1. The day I became an undead was a Friday

When the snow whirls to the sound of a violin…

The day I became an undead was a Friday.

“I’ve bought a new game, wanna come over?”

“You mean, that game?! Survival Dungeon 3? You bought it? Haha, it’s so convenient to have a rich kid like you as a friend,” I grinned.

“That was honest, Armen.”

“Heh… Oh, by the way, can I have dinner at your place?”

Ray sent me a curious glance from under his orange baseball cap.

“Your big sis is still at it, huh?”

“Gah… If only she let me do the cooking, but lately she’s always like: no, no, let me do it, Armen, you can’t be cooking and studying at the same time, what are you gonna do if you can’t live your youth to its fullest, what am I gonna do if you keep doing all the housework like before, and… Well, I wonder, how can she expect me to study correctly if I just eat broccoli soups and demon-fish brains?”

“That’s so true, at our age, we still need to grow and… W-Wait a moment, you said ‘demon-fish brains’?!”

“That’s the new potion she brewed to make her lil bro grow healthy and smart.”

“… Well, fishes do have a lot of magnesium.”

“Magnesium? Don’t scare me, what’s that?!”

“A chemical element, Armen. Some researchers say magnesium improves learning and memory.”

“For real?!”

“That’s what they say. I’ve also read demonic beings have way more energy and crystal particles than normal beings. Maybe your sis found out some new way to awaken your power?”

“Holy crap, so my big sis is actually the best sis ever! And there I was wondering if she had gone crazy…”

“Don’t cry, Armen.”

“But I barely managed to finish the plate, Ray! I’m feeling guilty now. It tasted so awf… Ugh. I don’t want to even think about it. But I’m sure you know how it tastes since you’re so smart and must have eaten a loooot of demon-fish brains when you were a kid, right?”

“Er… I don’t think I ever ate fish brains, but I do eat demonic fish from time to time. Demonic fish farmers almost always indicate the geographical origin of their product, that’s why.”

“Oooh…”

“Do fish brains taste so bad?”

“Well… It’s not just the fish. Actually… there’re more ingredients in the soup she doesn’t want to tell me about.”

“A secret recipe, huh? Your sis is so cool.”

“Yeah—Wait, the hell are you saying? I’m telling you… I think I recognized a worm in the mixture.”

“Worms are good. They have lots of proteins.” Ray laughed. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s true! But your sis may have taken you for a guinea pig. You should try to say ‘no’ at least once, you know.”

“Ah… I know, but when I’m seeing her cooking so happily, I can’t help but remember she’s doing all this for me, she really wants to help me, and that moves me a lot, so… I always end up eating the whole thing,” I sighed.

“I see. Well, that’s Armen for you,” he approved. “So? How does it taste? Specifically.”

“You… can’t even imagine. I don’t want to eat that thing ever again. Stop laughing, I’ll hit you.”

“Hahaha! You’re scary when you say things like that with a smile, Armen. Well, I can’t leave you starving, so stay for dinner. I’m living alone, anyway. I’ll let you do the cooking and I’ll wash the dishes, how’s that?”

“You’re a lifesaver, Ray. Can I live at your place?”

“You can.”

“Seriously?!” I looked up to the dusky sky, breathing in with high hopes, then breathed out, tilted my head, and confessed: “That’d be nice, but I can’t leave like that, I guess. Sis would miss me.”

“Bet you would miss her more. You once said she has a lot of friends.”

“Hey, you say that like I have no friends. I’m popular at school, y’know. I even got asked out by a girl in middle school.”

“Eh? Ah, you mean, Arkifa. That was two years ago. You told me. Hehe…”

“What are you laughing for?!”

“Nah, I’m recalling that story. She told you, ‘I like you’, and you panicked and ran away screaming ‘I CAN’T, I HAVE TO STUDYYYY!’, hahahargh…!”

He choked on his saliva, laughing. I clapped his back distractedly.

“Bah… I told her ‘sorry’ afterwards. Besides, it was true. I had to focus on my studies since I was repeating a year. Anyway, Arkifa is a good friend of mine now. Did I tell you I asked her out, last year, in the autumn?”

“…!!” Ray’s face calmed down as he stared at me, more seriously. “You didn’t.”

Last year, Ray had gone to study in an elite high school in Europe, so he obviously couldn’t know things I hadn’t told him… nor about Arkifa, nor about the rest.

“She turned me down. Two weeks later, she was dating Ashooka. Well, he’s a nice guy, and way smarter than I am, so I think she did well. Don’t look at me like that, I got over it. Seriously. I guess I still have to focus on my studies before worrying about girls. Maybe if I eat lots of demon-fish brains I will be able to become a genius? Not that I want to be one, but having at least one damn grade above average would be nice. Bet I will have to sacrifice my great palate. Yikes…”

Ray shook his head and smiled slightly.

“Don’t get depressed about your grades, Armen. Do demon-fish brains really taste so bad?”

It was the third time he asked me that…

“You curious? Come over whenever. My sister will gladly poison you.”

“… Maybe I’ll pass…… Oh, now that I think about it, it’ll be best if we’re three.”

“…? Oh yeah, that’s for sure! Three is the best—No, really, Ray, what are you talking about now?”

“Oh, sorry, I mean, Survival Dungeon 3. There’s a multiplayer mode. With two players, it’s fine, but it’s best with three people.”

“What’s the link between my sister and Survival Dungeon 3, I wonder. You don’t intend to invite her, right? We’ll die.”

“She’s better at games than you are.”

“I mean, we’ll die of hunger. And she won’t come, anyway. Now she works from home, but she does overtime almost every day for the Nyomin. And, despite that, she does all the chores. I feel a bit useless. No, it’s not only that. I feel oppressed. I know my big sis means well, but lately, she worries a bit too much.”

I realized my voice was tinged with frustration. Ray frowned and took the brim of his cap with two fingers as he cleared his throat.

“That’s because of what happened in summer, right? I mean, the shopping center that got attacked by some gangsters. You even went to the hospital.”

“Ah. That’s right… It’s been, what, four months already, but she keeps worrying. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Big sis is way too sensitive.”

“… Is that so?”

“Hah? Totally. That was on the news. The attackers were from some shady gang or whatever. They’re a natural disaster that can’t be forecast. Even a group of Heroes intervened… What’s up, Ray?”

“Nothing. Say. What would you have done if you had died?”

“Eeh… Obviously, feed the worms. What’s with that creepy question, Ray? You should marry my big sis when you graduate. You guys would make a funny couple.”

“You think? I must say I do like her.”

“Wh-What?! I take it back, stay away from my sister, Ray!”

Ray chuckled.

“You’ve got a sister complex or what? You know, there’s a saying: Love is stronger than Death.”

“So you’re telling me you’re going out with my sis.”

“What?! That’s totally not it! How did you get to that conclusion?”

“Heh… And there I was hoping I’d become an uncle soon—”

“You’re totally getting ahead of yourself!!”

Bzz, bzz. Bzz, bzz.

“Shoot, I forgot to text her… Okay. I just told her I will be at your place.”

“Don’t you feel bad for having her enjoy the demon-fish brains alone?”

“She won’t cook that if I’m not there. Actually, she might forget to have dinner,” I pondered. “I should wrap some of ours to take it home.”

“Heehee, you do care about her after all.”

“That’s a given. She’s my big sis.”

“I’d like to have a big sis too.”

“Too late, you were born first. A little sister or brother should be fine, though.”

“Too late, my parents got divorced long ago,” Ray replied. “But some half-sibling should be fine too.”

“Eh… Your apartment building sure is tall. Have they repaired the elevator already?”

“Thank goodness yes, since Wednesday. I was having a hard time climbing all the way to the seventh floor.”

“Yay. There we go, Survival Dungeon 3! Be ready, zombies, I’m gonna destroy you all, muahahaha!”

“Don’t run in the hall, Armen. By the way, there are also demons in this version.”

“Oh? That’s even better. After being haunted by that demon fish of yesterday, I need to release some stress. How’s the storyline?”

“Mm… It’s based on the Black Hole of Seattle, you know, that historic underground dungeon.”

“No, I don’t know. Where’s Seattle?”

“North of Singapore, Starland continent. The storyline is based on historical events that happened two hundred years ago. A group of Explorers discovered the dungeon and saw it was infested with monsters and full of treasures from before the Big Blend, but no one ever reached the lowest floor, because of a big earthquake that buried everything.”

“That happened in reality? And they stopped digging up the treasures?”

“Kinda. It was an earthquake provoked by Crystal phenomenons, so… the area was deemed too dangerous even for adventurers. The game starts after the earthquake, when a group of adventurers realizes they have been trapped. They have to exit the dungeon, and from the beginning, it’s explained that they have to go down, to a legendary teleportation portal.”

“Oooh… Teleportation! That’s cool. Are those adventurers power-holders and qi masters?”

“Nah, it doesn’t stick that much to reality. Instead, it has a rather simple magic system… It’s a game after all.”

The elevator finally opened, and a woman got out pushing a stroller. The toddler babbled happily, smiling and moving her palm in my direction. So cute! Smiling back, I waved at the little girl, then followed Ray into the elevator.

“Oh, right, there are a lot of fictional species you can play,” he added. “Elves, orcs, and the like. Well, that’s roughly all I know. I just completed the tutorial yesterday. It feels lonely to play the single-player mode. Luckily I have you, Armen!”

“You say it like I’m your only friend.”

“Well, you are. The only friend I can call a true friend.”

“…? Hehe, you’re flattering me! A true friend? Then… your classmates are fakes?”

“Don’t put it like that. I mean you’re the person I trust the most, Armen. Since middle school, you have helped me more than my dad ever did. Without you, I know I'd be a mess of a person right now, so… if I can help you with anything, you know…”

As the elevator was ascending, I was left speechless by Ray’s words. I breathed in and out.

“Wow, Ray… I kinda feel a huge burden on my shoulders right now.”

“That heavy?”

“So much I’m feeling embarrassed.”

“You should, you pressed the button for the eighth floor.”

“… Really? Pfft. My bad, I’ll just press the seven then.”

“Don’t press it like that, you’re gonna break it.”

“Haha, it’s not that delicate, is it?”

“Don’t be a fool, Armen. Stop it.”

“Okay, okay. Also… thanks, Ray. To be honest… you already helped me a lot.”

“…? Did I?”

I grinned, my eyes tightly closed.

“You did.”

We finally arrived on the seventh floor. Bzz, bzz. Bzz, bzz. Ray’s cellphone buzzed as we got off. When he glanced at it, his face froze.

“Ray? Are you feeling unwell?”

Ray looked nervously around, letting out:

“What…! Who…?”

The door of his apartment flew open.

‘Who is there?’ That’s what Ray wanted to say. But it didn’t make any sense to me.

I could barely see them, just some figures moving fast toward us, before a metal bar hit my head. I collapsed. The striking pain made me lose my senses.

When I woke up, my head was throbbing with pain. Someone had drenched me with cold water.

I blinked and coughed. I immediately recognized Ray’s living room. When did we enter? No, more importantly, who were those people?

There were about six of them. I had dropped my eyeglasses and couldn’t see their faces clearly —since that incident in summer, my eyes were like uncontrollable magnifying glasses. Anyway, our attackers were all concealing their faces using masks or balaclavas. They looked just like thugs.

“He’s awake.”

The guy who spoke was the one who had thrown at me the water bucket. A hoarse voice groaned:

“Now, brat, hurry up and tell us the truth. Where is the Lord Necromancer?”

That man that acted like the thug leader was looming over Ray. My friend was sitting in the armchair, deathly pale, as his flickering eyes stared at me.

I was lying on the floor.

“I d-don’t know,” Ray stammered.

I received a punch, or was it a kick? I cursed and coughed as I breathed out:

“Who the hell are you guys?”

That was when I realized they had gagged me: I couldn’t utter a word. I tried to stand up several times, but they wouldn’t let me, kicking and punching me down as the gang leader insisted:

“Where’s your dad, brat? Don’t wanna talk? Guess that guy isn’t a friend of yours after all. Okay, should we cut a finger or two?”

“Stop…” Ray whined. “Stop it! My friend has nothing to do with my dad!”

“Then talk.”

“But I-I don’t know where the Lord Necromancer is! I’m living on my own. It’s been months since I last saw him! I swear!”

“Oh, so you’re really him. That crazy bastard’s son.”

He grabbed Ray by the collar, lifting him.

“Now spit it out! I’m in a very bad mood right now, so bad I could kill a brat or two. Blame your necrodevil dad. He stole my friend’s corpse. He freaking did it. He turned my old pal into an undead! And you want me to spare your friend?”

He threw Ray back into the armchair and spun around to face me. I was shaking like hell as he crouched before me. He seized my red knit cap, flung it away, and clenched his palm on my head. Was I going to die? Were they that crazy? Maybe because I had already experienced pretty bad situations in my life, I felt that those guys weren’t being serious about killing me. They were pretty pissed, but they were thugs, not murderers.

Or so I thought, but when I saw the leader drawing a cutter near my face, I swallowed hard. How? How had it turned out like that? We were just going to play a video game and then… those lunatics attacked us out of nowhere saying weird stuff about some Lord Necromancer and an undead.

What the hell was going on?!

“Leader!” one cried out. “We’ve been spotted! What do we do?”

“Tch. They’re fast.”

The leader’s breath stank of cigarette and garlic. I felt his grasp tighten around my skull. His hand… was it human? It felt as if it widened and got stronger. Was it a power granted by a quirk? Was I going to be crushed by a monster’s claws? The mere thought terrified me.

“Retreat.”

His grip loosened, and I breathed out in relief. False hope: suddenly one of them pointed a knife at my throat. It wasn’t the leader.

“Laith! What the hell are you doing?”

“I get that we can’t kill that psycho’s son or else we’re dead, but no one cares about this one, right? I just don’t wanna think we came here for nothing.”

“An eye for an eye, huh?”

“Cut it out and get the hell out of here, you idiots!”

“Yes, sir!”

I heard a giggle.

“Just die,” a voice whispered to my ears.

The last thing I remember is an excruciating pain and the feeling of choking on my blood.

I thought: what an unsightly way to die.