As my loud and resolute voice echoed throughout the fortress—through every compartment, every floor—a heavy silence briefly filled the air. Then suddenly, a relentless barrage of bullets and cannon fire erupted, tearing through the fast-approaching horde.
Every defender of the fortress was fired up, shooting the zombies with precision and speed, mowing down thousands with each passing second.
Then, a soft yet powerful voice rose behind me.
Ella.
She raised her staff high and cast her mass-area buff, doubling the fortress's overall rate of fire.
Brrt, brtt, brttt!
The zombies kept coming, wave after wave, but they were nothing more than punching bags to the endless torrent of gunfire.
And as if to finally bring the horde to its knees, Melianne unleashed her powerful aerial arrow attack once more—raining devastation upon the heartless monsters below.
Amidst the chaos, I glanced at the HP bar of the fortress.
Only 5,000 HP left.
A massive depletion just moments ago.
I knew it was time.
My trump card.
> System Skill Activated: You Shall Not Pass
For 3 minutes:
• Fortress consumes no HP or Mana
• Firepower x4
• User will fall into an 8-hour sleep afterward
The already devastating firepower of the fortress surged to unimaginable levels.
I shouted to my comrades as I stood tall above the battlefield.
"THEY SHALL NOT PASS!
CUT THEM DOWN INTO PIECES!
LET THEM FEEL THE PAIN THEY BROUGHT TO US!"
And once my voice reached every ear—
The firestorm that followed in the next three minutes was unlike anything we had ever seen.
Thousands of zombies fell with every passing second. The piles of corpses stacked higher and higher, yet I showed no mercy. I lit a lighter, tossing it toward the mountainous heap of dead where more zombies still clawed and climbed. Then I turned to Melianne.
"Fire a flame arrow. Now!"
She obeyed, striking the heap and creating a blazing wall of fire—cooking the undead into ash.
But we didn't stop.
We pressed on, delivering justice to all those who had died and been turned into monsters, using every last second of my active skill.
Ten seconds left.
Nine seconds...
I glanced around the battlefield.
It was a corpse world.
Hell on Earth.
A sea of fire consumed hundreds of thousands of zombie remains. Not a single one was left standing.
{ System }:
Congratulations Master you have successfully defeated the zombie hord. You're fortress will now be upgraded level 3.
"We survived!" Melianne cried.
But as her eyes met mine—I collapsed, falling into a deep sleep.
And then...
I returned to that same harrowing dream I'd seen before.
But this time, I wasn't the helpless human being eaten alive.
No—I was the injured one, protected by others, even at the cost of their lives.
The scene was chaotic. Nightmarish.
Millions of zombies, including powerful mutant types, lay strewn about—lifeless.
Yet the sounds of battle still echoed in the distance.
I turned toward the source.
There... I saw her.
The decapitated, once-angelic healer. Now twisted.
Fighting against her own former allies.
Her pale, rotting flesh shimmered with cursed energy. The light that once surrounded her was now a suffocating darkness.
She killed one of the strong humans—slicing off their head in a swift, merciless stroke.
Then she picked up the severed head...
and placed it atop her own headless body.
A sudden surge of power exploded from her form—throwing me several meters back and crashing me through the wall of a ruined house.
Blood spilled from my lips.
Still, I kept my eyes fixed on her—blurry as my vision was through the thick, choking dust.
And then... I saw it.
The severed head began to reform.
It took shape...
It became her face.
Ella.
Her corrupted version.
She appeared before me in less than a second—silent and cold.
Despite her horrifying transformation, she was still... beautiful. Alluring. But undeniably different.
She spoke in a chilling voice.
"Jefford, my beloved... Join me as an undead. Let us bring ruin to this world that betrayed us."
And then she pointed her staff directly at my chest—her eyes void of warmth.
A dark beam erupted—piercing through my heart.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
—
I awoke suddenly.
Back in the same room where I had slept beside Lial before the unexpected zombie horde ambush.
I looked around—and saw Melianne.
She was sleeping in a chair, her head resting gently on the edge of my bed.
"She waited for me to wake up…"
How kind of her.
As I continued to look at her, I couldn't help but admire her.
Her radiant blue eyes, her silky white hair—everything about her complimented her angelic beauty. She looked like a goddess.
Slowly, she stirred awake—our eyes meeting.
"U-Um, Jefford... when did you wake up?" she asked softly, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Just now," I replied, followed by a short, awkward silence.
Then I finally spoke.
"So, Melianne... What happened after I passed out?"
"Oh, that," she said, pausing briefly before continuing.
"After you fell asleep, the fortress's cannons and machines shut down—same with the mana-created soldiers. But thankfully, the fortress walls remained, which gave us temporary defense around the subdivision. Even though the main horde was wiped out, some zombies still roam around... but don't worry. I've assigned enough guards to patrol the walls."
"That's great to hear. And... Ella? How is she?" I asked, concern creeping into my voice.
Melianne's gaze softened.
"Well... after you collapsed, she rushed to your side and held you in her arms for a while. She then asked me to carry you into this room. She stayed here for a few hours with you... but I guess the exhaustion got to her, so she asked me to stand guard while she slept in the other room."
Hearing this made me feel warm. Ella truly cared for me.
Yet, the dream I'd just had—what I saw... what I felt—I couldn't tell her. Not yet.
Especially not about the powers she showed in the dream...
They were almost identical to the mysterious ability she unleashed against the giant zombie during the battle.
As I pieced my thoughts together—
Melianne suddenly turned serious. Her voice calm but firm.
"So... you have a system too, don't you?"
"Since when?"
Her words froze me for a moment.
Just as I was about to answer—
A system window appeared before my eyes.
---
System Notification:
⚠️ Do not reveal that your system was granted directly.
Instead, say you mysteriously felt a surge of power when you first fought against the mutant.