Red and the Apocalypse
Volume 2
Chapter 52 – Baptism by Blood
Blue lightning exploded across the bridge.
BOOM!
A shockwave burst outward as Natsuki disappeared from sight.
The concrete beneath his feet shattered, leaving spiderweb cracks spreading across the asphalt.
"He's already gone?!"
Kaito barely finished speaking before a deafening crack echoed across the battlefield.
CRACK!
One infected's head burst apart.
Another.
Then another.
To everyone else, Natsuki wasn't fighting.
He was a blur.
Every flash of blue lightning was followed by another corpse collapsing onto the bridge.
His laughter echoed above the infected screams.
"Hahaha!"
"So slow!"
He zigzagged through the horde faster than the eye could follow.
An infected lunged toward him—
Too late.
Natsuki ducked beneath its claws.
His fist, wrapped in crackling electricity, slammed into its chest.
BOOM!
The impact blasted straight through its ribcage.
Before the corpse even hit the ground...
He was already somewhere else.
Three more infected charged him from different directions.
Natsuki grinned.
"Come on!"
"I was expecting more!"
He grabbed one by the neck.
Blue electricity immediately crawled across its body.
Then...
It spread.
Like lightning racing through metal wires.
The current jumped from one infected to another.
Then another.
Then another.
The entire front line convulsed violently.
Their bodies smoked.
Their muscles seized.
Within seconds...
Dozens collapsed together.
Natsuki threw the lifeless corpse aside and stretched his shoulders.
"Heh."
"This is way easier than training."
Behind him...
Kaito adjusted his glasses.
He quietly stepped forward.
Unlike Natsuki...
He didn't move.
He simply watched.
Nearly eighty infected surrounded him from every direction.
One of them screamed before lunging.
Kaito slowly raised one hand.
"...Stop."
The infected froze.
Not willingly.
Something invisible had caught it.
Then another stopped.
Then another.
Soon...
Every infected within several meters had become completely motionless.
The others continued pushing from behind.
They slammed into the invisible barrier repeatedly.
Confusion spread throughout the horde.
"What..."
Mira whispered.
"They can't move."
Kaito slowly closed his fingers.
The air distorted.
One infected suddenly lifted off the ground.
Then another.
Soon...
More than twenty infected floated helplessly above the bridge.
As though giant invisible hands were squeezing them.
Bones cracked.
Necks twisted.
Their bodies folded inward unnaturally.
One after another...
Their heads exploded.
Blood rained across the asphalt.
Kaito let out a slow breath.
"...So this is what Tokita meant."
Instead of merely increasing gravity...
He was shaping it.
Controlling it.
Like invisible telekinetic hands.
His gravity had evolved.
Several Nightcrawlers suddenly leapt toward him.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kaito reacted instantly.
His eyes narrowed.
The surrounding air warped.
The Nightcrawlers froze mid-leap.
Their claws hung inches from his face.
They struggled desperately.
But they couldn't move.
Kaito calmly rotated his wrist.
The invisible force followed.
The creatures' bodies twisted violently.
Their spines snapped.
Their limbs bent backwards.
Then—
CRUNCH!
Their necks tore free.
The corpses crashed onto the bridge behind him.
Kaito blinked.
"...Wow."
"I didn't know I could do that."
On the opposite side...
Nezuko rushed forward.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
A crimson glow spread through her eyes.
The soft brown color slowly vanished.
Darkness swallowed the whites of her eyes.
Only crimson pupils remained.
Her breathing became heavier.
Sharper.
Longer.
She looked...
Different.
One infected charged her.
She caught its wrist effortlessly.
Then slammed it into the concrete.
BOOM!
The bridge cracked beneath the impact.
The infected tried standing.
She drove her fist straight through its chest.
Silence.
Then...
Something strange happened.
The remaining infected stopped.
Every single one.
Instead of attacking...
They stared.
Watching Nezuko.
Almost...
Respectfully.
She frowned.
"...Why aren't they coming?"
Behind her...
More infected sprinted past without even looking at her.
As though she didn't exist.
Her expression slowly became annoyed.
"What?"
"You don't want to fight me?"
She grabbed another infected by its collar.
"If you're going to ignore me..."
"...then I'll make you regret it."
She hurled it through three others.
Bodies scattered.
One larger infected—the Horde Leader—growled.
Unlike the others...
It wasn't afraid.
It charged.
Their fists collided.
The impact echoed across the bridge.
Nezuko slid backward.
"...Strong."
The Horde Leader roared again.
This time...
The nearby infected moved.
Not toward Nezuko.
Toward...
Their own leader.
They grabbed its arms.
Held it still.
Pinned it.
Almost...
Offering it to her.
Nezuko's eyes widened.
"...What?"
For one terrifying second...
Instinct took over.
She drove her hand into its chest.
Its heart came free in one motion.
Blood dripped between her fingers.
She stared at it.
A strange smile spread across her face.
One she didn't recognize.
Her hand slowly lifted.
Toward her mouth.
"..."
"Nezuko!"
Natsuki's voice snapped through the battlefield.
He grabbed her shoulder.
Her body froze.
The crimson glow vanished.
Her eyes returned to normal.
She blinked several times.
Then looked down.
The heart fell from her hand.
"...What..."
"...was I doing?"
Natsuki smiled awkwardly.
"Nothing."
"Let's just... pretend that didn't happen."
She nodded slowly.
But deep inside...
A chill ran through her.
Something inside her...
Had enjoyed it.
Several meters away...
Aoi quietly exhaled.
"...My turn."
She unsheathed her blade.
Steel sang through the air.
One clean slash.
Nothing happened.
The infected continued running.
Two steps.
Three.
Then...
Every body separated cleanly at the waist.
More than fifty infected collapsed simultaneously.
A skyscraper behind them gained a perfectly straight cut across its surface.
Aoi flicked the blood from her blade.
"...Too shallow."
The sword shimmered.
Its solid blade unraveled.
Segment by segment.
Steel links connected by razor-thin chains extended outward like a deadly whip.
The remaining infected hesitated.
Then charged together.
Aoi swung once.
The segmented blade danced through the air like a silver serpent.
Bodies fell.
Again.
And again.
Within moments...
Silence returned to her side of the bridge.
She calmly retracted the blade.
"...Much better."
Far behind them...
Tokita watched quietly.
His hands remained in his pockets.
A small smile crossed his face.
"...Looks like."
"...everyone really did get stronger."
He hadn't moved once.
Not yet.
But his turn...
Was coming.