บท 225: A Horrible Death
Takashi Komuro and his group took up their weapons and made their way to the convenience store's back door, beginning to clear the obstacles blocking their exit.
At that moment, none of them had the mind to check if there were zombies outside the back door.
In just a short while, they managed to clear the back door's obstacles just before the front entrance gave way. Grabbing their weapons, they threw open the back door and rushed out eagerly.
"Perfect! No zombies here—they must all be clustered by the main entrance!" Taiyo Oga exclaimed in surprise.
The contrast between the back and front of the store was like night and day. Even with the noise from the back door, none of the zombies from the front made any move to head toward the back.
In their frantic state, none of them noticed how odd this was. All they felt was the thrill of finding a lifeline.
"Let's hurry out while we can. Rei, stay close to me," Takashi shouted to Rei Miyamoto.
None of them dared to relax. The sound of the main entrance finally giving way was in the air, and the obstacles they'd moved away from the back door would only delay the zombies for a moment.
Barely ten seconds passed before the crazed undead swarmed through the convenience store and began pouring out the back door, heading directly toward Taiyo Oga and his group.
They had barely gotten a few dozen meters away when they heard the commotion behind them. Each of them put every ounce of strength into sprinting forward, terrified of falling behind and being overtaken by the zombies.
Hundreds of undead bodies surged down the street like a tidal wave. Any survivors who witnessed such a sight would surely fall into utter despair.
As the minutes passed, the swarm gradually closed in on them. Even those who had unleashed their full potential from the adrenaline rush began to tire, particularly the pampered young lady among them.
Despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep up with the others. Even Rei Miyamoto, another woman in their group, had a decent level of stamina as the ace of the Fujimi Academy's Kendo Club, making her endurance on par with an average male high schooler.
Soon, the young lady started to fall behind and was ultimately overwhelmed by the swarm of undead. It was no surprise when she was completely swallowed up.
There was no way she would survive. Even if the zombies didn't bite her to death, she would be trampled to death by the horde.
The rest of the group paid her death little mind. Even the rugged youth who had been interested in her showed no concern. Despite hearing her final scream, he didn't look back once.
He was using every bit of his strength to keep himself running; a girlfriend's life was nothing compared to his own.
None of the others spared a thought for her either. They couldn't even speak for fear of diverting their focus and loosening their vigilance.
Her death didn't buy them even half a second of extra time. The horde pursued them relentlessly, driven only by an unyielding focus on Taiyo Oga.
Humans, after all, have limits. Within a few more minutes, their speed dropped drastically, like sliding down a slope, and the gap between them and the zombies closed.
The rugged youth, with his exceptional physical condition, led the group by several meters. Suddenly, his foot caught on a small rock, and he went sprawling to the ground, twisting his ankle.
"Oga, Hirano, help me! My ankle is twisted," he cried in despair as the others caught up with him.
Taiyo Oga didn't respond and kept running without a backward glance.
Takashi, however, had a sudden pang of conscience and rushed to help him.
But helping him alone would make them both too slow. Takashi instinctively called to his childhood friend.
"Rei, come help me!"
"Takashi, leave him. We don't have time. Let's get out of here!"
"No, I can't just abandon him!" Takashi replied firmly.
Earlier, when the young lady had screamed, she'd already been surrounded by zombies, so even if Takashi had wanted to help, he couldn't have done so.
However, Rei gave him no choice, pulling him along as they ran forward.
The rugged youth's brief hope was shattered, leaving him in despair once more.
It wasn't long before the horde caught up to him, swarming over him in an instant.
Takashi looked back just in time to see this and realized how reckless he'd been. If not for Rei pulling him away, he would have likely become part of the zombie horde as well.
No, he might not even have left a body behind.
A chill ran down his spine, though he had no time to dwell on it. They couldn't afford to stop running.
Their hesitation had allowed the horde to close the distance even more.
They'd seen no other survivors on their path, as though the area had already fallen entirely to the undead.
Taiyo Oga, at the head of the group, noticed a dozen mutated zombies suddenly appear in front of them. They were now being attacked from both sides.
Both sides of the street were lined with tall buildings. Entering one was the last thing Taiyo Oga wanted, especially in a high-rise where their only option would be to face certain death if they got trapped.
Exiting wouldn't be an option, and jumping out of a window would mean breaking their legs, so if he could avoid it, he didn't want to go inside.
But with no alternative, Taiyo Oga gritted his teeth and dashed toward the open doors of a nearby five-star hotel.
Takashi and Rei followed closely, but by the time they entered, Taiyo Oga was already inside an elevator.
"Taiyo… wait for us!" Takashi shouted, gasping for breath as he called out to Taiyo.
But seeing the horde behind them, Taiyo frantically pressed the elevator's close button.
The doors shut just as they were within a few meters of the elevator.
"Damn it!" Takashi pounded the closed elevator doors.
With the zombies closing in, he quickly pulled Rei in the opposite direction.
To their surprise, the undead didn't pursue them but headed toward the stairwell instead.
"I can't believe Taiyo is that kind of person," Rei said, her voice low but full of resentment.
Thinking back to what had just happened, Rei's face twisted with anger.
They were hidden in a secluded corner on the first floor, completely unnoticed by the zombies, who had all disappeared up the stairs after Taiyo.
Their weapons had been abandoned at the convenience store exit; they'd discarded the heavy gear to avoid slowing themselves down.
"Rei, let's get out of here while we have the chance," Takashi said, his expression tense.
He'd been disgusted by Taiyo's behavior. Otherwise, he might have gone upstairs to help him.
"Yeah, Takashi, let's go."
…
Taiyo Oga felt his luck had hit rock bottom. He'd planned to hide in a random room, but no matter where he went, the zombies found him almost immediately.
After fleeing from room to room, he eventually reached the rooftop, facing an unavoidable death trap with no hope of escape.
"Why? Why is this happening to me? I didn't do anything wrong! Damn it, Lord God, get me out of this hellhole! I want to go home!" he cried, slumping against the iron door and sobbing to the sky.
"Himawari, I loved you so much! Why couldn't you accept me back in the library? Why did you choose Amatsuyu over me?!"
"Amatsuyu , do you know how much I hated you? How much I envied you? Why did everyone I loved love you back? Why couldn't you be the one here instead of me?!"
"And Yukino, you bitch, you think you're so superior just because you're pretty? You're probably dead by now; serves you right for refusing to let me tag along!"
Taiyo hugged his knees, mumbling to himself in a mixture of laughter and tears, his entire being unraveling.
His muttering, though soft, was heard clearly by Eriri and the others watching the live feed miles away, only deepening their disgust.
Yukino's face darkened. She regretted not having killed Taiyo outright when she had the chance.
But as she watched his suffering, she didn't feel that regret anymore. Letting him die in despair was a far more fitting end.
Taiyo huddled against the iron door, his body shaking with fear. The zombies hammered against the door with relentless force. The iron door itself was holding up, but the bolts were starting to loosen.
With each slam, cracks formed between the door frame and the wall. It would only be a matter of time before the door was breached.
Thinking of the horrors he'd witnessed—the bloody ends of those bitten by zombies—Taiyo trembled and grew even more terrified. He had no desire for such a gruesome fate.
The iron door wouldn't hold much longer, and once the zombies broke through, they'd tear him apart.
Rather than suffering that fate, he thought…
Taiyo raised his head to the edge of the rooftop. This was the roof of a 15-story building, and a fall from that height would kill him instantly, sparing him the pain.
Thud, thud, thud…
A few more heavy blows reminded him that he didn't have much time left.
So, he stood up and moved to the edge, leaning over the railing to peer at the ground 40 meters below.
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he stumbled back, collapsing to the ground, gasping.
Even though he wanted a quick death, his courage wavered when faced with the jump.
A loud crash echoed behind him, and he turned to see the iron door lying on the ground. Zombies rushed at him with contorted faces and limbs, some still bearing fragments of their last victims.
"Damn it!" he screamed in despair and leaped over the railing before the zombies could reach him.
But Eriri wasn't about to let him end things so easily.
Just as Taiyo closed his eyes and waited for death, he noticed that he was falling slower than he expected.
At a height of about 40 meters, he should've hit the ground in about two seconds, but five had passed, and he was still mid-air.
Curious, he opened his eyes and looked down, horrified by what he saw.
The previously empty ground was now swarming with zombies, packed together like a sea of death, far more than those that had pursued him.
It was then that Taiyo realized someone had been orchestrating this situation, someone with power far beyond his own.
But he wouldn't have the chance to find out who.
In the next second, he plummeted into the horde, his scream echoing in agony until it gradually faded into silence a full minute later.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง