CHAPTER 1 – THE WALKING CORPSES
“We didn’t know… that they were among us.”
These were ordinary words you could hear from the mouth of any human after three-quarters of the world had been slaughtered.
The year was 2046. The towering buildings that once reached the skies had collapsed. The surroundings were filled with trash and ruin. The atmosphere was covered in toxic gases.
A reptilian alien race with a human appearance had perhaps come to Earth through a dimensional gate long before God had sent mankind into this world.
They were not alone. They had brought many evils with them.
Advanced races from many galaxies, calling themselves the Galactic Council, had been forced to turn their focus toward Earth solely because of this reptilian race.
Earth had been chosen as God’s chessboard, and from the very first moment humanity was exiled here, they were no different from pawns upon that board.
On one side stood the reptilian alien race, and on the other, the Galactic Council.
While one side wished to see humanity’s infinite potential surpass the planet’s far older hosts, the other sought to spread its pure evil throughout the entire universe.
Our genetics were altered; as all humanity, we became laboratory mice for the so-called superior races within the Galactic Council.
Our perceptions, our ability to control the energy under the name of mystical powers—these were things God had engraved into our souls, only to later be forcibly scraped away from them by advanced alien races.
Who am I?
My name is Alice Lowtenger. I am a lieutenant in the World Resistance Organization, an assault and combat specialist.
Under our team captain, Marcus Crown, we fight the reptilian alien race to reclaim the world that was taken from us on the Day of Cataclysm.
Why it happened does not matter. As long as evil exists, brave warriors who choose goodness will continue to exist as well.
“I heard an explosion. Then another one, and another… It went on for days. The Day of Cataclysm… They continued until they wiped out three-quarters of humanity. No government had the power to stop them.”
The old woman’s timid voice weakened. She did not continue speaking further. Alice set down the canned food and the bottle of water she had been holding beside the woman.
She looked around. Hundreds of refugees had flooded into the city of “New Light,” where the Resistance’s main headquarters was located.
It was not difficult to understand why. Recently, the city of “Bright Moon,” a few hundred kilometers from here, had been bombed by the reptiles.
Although reinforcements had been dispatched, they had failed to arrive in time. What remained was the scent of blood hanging in the air from a mass slaughter and utter devastation.
“If you’re done there, come help here.”
Elara Kade, one of the team’s six members. A specialist in explosives and high-destruction weaponry.
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Alice rose from her crouched position and walked over to Elara.
“This box is going to the north wing. A few more of ours should be there.”
Alice nodded and set off.
Five minutes later, she arrived at the north wing of the temporary refugee facility. She lowered her head toward the ground. The sight around her disturbed her, piercing her soul like a rabid dog biting and tearing through the flesh of the hand extended to it.
The area was filled with refugees who had survived the bombing in a severely wounded state.
The scent of blood in the air was just like the first hours of the Day of Cataclysm.
As she continued forward, Alice partially deafened her ears using her inner energy so she would not have to hear the cries of agony around her.
‘Energy Control’
An ability that every human inherently had the potential to perform. The only reason humans were still able to stand against the reptilian alien race even now was because they had learned to use their inner energy like a weapon through energy control.
On the Day of Cataclysm, as billions lost their lives, this hidden potential within humanity had awakened.
People began to control their own inner energy and manifest it into the world in various ways.
There were many types of energy, and a person’s energy type depended on their character and the weight of their soul. Character was the face they showed the world, while the weight of the soul was the side they were afraid to admit even to themselves.
Alice possessed a speed-type energy control. By converting her energy into electrical energy around herself, she could move sixty times faster than an average human.
But every power had a weakness. Moving at extremely high speeds also meant expending energy at extremely high levels.
Alice had a limit. ‘Forty-five minutes.’ After that, every particle of inner energy she spent would slowly lead her toward death.
When her inner energy had first awakened, that duration had been only a single minute. But now, through intense training, she had managed to extend it to this point.
But it was not enough. She had to become stronger. Only then could she stand side by side with their captain, Marcus, and support him in carrying the past pain and future hopes of all humanity that he bore alone upon his shoulders.
“Hey, I’m here—bring it over!”
Alice lifted her head and looked.
Leon Hale. The team’s healer. Alice approached him with the box in her hands.
“You came just in time. We were about to run out.”
“What’s in the box?”
Leon slowly opened it.
‘Morphine’
A box filled with morphine stood before them. Alice looked at Leon with curious eyes. Leon shook his head.
“None of the refugees here are in a condition that can be saved. The best we can do is ease their pain, even if only a little.” There was pain and regret in Leon’s eyes as he spoke.
Alice said nothing. Just as she turned to leave, the sound of an explosion was heard.
“BOOOOOOOOOOOM!”
The ground and ceiling shook.
“What’s happening!”
“A trap.”
Alice ran toward the direction of the explosion. The corpses of refugees who should have been dead for hours were moving. Moreover, they were advancing while slaughtering every living being they encountered.
She lunged forward. Within a second, she struck and shattered the hearts of ten of them.
It did not work. How could you kill someone who was already dead?
At that moment, she felt as if she were inside one of those low-budget zombie films that used to air on television in the evenings before the apocalypse.
She lunged forward again, but this time she did not target their hearts—she aimed for their heads, as anyone would know to do. The brain matter scattering around did not create a pleasant sight.
“No brain, no movement.”
She turned around. Hundreds of walking corpses were coming toward her.
“Stop—”
Alice did not listen to Leon’s words. Like a bolt of lightning, she pierced through the horde of walking corpses. The only thing Leon’s eyes could see were the sparks scattering in every direction.
The ground was covered with various human organs. Alice was drenched in blood from head to toe.
“How many of you are there?”
The exhaustion and weariness in her voice were evident.
She had reached her limit, and there were still hundreds of corpses advancing toward her that needed to be killed. At least she had managed to buy Leon some time. They had formed a defensive line at the entrance of the north wing.
She lifted her head and looked in that direction. Leon was shouting something at her, but she was too tired to understand.
“WATCH OUT ABOVE!”
“KRRRRAAAAKKK!!!”
A massive hole formed in the ceiling.
Chunks of debris that broke off from the ceiling fell onto the walking corpses around her, crushing them.
Alice raised her head and looked with tired eyes at the figure hovering in the air.
“How many times do I have to tell you? Energy control is more important than the power of the energy you release outward. The idea that being faster is better is wrong.”
This was Captain Marcus.
“Well then, I’ve found a place to do my daily training!”
