Dancing with the Deaths

Chapter 2 - The First Party

The shrill alarm wasn't coming from the store's speakers; it was ringing directly inside Marsel's skull. The tone was high-pitched, urgent, and incredibly annoying.

[WARNING: Critical Energy Reserves (12%).]

[Wall Shield Level 1 will deactivate in 14 minutes.]

"Fourteen minutes?!" Marsel yelled into the empty air. "I just caught my breath five minutes ago, man!"

He stumbled toward the back of the store. The neon blue light coating the supermarket walls began to dim, flickering erratically like a cheap disco light about to short-circuit. Outside the cracked front window, dozens of red eyes glowed in the darkness, waiting for the shield to fail. Ekorupt Drones. They knew. They were waiting.

"System, how do I recharge the energy?" Marsel asked, leaping over a puddle of chocolate milk.

[Recharge Methods: 1. Material Conversion (Locked - Requires Recycling Plant). 2. Absorb Essence (Kill Ekorupts and absorb XP).]

"So I have to go outside and kill those demons just to turn the lights on? What kind of logic is that?" Marsel cursed. He reached the steel door of the cold storage warehouse.

There was a banging sound from inside.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

The rhythm was steady. Too steady for the shrimp-brained zombies outside.

"Hello?" Marsel raised his weakly glowing scanner. "If you're a demon, say so. If you're human, knock three times."

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Marsel swallowed. He gripped the freezing cold freezer door handle. "Okay. Just don't eat me."

He pulled the heavy lever. A blast of cold vapor instantly rushed out, carrying the scent of frozen meat and damp cardboard.

In the middle of the white mist stood a giant.

A man nearly two meters tall, wearing a too-small tank top that was practically tearing from his massive chest muscles. His skin was shiny brown, as if he had just oiled himself up with baby oil in the middle of the apocalypse. Next to him, a young woman in a blood-stained white nurse's uniform sat hugging her knees, shivering violently.

The Giant stared at Marsel. He looked at the blue light enveloping Marsel's body, then at the faint holographic text [Fortress Manager] hovering above Marsel's head.

The giant's eyes widened in awe. He slowly knelt, one knee on the floor, head bowed reverently.

"Your Majesty..." The man's voice was deep, echoing in the cramped freezer. "The King of Walls has come to save your humble servant."

Marsel gaped. "Huh? Who?"

The nurse looked up, her teeth chattering. "He... he's crazy, sir. He's been talking to the wagyu beef the whole time."

"My name is Tyrex," the giant said, still in the worshipping posture. He pointed to his own biceps. "The Death-Defying Guardian. I see holy light radiating from your body, Sire. Are you a god sent by the Great Protein Shake?"

"I'm Marsel. The manager of this store," Marsel cut in quickly, ignoring the insanity. "And you, ma'am?"

"Nana," the nurse replied, standing on shaky legs. "I was shopping for fruit when... when everyone turned into monsters. This guy dragged me into the freezer."

"I saved you, Little Healer!" Tyrex exclaimed, standing up straight until his head nearly touched the ceiling. "And now, the King of Walls is here! Your command, Sire?"

Marsel rubbed his temples. The situation was a mess. He had two people: one nurse who looked ready to faint, and one bodybuilder who seemed to have drunk so many supplements his brain had gotten muscular too. But he needed manpower.

[Fortress Energy: 9%.]

"Okay, listen up," Marsel said, trying to keep his voice firm even though his knees felt weak. "We're going to die if this blue light goes out. I need you two to help me get some... 'gas' outside."

"Go outside?" Nana paled. "Are you crazy, sir? There are monsters out there!"

"There will be monsters in here too if the walls die, Nana," Marsel retorted sharply. He pointed to the back warehouse door leading to the Loading Dock. "The System says there's a small, isolated group of Ekorupts back there. We take them out, grab the energy, and come back. Simple."

Tyrex puffed out his chest. "Battle? Your humble servant is ready to be your meat shield, Sire!"

"Don't become meat, I need you alive," Marsel said, looking at the stack of metal shopping carts in the corner of the warehouse. "Tyrex, can you lift those?"

Tyrex turned, grinning widely. He walked to the stack of carts, grabbed two at once, then slightly crushed them with his bare hands as if they were aluminum foil, merging them into a terrifying dual shield.

"This is a worthy weapon," Tyrex muttered, his eyes gleaming.

"Okay, that's terrifying," Marsel commented. "Nana, you stay behind me. If anyone gets hurt, you... well, you're a nurse, right? Do something."

Nana nodded hesitantly, clutching her small medical bag tightly.

They moved to the Loading Dock door. Marsel pressed his scanner against the door panel.

[Opening Rear Seal. Warning: 5 Ekorupt Drones Detected.]

"Ready?" Marsel asked.

"For the Wall!" Tyrex roared.

The door opened.

The foul-smelling night wind immediately hit them. The loading dock area was dimly lit, illuminated only by a flickering streetlamp in the distance. Five Ekorupt figures—former dockworkers with mutated, elongated arms—turned simultaneously.

"Groaaaar!"

"Attack!" Marsel shouted.

Tyrex didn't need a second command. He shot forward like a runaway freight train.

"TASTE THIS, SKINNY, MALNOURISHED CREATURES!"

*CRASH!*

Tyrex slammed the foremost Ekorupt with his cart shield. The sound of breaking bones was crisp. The Ekorupt was flung back, getting stuck in the metal grating of the cart. Tyrex didn't stop; he used the stuck Ekorupt as an extra weapon to strike the second one.

"Insane," Nana hissed, her eyes wide.

"Don't just stand there!" Marsel raised his scanner, aiming at the third Ekorupt trying to sneak up from the side. A red laser beam scanned the target.

[Target: Carrier Drone]

[Weak Point: Lower Spine (Chronic Hernia)]

"Tyrex! Two o'clock! Hit its waist!" Marsel yelled.

"Yes, Sire!"

Tyrex spun, executing a spinning backfist using the fifty-kilo shopping cart. The metal edge of the cart struck precisely at the Ekorupt's waist. The creature howled, its body folding the wrong way, then exploding into blue light particles.

The particles floated, sucked into Marsel's body and the supermarket wall behind him.

[XP Gained: 15]

[Fortress Energy: +5%]

"That's it!" Marsel exclaimed. "Again! Kill the rest!"

The last two Ekorupts realized the threat Tyrex posed and changed targets. They leaped toward Nana, who was standing near the door.

"Aaa!" Nana screamed, backing up and tripping over a wooden pallet.

"Damn it!" Marsel ran. He had no close-range weapon except his scanner and his feet.

The Ekorupt hovered in the air, its ash-colored claws ready to tear Nana's face.

BANG!

It wasn't a gunshot. It was the sound of Marsel throwing a 400-gram can of corned beef straight at the Ekorupt's head. The accurate throw of a manager accustomed to stocking the highest shelves.

The Ekorupt staggered momentarily.

"Nana! Run!"

But Nana didn't run. The nurse's hands glowed with a faint green light. Panicked, she slapped the approaching Ekorupt. It wasn't a defensive strike, but a frantic slap.

SMACK!

The green light burned the Ekorupt's gray skin like acid.

"Kyaaa!" The Ekorupt recoiled, clutching its melting face.

[Skill Detected: Sterilization Touch (Basic)]

"Wow," Marsel muttered. "Tyrex! Finish them!"

Tyrex leaped from the hood of a parked box truck, landing directly on the two remaining Ekorupts, crushing them into blue pixel paste beneath his military boots.

Silence.

Their three breaths ragged in the cold night air.

[Fortress Energy: 35%. Stable Condition.]

[Level Up!]

[Marsel - Fortress Manager Lv. 2]

[New Feature Unlocked: Dimensional Inventory (Capacity: 10 Slots)]

"We... we survived?" Nana asked, staring at her hands, which still glowed faintly green.

"For now," Marsel replied, wiping away sweat. He felt stronger. The pain in his head was gone. "Let's get inside. Don't stay out in the open too long."

They returned inside the supermarket. Marsel closed the Loading Dock door and locked it via the system interface. The wall light shone brightly again, providing a false sense of security.

"Good job, Cart Knight," Marsel said, patting Tyrex's concrete-hard arm. "And you, Na. That was cool. Do you have acid in your hands?"

"I don't know," Nana said, still in shock, but a small relieved smile appeared on her face. "I just wanted him to be 'clean.' And then... he burned."

"That's magic, ma'am!" Tyrex laughed thunderously. "We are the chosen team! The Avengers of Indomaret!"

"Don't mention brand names, we'll get hit with copyright," Marsel cut in. He opened the system menu in the air. "I got access to the Inventory. That means we can store items without having to carry bags. Good for logis—"

Marsel's words stopped.

He heard something. Not from outside. From above.

A soft *creak* of metal grating. The sound came from the central AC ventilation right above their heads.

"Shh," Marsel hissed, raising a hand.

Tyrex stopped laughing. Nana covered her mouth.

"What is it, Sire?" Tyrex whispered.

Marsel looked up slowly. The ceiling vent grille looked normal. But his manager's instinct, the instinct that always knew when there was a rat in the ceiling, screamed danger.

A thick black liquid dripped from the vent gap.

Drip.

The liquid fell right onto Marsel's shoulder. It was hot.

"Back away," Marsel whispered.

Too late.

CRASH!

The gypsum ceiling burst open. A jet-black creature with six long, blade-tipped limbs dropped directly onto Marsel.

This wasn't a stupid Drone like the others. This was sleeker. Faster. Its skin was like wet latex, and it had no eyes, only a vertical mouth full of needle teeth.

[WARNING: Ekorupt Crawler (Infiltrator Type) - Lv. 3]

"ARGH!" Marsel screamed as the creature pinned him to the floor. Its weight was immense. Its claws dug into Marsel's left shoulder, tearing through his uniform shirt. Fresh blood spurted out.

"SIRE!" Tyrex roared, trying to swing his carts, but the hallway near the back door was too narrow for such a bulky weapon.

"Don't come closer!" Marsel yelled, holding the creature's jaw back with the handle of his scanner. The monster's teeth chattered inches from Marsel's nose. Its foul, decaying saliva dripped onto his face.

"System! Scan! Scan this bastard!" Marsel screamed internally.

[Target Too Fast. Scan Failed.]

[Target Too Close.]

"Damn it!"

The creature raised one of its claws high, ready to pierce Marsel's heart. Marsel could see the reflection of his own terrified face on the surface of the shiny black claw. Time seemed to slow down. He had just leveled up. He had just felt safe. And now he was going to die a ridiculous death on the floor of his own store's warehouse.

"Tyrex! Nana!"

The claw plunged down.

One second before death.

*