Nothing good lasted forever, and our little stint on the highway came to an end just minutes later as Yashas took an off-ramp exit.

  We’d barely made it two hundred feet before smashing into our first zombie. The Humvee’s entire hood was a mess of dark red and bits of gore at this point, and even Aerion’s machine gun had blood stains on it.

  As bad as that was, it didn’t hold a candle to the smell. Intact zombies already stank to hell and back, but apparently their innards were even worse.

  Yashas gunned it, leveraging our momentum to bulldoze any shamblers in our way.

  That worked for a few blocks, but it wasn’t long before we came across a true horde. Thousands of zombies, all shambling towards the tower. Towards Richard and Arianna.

  In that way, it was a good sign. If the zombies were still shambling, that meant they were still alive, and against a horde of undead, I could think of no more overpowered ability than Richard’s [Broken Heart].

  Tokyo Tower’s bright lights loomed high above us now, so close I could almost touch it.

  “Can you get us through?” Aerion asked, receiving a vigorously shaking head as response.

  “Impossible,” Yashas replied. “Brace yourselves! I will attempt to park.”

  “Park?” I cried out. “Here?”

  That sounded like a great way to get swarmed… and to lose our ride.

  I did as I was told and grabbed a hold of the Humvee, and just in time, because Yashas threw the armored vehicle into a slide, tires screeching as we careened down a side street to…

  “Ah.”

  Aerion and I ducked low to avoid hitting the height warning bar as we tore into an empty parking garage.

  Except Yashas didn’t stop on the first floor, or even the second. He drove the circular ramp all the way to the roof, where he backed into a spot in a corner.

  “It will be some time before the shamblers find the vehicle,” Yashas said, jumping out. “Hopefully, it will be here when we return. For now, we proceed on foot. If we can depart the area swiftly enough, we might be able to lose the trail of any shamblers we’ve accrued. We’ll more easily reach your friends when not fighting through a wall of rotting corpses.”

  As I jumped off and helped Aerion down, I had to admit the man had a point, and between his abilities and the cutting edge gear he was rocking, I was sure he could get us there.

  Yashas wore his body armor setup, complete with night vision and infrared goggles, letting him see far better than either of us. He’d also topped off his magazines earlier while Aerion was hacking apart the desk. Between that and the grenades he had, we basically had enough firepower to start a small invasion.

  But getting discovered wouldn’t help us. We’d already learned that the hard way. Stealth was the way.

  So, with me in my Grace suit, Aerion in my arms and Yashas slung over my shoulder, I jumped off the sixth story roof, landing lightly on a nearby four-story rooftop.

  Between Yashas’ awareness and his goggles, he was an indispensable asset… even if I did have to carry him around like a sack of rice.

  “Two shamblers to the left. About to turn the corner,” he muttered.

  “Got it.” I veered away from potential contact, bounding down to street level.

  “A group of six elites ahead,” he added a moment later. “Their senses are better. Stay as far from them as you can.”

  “Roger that,” I replied, once again turning away from an unseen threat. One after another, Yashas called out instructions, guiding us around what would’ve undoubtedly been messy encounters. After twenty or thirty evasions, I realized that without him, we would’ve been completely screwed. There was no chance we’d have gotten anywhere near the tower this fast on our own.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “I sense them now,” Yashas murmured. “Two Champions.”

  “Perfect,” I said.

  Following his lead, we managed to make it to within three streets of where Richard and Arianna were holed up.

  It felt like it was right on top of us, looming impossibly tall above the skyline, but we still had distance to cover.

  “Looks like we’ll have to go in guns blazing,” I said, analyzing the situation from a nearby roof. There were no other buildings between here and the tower, so we had little choice.

  In the distance, we heard the sounds of steel on steel. And for now, at least, it sounded like the skeleton military faction was nowhere nearby, which left just the much easier zombies to deal with.

  “I must warn you,” Yashas said. “While carving a path to your friends is our only option, the shamblers in this area are far more durable and agile than the ones you have faced so far.”

  “Meaning the stuff that killed them before won’t work here,” I said.

  “Indeed. Of more concern, however, is that some among them possess an ability to rally the lesser shamblers, coordinating them into organized tactics. Commanders, of a sort. If you see one, make it your highest priority. They are far more lethal than you can imagine.”

  “Understood,” Aerion replied.

  “Then we have nothing left but to begin,” Yashas said, flicking off the safety on his assault rifle.

  “Seems like it,” I said, pulling Galia out of my inventory.

  The baby phoenix blinked in confusion, her head swiveling as she squawked at the unfamiliar surroundings. “Galia,” I said softly, “be a good girl and keep yourself safe. I’ve got treats for you.” I pulled out a rare Soul Crystal.

  Her eyes went comically wide and she squawked again, hopping in place.

  As much as I hated putting her in danger, this was the perfect opportunity for her to level up. And from everything I’d seen, the shamblers had no ranged attacks. She’d be safe in the air, and I trusted she’d dive down to help if things went bad.

  “We can certainly use every advantage,” Yashas said, echoing my thoughts.

  “All right then,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

  We burst out from our hiding spot—and our entrance was announced to the world by the symphonic orchestra of three Aural Siege Bolts detonating in tandem.

  The bolts instantly turned some fifty-odd shamblers into paint that coated the street in a small sea of blood.

  Moreover, it cut open a path. At least, until the horde turned toward us, shrieking inhuman wails as they charged.

  As terrifying as the sounds were, we were ready for them. Aerion had activated Reave, showing none of her usual fear of the shamblers as her Dominion multiplied. As her swords tore through the closest shamblers like butter.

  Rotted, mouldy butter.

  Yashas fired controlled shots, each round punching cleanly through at least one skull, mopping up any Aerion missed, while Galia… well, Galia flew around, lighting zombies on fire whenever she could. It didn’t really make much of a difference, but the flames did distract the horde, and sometimes even spread to others.

  As for me, I was back in my Vigor armor, firing my new Voidsteel Shards through zombie heads before recalling them, only to fire again.

  As incredible as it was on the Humvee, though, I quickly ran into the single-item restriction against a horde of so many.

  Of course, I didn’t even know if my brain could catch up to firing and recalling several at a time… but I figured that was where my Soulweaving would come in. If they could fly around on their own, they’d make for an incredible weapon.

  The Mythril swords I did have were already doing an incredible job of helping Aerion skewer skulls, but their sheer size meant they couldn’t fly that fast, which in turn meant they couldn’t leverage their momentum to pierce eye sockets like the tiny shards, instead slashing to decapitate.

  That took more time, and though they multiplied my offensive ability, they didn’t shine in the same way as the shards.

  Even still, with the well-oiled machine that was our team, we sliced and smashed our way through the horde.

  Except this time, the horde was far denser and far more dangerous.

  Not only were they faster and more durable as Yashas had warned, they were coordinated.

  And unlike the cramped tunnels of the subway, this open street favored their numbers.

  This was not the same fight, and to treat it as such would result in our doom.

  Which was why I wasn’t exactly surprised to find the density of the horde double, and then quadruple, entirely halting our progress.

  Zombies didn’t act this way. Not normally.

  My hunch was proven correct when I spotted a zombie in the distance—one whose lights blazed with blue fire.

  A zombie that looked far more intelligent than it had a right to.

  A Commander. And he was protected by an entire army.

  “Fuck.”

  We’d never make it to him.

  That was, until a certain System Message popped up.

  A single message that changed everything.

  Congratulations! [Soulweaver] leveled up from Convergence - 4 to Convergence - 5.

  [Armor Sets] has gained a new ability: [Hot Swap].

  [Hot Swap]: Once an hour, swap instantly between any Armor Sets in your arsenal.

  “Greg!” Aerion shouted in that icy, cool tone of hers while in [Reave]. “Do something.”

  It wasn't a request, or a plea of desperation.

  That was an order.

  As if it's that easy.

  But maybe... Just maybe...

  “Think I've got a plan to take that asshole out. But I’m gonna need a favor… A big one.”