New Dawn Chapter: 098

Tysone lunged from behind the planter, his halberd angled in a two-handed strike aimed at the creature's thick legs. The axe head bit deep, drawing a spurt of foul-smelling black ichor. The zombie staggered, but didn't fall, its red eyes flaring in anger.

It swung at Tysone, but he was already rolling away, the clawed hand smashing the planter into wooden shards.

The splinters scratched Tysone's skin.

The zombie advanced, its heavy footfalls shaking the floor. Tysone used the cover of nearby kiosks to stay out of reach,

But the zombie was fast for its size, and its swings carried devastating force. A near miss shattered a storefront window, showering Tysone in glass fragments. 'One good hit, and I'll be a goner.' He thought to himself, his heart racing.

From behind him came the rapid staccato of gunfire, punctuated by Saeko's battle cry as she and Takashi engaged the remaining regular zombies, thinning their numbers.

Saya was there to back them up, her newfound strength put to good use. Takashi and Rei flanked Saya, making sure she was safe. Saeko, on the other hand, was on a rampage. Wherever she went, zombies seemingly went flying. 'She also trained hard during these two weeks.'

"Gotcha, bitch!" Saya roared, punching one zombie's face so hard that it flew a few meters, hitting the wall and going still. Takashi and Rei shot down the remaining zombies, their teamwork flawless despite their less than optimal personal relationship. 

The sickening thud of the zombie's head against the wall echoed Saya's triumphant roar. 

Takashi, his face a mask of concentration, efficiently dispatched another lunging corpse with a precise shot to the head, the silenced 'phut' of his pistol barely audible over Saeko's whirlwind assault. 

She moved like a vengeful spirit, her bokken a blur, each strike finding bone with crushing force. The remaining common zombies, caught between her relentless advance and Takashi and Saya's deadly coordination, were rapidly dwindling.

"Almost clear!" Takashi yelled, reloading his pistol with practiced speed, his eyes flicking towards Tysone, who was currently a blur of motion, narrowly evading another ground-shattering swipe from Zombie Hulk.

Rei shot forward as Takashi reloaded, her spear skewering through a down-syndrome zombie's head. She felt a pang of pity, but continued through the motion, putting it down for good. 

Tysone gritted his teeth, the air punched from his lungs as he threw himself sideways. The monster's fist, encased in mangled metal and flesh, slammed into the tiled floor where he'd been a split second before, cracking the ceramic like an eggshell. Debris flew. 'Too close. Its speed is deceptive for something that big.'

His halberd felt heavy, but it was his best bet for reach and impact. He'd managed one decent gash on its leg, drawing that foul ichor, but the beast barely seemed hampered. It was more enraged than anything. The crimson glow from its eyes intensified, and the crystal in its chest pulsed with a sickening rhythm.

"Saeko! Status!" Tysone shouted, ducking under a wide, sweeping claw that could have decapitated him. He used the momentum to spin, bringing the axe-head of his halberd around in a low arc, aiming for the same injured leg.

CLANG!

Sparks flew as the halberd head glanced off a surprisingly well-fused section of what looked like a metal shin guard, now part of the creature's mutated limb. The impact jarred his arms to the shoulders. 'Damn, that armor integration is thorough.'

Still, a crack appeared on it. 

"Last one down!" Saeko's voice cut through, sharp and clear. Tysone risked a glance. She stood amidst a scattering of broken bodies, her chest heaving slightly, but her stance unwavering. Takashi was covering her, rifle now aimed towards Zombie Hulk, while Saya, panting but exhilarated, bounced on the balls of her feet, eager for the real fight.

It looked like her enhanced abilities gave her the kind of confidence that could get someone killed. Regardless, he didn't have time to think about that.

Rei and Takashi ran in a wide arc towards Zombie Hulk, flanking it. 

The evolved creature, ignoring the lesser threats for the moment, focused its baleful red glare solely on Tysone. It let out a deafening roar, a sound that seemed to shake the very foundations of the mall, rattling the metal shutters of distant storefronts. 

Then, it charged.

It wasn't a lumbering gait; it was a terrifying, ground-eating sprint. The floor vibrated violently.

'No time to think, just react!' Tysone braced, not to meet the charge head-on – that would be suicide—but to deflect and survive. 

He angled his halberd like a spear, aiming to catch it in the less armored joints, perhaps the massive shoulder or the side of its torso.

Just as the behemoth was about to crash into him, Saeko intervened. A dark blur shot past Tysone. With a powerful jump, she launched herself into the air, using an overturned display counter as a springboard. Her bokken, aimed with pinpoint accuracy, slammed into the side of the zombie's head, right where the cracked visor of its fused helmet offered a sliver of exposed, mutated flesh.

CRACK!

The sound was sickening. The Zombie Hulk bellowed in pain and rage, its charge faltering for a precious second. It swatted blindly where Saeko had been, its claws tearing through the air. 

However, she was already landing gracefully, spinning to face it again.

"Its head is somewhat vulnerable around the visor edges!" Saeko called out, her eyes narrowed in concentration. 

"Good to know!" Tysone yelled, seizing the momentary distraction. He lunged forward, not at the head, but lower. He'd saw that damn leg off! 

That thing had to come down, one way or the other. 

The creature's attention was on Saeko. He swung the halberd's axe-blade with all his might at its right knee joint, aiming for the back of it, where armor was typically thinner or articulated.

This time, there was no metallic clang, but a wet, tearing sound. The Zombie Hulk roared again, a higher-pitched keen of agony mingling with its fury, and its right leg buckled. It didn't fall, but it stumbled heavily, catching itself with one massive arm against a support pillar, which groaned under the strain.

"Takashi! Left eye, if you can get a shot!" Tysone barked, already backing away, creating distance. 

The thing was wounded, but far from finished.

Takashi, who had been repositioning for a better angle, sighted down his rifle. "Trying! It's moving too erratically!" A shot rang out, then another. One pinged off the fused helmet, the other went wide as the monster thrashed.

The Zombie Hulk, now dragging its injured leg, turned its crimson gaze back to Tysone, its chest crystal pulsing erratically, faster now. It pounded its good fist against its chest with a dull, resonant thud, then let out a roar that was different— deeper, more guttural. The air around it seemed to turn hazy.

'What now?' Tysone thought, a fresh wave of apprehension washing over him.

The creature slammed both fists into the ground. The floor tiles around it cracked and bulged upwards. Then, with a horrifying tearing sound, it ripped a huge section of the tiled floor—concrete and all—free. 

The slab was easily the size of a small car. With a grunt that strained its mutated muscles, it hefted the makeshift projectile.

"Scatter!" Tysone screamed, his eyes wide.

He dove to his right, rolling behind the remains of a sturdy perfume kiosk. Saeko moved with liquid grace to her left, using her speed to get clear. Saya, her eyes wide with fear but her feet moving, scrambled backwards with Takashi and Rei pulling her towards safety.

The massive slab of concrete and tile flew through the air with terrifying velocity, crashing precisely where Tysone had been standing moments before. The impact was cataclysmic. The kiosk he was behind splintered, showering him with wood fragments and broken glass. The entire section of the mall floor shook, and a cloud of dust and debris billowed outwards.

Tysone coughed, spitting out dust. His ears were ringing. 'That… that was new. It's adapting. Or it had that trick up its sleeve all along.' The sheer destructive power was appalling. One hit from that, and it wouldn't matter how tough he was.

"Everyone okay?" He yelled, pushing a piece of broken shelving off him. 

"Here!" Saeko's voice, a little breathless.

"P-Peachy…" Rei coughed. 

"We're good!" Takashi called back, followed by a shaky. "Holy crap!" from Saya.

'Good.' Tysone heaved a sigh of relief. Honestly, despite his desire for the crystal, he began to realize that it might've been a bad idea seeking an evolved zombie like this. 

Then again, merely waiting could've brought an even bigger catastrophe. 

The Zombie Hulk was already on the move, its claws digging into the broken floor, clearly intending to rip up another projectile. The crystal in its chest glowed with an almost blinding intensity.

'We can't let it keep doing that. It'll tear the whole place down around us, and we can't dodge forever.' Tysone's mind raced. 'Its right leg is injured. It's slower when it tries to turn that way. The crystal… it glows brightest when it performs these big feats. Is it expending energy? Or is it just a tell?'

He needed a plan, fast. Brute force wasn't working well enough, and its ranged attack was a game-changer.

"Saeko!" Tysone called out, peering through the settling dust. "We need to get in close, keep it off balance! Don't let it pick up another one of those! Aim for the joints, anything that looks less armored!"

"Understood!"

"Takashi!" Tysone continued. "Keep pressure on its head! Try to distract it, make it turn! If you see an opening, take the shot, but prioritize not getting squashed!"

"Roger that!"

"Rei, help me target the injured leg! Approach only when it's safe! Don't be reckless, you heard me?!"

"Got it!" Rei nodded grimly. 

"Saya!" Tysone locked eyes with her. She looked scared, but resolute. "When we create an opening, I need you to hit it. Hard. Aim for the damaged leg, try to bring it down completely. Can you do that?"

Saya swallowed, then nodded, her knuckles white as she gripped her fists. "Yes!"

"Alright." Tysone said, taking a deep breath, the adrenaline singing in his veins. "Let's dance with this ugly bastard."

Author's Note:

If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at P@treon.com/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.