Rayshel and the others had by now reached Pandora’s villa. Here too, there had been a ghoul attack. However, the corpses scattered around the villa spoke for themselves. They entered the building. The maidens had already prepared everything: where food had once been, there were now weapons and soldier gear.
They wasted no time getting dressed. As they did, Rayshel turned to Pandora.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFXaHfRxcK
‘Who was that dark-skinned man? Is he your leader?’12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHmp8PiPU4
‘Yes, he is. He goes by Michael. Together, we planned to attack Paradise for years. But in the end, we were all puppets. Temphael knew everything all along. I always wondered why he granted me such autonomy. Now, I know why.’12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMk299Bfwm
‘He’ll regret it! We may be fewer in number, but once the people of Paradise grow a spine and we get our weapons—he’ll regret it!’12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRlPg5InpN
‘To tell the truth, I’m not so sure. Our best plan was to assault Temphael. But when Michael got intel about his sister, he rushed the operation. Everything happening now... it wasn’t supposed to end like this. But now, we have no choice but to fight!’
BOOM!
An explosion outside.
The women were the first to react. Rayshel grabbed her axes, Pandora secured two machine guns and daggers fastened to her leg.
‘By the way, Pandora, do you also happen to have superpowers?’12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXMZaTu943
‘Nah, I’m human. But that doesn’t mean I can’t fight.’12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9xzccGijm
‘Well said!’
They stepped outside. Several ghouls were already engaged in combat with the maidens. At the center of it all stood a salamander—infected, grotesquely mutated. It had grown to the size of an elephant. Its skin was an eerie, pale white, and its claws and razors gleamed gold.
The salamander locked eyes with Rayshel and Pandora.
They both grinned.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5o75eJ77jR
‘Let’s fight!’ they shouted in unison.
The surprise on their faces as they looked at each other—and the mutual smile that followed—was a sight to behold.
They launched themselves at the salamander.
The beast breathed fire.
Instead of dodging, Rayshel leapt straight into the flames, swinging her axe. Each swing created gusts of wind strong enough to tear through the fire.
With a mighty arc, she cleaved the flames in half.
Pandora used Rayshel’s shoulder as a springboard and vaulted into the air above the salamander. Then it rained bullets—peng, peng...
As she fell, she spun in the air, dodging the salamander’s tail swipe. But she did more than just dodge—she landed on its tail and sprinted along it, still firing.
Rayshel advanced from below, slashing with rising intensity, wind building around her.
The salamander turned its attention to Pandora and breathed flames again. Its body ignited—flames cloaked its form.
Pandora launched into another sharp jump. Just as she hovered above its head, she kicked downwards.
That was the plan. But Rayshel was already below.
As the salamander’s head dropped, Rayshel unleashed her wind blades—cutting through the monster and hurling it into the air. The wind also extinguished the surrounding flames.
Pandora stood on the salamander’s back. She couldn’t see its wounds, but she knew they were deep.
So, she shot wildly upward. The bullets ricocheted—this time rising instead of falling—and buried themselves in the creature’s open wounds.
Finally, the salamander crashed down—dead.
‘Are you really human, Rayshel?’ Pandora asked.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡns34REv6e9
‘I don’t know. My parents were weird. I wouldn’t be surprised if they experimented on me or something.’
Pandora shrugged and jumped off the corpse.
The soldiers had made it outside, but the maidens had already taken care of the ghouls—and the salamander was no more.
In Paradise
It was chaos.
Sarah and the others had lost track of how many enemies they had killed—and the numbers only seemed to grow.
‘At this pace, we’ll lose everyone and everything,’ Sarah muttered. ‘I have to do something.’
She scanned the area and found what she needed—an observation platform with a microphone and a flame beacon.
‘Rick, Emilia, cover me!’ she shouted and dashed through the chaos.
Claws swung toward her, but she dodged or they were taken out by Rick and Emilia.
They reached the tower. Rick and Emilia stayed below to guard it. Sarah climbed.
Her body screamed for rest, but her mind refused to stop. She had fought battles before—but nothing like this.
She reached the top. The view made it clear: things were even worse than she thought.
Where should she begin? What should she say? This wasn’t an election speech.
Next to the flickering flame in a brazier was a bottle. She picked it up. Gasoline—not water. The pot was connected to a pipe. Maybe she had to pour it in? She set it aside, far from the flame.
She was lost in thought when people started pointing to the sky.
A bird—a massive one—infected.
It had grown white feathers with golden stripes. Its eyes glowed like suns.
The ghouls and smiling men were bad enough. Now this... this bird the size of a plane was flying toward them.
Hope vanished.
Even those still fighting wavered.
But Sarah didn’t.
She took the bottle, tied it to an arrow, and dipped the tip into the flames. The steel caught fire.
She turned, aimed at the incoming bird—and fired.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion wrapped around the bird like a living beast of fire.
‘Listen!’ Sarah shouted into the microphone. The firelight crowned her head like a halo.
‘I know you’re tired! I know you’re wondering if this fight is even worth it! I know—because I feel it too!
But ask yourselves this:12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8e6y519gn
Are your families not worth it?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PmMYDkdnm
Your friends?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuwLy1CW9f
Your fucking lives?!
I’ll tell you—they are!
You’re still standing. Bruised, bleeding—but standing.
We humans weren’t built to surrender. Hell, I don’t even know what the word means!
So fight! Fight! Survive! And then—let’s celebrate!’
‘YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHH!’ came the roaring reply.
People rose. Fathers. Mothers. Children. Even a baby raised his spoon to fight.
Those who had hidden in their homes now charged into the streets.
The ghouls were overwhelmed.
The smiling men were handled by Michael’s forces.
The tide had turned. Light had returned.
But just as quickly—someone came to take it away again.
The flame above Sarah’s head vanished—swallowed by a new foe.
A foe whose very presence froze the world.
Even Sarah.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6FqidFW1D
