▲20. Zombie lord ▲

"Huuuurrrrrghhh!!"

A terrifying roar echoed from within the blackness, quickly followed by a strong rush of pungent wind, like the smell of rotting flesh.

"..."

Kaida scrunched her nose in discomfort, stepping back from the opening.

The smell increased with each passing moment—more pungent , like the unholy mixture of brimstone and rotten flesh.

Tears welled in her eyes not from sorrow but from the stinging and suffocating sensation of the smell.

"I really hate coming here," she thought to herself as she took out a red, fiery nose mask from her inventory.

An uncommon-grade item which could block 50% of pathogens and purify the inhaled air to a certain degree.

"It's now better," she smiled internally, the smell almost unnoticeable.

"Huuuurrrrrghhh!!"

The roar echoed once more, this time closer, coupled with the sounds of a stampede, and flesh and bones rubbing and crushing against each other.

Whatever was coming was not an individual but a group—each for himself.

Noticing the proximity, her expression hardened as she took a combat stance, her fists clenched, blazing with tamed crimson flames.

Her body was engulfed in flames, her clothes burning away.

Underneath it was a crimson and orange corset female light armour, intricately endowed with runes, the symbol of a phoenix rising from ashes embroidered on her chest.

Huuuurrrrrghhh!!

The first of the many appeared from the blackness, instantly followed by another, the opening now cramped with numerous zombies, each trying to get out, yet none giving the other way.

They bit each other, clawed and gnawed, trying their best to get the meal in front of them, the sweet aroma of her blood intoxicating.

The blood of an awakened was pure, mostly free from all the impurities of an unawakened—microplastics, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, and other impurities could not be found—their blood almost as pure as a newborn's.

A very delictable dish for undead creatures, zombies, vampires, ghouls and other undead that feed on flesh and blood.

Kaida knew of this, thus using her blood as bait to draw them out.

She looked on, already done with the first few that had gotten out.

"I gotta go back early," she thought, stepping forward.

With a flurry of jabs, she hurled fireballs at them, setting the cluster ablaze.

Some screamed in agony while the rest continued to push through, unable to feel anything.

The flames seemed to create an opening, as most gave up trying to squeeze through, allowing the rest out—numerous zombies pouring out from the entrance.

Kaida, one against hundreds, made quick work of them, each punch claiming their life force.

Not necessarily life force, but the energy that kept them moving.

Within minutes, unmoving corpses littered the barren ground, charred black, most with their heads blown off.

Silence loomed yet she remained in a battle stance, a brows furrowed as she stared into the blackness.

"I know you are in there. Come out," Kaida called out, her gaze still fixed on the blackness.

She had killed over a hundred creatures—seemingly all the building could hold—yet she felt a gaze on her.

"You are a clever one," a creature stepped out of the blackness.

It looked more human than the rest of the zombies, its facial flesh intact to a certain degree, exposing only a part of his left jaw.

Its face was as pale as the moon, sunken, almost skeletal sockets housing bulging eyeballs—eyes that looked as though they might fall out at any moment.

He, as the zombie looked more masculine, was adorned in a grey gambeson, stained with blood, dirt, and feces.

But from its outlook, one could tell he had tried to wash it—yet the stains refused to leave.

A claymore rested at his side.

"What a beauty you are," the creature spoke, politely bowing to Kaida.

She remained silent, a look of confusion hidden by the nose mask she wore.

"What is this?" she thought, never once meeting a zombie that could talk.

This wasn't her first time here—even meeting the boss-level zombies that dwelled in this place: distorted, gigantic humanoid creatures that made unintelligible sounds.

These usually possessed the strength of B-rank creatures, despite the gate being only C-rank.

A boss was usually one rank higher, yet she felt something was amiss.

This strange creature made her instincts scream—something not even the boss-rank zombies could do.

"What are you?" she asked curiously, her tone more a command than a question.

"Me?" The zombie seemed to ponder.

"I don't know… I don't remember, and frankly, I don't care..." He looked to the sky, solemness in his gaze.

"But what I know is that , 'I am'—and that is enough." He turned to her. "...And you are not stronger than me." He smiled maniacally, a cold chill running down Kaida's spine.

She tensed as those words hit her.

She couldn't tell for sure, but the creature seemed to be telling the truth—her instincts kept screaming at the back of her mind.

Her eyes glowed crimson as she tried to ascertain the creature's mana.

"Blaagh!" She stumbled to the ground, emptying the contents of her stomach into the nose mask.

Quickly, she took it off, regurgitating her meals onto the ground.

A horrid expression spread across her face as she looked back at the creature.

"I know I'm not that handsome, but you don't need to vomit at the sight of me," the creature said, crouching closer.

Kaida quickly stepped back, flames erupting around her form.

"Are you sure you want to throw your life away?" the creature tapped at the hilt of its claymore. "...For some reason, I don't want to kill you. Your blood is intoxicating, though… but it seems I've lost my appetite," he said to Kaida, a look of confusion on his pale face.

Kaida didn't hear him—nor cared what it was saying.

She only looked horrified, remembering what she saw moments ago: a torrent of dark mana erupting from its form.

The darkness seemed to look back at her, smiling maliciously—malevolent and deadly—like death itself staring into her soul.

"..." Her thoughts had seized. The only thought in her mind was to run—yet it seemed the pride of her ancestors kept her frozen in place.

The pride to remain and fight, even when the odds were against her.

The pride of the Dzo family.

Pride etched into her DNA, a result of ancestors who had died protecting their masters—fear of death was present, but always overshadowed by the pride to stand and fight.

"Hey, are you listening...?" The creature snapped his fingers.

Yet Kaida's gaze remained fixed on him, her teeth gritted, flames erupting from her form.