The horde marched toward Kazuki and his group, the slowness of their steps did not diminish the threat they posed in their insatiable hunt.

The battle began with a roar as the first tables and sofas were knocked over by the advancing zombies. Kazuki and his group remained calm, focused in their positions, ready to face the approaching horde. The sounds of the shuffling steps of the undead echoed through the deserted streets, while Kazuki's lantern illuminated the scene, highlighting the faces, partly determined and partly fearful, of those present.

The zombies approached slowly, their hands outstretched, seeking their next victim. Shura wielded her katana firmly, Kasumi maintained her elegant posture as she held hers, her gaze fixed on the horde, and Saeko displayed outward calmness, though her heart raced with anticipation, a nearly impossible desire to contain. At their sides, Miku and Momo prepared to shoot, with Taniuchi providing them with ammunition.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Takashi and his group watched attentively, ready to intervene if necessary. The Maresato, still shocked by the scene before them, were in position, hidden in the area.

As the zombies drew near, Kazuki's group remained firm, waiting for the right moment to act. With a signal from Kazuki, Shura advanced, her katana slicing through the air with a fluid motion. She attacked with precision, decapitating a zombie with a single blow, while Kasumi and Saeko advanced in sync, Kasumi cutting heads and Saeko crushing skulls with her shinai.

Shura moved with agility, her katana slicing through the air with a sharp hum as she delivered quick and precise blows. Each movement was calculated, and each strike was delivered with unwavering determination. She moved like a dancer among the undead as she took them down one by one.

Beside her, Kasumi fought with seriousness and silence, her elegant movements hiding a formidable technique. Her blue katana gleamed in the lantern light, cutting through the rotten flesh of the zombies with ease.

Meanwhile, Saeko wielded her shinai with impressive fluidity, dodging the grabs of the zombies as she crushed her opponents with quick and precise blows. She was a force to be reckoned with, her fighting spirit burning even in the face of the horde.

Meanwhile, Miku and Momo fired at the targets stumbling over obstacles, their arrows and Kohta's bolts finding their marks with lethal precision, preventing the undead from getting too close. Taniuchi remained focused on her work, replenishing the girls' arrows quickly and silently.

Kazuki watched attentively as everyone acted, and he noticed that the force exerted by all did not match that of a high school student at all. Saeko was a protagonist, so anything she did would be within the standard for him. However, Miku and Momo hit several shots with their bows and crossbows even amid this chaos bordered on the supernatural.

'They aren't realizing that the virus is altering their bodies... Improving? Perhaps. I saw Takashi turn someone's head into a 'U' with that bat of his, seeing it in an anime isn't strange, but in reality, it doesn't make any sense, unless his strength is increased. I myself am being changed by the system, and by the mutation, my level up distributed 5 points among my attributes based on which ones I used the most. Oops!' Kazuki stopped his train of thought due to an emergency.

Shura, who was further ahead of the barricades, got too excited and found herself surrounded by four of them. Kazuki then ran, jumping using the tables as platforms and with the machete he had chosen as a weapon. And with a final leap, his blade descended upon the skull of a woman who had her entire stomach side chewed, with her ribs showing as she lunged past Shura's back.

The blade plunged into the skull, splitting it from top to bottom and ending any movement that corpse still had. Shura attacked the body in front of her, a middle-aged chubby man missing part of his neck. Her slash hit him, decapitating him, and with a kick, she propelled herself in Kazuki's direction, dodging the advance of the two attacking her from the sides. Shortly after, Saeko arrived and with two quick blows finished them off.

Letting out a sigh of relief as they moved back to the back of the barricades, Shura commented, "Damn, that was close... Kazuki, if the situation weren't like this, I would give you a French kiss right now!"

"You just need to do it when we're back at the base." Quipped Kazuki back.

[Affinity with Shura Kirigakure +15]

The battle was intense, with some close shaves, the sounds of the zombies' groans mixed with the pops of the shots and the metallic sound of the white weapons finding rotten flesh. Kazuki led the group with determination, coordinating their movements and providing support whenever someone found themselves in a difficult position, killing only a few zombies himself.

As the battle progressed, more and more zombies approached, drawn by the sound of the conflict. The horde seemed to not diminish, a lake of rotten flesh and empty eyes formed in that area of the block, apparently many of the zombies from the surroundings were attracted. But Kazuki and his group did not retreat, facing the enemy with determination. Takashi and Rei joined the fight as well, with Takuzo protecting the Maresato, relieving Kazuki and Saeko who were moving through the battlefield offering support and knocking down those they could.

Rei stood by Takashi's side, her spear just a dark blur as she penetrated skulls and tore necks approaching. Her concentration was at its maximum, having Takashi by her side filled her with courage and her will to protect her friends surpassing any obstacle that arose in her path.

As the battle unfolded, the fighters began to show signs of fatigue. Sweat ran down their faces, and their breaths became heavy. But the end was near, with only 6 zombies left, Kazuki, Saeko, Shura, Kasumi, Takashi, and Rei attacked the six at once, not giving them time to cross the sea of bodies or the obstacles placed. Putting an end to the battle at once.

Out of breath, the fighters gathered, looking around to assess the damage. They were all exhausted but alive. Takashi and Kazuki exchanged glances. A promise that they would have a conversation later, Kazuki's stern look sending shivers down Takashi's spine.

"Let's go, everyone, or their friends will arrive!" Kazuki called out to everyone who, despite being exhausted and just wanting to lie down where they were and sleep, were injected with vigor to return to the apartments, leaving all the furniture and bodies in the middle of the street.

The night was far from over, and perhaps more challenges like this or worse would come, but at that moment a feeling of unity was created in the group and the conviction that as long as they fought together, they could survive in this world dominated by the undead. For now, however, they could rest, knowing that they had stood firm against the dead that surrounded them.

In total, the group ended 47 zombies. Kazuki killed 12 of them, and together with the 7 he killed during the retaking of the condominium, his count was 19. He wanted to have killed one more, but he couldn't do

much when he was keeping an eye on the group to make sure they didn't fall into ambushes.

The Maresato approached and bowed deeply before saying, "Thank you very much for saving our Family."

Seeing the presence of the mother with the family, Kazuki was a little surprised before replying, "Please, get up. This was something we intended to do already, saving you was just a coincidence. Please let's go, before more of them arrive. There's an even larger horde coming to this area trying to reach the bridge. Keep quiet and follow the girls, I'll distract anyone feeling brave enough to follow us."

Kazuki spoke partially the truth, it wasn't a coincidence, he sent Takashi fully aware that he would probably encounter Alice. He may not be a saint, but he wouldn't leave a child to be devoured knowing he could save her, not only that, maybe Takashi would've seen her just like in the manga and went unprepared to save her and doomed them all. He just bet on Takashi's plot armor and prepared a scenario that wouldn't ruin their rest like it was done in the manga.

The following horde was somewhat larger than expected? Definitely, but at least Kazuki managed to farm EXP and at the same time confirmed that everyone was infected with the virus causing some mutation in their bodies. When everyone was reunited, he would talk about the matter.

Using the spotlight, Kazuki aimed it towards the windows around, ready to blind anyone who tried to figure out which way they were going. Noticing that where he pointed, the few people were hiding out of fear of being noticed by him, he turned off the lantern and used the night to move through walls and alleys, distracting anyone from following them.

...

"Mrs. Maresato, you can go to the house next door, I see that little Alice is practically asleep on her feet," Shizuka said.

"This block of the condominium has 4 houses side by side, we can divide the group between them to rest," Saya commented.

"Thank you, then I'll be in the house next door, in case you need me." Maria Maresato, carrying little Alice in her arms, withdrew to the adjacent maisonette, her husband looked relieved to have found a safe place.

"Kazuki, I want to take a shower and sleep~ I'm beat," Shura said as she streched her arms above her head making sure that her bust was turned to Kazuki's sight.

Being called, Kazuki, after tearing his eyes away from the sight, took a step forward from the group gathered in Rika Minami's living room. Everyone noticed he had something to say, ceasing their side conversations, and even with their body covered in grime and sweat, and their clothes stained with blood, they focused their attention on him.

"Now that I have everyone's attention, I have a few things to say before you can rest. Firstly, thank you for giving your best during the fight. None of you, no matter how terrified you were, backed down, and that's a huge achievement for us and greatly increases our chances of survival. I'm not going to ask for applause because a fight like that for one night is already more than enough," Everyone laughed.

"The second message is about the division of groups for the houses. Me, Kyoko, Shizuka, Kohta, and Saeko will stay in this house. Takashi, Rei, Takuso, Naomi, and Momo can stay in house 3, the Maresato will stay in house 2, Shura, Kasumi, Miku, and Taniuchi will stay in house 4. Kenji, I'll leave you and your family in a house alone because we just met and you probably wouldn't feel safe with any of us in the house, is that okay with you?"

"Oh, you didn't need to worry about that, we're the ones bothering you. But, thanks for the consideration, I'll rest tonight." Kazuki noticed that Shura, Miku and Taniuchi didn't like the arrangement, but he preferred not to comment. Seeing that no one else commented, he moved on to the third and most important point.

"Finally, the last thing I have to say for today to you all." He paused a little longer so everyone understood it would be something serious. "We're all infected."

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Kanmuru

Eai pessoal~

Sorry for the delay, this week was impossible for me.

I noticed something while writing this chapter. I was trying to write quickly to release the chapter, and I forgot that I started writing this because first and foremost I wanted to read a story like this. So I was losing my enjoyment and just writing to make a schedule.

So I kinda stopped and let it sit until I had motivation. So here is the chapter, I quite liked it, and I hope you all like it too.

What did you guys think about the fight scene, it was quite a big one, and making sure about what everyone was doing was kinda hard. If you felt a lack of Saya here it's because she was the strategist who made the plan.

Here you have it, Kazuki intentionally made Takashi go around the block just to find Alice in a more controlled environment. If you're edgy enough to just let a little kid die after having her father killed right in front of her, I wouldn't want to be your friend.

I will try to get the next one out by Wednesday. 

Cya'round~