Deliver Us From Evil (1)

I had never heard an explosion like this in my life. In games or movies, sure. But experiencing it for real was a first, so maybe that was why. For a moment, I lost my hearing and tumbled across the floor. My body throbbed. Nothing had even grazed me. It was ridiculous. Even though I could feel my strength rising and my stamina improving dramatically, the pain still hit hard. The weight class was simply too different.

But I couldn’t just lie there writhing in agony. I scrambled to my feet. The instant I stood, a blurry white streak flashed across my vision. I reflexively arched backward to dodge, barely keeping my balance with my enhanced agility. An arm—no, something shaped like a snake’s tongue—whipped past, leaving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a jagged line like a child had dragged a crayon across the wall. An arm? Only then did I realize the thing forming the snake’s tongue resembled an arm. The pale forearm was eerily vivid, shaped exactly like a forked tongue. A zombie impaled on it was instantly wrapped up, unable to even scream as blood sprayed from its entire body before it was crushed into ground meat.

Fucking insane. The choir had turned into a snake and screamed as it died. Now I understood why. There was no way not to scream while being squeezed alive. If it caught me, I was dead. I sprang up and ran like hell.

Crash! The door to room 710 had been torn off its hinges and was leaning at an angle. I slammed into it with my body, bursting through along with the broken door panel as I rolled across the floor.

Rumble… BOOOOM!

The entire apartment building shook. The sensation was like an earthquake, and a hollow laugh escaped me. How the hell was I supposed to fight something like that? Not that I’d started this mess with any intention of fighting it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right now. All I needed was to buy time. If I could slip away and hide while the snake and the Preacher tore into each other, that would be enough. So, the veranda? With my current strength, if I jumped from the railing I might actually reach it. Of course, if the building shook at the wrong moment I’d go flying, but that was fine too. As long as I could grab the railing—

BOOOOOOOOM!

My thoughts were cut short. When I spun around with the cleaver in hand, a naked gray giant was rolling across the floor, trying to break its fall. In the doorway, a red mass of flesh lay bleeding. The situation was obvious. The snake bastard had rammed the Preacher. The Preacher had smashed through the wall and come flying inside. And now the Preacher was looking straight at me, raising its fist.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…”

It knew how to break its fall and throw punches. Where the hell did a zombie like this even come from? The moment tension gripped me, its form blurred.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The instant I threw my body aside, a violent shockwave grazed me. I’d dodged on reflex, but the dizziness made my blood run cold. A front kick. A mere front kick had collapsed the wall. The thought of counterattacking and killing it vanished instantly. What kind of monster was this? It was too fast. Too strong. That was only natural. Speed came from muscle power. The moment my tumbling body stopped against the wall from the shockwave, gray skin flashed at the edge of my vision.

“Shit—”

Another destructive crash rang out. The instant I hurled myself sideways, I saw a leg bursting through the wall. A simple upward kick had flipped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the floor and shattered the wall. Thick concrete dust filled the air, forcing a cough out of me. When I finally staggered to my feet, the Preacher had already reset its stance. It raised both fists and stared at me with an expressionless face. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠posture… it was exactly the same as what I’d seen earlier. It felt incredibly refined. This was insane. It was already an overpowered character just from its size, and now it knew martial arts too?

I spun around and ran. I crossed the already-broken wall into room 709. The Preacher smashed through the wall with its body and appeared, and as if it had been waiting, the snake also smashed through the door. The flying debris from both sides was threatening enough, but I couldn’t stop. The snake’s maw opened wide, and the tongue made of arms flicked out.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A single horizontal swing was enough to slam the Preacher into the floor. Even though I’d barely dodged, the shock that made my teeth chatter raced through my entire body.

“Ugh.”

Something felt like it was about to come out of my mouth. But there was no time. The moment I jumped over the broken wall again, zombies burst through the door. The door had already been hanging by its hinges after the wall collapsed. The zombies were connected by strings. They were the Preacher’s minions. I grit my teeth and shouted.

“Get lost—!”

Thud. They were weak enough to go flying from a single kick, but this wasn’t enough to kill them. Still, if I wasted time dealing with them, the Preacher would catch me. And if it caught me? I’d end up like the corpses on the roof—crushed to a pulp. I twisted my body to avoid the zombie lunging at me with outstretched arms, then swung the cleaver. Slice. The sensation of cutting through bone and flesh. The zombie’s body lost its head and collapsed. I kicked and shoved my way through the zombies that had been knocked back, trying to reach the hallway, when—

Shiiiiiiiing!

A sudden piercing sound made me tilt my body to dodge. A zombie’s head grazed the edge of my vision. It was still alive, teeth chattering. The Preacher had kicked the zombie’s head and sent it flying. It had that level of intelligence. I hadn’t expected it. Because I’d dodged in a hurry, my body was still off-balance. My footing faltered.

“Ah.”

I was fucked. The moment I fell, I reflexively raised the cleaver, but a gray afterimage was already charging straight at me. Crack. A sound rippled through my entire body as I was sent flying. I slammed into the wall and rolled. My whole body throbbed, my vision blurred then cleared. Even with adrenaline pumping, the impact was almost too much to bear. Without realizing it, I let out a heavy cough. No—I actually vomited. I’d been kicked. If my strength had been even a little lower, I would already be dead. My head would have split open, or my arms would have failed to block and my body would have been crushed. Either way, death.

Cough, cough.

As I shook my head while coughing uncontrollably, I finally saw the Preacher clearly.

“…Ah.”

The bastard was limping toward me. The cleaver I’d raised at the last second had left a deep dent in its striking surface, and its leg was nearly severed, blood pouring out. This was my chance. I grit my teeth, spun around, and slammed my aching shoulder into the wall.

Rumble. The wall collapsed. I smashed through the already critically cracked wall and ran. Behind me, the Preacher limped after me. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Its footsteps echoed loudly. My heart pounded in sync, and the snake began rampaging in time with our running.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The snake’s head burst through the wall. It charged forward as if it would destroy the entire seventh floor of the apartment, swinging its tongue. I dodged the tongue rushing toward me, and a dull sound rang out from behind. I repeated the pattern. When I almost tripped while limping, I slapped the floor with my palm to push myself forward. When my ankle throbbed like it was about to twist, I grit my teeth and kept running. I shook my head to clear the blood streaming down my face, forcing my dizzy body onward. The snake’s tongue lunging at me. Its maw trying to bite me directly. Furniture flying from behind. I rolled, threw myself, and hurled my body out of the way.

“Fuuuuck!”

I screamed as I forced myself up and ran. I leaped over the bed blocking my path, ignoring my torn, bleeding knee as I sprinted. I threw myself aside to avoid the refrigerator flying from behind, rolled across the floor, then quickly got up despite my entire body screaming in pain and kept running. Past room 708, into room 707. I vaulted over the wall the refrigerator had smashed like I was doing gymnastics, barely clearing it, then reached room 706. And when the Preacher that had followed me all the way to room 706 smashed through the wall, its body was nothing but rags. Its entire form was covered in mottled blood, one arm bent at a grotesque angle. Its half-severed muscular leg was slightly out of joint and dangling loosely.

But good things were always followed by bad ones.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The apartment shook violently. Bang. Bang. BOOOOOOOOM! The door crumpled. Was it really that sturdy? It was holding up surprisingly well. I had that useless thought as I leaned against the wall and forced myself up. The Preacher looked at me, then down at its own leg. The floor was twisted and cracked. The walls too. There wasn’t a single intact spot left. Our physical conditions were the same. This place… it was going to collapse.

As I let out a hollow laugh, it seemed the Preacher had the same idea I did about escaping. It suddenly clenched both fists and raised them high.

“Ah, you son of a—”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

My voice was drowned out as the floor gave way. With a tremendous roar, the collapsed floor dropped downward. A sudden weightless sensation. I was falling. The Preacher was falling with me. I rolled my eyes and saw the floor below through the pouring debris. The sixth floor. Room 606. The zombies that had been there were crushed flat, and twisted rebar from the broken walls stabbed into the ground. Aiming right for my head.

I moved on instinct. I kicked off the wall. Spinning wildly, I crash-landed. My breath caught, tears stung my eyes, and I vomited. My ears rang with a high-pitched whine. My body hurt so much I could barely stand. But I hadn’t been impaled by the rebar. That was fortunate. Instead, a metallic taste filled my mouth. Blood? Probably blood. I really hoped it wasn’t coming from my internal organs.

When I used the wall to pull myself up, I saw the sorry state of the Preacher. It had been skewered by rebar, one leg completely severed and hanging limp. Its body was in tatters, and the arm that had already been broken and twisted was now bent all the way behind its back. Yet it was still alive.

“…Stubborn bastard.”

Panting heavily, I looked around. Everything—lights, windows—had been smashed and blocked during the collapse. The only light came from above. It was dark. I could only see about half the walls. They were blocked by poured concrete and debris, and I saw no way to break through. Unless I had a sledgehammer or something. I roughly understood why the Preacher had done this. My mobility was superior to its, so it had tried to prevent me from escaping. Looking at it now, it wasn’t a bad plan at all. I laughed bitterly. Were zombies supposed to be this smart? Humanity really was doomed.

At the same time, my little sister’s face flashed through my mind. Could I run any farther? Honestly, I wasn’t sure. At the very least, I hoped she hadn’t stayed inside the house while I was doing all this. I always called her an idiot, but I really hoped she wasn’t actually stupid. I hoped she was smart enough to realize this was her chance and run outside. The worry didn’t make me want to give up here. I hadn’t survived this long just to die like this.

Relying on the adrenaline still coursing through my body, I glared at the Preacher.

“Hey, looks like you’re not in great shape either, huh?”

Its leg was severed. Its body was shredded from the snake’s attacks. Rebar had pierced through it. In reality, the only body parts it could use to attack me were one arm, one leg, and its mouth. I was also in bad shape, but my limbs were still intact. Its strength was tremendous. But its defense? Not so much. Blades worked on it. It was intelligent and powerful, but not completely invincible. All the zombies it controlled were gone. They’d probably all been crushed while it chased me. If there was no numbers advantage, this was a fair one-on-one fight. No matter how strong this variant bastard was, I wasn’t an ordinary human either.

The strength and agility I’d gained from stat investment and track training were 6 and 5 respectively. In other words, I was a superhuman too. In that case, victory wasn’t certain. At the very least, I couldn’t say my odds were zero percent. If only I had a proper weapon.

I looked at the completely crumpled cleaver, then opened the synthesis window.

Among the long list, I pressed one word firmly.

The cleaver disappeared. The hand axe, bed legs, the rebar that had nearly pierced my head, and the rebar that had pierced the Preacher all vanished. There was no flashy effect. It simply boiled like molten iron poured into a mold floating in the air, and then a single machete appeared before me. A black handle with a long, pure white blade. Long holes ran along the blade. I gripped it in my hand.

“Come at me, you son of a bitch.”

The moment the Preacher charged, I charged forward as well.