A NEW POWER SYSTEM
Adam revives once again, still impaled by the priest zombie's light sword. As the priest zombie prepares to unleash his light magic once more, but suddenly both of them hears Nhia's strained voice, exerting all his strength to pull the light cross from the ground. Nhia successfully manages to wrench it free, catching the priest zombie's attention. Questioning why Nhia is trying to save a sinner like Adam, the priest zombie is abruptly struck on the side of the head by a hammer before Nhia could answer, sent crashing into a tree. Nhia spots Kiren alongside Adam and expresses his excitement at Kiren's arrival. Kiren reassures Nhia and Adam that they need not worry anymore, as their hero has arrived. Charging towards the priest zombie, Kiren swings his hammer, only to have the attack blocked by a light magic barrier. The priest zombie remarks that Kiren lacks any trace of evil energy, asserting that he is not a sinner at all. Confused, Kiren says that he has no clue to what this zombie is talking about. He employs his shield to shatter the light magic barrier, engaging in a flurry of strikes with the priest zombie's light sword. The priest zombie questions why must Kiren fight so hard to save a sinner like Adam.
Kiren hurls his shield, and the priest zombie narrowly evades it. Engaging in a clash of weapons, Kiren strongly asserts that the priest zombie is mistaken and that Adam is no sinner but a hero. The shield Kiren threw rebounds off a tree, striking the priest zombie at the back of his head, momentarily stunning him. Capitalizing on the opening, Kiren delivers a forceful blow to the priest zombie's chest, propelling him through the forest, crashing into numerous trees. In the meantime, Nhia successfully extracts the final light cross from the ground, liberating Adam from the light circle. Adam, wielding his bat, observes Kiren being struck by light magic and falling before him. Determined, Adam steps forward, declaring his intention to quickly handle this zombie. Striking the priest zombie's side, Adam propels him forcefully in a circle through the forest. Nhia and Kiren witness the priest zombie's airborne journey, causing trees to soar into the air around them.
The priest zombie eventually returns to Adam, who sends him flying upward into the sky with another strike. Despite Adam's efforts, the priest zombie boasts about being impervious to be harm from sinners. Unleashing his magic book, the priest zombie opens its pages, releasing numerous light energy beams into the forest. Adam leaps upward, skillfully deflecting the incoming energy beams with the spin of his bat. However, when Adam attempts to thrust his bat into the priest zombie's chest, it proves ineffective. Confused by his inability to harm the zombie, Adam realizes they are within a tornado of light magic paper pages. The priest zombie manipulates his magic, directing all the paper pages onto Adam, enveloping his entire body and restricting his movement and vision. Swinging wildly with his bat, Adam becomes vulnerable. The priest zombie seizes the opportunity to thrust his light sword into Adam's chest, resulting in a massive light magic explosion from Adam's back. As the priest zombie connects with Adam's soul, attempting to enter Adam's realm, his soul sees Adam's soul flying towards a huge shiny tree on a land of tall grass. But before he could go further into this realm his soul is then zap back into his body.
Back in reality Michael intervenes with a lightning kick to the priest zombie's head, humorously mentioning that wanted more sleep. The priest zombie plummets into the muddy forest below, only to face Rune, Simbad, and Megan, who approaches with lightning magic covering their bodies. The priest zombie quickly defends himself with his light magic barrier and blocks all their attacks. He bellows in fury, unleashing a burst of light magic that strikes Megan, Rune, and Simbad, sending them hurtling towards Nhia and Kiren, who are diligently attempting to remove the magic papers covering Adam. Suddenly, an immense surge of light magic emanates from the priest zombie, clearing the immediate area around him. Asserting that he is justified, the priest zombie contends that a sinner like Adam does not warrant redemption but rather deserves the judgement of death. With a proclamation, he employs his light magic to manifest a colossal light magic sword in the sky.
However, before he can complete the creation, Jean quickly intervenes with his katana, dismantling the sword with a single swing. In a dynamic entrance, Ezzy comes out of the forest, charging at the priest zombie while enveloped in her fire magic. Emitting a roar, she leaps in front of the zombie and releases her fiery onslaught. The priest zombie retaliates with light magic, resulting in a massive explosion of light and fire magic that blankets the field. As the smoke dissipates, Jean lands in front of the group, observing the scene. The priest zombie stands firm, while Ezzy lies on the ground, visibly fatigued. Michael joins the fray, enveloping them in lightning magic one by one. While Kiren removes the last magic paper from Adam's body, they both sees Nhia taking the lead. Nhia passionately declares that Adam is their savior, emphasizing that the people of Old Berry Town prayed for him to win them the war, that they all would of died without him. Charging forward, Nhia, cloaked in lightning magic, expresses his continued need for Adam to reunite with his girlfriend and return home. The others follow suit, charging into the fray, also shrouded in lightning.
Nhia makes contact with Ezzy's hand, and both of them become enveloped in lightning magic. Together, they launch a punch at the priest zombie, who responds by erecting a light magic wall to shield against their attack. Witnessing the determination in Nhia and Ezzy's eyes, the others join in, striking the light magic wall with fervor. The priest zombie, faced with the resolute expressions of the group, begins to comprehend the profound significance Adam holds for them. The combined assault results in the shattering of the light magic wall, creating a massive explosion of lightning. Michael's lightning magic dissipates from everyone's bodies, and they observe the priest zombie rising to his feet. Nhia and Kiren prepare to charge back into battle, but Adam intervenes, halting their advance. Acknowledging that the priest zombie no longer poses a threat and recognizing their collective lack of sufficient power to eliminate him, Adam prevents any further confrontation. The priest zombie, having gained insight into the depth of hope vested in Adam, remarks on the enigma surrounding him, even suggesting that God might even forgive the greatest sinner. With these words, the priest zombie turns away and departs.
Just then, Nakao and Mai arrive on a motorcycle, with Mai playfully scolding Nhia for venturing out alone. While they engage in banter, Megan notices Adam gazing at the sky alone and approaches him, expressing concern for his well-being. Adam acknowledges the priest zombie's claim that he is indeed a sinner, revealing his initial intention to kill both Sam and Lia at the cabin. Megan refutes this, asserting that she would have been there to prevent such an act. Adam probes further, questioning if Megan is even hurt to see her husband with another person. Megan admits that witnessing Sam with Lia is painful, but her heart remains with Sam, and she will continue to love him no matter the case. She apologizes for previously lying about her motives, clarifying that her desire to be with Sam wasn't solely because of her son but also because no matter what Sam is always in her thoughts. Tears well up in her eyes as she confesses that when Duke passed away, her sorrow was brief. An inexplicable yearning to always be with Sam overshadowed her grief for her deceased son and even her obsessive quest to uncover her true self. Adam inquires about Megan's reaction if he had attempted to harm Sam. Megan responds resolutely, stating that she would kill Adam as many times as necessary to protect Sam. Adam remarks that it appears he is not the only one grappling with mental challenges.
Shortly after in that afternoon, Simbad takes the wheel of the RV, leaving the rest of the group, excluding Rune, Mai, and Adam, to relax in the living area. Rune leads the way on his motorcycle, clearing the road of a few zombies along the journey. As Adam enjoys the scenic views from his throne chair on top of the RV, Mai occupies the second floor, diligently jotting down notes on her whiteboard, preparing for an upcoming presentation. Ezzy gently pulls Nhia into the bedroom, expressing a need to discuss something important. Nestled on the bed, Nhia recalls a moment from their past in Old Berry Town, watching the night sky together. Ezzy turns to Nhia and apologizes for involving Nhia in the previous war, revealing that the device she provided him was responsible for triggering all the military explosions. Nhia, initially confused, questions the reason for keeping this information a secret. Tearfully, Ezzy admits that she initially wanted to shoulder the responsibility alone but realized she couldn't bear the weight of all her comrades' deaths on her own. Nhia, after a moment of reflection, reassures her that he harbors no regrets. He shares that he was tired of feeling useless, and even if Ezzy had disclosed the truth, he would have still chosen to participate. Moved, Ezzy hugs Nhia, and he comforts her, emphasizing that they are family and no one should carry such burdens alone. Ezzy, grateful, opens a box of beer, suggesting they celebrate the relief of finally taking all of this from her chest.
Ezzy and Nhia rejoin the others in the living room, and Mai's voice emanates through the speakers, capturing everyone's attention. She reflects on the nearly three years since the apocalypse began and emphasizes the need for humanity to adapt quicky. Introducing a new concept, Mai unveils a Power system, with a screen descending from the ceiling displaying various tiers. Mai initiates the explanation with the lowest tier, the D-tier, where ordinary humans are in. A small image of Nhia's face appears on the low D-tier, prompting a playful reaction from Nhia. Mai proceeds, noting that in the high D-tier there are regular zombies or L-Stars. Transitioning to the next tier, the C-tier, where well-trained humans like herself, Nakao, and Stella are in. In the high C-tier, tall grey zombies are featured. Expanding on the morning's events and given information from Kiren and Megan, Mai reveals her determination that these zombies fall into the intermediate stage of transforming into A-Star zombies. In this stage, they exhibit heightened speed, strength, and faint traces of their former humanity.
The presentation continues, and the screen transitions to the B-tier, where most of the A-Star zombies and stronger humans are in, each varying in power. In the low B-tier, images of Simbad, Kiren, Volk, and regular A-Stars like the dancing zombie, frog zombie, dog zombie, ball zombie, etc., are displayed. The mid B-tier showcases pictures of Cameda, Michael, Ezzy, Megan, and Rune. Moving to the high B-tier, images of Rudda, Jean, the zombie priest, and Henry are featured. The A-tier follows, presenting only Adam and the three-faced zombie. Mai notes that this represents the highest power they've encountered so far but suggests the possibility of even stronger beings, introducing an S-tier filled with question marks. Concluding the presentation, Michael questions why he is in the same tier as Ezzy and Megan. Mai responds, acknowledging Michael's strength but pointing out his tendency to lack confidence when faced with stronger enemies, often requiring extensive persuasion to engage in battle. The screen then displays instances of Michael struggling in such situations. Jean raises a question about the power ranking, expressing his confusion about the priest zombie being placed lower than Adam when he couldn't defeat the priest zombie. Mai responds, clarifying that in terms of sheer power, Adam is indeed stronger. However, the priest zombie serves as Adam's counter, meaning Adam cannot cause harm to the priest zombie. Despite this, in terms of raw power, Adam still holds the advantage. Kiren reassures everyone, urging them not to worry about the tier system. He humorously declares his intention to climb up to the S-tier once he becomes a hero in Nemura city, eliciting laughter from the group. The extended journey concludes as they prepare to camp in a parking lot surrounded by the forest.
The following morning, everyone wakes up to Mai informing the boys that the girls will be heading to a nearby spring to wash up first, and once they finish, the boys can use it. Mai, along with the other girls, heads in the direction of the spring, while Kiren tells Adam to take a short nap as he will take over in watch duties for now, Adam heads inside the RV and takes a nap. Shortly after, all the girls are immersed in the serene spring lake, enjoying a tranquil bath. Unbeknownst to them, five bandits lurk nearby, observing with rifles in hand. As the girls begin to dress, the bandits seize the opportunity to ambush them. One bandit pins down Mai with his rifle, while others knock Nakao to the ground. Another bandit strikes Ezzy in the back of the head with his rifle. Reacting quickly, Megan summons her sword and effortlessly slices through a bandit's rifle. However, another bandit leaps onto Megan's back. The bandit restraining Mai instructs his companions to act quickly and be cautious, deeming this encounter their biggest jackpot. Ezzy punches one bandit down and aids Megan as they stand back to back against the bandits. A bandit points his rifle at Nakao's head, threatening to shoot if they don't surrender. In a difficult decision, Megan and Ezzy reluctantly give up, and the bandits proceed to tie their hands. The bandit in charge decides to keep Mai for himself and orders the others to take the remaining three captives back to their base. He lingers, expressing his desire for Mai, revealing his intention to enjoy her himself and that Mai is the best looking one among the girls.
As the bandits escort Megan, Ezzy, and Nakao away, the bandit pinning down Mai begins undressing her after tying her hands and legs. Excited to indulge in his perverse desires, he takes off his shirt, momentarily obscuring his vision. Seizing the opportunity, Mai kicks the bandit in the groin. He screams in pain, allowing Mai to crawl away to her backpack. Mocking her resistance, the bandit remarks that he loves beautiful who plays hard to get. He runs to her and turns her over to see that Mai has a small rubber lightning bolt in her mouth, biting down to release small sparks of lightning. Suddenly, Michael swoops in with a lightning-infused kick, decapitating the bandit's head as it drops into the lake and causing a gruesome fountain of blood to drench Mai. With precision, Michael lightning-punches the bandit's body, sending it hurtling into the depths of the forest as the body then explodes on impact onto a tree. Michael regains his composure and embraces Mai, who urges them to hurry and inform Adam. Traveling at lightning speed, Michael and Mai quickly returns to the RV. Adam, awakening from his nap, utilizes his heat vision to locate the other girls. After a quick survey, he returns to Mai and informs her that he doesn't see them anywhere.