“…”
“…”
“…”
After Zenos wiped out the undead, the graveyard was enveloped in silence for a while.
“I did say to do it normally… but I didn’t expect this…”
Even Umin muttered in astonishment.
“Ha… haha…”
The next person to speak was Cresson.
“Hahaha, d-did you see that? With my healing magic, this is nothing!”
“What!?”
Umin let out a surprised cry at his claim, as if it was his own achievement.
“Was that Cresson just now?”
“Eh, is that so?”
“That was some amazing healing magic.”
The other healers began to make a fuss.
Everyone was starting to look at Cresson with respect. Because of the extremely chaotic situation, no one had confirmed the exact source of the magic.
Umin rushed up to Cresson with great vigor.
“Wait, Cresson. That was Zeno…”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Umin? There’s no way a special trainee could do something like that.”
“Wh-what. Zeno-san, please say something.”
“Hmm… I’m sure I used healing magic.”
Zenos stared intently at his right hand.
He definitely felt the sensation of releasing magic, and he also felt like he had wiped out the undead.
However, that didn’t prove that someone else hadn’t cast a spell.
Cresson immediately called out to the other healers.
“Hey, which one are you going to believe, me from the Goldrun Lab, or some special trainee who came out of nowhere?”
Everyone looked at each other.
“…When you put it that way…”
“If Professor Goldrun is promoting him, that means he’s capable.”
“That Cresson, he’s amazing after all.”
The young healers seemed to have completely sided with Cresson.
Cresson shrugged with a triumphant look on his face.
“So, that’s how it is. I don’t want my achievements to be stolen.”
“W-wh-what!?”
Umin’s face turned red and she stamped her feet.
“Hahahaha, make sure you report my success to the higher-ups.”
Cresson declared the extermination a success and disbanded the group in high spirits.
Then, he glared at Zenos.
He pointed his index finger at Zenos, his lips trembling.
“L-listen. I’ll never acknowledge someone like you.”
“I see…”
“…Damn it. What the hell are you? Why would the higher-ups tell me to observe a special trainee who just popped up out of nowhere?”
“Observe? What are you talking about?”
“N-nothing. Anyway, there’s no place for an outsider like you here.”
“Well, it’s true that I’m an outsider…”
It seemed that he was being treated as an enemy for some reason.
Zenos called out to Cresson’s back as he turned on his heel and started to head home.
“Hey, wait.”
“Ah, what is it?”
“The undead extermination isn’t over yet.”
“…Huh?”
Cresson frowned and looked back.
The other young healers, who had been scattered, also stopped.
Umin, standing next to him, said.
“What do you mean it’s not over?”
“…I feel something strange. There’s still something here.”
A foul-smelling wind blew from the graveyard.
Countless upright crosses were illuminated by the pale moonlight, casting countless shadows on the ground.
The shadows were wriggling.
The ground was rumbling as if an earthquake had struck only that area.
From beneath the earth, a groan that sounded like it was coming from the depths of hell could be heard.
The birth cry, like a concentrated grudge, was gradually growing louder.
“—It’s coming.”
OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!
Mud and dirt exploded like a fountain.
Amidst the falling clods of earth like rain, standing in the dark night was a giant zombie.
Its distorted skin was full of patches.
Drool dripping from its mouth was burning the ground with a sizzling sound.
A stench strong enough to make one cover their nose rose from its entire body.
“A Zombie King…!”
Someone said.
It was a monster that ranked near the top of the zombie-type monsters among the undead.
A clear wave of unrest spread among the young healers.
“Wh-why is such a vicious guy suddenly appearing?”
“Wh-what should we do?”
“We can’t handle it alone. Go call the higher-ups!”
“I-I know that, but we can’t bring them here immediately. Can we stall it in the meantime?”
“That’s…”
The gazes of everyone, who had fallen silent, turned to one person.
“Wh-what is it?”
Cresson, with sweat on his forehead, was addressed by everyone.
“Cresson, you’re our only hope.”
“Stall it with some amazing healing magic like you did earlier.”
“It’s a good thing Cresson is here.”
“O-oh…”
Cresson nodded with a pale face and turned to Umin.
Umin raised the corner of her mouth and shrugged.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you do great things like earlier. Cresson-san, the elite of the Goldrun Lab.”
“U-Umin, you… you’re not going to help me even though we’re in the same class?”
“Eh, do you need help from someone like me? Cresson-san of the Goldrun Lab?”
“Damn it, I-I don’t need it!”
Cresson gritted his teeth, then glanced at Zenos.
Zenos raised both hands to face level and took a step back.
“Ah, I get it. You want to say that outsiders shouldn’t interfere, right?”
“Eh, ah, no… y-y-you get it, don’t you?”
Cresson’s ending words were slightly trembling.
“Y-y-you guys. Go and call for reinforcements quickly. Until then, I’ll take care of things here.”
“As expected of Cresson.”
“We’re counting on you!”
“Hold on!”
The healers, excluding Umin and Zenos, praised Cresson and ran away from the scene.
“I-h-here I goooo, b-be preparedddd!”
Cresson raised the staff in his right hand high and ran towards the Zombie King with a desperate look on his face.
Zenos, who was watching from behind, said one thing.
“…That guy. It’s good that he’s energetic, but why is his voice cracking? And, he stuttered.”
“It’s like a textbook example of getting what you deserve…”
Umin shrugged and clasped her hands together briefly.
A/N: Cresson…!