As You Believed, So It Shall Be (3)

I ran. Crossing a university I'd never once set foot in while alive felt novel, but this wasn't the time to dwell on it. Below, from behind the stairs, the noise never stopped. The sound of zombies pouring in from every direction. The Centurion's voice, swinging his blade in desperate struggle and firing his rifle with a sound like compressed air bursting. The Preacher and the Centurion were hostile to each other. They loathed one another to a degree that made the Serpent Bishop and the Preacher seem almost friendly by comparison. It hadn't been this bad before. Not with the Serpent Bishop and the Preacher. That had only happened because they weren't allies and had both tried to capture and kill or devour me. This was no mere passive hostility. Yet in a way, I could understand it. The hanging corpses alone made one thing clear. That was the Centurion's doing. Whether he knew his own name or not, he'd lived up to the title by splitting open their sides and draining their blood. There was a practical reason, but it wasn't the only one. And the zombies I'd killed on the spot had clearly been apostates. They'd come looking for the place where their own kind had been executed. The Preacher must have confirmed that part of his body had died and approached me to make use of it. The reaction from the Centurion's humans had made it certain. 'Th-that one, we are believers, we are believers. We are not apostates, not apost—hic, h-hic, hiiiiiik!' The way they'd pleaded that they weren't apostates. That confirmed everything. A great many things became certain.

As we climbed the stairs and scanned for the armory, I saw them approaching as if to brand that certainty into me.

"Uh, over there—"

They raised their guns in unison. Rifles, pistols, powder guns, air guns—every kind of weapon. A few even carried shotguns. They must have just finished arming themselves, because they advanced together. From one direction. The armory lay that way. The moment I realized it, I swung my assault rifle into position and opened fire. Beside me, my sister dropped to one knee. Faster than the startled men could pull their triggers. Our high Perception and Agility let us strike first.

Kakakakakakakang!

I sprayed on full-auto while my sister poured rounds in controlled bursts. Heads, hearts, throats, and torsos burst open under the hail of bullets and the men collapsed. Ye-eun looked shocked and only managed to raise her gun without firing, but it didn't matter. Two assault rifles were more than enough.

One man whose torso had been pierced still managed to pull his trigger. He wasn't aiming at me—he was aiming at my sister's head.

Kakaaang!

The bullet from his powder gun glanced off the left-arm guard I'd thrust forward. My sister didn't so much as flinch as she pulled the trigger and blew his head apart.

There were quite a few of them. But they were all dead now. No hesitation, no room for shock. I ejected the spent magazine, slammed in a fresh one, and jerked my chin.

"Let's go, before it's too late."

"Too late…?!"

A sound answered instead. A roar that filled every direction, mostly from below. Heavy footsteps. Countless zombies began pouring out into view. Even I couldn't cut down that many. Among the zombies were humans—men raising blood-soaked blades. Every last one of them was an apostate. The Centurion's humans—men who should properly be called centurions themselves—appeared around the corner and immediately tangled with the apostates.

"U-urgh, aaaagh!"

One screamed as he was bitten and drenched in the blood that sprayed out.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Agh, cut—ah, no, aaaaah…!"

Another recoiled in horror the moment he was slashed, then began twisting and smiling.

Watching them get bitten, stabbed, and turned into apostates, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I let out a hollow laugh. So that was why the Centurion had been shooting humans even while treating them like livestock to be managed or protected.

"Ah."

I understood in an instant. The Centurion hadn't been killing humans indiscriminately. Normally he wouldn't. He only killed the newly arriving humans. That was why he'd shot Tae Woo-haem. It had been the only way to stop the Preacher. Unlike the Preacher, who could only control zombies connected by strings and was limited by distance, command structure, and zombie quality, the Preacher could freely control living humans, zombies, and variants alike. Because they were treated as extensions of his own body, controlling them felt natural. The opposite, really. The skill of control varied wildly. The way the apostates moved in perfect formation against the centurions proved it. They were all extensions of the Preacher's body. Every sense and action was precise. His towering intellect made it possible. And then there was the apostasy. Anyone bitten, stabbed, or splashed with blood became an apostate instantly. If there was no limit to that apostasy? If their numbers could grow without end, if anyone could become an apostate? What if the Serpent Bishop were still alive and got bitten by an apostate, or cut by an apostate's blood-soaked blade? What if the Preacher began commanding monsters like the Preacher, the Crusader, or the Serpent Bishop? A chill ran down my spine. Laughter bubbled up. If someone as talented as Tae Woo-haem became an apostate, the Preacher's power would grow far too great. Maybe the Centurion had been shooting humans to prevent exactly that.

But… did that matter to me?

I could see the good intention. So what? If it meant sacrificing my life, there was only one answer I would ever give.

Fuck off.

My decision hadn't changed. Watching the men turn into apostates, I raised my rifle.

"Lee Ye-eun, shoot!"

My sister raised her gun too. So did I. After a moment of hesitation, Ye-eun also lifted her shotgun.

Bang, kwaaaang!

Kakakakakakakakakang!

The bullets we poured out tore through them. A crimson mist erupted amid the wet sounds of flesh and skulls splitting. We advanced through it.

"Don't fall behind! Run for the armory!"

Even while firing, I reacted. An apostate lunged from around the corner, swinging a blade. I blocked with my left-arm guard, deflected it, grabbed the man with one hand, and used Guidance.

"This is for Tae Woo-haem!"

I hurled him into the wall with full force, crushed his head under my boot as he fell, and kept shooting.

Kakakakakakakang!

I'd already switched to semi-auto long ago, but I wasn't conserving ammunition. Running dry and dying here would be pointless. When the bolt locked back after the magazine emptied at point-blank range, I smashed a man's head sideways with my left fist. Thud! Then I used Tadol and drove my foot into another, folding him in half and sending him flying. Still not enough, I drew the machete from my backpack and swung at the oncoming horde.

Intermediate Heavy Swordsmanship—nowhere near Expert without the Crusader's sword, but still leagues beyond what I'd had before. I stomped the ground, swept the blade horizontally to sever necks, used the momentum to spin, and struck again with my shoulder. Crunch, crack, shhhk! I smashed, chopped, and cut. Heads of caught enemies burst and scattered. I dodged, countered, or parried attacks aimed at my openings and hurled the attackers away.

Kwaaaang!

Guidance performed with Strength 20 was lethal in itself. A murderous version of the gentle, kind Guidance Tae Woo-haem had used. While the men I slammed into the concrete floor with twenty points of strength were being crushed, my sister stepped up behind me and opened fire on the apostates.

Kakakakakang, kaaang!

Her rifle barked sharply. She emptied the magazine in rapid succession, then drew her revolver one-handed the instant the bolt locked. Every time she pulled the trigger, another zombie or apostate's head burst. She reloaded the rifle in a flash and raised it again. And Ye-eun—Ye-eun was no ordinary shot either. She exhaled, wearing a shooting headset, and fired.

Kwaaang, kwaaaang!

The thunderous reports dropped two zombies. She immediately broke the gun open and reloaded. It took her a little over a second to reload and aim. Calm. Her hands never trembled; the barrel tracked targets perfectly. Every time she pulled the trigger, charging zombies dropped. Even though killing people had been difficult for her, her skill at killing zombies was flawless. I finally understood why the people at the maintenance shop had looked at her like they wanted her to do something when I'd caused trouble. At the very least, Lee Ye-eun's marksmanship had to be at the Expert or Master level. Despite her lower stats, she pulled her weight. Thanks to the zombies she'd blasted away with the shotgun, I managed to finish reloading.

The corridor had already been painted red with blood. Amid scattered flesh and entrails, we paused for a moment before a group of zombies we'd turned the corner into. Roughly thirty of them clustered in front of a firmly shut door. Spent casings littered the floor.

"There it is."

The armory. Or rather, what had once been nothing more than a storage room.

"Kang Ahyeon, Lee Ye-eun!"

"Ung."

"Ah, yeah!"

My sister and Ye-eun raised their shotguns at the same time. A ten-round semi-auto and a double-barrel. They fired together.

Bang, kwaaaang, kwakwakwakwakwa, kwakaaang!

The roar echoed like the opening of a classical piece I'd once heard in the cult leader's room. The twelve-gauge blasts sent chunks of meat flying. Even so, the door remained shut. Now it was my turn. I stomped my rear foot into the floor.

Tadol.

My body accelerated.

Chrrrrrrrng!

I launched a kick at the door, pouring all twenty points of Strength into it without restraint. The door was ripped clean off its hinges.

Skill Upgrade: Marksmanship (Intermediate) → Marksmanship (Advanced)

[Already possessed skill!]

The Centurion was still alive. Maybe the Preacher ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too. I looked toward the stairs leading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the rooftop. The destination had been decided from the beginning.

Click!

Loading two fresh shells into the new shotgun, I spoke.

"Grab every round and gun you can carry."

A good plan had just come to mind.