I had encountered zombies with oddly clean bodies, which made me wonder.

After all, if they were eaten to death by a zombie, their bodies should be much more mangled.

In short, they didn't die.

Whether it was a fungus, or perhaps a curse, something was injected into them, and they turned into zombies while still alive.

Just like Asanuma kun.

"Don't be scared, Asanuma kun. That laugh just now was just a passing whim. It's true that I can use magic to heal wounds, so I'll heal you."

I wonder how I look from his perspective.

He's trembling as if looking at a monster, shaking his head and trying to escape from me, but am I really that terrifying?

If so, I'm glad.

I've been punched by Asanuma kun, had my hair burned with a lighter, and even been burned by him.

And he was there that night, too.

Always looking down on me with a face like a demon's, brandishing malice without showing a shred of guilt, that Asanuma kun.

And now he's this frightened.

Miserable, unsightly how cute.

"You'll die if you stay like that. Look, it's a bite wound, so germs must have gotten in, you need to treat it properly."

"No... you're not... you have no intention of treating me...! You're planning to kill me, aren't you!"

"How rude of you.Well, It's true that I killed Shudou kun, though."

"Huh...? Kuragane, what did you just..."

"But I realized then. It's not good to take someone's life so easily. There was certainly fleeting joy. Thinking of the worthlessness of my life up until now, an overwhelming happiness enveloped my heart. But when I cooled down, I realized, 'It's not enough'. The judgment of sins can only be fulfilled while living, Asanuma kun!"

I don't consider this a confession of sins or repentance, so I can speak easily.

At least towards them, I merely exacted appropriate "retaliation," and haven't done anything wrong.

"You did it... You killed Takeru, Kuraganeeeee!"

Asanuma kun got amusingly angry.

He got angry, lunged at me, and tried to strangle me.

It was then that I remembered his relationship with Shudou kun.

"Amazing, amazing. You were so terrified just a moment ago, and suddenly you attack me. Come to think of it, you were good friends with Shudou kun, right?"

"He's my best friend!"

"I see, I also think it's very unfortunate that he died."

"You're the one who did it!"

"That's exactly why I'm sadder than anyone else."

"You bitch, I should have killed you sooner! You and Ikuna should have died together! It's not too late, just dieeee!"

He puts all his strength into both arms, but it doesn't hurt at all.

Just like me on that day, when resisting was futile.

"Ahahahahahahaha, ahahahahahaha!"

It was funny.

It was funny.

It's funny.

It's funny!!

This was the funniest thing in my entire life, and I probably laughed more heartily than ever before.

Then, when I lightly pushed Asanuma kun's body away, he fell on his backside.

He understood the difference in our strength and became terrified once again.

"What's with that face? Why are you surprised? This is the second time, you know? You knew this would happen, right? Did the blood rush to your head and make you forget?"

I walked up to Asanuma kun, crouched down, and held my hand over his wound.

"Healing."

A warm light enveloped the affected area, healing the wound.

"There you go, Asanuma kun, I healed the wound. Look, it's completely closed up. It's not even bleeding anymore."

"Hah... hah... hah..."

"What's wrong, is there something scary?"

I asked in an exaggerated manner.

Asanuma kun showed the reaction I expected.

"W-what is this... Why isn't this bruise like thing disappearing..."

"Because it's not a wound."

"Then what is it!"

"I'm sorry, Asanuma kun, it seems this magic can't stop the zombification."

"Zombifi... cation...?"

"This dark purple bruise is wriggling inside your body and slowly creeping upwards. Look, it's right at your stomach now."

The bruise was expanding in real time, encroaching on his flesh.

At this point, rather than a bruise, it looked like a parasite nesting inside his body.

"Probably, when this reaches your heart or brain, you'll turn into a zombie and join those monsters, I think."

"You're lying..."

"I'm lying."

"Huh?"

"Just kidding. Did you get your hopes up? It was aaaaall true."

"Kuragane, youuuu...!"

Even after I did all this, he couldn't even yell anymore, only protesting with teary eyes.

It makes me laugh, this.

"I knew I wasn't wrong. You really are less than human!"

"Asanuma kun, did you understand my feelings?"

"Like hell I would!"

"You understand. Because you think I'm not human, but a monster, right? Me too. The sight of Asanuma kun and the others playing with me was so ugly, I couldn't see you as human at all."

I think he understands from here on without me saying it.

That's why it's fun.

That's why I'm laughing.

"But I'm more wholesome. From my perspective, Shudou kun and Asanuma kun weren't human, they were monsters. That's why I'm fine even doing something like this. But Asanuma kun and the others, at least recognizing me as a lowest tier 'human', hit me and tried to kill me, right? That's far more insane."

"What are you saying... someone's about to die, save them no matter who they areeee!"

"That's why I'm saying you're not human, Asanuma kun."

"Kuraganeeeee!"

Perhaps as a last resort, Asanuma kun lunges at me again.

I grabbed his face and pinned him to the floor.

Just that alone was enough to render him immobile.

Meanwhile, the bruise continued to creep up his body, wriggling.

"Ha, a, ah, it's cold... what is this, this coldness, it's welling up...!"

"That's great, keep it up and tell me for my future reference. What it means to become a zombie."

"Nooooo! I don't want to die, I don't want to dieeeee!"

"Don't worry, your best friend Shudou kun is waiting for you at the end of this. Ah, but I don't know if you can even die once you become a zombie. That's right, I can just use you to test if consciousness remains even after becoming a monster!"

"Let me goooo! Why, why did it have to be someone like youuu!"

I understand why he'd want to lament like that.

In a school building this vast, the fact that I am the one to witness your end can only be described as a cruel prank by God.

"Damn it, my head is... getting hazy... no... I don't want to become, a mon, st... o, uh, oooo... ah, if it was going to be like this... I should have... just posted that video... on the internet, sooner..."

At that moment, Asanuma kun's body jerked violently!

He rolled his eyes back, arched his body, and I felt something "switch."

And when his eyes returned to normal, there was no light in them.

A cold sensation spread across the hand I was using to hold his head down.

"U, aaaa..."

He finally let out a zombie-like sound and tried to get up.

His strength was clearly greater than when he was human.

On the other hand, the bruise that had spread across his body was gone.

Come to think of it, the zombies' bodies were rotting, but they weren't covered in bruises.

I guess that means I've gotten used to them.

"Heeey, Asanuma kuuuun."

"Aaaa... uaaaaau...!"

Ah, as expected, he doesn't have consciousness.

It's the same as dying the moment you become a zombie...

"Uaaaa... ua, uaaaa...!"

But maybe it's just my imagination, he can't pronounce it, but his mouth shape looks like he's saying "Kuragane."

"Asanuma kun, Kuragane Erika, who killed Shudou kun, is right heeeere!"

"Vaaaaaaaah!"

And he's clearly angry—ah, tears are coming out.

Are you crying? Even after becoming a zombie, are you still sad, still in pain?

"Asanuma kun... He is still him even as a zombie! He's Zombie Asanuma kun!"

"Uaaaaau!"

He answered! I see, this is Asanuma kun too!

I excitedly picked up Dreamer, which I had placed on the floor, and plunged it into his shoulder.

"Thank goodness, Zombie Asanuma kuuuun! This means that zombie Yoshioka san might have had consciousness too! She might have been regretting being killed by Kuragane of all peopleeeeee!"

I stabbed him a few times and removed his right arm.

Next, his left arm.

I laughed heartily watching Asanuma kun, who had lost both arms, flounder on the ground, and then moved on to his legs.

The thighs are thick and satisfying to cut, very amusing!

It took a little time to sever them, but the BGM flowing from Asanuma kun's throat was pleasant, so I didn't get bored.

Alright, I've removed all four limbs!

"Done! To reproduce that, all I need to do is find a rope. He's just a regular zombie, so he won't regenerate, right... Wait a bit, Asanuma kun!"

"Uaaaaaa..."

I waved and left the room, running down the hallway to search another classroom.

Then, by coincidence, I found a rope that was just right.

Seeing it hanging out the window, someone probably tried to escape from here.

When I pulled the rope up, there was thick blood on it halfway down.

He probably got eaten by that thing when he climbed down this far.

While feeling a pang in my chest at the utterly unreasonable sacrifice, I hugged the rope and returned to the reception room.

"I'm back, Asanuma kun!"

"Uaaa, aaaah!"

"Ahaha, I know you missed me, but calm down."

Asanuma kun, with his limbs cut off, was still there.

It seems he can only wriggle his body like a caterpillar.

I used a chair to tie the rope to a sturdy part of the ceiling while starting to reminisce.

"This is from last year, do you remember, Asanuma kun? The time I was almost killed in an unused classroom."

They might not remember.

Because it was just a scene from their mundane daily life.

But I remember it vividly.

Because after that, my throat and head hurt for a while, and it was pretty tough.

"You guys were messing around, tied my hands and feet, and kicked me for fun, right? And finally, you tied a rope to the ceiling like this and tried to make me hang myself. I couldn't resist, so I had no choice but to wait and let it happen. Usually, someone would think it was going too far and stop it halfway, but that time, everyone was enveloped in a strange fever and sympathy, and you were all happily trying to kill me."

Even if I was found, it would be treated as a suicide anyway.

Perhaps they had that conviction, because even though it was a dangerous act of killing someone, not a single one of the nearly ten students gathered there tried to stop it.

"And I actually was made to hang myself. I didn't even have time to suffer, my consciousness quickly faded and flew away, so that time I really thought I had died. But when I woke up next, Yumemi chan was in front of me. I think if Yumemi chan hadn't saved me, I definitely would have died."

At the very brink of losing my life, Yumemi chan came to save me.

Normally, Yumemi chan would have been caught up in it too, but she brought a teacher with her, so we were able to survive safely.

"Who do you want to come save you, Asanuma kun? Shudou kun? Ahaha, he's gone because I killed him. Ah, but maybe he became a zombie and is wandering around. It would be nice if you could reunite."

"Uaaaa... aaaa...!"

With a "heave-ho," I lifted Asanuma kun's body, which had begun to rot, and put the loop made of rope around his neck.

"Ua... a, a..."

His throat tightens.

He can't even let out a moan properly.

His lifeless eyes glared at me fiercely.

Meanwhile, I watched his figure from the front and clapped with all my might with both hands.

"Done! fuh, Ahahahahahaha! It looks great on you, Asanuma kun! Asanuma kun back then must have felt like this looking at me! I understand completely! I understand, I understand! Ahahahahahaha! I'm laughing just like Asanuma kun and the others did back then! Ahahahahahaha!"

I clapped repeatedly until my hands almost swelled.

In the quiet school building, the sound of one person's clapping and laughter echoed.

Suddenly, I felt a ticklish sensation around my nose and wiped it with the back of my hand.

"I got so excited my nose bled. Haa... Whatever. It's dirty and smelly, and I'm getting tired of this. Let's leave it at this."

Seeing the blood suddenly cooled my mood, and I turned my back to Asanuma kun.

Suspended in the air, he swung left and right, swaying back and forth.

His flesh, having become a zombie, did not cease activity even when the oxygen supply was stopped.

This also serves as an experiment.

How long does it need to be left, and what kind of changes need to occur, for a zombie to evolve into its next form?

"Huh, is Asanuma kun a little angry? It's true that I might be doing something cruel and inhuman. But you know, it was Asanuma kun and the others who made me like this. You practically taught me how to make others suffer by demonstrating it! My actions are a mirror. If you think it's painful and tough right now, that's allll—what you did in the past."

Perhaps reacting to my words, or perhaps driven by appetite, Asanuma kun swung his body violently.

Like a toy for a baby, he spun round and round in the air.

"See you later, see you tomorrow."

Even after I left the room, he kept howling.

Ah, even the stagnant air filling the hallway feels clear.

The world was this beautiful.

"I wonder who I'll meet next, I can't wait."

Humming a tune involuntarily, I head towards the school store with a light step.

My head is spinning.

My heart is fuzzy.

What is this feeling.

I feel as if I've broken through the membrane covering the sky and finally arrived in a world where the light shines.

I've killed someone, used violence, and fallen into the abyss.

That's how I felt.

But perhaps, I'm just slowly becoming normal.

An average citizen of the shitty world I live in.