The city was up in flames.
Elias stepped out onto the street with Ivy right behind him, both of them armed and ready to evacuate. Smoke filled the air. Screams echoed from every direction. Flames climbed the buildings like greedy fingers, licking at the sky.
Zombies poured in like a flood, breaking windows, tearing down doors, dragging people out from under beds and behind furniture.
Chaos.
Absolute chaos.
Elias clenched his jaw. His eyes locked onto a group of soldiers, his old unit. He recognized their faces, the same bastards who betrayed and abandoned him to die.
"Hey!" he shouted.
They looked back... and ran. Cowards.
Not a single one stopped.
They shoved people out of the way, climbed into a black armoured truck, and slammed the doors shut.
The engine roared.
"Fucking run, then," Elias spat, raising a middle finger as the vehicle sped off down the road.
Not a glance back.
"Assholes," Ivy muttered beside him.
A child's cry tore through the air.
Elias turned sharply.
A small boy had fallen in the middle of the street, a zombie creeping toward him on all fours, mouth open, drool hanging like slime from its jaw.
The boy couldn't move.
He was too scared to. He remained frozen on that spot, crying and screaming.
Elias moved as fast as he could.
He sprinted across the street like a demon on fire, closing the distance in seconds. He leapt, one foot slamming onto a broken crate, launching him into the air.
The zombie turned just in time to see Elias's boot coming.
CRACK!
Its skull burst under the pressure of his landing.
Black blood sprayed across the street.
The boy screamed.
"Shut it," Elias barked, grabbing the kid and tossing him over his shoulder. "Go hide somewhere safe. Run!"
He set the boy down behind a broken police van and gave him a shove.
More zombies were coming.
At least twenty.
They shambled fast.
Some ran.
Some crawled.
Some twisted like they had broken spines, their bones clicking and snapping with each step.
Ivy fired from behind, bullets tearing through heads and limbs.
"I need backup here!" Elias yelled.
"I'm your backup!" Ivy shouted, reloading without blinking.
One of the infected lunged at Elias with a bloodied cleaver stuck in its arm. It swung wild and screeched like a dying pig.
Elias ducked.
The blade grazed his shoulder, but he didn't flinch.
He grabbed the zombie by the throat and slammed it headfirst into the wall.
CRUNCH!
The bones cracked.
Its spine folded like paper.
Blood ran down the bricks.
"Fucking die already," he hissed, stomping its head until it split open like rotten fruit.
The system chimed.
[Strength: +1] [Morality Sync: +2%] [Corruption: -0.2%]
Elias blinked.
"Helping people reduces corruption?" he mumbled.
Ivy furrowed her brow behind him. "What the hell are you mumbling on? Focus!"
Another wave.
This one is worse.
Six Tier 3s, judging by their size and glow. Their eyes burned blue, and their skin was stretched tight, veins pulsing like they carried acid.
"Stick close!" Elias barked.
He rushed forward to meet the closest one.
It snarled and charged with claws raised.
He ducked under the first slash and rammed his shoulder into its gut. The thing barely budged.
Big mistake.
It grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
Elias choked, eyes bulging.
"Son of a—!"
Ivy shot it in the back.
The zombie turned.
Bad move.
Elias drove his knife into its eye socket.
The creature shrieked, dropping him instantly. He pulled out the blade and slashed its neck.
Thick, black goo sprayed out.
It gurgled and collapsed.
[Agility: +1] [Morality Sync: +2%]
He stood, panting, wiping blood from his face.
Another one came charging.
Too close.
Elias didn't have time to reload.
So he roared and met it head-on.
They crashed.
Fists collided.
Bone hit bone.
His knuckles cracked.
The zombie grabbed his jaw and tried to rip it open.
Elias bit down instead, hard.
He bit the damn zombie's fingers clean off.
It screamed in his face.
He headbutted it.
Once.
Twice.
The third time, the skull caved in like a crushed egg.
He pulled away, face drenched in gore.
The system beeped again.
[Strength: +2] [Morality Sync: +2%] [Corruption: +1%]
A new message flashed:
[You have gained a Passive Skill: Brutal Endurance]
Takes 20% less damage from melee attacks. Regenerates minor wounds slowly.
Elias grinned.
"Now that's what I'm talking about."
"Behind you!" Ivy screamed.
He spun.
Too late.
One of the Tier 3s tackled him to the ground.
It straddled his chest, claws raised.
Elias blocked the first swipe with his forearm.
Blood splashed from the gash it left.
The second swipe was dodged.
He punched upward.
His fist sank into its mouth and grabbed the top of its skull from inside.
He pulled.
The jaw snapped apart with a sickening POP.
Ivy covered her mouth in horror.
"You're insane," she whispered.
"I'm surviving," Elias snarled.
He shoved the twitching corpse off him and stood, barely catching his breath.
Zombies littered the street now, crawling over broken bodies. Some were eating human flesh. Some fighting. Some just howling at the sky.
The fire spread.
He saw two women hiding behind a car, shivering with tears dripping down their faces.
A zombie reached for them.
Elias moved in a flash.
He slid across the hood, slicing through the creature's neck mid-motion.
Its head rolled.
The woman cried out, thanking him.
"Get the hell outta here!" he barked. "Run!"
Ivy kept up, reloading, covering his blind spots. She wasn't a soldier, but she was brave. Too brave to kill a person.
More like an undead.
She shot a zombie in the face as it tried to crawl up Elias's back.
He didn't even look.
"Good aim," he said.
"Of course I'm good," she huffed.
They kept moving.
Saving who they could.
Killing everything else.
His body was covered in cuts and bruises, but he felt stronger.
The system kept flashing prompts.
[Morality Sync: +2%] [Corruption: -0.5%] [Harem Loyalty Boost Activated: Ivy's Loyalty +10%]
And then:
[WARNING: Berserk Meter Rising – 80%]
Shit.
He could feel it.
The rage is building.
The thirst.
He needed to calm down.
Or he'd lose control again.
Not now. Not when people needed him.
A loud shriek tore the sky.
They both froze.
Something massive stepped into view.
Nine feet tall.
Muscles like steel cables. Its skin was pure black, covered in spikes and pus. It had four arms.
Each holding a weapon taken from fallen humans—an axe, a bat, a steel beam, and a severed car door used as a shield.
"What the fuck is that?" Ivy whispered.
"I think that's a Tier 5."
It roared and charged.
Elias tossed his last grenade.
BOOM!
Smoke and fire filled the street. But when it cleared...
The beast still stood.
Burned. Bleeding.
But angry.
Very angry.
Elias cracked his neck.
"Time to test this power."
He rushed forward.
"Be careful!" Ivy yelled at him.
The beast swung.
Elias ducked under the steel beam, rolled, and slashed at its legs.
The blade barely scratched it.
It backhanded him.
Elias flew ten feet, crashing into a broken bus. Ivy gasped loudly, covering her mouth as she watched in horror.
He spat blood.
"Okay... that hurt."
It lumbered forward.
Ivy tried to distract it, but her bullets barely phased it.
"Come on, you ugly bastard," Elias growled, standing up.
He picked up a metal pipe and charged.
He dodged two attacks, slid between its legs, and jammed the pipe straight into its spine.
It roared in pain.
Turned.
Elias jumped on its back, stabbing again and again.
Finally, it dropped to its knees.
He pulled the pistol from his belt and fired it into the back of its skull.
Five shots.
Six.
Seven.
CRACK!
Its head exploded like a firework.
It collapsed with a final groan.
[All stats: +5]
[Passive Skill Upgrade: Brutal Endurance – Lv. 2]
[Morality Sync: +5%]
[Corruption: +2%]
Elias panted, falling to his knees. Blood poured from his mouth.
He laughed.
Ivy ran to him.
"You're hurt!"
"I'm fine," he coughed. "Just... give me a second."
Elias took his time to absorb all of their cores. He was even shocked when the tier 5 zombie equalled five cores. The other tier 3 were just 2 cores and the mindless ones, the tier 1, were just 1 core.
System Notification:
[Current Cores: 76 absorbed]
[Tier 5 Evolution Unlocked at 500 Cores.]
Elias stared at the system. He needed a total of 424 cores before he evolved.
"I hope I don't have four arms like that... ugly thing," he grabbed his hair. "Please system. If there's one thing I'd ask for, don't take away my handsome face,"
He spoke to the system as if it were a god.
.
The city behind them was quieter now.
Though it was still burning, there was no screaming.
"You saved them," she whispered.
"Yeah... I guess I did."
He looked up at the sky, now painted with smoke and ash.
The system beeped again.
[New Title Earned: Defender of the Broken]
[Effect: Morality Sync: +5%. Host presence now lowers fear in nearby allies.]
Elias blinked.
"Well, shit."
He grinned through the blood.
"I'm turning into a damn hero."
[END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN]