10 A giant zombie (1)

"Hey, Enzo, why do you hate Ren so much?" Rose asked as they stepped outside. The storm had calmed down a bit, but the weather was still all over the place. "It can't just be because his military family didn't help you before, right?"

Enzo was surprised by the question but decided to give an answer. "Yeah, it's not just that. I'm not that petty to get all worked up just because he's part of a group."

"Then what's the deal?"

"It's 'cause we had this thing in the past, and it seemed like he completely forgot about it," Enzo replied, clenching his fist as his butterflies took down a few monsters. Rose didn't even need to use her avatar much because of how Enzo handled all those weak monsters so easily. It was crazy to her how they were struggling still a day ago.

"In the past," she muttered, mulling over his words. "So, it must've been here, at school, right?" She asked, but nobody answered. It was enough for her to figure out what was happening.

"So, you've got your answer."

"Yeah, that's right. I'd like to know more, but it's not the right time or place for that. We barely know each other for a day, after all, so it would be quite rude of me to do so.."

"It's surprising. I thought someone with your background would be more... assertive."

"Well, that's how I am in public. I have to maintain the royal family's image and all. But it's different with you."

"Why is that?" Enzo turned to her, not quite grasping what she meant.

"I don't know exactly why, but I feel like I can be myself around you."

"Because you think I won't judge you?"

"No, we don't know each other well enough for me to know if you're like that. It's just a gut feeling."

"Well, you're quite interesting, aren't you?" Enzo remarked, pausing in his tracks. Ahead of them, there appeared to be a horde of around fifty zombies, prompting him to take the situation more seriously.

Observing this, Rose followed suit, summoning five perfect copies of herself to stand by their side. "Looks like we won't have to move much," Enzo smirked, directing his butterflies to attack and eliminate the zombies.

Rose did the same, and they patiently waited until no zombies remained. "How do you manage to kill so many monsters?" Rose asked, astonished by the scene before her. "I could only take down about twenty zombies, while your butterflies seemed to handle the rest effortlessly."

Enzo couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction knowing that his skill was formidable and would only grow stronger in the future. After all, his current butterflies are only low-grade butterflies. However, he chose to remain modest

"It's mainly because I have more under my control than you, that's why I managed to kill more zombies. But your skills are as good as mine, if not better. After all, those copies can do whatever you can as well, so in the future, you will have an army of yourself."

"Thanks for those words, but it remains to be seen if we will still be alive in the future."

Enzo nodded, and they proceeded on their way to restock their supplies. However, after only a few minutes, they suddenly heard a rumbling sound. The ground beneath their feet began to shake.

"What's happening?" Rose asked, but Enzo was too focused on identifying the source of the disturbance to answer. His attention was fully taken by the situation.

"Could it be a zombie?" Enzo wondered as he called back all of his butterflies as he started to get cautious. "It looks like it's large and resilient. And judging by the way it walks, it's definitely a zombie!"

Without knowing what this zombie could do, both Enzo and Rose decided to be extra vigilant. Rose even dismissed her avatars as a precautionary measure.

"What's our plan?" Rose asked, drawing her sword. The weapon she possessed had been obtained from a defeated monster, but its quality paled in comparison to Enzo's twin blades.

Enzo pondered for a moment before deciding to take a gamble. He wasn't certain if his plan would work or not, but he had to take the risk. nonetheless

"We're going to confront it head-on. You'll send two clones at a time to distract it while I'll try to damage it."

"But wouldn't it be better to run? It looks like the zombie is quite slow, so escaping should be easy, right?" Rose suggested.

"What will happen if it manages to make its way to the gymnasium, Rose?" Enzo questioned. Even though he currently couldn't care less about the others' safety, he knew that talking about them would motivate Rose to take action. She was the type to help people even though she disliked them.

Besides, he doubted he could survive against the colossal zombie alone. A single scratch could lead him to his death. After all, it was a zombie they would have to face.

"You're right. We should eliminate it while we have the chance. However, I don't think that penetrating its thick, black-armored skin would be an easy task. We just don't have the means to do that, do we?"

"Don't worry about that. You just have to keep it busy while I attempt to defeat it," Enzo reassured her.

"Understood." Rose nodded, dispatching two of her avatars to engage the towering zombie. Standing over 2 meters tall, a single blow from the creature would prove devastating, so even her avatars were cautious.

The giant zombie moved sluggishly, its actions mirroring its lack of speed. However, the sheer force behind each of its punches was evident even without making contact. Rose's avatar skillfully evaded its strikes. However, they could only escape narrowly as each blow still carried so much power.

Meanwhile, Rose observed the battle from a safe distance. Engaging the enemy directly was not her role, allowing her to focus on studying Enzo's tactics. He kept two butterflies by his side at all times, while five others attempted to chomp down at the zombie's armor. However, as expected, their efforts were useless. After all, the armor wouldn't get down just with that, would it? Finally, the last three butterflies stood atop Enzo's dagger.

As her avatars continued their dodging, Rose watched as Enzo stealthily approached the zombie's back and unleashed a swing with his short sword. To her surprise, the blade managed to dent the creature's armor even though his butterflies couldn't earlier.

'How is this possible?' Her expression was filled with disbelief. 'I thought his power lay only in his butterflies. Yet, he can damage the zombie despite the sturdiness of its armor? Does it even makes any sense?'

However, despite her assumptions, Enzo experienced a numbing sensation in his hand. Although he successfully managed to bend the armor, his grip on the sword weakened, as if his hand could no longer support its weight.

While he was distracted, Enzo suddenly found himself face-to-face with a colossal fist hurtling toward him.

As he stared at the approaching fist, Enzo's body froze in place as if he was paralyzed, rendering him immobile and leaving his mind blank.

"Enzo!"