"Hometown Journey: Strange Village"

The mist rolled in, cold, dense, and unnatural. The silence was loud—too loud—and the only sound came from their cautious footsteps crunching the gravel path.

Audaxor squinted ahead. “This should be the village…?” he said.

The air was stale. “Is this fog supposed to be here?” Shin'ō asked.

Bezkon, arms folded, took a long look around before slowly turning—directly facing the reader.“It’s damn suspicious,” he muttered, breaking the fourth wall with a smirk. “Like, plot-device suspicious.”

Jovino looked around. “Why don’t we check the houses?” he suggested.

But Helwin’s voice cut in.“Um, guys. Do you see that?”

Audaxor turned, eyes narrowing.“See what?”

Helwin pointed, a chill running through his spine. “There. Beside that house.”

A slow-moving figure emerged from the haze. Its limbs twitched in erratic, broken patterns. The skin was pale, almost grey. When it stepped into the dim light.

 Shin’ō stepped forward, squinting. “It’s a person!”

Bezkon cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. “Heyyy! Are you good?!”

Jovino narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong. “Guys… I don’t think that’s a human.”

Suddenly, the figure let out a sickening screech. Its jaw cracked open far too wide. From the fog behind it, more shadows appeared. 

Dozens.

Hundreds.

A chorus of inhuman cries filled the air.The village was not empty—it was infested.

Audaxor tensed. “Ah, shit.”

Helwin looked around in horror. “The people… They’ve turned into zombies.”

Shin’ō tilted his head. “Hey, you guys ever played that game?” He grinned. It was an obvious Minecraft reference.

Jovino raised a serious brow. “Just don’t get bitten, or you’ll become one of them.”

Bezkon held up his hand, doing math in real time. “The village population was 900. So... that’s 900 zombies.”

He paused.“Which means... 180 zombies for each of us.”

Silence fell.

Then, in perfect sync, they all dropped their bags.

Power flared.

Helwin’s hands froze over, jagged gauntlets forming from sheer frost.Audaxor’s forearms erupted in fire, the flames swirling like twin dragons.Bezkon’s hands crackled with electricity, forming arcing thunder blades.Jovino’s fists turned to stone, dense and heavy. And Shin’ō’s arms glowed with spiritual magic, creating translucent, rune-etched gauntlets.

Helwin cracked his neck, icy breath misting in the air. “Let’s kill.”

The horde answered in kind, charging with mindless fury.

The group stood back-to-back. Punches flew. Flesh tore. Heads cracked.

The zombies came from all directions. Some crawled on all fours. Some fell from rooftops. But none could break the formation of the five.

Bezkon zipped through the horde like lightning, slicing through torsos with electric speed.

Helwin froze three at once, shattering them in a single punch.Jovino swung his stone fists like wrecking balls.Audaxor incinerated them with wild, flaming jabs. And Shin’ō—his movements fluid and precise—dismantled the undead with magical blows that distorted the air.

When the last zombie’s body hit the ground, the fog finally began to fade.

Meanwhile...

Back in the village, hidden inside the shell of a broken-down house, a small black camera blinked.

Somewhere far away, in a pitch-black surveillance room, the footage played on a flickering screen.

A voice broke the silence.

“Aw man... my village.” It was disappointed.

Another man leaned forward, pen tapping a clipboard. “Experiment One: Failure. All test subjects were killed... by an unexpected variable.”

The first man chuckled, licking his lips. “These five... will be my new subjects.”His voice turned melodic, disturbing. “Follow them, will you? Sweet boy~? I’ll meet them myself at the perfect time~.”

The second nodded, writing rapidly. “Yes, sir. I’ll note them under ‘Experiment Two.’”

Back in the Village...

Bezkon wiped a smear of blood from his cheek. “Well, that was quick.”

Shin’ō stood calmly, breathing barely disturbed. “These were weak compared to other zombies I’ve fought.”

Audaxor’s flame dimmed as he nodded. “That’s because… they were once normal humans.”

Jovino looked around the ruined village.“We should move on. There’s nothing left here.”

Helwin sheathed his gauntlets with a breath. “Audaxor, what’s the next major landmark?”

Audaxor unfurled the map. “There’s nothing for the next 200 kilometers. Just a narrow road with dense forest on both sides.”

Shin’ō blinked. “Two... hundred?”

Bezkon raising his hand. “Well, actually, the straight-line distance is 145 kilometers. But the only safe path... is closer to 200.”

There was a moment of pure silence.Then, Shin’ō, Helwin, and Jovino collapsed in exaggerated agony.

“YOU LIED TO US!”
“WHY IS LIFE A JOKE!?”
“THIS IS CHEATING!!”

The forest seemed to laugh at them. Despite the horror, some things never changed...

_———————————————————_

MONSTER LORE—

Zombies in this world are weaker than regular humans. However, they don’t die naturally. If left unchecked, they feed on humans—or even each other—to evolve into stronger, more horrifying forms...