Number 7

A bullet was lodged in her thigh, which refused to stop bleeding.

She could barely even limp, much less walk. Even if skilled combat movements were simple to her, she was reduced to a state where such things were impossible.

Her shoulder had been shot clean through, the bullet having shattered her collarbone and driven into her flesh, and this wound throbbed uncontrollably as if to remind her of the pathetic state which she was in.

Her face was lined with a scar, and blood filled her ear, clogging it as she was forced to listen with the one that remained while the echo of fluid resounded within her mind.

She was as good as dead.

Yet even in such a state, the soldiers that had once been subject to her had thrown her into this pit.

Anger? Hatred? Disgust? Such pitiful emotions couldn't possibly describe her current state.

"I will be sure to remember this. And when the time comes... no amount of begging will save any of you."

Whispering these words to herself quietly, the woman stood up - or she tried to - as she faced the hordes that slowly surrounded her on all sides.

She could do nothing.

She could not run.

She could not hide.

And even though many of the creatures had been mowed down when she was forced out, there were many that remained - more than she could count.

Therefore, holding up her hand as she straightened it, the woman prepared to fight.

"Vice Admiral... I did not expect your betrayal. I did not think that you would do something so rash... though I admit that this is my loss. However... you made a mistake as well."

With a proud smirk, the woman waited as one of the creatures approached, lunging at her with a roar.

And with smooth movements, the woman sidestepped in a way as to not put any pressure on her injured leg before wrapping her uninjured arm around the zombie - twisting its neck like a corkscrew as it flew off with a rain of blood.

Dropping the head to the ground as the blood soaked upon her, the woman looked around her as numerous zombies approached - not phased in the slightest as one of their brethren was slaughtered in cold blood.

"Your mistake was not killing me when you had the chance."

----

A scene of bloody murder ensued.

Chaos erupted as the undead seemed to be provoked by her words, at which dozens of zombies seemed to rush forward, bearing their fangs and claws as they attacked the woman without ceasing.

Gnarling and scratching, the creatures seemed to put all their strength into the slaughter of the woman before them who had been completely immobilized - yet strangely enough - she did not fall.

Even though she remained in place, stationary and barely able to limp around, the woman seemed to dodge each attack with precision, as if she were reading the minds of the creatures as they attacked.

With each creature that lunged forward, the woman would grab it - proceeding to twist off its head or arms as they struggled to inflict wounds upon her.

The bodies seemed to pile up around the woman as she mutilated the creatures with her bare hands, fighting with a glare of death that made even those monsters falter.

"What's wrong? Are you all terrified of a mere human?"

The woman said these words, her voice trembling with madness as she was surrounded by hundreds of zombies - dozens of which made up the dead bodies around her.

Yet as if reacting to her words, the undead once more continued their onslaught.

"But you are not human... therefore fear is not something which you should be able to feel."

And with this whisper, an aura of dominance seemed to spread throughout the monsters as they halted their attacks for just a moment, brief enough for the woman to tear her hand through three more of the undead before the attacks resumed.

"And yet before me... even the fearless seem to falter."

The battle then continued, the woman dodging with swiftness that seemed to surpass even the limitations of her injured body, a smile wrapping itself around her face as chaos seemed to overtake her.

The undead clawed and scratched, chomped and gnarled, yet even as they did so they were overcome by the absolute violence which encapsulated the woman known as Yelena Slausenricht.

She would use every way imaginable to bait her enemies, at one point grabbing one of the zombies in order to use it as a shield while another thrust it's fangs through it's comrade.

An explosion of blood and guts unlike anything ever seen occurred in those few moments, more and more of the undead piling up as the woman fought without so much as a weapon.

However as the time passed and the bodies piled up, so too did the pool of her own blood that surrounded her.

The woman's breathing became ragged and she found difficulty to keep up her inhuman movements, and little by little the attacks of the undead seemed to come closer and closer to reaching her.

'Am I going to die here?'

And as this happened, this thought made its way into her mind as the black haired woman gritted her teeth - her military uniform still pristine yet covered in blood.

'Am I going to die because of those monsters?'

Thinking this with an ever increasing grin, it was unclear exactly who the woman was referring to - the zombies before her, or the very people who had thrown her out into this jungle.

'No.'

Suppressing a laugh, the woman tore off yet another head, this time squeezing it with such strength that the eyeballs popped out of their sockets.

'As if I would allow myself to be done in by the likes of such filth.'

However just as she thought this, her movements increasing with her heart rate, the woman felt a light sting to the back of her heel.

Turning back as she immediately noticed this, the woman witnessed something which made her eyes widen with a combination of fear and hatred - for at her feet was a zombie whose torso was completely separated from its lower body.

A creature that had used up the last of its remaining strength to crawl across the field of bodies around her - just to give her even the slightest scratch.

Such a scratch would be fatal.

"YOU...."

Stomping the head of the zombie with her uninjured foot, the woman shouted out in anger as it exploded like a cantaloupe.

In this moment of weakness, the zombies around her didn't hesitate to take advantage of such a situation - for in the time it took the woman to realize the attack and react, three more had now sunk their fangs into her.

"AGH!!!"

Letting out this scream of pain, even the seasoned admiral who had fought in such a demented manner couldn't help but to feel terror at the knowledge of her own impending doom.

'No... no no no...'

'I... I'm going to become one of these things?'

'I... I don't want that...'

'It hurts... it hurts!!!'

And as the creatures forced her to the ground, they began to feast on the woman as she was eaten alive.

First they ripped out her esophagus, and the woman could no longer scream as the blood filled her lungs, and all the while they tore away at her limbs.

'Agh!! Stop it! Stop it!!! NO!!!'

Tears filled the eyes of the woman who had inspired fear into all around her, and in that instant she began to have thoughts which she had never before had.

'Please... please! Stop this! Anybody! Won't... won't anybody help... me?'

And as the pain erupted within her, tears filled with blood flowing from her eyes, the woman's pleas for help stopped.

'They won't... help me.'

'Just... as I did not help them.'

One zombie dug into the stomach of the woman, ripping out her intestines as it feasted as if it were a link of sausages.

'It hurts so much I want to kill myself... it hurts so much... that I would rather die.'

'Is this what those soldiers felt as I sent them off to fight?'

'Is this what it’s like to be powerless?'

Closing her eyes as the pain overwhelmed her, the woman gave up on all thoughts of being saved as she accepted her own death.

'If I become a zombie... will my limbs regrow?'

'Will I keep my consciousness?'

'Will I become one of them and roam the earth aimlessly, or will I have some control over my actions?'

And as everything became cold, the woman's visions began to fade as death became near.

'If there is a next life... if there is another chance for me... then what should I do with it?'

She did not know.

Yet in that instant, all the zombies around her seemed to explode.

Their heads, their limbs, they erupted from inside of the creatures as if some strange energy was released from within them, and they turned to piles of paste in mere moments.

Looking around as everything began to fade, the woman watched with widened eyes as all the creatures seemed to die without reason.

'What is this?'

And in that instant, in the distance, the woman saw it.

The figure of a man.

He was too far away to make out clearly, and her hazy vision added to this confusion, however she understood one thing clearly.

Someone was trying to help her.

'If... if I could somehow be saved... if I could continue to live, even as a zombie... even as a monster... then I suppose... I would give myself to the person who saved me.'

Closing her eyes, the woman smiled ever so lightly as she felt everything disappear - a gentle smile which perhaps she had never expressed in her entire life.

'I will REMEMBER this.'

Thus, Yelena died.

For the first time.

----

"You're curious about how I do it, aren't you?"

Walking through a densely populated City filled with zombies were three people.

"It would be a lie if I were to say that I wasn't."

Standing at the front was a white haired man - his long hair which was once chaotic now slicked back in a professional manner.

He glanced around him with golden eyes, which fell upon pools of flesh and blood that would make anyone sick to their stomach - yet the three people who walked through them didn't seem to be disturbed in the least - as if they were accustomed to such levels of gore.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you the nature of my ability. You see Chi, these abilities are... special. Knowing the ability of your enemy is almost as good as obtaining victory over them, for you will understand exactly what they are capable of - however on the other hand, not knowing the nature of an opponent’s ability is a severe disadvantage."

The white haired man spoke to one of the two girls who followed him - girls who were dressed in the outfits of maids that looked to be exact inverses of one another.

The first had black hair with a dress that was primarily white, and the other white hair with a dress that was primarily black.

One held a rifle in her right hand, and the other in her left - perfect twins, exact mirrors of one another.

Yet despite their mirrored appearances, their expressions were anything but.

"However, I can explain the science about how certain... applications of my ability work.", the man continued as he walked forward, surrounded by a number of bodies that looked as if bombs had gone off inside of them - blood sprayed about like a water balloon had popped.

One of the two girls looked to the white haired man with a fervent dedication, paying attention to every last word he spoke with intensity, while the other seemed to glance around her with timidity, seemingly terrified - not of the bodies or brutal scenes around her, yet rather of the man whom she followed.

"I'm sure there will be some fools out there who will allow their abilities to become commonly known... but I am not one of them. Even to you two, I cannot allow such information to slip. After all, there is no reason for you to know. The more people who know my ability, the greater the chance that even more people will find out. You may be captured, tortured for information, or your mind may even be read - and with these abilities having entered this world... such a thing is no longer a mere fantasy."

With a light smirk, the man chuckled to himself as he whispered underneath his breath.

"And it's not like I could trust either of you to keep your mouths shut either way."

"Forgive my incompetence, Master Lichtenburg, but my ears are not powerful enough to pick up what you just said. Would you mind repeating it?"

"No."

The black haired maiden spoke with true sincerity - not sarcastic in the least, however the man responded promptly, cutting her off.

"The atmosphere bears down immense pressure upon us, however we fail to realize it because our bodies are accustomed to such a pressure."

Completely moving on without missing a beat, the man began to lecture as the three continued their way towards a harbor - the ocean slowly coming into their view from afar.

"This is true in many scenarios. Deep underneath the sea, there are fish which are accustomed to extremely high pressures. On the other hand, animals which live upon high mountains have become used to living with limited amounts of oxygen. That is the beauty of nature - it always evolves itself such that its creatures can survive in any environment."

The man closed his eyes, an eerily peaceful smile overwhelming him as he paused for a moment.

"However... such evolution requires sacrifice."

And in that instant, from an alleyway to the side, a zombie shot out, rushing towards the group before the man held out his hand towards it.

As the man kept his eyes closed, the two girls immediately bore their weapons, taking aim at the creature which snarled and spit - however before they could do so the man grasped his hand inward.

And the moment he did so, the creature exploded.

Blood and guts shot into the sky so high that one might have believed a bomb was placed inside the creature, firing its limbs outwards, covering the landscape with its remains.

"Nature may seem to be beautiful after millions of years of evolution, however at its very core is something disturbing... something disgusting. Something which makes our stomachs turn - and that is the culling of the weak."

Pointing his hand forward towards the alleyway that the zombie had approached from, the man seemed to point towards three things in the darkness - and as he did so three wretched screams were heard.

The sounds of slaughtered undead in the distance.

"In order for creatures to become strong in one climate, those with genetics that are disadvantageous will be culled. Yet this is a slow and painful process... one which takes hundreds, thousands, millions of years. Generations after generations will yield little to no results, and only after an individual is long dead do any true results show themselves."

Then, holding his hand forward, the man opened his eyes as they fell upon the port that was far down the street.

And with those golden eyes, in the far distance, he laid them upon a hoard of zombies that seemed to be surrounding a woman.

"So what would happen if the climate were to suddenly shift?"

And as he watched that scenario from afar, the man then held his hand up, holding it horizontally as he gazed from afar.

"Millions of years of evolution would go to waste... and those who were once deemed to be failures of nature will become successful."

At that instant, the man slammed his hand downward - and as he did so, the hoard of zombies seemed to be pressurized as they were reduced to a mere paste in seconds.

"Yet there is one particular trait... one particular ability which can be cultivated that may change such an outcome."

Stepping forward as the two girls followed him, the man kept his focus on a particular woman who was in the center of the hoard, her body barely visible even among the liquified zombies that seemed to disappear around her.

"The ability to adapt."

And with a demented grin, the man pressed on, approaching the now zombiless harbor as he stepped forth with confidence.

"This is what makes humans... the ultimate beings who will surpass even the restrictions of evolution."

----

"Yelena... so it was you after all."

The scientist spoke with lament as he approached the mutilated body - eaten away by the undead that were now in liquid form.

Approaching as he stood over the woman, the man looked down with an unreadable expression as the two maids behind him watched with a combination of curiosity and horror.

"I suppose we've both learned lessons now, haven't we?"

Reaching into his pocket, the man pulled out a syringe - filled with the very pink fluid that he had injected himself with just earlier.

"However, Yelena... there is a difference between you and me."

Speaking to himself as the woman lay dead, the man bent down as he placed his hand on the woman's head, removing her cap as he slowly ran his hand through her long black hair.

"We both were in complete control. We both were in dominant positions. We both had everything within the palm of our hands - and we both had the strength and power to back up such a method. However..."

Squirting the syringe with one hand, the man reached into his pocket with his other as he pulled out a scalpel.

"When one dominates a lower being... they must be absolutely certain that the lower being has no chance of rebellion. And even if such a rebellion occurs... you must have the ability to face them without assistance."

In that instant, the man ripped off the military garments of the woman as he sliced into her chest, a maddening smile overcoming him.

"You inspired fear, and you used it well... you had the physical abilities and dominating personality to take the position necessary to control."

As he cut open the woman himself, the man opened up her chest so that he could see her heart - still beating even at this very moment.

Perhaps the woman had fallen unconscious in her terror, or perhaps something else was happening to her at that very moment.

"Yet in the end, you relied upon this very society to back your position."

At that instant, the man grabbed the woman's heart, ripping it out from the arteries which connected it.

And beating within the hand of the man, blood dripping endlessly as he quickly stabbed it with the syringe, the man chuckled with madness as he watched himself work.

"Heh... heh heh... and when that very society crumbled... so too did your little game of Queen and subjects."

Throwing the heart to the ground, the man stood up, turning his back to the organ as he walked forward with the flutter of his lab coat.

The two maids watched with confusion as the man headed forward, glaring back and forth before witnessing something inconceivable.

It continued beating.

It beat, and it beat.

Harder, and louder - it's power growing with every given moment.

"And because you did not plan to rule over a world that had already been destroyed... you will now become one of the subjects yourself... Madame Admiral."