kscans

Chapter 67 - The Beginning of the Incident

A woman assaulted a soldier.
The attacked soldier couldn't immediately grasp what was happening. But when the pain shot through him, he struggled desperately to tear the woman away. Yet, her teeth were clamped down and wouldn't let go, and her hands gripped his shoulders with a strength that refused to release its prey. He let out a scream of agony.

A few soldiers emerged from the guardhouse near the gate.
They swarmed the woman, pinning her down. Freed from his attacker, the injured soldier retreated to the rear to get treatment at the guardhouse. The soldiers holding the woman down noticed something was off about her. Though she thrashed on the ground, she only let out strange cries and didn't stop resisting, just like a monster incapable of communication.
One of the soldiers holding her down ordered, "Be still! Stop this useless resistance!"
But the woman didn't stop struggling in the slightest. The soldiers decided to tie her hands and escort her to the guardhouse. All the while, she continued to thrash.
Just then, a scream echoed from the guardhouse. Leaving two soldiers to handle the woman, the rest rushed back. Inside, the injured soldier was attacking a medic. He was biting him, just like the woman had done. The soldiers stared in a daze before quickly snapping back to reality and restraining the attacking soldier.
One of them cried out, "What's going on!? Why are you doing this!?"
The restrained soldier didn't answer the question at all, only letting out bizarre shrieks.
He was just like the woman from before. What's more, when they looked at the bite mark the woman had left, they noticed something strange. It wasn't bleeding. There was no bandage on it, only the smell of antiseptic. They surmised he must have attacked during treatment. But more importantly, the wound wasn't bleeding at all. It was a serious injury that should have been gushing blood, yet there was none. It was as if the blood in his body had frozen. Baffled by the situation, a thought occurred to the soldier. Human in form, attacking even when injured. It was just like an Undead.
At that thought, the soldier immediately drew his sword and plunged it into the Undead's heart.
Another soldier who saw this shouted, "What are you doing?! What good will killing him do?!"
But the soldier who had stabbed him replied, "...Look. Even with a sword through its heart, it's still moving."
The other soldier looked at the fallen man. Even impaled, he was still moving, his struggles ceaseless. Fortunately, the sword was embedded in the ground, so he was flailing in place, unable to move.
Seeing this, the soldier gasped, "...Don't tell me it's an Undead! ...Which means that woman is too!"
With that realization, he immediately ran back toward the woman.
But it was too late. The soldiers escorting her had already fallen prey to the woman and been bitten. Seeing this, the other soldiers drew their blades in unison, thrusting them into the woman and the bitten men before severing their heads. Beheading an Undead would stop it for good. The two headless bodies collapsed.
The soldiers let out a sigh of relief. They were just glad the city had been spared.
But one of them said, "...Wait a minute. Weren't there two soldiers escorting the woman?"
He asked the question hesitantly.
The soldiers recalled the earlier exchange. It was true—two soldiers had been escorting the woman, for a total of three people. But there were only two bodies here. ...So where was the third?
As that thought crossed their minds, a scream echoed from the city.

Night fell upon the city streets.
A married couple was walking, heading home after a meal at a tavern. Along the way, they saw a soldier stumbling with an unsteady gait. 'Is something wrong?' the husband wondered, and approached the soldier.
"Are you all right? ...Pull yourself together," he said, grabbing the soldier's shoulders.
Suddenly, the soldier lunged forward and bit the husband.
His wife screamed at the sight.

Tina and I left the inn to find out what that scream was about.
We didn't have time to change, so I was in my normal work clothes, gripping my sheathed sword. Tina wore green armor, her own sheathed sword in hand. At a glance, Tina looked fully armed.
However, this armor was something I'd made for our nightly hobbies. Its strength and weight were comparable to aluminum—a single punch would dent it. To be blunt, it was purely decorative. Our gear was flimsy. If a horde of monsters attacked, we'd be able to do the bare minimum. But I had no intention of fighting for that reason. I'm a hunter. If the opponent is a monster, I can't run away. That's my rule.
Tina stood beside me, her resolve the same. I headed in the direction of the scream. People from the city were fleeing toward the port. I tried to ask what was going on, but they ran past with an 'it's not my problem' attitude. Bracing myself for some dangerous foe, I readied my weapon. A large group of people was walking from the direction of the gate. Their gait was slow and unsteady. It was a sight I'd seen somewhere before.
As I tried to recall, Tina spoke up. "Shinsuke, those people look injured. Let's help them right away."
She said this as she sheathed her sword.
But I stopped her. "...Hold on. Doesn't something seem off? ...If they were injured, they shouldn't be moving from that spot. ...Besides, that walk... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."
I desperately tried to remember.
Tina looked unconvinced by my words. Just then, from another street, two adventurers approached the group of people.
One of them asked a woman, "Are you all right?! ...What happened?"
As he tried to assess the situation, the woman suddenly lunged at the adventurer.
The chain reaction sent the others swarming the adventurer as well. His partner tried to help, slashing at them with his sword. But the targets were unfazed by the cuts and attacked him too. The two adventurers were soon buried under the pile of people and disappeared from view.
Seeing that, it clicked. "...I remember now. This is a classic scene from a zombie movie. It's exactly how zombies attack the living. ...And that walk is the classic zombie shuffle."
After my explanation, Tina asked, "What's a zombie?"
To which I replied, "A zombie is a dead person who comes back to life. If they bite or scratch a living person, that person also becomes a zombie."
Hearing this, Tina's expression hardened. "...So they're Undead. They have similar traits to zombies."
Tina drew her sword again and took a ready stance.
I also readied my sword, facing the Undead.
After a moment's thought, I said, "...For now, let's make some noise on purpose to draw their attention, then lead them somewhere with no people. ...Sound good?"
Tina nodded at my proposal.
With that confirmed, I slammed my sword hard against the ground. A loud clang rang out. The Undead all turned toward us in unison and began to walk. The plan to get their attention was a success. Next, we would lead them into an empty alley.
Tina and I ran, making our footsteps loud. The Undead followed behind us. Their slow pace was a blessing; it gave us time to look ahead and confirm there was no one around. Once we found a place that was empty and not a dead end, we stopped and ran toward the horde of Undead.
I raised my sword. "Tina! I'm sure you know this, but they won't stop moving unless you take their heads off!"
To which Tina replied, "I know! You be careful too, Shinsuke!"
We charged in, lopping off the heads of the Undead with our swords. Their reactions were slow, making it easy to decapitate them. But there were so many of them—at least twenty by my count. And being Undead, they felt no fear.
At this rate, we'd be overwhelmed by their numbers. Just as I thought that, I heard voices from behind the horde. A part of the Undead group turned around. It seemed some capable people had joined the fray. To be honest, it was a huge help.
We pressed our attack with renewed vigor.

The Undead were annihilated.
There might be stragglers left in the city, but for now, I wanted to thank the people who had helped us. I stepped out of the alley. Just then, a man who looked like a knight appeared before us.
"Hey, you two! I don't know who you are, but that was beyond reckless!" he bellowed.
He seemed furious. And I couldn't blame him—we had taken on that many Undead with just the two of us.
With that in mind, I said, "My apologies. ...We were trying to act without causing any collateral damage, but it ended up being dangerous for us instead."
I approached the man as I apologized.
He was clad in full plate, carrying a large shield and a mace. ...His face looked familiar.
Just then, Tina spoke. "...Glad-san? ...What are you doing in this country?"
Glad? ...I remembered. He was one of Rodel's companions, the shield knight who fought Bardos in single combat and lost. So it was him.

Glad was panicking internally.
He had rushed to this commotion under orders from the princess and prince to check on the situation outside. If it were monsters, he was just to eliminate them. He had been searching with three knights the prince brought along. When he caught a fleeing person and asked what was wrong, they told him a horde of Undead had appeared. Hearing that, Glad immediately rushed to the scene. If it was Undead, they had to be dealt with quickly before it was too late. Just then, he saw two adventurers about to fight the horde. And they were even moving to a different location—their quick judgment was good. But to take on that group with just two people... what were they thinking?
Expressing his anger at their recklessness, he and his three knights headed toward them.
After the battle, he was about to yell at them when he approached and saw that the two were Shinsuke and Tina. ...How had he not noticed until now? It was because their clothes were different from usual. Shinsuke wasn't wearing armor, just a single sword. Tina had green armor and a sword. It made sense for Shinsuke to be in comfortable clothes at night, but to not wear armor when something happened was beyond reckless. And Tina was wearing green armor instead of her usual silver. She was properly dressed, but why? Why armor of a different color at a time like this? ...But more important than that, he was now struggling with how to explain this situation.
Called out by name by Tina, Glad suddenly fell silent.
One moment he's angry, the next he's silent. What's gotten into him?
With that question on my mind, I asked, "If I recall, you were hired as a soldier for the Kingdom. Are you here on some kind of business?"
At my question, Glad suddenly snapped out of it. "Th-that's right. I was ordered by the royal family to escort a merchant who is a purveyor to the crown. ...And with this commotion, I came to eliminate the threat so as not to worry the person I'm guarding."
He spoke with surprising eloquence.
As I listened to Glad-san's story, I looked at the shield he was holding. Bardos had destroyed his shield back then, so I figured he must have bought a new one. I decided to check its composition just in case. It wasn't something I did all the time, but I felt something intriguing from that shield.
The analysis result was: Iron 30%, Mithril 60%, Adamantite 10%.
...Adamantite?! That rare ore?! I was curious as to how and where he got it, but I decided to let it be.
I don't pry into people's private lives. It's important to have manners.
With that thought, I finished my conversation.
Along with Glad, the three adventurers, and Tina, I emerged from the alley.