บท 56: World of Zombies Again?

"The air in this forest is fresher than Aokigahara Forest."

Walking through the forest at night without a flashlight, Eiji observed the star-filled night sky, beautiful due to the lack of air pollution.

Although he didn't know the world's background based on any anime, he was sure the world was a standard Earth.

Eiji figured this out after reading the constellations in the sky.

"Hopefully, this world has a power system that I can learn."

Not expecting too much, he walked towards a river.

As he followed the river upstream, he believed he would find a village or settlement. After all, water is one of the essential aspects for humans.

Generally, humans can survive without food for a week, but they can only survive three days without drinking!

"Even the water is so clear. It seems like my location is far from the city. Most likely, this forest is in the mountains or a rarely visited remote place."

Standing at the river's edge, Eiji saw the riverbed very clearly due to the crystal-clear water.

Squatting down, he scooped up a handful of water with his palm and took a sip.

The water felt fresher compared to bottled mineral water claimed to be from mountain springs.

"Not bad." Eiji praised without expression.

As he stood up, he heard a sound behind him. When he turned around, a wild boar rushed and charged at him.

If it were an ordinary person, they would be shocked and unable to respond in time, standing stunned when the wild boar charged at them.

Unfortunately, Eiji was not an ordinary person. Even though the distance between him and the wild boar was too close, it didn't matter for him to respond.

Raising his left hand, he held the head of the wild boar without taking a step back.

No matter how strong the wild boar was, it couldn't do anything to Eiji.

"There's something wrong with this wild boar. Its strength is too strong for a normal wild boar." Eiji frowned.

He had experience being attacked by bears and wild boars while exterminating Cursed Spirits in Aokigahara Forest.

Aokigahara Forest is a quiet and peaceful place. Many people think of it as the right place for their final rest. Therefore, Aokigahara Forest is considered the most popular suicide site after the Golden Gate Bridge.

So, Jujutsu Sorcerers are regularly dispatched to Aokigahara Forest to exterminate Cursed Spirits, which will continue to be born due to the accumulation of negative emotions there.

"Genetic mutation? Or influenced by supernatural powers? If an ordinary person encounters this wild boar, unless they have a firearm, even a professional boxer would die when facing this wild boar head-on."

"Ngiiiiikkkk."

Eiji lifted the several hundred-kilogram wild boar with just one hand.

Through his observation, he found that the wild boar in front of him had lost its rationality and only knew how to rampage.

His right hand stabbed into the wild boar's chest, piercing through its back. In his palm, he held a small heart, which was the heart of the wild boar.

"Still alive?"

Next, Eiji struck the wild boar's head until it burst like a balloon. Only after that did the wild boar stop moving and die.

Throwing the wild boar's corpse to the ground, Eiji washed his hands with river water.

"Only when the head is destroyed will it die... This physiology is similar to zombies. Could it be... No, it's probably a coincidence. It can't be a zombie world..."

After washing his hands, he continued to follow the river, hoping to find a village.

...

One hour later, Eiji saw bright lights and smoke rising in the distance.

It was clearly a fire lit by someone!

Knowing this, he quickened his pace, and his figure moved beyond normal human speed.

Due to his cautious nature, he didn't immediately reveal himself to others. Instead, he used the Limitless Technique to manipulate space, which would cover his figure and make him invisible.

To avoid cliché scenes like stepping on twigs while hiding, Eiji chose to stand in the air and observe everything first before making contact.

"..."

Eiji sighed when he saw what he least wanted to happen.

In front of him was a village with mostly burned houses. There were hundreds or more living corpses, also known as zombies, wandering the streets and ready to bite living people.

The village was surrounded by high-voltage electric wire fences, preventing the villagers from escaping.

In chaotic circumstances, a bulldozer stood out in the zombie crowd.

There were three men and one woman on the bulldozer, each holding dangerous weapons like firearms and chainsaws.

Judging from their insane laughter while watching zombies attack the village, Eiji determined they were the masterminds behind this incident. Moreover, one of the men threw a lit dynamite fuse and threw it into a house.

*BOOM*

The dynamite exploded, destroying the house and causing a fire, which spread to the surrounding houses.

(Intentionally letting zombies enter the village and cause damage... These people are crazier than me) Eiji thought rationally.

Although he had massacred the citizens of the Lydia Kingdom's capital, he had his reasons. Eiji might lack empathy, but he wasn't a cold-blooded killer who would start a massacre without reason or for personal pleasure.

He felt the fate of the Witches was too tragic. Just to survive, they had to hide like rats and couldn't dare to use magic. So, Eiji eradicated the root cause of their suffering, which was the Lydia Kingdom.

With Emperor Goeth's death and the top echelons in the capital, the Lydia Kingdom would sooner or later collapse on its own.

Perhaps due to internal power struggles or annexation by other nations.

This might be the karma of the Lydia Kingdom for slaughtering countless Witches, considering Witches had been helping human life since the world was created.

In other words, Eiji wouldn't do inhumane things without cause and effect. He was different from the group of psychopaths in front of him, causing chaos just to satisfy their twisted desires.

(Because this is a zombie world, there shouldn't be a power system...)

Eiji prepared to appear and defeat the people on the bulldozer. Watching their actions disgusted him. However, his actions halted when he saw someone he recognized.

(Impossible. Could this be true?)

He didn't expect to meet them for the second time.