Three figures crouched low as they moved forward with utmost caution. The road to the dock soon came into view but the way ahead was anything but clear. Cars were jammed tightly together, leaving only narrow paths barely wide enough for one person to pass at a time. Trapped within the wrecks, countless zombies writhed and clawed from inside the vehicles, their skeletal hands reaching out like pale maggots squirming through metal carcasses. The sight was grotesque… horrifying.

"There are so many zombies inside," Yukino Yukinoshita whispered in shock.

"Looks like we'll have to use Kitahara's method," Haruno Yukinoshita said, her tone light but determined as she took a deep breath and stepped forward first.

Just then, a few zombies at the tail end of the horde noticed them. Abandoning the pack ahead, they turned with snarls and lunged in their direction.

Utaha Kasumigaoka shot a quick glance at the figure leading them, Haruno with a backpack on her shoulders and a machete in hand. In that moment, Utaha finally understood why Sosuke Kitahara had insisted they stick together. In this apocalyptic world, where morals and humanity had crumbled overnight, small acts of courage had become a rarity. And someone who still moved for others was even rarer.

Of course… her stunning looks were likely another big reason.

Utaha snorted quietly and followed, gripping her own machete tightly.

"Don't rush. Watch your step!" Haruno called as she climbed onto the hood of a small car. She didn't dare move too fast. Disembodied hands swayed wildly from all sides, making every step dangerous.

The previous rain had left a thin layer of water on some car roofs, making them slippery as ice. Haruno's shoes weren't designed for traction one wrong step could be fatal.

Once the others had climbed up carefully, Utaha warned, "Watch out. There's a zombie over there."

"No problem. That one's stuck," Haruno replied confidently.

Indeed, a zombie's legs were wedged tightly between two vehicles. Smelling fresh human scent, it flailed desperately, hands clawing the air. Haruno calmly raised her blade and struck its head. The creature collapsed without so much as a grunt.

"All good," she said, nodding toward Utaha before dispatching two more zombies whose heads were jutting out through broken windows.

Even though they were careful, the clatter of movement across the vehicles was inevitable. At the edge of the horde, several zombies peeled off, slowly ambling toward them.

"Careful. Watch your footing."

All three women gripped their blades, bodies hunched low, tension gripping every muscle. This was like dancing on the edge of a blade one misstep and they'd be dragged down into the swarm. Some zombies were so close, only a thin car window separated them. If any managed to crawl through, they could strike at any second.

Yukino trembled from head to toe. Her injured waist throbbed from bending for so long, pain radiating through her spine. But she gritted her teeth, refusing to slow down.

She didn't want her sister to worry. She wouldn't become a burden.

"Graaagh!"

Suddenly, crash! A zombie tumbled out of a nearby driver's seat, arms outstretched as it lunged at Yukino.

She gasped in panic and instinctively swung her blade. The machete struck solidly right against a construction helmet.

Crack!

The blow landed, but the helmet protected the creature's brain. It sneered at her with cloudy, gray eyes and stretched its jaw wide, yellow teeth flashing as it lunged again.

At that critical moment, a blur of silver sliced through the air.

Shlick!

The machete flew past Yukino's cheek, driving straight into the zombie's open mouth and piercing through its throat. Sensing what needed to be done, Yukino delivered a swift kick to its leg.

The zombie buckled and tumbled from the roof, crashing to the pavement below. Its body convulsed once then lay still.

Yukino patted her chest, breathing hard. "Thanks," she whispered to Utaha beside her.

Utaha gave a slight nod and glanced at her waist with furrowed brows. Clearly, she had noticed the injury but said nothing unnecessary. "Just hang in there a bit longer," she said quietly. "I've got some painkillers in my pack. Once we're on the boat, I'll treat it."

Yukino nodded firmly and wiped the cold sweat from her brow.

Then.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion shook the air. In the distance, fire roared skyward, and a pillar of thick black smoke twisted into the shape of a mushroom cloud.

Haruno's face went pale. She froze, staring at the distant flames. "That was Kitahara…"

The blast echoed no more, but the flames had yet to die. Sparks floated like fireflies in the smoke-filled sky.

"He'll be fine," Utaha said firmly, frowning as she stared in the same direction. "That man… is not someone who dies that easily."

Her words held faith not just in Kitahara's strength, but in who he was.

She turned toward the others. "Come on. Let's go."

The zombies behind them had quieted, seemingly confused. Deprived of their target, they now split. Some turned toward the explosion, others wandered aimlessly or began to return the way they came.

Haruno urged the others to move faster. But just as she took another step, her heart sank.

The pier was right there but the entrance had been built in a funnel shape. And now, two bulldozers blocked the main gate. Worse, a massive crash site sprawled out just behind them dozens of vehicles piled up in a towering heap, like a wall of twisted steel.

Even a tank wouldn't be able to pass through.

A small gap remained at the bottom but it was plugged tight by several fat, bloated zombies. Their bloated flesh wedged between the wrecks, arms flailing like sumo wrestlers in a chokehold.

"Haruno! The zombies behind us are coming again! We need a plan!" Utaha shouted, cutting down a zombie that had lunged from a broken car window.

The explosion had come and gone but the horn that had lured the zombies was now silent. And without that sound to distract them, more and more zombies began to notice the trio again.

Haruno wiped the sweat from her brow. "We're not getting stopped by a pile of wrecked cars. Kitahara's definitely waiting for us at the docks. We climb over."

"What?!"

Yukino's face twitched in disbelief.

That mountain of wreckage was crammed with the undead severed limbs poking through gaps in the metal like a forest of death. The very sight made her scalp go numb.

But the worst part wasn't what was visible, it was what lay beyond the wreckage. Maybe an open road… or maybe a trap. Perhaps a horde of gaping maws already waited behind the steel.

Still…

Thinking of how Sosuke Kitahara had risked his life to lead the zombies away for their sake Yukino bit her lip and cried out, "Let's go, Onee-chan! We fight our way through!"

With newfound resolve, the three women surged forward, zombies hot on their trail like ravenous hunting dogs. Even in this maze of crushed vehicles, the monsters seemed guided by an unnatural instinct, weaving through the mess with eerie precision.

Ahead, the wreckage loomed like a wall of steel thorns. The wrecked cars twisted and coiled together like a mass of iron serpents, blocking their way like a mountain. People trapped inside had likely tried to escape once… but none had made it.

Haruno climbed onto a small truck, reaching down with one hand. "Grab on! We get through this, we'll make it!"

With her help, the other two clambered up, breath ragged, fingers trembling.

But then.

Haruno's eyes froze.

She stared, stunned, toward a residential building on the other side of the coastal highway.

Her pupils shrank.

Something terrifying was coming.

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