Chapter 34
Chapter 34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 034
Chapter Title: Yohan's Bizarre Vacation (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yohan checked on Sua, whose leg was sprained.
He had followed Ellie's lead, but...
He didn't regret saving her one bit.
Rescuing someone was a good deed, after all.
He didn't think Ellie was wrong to begin with. It was just a difference in temperament.
Besides, if a nun hesitated to abandon someone without a second thought... well, that would feel off in its own way, wouldn't it?
In urgent situations like this, what mattered most was the speed of the decision.
If you're going to abandon someone, do it quick. If you're going to save them, do it fast.
No hesitating or agonizing in the process—that just wasted precious time.
Once you decide to save someone, failing to do so is a loss.
I grabbed Sua's left arm and slung it over my shoulder, then said to Ellie,
"I'll support her from the left. You take the right."
We quickly hoisted her up from both sides and bolted.
Of course, it was slower than running solo.
One tip I'd picked up from subculture zombie flicks:
Keep your eyes peeled and stay vigilant around you. Fortunately—or unfortunately...
"Huh? Wh-what..."
"Kyaaaaah!"
Suddenly, walking corpses—zombies—swarmed in.
People who hadn't grasped the situation yet, others screaming their heads off.
When zombies are chasing you, you don't need to come in first place.
Just stay a little ahead of everyone else, and you're good.
...But Ellie wasn't lifting Sua's right arm.
Sua and I called out to her at the same time.
"Ellie?"
"Sis! I won't call the kids orphans anymore! Save me!"
Was it the panic? Sua's words came out at machine-gun speed.
'She a rapper or something?'
Anyway.
Ellie frowned at the horrific scene unfolding across the campsite.
"Yohan, you run."
"Pardon?"
Ellie immediately dropped to one knee with practiced ease, leaning Sua's body against her.
She stood up, securing Sua's legs firmly with one arm.
Then she hooked Sua's torso over her shoulder, bending her into a fireman's carry.
The kind you see in war movies, evacuating wounded allies under bombardment.
"Aaaah...!"
That's when the zombie I'd kicked earlier came lunging back at us.
Ellie took a short, deep breath.
"Hoo—."
Her empty hand smashed into the zombie's head.
Kwaang!
Yeah, "smashed" fits better than "punched."
The zombie's head exploded, flying even farther than when I'd kicked it.
"—!?"
Sua and I gaped in shock, staring at Ellie.
Fireman-carrying a person and one-shotting a zombie with a single hand...
It was straight out of a modern Crusader warrior fantasy!
Ellie's blue eyes gleamed.
"Everyone! Head to the auditorium—run!"
Her voice rousing the lost souls drew every gaze—zombie and human alike—to her.
"Th-the auditorium?"
"J-just go for now!"
Panicked folks snapped to their senses and started moving.
My eyes spun.
'Gonna hurl...'
Yeah, this kind-hearted nun wasn't planning to save just Sua.
She aimed to rescue as many as possible.
"Aaaah...!"
Zombies chased the runners. I ran too.
If clueless folks were around, a casual jog would've sufficed.
But now? Full-on hundred-meter sprint mindset.
I felt the weight of the grimoire and magic items in my bag.
...But what could I do?
I glanced at Ellie's back as she ran.
One punch shatters a zombie.
Fireman-carrying someone and outpacing me while set on saving people.
...Gotta follow her lead. No choice.
Thankfully, these weren't sprinting zombies from the latest flicks. They were slow.
As we reached the auditorium entrance, clueless orphans rushed toward Ellie.
"Ellie sis!"
I yelled from behind.
"Don't come! Get inside!"
Ellie set Sua down.
"Sua, take the kids and go in."
"O-okay. Kids, gather up! Inside, now!"
Sua hobbled on one foot, herding the children into the auditorium first.
I tried to follow, but locked eyes with Ellie.
"Yohan!"
'Haa...'
I sighed inwardly, flung open the auditorium door, and ushered in the arrivals alongside her.
Ellie and I realized there were more zombies than we'd thought.
Fog-shrouded hordes swarmed toward the auditorium.
We held the door till the end.
The last survivor not grabbed by zombies slipped in.
We slammed the door shut.
Dudududu—
Bang! Bang! Boom! Bang! Boom! Kwaang!
The zombie horde crashed against it, pounding the thick door with chilling thuds.
Luckily, it was sturdy, and the pull-to-open design from outside kept it barred.
I reached out and locked it.
If a zombie smart enough to read "PULL" existed, we'd have been toast.
A flood would've poured in.
To survive, I'd have summoned Grizzly.
'Gyaah~!'
And silenced the room by killing everyone. But like I keep saying, I'm no psychopath who enjoys killing.
Better not to if I can avoid it.
The pounding continued.
Bang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!
The door was thick, but leaving it like this felt risky. We needed barricade planks or something.
"Ugh—uaaaah!"
Screw anxiety—find barricade material.
A few collapsed, screaming amid the door-thumping noise.
"Why! Why! What the hell!"
"Is it safe in here?!"
Screaming in a zombie-surrounded building? Basically advertising our position. Bad move.
I slowly raised my hand into view and spoke low.
"Everyone, quiet. Please stay quiet."
Gazes converged briefly, then scowled.
"Who the hell are you—?!"
Right, who am I? Deep philosophical question.
One I hate, anyway.
Why do panicked people in crises always turn hostile on the first to step up?
Would they shut up if I claimed to be a serial killer with an illegal gun?
Or pity me as an orphan without parents? Nah, they'd probably mock that.
I get it—fear making their bodies betray them.
As I pondered a fitting reply,
Ellie stepped forward and answered for me.
Her blue eyes sparkled.
Honoring my call for quiet, she spoke firmly but softly.
"This man is a Ghostbuster. He's amazing!"
Whoa~ Ghostbuster!
Everyone but Ellie shot me incredulous looks.
"What..."
"You joking?"
Fine, I'll own it. I regretted calling myself a Ghostbuster after booting that Boogeyman possessing Emily and getting cocky.
'Should've just gone with exorcist...'
Sua squinted at me suspiciously.
"Mister, you're a cult scammer? Figures... 'friendly camp uncle' my ass."
"Told us to ask for help, then ditched me when I did! Knew it, you fraud!"
Apparently, she'd overheard me on the bus playing nice camp uncle to the orphan kids.
I sighed and lightly smacked Sua's head.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?"
"'Cause I'm not the friendly camp uncle."
"Then what are you!?"
"What else? A—"
Then—crash!
Something toppled inside the auditorium.
A zombie staggered out from the back.
"Aaaah...!"
Looked like one lurking inside had heard the voices.
People panicked at the shambling zombie.
I stepped forward, finishing my line to Sua.
"—Ghostbuster."
Yeah, it felt good saying it then. Might as well commit now.
Earlier outside, zombies prioritized noise sources.
"Everyone, no noise. They won't rush if unprovoked."
I motioned Ellie to stay back. Needed to test something.
As silence fell, the zombie shuffled slowly toward me.
I pulled the iron-bound grimoire from my bag.
Shrrrk—.
"........."
The corpse rose? Lay it back down.
...Yeah, obvious in hindsight. Crystal clear.
I closed the grimoire and stowed it.
The zombie closed in.
Its throat savagely torn, white shirt soaked crimson, shuffling toward me.
Just a corpse. Not a monster.
So why are moving corpses scary?
Because they defy common sense.
Things that shouldn't move... do.
The fix? Basics.
Restore improper states to proper ones.
"Aaaah...!"
I swiftly placed a hand on the zombie's shoulder.
No hesitation.
Grabbed its right shoulder, hooked my right foot behind its ankle.
Then shoved its chest with my other hand.
Basic self-defense from some manga.
Thud!
"Aa—!"
It tripped, physics doing the rest as it toppled backward.
I pinned it with knee and hand, chanting,
"By whose leave do you walk? I did not permit it."
⟨ Lay to Rest ⟩
"A... aaa...!"
That did it. Faint smoke wisped from its mouth.
'...Fog?'
It went limp like a puppet with cut strings.
I stood, gazing down at what was now just a plain corpse.
"........."
All eyes locked on me.
Guess you gotta show 'em to make 'em believe. ...Fair enough.
Sua stared, then blinked and asked,
"Whoa. But why Ghostbuster? Just say exorcist—less lame."
Ellie startled, eyes on Sua.
Her blue eyes wavered.
"Eh? B-but... G-Ghostbuster sounds cool, right?"
Anyway, silence fell. The door-pounding zombies dispersed.
Kwaang...
The thuds on the auditorium door faded.
Seizing the moment with all eyes on me, I rode the wave.
"Alright, everyone—let's find planks or barricades to block the door."
We'd cleared one crisis.
Now for the zombie-survival staple: securing a safe base.