CH 227

“Arroganz, you say……?”



The intelligent zombie gradually closed the distance between them.



The sense of intimidation and strength is different from what he exhibited a moment ago.



But is it really possible to turn yourself into a named monster?



No, there is no doubt about it. It is possible. The existence in front of me confirms it.



“It’s German for ‘arrogance’. Apparently, in the Chaos Frontier, when naming a word after its symbolic existence, they like to use the German language. ‘She’ knew a lot about our world, too. Well, they probably chose this language because it sounded so cool. ……Although you are probably the only ‘exception’ to this.”



“――Huh!?”



The next moment, the intelligent zombie — Arroganz, disappeared. 



No, that’s not it. He simply moved. 



Focus. Look for his traces. 



“–Behind!”



“You did a good job at finding me.”



Sparks flew when my ninjato and Arroganz’s magic sword collided. 



(… The Art of Thunder is still infused. Is it not working?)



The feeling is different.



Quite literally, this thing has evolved into a different level of existence from what it was before.



What’s the difference between having a name and not having a name?



No, in fact, the Dark Wolf that evolved in the school had also gained a new level of strength after being named.



Although, I didn’t know it had a name until recently.



“Alter Ego.”



“It’s useless.”



Arroganz easily killed the dozens of alter egos I created in an instant.



What was that just now? 



The slashes from the sword he swung dispersed all around him?



The power and speed of the slashes are completely different from before.



“Your alter ego’s status and thoughts are the same as yours. But they can’t use your skills, and that’s their weak point. How can they possibly stop me?”



“Thank you very much for the damn explanation!”



“Just so you know. I’m not going to stop you, and I’m not going to let you use the hammer, okay? How could I fail to take such precautions?”



“……You sure have a good tongue!”



That is not a bluff.



I don’t think he was bluffing.



I was convinced by this attack.



If I try to use the hammer with my alter ego, he will definitely take advantage of it.



I’m sure he’s observing my skills very closely.



“Hahahahahaha! So, why don’t we skip the petty fights and fight for real?”



“Wha……?”



“It’s a domain skill. I just learned it!”



Arroganz stretched his arms out wide and red mist began to billow around him.



” – ‘Blood Realm'”



The realm skill is a type of skill that creates a field favorable to you.



He’s getting more powerful after naming himself “Arroganz”, and if he gets any more powerful, I won’t stand a chance.



I don’t like that I have to take him up on his offer, but I don’t have a choice.



“- ‘The Realm of the Falling Sun'”



His smile deepened as the shadows under my feet spread out abnormally.



“Now, here comes the fun part!



The two domain skills were activated simultaneously.



In the next moment, the red and black that had erupted around us engulfed the space as they clashed against each other.



**



Meanwhile, at that time, Ichinose was watching the battle between the two on the roof of the building.



(…There are no openings…)



She was intent on providing the best possible cover fire at all times, but even then she was unable to break into their battle.



(What the hell is this? That zombie doesn’t show any signs of weakness even while he’s talking……)



No, to be precise, there was an opening. 



But that is clearly a bait set to draw her in.



Such an obvious trick, Ichinose would obviously not fall for it.



(No matter what, I have to do something to help Kazuto…)



But at that moment, she felt a chill crawl up her spine.



Reflexively, Ichinose jumped to the side.



The next moment, something swung down on the spot where she was at a moment ago.



“Wha――!?”



The debris shattered, leaving a huge hole in the floor.



What the hell just happened?



When she looked up, she saw a monster standing where she had been a moment ago.



“Orc…?”



No, it looks like an orc but it is different.



Its skin is blue and it is larger than a normal Orc. 



――Orc General



It is a monster that is a higher species of Orc.



(What is the meaning of this…?)



There is a monster in the “Safe Zone”. That in itself doesn’t surprise me anymore.



Perhaps the zombie used some kind of loophole to get into the “Safe Zone”.



But that’s not the main problem.



(This orc can ‘recognize’ me ……?)



The General Orc’s nose twitched as it looked at Ichinose. 



Ichinose’s skill, “Cognitive Disruption” could literally distort everyone’s cognition and disrupt them from noticing her. 



Although it was limited to indoors, with the rise of her skill, it could now even block someone’s sense of smell, vision and other senses. 



If Ichinose were to attack them, they would be able to start to notice her but unless Ichinose attacked first, no one should be able to notice her first.



Yet, this previous attack was perfectly aimed at her. The Orc could notice her. 



“Grrrr…”



“Guh….!”



The General Orc swung his club.



Multiple questions arose in her mind, but now was not the time to ask them.



If she keeps standing there idly, she will be killed.



Ichinose immediately raised her gun, but…



“No no, it is not safe to shoot indoors Natsu~”



“Ha――?”



At that moment, the General Orc’s head was cut off and it rolled down. 



The person who entered the room picked up the magic stone that was rolling on the ground.



“Ricchan!”



“Sorry~ I am late.”



Ichinose ran to her best friend who had managed to come and save her when she desperately needed help. 



“Thank you, Ricchan… But, how are you here?”



“I received a mail from bro. He asked me to prioritize protecting you over him.”



“Kudou said…” 



In such a fast-paced battle and tense situation, he still managed to send a mail to ensure her safety. Ichinose found it incredible. 



“Nisshi and Shibachi are with Fujita and the others. They will come as soon as they are done with evacuating the residents. It looks like a lot of monsters have appeared.”



“I see…”



I did think that it was taking too long to evacuate the residents, so it turns out it is because there were a lot of monsters. 



It looks like that zombie has thoroughly prepared for this. 



“Anyway, let us get out of here and find cover somewhere else. What do you think?”



“Yes, then――”



“Oi oi, that’s a bit of a problem. I don’t want you to get in the way of my Zombie Master…”



They heard a voice. 



It was someone else’s voice, it did not belong to the two of them. 



They both immediately turned towards the source of the voice.



And there――、



“Yo, long time no see, you two. “



“Huh…?”



“Why…?”



Both Ichinose and Rikka were shocked when they saw who the person was.



“Katsuragichi…?”



The person who was supposed to be dead―Sayaka Katsuragi―was standing in front of them.



“OhーOhー、you guys look so shockedー Haha, it’s a great surprise, isn’t it?”



Ichinose and Rikka looked at Katsuragi who was laughing like a fool. They both looked at each other as if they had just seen something creepy.



“…Are you really Katsuragichi? Didn’t you die?”



“I did die, for real.”



“Huh…?”



“Well, I’ll just skip the hassle of explaining everything. It is too long and I honestly don’t even feel like telling it to you two. By the way, is it only you two here? Where is Ono?”



“……”



Rikka didn’t know why she cared about Ono but she felt a chill on her nape when Katsuragi asked for Ono.



Her instincts were telling her.



――this girl was dangerous.



Rikka pushed Ichinose behind her so that she could get in range to shoot.



“If you want to run away, I won’t stop you. My zombie master told me that I don’t have to kill you, I only have to keep you busy.”



“You’re joking?”



“Ah?”



Rikka seemed to be sure of what she was saying.



“Then why did you attack Natsun? If you weren’t going to kill her, you wouldn’t have done it, would you?　You’ve always been a terrible liar, haven’t you, Katsuchii?”



“……”



Katsuragi scratched her cheek and looked at them.



“――What is it?”



She chuckled and smiled evilly.



“Well, it doesn’t matter now that you know.”



With a sizzle, the shadows under her feet started spreading out.



Countless monsters emerged from within.



They looked like orcs, goblins, shadow wolves, killer ants and other monsters that Ichinose and Rikka were familiar with.



But all of them were of a higher rank.



There was not a single monster here that could be called small fish.



All of the monsters that appeared had murky eyes and a look of insanity on their faces.



And unlike the Orcs, they were tattooed with shadows crawling over one side of their bodies.



“Come on, you monsters. Turn them both into experience points.”



“““Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”””



At Katsuragi’s command, all the monsters charged towards them.