Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Monster
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Bacon appeared to be a small town, roughly the same size as the one they'd lived in before.
Grace's group parked the car in a suitable spot before entering the shopping district. They climbed out and distributed the weapons from the trunk one by one.
Matthew and Humphrey took spears.
Philip and Grace grabbed two-handed logging axes and machetes.
Grace easily slung the somewhat heavy axe over her back and gripped the machete in one hand.
Gunshots had a way of drawing zombies and monsters, so it was best to hold off unless it was an emergency.
Grace's group entered the town, eyes scanning their surroundings.
A zombie shambling around in the distance spotted them and charged like a maniac.
"I'll handle it."
Grace stepped forward.
The zombie's frenzied rush would have terrified any normal person, but no one in the group looked worried for her.
The zombie closed in, filthy mouth and claws outstretched to grab her.
Grace's expression didn't change.
To her, the zombie's movements looked like they were in slow motion.
She sidestepped with a bullfighter's grace at the last second. The zombie lost its target and stumbled.
She didn't miss the opening. Her machete swung.
-Slash!
The machete sliced cleanly from above, severing the zombie's head with ease.
Cutting a human neck with a machete wasn't easy, but Grace made it look effortless.
-Roll...
The head hit the ground and rolled. The body collapsed, but the head was still alive, teeth clacking.
-Crunch!
Philip's logging axe smashed into the zombie's skull. The spark faded from its eyes, and the chattering mouth went still.
When the world turned to hell, Philip and Grace—both sheriffs—had lucked out and awakened superhuman abilities. Regular zombies weren't much of a threat to them.
It would have been nice to have superhero-level powers like the ones in movies, but theirs were more modest.
Of course, that was just ungrateful whining.
In this world, having any abilities like theirs was an incredible stroke of luck. Thanks to them, the pair had saved the survivors in their settlement.
Grace's group currently had three superhumans, including her and Philip.
The awakened took turns scavenging for supplies, with at least one always staying behind at the shelter as a precaution.
Philip wasn't on duty today, but he'd tagged along with Grace anyway. With his help, the run wouldn't take too long.
The shopping district's intersection came into view.
"No need for all of us to stick together now that Philip's here. Humphrey and I will check the west side—you and Matthew take north. Radio if anything comes up."
The group nodded at Grace's orders and split into pairs of two to search.
Grace and Humphrey soon found a mart.
Grace spoke into the radio on her shoulder.
"Found the mart. You guys look for meds, Philip."
『Got it.』
It was smart to stock up on medicine whenever possible.
After Philip's reply, Grace cautiously entered the mart and dispatched the zombies inside with practiced efficiency.
Luckily, plenty of canned goods remained on the shelves.
"Jackpot. We could make another trip for these."
Humphrey excitedly stuffed his bag with food.
He was right—sometimes these places were picked clean. They got lucky this time.
Grace and Humphrey filled their bags to bursting with rations.
As they exited the mart, Philip's voice crackled over the radio.
『Grace. We've got mutant zombies.』
"How many?"
『Two.』
"Lure them back to where we split up."
『Roger.』
"Uncle Humphrey, mutants. Head to the intersection where we left Philip."
Grace and Humphrey slung on their heavy bags of food and ran.
At the intersection, they saw two men fleeing from a pair of nearly three-meter-tall mutant zombies.
Grace dropped her bag and gripped her logging axe with both hands.
Then she charged the mutants.
Matthew looked pale from being chased.
Regular folks like Matthew and Humphrey weren't much help in a zombie fight.
"Matthew, get to Uncle Humphrey!"
"O-okay!"
Philip spotted Grace's arrival and danced in front of one mutant to draw its attention.
He didn't look the least bit threatened.
Grace circled behind during the distraction and buried her axe in one mutant's knee.
-Crack!
-Thud.
The mutant dropped to one knee as its joint shattered.
That was the kind of destructive power only a superhuman could muster.
As the zombie turned toward her, Grace's axe smoothly cleaved its head.
-Crunch!
The axe sank deep into its skull, and the mutant collapsed.
Philip kept aggro on the remaining one. Grace slipped behind and dispatched it the same way, quick and clean.
"Nice work, partner."
Grace smirked and bumped fists with Philip.
"Grace!!"
Then Matthew's shout rang out.
Another mutant zombie had appeared out of nowhere, charging toward Humphrey and Matthew, who had taken cover a short distance away.
Regular people couldn't handle mutants. And they had the food bags.
It was a bit too far for Philip or Grace to intercept in time.
Grace had no choice. She drew the revolver from her hip and took aim.
Her focus sharpened, time seeming to slow.
She infused the bullet with intent.
'Explode.'
Grace's other superpower. She could imbue bullets with elemental-like properties through sheer will.
-Bang!
The massive gunshot echoed as the bullet streaked toward the mutant's head and detonated like a tiny bomb.
-Boom!
The zombie's head vanished, and it crumpled.
Matthew and Humphrey were safe, but the town stirred with unrest.
Gunshots were loud. Zombies throughout the town were reacting to the noise.
"We've got what we came for. Let's get out before every zombie in town swarms us."
Philip nodded at Grace's words.
-Crunch! Snap!
Something broke and crushed in the distance.
"What the..."
Grace whipped her head toward the sound on instinct.
Trees in the forest behind the town were toppling one after another.
Whatever was coming was bad news. Grace's gut told her it dwarfed even the mutants.
"Run!! Matthew! Start the truck!"
They bolted toward the parked pickup.
-Boom!
A building collapsed in a cloud of dust, revealing a massive silhouette.
It was a gigantic crocodile.
Two meters tall at the shoulder, easily over twenty meters long—a monstrous crocodile.
The beast smashed through another building onto the street. Its slit pupil locked onto them.
-Thud thud thud thud.
The crocodile surged toward them at terrifying speed.
Zombies drawn by Grace's gunshot poured into the street, only to be crushed underfoot.
It was fast. Really fast.
Grace's group raced for the truck.
Grace knew they couldn't just run. The beast would wreck their ride for sure.
They had to protect the truck.
Without it, they'd have to walk back to the shelter—a day's journey at best. Losing it meant camping outside where who-knew-what monsters lurked.
Grace veered off course.
"Grace!"
Philip yelled in alarm.
"I'll lure it for a bit! Have the truck ready to roll when I get back!"
"What?!"
Grace didn't wait for a reply. She moved.
But even alone, the monster crocodile showed no sign of changing course. Three meals seemed better than one.
Grace drew her revolver and aimed for its head.
'Pierce.'
She imbued the bullet with new intent.
She'd seen beasts like this before.
'Explode' hadn't done much back then.
Piercing power was stronger for breaching a single point.
This thing was ridiculous. Its thick hide might shrug off even piercing shots.
So Grace targeted the relatively softer eyes.
-Bang!
The bullet slammed home. Just as she'd hoped.
-Roooar!!!
The monster crocodile squeezed its hit eye shut and bellowed in agony.
Its remaining pupil fixed on Grace, the source of its pain. Rage burned in that gaze.
-Thud thud thud thud.
The beast turned toward her and charged.
Grace was already running.
But despite its stubby legs, the crocodile closed the gap with astonishing speed.
'At this rate, it'll catch me!'
Or eat her.
To buy even a little time, Grace ducked into a narrow alley between shops.