Previously..

"Hey.. you look very familiar. I can't really remember but I feel like I've seen your angry face multiple times while I tried to kill someone else.", he spoke in a smug and sort of teasing tone loudly at Kaiyn. The band of criminals laugh at his mockery.

"ÉG RÍF YKKUR Í PITA!"

(I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!)

The leader smiles and dodges Kaiyn's surprise attack from the bushes and immediately smacks his head by the back of his rifle as Kaiyn falls down to the ground.

"Lorenzo Fernandez! Never forget the name!"

Lorenzo's goons were all amazed on how easily he handled the situation. Staying calm but at the same time being cocky, he didn't kill Kaiyn and leads his men back to their base. He stares back at Kaiyn one last time.

"Ahórranos tiempo y no te levantes."
(Save us time and don't get up.)

...

Meanwhile, Renji has finally successfully hidden from the horde chasing him. He did this by using fake blood trails as confusion and at the same time exploiting their peripheral vision and messing with their five senses. Armed with nothing but a rusty chained hook he scavenged from a slaughterhouse earlier, he decides to carefully walk out of the warehouse he was currently in and lose the infected. He witnesses a young man slightly older than him. He had his hand on his stomach which was bleeding at the same time was limping. As the stranger walks closer, Renji notices that the jacket the man was wearing was familiar; it was none other than Kaiyn heavily injured. They make eye contact briefly before Renji runs to him and offers his shoulder to help Kaiyn walk.

"Jesus Christ you look like crap.. c'mon. I think the evac center should only be a few kilometers away."

Kaiyn was acting strange, he starts to sniff Renji around and suddenly pummels him down to the ground immediately and tries to go for a bite, but Renji quickly responds by blocking himself with the hook he has scavenged. Kaiyn was biting on the rusty hook but showed no signs of stopping himself from eating his own brother.

"Kaiyn! No! Not like this! It's me, your brother Renji! Please..! I know you're still in there!"

Finally, Kaiyn starts to calm down but he remained biting the hook as tears slowly start to fall.

"H-Help... me."

As soon as Kaiyn finishes his barely spoken words, a shadowy figure quickly separated the two. It seemed to be a muscular woman with goth attire, keeping her ax close to Kaiyn's neck as she struggles to keep him in place while Renji was still on the ground.

The woman places handcuffs on Kaiyn's arms and steps on his back, all while still keeping her ax near his neck.

"N-No, please! I'm begging you! He's my brother! He's the only family I have left!", Renji says as he starts to break down.

"You call this.. thing your brother?", the woman replied with a disappointed look.

She tightens the cuffs on Kaiyn and steps on him again.

"Neural parasite. That's the cause of this.. bloody circus. This bloke right here? You already know what happens now. Fresh bite mark, contagion, etc."

"N-No you're wrong! Kaiyn would never eat an innocent human! We clogged the infection! He still has control, I know he's in there somewhere, goddammit!"

"This wanker.. look, earlier you were just going to get eaten. Do you think he cares if you're his brother or family? The infected don't feel no emotion, no remorse, no regret."

"You're wrong! I can feel that he knows who I am! He just spoke earlier please just listen to what I have to say! No matter what, I'll always find a way! Just don't do it!"

"It's either he dies and you survive, or he eats you and both of you die. That's just how it works."

"... don' t take anyone else from me.."

Kaiyn breaks free from the handcuffs and punches the woman away, running over to Renji.

"GET OUT OF THERE HE'S GONNA FUCKING EAT YOU!"

As Kaiyn rushes over to Renji, instead of devouring him, he faces the woman, glaring at her with eyes full of hate and at the same time anxiety. He lets out an ear-piercing roar and stretches his arms sidewards, protecting Renji and using what is left of his energy to charge at the woman and recklessly swinging. The woman retreats and left a message to Renji's pockets discreetly.

"Samantha Delacroix, remember the name."

Kaiyn looks at Renji one last time before running away once more back into the woods. Fortunately, the soldiers have found and examined Renji and proceeded to finally shelter Renji.

On the other hand, Kaiyn has used up almost all of his energy from the previous battles and was salivating due to the hunger for human flesh. Here, Lorenzo's band of misfits was celebrating because they have just finished pillaging yet another nearby survivor camp where they had canned food, instant noodles and much other food that could be preserved for a long time. Kaiyn quietly follows them again into their main base which seemed to be a tavern of brutes and fellow troublemakers.

"Aight boys it's all on me! Look at what we've found! We could already last for winter just with these!", Lorenzo exclaims as he chugs down a whole mug of beer and boasted carts of food carried by his men.

The innkeeper was pleased to see this and smiles as he pours everyone's alcohol. However, the waitress which seemed to be a slave was getting exhausted from all the work.

"Jeez, I wasted my money on this woman.", the innkeeper says with an irritated sigh.

"Eh? Where did she come from anyway?", Lorenzo asked.

"She came from a rich family. They were robbed and the last option they thought of to earn money was to sell their own daughter. Yeah, she's a beauty not gonna lie but she's borderline useless when it comes to working. At least she knows how to give people a good time, though."

The waitress slave slips and spills the mugs on a goon accidentally.

"See what did I tell you? Sorry for the inconvenience, we have extra clothes on the back for you. This girl just needs to learn the hard way!"

The innkeeper grabs a whip and started punishing the girl in front of the other people. The men were laughing at the sight but Lorenzo simply sighs and sits beside Kaiyn.

"Isn't it funny? The slave to money is enslaving a fellow human being. If you ask me, he's the bigger slave here. I'm a sucker for ruining people's days not gonna lie but at least I know what's what but this guy? Heh. Just like you, you're a slave to revenge and you'd literally do anything to kill me. In the end, aren't we all human beings a slave to something?"

".. don't talk to me like we're close to each other. Get lost."

Lorenzo laughs and stands up, paying the innkeeper and leading his men back outside. All along, a quiet man with a cowboy hat was listening and saw the commotion. His eyes were hidden and seemed to be old, having white hair and scars on his arms as he blows his cigar in relief that the noise was over. As he stands up, he gives Kaiyn a paper bag that seemed to have a heavy thing inside it. He never spoke nor made eye contact on Kaiyn. After giving the bag he made his way out of the tavern as well.

Kaiyn goes outside too and made sure first that no one was around. As he stares at the paper bag he was shocked to see dismembered feet and arms inside it. Those were the ones making the bag mysteriously heavy. It meant that the old man with the cowboy hat knew that Kaiyn was infected all along, despite being how remaining as a mystery.

Terrified and hesitant, Kaiyn struggled to eat what he needed to survive. He tried to nibble it, but his gag reflex kept throwing up and soon he was even vomiting some blood because of extreme starvation. He had no other choice, so he closes his eyes and swallows the hand whole without savoring it. All those body parts in the paper bag were enough to keep him well-fed for at least a few weeks before he has to hunt by himself again.

Going back to the walled city, it seemed that they had their own religion-inspired from Christianity. It also strictly followed by the military called the Regime. They were the protectors of mankind from the infected and were open for new recruits. Renji and Lorenzo were interrogated thoroughly before being let into the city. The two eventually reunited and both shared their experiences with encountering their old friend Kaiyn.

"It must've been when we stopped the infection from reaching his brain and that's why he still has control..", Renji says to Benedict.

"Yeah, I feel that too. When he saw me though, he didn't even try to eat me. Maybe it was because he was new and focused on fighting the other infected swarming us in the dead-end back there. Listen, I really just wanna rest first, we can find him another time. For now, why won't we see what food is available here? I hope they have at least an easy to cook spaghetti, I'm just too starving already."

"You're right. That's probably the best choice for now. I just can't stop worrying about him though.."

Loud bells from the church rang loudly, alerting people around the city to bow their heads down for respect. The month was mid-October so it was the month of the holy rosary, in the city's case they have a similar relic and prayer order. The religion worshipped two goddesses: Materna and Metaphor. The two sisters were once great rivals. Whatever good Materna created

Metaphor always tainted and corrupted.

It was said that Materna was responsible for creating all living beings like plants, animals and humans alike. Metaphor created the neural parasite that started the apocalypse along with everything related to death like plagues, infestations, and famine. One day, the sisters forged a deal. Something that both of them can abide by without any imbalance. This pact created mankind, something that can either turn the earth into paradise or a barren wasteland. Despite Metaphor being the opposite of a goddess worth worshiping, she serves as an excellent omen to ward off evil spirits and guide the restless souls who couldn't move on with their life, while Materna being the opposite, being an omen of life, birth, and good fortune.

Now that the government system of the city and their religion was discussed properly to the newcomers, Renji adjusts and familiarizes himself with his surroundings while Benedict celebrates with the other survivors and even comforts some while he was slurping mercilessly on his plate of spaghetti. There was also a muscular man shouting in the middle of the crowd while carrying several posters and papers with him.

"Looks like the Regime's in need for more men. What do you say, Ben?"

"The reason's obvious. You know that I've always loved me an adventure."

"You're a pretty brave kid considering your age. You're familiar with those things outside the walls, right? Things escalate pretty quick in the field.", the soldier says to Benedict.

"Well let's just say we've seen some stuff we'd rather forget out there. Yeah, you can call me oblivious or an idiot. But.. there's just always this satisfaction I feel inside whenever I help people, you know?", Benedict replied with a smile.

"That's a pretty good dream you have considering the world's situation right now. Wish folks acted like you more often.", the soldier complimented Benedict.

"You can't blame them, though. Some lost friends, families, loved ones and it all started on what seemed to be just another normal day. Even after all that, though.. I have my own reason to join as well. Let's just say someone is giving me the strength I need.", Renji says looking up to the sky.

"Heh, is it a girl? Whatever it is, we're glad to have new recruits who don't look like troublemakers for once. Here's where you need to go tomorrow. We'll be orienting you rookies at sunset first then the actual training will begin the following day."

Renji and Benedict performed a salute and made their way to the barracks as instructed. Now that they were part of the Regime, the barracks is their home and there wasn't a need to worry for shelter or rent.

"You know.. back then, I've dreamed of being a firefighter after graduating. I don't really care about the salary that much or having a wife. Okay, maybe a wife and starting a family wouldn't be that bad but yeah it's uhmm.. dammit I'm having trouble explaining."

"You just love saving people's lives that much?"

"YEAH YEAH, THAT! Also, I know that I'm sometimes frowned on by people with... let's just say interesting viewpoints on life because of my taste in music and the way I dress. The truth is that's exactly what motivated me even more on saving people because I suddenly grew a desire to prove them wrong."

The two kept casual conversations until they eventually fell asleep. During the night, where most people normally rest was the time for Lorenzo's gang to strike. There was a nearby street with armed civilians guarding the main entrance. The gang used torches instead of flashlights to give vision in order to preserve their batteries and double the torches as weapons. Kaiyn for some reason joined the incoming raid. Lorenzo looked down on Kaiyn as he sees him on the flank. He approaches the young man and gave orders to him.

"What about a deal? Bring me the head of their leader, the one with the assault rifle and I'll give you what you want, a fair fight to the death. You want revenge, right?"

Kaiyn agrees at Lorenzo's deal. Having second thoughts, his fists tremble on his newly crafted weapons which were two rusty hatchets. This was because there were no guns to be found and even if there were bullets were even more scarce. Eventually deciding to go melee, Kaiyn runs to the flank out of plain sight and waits for Lorenzo's main group to engage.

"I can't believe that would actually work. Why won't we just get rid of him already boss?"

"Trust me on this, that kid has something else I don't wanna just waste away on. After all, he's all driven by anger and is salty that I killed his ma and pa, boohoo. Well, that's enough talking, let's go men!"

Lorenzo's men emerged from the trees and opened fire on the civilians guarding the street. They had a barrier formation made out of traffic cones, fences, and a medium-sized brick wall. Behind the walls were ladders. This was used as a diversion before where the ladies use utensils and other tools to make noise and distract the infected without reaching them while the other survivors ambush the distracted infected from behind. In this case, though, they assigned night watches and are now struggling against the opposing group.

Kaiyn climbs the wall from behind and made no sound, eventually showing up and started to knock his enemies out. He finally found the leader Lorenzo told him about.

"So they sent a flanker too. You knocked my team.. friends, out never killing any of them. You're different from those bastards out there. Fine then, come at me!"

Kaiyn didn't respond and charges in for the first attack, a jumping downward slash, quickly transitioning to a slow but damaging strike. The hatchet was stuck on the man's arm and Kaiyn sees this as a window of opportunity to go in and land a low slide kick, knocking the leader off balance as he grabs the stuck hatchet at the same time. The leader punches and pushes Kaiyn away, grabbing his assault rifle and shoots Kaiyn with the whole magazine clip without hesitation. Something was wrong, the bullet holes and blood dripping rapidly healed and sharp canine-like teeth emerged.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me... a mutant!?"

The man was already cornered and out of ammo. He had no other choice but to accept it and avoid struggling to lessen the pain.

"I'm sorry..", says Kaiyn as he prepares for the killing blow.

"That's funny.. you're not even one of us, yet you're more human than those other people out there. Go ahead, get me out of this apocalypse already. Just.. make it quick, okay? I.. can't wait to see them on the other side."

Kaiyn closes his eyes and beheads the leader. As he picks up the severed head, he noticed that the man had a wedding ring. Additionally, his wallet dropped from his pocket from the battle and there was a bloodstained family picture. They all looked happy and free of problems in that picture. Kaiyn runs back to Lorenzo because now that the leader is no more, their ranks and morale were broken so they were all on the run already. Lorenzo let his goons chase down the other survivors as he stays and rests on the ground.

Lorenzo was in a sudden state of shock when a severed head was suddenly thrown in front of him. Kaiyn looks at him with a disappointed facial expression, pointing a hatchet on his neck.

"We'll start tomorrow, as you promised."

"Yeah yeah of course whatever."

Now living a life of regret and uncertainty, Kaiyn questions his own existence as he attempts to jump off a cliff to simply end it all. Suffering from an intense existential crisis because of having to resort to killing an innocent human being who was just trying to survive like everybody else, his hatred towards Lorenzo only grew stronger. Here, he remembers his own father.

"So why did you get into a fight again?"

"He was annoying and he hit me first anyway!"

"Kaiyn.. do you think revenge is always the best choice for everything?"

Snapping back to reality, Kaiyn's heart skipped a beat as he felt someone holding his hand. The person's scent was awfully familiar, along with the texture of their hand. As Kaiyn steps back a little and turns around, he sees the same woman that attempted to kill him after losing control and tried his hardest to eat his own brother. The woman that went by the name of Samantha Delacroix. Her eye colors were different this time being blue on the left and green on the right.

"I'm not looking for trouble. You can lay down your weapon. Not that it matters to me anyway."

"......."

"You do know how to talk, right? Ugh, how should I put this.. me Samantha, me here to help? I don't even fucking know anymore. I'm just here to inform you about your current choices."

"Don't interfere. You're getting in my way."

"Oh, so you CAN talk after all. That's a relief for sure."

"Tch. What, are you gonna kill me again? Now that I'm alone and vulnerable separated from my brother? Is that it?"

"Oh for crying out loud would you stop being an edgy asshole for a minute and listen to me first? I just told you that I'm not here to fight and I'm here to tell you that you're kinda walking on the wrong path."

Kaiyn points his hatchet at Samantha.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? You don't know me, I don't know you and most importantly you just tried to murder me. Fine, yeah you spared me but that doesn't excuse the fact that you still attempted. You tried to murder my brother too, after all."

"That was in the past. I admit it was my mistake. It's the first time I've seen someone get infected and regain control of their body and let alone even witnessing one with emotions."

"And what? A sudden change of heart? Sorry, but I don't regain my trust that easily."

"Do you really think Lorenzo is the right person to be with? Killing innocent people, rampaging around and stealing their belongings?"

"I...."

"If you're really gonna stay stubborn like that, be my guest."

Meanwhile...

"Line up cadets! Time for the orientation, move it!"

The group went through hellish training. Some even backed out because they simply couldn't endure it. The exercises included climbing through the steepest of mountains, crawl through the muddiest of forests, and enduring the hot summer heat by standing still and performing a salute without extra movements.

The officers have started grading the soldiers. Renji was good at quick thinking and speed but suffered from the strength test. Benedict was adept at endurance and strength and was even graded extra points because of helping the other cadets in training who were struggling during the exam.

"Congratulations, the five of you now have officially ranked up from useless to cannon fodder! The next exam will start tomorrow and I can assure you is nothing compared to what you just went through today. That's all, dismissed!"

"SIR, THANK YOU, SIR!"

Everyone went back into the barracks for dinner and they would soon go into their own tents too but a little surprise awaited them. A craftsman has arrived, carrying weapons for every cadet that survived the training.

"Guns just don't do good against the infected. So, we performed several modifications that make these babies special. For the gun addicts, however, we simply turned your bullets into bronze which they are vulnerable against, sorry not sorry."

"That's why we encourage using melee weapons against those disgusting creatures outside the walls. For you, we remember seeing you out there so we designed a katana. The twist is that the exterior part of the blade is made of Titanium, while near the edges, it's made of Bronze. With the Bronze's effect against the infected and the durability of Titanium, it brings a good balance on your sword. We also gave you these chained hooks as a secondary weapon for mobility."

"As for you, your resolve during the interview and the essay on your application form brought us into tears. Your desire to protect people was powerful so we decided to give you a sword and a diamond-shaped shield. Your sword is light but can still slice through the THICKEST hide. Your shield is special, too. Those edges hurt a lot, so the defense can be the best offense at this point. Speaking of points, there's small spikey stuff on the sides which are also made of Bronze."

The craftsmen kept explaining everybody's personal weapons and how to utilize them properly in battle. Throughout the whole time, Benedict was fanboying over the professional effort and craftsmanship that was put into his weapon that he almost forgot that Renji even existed, ignoring his questions.

While the cadets were suffering, training and now resting Kaiyn went into the tavern and drunk his heart out the whole day. It was a different tavern, it wasn't the tavern where Lorenzo's goons hung out and the barkeep was a slave master.

"AND SO I SAID... I'M KAIYN JÖTUNNSON, YOU KILLED MY FATHER PREPARE TO DIE!"

"tHEN I wENt VOSSHOOOO, AND CHING, BALABING, THEN I SAID SOMETHING IN MY NATIVE TONGUE GOING ECKE ECKE PIM TENG ZUM BOING! AND THEN OH NO, HE KNOCKS ME DOWN AND LEAVES ME ON THE GROUND LIKE A CLASSIC HENTAI AND REPLIES BACK IN SPANISH SAYING HATA PUTA HAPA HAHA HATA HATA HUPA SCOOBY-DOO!"

The whole while, Kaiyn was merely talking to himself while the barkeep was shivering not because of the cold, but because of fear.