"I suppose this much... huff... was expected. After all... ugh... we are in the middle of a large city."

"Of... of course.. hah... in every apocalypse... cities are always the most dangerous places."

Marcus and Sylvia sat in a convenience store, hiding behind the counter as zombies tread throughout the store.

They groaned and gargled, walking around aimlessly as the two whispered to one another.

They were both covered in blood and guts from what was almost certainly a gory battle with numerous undead.

"But... I suppose if we ignore the pain... it isn't all that hard to fight a few of them... we can get scratched and cut without worry of infection, and we regenerate even the most grievous wounds. Therefore... we really don't have much to lose, do we?"

"That's... heh... about right."

The two sat as they caught their breath, without doubt because they had rushed into this store while escaping from a hoard.

That hoard had likely followed them into the store, yet had not been able to find them.

It was truly fortunate for the two that the zombies of this apocalypse didn't have any good sense of smell, for if they had they would not have been able to hide so easily.

"What do we do now?", Marcus asked, looking over to Sylvia with a confident smile.

"What else?", Sylvia responded as she stood up, spear in hand.

At this, Marcus too stood up with a grin, gripping his knives as he stepped on top of the counter.

"I see."

And then he jumped forth, planting both of the knives into the back of a zombie, who fell to the ground in a pool of blood before he even had the time to scream.

"We take them out.... without any concern for our lives."

It was then that a zombie charged forth at Marcus, only to be met with a spear straight through it's brain.

Standing on the counter, panting from having thrown the spear, was Sylvia.

"Exactly.", she said as she jumped down, grabbing hold of the register itself as she chucked it over to yet another zombie, trapping him between the heavy object and the floor in a bloody mess.

"After all..."

Marcus then found his knives flowing around them as they laid into one head after another, slicing up brains and skulls with ease.

"Our lives are only worth anything through death."

----

"Somehow... we didn't die."

"Somehow."

"Was it because... we didn't want to die again?"

"Perhaps."

The convenience store was a mess.

Shelves had been knocked over, trapping the undead between them and the floor.

Every item in the store which could possibly be used as a weapon had been, and items were thrown about in a chaotic manner.

Bodies covered the floor, and Marcus and Sylvia found themselves stabbing the heads of the undead which had been trapped to finish them off.

"If they are left alive... then they will only prove to be a burden to someone who might come here later.", Marcus stated with a cold expression as he pressed the knife into a woman's skull.

"And even if they don't... who knows whether there is a person inside there right now... experiencing the same pain that the zombie is?", Sylvia added while she stabbed one after another with her spear.

"If they have to live with a monster in control of them… only able to watch as it uses their body to mindlessly slaughter…”

With a deep breath, the man pressed his blade into another member of the undead.

“Then it would be merciful to grant them death."

Marcus stated this with a saddened expression as he finished off the last one.

"Yeah... I guess it would be merciful.", Sylvia stated with a sigh.

"But I guess we don't deserve such mercy."

----

"Geh... all the milk is rotten. All the juices are too. I guess soda doesn't spoil easily, but it's probably all flat. The bottled water should be good. You know... it's gonna be pretty difficult for anyone to take a bath in this world. It would be such a waste of clean water. Maybe if there was some sort of spring in the wild... but that makes you wonder if the entire world is polluted."

Sylvia went from aisle to aisle as she analyzed the available resources in this small store.

"Do you think the disease has spread to the animals?", Marcus asked as he rummaged through a section of packaged snacks and foods.

"I don't even want to think about that. Fighting a zombified pack of wolves? Or even bears? That would be a bit too..."

Sylvia found herself gulping as she imagined the possibilities.

It was highly possible.

"I'm just going to hope that we don't encounter such things.", she said.

"Well... I suppose if we were willing to die a few times, it wouldn't be so hard to take down even a bear. Right?"

Marcus made this statement with an unexpected amount of bitterness in his voice as he continued to rummage.

"I guess so.", Sylvia said with a shiver.

"Hey, should we grab a couple of these shopping carts? I suppose we could use them to bring all this stuff back.", Marcus asked as he began to fill one with the goods.

"Ah... yeah, that should be good. It would allow us to carry a lot more... though pushing those things around would be quite a pain if we got into a fight."

"If that were the case we would just leave them aside while we fight, then grab them again once we’ve slaughtered all the enemies. I see no issue."

"Yeah... that sounds about right."

"We should try to grab some of these tools as well. Lighters... rope and wire... various toolkits... oh..."

It was as he was rummaging through what was once the hardware aisle that Marcus saw it.

"This... looks good."

Picking it up, Marcus felt the tool with a smile as he swung it a few times.

"This feels... perfect."

In his left hand he held the knife of flesh which he himself had somehow created.

And in his right hand he held a mallet.

Grinning, Marcus gripped the tool tightly.

"This feels perfect."

And as he repeated this, the flesh of his arm began to wrap itself around the tool.

As if infusing the tool with himself, the item soon became a mix of metal and flesh - just as the knife had before.

"Eh? How strange. Just like this one..."

Soon the conversion had stopped and Marcus found himself staring strangely at the two items.

"Did Seven do this?"

Marcus asked this, yet there was no response.

Only silence.

"Hey Sylvia. Let me see your spear."

"Hm? My spear? Why?"

"Just let me see it."

The woman gave Marcus a strange look, however with reluctance she handed over the weapon.

Gripping it tightly, Marcus stared at the blade with intensity.

"Hey. Are you really starting to lose your mi-"

Sylvia asked this question, however as she did the flesh of Marcus performed a similar action.

Wrapping itself around the weapon, it soon began to infuse itself with the item before it settled on a strangely hardened combination of flesh and material.

"I don't know what this is doing exactly... but I feel that I can do it. At will.", Marcus muttered.

"So you're saying... you did that?", Sylvia asked.

"I believe so."

[Material conversion.]

It was then that the two heard the voice of Number Seven play inside both of their minds.

[This is one of the unique abilities that I alone was granted. Even my comrades cannot do such a thing. By coming into contact with a material, I am able to transform it's properties at will. Yet it would seem that because I have infused myself with you to this extent... that you yourself have become capable of such a thing. Congratulations, Marcus.]

With a sinister laugh, the experiment seemed delighted at the sudden development.

[It seems you're becoming more COMPATIBLE with me by the day.]

It was then that the minds of the two were filled with a horrible laughter.

[Hah...hahaha...hahaha.... and even if you don't admit it... that would imply that you are becoming more compatible with my goals. You are beginning to UNDERSTAND me. And therefore... you are becoming more and more alike to me.]

As Marcus heard this however, he did not feel the same terror that he had felt before.

Instead, he smiled.

"Hahaha... will you be quiet already?"

Slamming the hammer to his side, Marcus smashed the glass of one of the refrigerator doors inside the store as his eyes became darkened with madness.

"I've heard enough of your preaching. Shut the hell up so I can survive in peace."

[That... is exactly what I am talking about.]

The creature whispered this with delight in his voice, maintaining his ever mocking tone.

[I look forward to seeing what you become from here... Marcus. And Sylvia... don't be too mean to Number One.]

With this final statement, the experiment trailed off as his voice became that of a whisper.

[Goodnight.]

----

"I... am I becoming more like him?"

Marcus looked to Sylvia with sincerity, to which he was met with a serious expression.

"I never knew him so I wouldn't know."

She answered with a professional expression, yet with that sarcastic tone which she once had taken with him before.

At that time when Marcus had blown up on his coworkers, Sylvia had given him that same tone when she had cut him off, as she reminded him of something which was so logically obvious yet so emotionally distressing.

"Haha... what am I asking... of course you wouldn't know that."

Relief.

Marcus felt relief overcome him as Sylvia responded to him in such a familiar manner.

As much as he didn't want to be reminded of the past, this was different.

It grounded him.

He felt as if he could rely on the person before him to berate him as he fell into the dark mindset which this world was thrusting him into.

"Sylvia."

"Yes?"

"If I ever go out of control... will you stop me?"

Stepping forward, Marcus wielded both weapons as he stepped towards the exit of the convenience store.

Following him from behind, Sylvia rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"Of course not. Haha... after all... I might just end up joining you."

"Haha... that's what I thought."

It was at that moment that Marcus swung his hammer.

Straight at his own skull.

The cracking sounds of his smashed skull and the splatter of blood filled his ears, and soon the cold sensation flooded down the side of his head.

The throbbing began, however even as it did so Marcus smiled.

"Thank you. For your honesty. There is nothing more than I hate... than when people lie to my face just to stab me in the back when the time comes."

"Haha... but how do you know whether I was lying just now?"

"That's the thing."

Regenerating from the wounds, Marcus turned around to reveal that they were almost completely healed.

With a demented expression, he looked at Sylvia with a smile.

"I don't."

----

The two walked down the streets, weapons in hand.

They pushed along their carts with one hand while wielding a weapon in the other, each remaining vigilant as their eyes glazed over their surroundings time and time again.

Every once in a while a zombie appeared, at which they would fall back to back, guarding one side while the other took care of the other.

They perhaps did not realize it themselves, but the bond of trust which they had grown over the course of this short time was enough for them to forget about the other side completely, only focusing on their part.

As it should have been.

In a company, there are typically many departments. One group of people focus on performing their role, while another group may focus on a different role. In the end, each group works with one another to fill their independent roles, for the sake of a larger goal.

However very often, that was not how things worked.

"You know... I always hated being in middle management. Always being the one to give the bad news... always being the one to tell the boss that the project was falling behind... and I never really had any good news to tell him."

"I suppose that's correct."

Sylvia quietly agreed as the two walked forth, each guarding their own area.

"Without a reliable team to fall back on, I could do nothing more than ensure on my own that tasks were performed to the bare minimum. And it took EVERYTHING I had just to get it to that point. When the work of five is placed upon one... the one works within an inch of his life. And the result is that people will look upon the shoddy job which was supposed to be performed by five... and judge it as such."

"You act as if I did nothing."

"Ah, I suppose you are right. Forgive me. I've ignored your contributions. When the work of five is placed upon two."

This interaction produced a slight chuckle between the two, who continued to push their shopping carts throughout the streets.

They had filled them with all forms of supplies and food from the convenience store which they had visited, just a couple blocks down the street from the school.

"You know... I wonder if we'll ever be able to live peacefully."

Sylvia mumbled this under her breath, to which Marcus merely thinned his eyes.

"Peacefully... eh?"

Closing his eyes for just a moment, the man let out a laugh.

"Haha... were our lives even peaceful before?"

"I wouldn't say so.", Sylvia answered.

The two continued to walk for a while, silence overcoming them.

The rattling of the shopping carts was the only sound for a couple of minutes, before Marcus finally spoke.

"Then how in Clarica could our lives possibly become peaceful in this world?"

"Haha... I suppose so. But even so... I think that because the other world was destroyed... maybe someday this world can become peaceful."

Marcus looked to Sylvia with a surprised expression, however what he saw was something far out of character for her.

A smile.

A genuine one.

"In the other world... there were shackles that held us into place. If we struggled too much, we would choke ourselves to death - so we had to tiptoe around to prevent that from happening. We had to stay in our place... never moving without permission. Yet in this world... maybe we can destroy those shackles."

"Do you... really think such a thing is possible?"

"No."

This blunt answer left Marcus speechless, however soon he found himself chuckling.

"I see."

"But."

This single word caught Marcus, forcing him to look over to the woman with intensity.

"But?"

"Maybe we can ensnare everyone else as well. And if everyone is ensnared... then nobody will pull on the chains anymore."

And with a slightly sinister tone, the woman spoke her next words.

“Or we’ll all choke to death.”

----

"Sometimes... I wonder how we continue to get into situation after situation. However, to be completely honest... I am not so surprised."

Marcus and Sylvia were surrounded.

"Underneath the power of the law, those of high standing would always use their power to take from those who were powerless to refuse. Whether it was wealth, status, or anything else - that is the natural state of this world. Those who have control will take. And those who do not will be forced to give up."

They were surrounded not by zombies, but by humans.

"And now... just as I predicted... it would seem that without the law... nothing has changed. Except for one minor detail."

There were at least 30, however even that count seemed to be a bit low.

From professional mafia gangsters to built criminals covered in scars and tattoos, almost every single man who surrounded the group held a weapon.

"It would seem that we've gone up a bit in that standing. And you fools... are underestimating us."

"Hahaha! Look at this guy!! He's infected beyond belief and yet he thinks he can talk back to us!"

"Him and his girl will become two of those brainless beasts in enough time. I guess this is what happens to the people who get infected. They remain conscious as their bodies rot away... until finally there is nothing left."

"Just hand over the goods, zombies. You two will be dead in due time now anyways, so what does it even matter anymore? Even if we weren't robbing you, wouldn't it be the RIGHT thing to give to those who have a chance?"

A few of the men spoke in an unsophisticated manner.

They were clearly thugs of all sorts, however Marcus merely laughed as they made these comments.

"It would seem that you all have come to some sort of misunderstanding. Ah... but I suppose that sounds about right. After all... I suppose our true situation is not something which you fools could possibly comprehend."

"Hey."

It was then that a man stepped forward from the crowd.

This man wasn't wearing any shirt, and his muscles were beyond merely being toned. He was a beast of pure strength, and he carried a violent glare in his eyes as he approached Marcus.

Gripping the man by the neck, he lifted up the zombie with pure strength as he furiously stared at him.

"You keep on calling us fools, over and over. Did you think I wouldn't notice? Do you not even understand your position here?"

This man who had long cut hair squeezed the neck of Marcus with an inescapable grip, however Marcus merely smiled as he felt his throat crack under the pressure.

"Why would I not call a fool a fool?", he crackled with a grin as he thinned his eyes with confidence.

It was at that moment that Marcus took his clawed hand and scratched the muscular arm of the man, at which festering immediately began.

His flesh began to bubble up with disease and rot, and the man looked at his own arm in fear as he dropped the zombie.

"Wha- what is this!? Hey!! What did you do to me!? How did you-"

"Did you not realize that if a zombie lays a finger on you that you'll get infected?"

The infection spread at an insane rate, building itself up his arm and then towards his neck.

"S-stop this!!! Take it away!! Antidote!! Don't you have some sort of antidote!!! Give it to me right-"

"If we had an antidote, don't you think we would have used it on ourselves?"

Speaking with authority was Sylvia, who stepped before the man with a smug grin.

The long haired criminal looked up to the woman with terror as the disease overtook his body, but it was as he did this that he saw it.

"D-demons..."

The woman who stood above him was a monster who was taking pleasure in his suffering.

"You... you demons..."

It was at that moment that the woman's spear was shoved into his mouth.

"Yes... I suppose that could be a proper term to refer to us as."

The spear was swung in such a manner that the top half of the man's head flew straight off with a splatter of blood that covered the woman.

She flipped her spear, taking a fighting pose as she looked around her with a chaotic smile.

Marcus quickly took the back of the woman, gripping the mallet and knife in each of his hands as he too took a fighting pose.

"Demons. That is exactly what we are. And if you humans have the confidence to face us... then I suppose you're willing to pay the price."

"That's enough."

However it was at that moment that something happened.

The air around the two seemed to change from one filled with complete and utter horror to one of confident rebellion.

The gangsters who surrounded the two immediately backed off, filing themselves into a perfect rank before bowing down as they created a perfect aisle for someone to walk down.

And walking down it was a man.

He had black hair which was styled up and he wore black sunglasses that hid his eyes.

With a suit that was pure white and a tie that was purple, this man strode through the aisle with confidence as he whipped out two revolvers from his side.

"So you two are infected... and you are still conscious. That certainly is INTERESTING. But it's as these idiots said. You will die soon enough. But even so..."

It was as he stepped forward that the man stood over the body of the man who had been killed.

"Why was it then that you killed this man here?"

"Hm? Oh, that. Because he pissed me off.", Sylvia responded with a smile.

"That is possible. However I think there was another reason for it.", the man said in response as he slid his hand across his hair.

"I think that if he was not killed, that he would have become a brainless zombie. And if a large man like him were to become one of them... then he would be unpredictable and difficult to CONTROL."

The man spoke with such confidence as he laid his theory on Sylvia, who laughed in a haughty manner as she brought one hand to her mouth.

"Is that so? But wouldn't that benefit us? After all... we could have used him to take out the other men surrounding us if that were the case."

"Yes... that is exactly right. However, what if you believed that you already had the entire situation under control... and didn't want to introduce a foreign element?"

"Are you sure you haven't overestimated us?"

"That is possible. Very possible. HOWEVER."

It was at that moment that the man pointed both of his revolvers forth, aimed directly at the minds of the two.

"I don't believe that to be the case."

Pulling back the latches with a click, the man loaded the guns as he prepared to fire.

"Join us. If my assumption is correct... then you two aren't just people who have been infected. You were somehow able to maintain your minds... even when you turned into zombies. That... intrigues me. And you could certainly be of use to the young master."

However as he said this, Sylvia stepped forward with a smile.

"Hey. Don't come any clo-"

It was in that instant that the man found the woman right in front of him.

He did not know how, but it was as if she had literally stopped time.

"Thanks, Number One.", she whispered as she looked the man into his eyes.

Then, pulling the gun to her forehead, the woman spoke with a sinister smile.

"How about no?"

Bang! Bang!

Two shots.

Two blasts.

One, firing straight through the mind of the woman in front of him.

The flesh and brain matter splattered behind her as the woman fell to the ground, taking a bullet from point blank range.

The other bullet, fired straight into the mind of the man who stood behind her.

Similarly, the zombified man had fallen to the ground with a confident grin - a bullet hole now through his mind.

The gangster blew the smoke from both of his guns, sheathing them as he dusted himself off.

"What the hell... were those two?", he asked with a quiver in his voice.

The man turned around, clearly shaken as he walked forth through the band of gangsters.

"How... how did she do that?", he muttered under his breath.

Then, looking back, he witnessed the two once more.

Even on their deathbeds, having been slaughtered, they were smiling.

Bullets had been fired straight through their minds, yet those smiles did not shrink. They remained, plastered on the faces of the two.

'If she wanted to... just then... she could have killed me. Just like... that man. Then why...'

The man's expression wrinkled with displeasure as he turned away, walking forth with the wave of his hand as he ordered the men to follow him.

'Why didn't she?'

The men grabbed the shopping carts and their supplies, quickly following behind the one who appeared to be their leader.

They soon disappeared from the scene, at which the woman sat up with a chaotic grin.

[Why? Hahaha... What an idiot. Of course... she wanted you to be surprised when she comes back from the dead to haunt you.]

Thus, Marcus died.

And thus, Sylvia died.

For the ninth, and for the fifth time.

----