5 Audrey

Back on the field, Audrey, the red-haired fire-wielder, found herself in a dire situation. Her mana had been depleted, leaving her with a silver katana as her only means of defense. Beside her, the red-eyed boy named Charles, who once held a laser-firing gun, now clutched a crossbow with a dwindling supply of bolts.

Charles panted heavily, trying to persuade Audrey to retreat. "Audrey, I hate to say it, but we have to leave before we get surrounded and exhausted. We've already done enough for them. I'm almost out of bolts," he admitted, concern evident in his voice.

Audrey glanced at the frightened people huddled behind them, including students and even teachers. A shared change had transformed everyone's appearance—now they all shared the same skin color. She hesitated but remained resolute, her face as indifferent as ever.

"You can leave, but I'm not going until everyone is at least a little bit safe," she declared, her gaze unwavering.

Charles couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at her stubbornness. 'Leave you? We both know that isn't possible, but you choose to ignore the reason even now,' he thought, his eyes revealing his concern.

Charles decided to take a desperate measure. He loaded all five of his remaining bolts into his crossbow, aimed them not at the approaching zombies but into the sky, and shouted, "Apollo, grant me your strength! Kill my enemies and protect my allies!" With that, he released the bolts, and a flash of lightning struck them, scattering them into hundreds of electrified projectiles. They rained down on the approaching horde, piercing through zombies and beasts alike, eliciting mournful wails and shrieks that echoed through the air.

As the dust settled, only piles of corpses and pools of blood remained. However, the respite was brief as a new threat emerged—a giant rat. The onlookers quickly checked its stats and were met with dread.

"Level 30! No wonder we didn't find any beasts above level 15; this thing ate them all!" someone exclaimed, fear evident in their voice.

Audrey grimly prepared to face the giant rat, her grip on her katana tightening "To think I would still die here after going through everything," she muttered, her katana at the ready.. She was ready to give it her all, but to her surprise, the massive creature darted past her at an astonishing speed, not even sparing her a glance. Panic filled its eyes, as if it were fleeing from a beast a thousand times more ruthless than itself. Audrey managed to catch a glimpse of the giant rat's half-missing tail before it disappeared into the distance.

Laughter echoed as a figure calmly stepped forward. "Where do you think you're running to, Cinderella?" the newcomer taunted, holding the rat's severed tail. "You forgot your glass slipper." With that, he ignited the tail and hurled it toward the fleeing beast. Guided as if by divine intervention, the fiery tail quickly caught up to the rat, coiling around its neck, strangling it, and burning it mercilessly to death. The onlookers were stunned into silence, feeling an odd mixture of pity and horror at the creature's ironic demise.

Audrey, annoyed beyond words, couldn't help but exchange words with the stranger. "You....you were this powerful yet you didn't help" she muttered, her katana at the ready.

"Ah sorry love was in a bit of a predicament myself" He teased back making her turn fully red in anger

"Well, even if you didn't come, I could have handled it myself. Go back to the girl you wanted to trade my life for" Their exchange turned increasingly bizarre, and the onlookers couldn't help but find the situation comical. 

'Why does it look like these two are having a couples fight, and sister why can't you accept the simple apology, what if this demon gets angry can you handle it?'. The truth was even Audrey didn't know why she was arguing with the male. She was just annoyed with the way his eyes looked at her. Even though it was not pure lust she could already feel a hint of possessiveness in them which brought an unknown emotion through her raging heart making her extremely defensive.

"Well thanks for the assist. I'm Charles and you are" Charles couldn't watch this male flirt with his goddess anymore he had known Audrey for the past 10 years and he hadn't seen any man manage to get her to show her current expression.

Looking at Charles outstretched hands. Aaron thought to himself 'Looks like I got competition'. He shook it and smiled at the young man. "I'm Aaron, nice to finally talk to a normal human since this apocalypse started" Charles almost choked on his saliva as he heard the last part. He looked behind to see Audrey fuming in anger. Deep down Charles felt like he had already lost his best friend with just 2 sentences from this guy.

Audrey finally huffed and walked away in a huff, her mini skirt and cropped top now somewhat out of place in the midst of the apocalypse. Aaron smirked, amused by her reaction but he did love to watch her leave. "Okay, so it was nice meeting you," he said casually to Charles before dashing away to find his sister and best friend among the crowd. He thought of Audrey's unique changes, including her fiery hair.

As he wandered through the transformed crowd, he marveled at the newfound changes in people's appearances. Their hair now sported vibrant colors, and their skin tones were all the same—just like his. The consistency stopped at their body structures, which remained distinct, making it possible to recognize individuals.

Aaron eventually encountered a short girl who barely reached his chest. She looked up at him with teary eyes, and the sight tugged at his protective instincts. The girl was Harmony, quite an ironic name for someone who enjoyed teasing boys and causing chaos when she first arrived at the university. He was unfortunately one of her victims but it later had led to an unexpected friendship.

"Aaron? Oh God, so it was you who killed that rat monster," Harmony said, throwing her arms around him. Aaron froze, unsure of how to react to the sudden embrace. He decided to hug her back as she sobbed into his chest. She proceeded to explain her recent traumatic experience, recalling the death of her friend Amaka, who had been eaten right in front of her.

Amaka had apparently tried to sacrifice Harmony but ended up becoming the monster's target. Harmony had managed to kill the creature during its moment of vulnerability. She ended her story with a bitter smile, expressing her fear of the hungry-eyed survivors who now looked at her differently.

"And some people keep looking at me with hungry eyes. I'm getting scared. Can I stay with you?" Harmony pleaded, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

Aaron hesitated for a moment, then sighed and relented. "Fine, but just so you know, I'm looking for some people. We might have to leave the group if I don't find them here."

Harmony nodded quickly, grateful for his acceptance. Aaron couldn't help but inquire about her newly acquired skill. "Did you receive any skills?"

"Yeah, I got something called 'Future Domination.' Basically, I can see what happens to me 10 seconds into the future. But it only works for me alone," Harmony explained, sounding less than thrilled with her newfound ability. Aaron resisted the urge to bang his head against a wall in exasperation.

'This treatment... is just too much. Little girl, did your father cause the apocalypse or what?' he wondered to himself, both amused and bewildered by the absurdity of the situation.