Translation: Word (Microsoft), there are probably errors in the masculine and feminine pronouns.
Chapter 3
I have no idea where Alicia is.
The echo of the survivors' footsteps and the murmurs of the zombie-overrun city echoed in the distance, but my focus was in another direction: a faint trace of spiritual energy. It was subtle, almost imperceptible to anyone, but not to me.
Move on to that place, if Alice used her spiritual energy for anything, it must mean that she can break the seal she imposed on herself.
I narrowed my eyes.
She's barely fifteen, but to me and anyone who's witnessed what she can do, Alicia is the most dangerous in Little Garden. His gift, his manipulation of the soul, is a weapon as lethal as it is unpredictable. It is enough for him to touch the skin of his target with his fingertips to twist, rewrite or, in the worst case, destroy the soul of his victim. And worst of all... it is that he does it with the same ease with which others draw on a blank canvas.
As was the case with me.
Before, my body and soul were in perfect sync with what it means to be a monster. An oni who had reached the pinnacle of power, known and feared as King Oni Sengo.
But Alice... He took my soul in his hands and, with eerie precision, completely rewrote it, stripping me of my oni nature and turning me back into a human.
I walked into the woods, pushing aside branches and leaves. The air was charged with small traces of spiritual energy.
The city behind me was chaos, but the forest... I had a different kind of silence. It wasn't the comforting calm of nature. No. It was a tense silence, a prelude to something dangerous.
"What the hell are you doing this time, Alice?" I muttered to myself.
I picked up my pace.
••
The clearing was strangely empty, save for one figure I recognized instantly.
"Alice." I ran to her, feeling a little worry.
She was lying on the floor, her white hair spread like a halo around her head. Her small figure seemed too fragile at the moment, and the contrast with the silence of the forest was only sounding an alarm in my head. I knelt beside him, checking for visible wounds.
Nothing. There was no blood, no scratches, and no signs of having been attacked. But what worried me most was that he didn't react.
"Wake up..." I whispered, resting my hand on his forehead to check his temperature. Nothing. His temperature was normal, and his breathing was regular, but his condition remained a mystery.
I lifted it carefully, holding it to my chest like glass about to break. The little Alice who could tear souls apart with her fingertips... Now she looked like a helpless child.
But it wasn't.
Something had happened here. It couldn't be a coincidence that there were traces of spiritual energy in the area.
Why would she break the seal she imposed on herself?
I stood up, with Alice in my arms, and began to scan the clearing for answers. Examine the footprints in the ground, the broken branches, any hint of what had happened.
Nothing.
Frustrated, I cast a glance into the shadows among the trees.
"There's no point in staying here." I muttered as I adjusted Alicia's weight in my arms. If something or someone had caused Alice to use her powers, it is certain that she is no longer there.
I started to return to the city.
…
Beyond the clearing, among the bushes and trees, a body lay hidden under the fallen leaves and branches. A dark-haired woman was twisted into an unnatural position, as if death had brutally overtaken her.
His neck was twisted at an impossible angle, the mark of small fingers etched into his pale skin as a reminder of who had done this.
Alicia was not going to allow anyone to interrupt the Gift Game she had made to have fun with her father.
…
••
The time it took to look for her daughter, Alicia, was crucial. As Senji crossed the forest carrying the girl, the group had already mobilized in the Humvee. They made their way through streets of chaos, crushing the undead with the vehicle's armored wheels, trying to make their way to a safer destination.
But elsewhere, the situation was dangerous for someone important.
The roar of the plane's engines could barely cover the screams and gunfire that filled the main cabin of Air Force One. A place that should have been the safest in the world was now a death trap.
"Shit! Shoot in the head!" shouted one of the Secret Service agents as he discharged his weapon at the infected who had managed to enter the room.
"The fucking motherfucker! Who the fuck let them get in?!" shouted another, drenched in sweat and blood.
The chaos was absolute. The zombies had found their way inside the presidential plane, breaking all security measures. In a corner of the main cabin, the President of the United States watched in horror as his wife, the First Lady, convulsed on the floor.
"The First Lady was bitten!" shouted one of the doctors, struggling to stabilize her.
"Mr. President, enter the code!" the general insisted.
"But..." the President swallowed, looking at his wife who was now completely motionless. I knew what that meant.
"We were both bitten!" the general shouted, showing the marks on his left arm. "We have to eliminate any threat to the United States of America, and for that we have to destroy all countries that are using I.C.B.M!"
"This is a national security issue, but all he has done is announce 'Day 666'! We must fulfill our obligations to our people and our constitution, we have no choice!"
The general ended up spitting blood.
"Lord!"
The gray-haired old man watched with a wrinkled face as the general vomited blood.
"Mr. President, it is important that you make a decision!"
••
Smoke rose from various points in the city, the fire devouring abandoned buildings and vehicles. The smell of burnt flesh and rot permeated the air, a stench so strong that even I, with my resistance, found it unpleasant.
I carried Alicia in my arms as I walked through the streets infested with the undead. His breathing was steady, but he was still unconscious, his small body curled up against my chest.
A group of zombies blocked my path. Four, five... ten.
I sighed.
"I don't have time for this."
Without letting go of Alice, I bent my legs a little and crushed the head of the first zombie with a side kick. His skull exploded like a ripe fruit, spreading brain mass on the pavement.
The others moved forward without thinking, dragging their rotting bodies in hungry despair.
"Annoying."
I propelled myself forward, crushing another's head with a downward kick as I began to make another move to eliminate another zombie.
One tried to bite my arm, but before he could get close, I lifted my leg and dug my heel into his jaw, breaking it into pieces.
The last two tried to pounce at the same time.
I sighed.
I turned on my own axis and decapitated them with a single swipe of my bare hand, using my fingernails as if they were blades. Heads flew through the air before rolling across the ground, bodies collapsing shortly after.
The street fell silent.
I adjusted my grip on Alicia and kept walking.
The buildings were death traps. Too many dark places, too many corners where something could be waiting to attack. He needed a safe haven, but also easy to defend.
A sound made me turn my head.
Grunts.
From a nearby alley, a larger group emerged. At least twenty. More than was worth facing for no reason.
I moved quickly, running with Alice in my arms.
I kicked in the door of a small closed supermarket. It doesn't work.
I kept moving until I saw a small abandoned garage with the metal door half open. It might work.
Without stopping, I jumped on an abandoned car and used the roof to propel myself inside, landing on the dusty floor of the garage.
The growls grew louder outside. They would soon find me.
I placed Alice carefully in a corner and approached the metal door. I couldn't leave it open, but I couldn't close it completely either.
"I need a distraction."
My eyes swept around the garage until I found what I was looking for: an old gas tank and a lighter lying near a tool table.
I picked it up, went outside for a moment, and threw the tank into a nearby pile of rubble.
The zombies ignored him at first. Until I lit the lighter and threw it on the tank.
BOOM!
The fire broke out, sending a wave of heat and light that lit up the street.
The undead turned toward the explosion like moths attracted to the flame.
Smiled.
"The old tricks still work."
With one swift motion, I lowered the garage door until I left only a small opening to keep an eye on the outside. By now, we were sure.
I turned to Alice, frowning at her.
"It's time for you to wake up, little one."
••
After clearing the path of zombies, the Humvee continued to advance between the ruined streets. The roar of the engine was the only thing that broke the silence of the devastated city.
Takashi kept his eyes on the road, while the others checked their weapons and caught their breath after the last confrontation.
Saya sighed and looked out the window.
"I hope Senji and Alicia realize that we are moving to the next city."
No one immediately responded, but they all shared the same thought.
The Humvee accelerated, leaving behind the hell that was once a city.