I Became The Necromancer In The Post-Apocalyptic Zombie World

Chapter 59

—–CROW—– 

Grace hid and caught her breath, leaning against the stairwell wall of a building.

After calming her breathing, she cautiously peeked inside the doorway beside her.

Three figures came into her blurry view.

But unlike normal people, they stood motionless, staring blankly at the floor.

—Zombies.

‘…Three of them here.’

She had left the church and arrived at one of the Italian restaurants she had spotted during her previous searches.

She planned to find food here.

‘At least there are two fewer than a few days ago…’

Normally, she would target convenience stores or supermarkets, which were full of canned goods, snacks, and drinks that could be stored.

But the convenience stores in this area had already been looted by other survivors, leaving nothing for her to scavenge.

She was searching restaurants, hoping for a slim chance.

If luck was on her side, she might find some long-lasting ingredients.

“…Sigh.”

Grace took another deep breath and prepared herself mentally.

This was the fifth restaurant she had visited today.

This one had the fewest zombies so far.

‘I have to check this place today.’

The children at the church were starving.

Normally, even a single zombie would make her search elsewhere, prioritizing safety.

If she disappeared, the children at the church would surely die.

She had always prioritized her own survival.

That’s how she had managed to live this long.

But today, playing it safe would drastically reduce her chances of finding food.

If she couldn’t find food today, the children would be in danger.

Having made up her mind, Grace opened her eyes.

She raised the brick she had been clutching above her head.

She counted to three in her mind.

“…Hup!”

She darted out from behind the wall, throwing the brick with all her might.

The brick flew through the air at high speed.

In this situation where a single mistake could be fatal, the brick sliced through the air and accurately struck the cracked window of the restaurant.

With a loud crash, the brick shattered the window and flew out the other side, two stories up.

-Ugh, uhhh…

The zombies, who relied on sound for awareness, lifted their heads at the sudden noise and began to shuffle towards the sound.

‘Please… God…’

She had used the same tactic to lure zombies away from the restaurant earlier.

So, the chance of other zombies being attracted by the sound of the breaking window was low.

But her life was still on the line.

Thinking of the worst-case scenario, Grace clutched the crucifix on her chest and prayed.

Then, she counted to ten in her mind.

As her self-imposed countdown reached zero, Grace darted out from behind the wall and ran towards the window without looking back.

– *Thud, thud, thud!*

The three zombies, drawn by the sound of the breaking window, turned their heads towards the doorway at the sound of her sneakers hitting the floor, but…

…by the time they registered her presence, she had already jumped.

The zombies, clustered around the broken window, lost their balance under her sudden weight and tumbled down like dominoes.

All three zombies fell, sharing the same fate as the brick she had thrown.

“Haa, haa…”

She looked down through the broken window, her breath ragged from the tension.

The zombies thrashed and flailed, piled on top of each other like cockroaches stuck on flypaper.

‘They’re still alive even after that…’

Even though it was a two-story drop, the zombies, lacking the intelligence to break their fall, were still alive and moving despite the impact.

A normal person would have at least been knocked unconscious.

‘I don’t have time…’

Other zombies might be attracted by the sound of their fall.

She didn’t have time to admire her handiwork.

She quickly turned and headed towards the kitchen.

She would quickly check the kitchen, then search the storage room.

After checking for edible food or useful materials…

– *Flap!*

“Kyaaah━!”

As she walked towards the kitchen, thinking about what she needed to do quickly…

…Grace was startled by a sudden noise and screamed involuntarily.

Then, startled by her own voice, she covered her mouth and looked towards the source of the noise.

It had come from the broken window where she had just been standing.

“…W-What, what was that? A pigeon.”

The noise had been the flapping of a pigeon’s wings.

Bright sunlight streamed through the broken window.

Silhouetted against the light, a dark pigeon was staring at her.

As she calmed her racing heart, a thought suddenly occurred to Grace as she looked at the pigeon.

‘…Can’t I eat pigeons?’

She vaguely remembered something about a virus, but she couldn’t recall if it was life-threatening.

‘It’s a shame, but if I catch that pigeon…’

Even if there was no food in the restaurant, she could at least feed the children.

Fortunately, the pigeon was perched on the windowsill, motionless.

If it flew away, she would regret not trying.

Grace stopped hesitating, stared at the pigeon, and picked up a nearby tablecloth.

She might miss, but it was worth a try.

Praying that the pigeon wouldn’t fly away, she slowly approached it.

“…Huh?”

As she got closer, a sense of unease grew, and she let out a confused, silly sound.

As she approached, the pigeon came into clearer view.

It wasn’t an ordinary pigeon.

‘A-A zombie…!’

She had found it strange that it hadn’t moved even as she approached.

The pigeon was infected.

It was difficult to see the characteristic signs of a zombie on its small body, but…

…her instincts, honed by her life-or-death game of hide-and-seek with the undead, told her that it was infected.

‘It must have been attracted by the sound of the breaking window.’

Zombies were sensitive to sound.

Unlike a normal pigeon, which would flee from loud noises, this one must have been drawn to the sound of the broken window.

But unlike the human zombies outside, the pigeon showed no signs of attacking her.

Perhaps because it was a pigeon.

She didn’t understand, but it didn’t seem dangerous.

‘Ah, this isn’t the time for this.’

She had wasted time, mesmerized by the sight of a different kind of zombie.

Grace snapped out of it and walked towards the kitchen, her original destination.

‘Please, anything will do…’

Grace entered the kitchen with a desperate heart and began searching through the mess.

She didn’t expect to find canned goods.

She just prayed that she could find some sugar to provide at least some calories.

But her desperate hopes were dashed; the food in the kitchen was either rotten or contaminated.

Even the sugar jar she had hoped for was spilled on the floor, inedible.

Despair washed over Grace for the first time today at the bleak sight, and she sank to the floor.

But she fought back the urge to cry and clenched her fists.

“There’s still the storage room…”

It was too early to give up.

The blow of her dashed hopes was heavy, but Grace refused to give up.

If she gave up now, the children at the church wouldn’t survive.

She pulled herself together and stood up.

Leaving the empty kitchen behind, she headed for the storage room.

A large restaurant like this, unlike other restaurants, would surely have some stored ingredients.

Sauces, in particular, sometimes came in cans, and if she could find those, she could at least provide some calories.

She stood in front of the storage room door, clutched her crucifix, and prayed earnestly.

That she would find food inside.

Then, she opened her eyes and grabbed the doorknob with trembling hands.

“…Ah.”

She found it.

Peas.

Canned peas.

She didn’t know what dish they were used for, but…

…Grace stared at the seven cans on the corner of the storage shelf, her trembling hands clasped together over her chest.

Tears of relief streamed down her face as she thanked God.

With this, the children could live.

Only for a few more days, perhaps, but they could survive a little longer.

And for that, Grace was grateful.

‘Good, I need to pack these quickly…’

Having finished her heartfelt prayer, Grace wiped her tears and quickly began putting the cans into her backpack.

Her movements became more urgent, eager to leave this terrifying place.

As she finished packing the cans and stood up with a satisfied smile…

-Uhhh, uhh…

-Groan…

…a chilling sound came from behind her, sending shivers down her spine.

Her shoulders twitched, and she turned around.

Behind her, in the restaurant’s dining area, two zombies were approaching.

The two zombies shuffled towards her, their movements erratic but purposeful.

‘Why…!  I didn’t make any noise…!’

To avoid any unexpected encounters, Grace had searched the kitchen and storage room as quietly as possible.

Unless there were zombies inside the restaurant already, there was no way they could have heard her.

That left only one possibility.

Her scream from earlier, when the pigeon had appeared.

If they had been attracted by that sound from outside, the timing would match.

‘I-I have to escape…!’

There were two of them.

And the path from the storage room to the dining area was a narrow corridor.

She, a frail woman, couldn’t possibly fight her way past two zombies.

She had no choice but to close the storage room door and push a nearby shelf against it to barricade it.

– *Bang, bang.*

The zombies, having reached the door just moments later, banged on it violently, searching for her.

Grace stared at the door, her face pale.

“W-What should I do…”

She had managed to escape for now by closing the door.

But the storage room was a sealed room with no back exit.

She had avoided the zombies, but she was now trapped in the storage room.

“I finally… found it…”

Tears she had been holding back flowed down her cheeks and dripped onto the floor.

The food she had finally found after days of searching.

She could finally feed the starving children.

But because of her carelessness, the food she had barely managed to obtain was now out of reach.

If it had simply been a matter of not finding any food, she could have brushed it off as bad luck and tried again.

But this was her carelessness, her mistake.

Overwhelmed by regret, tears of despair and pain welled up, different from the tears she had shed earlier, and she sank to the cold storage room floor.

If she couldn’t get out, the children would wait for her, then starve to death.

The children would die because of her.

But she couldn’t possibly defeat two zombies.

She had no weapons, and there was nothing in the storage room that could help her in this situation.

。 。 。

Exhausted from crying, Grace hugged her knees, buried her face in them, and waited silently.

Praying that the two zombies outside would be drawn away by something and leave the door.

It was a desperate hope, but all she could do was pray for a miracle.

A long time passed as she waited, doing nothing.

She didn’t know exactly how much time had passed, but she could tell that the sun had already set.

Unlike during the day, a chill was now settling in, cooling her body.

‘Maybe this is it…’

A dark thought crept into her mind, amidst her desperate hopes for a miracle.

The thought of her failure.

That just as God had abandoned her all this time, He had abandoned her again, leaving her to die, her body growing cold in the cold storage room.

She imagined herself dead, consumed by guilt over the children.

She had always dismissed such thoughts as negativity stemming from exhaustion.

But not anymore.

That imagined scenario was now a terrifying reality.

“Ugh… sob… sob…”

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, a whimpering sound escaped Grace’s lips.

The lips she had kept firmly shut, hoping the zombies would leave.

She, who had been perfectly still, not allowing herself the slightest movement, finally broke down and sobbed.

She knew in her heart.

That she was going to die.

That no matter how hard she tried to stay silent, the outcome would be the same.

Realizing that, her silent prayers for a miracle felt futile.

And Grace finally broke down, sobbing like a child.

She, who had been acting as a strong adult for the sake of the children, reverted to a frail young girl.

“Lord… sob… why, sob, why won’t you save me…?”

She had tried not to doubt the God she believed in, no matter how difficult the situation.

But now, with death imminent…

…Grace doubted her faith.

Despite her earnest prayers, she couldn’t find even a single piece of food, and after finally finding some, she was trapped like this.

No matter how she tried to think positively, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been abandoned.

She knew it was a sin to doubt, but…

…she was only human.

Pushed to her limits, she questioned her God.

And then…

“[Hey, get lost.]”

As if her God was answering her doubts…

…from beyond the door, where only the ominous banging had been heard…

– *Knock, knock.*

“[…Is anyone there?]”

…came a voice of salvation.

“A-Ah…”

She cautiously lifted her tear-filled eyes, her gaze empty with despair.

The miraculous sound of a human voice from outside.

To her, the owner of that voice…

…felt like an apostle sent by God.

—–CROW—– 

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