After thirty minutes of continuous running while making no detours or getting into fights, Jason eventually arrived in front of his apartment building. The big bear at the entrance was devoid of any meat, nothing more than bones now.

Lying in the lobby, Killgore's nose twitched as she sniffed the air. Her eyes opened and she stood up, tail wagging in joy. Jumping over the used bear trap, she saw her meatbag standing there with his arms open. 

"Hey girl, did you miss me?" She ran up to him and lovingly rubbed her head against his chest. The way his fingers went through her fur, scratching all the right spots, made her feel fantastic.

"Yeah yeah, I missed you too. Come on, let's go inside." She followed behind him, right on his heels as Jason made his way into the lobby. But as soon as he entered, he paused.

The bear trap had been used, a gnawed on leg bone still inside. Based on how fresh the blood was, it must have happened barely an hour ago. In the corner of the lobby, two piles of bones were quietly sitting there. From what Jason could see, one of them belonged to a child. A very young child.

"Huh, guess some bastards got a little too close to the castle. Good work Killgore." He rubbed her head fondly and moved towards the stairwell. As for Killgore, she loved hearing his praise for killing those pathetic crying humans. The little one was especially delicious.

Jason didn't want to be here for too long, so he grabbed a duffel bag and stuffed some instruments inside it. Guitar, violin, guzheng, and the 'greatest' instrument used by an arrogant and sassy octopus, the clarinet!

"That should be enough." He was just about to leave, but remembered something. Grabbing his molotovs and lighter, he put them in a backpack and grinned like a proper arsonist.

"Come on Killgore! Let's go murder something!" With a pep in his step, he left the apartment building followed by a happy giant hound.

Eventually, after twenty five minutes of walking, Jason found a good place to set up shop. It was in the middle of the road with buildings all around, mostly apartments. He chose this spot because this was a place he had never explored or gone to previously.

Before getting started, he broke into a room and stole a chair, soon placing it in the street. He plopped down, Killgore lying down by his side. She was a little confused on why they had stopped here, but didn't think much of it. She was just glad to spend time with her meatbag.

Pulling the guitar out first, he plucked the strings like an 'expert'. What followed was an awful sound that grated his ears and made him cringe.

"Haha, need some practice it seems. Just a tad rusty." He laughed awkwardly, feeling his confidence take a swan dive, and continued playing.

Off to the side, Killgore put her paws over her ears to block out the sound. Unfortunately, she was doomed to listen to this horrid noise for the next few hours.

Very soon, Jason noticed a bunch of common infected leaving the buildings and surrounding him. They didn't attack him or Killgore, staying a good distance away. The way they acted was normal though, like how some stared into space, banged their head into a wall, or picked a fight with one bigger than them because he bumped into their shoulder.

He simply shrugged, not caring that much. However, as time went on, more and more started joining the horde. Eventually, there were over seventy common infected surrounding him. Jason even noticed some others like dogs, cats, pet parrots, birds flying overhead, and rats coming out from the nearby manhole.

"This is weird. There's no way they're all here because of my stellar performance. Hm." He took a few seconds, trying to think of any reasonable explanation when he smacked his head.

"You moron. I can easily find out instead of wasting my time trying to be smart." Jason shook his head at his lack of intelligence and stood up.

Walking towards the horde with calm and confident steps, he saw them try and get out of his way like usual. Suddenly lunging forward with incredible speed that they couldn't react too, he grabbed a female infected by the throat. He had an amused smile on his face watching her go limp and chuckled.

"That won't save you." Using his other hand, he put it on top of her head and used his black tendril fingers to dig through her mind. They latched onto her nerves, letting him go through her entire life's history.

It was a very smooth process and soon, he found his answer. It turned out they were here for him, sensing a sort of aura he was emitting and found it almost intoxicating. As if it was natural to follow it without question. Since they were simple creatures, they gave in to this feeling rather quickly.

"So, I'm like an aphrodisiac for infected or something like that? Cool." Suddenly, his eyes widened a little.

"Wait a second." Letting the woman go, he watched her stand there like a statue.

Thinking of something, Jason sent a command through his mind and tried to order her. The seconds ticked by as the wind brushed his long hair. Nothing happened.

"Well that's embarrassing." His face heated up a little and he had the urge to slaughter everything here that witnessed his embarrassing act. But, there was something within him saying to try again.

"Go kill him." He ordered with a firm tone, pointing at a random male infected standing a few feet away.

Instantly, the woman's whole demeanor changed as she became a rabid animal, roaring like a demon. She charged at the confused victim and jumped on top of him, ripping a chunk of his throat out.

"Don't fight back!" At that fierce command, the male infected stopped his counter attack and stood there unmoving. 

A cruel, vicious smile appeared on Jason's face watching the male victim topple over, being eaten alive by the woman. His eyes showed no pity or remorse, only a sick kind of joy.

"I can control the common infected? Awesome! I should mind fuck the next special I come across, see if it's different." He left the woman to her meal, going back to his chair and sitting down, new happiness within him.

Just as he started playing his guitar again, he sensed something malicious coming from behind him. He paused for a second, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. A normal person would write this off as nothing. But not him.

Without hesitation, he jumped off the chair and rolled to the side. A slight prickling of pain came from his throat. 

Kneeling on the ground, he put a hand on his neck and saw a little blood. The wound wasn't deep at all, just a few drops of blood. It seemed whatever attacked him didn't have the best offense. That, or his defense was just that good. Looking up, he barely saw his attacker coming straight for him at super speed.

Using his tongue, it shot it out at a high speed right at his opponent's head. However, the unknown figure was easily able to dodge. It tried to cut him again on the neck, but he predicted the attack and brought up his armored covered arm to block it. Sparks flew as Jason used both his arms to throw the light aggressor, making the unknown figure fly through the air.

Getting to his feet, Jason was finally able to see his speedy assassin as it landed on the ground with all four legs.

"Is that… a cat? Are you retribution for the one I killed a while ago?" It looked extremely similar to a domestic cat, only the size was far different and it's eyes were blood red with a hint of madness within them. Easily, it must have been almost 6ft tall. It's paws had long 3in retractable claws that thankfully, couldn't get past his armor.

A hellish bark brought Jason out of his thoughts and without taking his eyes off the cat, yelled out.

"Stay Killgore!" Even Jason himself couldn't follow it's speed, much less Killgore who was far weaker than him.

Although the hound wanted to help, she followed his command and snarled at the enemy with acid frothing in her mouth.

The cat hissed and attacked once more. Jason could barely follow it with his eyes as it zoomed around the place, appearing as nothing more than a blur.

The surrounding common infected tried to attack it, but a quick order from Jason made them freeze in place. However, that didn't stop them from glaring at the cat like an enemy. Unlike previous times when they avoided the special infected at all cost, it was much different now that they had a master.

Jason tried his best to block it's attacks, but it was simply too fast for his body to keep up with it.

"Luckily, it can't get past my armor." Another scratch made sparks fly as the cat huffed in annoyance.

Jason smiled, ready to end this. After all, he wasn't just standing there getting hit for no reason.

The cat barreled for it's opponent and was about to attack the eyes, when a fist came out of nowhere. It was struck in the stomach, howling in pain as the punch sent it flying away. It got sent into a nearby building's wall, crashing against it and coughing up blood as it fell to the ground.

The cat felt it's bones shake and could tell it took massive damage. Another hit like that would likely end it's life.

Jason smiled victoriously and ran for his fallen foe. While he stood there getting attacked, he downloaded the cat's simple attacks and patterns. Within just a minute, he was able to easily predict where he would strike next. There wasn't much difference between this one and the last cat he fought.

"Gotta be more unpredictable man. Like this." Standing in front of the cat that just barely got to it's feet, Jason faked a kick that it managed to dodge by a hair.

But then, it was struck in all four limbs by the umbilical cords that came out of his back. The cat howled in pain once more, but couldn't move. They were pinned in place.

With a sadistic smile, Jason raised his leg up and brought it down onto the cat's back. A massive crack resounded out, along with another pain-filled wail.

Lying on the ground, the cat was in massive agony and tried to move, but found it's back legs unmoving. In fact, it couldn't feel them at all.

"Is this fate? Mistress Destiny sending me a sign that cats suck? Well, dogs are superior after all." Jason looked down on the cat and grabbed it's head with his vice-like grip.

Using his tendrils, he dug through the cat's brain, going through it's entire life, thoughts, and feelings. After a minute of soul searching, Jason let go of the cat that tried to crawl away in fear. It had felt him going through it's mind and that, terrified it more than anything else.

"No no no, don't you go anywhere. Didn't get to try this before, so be an obedient test subject and stay still." Jason got on top of the cat and wrapped his arms around it's throat, performing a rear-naked choke. He was always curious if the infected could be knocked out, but kept forgetting about it.

When four minutes had passed, Jason was just about to give up when the cat underneath him stopped moving. Letting it go, he checked it's pulse and breathing.

"Still alive and knocked out! Nice!" Happy with himself, he stomped on it's head with his foot. The skull broke open and brain matter went everywhere.

As he got down and started eating it, he went over the information he had learned.

'So these guys feel that strange attraction as well, but are very resistant to it. Much more so than these retards.'

As if to prove his point, a wandering common infected walked up to a wall and smacked his head against it. He got angry and began fighting with the wall, as if it was the one at fault.

'That must be how the Behemoth found me. My Shadow's Embrace skill should hide this aura, but why would I want that? Free minions to do my bidding, and special infected throwing themselves at me to die? Awesome!

But I wonder if growing stronger would change things. Make me able to control the specials as well. Or is it something else I'm missing?'

There was definitely something that he was lacking, Jason could feel it. However, he could also sense that he was close to something big. Something that would change him forever.

"Well, whatever. Figure that out later." He stood up after he finished eating and went over the changes. Since he didn't want fur, whiskers, or a tail, he made sure to block all those out in the same exact way as the side effect emotions. All he wanted to take, was the crazy ass speed.

Testing it out, he launched himself across the street, clearing the distance within a second. However, since he wasn't use to this new found speed, he crashed through multiple infected, making their bodies explode and turn into blood mist.

"Oh no. Anyway." There was no remorse on his blood covered face, only excitement at his newfound speed. It reminded him of Usain Bolter, only being slightly faster than him the last time they met.

"I wonder where he is anyway. Such a strange bastard." Jason shook his head free of those thoughts and kept testing out his speed, becoming more accustomed to it by the second.

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Alice stood in an alleyway, peeking around the corner at her prey. There was a serious expression on her face as she watched the fight in front of her with sharp eyes.

The two of them were new special infected animals, going at each other with brutal attacks and the intent to kill. On the left, there was a massive 4ft squirrel with a savage look on it's bloodied face. It moved from here to there with an incredible amount of mobility and agility as it dodged it's opponent's lethal strikes.

It mostly fought at range, using it's teeth as a projectile and firing at a rapid pace like a machine gun. The other weapon it used, was it's tail. Occasionally, the squirrel would whip it at the enemy, making the unusually long hairs fire in a spread like a shotgun.

'I'll name him… The Gun Squirrel! Hehe, I think I know why Jason loves naming them now. It's so fun!' She lightly giggled to herself, her eyes never leaving the two enemies fighting.

Alice had taken Jason's advice to heart, watching them from a distance and figuring out their strengths and weaknesses before fighting them.

She focused on the one on the right. A large, slightly bloody, demonic looking eagle flew through the air, it's sharp talons gleaming with a soft glow. It was these dangerous weapons that scarred the squirrels face, producing three lines that bled endlessly.

'They should have stopped bleeding by now. Is it that soft glow? Does it never stop? Can my regeneration counter it? Regardless, I shouldn't get hit by it just in case.' Making note of it's talons that cause a bleeding effect, she continued watching.

The eagle was 9 feet long, with an 18 foot wingspan as it swooped down, trying to grab onto the squirrel with it's talons. But just like before, the squirrel managed to dodge out of the way in time.

When the talons landed on the ground, they produced a loud boom as the road cracked open, making dust fly up. It was very similar to a Juggernaut's punch. Perhaps a bit stronger than a normal one.

The Gun Squirrel used this chance to attack with both weapons, making the eagle have no choice but to cover itself up with it's wings. The feathers on it's body proved to be extremely durable but unfortunately, it couldn't block the full strike and took some damage. It screeched in pain and rage, taking to the sky once more.

It flew up above the buildings and began to hover in place, out of it's opponent's range. The eagle flapped it's powerful wings, sending sharp, 3ft long feathers in the direction of the squirrel. They flew down with incredible speed, and even from such a high height, were insanely accurate.

But the squirrel wasn't some common Joe, able to dodge the vast majority of them. It did suffer a little when a feather clipped the side of it's leg, but by that point the eagle had stopped firing, likely close to running out of feathers. Unlike it's enemy, it didn't have a vast supply of ammo.

The hovering eagle glared at the squirrel, before turning around and beginning to fly away. It seemed to be cutting it's losses. Truthfully, if it tried, there was an extremely high chance it would kill the squirrel.

But who knew how many were watching in the shadows, waiting to take an opportunity to strike down his injured form.

"I don't think so." Alice wasn't willing to let them go when they were so injured. She picked up a nearby rock, and threw it with all her strength directly at the eagle.

It turned around just in time to get hit in the side of the head, falling to the ground. At the same time, Alice ran out of the alleyway, her armor already out and claws ready to slice.

The squirrel growled at the newcomer and opened it's mouth, shooting out a barrage of teeth. Knowing the damage wasn't enough to break her armor, Alice put both her arms up and bent her back slightly.

Most of the shots were blocked, but a few were able to get through the gaps. She grit her teeth and ignored the pain, coming within just a few meters of her foe. The squirrel tried backing up, but had no choice but to dodge a blob of acid coming it's way.

Unfortunately, it's injuries slowed it down, making a portion of it's get burned. As it screamed in pain, Alice picked up the speed and came right next to it. Using her left claw, she sliced the squirrel's tail off with a single downward swipe.

The massive amount of pain, and loss of it's tail, stunned the squirrel for a split second. That was plenty of time for Alice to jump on top of it's back and use both claws to cut it's head off.

"Phew! Okay, one more!" She got off the dead body and eagerly ran in the direction of the eagle that fell.

However, when she got there she was just in time to see it fly away into the clouds. A frown appeared on her pretty, sweaty face as she looked at the dead rats.

While she watched them fight, she had spread her entire two hundred rat swarm around the area to block their escape. Unfortunately, her rats weren't able to make it to this position in time to reinforce their comrades.

"Fuck." She huffed out, running back from where she came from.

"Oh well. Can't win them all." It was a shame though. She was really looking foward to getting those wings and flying through the sky like a bird.

When she returned, the consumption of The Gun Squirrel didn't take too long. When there was nothing but bones left, Alice waited for the improvements.

But besides a little bit more mobility, nothing else happened. No shotgun tail, or machine gun teeth. Alice was confused at what was happening. She thought about it a little, and there was only one conclusion she came too.

"Do I have a limit on how many powers I can obtain?" She was pretty upset at first, but soon breathed a sigh of relief. 

"At least the basics are still growing, so that's something." Since her mobility was able to increase, it was safe to assume others like strength or durability would as well. Besides, it didn't really make much sense in the first place to endlessly gain more and more powers.

But then, a look of wonder appeared on her face when thinking about something.

"Hm, can my existing ones improve? I doubt I'll find one of those Plague Commanders, so it looks like I need an Acid Spitter or a Bone Spiker. Well, off I go!" Alice happily skipped away, hopeful that she could still grow stronger despite having a limit on how many powers she could obtain.

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"Thank you for your time ma'am, you've been very helpful." Saul, a brown haired 5ft 10in tall man, said in a gruff voice as he walked out of the house, followed by the beautiful Lily. With his trench coat and fedora, he looked like a stereotypical detective from a movie.

Behind them, standing in the doorway, was a mature older woman and a young girl at the age of four years old. The mother had puffy eyes, as if she had been crying. Underneath them, dark shadows could be seen indicating a lack of sleep. She had been up all night worrying for her husband who hadn't returned. The daughter wasn't much better, looking extremely sad as she lowered her head.

"I'm glad to have been of some help, I just hope it helps you find my husband." Her voice of concern and heartache made the two detectives feel guilty. They shared a quick look that went unnoticed.

"Don't worry miss, we'll find your husband." Saul said once more, tipping his hat and walking away. Lily gave the mature milf a nod and was about to leave as well. However, a soft little hand stopped her, which was soon followed by a low and sad voice.

"Big sister, you'll find my daddy right?" The little girl looked directly into Lily's eyes with her own teary ones, making the muscular sister's heart melt. She reminded Lily of Alice when she was younger, this adorable little thing that you wanted to protect and safeguard from the cruel world.

"Of course! Don't you worry your silly little head! I'll find that piece of sh-" She paused, looking at the stunned little girl before continuing.

"Piece of poop that did this and bring his… butt to justice! Don't be sad, I'm sure your daddy is doing just fine. So cheer up, okay?" Lily smiled at the little girl, who finally became a little happy.

"Okay big sister! I believe you!"

Lily winced a little at that. She hated lying to her, but it's not like she can say 'Yup, your father's dead kid. Get over it.'

The little girl released Lily's hand, saying goodbye and heading back inside. She caught up to Saul standing there waiting for her, who soon raised an eyebrow as they walked together.

"You upset?" He could tell based on Lily's fury filled face that she was a little angry.

"Definitely. I'll kill the piece of shit who did this." Her voice was low and chilly, nothing like her fiery self. She had always been someone who liked to put criminals down, much less someone like this who left an innocent child fatherless.

"Hm, then let's head to the crime scene first. See if the killer left anything behind by mistake. If only we had a body." He shook his head with a sigh before continuing.

"Afterwards, we'll head to the Reapers. Get their statements written down." Lily nodded at his words and added on.

"We'll also need the full list of everyone at the party, in case of any potential suspects or those that can corroborate the Reaper's stories. Plus, anyone that was around the area at the time of the murder." 

"That's gotta be what? Four hundred people at least? Maybe upwards to five hundred? Even with the forty helpers Eric promised us, that'll probably take us about twenty hours at the minimum. Probably more since a lot of them have no idea how to interview someone correctly." Saul paused, counting up the numbers in his head.

"So… let's just round that up to, say, twenty five? Maybe thirty hours? This shit could even take a few days. A week if we're really unlucky. Besides, if anyone was around that area, it was probably too dark to make out any discerning features."

Lily nodded gravely, agreeing with every word he said. This wasn't like before the world ended, when they had plenty of manpower, cameras, the works.

"Ugh, I can feel a headache coming already." She rubbed her temples with one hand, already predicting the long and boring process of interviewing people. It was always her least favorite part, finding the running and gunning far more fun.

"This might be one of those kinds of cases." Saul's words brought her out of her thoughts.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"It might be one of the cases where we have jack shit, and just have to wait for another body to drop. I've had a few in my career. It's… an awful feeling of powerlessness." He sighed deeply, remembering a few cases where they had to sit around and twirl their thumbs until someone else was killed.

Lily sighed as well, looking up into the sky.

"Why can't I just beat some criminal bastard's ass? Rip his heart out and piss on it!" She tightened her fists, grinning at the thought of kicking the shit out of someone evil.

Saul looked at her strangely, finding this woman incredibly odd.

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(Jason)

Currently, I was standing in the middle a different street with Killgore to my left, and a giant horde of three hundred infected behind me. The numbers just kept increasing and increasing, no matter what I did.

Sure, I could do my whole Shadow's Embrace shtick, but why would I not want hundreds and thousands of minions to do my bidding? Besides, I was actually starting to see some stronger and more intelligent ones within the horde.

Their numbers were small, only about ten, but they could actually follow more than the basic simplistic commands their inferior brothers couldn't. I mean seriously. How hard is it to go inside an apartment, and not accidentally kill yourself by falling down the stairs? According to my survey, extremely difficult.

"Hey, little lady, come here." I called one of those better ones over. She was a tiny thing, only being 4ft 9in. However, she had a pretty face and a decent body, so I guess it wasn't all bad for her.

She hurried her midget ass over, stopping right in front of me and awaiting her next order. Gosh, I love being a master. A king. Emperor sounds better though. Got more oomph to it. Then again, could just call myself God...

"Hm, I think I'll name you… Trixie." There was a slight change in her. It was faint, but I definitely saw a flash of recognition within her eyes. Huh, cool.

"I want you to go ahead and scout for me, okay? If you see any special infected, come back here and lead me to them. Now go, and try not to die huh?" I shooed her away, and off my little worker drone went. She sprinted ahead, actually being pretty quick for a common infected.

"Ah~ It's good to be king." I sat down on the chair sitting in the middle of the road and began playing the gunzheng this time. Spicing things up is always important.

The reason why I had left my previous spot and moved further into the city, was because nothing was showing up. Even after two hours, besides the newly named Speedster Cat, there were no new specials. Thus, a change of scenery was in order.

Only a few minutes into my… amazing performance, and Trixie came running back. She stopped right in front of me, out of breath as she stood there waiting for her new orders.

"Already back? Good work Trixie! Now, bring me to them." For a split second, I could have sworn I saw a brief flash of happiness on Trixie's face. That's an interesting development. Do they actually like my praise?

Anyway, I packed my stuff away as Killgore stretched lazily and got up. Definitely need to get her trained up nice and good as well. She's becoming a little too slothful.

Trixie led me and the horde down the street to where she found the special infected. However, when we got there, I realized she didn't just find one. She found two. What a great minion I have.

Just up ahead, two Juggernauts could be seen sitting on the side of the road in front of a building. One of them, the male, was 12ft tall and had multiple scars across his body. The other was female, and in her hands was a tiny red baby. And by the looks of it? It might be their child.

I had no idea they could even give birth. What a spectacular find. I wonder what would happen when it's all grown up? Would it be stronger than it's parents? Would it be more intelligent? So many questions, so little answers.

I told the horde to back up, as to not get in the way, while me and Killgore headed up. This was the perfect opportunity to test my guard dog's prowess against a stronger opponent. By the excited look on her face, she was eager to fight as well.

Clearly, I was going to take the big one, who just now noticed our approach. As for the female who put the baby in a cradle and stood up with an angry look, she was for Killgore.

I could see the serious expression on the male Juggernaut's face as he warily stared at me. Could he sense his coming doom like some kind of prophet?

"Killgore, you kill the female. I'll handle the male, okay?" She nodded like a good little killing machine and barked happily. The female Juggernaut was a little over 9ft, but not quite 10ft. So, it should be a tough challenge for her.

I rushed for the male, my armor already out, who tensed up at my approach. Not charging me immediately? Might be smarter than I thought then.

When I got within range, he immediately tried bashing my head in with his fist. I easily slipped his punch and came right underneath his head. Before he could even react, my claws came out and I slashed his chest and throat open.

Unfortunately, while it did major damage, wasn't enough to down him immediately. He roared in pain and threw another punch, which I easily avoided by backing up. The extra boost in speed from the Speedster Cat is really fucking nice.

Just as I was about to slice his arm off, white and large boney spikes came out from underneath his skin. With wide eyes, I used my incredible instincts to move back. However, the suddenness of the attack took me by surprise and still made me take some damage. A few pieces of my armor cracked as I was pushed back a couple meters. Otherwise, I was mostly fine.

He must have eaten a Bone Spiker at some point, because I also had that ability. Though, never really felt the need to use it yet. I always saw it as a little useless myself, but maybe I was wrong. 

As I watched the blood flowing from his wounds start to slow, I realized he also has some form of regeneration. Obviously, I can't just sit back and let him heal, so I run right for him again. Seeing me coming at such a high speed, he turned around and ran towards a nearby car. Is there some grand plan here I'm not seeing?

Since the car was close to begin with, he reached it in just under a second. I then watched as he effortlessly picked up the car and threw it in my direction. Easily sliding under the coming car, I almost came face first with a punch flying directly at me.

Unfortunately for him, I was awesome. In a split microsecond, I opened my mouth and shot my tongue at his eyeball. Because he was currently in the midst of an attack, he couldn't block it in time and lost that same eye, shifting his strike just barely enough for me to roll to the side. 

When it landed on the street, the poor road immediately broke apart. It was as if an earthquake just popped up out of nowhere. Good thing I didn't get hit.

Despite being in a massive amount of pain and losing an eye, he dug his fingers into the road and threw a chunk of it at my face. Putting my arms up, the half-assed attack was blocked easily. However, my vision was blinded slightly. Almost couldn't see the punch coming right after it. Keyword being almost.

I side-stepped to the left, letting his dangerous fist blow past me. I could feel the wind brush against my face. What a strong fucker.

In that same moment, I used my claws in tandem and sliced his arm, trying to take it off. His durable skin saved him from losing it, but it was definitely useless now as it dangled there. He cried out in pain once more, backing up with some slight fear on his face.

I ran right for him, my cords coming out of my back and striking him in the chest with all four of them. While that happened, I moved to his back as his other hand grabbed one of the cords. Before he could do anything, I cut off the one he grabbed and took back the others into my flesh. It definitely hurt like a son of a bitch, but it was better than letting him take control.

He couldn't react fast enough as I got behind him, using my claws to rip open his ankles. Another roar of agony was soon followed by him kneeling on the road. I jumped on top of his back and inserted both of my claws into his skull. They went so deep I could see them come out the otherside.

Even in this dying state, he used all his remaining strength to lift his left arm and punch me off his head.

I was thrown across the street by that punch, my armor cracked even more as blood came from my lips. When I got up, I saw him face first on the road.

"Goddamn. That was pretty cool." I coughed a little, feeling my organs scream in pain as some blood landed on the road.

Remembering something, I hurriedly looked at Killgore. I was so focused on my fight I completely forgot about her. I couldn't be blamed though. The battle was super fun, and he was actually pretty good.

She was bloody and definitely severely injured, but her opponent wasn't better off. Multiple pieces of the female Juggernaut's flesh were gone, some even revealing bone after repeated acid attacks on the same spot. There were also numerous claw and teeth marks all over her body that weren't healing at all.

Standing where I was, I nervously watched as Killgore tried her best to win. I wasn't going to intervene until she was about to die. Unfortunately, I needed to as the female Juggernaut had picked her up with both hands and tried crushing her to death.

Using all my speed, I rushed over and cut her head off before Killgore could die. Her hands softened and the injured hound was released. I rushed towards her, patting her on the back as she coughed up blood.

"You okay Killgore? Don't worry, you did good." There was disappointment on her upset face. She clearly wasn't expecting to lose like this. But this is something everyone goes through. Even I lost my first fight, having no idea what to do.

"Here, just lie down and wait for your wounds to heal. After that, you can eat this fucker and grow stronger. It's okay to lose, but whether you stay down or get up and become better is up to you." I left her with my words of wisdom and walked over to the male Juggernaut.

I got down to my knees and began consuming him like the addicted bastard I was. At least I'll admit I have a problem. No chance in hell was I gonna stop though.

This time, I didn't gain any height because I didn't want anymore yet. Until Alice caught up to me, I wasn't going to get any larger. Another thing that won't grow was my dick. Well, besides right now.

At the moment, it was sitting at a nice 9in. But like before, until Alice gets… deeper? I won't grow it anymore. Besides that, my strength and durability increased once more, as did the power of my bones. Which, in turn, increased the effectiveness of the melee and ranged spikes.

"What name would I give them? But if I give that a name, doesn't everything else deserve one? That's just not worth it." As I said this, my feet carried me over to the crying baby. I definitely had some ideas for those bone spikes, but that can wait.

I looked into the cradle and saw the little red shithead wailing non-stop. I guess he is a baby after all. That, and he did just witness something horrible.

Though, he looked kinda angry, which made me chuckle. But holy hell, this thing looks like a proper monster baby. At least the Juggernaut's looked somewhat like their past selves.

I placed my armored hand on his neck as he continued to cry and wail, looking at me like I was a monster. Which is true I guess. My armor and claws were still out.

"Should I just kill you now?" Obviously, I got no answer as he couldn't talk or understand me.

"I kinda do wanna keep you. Raise you into a warrior for me. Who knows how strong you'll get, and how much help you could be. Maybe even raise you like my son." My hand tightened, making him struggle to breath as he thrashed around.

"Then again, if I want a kid, I'll just have one with Alice. And it'll be better since it's actually mine. Besides-" My voice became deep and chilly as I saw him freeze up in terror.

"I just killed your parents. Who knows if you won't stab me in the back for something like that?" Just as I was about to snap it's neck, I stopped myself. How could I kill an innocent baby!

"Ah! How could I kill you, like some kind of heartless monster villain?! When… I could brainwash you instead?" I had an idea that since I could go through a creature's memories and thoughts, why couldn't I try rewriting their brain so they worship me as a God? Ah, my brilliance and mercy truly knows no bounds.

The little baby coughed harshly when I released its throat, crying once more. Even though I know it's just a newborn and all, that noise is starting to drive me nuts. Is this what it's going to be like with my own child with Alice? Ugh, I can feel the headache already.

Throwing those thoughts away, I placed both my hands on top of it's tiny head. It tried to get out of my grip, but how could it?

My claws turned into black, wiggly tendrils that burrowed into the baby's skull. I closed my eyes and controlled them to go deeper and deeper. Unlike previous times, I wasn't going to access it's memories, thoughts, or anything like that. All that stuff was pretty easy to do. But this would probably be more difficult.

When I got inside it's brain, I paused slightly. It looked far different than anything I'd come across before. It was hard to put it into words, but if I had to, I would say it looked far more complex. The synapses in it's brain were firing way faster than other infected, which would be light years faster than Robert. This brain… seemed to be more developed. Interesting.

Anyway, I made my way to multiple parts of the brain, like the ones that control it's personality, recognition, emotions, ect. I wanted to make it so that every time he saw me, he saw his God. His Creator.

At the same time, I was going to make his personality nothing more than some obedient dog that follows my orders to the letter. My tendrils latched onto these parts, beginning to rewire his nerves and parts of his brain. 

They split up into different branches, going deeper and deeper as I changed all the different sections of his brain. I could feel the sweat going down my brow as I delicately controlled my tendrils like a surgeon. A single mistake is all it'll take. Why couldn't this be as simple as reading their memories and feelings?

I had to be extra careful, just take it nice and-

"Uh oh." My left hand twitched slightly, making a few of my tendrils rip apart pieces of his brain.

"Ah shit." I opened my eyes and saw that his were open and vacant, no life within them. From his orifices, orange blood began to flow as he lay there unmoving.

Sighing, I took back my tendrils and let go of his head.

"That's an oopsy whoopsy. A real 'My Bad' buddy." Oh well, no big loss when you think about it. If anything, I have more experience for next time! But now, what to do with the body…

You know what they say, let nothing go to waste. Didn't the Indians say some nonsense like every part of the buffalo? Same thing really.

I grabbed it's small lifeless corpse and unhinged my jaw slightly. Putting half of it's 41 inch body inside, I used my teeth to bite it in half. I chewed slowly, really savoring the flavor.

"Holy mother of fuck that's good!" I couldn't help but exclaim out. It was probably the best tasting thing I've ever had in my life! Just as I happily finished the last of it, I looked up at the name of the building. Didn't bother reading it before what they were sitting in front of.

"WalBlart? What are the odds?" Although it wasn't the same one as the place I mentioned before, it's still a strange coincidence. Shrugging my shoulders, I went inside and took a little look around.

Immediately, I found dozens of common infected loitering around the place. However, when they saw me, they became little slaves that came under my Will. As I got used to controlling them, I was actually able to sense the ones under my command. Kinda like with Alice and her rats, just... more complete so to speak.

As for mental psychic orders, that seemed to be a little ways away. I'm sure I'll figure it out later though. Because by the looks of it, I have barely even touched the potential hidden within me. Almost seems... limitless.

"Chair-Holder!" I yelled out, confusing the new fifty or so common infected. But I could feel my diligent worker bee running down the street and come to the entrance.

He was a tall little fucker, coming in at a solid 6ft 4in. Strong too, given that he could lift a two hundred pound infected over his head and toss him like he weighed nothing. Anyway, he was very similar to Trixie, being one of the ten better infected. Little dumb though, that's for sure.

"Place my chair in the middle of the street and go get Trixie. Tell her to bring the horde here." He stood still for a few seconds, processing the 'complex' task I just gave him, before doing what I said. What a dumbass. 

As I waited there, some commotion from up ahead caught my interest. I could see a few common infected rush towards something, but then die. I could quite literally feel their connection to me getting severed. What an odd feeling. Almost like a piece of myself is gone. Thankfully, it wasn't really the case or that'd get old really fucking quick. 

Interested in this development, I waited in place as I waved my hand, commanding my new mini-horde.

"Wait." They stopped in place like statues, standing absolutely still.

About two minutes later, and some more deaths from up ahead, Trixie arrived front and center. I'm starting to like this one. 

"Trixie, I want you to take the horde and go fight the thing up ahead. Make sure NOT to kill it. Understand?" She nodded her little head slowly. That's... a different response than before. Is she somehow getting smarter? I wonder if it's because of me?

Anyway, my little midget commander roared out and the horde began following her. However, it wasn't some Walking Dead slow zombie shit. They immediately sprinted as fast they could down the store and passed a corner. Never knew why people liked slow ones. In my opinion, the fast movers were scary as fuck.

From where I was standing, I could hear the sounds of a battle and I couldn't help but rush foward to see how my little Trixie was doing. Just as I turned the corner, I was just in time to see dozens of my common infected biting and clawing at a big lizard. 

By the looks of it, he wasn't anything special, especially since he fell to the floor half dead. Before the common infected could finish the job, Trixie roared out and pushed a few of them away from his body. They seemed upset, but followed her orders and stayed put. 

I wonder if they communicate that way? Similar to how birds chirp to each other?

While I walked over, I could see a few dead infected. It wasn't much, only about eight of them. Guess this guy was pretty weak. Trixie and the rest saw my approach and became frozen statues. I came up to my midget commander and patted her on the head.

"Good work Trixie, keep it up. Now, I want you to go around and look for a certain something." I explained to her the fuel that Edward was lookin for. She nodded her tiny head and roared out at the horde, who started splitting up. Fuck, this is awesome.

Back to the weak lizard guy, he was only about 5ft tall with countless wounds all over him. His eyes were staring up into me, full of pure fear and terror. Occasionally, they would glass over before he shook his head, becoming even more frightened. Sigh, I guess he doesn't know being enslaved to me is actually his good fortune! This calls for punishment!

"Don't be scared little guy! This won't hurt at all." My fingers grabbed his head. I could feel a grin come on my face against my will.

"I'm lying. This is probably going to hurt a lot." My tendrils burrowed into his head, trying the exact same procedure of brainwashing that I did with the Juggernaut baby.

And just like before, a slight fuckup later and his brain turned into mush. As I watched blood flow from all the holes in his head, I frowned slightly. This might be a lot harder than I thought. 

"Oh well, just gotta practice some more!" Feeling cheerful, I headed outside and sat down next to Killgore, who had her eyes closed. My fingers went through her bloodied fur as Trixie came out of the store with Chair-Holder and a few other next to her.

They placed the newly found fuel down in front of me and waited there anxiously for my praise. Flesh eating monsters acting so cute.

"Good. Gather the horde out here, then wait for further orders. As for the body in there, you can-" I paused, thinking of something. I was going to hand it over to Trixie as a reward, but I don't want her to suddenly become an ugly lizard. Maybe I can do something...

"Go get the body in there and bring it here." Only Trixie nodded, but I could see slight happiness from the praise in Chair-Holder's dumb looking face. He joyfully followed after Trixie with a few other infected.

While they left, I looked down at Killgore. She still needed a good amount of time to heal. Either I wait here for her, which might take a few hours, or I go on alone.