Ōno Nao stared blankly at his hand. Only after a long while, after the wound had healed completely at an inhuman speed, leaving not even a scar, did he snap back from his shock and bewilderment. Then, as if trying to force himself to accept reality, he slammed his fist hard onto the ground. Seeing cracks spiderweb across the concrete surface, he finally faced the truth.
He was about to become one of those monsters. Why had it come to this? He didn't know. He wasn't sure if he'd been infected by some unknown virus, but he knew he didn't have much time left.
Perhaps Master had a way.
Only two paths lay before Ōno Nao now: either find his Master by any means necessary and see if he could be saved, or silently wait for death.
Ōno Nao staggered to his feet. The shock of seeing his body's bizarre transformation had caused him to collapse again. It was laughable, really. He was the Yasha Gang's top fighter, yet recently, all he seemed to do was collapse with weak knees. If his old subordinates knew, they'd laugh themselves to death.
...Perhaps none of them were alive anymore.
Ōno Nao glanced at the small bag still slung over his shoulder, containing the medicine for that child. If he didn't go back, the child would surely die.
Ōno Nao looked at his arm again. Then, without further hesitation, he broke into a run in a specific direction.
Before long, the children waiting anxiously beside the feverish boy heard sounds from outside. They looked nervously towards the corner, then saw the "uncle" returning, carrying a small backpack.
Relief washed over them. One child quickly ran up, took the backpack from the man, opened it, and beamed upon seeing the medicine inside.
"Quickly give him the medicine according to the dosage. It might not work immediately, but it should make him feel better and stop his condition from worsening..."
"You all stay here and be good. Uncle is going outside to look around, see if anyone else needs help, and bring back some food."
Ōno Nao smiled and waved goodbye to the children. His remaining time was short. If he continued to hesitate and wander aimlessly, not only himself but these innocent children might also die here.
He had to find Master. Not just for himself, but for these children too. As long as he found Master, as long as he got Master's help, even if he himself couldn't be saved, these children could survive.
My death is deserved, but those children... they shouldn't die here. Their futures hold infinite possibilities, more brilliant experiences!
Even at the end of his life, he had to act like a man. Collapsing to the ground, weeping, frozen in fear by the approach of death – that had happened too many times already.
Ōno Nao sprinted through the streets. He carried a loudspeaker he'd found somewhere, which continuously blared his Master's name and the location of the children needing help.
Naturally, the immense noise attracted Deadwalkers and Honkai Beasts. They pursued the man making the racket.
Run! Keep running! Don't stop swinging your arms, don't stop moving your legs, just keep running forward!
I am weak. I can't even defeat a single enemy. I am cowardly, lacking the courage to fight monsters. I am ugly, for I have done evil deeds more than once.
But now, I want to accomplish this.
This is something I can do. This is the only thing I can do. This is what I must do!
The purple markings on Ōno Nao's body spread rapidly. All his exposed skin turned the same deathly pale white as the Deadwalkers.
He could feel his mind becoming clouded, his running growing increasingly labored, as if his brain was losing control over his body. His thoughts grew sluggish.
He gasped violently, having lost track of how far or how long he had run.
The purple markings multiplied, covering his entire body, finally creeping onto his face.
Many negative impulses flooded Ōno Nao's chaotic mind, urging him to kill, urging him to destroy everything.
But he ignored them, just kept running.
Even as wounds were slashed open on his body by Assault-class Honkai Beasts, even as dozens of arrows fired by Archer Deadwalkers embedded themselves in his back.
As Ōno Nao ran relentlessly forward, a massive force suddenly struck him from behind, causing him to instantly lose balance. He tumbled to the ground, rolling several times before stopping.
A Ranger Deadwalker had used its teleportation ability to instantly appear behind Ōno Nao and attack.
Ōno Nao climbed back up. As he did, he thrust out an arm, blocking the Ranger's slash with his completely transformed limb. The enemy's blade got stuck in his bone.
Ōno Nao let out a completely inhuman roar and struck the Ranger Deadwalker hard in the face with his fist, sending it flying several meters away.
Then, having essentially lost his higher reasoning, Ōno Nao didn't press the attack but continued running forward.
Run. Only running remained in his mind.
Eventually, his body became so deformed that Ōno Nao abandoned running on two legs, resorting to sprinting on all fours.
He didn't know how long he ran, so long that he forgot his own name, forgot why he had started running in the first place. He only remembered that he had to keep running, keep moving forward, until he met someone, until he met the person who could bring him peace.
He ran faster and faster, first leaving the pack of Deadwalkers far behind. Gradually, even the Assault-class Honkai Beasts seemed to lose interest, unable to keep up, and stopped chasing him.
He ran on, until, at the end of the street, he saw a figure.
"Master..."
It stopped running. Because of this sudden halt, its body slammed heavily onto the ground again, rolling a great distance before finally coming to rest. This time, it couldn't get up.
It saw the young man standing before it. The sun was behind him, obscuring his face, hiding his expression.
"Master... save... children... save..."
It didn't know if the sounds it made could still be understood by humans. Perhaps, to others, it sounded more like the dying whimper of a wild beast.
"...I understand."
It heard the answer it wanted to hear. A twisted grin, resembling a snarl, spread across its grotesque face.
"You've done well, Nao. Rest now."
It slowly closed its eyes. The last thing it heard was the sound of a long blade slicing through the air.
Then, it knew nothing more.
Wild dogs don't need tombstones; just run until you rot.