Dead World: Time Is Up

"Damn it!"

Months have passed. Months turned into a desperate and solitary hunt.

"Rraaaaaagh!"

(SLASH!)

My sword sank into the last zombie's chest; the blow split it in half. The stench of death and sweat mixed in the air, thick and hot from the fire burning in the distance.

"She has to be here this time!"

Where she passed, only this remained: destruction and a trail of ash and madness.

"I can't let her escape!"

All this time, I've been following her tracks. They aren't footprints, they are scars in reality. Miles of cities and forests reduced to rubble, as if a giant child had grown bored with its toys.

I knew she was close. The scale of destruction in this area was too fresh, too intense to be the work of a common horde. She always leaves her signature: fire, explosions, and that strange quietness after the storm.

[<Ding!>]

[<Mission Accomplished: Exterminate a Horde>]

"....."

During this time, I've been continuing my search by completing system missions to gain strength and trap that thing. Even now, the system had given me a simple mission: [<Eliminate Level 4 Horde. Current Location: Paris>]

"I must find her, I must find her, I must find her, I must find her, I must find her, I must find her, I must find her, I must find her, I must find her, I must find her..."

It was a distraction, but also a necessity. Every horde that fell meant a little more time, a little more experience.

"The time... it's getting shorter...!"

... But at the same time, it was a reminder of how this world was getting closer and closer to its end.

"GRRRROOAAAWWW!!"

However, I didn't even have the luxury of dwelling on my thoughts...

"Haaa... Haaa... Hahhh~"

My breath was shallow, my muscles were screaming, but my mind was focused on the colossus looming in front of me. The horde leader, a grotesquely bloated mutant with an armor of bones protruding from its skin. Its bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at me.

"Game over."

I leaped forward, channeling all the energy I could into my sword. The cold metal grew warm in my hands.

(KRRASH!)

I dodged its slow but devastating blow, sliding under its arm to strike.

"HAAA!"

I didn't aim for the flesh; I aimed for the source of its strength.

(SSSSHHK!)

With a war cry, the blade sank into its only visible weakness, its knee joint, and the explosive energy of my skill did the rest.

"GGRRRRAAH!"

The mutant roared, then crashed to the ground. Its body dissolved, leaving a black mist that quickly dissipated.

[<Mission Completed: Level 4 Horde Eliminated!>]

Almost instantly, my vision filled with light.

[<You have gained 35,000 EXP.>]

[<Your level has increased to Level 45.>]

[<Reward granted: +10 Skill Points, New skill unlocked: "Primal Fire Slash".>]

"......."

I clenched my fists. The rewards no longer brought me joy; they were just tools. Tools to find the real objective.

"Seraphina..."

Thus, I moved through the ruins with the caution of a ghost until I saw her.

"......"

She was there, at a prudent distance, in the middle of what remained of a financial district.

"Aaaah... My head~"

It was Seraphina, without a doubt.

Her platinum pink hair, fluffy and long, seemed to float around her small figure, wrapped in a vibrant red dress. A stuffed toy rested calmly on her head: a rag doll with blonde yarn hair, a small, dirty blue dress, and disproportionately large button eyes, indifferent to the chaos she unleashed.

"!!"

But what paralyzed me were her weapons. She wielded two swords. One of them radiated a sacred and pure atmosphere, as if it had been forged with the light of a star. The other, in a chilling contrast, emanated an ominous and heavy atmosphere, dyed with shadows and darkness.

"This... feeling... of... weakness~"

(SWISH! SWISH! SHINK! WHIRR! SSSHHHK! FZT! ZING! FZT!)

She wielded them with overwhelming grace and speed, but her movements were erratic, lacking any logical pattern.

"IT FASCINATES ME!!"

(VWOOOSH! KSHH! ZAAAAP!)

She was slicing skyscrapers and mountains of rubble with a chaotic dance, as if she were drunk on her own power, swinging the blades to demolish everything in her path.

(CRACK! CRACK! KRRRSH! SMASH!)

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!"

But I noticed something was wrong.

"...."

I could see that her face was strangely red, and a slight vapor was rising from her body, as if she had a fever or were pushing her power to its limit. Her fluctuating colored eyes—the aurora of destruction—looked cloudier and duller than before.

I understood instantly. Somehow, even she was weakened, fighting against something that was consuming her. A small window, a crack of opportunity.

However, as diminished as she was, I knew that even then it was impossible for me to win in a direct confrontation. Her power was too great, too fundamental.

"....."

So I didn't attack. I held my breath and continued following her, reserving my strength, desperately waiting for the precise moment to act.

"Everything's spinning, so on to the next one!"

I watched her stop. The chaotic dance of destruction suddenly ceased. She brought both hands to her head and gripped it tightly, as if trying to contain a migraine.

"It's your turn, Titania~!"

Her lips moved, articulating words that, from my position, I was unable to hear. She seemed to be in genuine pain or deep confusion.

"What do you mean you're tired?! I know you've moved a lot, but please, there are still places to visit! I beg you~!!"

And then, something even stranger happened.

"Are you really going to do it?! THANK YOU!!"

A giant ant came out of her pink, soft, platinum hair. No, it wasn't an ant; it was a creature of dark chitin, disproportionately large, and it seemed to emerge from her own hair as if it were a nest.

"Then let's go!"

At that moment, Seraphina mounted the insect with chilling ease and flew away over the broken buildings.

(I mustn't let her escape!)

Thus, the chase continued for days.

"....."

I followed the trail of destruction, using my abilities to jump between the remains of civilization, always at a distance that guaranteed my survival. She, riding that antithesis of nature, moved without any apparent direction, or so I believed at first.

(It's a pattern)

As the days passed, I began to notice a pattern. Every place Seraphina went, without exception, had one thing in common: they were all tourist locations. Destroyed coastal cities, theme park ruins, burned museums. It was as if she were following a travel guide written in madness.

"....."

And now, watching her from a rooftop, seeing her play below in what used to be the wave pool of an abandoned water park, there was Seraphina.

"The readers were right... Nothing beats relaxing in a pool!"

The water was murky and full of debris, but she didn't seem to care.

"ACHOO!"

I flinched watching her sneeze. The sound was loud and wet, and with each sneeze, a small cloud of vapor dispersed.

"Ahahahaha, colds are so much fun! Right, Alice?"

(Splash, Splash!)

But afterward, she laughed and started playing in the water with her blonde-haired stuffed doll, splashing each other as if she were in her backyard, oblivious to the fact that the world had collapsed around her.

"......"

The most dangerous creature in this world was playing, and I could only watch as impotence consumed me.

But during all this time, I didn't simply remain motionless, waiting.

"...."

While following her trail in hiding, my journey was a constant massacre. I wasn't limited to observing; I moved in the shadows, eliminating all kinds of zombies and mutations that crossed my path. This made me grow exponentially. Every level gained was a new layer of muscle, speed, and mastery over my sword.

"...."

It was my penance and my preparation.

"Yawn~... I'm so sleepy... Hmm..."

And my patience was paying off, as I noticed how Seraphina seemed to become slower with each passing day. The sneezes were more frequent, and when I looked closely, I could distinguish something new: patterns similar to musical forms were beginning to appear on her skin. It was a side effect, a visual manifestation of the instability that was consuming her from within, or at least that's what I think.

However, whatever the cause, it didn't change the fact that my moment was approaching.

"...."

The system timer in my vision was relentless, marking the imminent end of our world. And Seraphina, the source of the plague, didn't seem to have much strength left to burn either.

(I must not fail)

It was the perfect opportunity to trap it.

"...."

However, there were factors that made me doubt. That stuffed doll named Alice seemed to have a life of its own. And the ant, Titania, was not a simple means of transport. During the journey, I had witnessed Alice killing anything that approached Seraphina with a varied use of firearms—pistols, sniper rifles, even grenade launchers that she materialized out of nowhere—always in combination with Titania's speed. They were the mortal guardians of the chaos child.

"...."

My plan had to be perfect: take advantage of Seraphina's exact moment of carelessness at that water park, capture her, and immediately separate her from those two things. If I failed, the clock would stop with the end of the world, as I had no more time left to use.

"....."

It was all or nothing.

(Thump, Thump)

"What... is... this...? Aaahh..."

Finally, with no time left to think, the opportunity presented itself, absurdly and suddenly.

"I'm so... slee...py..."

Seraphina clutched her head with both hands, letting out a stifled groan before collapsing, unconscious, in the murky water of the pool.

(It's now or never!)

With that, I leaped stealthily from the rooftop at maximum speed. My body became a blur; the impact in the air was a silent roar.

(Clang!)

The instant my boots touched the edge of the pool, the doll Alice reacted.

(Bang, bang!)

In a blink, she pulled a pistol out of thin air and fired.

(Think, think!)

I was ready, however. I blocked the shot with my sword and deflected the bullets.

"Primal Fire Slash!"

I immediately slammed my attack into the water, creating a thick wall of steam that concealed my position.

(I've got her!)

Thus, I dove in, managing to catch Seraphina, her small, inert body in my arms.

(With this, I can get the cure!)

But just as my mind screamed victory, something unexpected occurred.

"♪♫♬ ♩♪♫ ??? ♪♬ ♩♫ ♪..."

A melody began to sound.

"?!"

It wasn't music; it was a profound, supernatural resonance that didn't come from any direction but seemed to be born from the Earth itself. The air thickened, and the world began to tremble. The city ruins reacted, and the foundations of the water park groaned. The threat of Alice and Titania had dissipated, but a new, fundamental horror had just awakened.

[<You have failed>]

... Accompanied by the system message, I finally noticed it.

The countdown had ended.