Saburo Tanaka

I ran like mad in the darkness, fighting through the thicket of trees. The sharp-tipped branches scraped my skin, making blood trickle down my cheeks, but I paid them no mind.

“Saburo! Wait!”

I heard Chika yell behind me, but I didn’t slow down. I wanted to get far away from here as soon as possible.

I couldn’t care less if I died, even before we came here.

Every day was a drag, and I didn’t see any point in living. Coming to this place didn’t change anything.

I couldn’t understand why Ryo and the others wanted to create a rescue unit and save people.

It didn’t matter if it was my death or someone else’s; it was all the same to me.

I had planned to spend my final days in peace and quiet by this river. If the monsters came for us again, I meant to resign myself to my fate. 

And yet, I was the first to run out of the cave.

It smelled like something rotting.

An overwhelming stench filled the cave when that creature appeared.

“Raauughh...”

It was one of the goblins we encountered at the church, which I thought we’d wiped out.

It wasn’t just any goblin, though.

The right side of its face was missing, and its body was falling apart here and there.

A zombie. The goblin that we’d thought we’d killed had come back to life.

“E...Eeeeek!”

Chika was the first to scream.

Triggered by the noise, the goblin zombie lurched towards her.

“Web slinger!”

Kyoya unleashed some thread and wound it tightly around the zombie.

“What the hell is this thing?!”

Even the usually calm Kyoya was freaking out.

The goblin zombie continued to thrash about, trying to break free of its bondage.

It was undeniably different from when it was still alive and had become more violent and grotesque-looking. It seemed desperate to bite us. Shizuka and Hironobu cowered in fear at the back of the cave.

“L-let’s get outta here.”

That was all I could manage to say.

We stepped outside the cave, leaving the zombie where it was.

I stood still, petrified by the sight before us.

We should’ve left this place when Kyoya and I found those strange footprints this morning.

A sea of goblin zombies surrounded the cave. 

If you looked closely, you could also spot a few humanoid zombies among them. They seemed to be the ones responsible for turning the dead goblins into zombies.

I’d figured as long as I could end this pointless existence, it didn’t matter how I died.

But if these monsters got me, I’d become a walking corpse, doomed to wander this world forever.

“Shizuka and Hironobu are still inside!”

I didn’t give a damn about them.

Ignoring Chika, I used my skill, Sloth, to slow down the zombies’ movements.

I slipped past the goblin zombies in slow-motion, who had now slowed down.

“Saburo! Wait!”

I heard Chika yell after me, but I refused to stop.

“Hurry up! Let’s follow Saburo!”

“But those two are...!”

Kyoya yanked Chika’s hand and followed my lead.

That’s right. Now’s our only chance to get out of here.

If you don’t wanna become a zombie, you should come along.

“SHIZUKA! HIRONOBU!”

Chika screamed.

The zombies rushed into the cave, where the two remained trapped.