Kino no Tabi:Volume16 Chapter1

「Land of Corpses」—Spirits of the Dead—

Out on the coastal plains, a lone motorrad (Note: A two-wheeled vehicle. Just note that it cannot fly) was lazily running along.

The coastline stretched out alongside a single brown road. The motorrad traveled down the path, with the sea on its left.

The motorrad's rear wheel had black boxes mounted on either side, and a rack on top, with a suitcase and a rolled-up sleeping bag.

The weather was great. Aside from a few thin streaks of cloud, the sky was a clear, almost transparent blue. The blue sky and the blue sea filled the horizon, seeming to go on forever.

The motorrad's rider was a young human.

She wore a brown coat over her black jacket, with the long coattails wrapped around her legs. She wore goggles over her eyes, and a hat on her head, with the brim over the goggle strap.

"It feels pretty good, right Kino?" The motorrad asked.

The person called 'Kino' gave a big nod. "Yeah, you're right, Hermes. It's a bit cold, but the weather is good and the road is easy-going. Most of all —"

"Most of all?"

"It's nice being able to see the ocean all the time."

"I see. We've always been landlocked before, huh."

"You know Hermes, I used to wonder if I would go my whole life never seeing the ocean," Kino said, somberly.

The motorrad called 'Hermes' replied lightly, "Well isn't that the case for a lot of people in this world?"

"Yeah, you're right, There aren't that many people that ever even go outside their country's walls. That's one thing I've learned from traveling so much."

"More people should go outside, don't you think? It's almost like everyone in this world is a shut-in."

"Why do you keep saying 'this world'...? Does that mean you know about other worlds, Hermes?"

"I don't know. Do other worlds even exist?"

"That's what I was asking you... Well, whatever. — You're right, Hermes. If more people left their homelands and started teaching and learning from other countries, something new could be born... I want to see a "new world" like that, where that sort of exchange happens everywhere."

"I'm sure if you live long enough, you'll see it," Hermes said softly.

"Yeah, you're right." Kino gave a firm nod.

Asdf

Kino and Hermes continued on through the grasslands, stopping only once to break for tea.

The scenic mixture of the plains and the sea remained unchanged through the entire day.

Then finally, as the sun was sinking in the western sky, they saw something man-made for the first time that day, far off on the horizon.

That is, a set of tall country walls.

Even though the walls surrounded an entire country, from far away only a vaguely rectangular shape could be made out.

Kino smiled. "We got here faster than I expected."

"Even though we would've been here five days earlier if we hadn't gotten stuck in the forest during that storm?"

"You can't win against the weather. At least the storm came while we were in the forest, so we had good weather out here on the coastline."

"Hmm. It all depends on your perspective, huh."

"At this rate, we should be able to enter the country sometime today. Tonight I can sleep in a bed with clean sheets and eat someone else's cooking."

"How can you be sure everything will go according to plan? They might refuse to let us in."

"Why would they do that?"

"Uh, because this motorrad is way too good-looking."

"So I have to walk from now on, huh..."

"What?! Don't blame the motorrad! It's the human that's the problem!"

"I'm a 'good kid' though."

"Do you get to say that about yourself? Well maybe not you Kino, but what if the people living in the country have issues?"

"Oh? Like what?"

"Uhh, what if they're 'shut-in's that don't want to go outside, but they also don't want to let anyone else in?"

"That would be a problem. But you know, Hermes, I made sure to gather a lot of information back in the last country. They said this country is a relaxed land of fishermen, where everyone is kindhearted and welcoming to travelers."

"Really? That's so boring."

"What do you expect me to do about that?"

"So I can't look forward to you shooting up a bunch of murderous bad guys, Kino?"

"You shouldn't be looking forward to that in the first place, Hermes. I just want to visit the country for three days, relax, eat some good fish, and learn a little about how the people there live. I'm not going to let go of my persuader, but I don't want to shoot anyone if I can avoid it."

"True, you don't want to waste good bullets and gunpowder."

"That too."

As they came nearer to the country walls, their conversation slowly petered out, and the wild grass around them crept higher and thicker.

"A country so close to the sea is pretty rare, huh."

Hermes's words stirred an old memory in Kino. "Master once said the same thing. There are a lot of disadvantages when it comes to safety."

"All sorts of 'bad things' could rise out of the water."

"But these people settled her anyway. It really makes you wonder what this country's like —"

From underneath her goggles, Kino narrowed her eyes in excitement. "I can't wait to find out."

She pressed down a little harder on Hermes's accelerator.

Asdf

" — I can't allow you into the country under any circumstances!"

That's what Kino and Hermes were told outside the country walls.

Even from a considerable distance, Kino and Hermes had been able to see that things were not normal.

First of all, the walls were surrounded by a number of trucks, parked next to an orderly cluster of tents. The area outside the country had been turned into a campsite.

As they got closer, they could see that the perimeter was guarded by men with persuaders. Some of them wore green military uniforms, and others wore deep blue police uniforms. There were maybe one hundred of them in total.

"It doesn't look like they're aiming at us —" Kino and Hermes stopped briefly to make sure that none of the men were threatening them before starting slowly forward again.

The road into the country was blockaded by the stopped trucks.

Two of the men dressed in police uniforms motioned for Kino to stop. Kino and Hermes decelerated, coming to a stop in front of the men.

One of the men stepped forward and shouted, "You're a traveler, right? And you want to go to that country? I'm afraid that's not possible. — I can't allow you into the country under any circumstances!"

Asdf

Kino and Hermes were led between the blockade of trucks and up to one of the tents.

Kino cut the engine and pushed Hermes into the large military tent, which looked to be the command center. The men inside were standing around a huge desk, on which there was a map of the country.

Night was falling. Electric lights were hung inside the tent and power generators gave a low hum from outside.

The men stood underneath the lights, wearing their varying uniforms.

Judging from their uniforms, they appeared to be military commanders or police chiefs. They were all burly, well-trained men. They were all wearing the same dark expression on their faces.

Hermes asked the first thing that came to mind, "So, is this a funeral?"

One of the men replied stiffly, "It's much worse."

Asdf

Kino and Hermes introduced themselves, and then the men in the tent did the same. They were soldiers and policemen from the nearby countries.

The four neighboring countries had joined forces and sent a steady stream of soldiers and police officers to surround this country. They were here to make sure that none of the country's residents were accidentally let out and that no travelers were allowed in.

"Would you mind telling me why?"

Kino's straightforward question was followed by a short silence before a grim voice replied, "There's a sickness, traveler."

"A sickness? What kind?"

"I understand that you're curious, but you might be better off not knowing."

"You might be right. Please tell me."

"…I like your grit. Very well then. It's a disease that 'kills people and then brings them back to life.'"

"What?" "It what?" Kino and Hermes asked at the same time.

The men began to explain, speaking matter-of-factly.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. The disease kills the people it infects, and then their dead bodies start moving again right after. We call the infected, 'the living dead'."

"Seriously, the dead bodies move around. Their faces are pale white, and their eyes are unfocused and white too. They stumble around and if you get close, they try to bite you. If you get bitten, they infect you through their saliva, and you end up infected just like them. You die really quick and then you get back up."

"Sounds unbelievable, right? I get it. We were like that too, until we saw it with our own eyes. It started five days ago. A few people managed to escape and fled to our countries in distress. They told us how a strange disease had taken over their country and turned it into a panic."

"We didn't believe them at first, but we sent several people down here to investigate. The refugees tried to stop them, but they didn't listen... And they never came back."

"Right now, that country is a living Hell. We observed from the wall today and counted several hundred 'living dead' wandering around inside. The country's population is roughly 2000. We counted 112 people that managed to escape during the early stages. We have no clue how many 'infected' might be hiding within..."

"We blockaded the walls to make sure none of them could possibly escape, although we're willing to let survivors come through. However, we still haven't seen any, even though we've shouted it over the megaphone several times."

"As horrible as it seems, we, along with the refugees here, are starting to think there aren't any more survivors left."

"As representatives of our individual countries, we've banded together to do everything possible to make sure the infection doesn't spread beyond this country. It's kind of ironic; we never got along well until now."

Kino, who had been listening quietly this whole time, raised her hand slightly to speak. "I see. I understand now just how bad the situation here is, and I'm grateful that you stopped me from entering. If we can't go in, I guess we'll just have to turn around."

"Guess so —"

Hermes agreed, but the group of men did not.

"Actually, there's one more thing we have to ask. — 'Kino,' right? Can you shoot a rifle?"

"Well, sure."

"Then, can I ask one more question? You may find it a bit rude, though."

"Go ahead."

"Can you shoot a human being? — Could you shoot a human figure without holding back?"

Asdf

The next day.

Kino rose with the dawn.

Kino wore a black jacket, tied with a wide belt on her hips. "Canon", a revolver-type hand persuader (Note: a persuader is a gun. In this case, a pistol) sat in its holster at her right hip.

Kino did her light exercises, as always, and then ate her breakfast, as a "reward." It was the military's hard bread and butter, with vegetable soup.

"This is so delicious compared to portable rations."

"Don't you mean compared to your cooking?"

Kino ate every last crumb.

Then she started getting ready for the "job" she'd been asked to do the night before.

First, she had asked to borrow a rifle.

It was a sniper rifle that the military there used for long-distance sharpshooting. The stock was made with green, reinforced plastic, and it was mounted with a high-magnification scope.

It was a bolt-action model. That is, the bolt had to be manually cycled with the user's right hand between each shot. The detachable magazine was fully loaded with large .338 caliber bullets.

The country was almost a kilometer in diameter, so a high-power rifle like this one was necessary in order to shoot accurately from the walls of the country into the center.

"You think a traveling pipsqueak like that can actually shoot?"

"No way. I know we don't have enough people that can snipe, but no way."

"And that's one of our few high-caliber rifles..."

The soldiers and policemen watched with doubt and disapproval in their eyes, but after Kino had taken just five practice shots, the looks on their faces had changed to envy and admiration.

Kino followed the others up the wall.

They attached themselves to a lifeline and climbed up a makeshift iron staircase. Then they used a pulley to draw up the long rifles, the sturdy tripods, and the massive stock of bullets.

The day was starting in earnest now.

The sun lifted off the eastern horizon and illuminated the world. A gentle blue spread across the sky, mixing itself into the sea. The breeze coming off the saltwater was gentle too; they couldn't have asked for better weather.

Kino stood atop the country walls and gazed out at the vast beauty of nature. Seeing the land and the sea both vanishing on the horizon from up high was proof that the world was round. The color of the sea changed partway out, as it took in the color of the sky, painting the distance with three shades of blue.

"It's beautiful," Kino murmured, before turning her eyes back toward the wall.

All along the length of the gray, 1-kilometer-diameter circle, the snipers and their spotters were taking up their positions.

There were 20 snipers. After including the support members, there were about 50 people in all. Every one of the snipers were aiming in at the country's center.

Kino took a relaxed posture, sitting with her legs out in front. She brought out earplugs made from twisted cotton and put one into each ear.

Next, she did a careful check over the rifle she had mounted on a tripod. She loaded in a magazine and brought the bolt back and forth. The first shot was readied into the chamber.

Beside her, a policeman in his forties peered through a pair of binoculars, also mounted on a tripod.

He had been assigned as Kino's spotter.

The man had no experience as a spotter, but he'd been chosen just because he was used to using binoculars for domestic surveillance. His face was gentle, but it showed hints of confusion.

Kino observed the country through her scope. She put her dominant right eye up to the lens and kept her left eye closed.

The city within the walls was built from stone. The streets were wide, and the stores were evenly-spaced, with one-story houses above them and alleyways between them.

She could see the well-constructed houses and streets, as well as the fishing boats in their docks, but there was no sign of movement. All was quiet as the morning progressed.

Soon, a prayer from some unknown religion came streaming in from a megaphone outside the walls. It continued for a few dozen seconds, and then stopped.

"That's the refugees praying. It's also the signal for us to start the operation. Can you really do it? Shoot... people, I mean," the policeman next to Kino asked, stressing the word "people."

Kino simply said, "As long as they're in range."

The sun rose higher, filling the country with light. As if on cue, movement began to stir inside the town.

Human figures walked out from the open doorways of the houses.

Their numbers multiplied as more shapes walked out, as though they had it planned.

Every single one of them had blueish-white skin and pure-white, cloudy eyes.

Their arms dangled at their sides, and their heads lolled about. They looked like puppets that had had their strings cut from everything except their legs.

The policeman looked through his binoculars and said to Kino, "You see that? Those are the 'living dead'. They wander around like that, like they're just having fun in the sun."

"I see." Kino steadied the scope on one of the 'living dead'.

He was a bare-chested young man, around 20 years old. Judging from his muscular build, he might have been a fisherman.

His skin was pure white, but it was studded with tiny green spots, so from a distance, it looked like a solid pale green hue.

His hair was a mess of dried blood. His eyes were snow white, with no visible pupils. His mouth hung half-open, dripping with drool. His face was trance-like, as if he were in a dream.

"'Once they're like that, they can't be cured. They're already dead. The only thing you can do is shoot them dead.' That's how it is."

"Can a 'corpse' die?"

"It's just like they explained — 'If you blow their heads off, they'll stop moving.' We've already had several people confirm it, and it's the only way."

"I see."

"But..." The policeman voiced his skepticism a bit unsteadily. "Is this... really okay? Is it okay to shoot them down like this is pest control? What if they're just in a really bad fever dream? What if they just look like they're dead, and they're not actually 'corpses'? Shouldn't we accept the risk and at least try to send in a group to check it out and try to treat them...?"

"Sorry, but I don't know. Besides — I think it's too late for that."

Right as Kino finished speaking, someone fired off the first shot.

The thunderous roar echoed across the wall-top and then faded.

The policeman's voice mixed into the roar of the surrounding gunfire. "In the center of town, next to the water fountain in the park!"

"Roger." Kino aimed the scope, and with it, the rifle.

The park had a spire with a large bell suspended under it. Around it was a large water fountain.

There were dozens of the "living dead" bumbling around the stone pavement, and in the middle, there was a body lying on the ground, with everything above its nose blown away.

Whoever fired that first shot had scored a beautiful hit right across the brow. Blood and brain matter was splattered around the crumpled body, dying the ground red.

Then, as Kino and everyone else watched through their lenses, something happened.

The other "living dead" stumbled their way toward the body that had just been separated from its head.

"What are they doing? Care for it? Bury it? — No way, do they feel compassion? If that's true, shouldn't we stop this right now?"

"Who knows?"

As Kino replied to the policeman, all of the bodies crouched together.

The "living dead" brought their mouths toward the body on the ground.

And began to eat it.

Using only their mouths, they bit into the flesh, ripped it away, and chewed it up.

They tore away at its clothing, together with its skin. They buried their faces into its torso and yanked out its innards, gulping them down. They licked up the brains and blood lying on the pavement.

"Ugh..." The policeman's voice shuddered out as he watched from his binoculars.

The "living dead" ripped the fallen body to shreds, finishing their meal in seconds.

They lifted themselves up again and went back to wandering around.

All that was left was a puddle of blood. A red stain.

And then the "living dead" —

Were fired upon in unison.

The gunfire echoed in a violent drum performance. The barrage of hate-filled bullets rained down in a supersonic storm.

The shells hit their marks without missing, one after the other.

Some of the "living dead" had their faces dyed red from the feast a few moments ago, and some had been too far away to participate, but all of them had their heads ripped away from their bodies, and their blood blossomed onto the ground all the same.

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Meanwhile, Hermes was outside Kino's tent, propped up on his center stand.

He listened to the muffled gunfire and talked to himself, "Ohh, there they go, there they go."

Asdf

Kino gave a sidelong glance at the policeman, whose face was looking as blue as the "living dead."

She raised her voice in concern. "Are you okay?"

The man looked back at her. "I'm okay... I'm okay! Or rather —"

"Rather?"

"What are you doing? Hurry up and shoot 'em down! Kill 'em all! Every last one of them! Clean house!" the policeman screamed, having lost sight entirely of his duty to report the distance of their mark.

"Understood. I'll start with what I can hit then."

Kino looked through the scope at the first nearby "living dead" she saw. It was a boy, maybe five years old — not that it mattered. Kino steadied her aim and pulled the trigger.

Asdf

"Welcome back, Kino."

"I'm back, Hermes."

Kino had left the rifle on the wall-top and descended the stairs for lunchtime.

The other soldiers and policemen that had been on duty during the morning stopped to rest and eat lunch too, but they wore clouded expressions and they didn't speak.

The men that hadn't been on the wall asked them all kinds of questions, but they only shook their heads from side to side. They were still silent as they walked to the command center tent for debriefing.

Kino left the mission report to her spotter, and sat down next to Hermes. She began boiling water for tea, looking neither happy nor sad, just a little tired.

"Pretty flashy for 'janitor work', huh Kino?"

"Yeah. We did a pretty thorough job of shooting everything up. That persuader has a lot of recoil, so my shoulder hurts a bit. Also, my right eye and my right index finger are tired."

"What was harder? This or Master's training?" Hermes asked.

"Master," Kino replied, with no hesitation. "Here I just have to shoot. They don't shoot back."

"I figured that's what you'd say. Master didn't hold anything back when she shot at you. If the bullets weren't rubber, you'd have died a hundred times already, Kino."

"It hurts just remembering it..."

"So, what was it like inside?"

"Well, pretty much exactly as they told us. So we just got into a position we could see from and shot them down. All of us together probably took out around 500 of them. Oh, and there was one other thing."

"Oh? Like what? — The "living dead" that were shot down got surrounded and eaten up by the rest of them?"

"Oh, so somebody already told you?"

"…"

"Hermes?"

"Yeah. Good work."

"It's pretty rare for you to keep quiet, Hermes. Maybe tomorrow pigs will fly."

"Well excuse me."

"I heard something from one of the soldiers too —”

"Yeah?"

"Before the 'sickness' became widespread, there weren't that many 'patients'. There were only about 20 people, and they were all kept in the hospital, restrained so that they wouldn't attack anyone."

Hermes asked, "Then why didn't it end with just those 20 becoming 'living dead'? They already had them quarantined. What happened?"

"Well you see, there was a doctor whose lover was one of those infected. So he rushed to the hospital —"

"No way, he released her? He didn't treat her? Because she wasn't getting any better?"

"Yes, exactly. He saw that she'd become a 'living dead' and thought, 'She's still alive! And she's not sick at all!' and he released all of the 'patients'. Of course, he got bitten and infected, and the sickness spread from there..." Kino shook her head slightly.

Hermes asked, "So are you going to do it again in the afternoon?"

Kino responded, "We're going to do it until it's done."

"When will it be done?"

"I don't know."

Asdf

That afternoon.

Kino and the others made their second trip up the wall. They shot down the "living dead" as fast as they could spot them.

As the other "living dead" walked toward the fallen ones to eat them, they were shot down as well. They did nothing to protect themselves, neither running nor hiding.

As the time passed, the number of "living dead" dropped steadily in proportion.

All of the snipers, including Kino, fired continuously and unsympathetically, like machines. Halfway through the afternoon, the number of "living dead" and the number of places they appeared from had dropped significantly.

Now that their efficiency had dropped, they suspended operations until the next day, without waiting for the sun to set. The confirmed "headcount" totaled almost 1500. There were 300 people left in the country, although it was unknown whether they were among the living or the "living dead."

There was a shot from camp to signal the halt order, and Kino fired one last round at a woman in her thirties, blowing away the "living dead's" head, long black hair and all.

Then, "Cease fire!"

Kino removed the magazine without loading another round into the chamber. Then, she slowly pulled back on the bolt, ejecting a large spent casing at the same time that someone fired a shot at the bell hanging from the spire.

The bell rang out, dull and low.

A few of the other snipers followed suit, loading in another bullet for a last shot at the bell.

As reverberations layered over one another —

The blood-soaked country was filled with the tolling of the funeral bell.

Asdf

The next day.

The sky had been full of clouds all day, and the weather changed intermittently, from clear to overcast and back again.

Kino's group had been up on the wall all day for sniper duty.

There weren't many "living dead" left. The number of chances to shoot them on the street had greatly fallen off, and the number of gunshots had decreased to match. Their total "yields" for the morning only added up to less than 50, meaning there were still more than 250 left.

Shortly before noon. The sky was blanketed in clouds.

Kino had been called to the command center with the others, where she was told about a change in plans.

There weren't many "living dead" left wandering around outside. They had concluded that sniping was too inefficient at this point, and they needed to put a new strategy into effect.

That is, they were going to send small teams into the country and do a house-to-house search.

They had no better options to completely wipe out all of the "living dead" still lurking inside. At the same time, it would allow them to rescue any survivors that had managed to escape.

"We'll be forming elite penetration squads. Four people to a team. And Kino —"

"Yes."

"During this operation, you've shown a good understanding of tactics, a strong will, and physical stamina. You can decide for yourself of course, but if possible, I'd like for you to be a part of this."

Asdf

"And then you accepted. You sure are weird, huh Kino," Hermes said to Kino, from outside the tent, where she was preparing for the mission.

Kino had added several pouches on the belt of her black jacket, as well on on her left thigh.

The pouches were part of equipment that she had borrowed, and they were tightly packed with 12-gauge buckshot shells.

They were a cross between "double-ought" buckshot shells, which fire nine lead shots for each shell, and slugs, which fire a single, devastatingly large projectile.

The loaner persuader she was using was a pump-action (also known as a slide-action) shotgun-type. It had a cylindrical magazine under the barrel, which held six shells.

The persuader was unusual in that its metal parts had a dull green luster. In order to protect it against rust in a seaside region like this one, it had been made with a material called "high-chrome stainless steel."

A small but powerful flashlight was mounted on the right side of the barrel, for lighting up humans or anything else indoors.

Kino gave the shotgun a pump, jakon, carefully inspecting the motion. Then she finally started getting "Canon" ready as well.

As Kino quietly continued her preparations, Hermes said, "Ah, I got it!"

"Hm, what?"

"Now I know why you've been helping them. You're not just doing this in exchange for food and gas. You wanted to stick to your 3-day rule and also enter the country if you got the chance. You still want to see what it's like inside."

"Well, we did travel all the way here after all," Kino replied, as she double-checked that she had loaded magazines for "Canon" in her pouches.

Asdf

The four members of the first strike team stood under the cloudy sky, in front of the wall.

They were all equipped with shotgun persuaders, as many shells as they could carry, and a backup hand-persuader.

One of them was Kino, carrying a spray can in a small bag on her back.

As for the other three,

"Pff, we'll be fine as long as we stick together. They don't move fast. Just don't panic or get jumpy, stay calm."

First up was a large military officer in his forties, who had been assigned the team leader. He carried ammunition, food, and water on the back of his muscular frame.

"We're getting a bonus for this, right? This is some serious overtime work."

Next was a policeman in his thirties. He was thin to the point of looking fragile, but his eyes were sharp. He had a radio transceiver on his back.

"It's finally my turn to go berserk, huh?! I can't snipe for shit, but leave the shotgunning to me!"

The last member was a cheerful and physically fit soldier in his twenties. He carried spare ammunition on his back.

They were a ragtag team of four, all with different ages and backgrounds.

They looked down at the map and made their final preparations.

Asdf

Hermes watched them from afar.

"So, if it goes well, everything's good. If it goes wrong, then they've only lost four people, and they can rethink their strategy," he said to himself, making sure it was loud enough for anyone around to hear.

"Heartless, aren't they? That traveler's your partner, right?" The words came from a passing soldier, who had been doing nothing but moving gear for the last day.

"Whoops, are you allowed to talk to me? Weren't you ordered not to?" Hermes responded.

The soldier grimaced as he carried his load on his back and looked away from Hermes. He moved a bit farther away, to hide the fact that they were talking. "…How did you know?"

"I mean, no one's talked to me for the past two days. I could tell. I've been so bored."

"The higher-ups decided that because they don't want us giving away too much information. Motorrads and humans have different knowledge and ways of thinking, right? So basically we can only trust other humans."

"Ohh, sounds like your commanders are pretty smart. Too bad it looks like their orders don't filter all the way down."

"So motorrads can be sarcastic too, huh? I didn't know that."

"Oh I know how to tell it straight too, you know? Want me to?"

"I'm good. — You can just go back to worrying about your buddy." The soldier spat the words out and began to walk away.

"Why haven't any of the countries here used this to get ahead?" Hermes called after him.

"…" The soldier paused. He understood the meaning behind Hermes's words perfectly well. He looked back over his shoulder and answered honestly, "You're asking why we don't use the 'sickness' to make an army of 'living dead' and attack the other countries with them? Piss off. That's not okay in my book. We were enemies until a few days ago, but I'm sure... the people from the other countries would say the same."

"Oh, alright."

"I'd rather have a 'regular war' than end up turning into a 'monster' like that. There are some things in this disgusting world that would make death look refreshing. Although ideally there wouldn't be any war to start with, I suppose. Anyway, see ya."

The soldier headed off to deliver his load to another country's tent.

Asdf

There was an emergency passage in the walls with a hole just wide enough for a single person. The officer, the policeman, Kino, and then the soldier went through, until they were inside the country.

Kino stepped out of the long, dark tunnel and looked around at the inside of the country from ground level.

"It's beautiful."

The stonebuilt town was geometrically very elegant. The houses were lined neatly up against the streets, which stretched straight out toward the center of town.

"What are you daydreaming about? Come on, let's go!" The soldier's voice nagged at her from behind as he flicked the safety of his persuader off.

Asdf

The group of four began searching from house to house.

Out in the streets, they had support from the snipers on the wall, but indoors, they could only only on themselves and their persuaders.

First, the four of them set up a defensive perimeter outside a house with the door ajar. The military officer at the front called into the house in a loud voice, "We're from the neighboring countries. We're here to rescue you! Is there anyone here? If there are, come out!"

They waited for several seconds. No response.

"Let's go. Just like we planned."

On the officer's signal, they turned on their shotgun flashlights.

"Breach!"

The four of them streamed inside. The officer took the lead, with the policeman, the soldier, and Kino following behind.

They shouldered their persuaders as they moved, so they were ready to shoot as soon as they saw anything. They walked briskly in a slight hunch to reduce the motion in their upper bodies.

The house wasn't particularly complex, so they swept through one room to the next.

"Clear!"

With the officer's voice, their first house search was over. There hadn't been anyone inside, alive or dead.

The four of them went back outside, and Kino sprayed an "Ｘ" on the gate, to mark that they'd already checked it.

They checked the second house in the same way. No one there.

And then — on the seventh house.

"Contact!"

The officer shouted as he immediately backed out of the wide living room. The policeman, Kino, and the soldier followed behind him in order to get a better line of sight.

There were "living dead."

Standing on the opposite side of the living room in front of the door to the next room were a man and a women, both in their forties, and a boy of about 15.

The three of them stared in apparent confusion at the living humans for a second.

But only for a second.

They swung their white eyes around and opened their jaws wide. Four flashlights fell on their gaping mouths, dark with blood and rank with rotting flesh.

The bodies each took a step forward.

"Uraaaaaah! Dieeee!" the soldier shouted, and the "living dead" ate a synchronized volley of shells, instantly becoming a head shorter. Everything above their necks was blown away.

"Stop!"

The sound of the officer's order, and then the sound of spent casings being ejected. The light sound of the casings hitting the ground, and then the heavy sound of crumpling bodies.

In a moment, the room went from a deafening racket to utter silence.

Tap, tap, tap. There came the sound of flesh on liquid.

"What?" The policeman's eyes darted around the room. Finally, he crouched down, and he found it. "That's it, huh?"

He stood back up and told them to look, one by one, to where he was pointing. They did as they were told and confirmed it for themselves, the military officer first, and Kino next.

Lastly, the soldier looked.

"…"

Tap, tap, tap.

There were "babies" clinging to the necks of the three fallen bodies.

They couldn't tell whether the babies had walked in from the other room or whether they had been down there all along, but there were five "living dead" babies. They were still too young to walk, so they crawled their way closer to the bodies on the ground.

And then they licked eagerly at the blood pouring from the dead bodies.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

"Uuh... Uaaaaaah!"

The soldier fired. Still squatting, he shot and pumped, he shot and pumped, he shot and he shot and he shot again.

The babies were struck by nearly all of the shots, and they were scattered, literally blown away. Half of the living room had been redecorated with bright red blood and gore.

One last baby had only been hit on its lower half, so the upper half of its body still remained. The blasts had thrown it high into the air, and it hit the ground with a splat.

Slither, slither, slither.

Probably still bloodthirsty, it began to drag itself forward with its arms.

"Uuh..."

The soldier couldn't find any words in the moment. Taking careful aim at the head, he fired.

Asdf

"Hah... Hah..."

Having emptied his shotgun's magazine, the soldier rose unsteadily to his feet. He turned to look at the other three, who had been keeping watch during his rampage. He flashed them his canine teeth and yelled, "What are you guys doing?! You're supposed to shoot them!"

"Whoa, calm down. We just decided your shooting was sufficient for all of us." The policeman spoke calmly as he loaded rounds back into his shotgun.

"Okay then, let's go onto the next one! I'm gonna blow up every head I see!"

As they stepped out of the house that now reeked of blood, the officer whispered in Kino's ear, "I want you to watch that youngster closely for me."

Asdf

And so —

Kino and the others entered each house. If there wasn't anyone or "anything" to be found, they left. If there was, they fired only as much as was necessary, and then they left.

They did this over and over, repeating it like a simple chore.

Once the "living dead" were discovered by Kino's group, they stumbled closer in order to bite them.

Then the four of them would beat them to the punch and accurately blow their heads off.

By the time they had finished searching about 30 houses, the wind had picked up and blown the clouds away, letting the sun peek through.

"We've killed 57 of them. That's plenty. Let's head back for now," the officer said, as they stood in a large street intersection, a fair distance from the wall. The policeman counted their ammo supply at 2/3 of what they had started with.

"That's plenty! We can still keep going! You guys aren't tired yet either, right?" the soldier countered.

The policeman replied softly, "Yeah. That's why we're going back."

Kino gave a brief, "Understood."

"… Oh fine. I still haven't had enough yet though!" The soldier conceded as he topped off his shotgun.

"Watch out! — This could be trouble."

The officer's voice cut through the air, and soon the others saw why.

The "living dead" had crept out onto the empty street, and their numbers were still increasing. North, south, east, west; they appeared on the streets in each direction, even the way back toward the wall.

They were still a way's away from the group of four, but they were advancing. Slowly but steadily.

[They came out along with the sun. Requesting support fire. Aim north from the south side and south from the north side. Cross fire over our heads so we don't get hit. Call up the snipers that are covering different angles too.]

[Roger. We'll do what we can.]

As soon the response came over the radio, they heard gunfire coming off of the wall-top. The shockwaves crackled in the air as the bullets went whizzing over their heads.

However, there were still more than enough pouring out of the houses to replace the ones that had been shot down.

"Did they plan on ambushing us?! They just had to swarm us, didn't they!" the soldier yelled.

"Or maybe we finally ticked them off? We did wipe their buddies out, after all," the policeman quipped.

"…" Kino didn't say anything, but she grabbed a handful of buckshot shells out of the officer's rucksack and started shoving them into her jacket and pants pockets, since her pouches were still full.

Then she did the same for the other three, handing the shells out like candy.

"Good idea." The officer grinned as he stuffed them into his pockets.

As this was happening, the mass of "living dead" continued to grow. There were easily more than 100 now. And they were still increasing.

"What are you lollygagging around for?! We need to charge through them and hurry back to the wall! It's the only way!" The soldier already looked ready to bolt.

"That's a bad idea." "Bad idea."

Kino and the policeman responded at the same time.

The officer agreed, "They're right. We'll hold our ground here."

Each of the four roads leading to the intersection were teeming with tens of the "living dead." The snipers were slowly knocking them down, but the mob was already so dense that they could no longer see to the other end of the street.

"Do you think four people could just breeze through that swarm? You shoot one down and three more pop out from behind it, then what? Plus, if we try to break through, we lose our supporting fire. Let's avoid trapping ourselves like that."

"Then what's the plan?"

"Simple. Each of us defends one direction. They're still too far away for buckshot, but that's why we have a fighting chance. When I give the order, we all advance into firing range and pick them off one-by-one. Match their speed and back away slowly as you shoot. That's it."

"Do, do we have enough shells?"

"You just said we had 'plenty,' remember? If you don't shoot randomly, I think we'll be okay. Just stay calm. If any of us fall, then all four of us are doomed. Come on, just pretend it's a game and go wild. You haven't had enough yet, right?"

"…" A large bead of sweat drew a line down the soldier's cheek.

"We may come from different backgrounds, but now our fates are intertwined! I'm counting on you to watch my back! Come on you men, let's wrap this up quick and go out for drinks!" the officer said brightly.

"You suggested it, so that means you're paying, right? I only drink the expensive stuff." The policeman cracked a laugh.

"I can't drink, so buy me something sweet instead," Kino said flatly.

"…" The soldier didn't say anything.

"Forward!"

The order went out and the four of them started walking.

They each turned in their separate directions to face the "living dead."

Asdf

"Looks like I got myself into a pretty dirty job, Master," Kino muttered, as she stepped up her pace.

The buckshot was short range. Kino jogged toward the throng of "living dead," who were eager to bite her and turn her into one of them.

She stopped once she was close enough to clearly make out the shape of their ears.

"Fuu." Kino let out of short breath and took aim at the closest "living dead," an old man in his sixties.

Then she shifted her aim slightly so that her sight overlapped with the forty-year-old woman behind him and fired.

Of the nine buckshot pellets, five smashed through the old man's head and the other four carved the woman's head off. The two bodies fell together, side by side.

Kino pumped the persuader, ejecting the spent shell and chambering the next one. Then she readjusted herself, focusing her sight on the next two.

A sniper's bullet roared through the air, flying past her and into one of the "living dead" at the back of the mob.

"Well, I guess this is still better than training with you."

Asdf

Kino fired. Then she loaded in another magazine.

Kino fired, and fired, and fired, and reloaded, and fired, and fired, and fired, and reloaded, and fired, and fired, and fired, and reloaded, and fired, and fired, and fired, and moved back a little, and fired, and fired, and reloaded, and fired, and fired, and reloaded, and took several steps back, and fired, and fired, and fired, and fired, and reloaded as she took two steps backward, and fired, and fired, and fired.

Steadily, methodically, she destroyed the "targets" in front her of.

The silver of the persuader's muzzle end was filthy and blackened with soot.

The persuader's barrel was overheating, and the heat shimmer made it harder to aim.

Kino wasn't even aiming anymore.

The "living dead" trampled over their fallen comrades, sometimes tripping in the process. They shuffled quickly toward Kino, as if to greet her, and once they were finally close enough to whisper something, Kino wedged the persuader in her shoulder and fired.

From that range, there was no need to aim. They took the shells full-force through the chin and fell backwards.

Asdf

From the walltop, the spotters and snipers offering supporting fire had a clear view of the four people on the ground as they pushed against the hordes.

Each of them was a single point, holding back a black landslide of bodies.

Looking through round binoculars, one of the spotters murmured, "They're like demons..."

Another spotter, looking from a different angle whispered, "One of them's being beaten back. Who is it?"

No one was able to answer.

The only person that knew the answer to that question was Kino.

Kino had been mindful of what was happening behind her as she fired, and she could see from a distance that the person opposite her was under heavy pressure.

At that point, Kino had slain almost all of the "living dead." There were only five still standing on her end.

Kino threw out a big wave with her left hand and pointed out the five that were left. The snipers read her signals and delivered a few precision shots.

Kino confirmed the two kills. "I'm leaving the rest to you."

With that, she spun around and ran at full speed, with the bullets still coming down over her head.

She ran back to and through the intersection. She looked out to her sides and saw that the two men there were piling up plenty of their own kills. Both of them still had several left.

She turned her attention back to what was in front of her.

The person under heavy pressure was shooting in a blind frenzy.

It was that soldier.

Asdf

"Uohhhhhh! Stay baaaaaaaack!"

The soldier screamed as he fired, missing the head and hitting an arm instead.

There were twenty bodies still remaining, all staring at the young man with their pure white eyes.

"Stay back! Stay back! Stay back!!"

The soldier gave the persuader a pump to load another shell, aimed, and —

Kachin.

"Ha—"

A single dry sound was all that came out.

The soldier didn't realize that he was already out of shells.

"Hah! Hah! Hah!"

Again and again, the soldier pulled the trigger.

Of course, no shells came out. And the soldier couldn't understand why.

At the same time, the "living dead" were closing in, step by step.

"Why! Why won't it come out?!" The soldier was tearing up as he yelled at his persuader

The closest of the "living dead" gradually stretched out its arms. It was a girl that was around the same age as the soldier, and she looked like she must have been a great beauty when she was alive.

"It won't come out! It won't come out!"

The soldier couldn't see anything past his tears as the hands grabbed onto both of his cheeks.

Asdf

"Ah..."

The empty persuader fell from the soldier's hands with a dull metal clank. Caught in the "living dead's" hands, he was brought face-to-face with its white eyes.

"…"

He wasn't crying anymore.

"Aah..."

With his eyes open wide, his face broke into a grin and his voice leaked out.

"I get it... I get it... Aah..."

The woman listened to his cries as she opened her mouth.

Her mouth was dark and filthy with someone else's rotting flesh, and she inched it closer to the soldier's lips, almost as if ready for a kiss —

Gachin.

The sound of teeth gnashing into empty air.

Kino grabbed the soldier by his collar and dragged him backwards. The soldier collapsed onto the ground.

Kino sent a shell flying over his head and through the hands of the "living dead."

She held the persuader with just her right hand.

The woman was left with no trace of her head, and Kino turned to face another one that had appeared on the right with its arms outstretched. Kino flipped the persuader over and whipped the butt of the stock into the "living dead's" face.

Teeth flew into the air as the thing fell face-up on the ground. Kino barely looked as she drew out "Canon" with her right hand and fired.

The skull burst open from the close range .44-caliber bullet, soaking the ground in blood.

Kino fired four of "Canon's" five remaining bullets at a pace of one per second. She clicked the hammer down with her thumb and squeezed the trigger with her index finger.

With each shot, another body fell.

The young soldier writhed around on the ground and screamed as each of the nearby "living dead" toppled, "Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!"

"Excuse me."

"Guhh! …" The soldier took a solid kick to the abdomen and fell silent.

Now that the soldier had quieted down, Kino flipped through his pockets and pouches for shells, which she poured into her persuader.

"Compared to Master's training — this is so, so much easier."

Kino went back to shooting up the approaching mob.

Once the officer and the policeman were finished with their ends, they ran over to find Kino next to the sprawled out soldier as she kept watch and took in the beauty of the townscape.

"Good work." came the voice of the officer from behind her.

Kino replied without turning around, "I'm tired — I want to eat something sweet as soon as possible."

Asdf

That evening.

After resting in her tent since they returned in the afternoon, Kino was called to the command center.

There she listened to the latest report, together with the officer and the policeman.

On final inspection, they had confirmed the "corpses" of everyone in the country. That is, there wasn't a single survivor.

Also, there was the next operations phase — that is, disposing of all of the corpses and beginning talks on how to rebuild the country.

"Men! This is all thanks to you! You did a fine job coping with unforeseen circumstances! Excellent work! You'll be rewarded greatly!"

"You honor me!" The officer saluted.

"I'd be glad to have some more vacation days once I get home." The policeman shrugged.

"Please give me something I can use on my travels or that I can sell," Kino requested.

The three of them were dismissed, and as they went to leave, a voice called out to them, "Ah, that's right. The soldier you fought together with seems to be feeling much better now."

"Why don't we go cheer him up?" the officer suggested to the other two.

Asdf

The policeman declined at first, but the officer insisted, and the three of them made their way over to the medical tent.

Several cots were set up inside the tent, but there was only a single patient.

When the soldier saw the three people enter, he shifted his blankets and slowly sat upright, wearing a t-shirt.

"…" He didn't say anything, just stared at the three of them. They couldn't tell whether his eyes were empty or just at peace.

"Looks like you're alright now. Good work out there."

The soldier gave no response to the officer's gentle words.

The policeman remained silent. As did Kino.

The officer relayed the debriefing they had just heard to the soldier, finishing with, "It was a victory for all of us. Don't you agree?" He grinned and extended his hand for a shake.

The soldier didn't take his hand, but he did reply. "Victory? — No."

"Hm? — Why not?"

"I lost. We lost. All of humanity lost. Every single one of us lost."

"…" The officer glanced at Kino and the policeman.

"…"

"…"

Neither of them said a word, and the officer turned back to resume what was apparently his duty as spokesperson.

"But still, we did well. We were a ragtag group of strangers, but we still managed to work well together. I don't think I"ll ever forget what we did today for the rest of my life."

"For the rest of your life, huh..."

"That's right. Until the day I die."

The soldier said rigidly, "I won't talk about today to anyone for the rest of my life." With that, he laid down on the cot and pulled the sheets over his head.

Asdf

"After that, he wouldn't reply to anyone. It seems like he might even turn down a reward or a promotion."

"I see."

Kino and Hermes looked out at the sea as they rode.

It was the next day after Kino's shooting spree inside the country.

Kino had agreed to help without hesitation, but now that her three day "stay" was over, they returned to traveling once the morning came.

For her reward, Kino helped herself to engine fuel, portable rations, bullets and gunpowder for "Canon," as well as anything else she might need in her travels.

As for the country, the few escaping survivors hadn't yet decided whether to try to rebuild it, leave it as it was to serve as a graveyard, or demolish it entirely.

Kino and Hermes left the country far behind them, until the walls were no longer visible where the blue sky and the green earth met on the horizon.

"Hey Kino," Hermes asked from below, "About that soldier. He came into direct contact with the 'living dead,' wasn't he?"

"Hm? Yeah, that's what I saw. He was ready to be bitten and too overwhelmed to shoot. It's good I made it in time."

"Hmmm... So maybe I was right..."

"'Right'?" Kino made a puzzled expression beneath her goggles.

"Okay, Kino. What I'm about to say has absolutely no evidence behind it. It's just a made up story. Fiction. It's nonsense, okay?"

"…Sure." Kino's face grew more curious and more confused as she continued to ride.

Hermes spoke plainly, "That disease wasn't a disease at all. Getting infected by a bite, dying, and then moving around again; sure, a disease sounds like an easy explanation."

"…And?"

"Those people evolved beyond humans, Kino."

"…" Kino eased off the accelerator, letting Hermes run on inertia for a bit, and then she cut the engine.

Sitting on the grassland road, staring out at the calm sea, Kino asked Hermes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It was some kind of plan or system to make humans reach the next stage of evolution. The people that got their hands on the system became inanimate, as if they were dead, and then they evolved into 'advanced lifeforms.' Alive, but without the limitations of a physical body. Then they could use their brains at maximum capacity and form a mental link with each other. A world of spiritual fulfillment, without starvation or aging, something close to Heaven. Forever."

"Hermes, I kind of want to stop and ask what you're getting at — but let's hear the rest."

"Thanks. So then those people were so excited about the incredible system they'd created that they immediately wanted to increase their numbers. They wanted to shed everyone of their crippling humanity and invite them to higher existence. They wanted to show their wonderful world to as many people as possible. So — they bit them."

"...And?"

"They didn't need to eat. Their skin was white with small green spots, right? That was algae. It's efficient at taking in sunlight and converting it into energy. As long as they had some water and some time in the sun, their bodies wouldn't rot. At least until their brains were blown up."

"...So what about after?"

"They had a way of absorbing their friends in case one of them was destroyed by an external force."

"Absorbing...? You mean...?"

"Yeah. If someone's body stops moving, eat it. Even if it's in tiny pieces, as long as they ate it, they could save the connection. I guess you could call it 'becoming one.' Multiple individuals could become one individual and continue living."

"...What else?"

"If they were left alone, they would have eventually left their country, in order to spread their wonderful world. From there, they would grow again, and grow, and grow. At some point it would be impossible to stop them."

"Until eventually they'd cover the entire world...?"

"Exactly. Then every human in the world would have evolved into truly happy beings. — I know that was a wild explanation, but that was the plan. Maybe it was planned a long time ago and buried deep in the ocean."

"...Hermes."

"Yes, Kino?"

"That was an interesting story, but there's no proof for it, right?"

"Yep, that's what I said."

"Right."

"Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. Right before you get bitten, when you have skin-to-skin contact with one of them, you get a glimpse of how wonderful their world is. Like a free trial. After seeing and knowing that, no one would refuse getting bitten. Instead, they'd want to get bitten."

"…" Kino was silent for several seconds before asking Hermes, "I have one more question, is that okay?"

"Go for it."

"If I was turned like that — I wouldn't be able to ride a motorrad anymore, right?"

"Obviously not."

With that prompt response, Kino gave a satisfied nod and started Hermes's engine.

"Let's go on to the next country, Hermes."

"Let's go, Kino."

Translator’s Notes

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