Kouyat immediately noticed several students pulling out their phones to take pictures of the creature. She frowned, then snapped with a strong, authoritative voice:
"Stay focused! Even now! This creature is, by default, a mortal enemy to all humanity."
Her stern gaze scanned the assembly before she suddenly pointed directly at Drak, drawing everyone's attention:
"You there, the fire-type mage student who got humiliated in yesterday's duel! Step forward immediately!"
Drak was taken aback by the cutting remark. He clenched his teeth slightly, jaw tense from the still-fresh humiliation. Yet, refusing to show any weakness, he walked up to the platform with apparent pride. Arms crossed, with a hard and defiant gaze, he stood silently before Professor Kouyat.
Without sparing her student, Kouyat sharply continued:
"Since you're incapable of winning a duel against another student, maybe you'll have better luck against a chained enemy. Go ahead, show us what you can do—kill it!"
Drak felt a surge of anger rush through his body at these repeated provocations, a fiery rage burning inside his veins. Yet, he managed to stay calm and focused. He took a deep breath, impressively channeling his Hunter energy into his hands. Slowly, his fingers ignited, wrapped in an aura of vivid and intense flames. The flames danced and crackled around his fingertips, quickly forming a threatening torrent of incandescent fire.
With a swift gesture, he suddenly hurled the flames toward the zombie chained inside the cage. The creature was instantly engulfed by an intense blaze, as if someone had doused it thoroughly with gasoline. Flames rose rapidly, hungrily licking every inch of the chained monster's dead flesh. The intense heat could be felt even in the front rows of the audience, prompting some students to instinctively step back.
Drak, having endured Kouyat's scorn, flashed a provocative smile at the professor, proud of his attack and apparent mastery. For several seconds, the zombie twisted violently, its skin crackling under the unbearable heat, emitting guttural growls of pain and rage muffled by the flames.
When the fire finally subsided, leaving behind thick, acrid smoke, a gruesome sight appeared before everyone. The creature, now charred, was still standing, its limbs blackened, some areas burned down to the bone. Shreds of burned flesh hung from its distorted body, revealing charred muscles and protruding bones, their sinister whiteness contrasting sharply against the burnt blackness. Yet, despite these devastating injuries, the zombie continued to stare at the students with chilling intensity, its glassy eyes still burning with insatiable hunger.
Drak, still arrogant after his successful attack, turned to Kouyat with a mocking smile:
"Anything else, Professor Kouyat?"
Sensing the insolence in his voice, the professor smiled coldly and silently pressed a hidden button. Instantly, the chains loosened slightly, and with terrifying speed, the creature lunged wildly forward, its burned arms stretched toward Drak. At the last second, the chains abruptly tightened again, narrowly immobilizing the zombie as it furiously struggled, jaws snapping fiercely mere inches from Drak's face. Despite its flame-ravaged body, the zombie seemed remarkably vigorous, still ready to devour its prey, fueled by an unquenchable rage.
Drak, heart racing uncontrollably and suddenly terrified, instinctively stepped back, eyes wide with horror:
"My God! It's still alive after all that?!"
Kouyat's strong, authoritative voice then resonated throughout the room, her tone chillingly serious:
"The first essential rule when fighting zombies: always finish the job! They're just pieces of meat. Cut off an arm, a leg, or even part of their body—they'll keep inexorably coming toward you with a single obsession: devouring you alive!"
A stunned silence enveloped the room. The students had previously heard about zombies' incredible resilience in their theoretical classes, but witnessing such a demonstration firsthand exceeded anything they'd imagined. Brutal reality had struck their minds with unexpected force.
Professor Kouyat continued coldly, further heightening the pressure on her students:
"Understand this clearly: that zombie, which just moments ago could have devoured your classmate Drak—who, I remind you, ranks in the top 10 and masters his Hunter energy far better than most of you—that zombie is only an E-ranked Walker type. In other words, the weakest rank and type among all existing zombies! Furthermore, it's isolated from its swarm. A swarm can consist of thousands or even tens of thousands of these creatures, all coordinated and determined to kill you to feed their queen."
This chilling revelation escalated the tension to its peak. Many students had felt powerful and nearly invincible since their injection of the S.G.C. serum. But at that exact moment, reality brutally caught up with them: for now, they were nothing more than mere pieces of flesh potentially destined to feed these ravenous monsters.
Finally, Kouyat approached the zombie, still chained but violently thrashing about to satisfy its insatiable hunger. With a swift, precise motion, she delivered a powerful kick to the creature's head, violently knocking it to the ground. Without hesitation, she firmly grabbed its skull with one hand, and with superhuman strength, mercilessly smashed it against the floor, causing the zombie's head to explode in a spray of blackish blood and bone fragments.
The shocked silence that followed this brutal execution deeply marked all the students present. They had just received an unforgettable lesson about the ruthless reality of the world they had just entered.