Zombie Boss (P.2) – Chapter 12

After taking a nice long break while leaning on each other's shoulders, it was time for us to return to our main objective. 

We were feeling pretty fresh after we had stayed by our sides. It almost felt like we were batteries that required physical interaction in order to get recharged.

One thing that I continued checking every five minutes would be the injuries on Aoi's skin. Up until this point, she was still worried that she would turn into a zombie any time now, which is why she would cry any time she brought up the option of me leaving her behind.

But as I mentioned to her, I wasn't planning on leaving her behind, no matter the cost. I even tried licking her and kissing her, just so I could make it clear to her that if she were to turn into a zombie, then I'd be following after her.

Once we made sure that we were ready, we continued deeper into the dungeon until we found the main door that led us to the boss room. The strongest zombie on this dungeon floor.

I already had a gist of what the boss zombie would be like. However, I advised Aoi to remain on her guard in case the boss of this dungeon might've been altered as well.

Upon entering the main room of this dungeon floor, we found ourselves in a massive open dead forest with dead leafless trees and dead plants all over the place. The time setting of this dead forest was set to nighttime, with a super realistic-looking moon lighting the whole place around us.

"....did we find a way outside of the dungeon?" Aoi suddenly asked as she was looking around with uncertainty while also trying to remain cautious.

"Unfortunately, no." I let out a sigh as I responded to her, "This is one of the special illusions I mentioned to you before. The dungeons behind the door sometimes creates different isolated spaces in order to give the perfect theme and settings."

"...but why would the dungeon make something like this?"

I could see the concern and uncertainty appear in Aoi's eyes as she asked me that question.

While I wasn't sure why the dungeon would go to this extended effort, I didn't force myself to not express what I thought.

"From what I know so far, illusions of open spaces are common inside the 'door'. And from what I know so far, the dungeon does this in order to make a perfect challenge, trick us, or give us a false sense of hope."

"...t-that's awful…"

"I agree with you... I still remember the first time I thought I was finally free from this place, only to almost lose my life when I found myself cornered at the border of the dungeon."

"...." Aoi's eyes widened for a slight moment at my experience in this place, then she looked to her side in sorrow.

I don't like seeing her this sad. But at the same time, I knew that Aoi had to know this sort of information for her own safety in the future.

Once I warned Aoi properly about the dangers that open spaces had, we continued walking around cautiously, hoping that we would find the boss of this floor dungeon. The spaces between the lifeless trees were more than several meters apart, so if we could focus our eyes in one direction, we would see an almost pitch-black void. This place was indeed massive, but as I had guessed, it still had its own borders.

Both me and Aoi continued wandering around, only to find nothing. The terrain was basically the same everywhere we went. It almost felt like the designer of this place copied and pasted every chunk of this dead place.

Almost a couple of minutes have passed, and no matter how long we wandered, we still haven't found anything. Aoi was beginning to get more anxious, almost like she felt like something sinister was going to catch her.

I honestly don't blame her since I felt like that as well. Even though nothing was happening in this dead forest, the silence and the nighttime brought chills to my spine.

The silence was earring for some time, until, in the next moments, we began hearing stumping and scratching noises coming from behind us.

"E-eh? D-did you hear that?" Aoi anxiously asked, her eyes trembling in fear.

"...Yeah."

But the moment I would turn around, that noise would disappear and reappear some moments later in another blind spot. It almost felt like we were being played with our senses. This also added another reason that something was about to happen.

"That might be the boss of this place. And as expected, it's trying to disorient us before it attacks."

"Then should we maintain our defense formation?"

I smirked as both me and Aoi took a special defense formation we had been practicing before even coming in here.

"I like this side of the way you think. It makes you even more attractive."

"Ah….T-thank you…"

The formation we have been practicing is quite simple. But since we are only two in number, we had to improvise by covering each other's backs and sides. Both me and Aoi had our right arms as our dominant arms, so in order to cover up not only our backs, we would position ourselves one meter to the left of our sides.

As we prepared ourselves for the cunning zombie, we continued listening to the rustling and, as one would say, creepy noises, until the noises came to a stop.

"".....""

It's coming…

Since I wasn't sure whether the boss of this floor was exactly the same as I remembered, I tried being cautious after getting a hunch that we were about to get attacked.

*Crackle*

And just as both me and Aoi were sensing that something was about to happen, we suddenly heard something crack on the branches of the tree. And by instinct, both me and Aoi looked upwards towards our side and saw a dark figure resembling a walking corpse, its hollow eyes gleaming with a creepy intensity, and its twisted grin evoking a sense of power and madness as it hungrily locked its gaze onto us.

*Bang!* *Bang!*

Without letting the zombie jump towards us, I immediately pulled out my gun and tried shooting in an instant by aiming its head. However, both my shots missed as the zombie easily managed to jump to its side in order to avoid direct hits from my bullets.

"Prepare yourself. And don't let that thing get close to us!"

"G-got it!"

This type of zombie was a bit special compared to the other ones we've killed so far. This particular zombie not only has the strength of ten normal zombies but also has a bit of intelligence from before it was alive. That's why, even if we try to trick it somehow into its own death, it's not going to be easy.

After taking some distance from us, I shifted my position while remaining one meter behind Aoi.

"GrrrawwwWwwlll!"

"That particular zombie behaves just as we discussed earlier," I explained, my gun firmly aimed at the undead. "Its initial tactic was launching a surprise attack, but since that approach didn't work, it will now attempt to overpower us with its relentless speed and strength."

I urged Aoi, making sure she would be ready for all the tactics and information I provided for her beforehand. 

"Whatever happens, do not let it breach your lethal range."

After receiving a reassuring nod from Aoi, I noticed the zombie fixating its lifeless gaze on her before crouching low, poised to strike. With lightning-like agility, it lunged towards us, covering nearly twenty meters in mere seconds.

However, Aoi was one step ahead. Her whip sword was already unleashed, sinuously moving around her as she deftly maneuvered it. In a swift motion, she managed to graze the zombie's arm and cheek, causing it to recoil momentarily.

"...Eh?"

But even though the zombie was jumping straight into Aoi's blades, its charging attack did not stop despite the light injuries it was getting from moving in spirals.

"I-its not s-stopping!"

"Try to limit its path!"

Since this was a zombie, it was obvious that they didn't feel any pain at all. But this might've caught Aoi off guard for a moment due to the ruthlessness and the way this smart zombie acted. 

As Aoi witnessed the zombie nimbly evading her defenses, I acted swiftly and fired three more shots at the creature. The well-aimed bullets forced the zombie to retreat, narrowly avoiding the potentially fatal attack.

"It's changing tactics again! Stay vigilant!" I warned Aoi, my voice filled with urgency.

Acknowledging the danger, Aoi gripped her sword's handle firmly, reverting it back to its solid sword form. The zombie, seething with murderous intent, bore its rage-filled eyes upon us. Observing our resolute formation, it hunched its back, vanishing into the shadowy embrace of the dead trees. In a heartbeat, it reappeared, charging fiercely toward Aoi from the side.

Aoi, oblivious to the sneaky and lightning-fast assault, was caught off guard. So instinctively, I rushed to her aid, interposing myself between her and the zombie's outstretched fingers just in time.

"...Huh? H-Hyaa!"

"Stay focused, Aoi!" I urged, my heart racing as we confronted this relentless undead foe.

After Aoi quickly composed herself in the next second, she thrust her solid sword towards the zombie that was trying to push me away. And thanks to that, the zombie jumped back once again.

Shit! Even though it's a zombie, its attacks are still heavy.

Determined to bring this skirmish to an end, I knew we had to act swiftly. Aoi's confidence wavered as she witnessed the zombie's incredible speed, and I couldn't let her spirit falter any further. To create some distance, I fired off the remaining bullets from my pistol.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

Although the shots missed their mark, they provided a brief respite, allowing Aoi to regain her footing.

"Aoi, it's time for phase two!"

The moment I announced it to the troubled girl, she nodded in response, steeling herself for the next step of action.

Without wasting any more time, I quickly reloaded my pistol and charged towards the zombie, aiming to face it head-on with my sword. But as I was running towards it, I tried pissing it off by shooting two more bullets at it.

"GRrrrr!"

The zombie, in response, easily managed to dodge the bullets by simply moving its head slightly to the right and left. His eyes, however, never left mine as I was going at it.

And right before we would clash with one another, the zombie took a weird stance that I had never seen before.

"..."

Martial arts?!