smiles at me, slightly confused as to what I'm talking about. However, her son speaks up,

"No. There's nothing there. Have you gone crazy lady?" Oh, how much I wanna stuff rocks in his mouth.

"Anyway, mana exhaustion is..." I look at the definition the diary provides me, "When mana, the source of magic, is depleted to less than 1% of the user's power." I check to see and just as I thought. I only had 2 mana left. There was a small arrow that says "More Info." I clicked on it, and it gave me a list of things I should know about mana exhaustion.

"Mana Exhaustion can cause: Dizziness, Nausea, HeadAches and Body Pain. Other extreme symptoms are: passing out, bedridden, vomiting, and death..." I shut the diary close and open it back up, "Remedies are lots of rest and eat plenty of food. Can also drink mana potions to replenish mana exhaustion."

I let out a sigh.

"Looks like I won't be able to heal you guys back to being humans. I wish I could save you all. But my mana... and there's a little over 2 hours before the scenario ends..."

I clench my fist and pound the ground. The zombies haven't said a word, nor did the mother and son duo.

Even with this second chance, it looks like I already failed to get out of here alive.