Chapter 78: Lingering Grievances
**20 Minutes Later.**
The road had finally fallen silent.
The endless groans that had echoed through the streets earlier were gone, replaced by the occasional crackling of burning vehicles and the distant wail of abandoned car alarms.
The zombie horde that had nearly overwhelmed the group had been completely wiped out through the combined effort of the three awakeners.
Bodies littered the road from one end to another.
Rotting limbs, shattered skulls and pools of blackened blood stained the asphalt, making the entire area resemble a battlefield more than a city street.
The battle had been costly, but the rewards were just as significant.
Jenny had levelled up several times, finally reaching **Level 20**.
Aadav had managed to catch up as well, touching the same milestone after desperately fighting for his life.
Max, however, widened the gap between himself and the others.
With his overwhelming contribution during the battle, he had climbed all the way to **Level 24**, standing only a single level away from Level 25.
Fredrinn hadn’t remained idle either.
While the others were busy clearing the immobilized zombies, he had quietly absorbed the mana leaking from the stronger zombie corpses.
The cool streams of mana flowed through his body like fresh water, soothing every damaged mana channel that had been burned earlier.
By now, his mana circuits had completely recovered.
He could finally use his mana without feeling the faint burning sensation that had plagued him since yesterday.
Rose stayed beside him the entire time.
Her arm remained tucked into his elbow as though she was afraid he might disappear the moment she let go.
Every now and then she leaned against him affectionately, humming in satisfaction while watching him absorb mana.
She looked nothing like the terrifying demon that had effortlessly slaughtered Stage 3 zombies just minutes ago.
Instead, she resembled a teenage girl experiencing her first love, unable to keep her hands off the boy she liked.
Jenny watched the scene from afar.
Yet instead of finding it sweet...
She only became more confused.
*Was he a scumbag or what?*
Back inside the storage area, he had been acting incredibly intimate with Andrea.
So intimate that Jenny had to cook up a bullshit excuse just to make them both keep their hands off each other.
And now...
He had somehow found himself a freaking wife?!
A zombie wife?!
Jenny genuinely couldn’t understand how any of this had happened.
Had they disappeared behind the car barricade just to... get married?
Her thoughts became increasingly ridiculous the longer she thought about it.
Eventually, she shook her head.
There was no point dwelling on it now.
Whatever happened between Fredrinn and Rose was something only those two understood.
Keeping her thoughts to herself, she slowly walked back toward the unconscious Charlie alongside the others.
Charlie was no longer bleeding.
His breathing had stabilized considerably, though his appearance had changed drastically.
His skin had taken on the same pale, greyish complexion as Rose’s.
However, unlike Rose, there were no elegant crimson horns growing from his temples.
He simply looked like a man standing somewhere between life and death.
Fredrinn observed him for a brief moment before breaking the silence.
"We should continue looking for the bus, no? Since Rose is no longer an issue, we can simply move the barrier of cars to make way for ourselves and head towards the school and the hospital." Fredrinn suggested calmly.
Max snorted quietly.
"If it’s your orders, who are we to decline?"
His tone sounded respectful on the surface.
Yet beneath it lingered irritation.
And resignation.
Fredrinn heard both. He simply chose not to comment.
Aadav didn’t even bother speaking.
After everything that had happened today, he no longer possessed the energy to argue with anyone.
He merely nodded silently.
"Yeah... sounds like a plan. I will just go get Eddie’s body... I would like to give him a proper burial." Jenny lowered her head as she murmured before glancing toward Aadav.
"Mind helping me here?"
Aadav nodded immediately.
Together, the two walked toward Eddie’s lifeless body.
The young man’s expression remained frozen in shock, the hole in his skull serving as a cruel reminder of how quickly overconfidence could cost someone their life.
Without saying a word, they carefully lifted him together and carried him toward the Camry.
The trunk opened with a metallic creak.
After laying Eddie’s body inside as respectfully as they could, Jenny quietly closed the trunk.
She rested her hand against it for a brief second before taking a deep breath.
Then she turned around.
"Hubby." Rose said, paying absolutely no attention to the humans.
Instead, she hugged Fredrinn’s arm even tighter. "I want to ride on that with you."
She pointed excitedly toward the fallen Harley Davidson lying near the road.
Jenny paused upon hearing those words.
Her eyes flickered toward the motorcycle.
For just a moment, disappointment flashed across her face.
But she said nothing. Instead, she simply continued walking.
Fredrinn chuckled softly, "Sure."
He casually ruffled Rose’s crimson hair, making her smile brighten even further.
He could clearly feel the atmosphere surrounding the group.
The awkwardness.
The alienation.
The cold shoulders.
None of them knew how to interact with Rose.
None of them even wanted to.
Yet Fredrinn honestly couldn’t blame them.
At the same time...
He wasn’t about to prioritize their feelings either.
From his perspective, meeting Rose instead of another male demon—or an even stronger monster—had been incredibly fortunate.
Rose had ultimately saved every single one of their lives.
Sure... She had killed Eddie.
But even that was largely Eddie’s own fault.
If he hadn’t emptied an entire magazine into her body before understanding what she was, Fredrinn seriously doubted she would’ve bothered killing him.
In the end...
Rose’s value far outweighed the rest of them.
She was already his first Voluntary Thrall.
She possessed a System.
She was powerful enough to effortlessly crush Stage 3 zombies.
There were still countless humans scattered throughout the apocalypse.
There was only one Rose.
Keeping those thoughts to himself, Fredrinn ignored the frosty expressions directed his way.
Instead, his mind wandered toward something else entirely.
The motorcycle.
After carefully observing Jenny’s driving earlier, he had already copied the basic mechanics.
It wasn’t particularly complicated.
First gear went down. The remaining gears went up. Rear brake with the right foot. Clutch with the left hand.
Simple enough compared to many complex things that Fredrinn had learnt in the past.
Hell, even using chopsticks might’ve been more complicated than riding the bike for him!
He looked toward Max.
"Max, put Charlie in the car. I and Rose will travel on the bike and you guys can lead with the car since I don’t know the directions and destination. Sounds good?"
"Yeah sure, boss."
The word *boss* rolled off Max’s tongue almost like a joke. A bad joke that he couldn’t believe in.
Even then, he obeyed.
Walking over to Charlie, he carefully lifted the unconscious teenager and laid him across the Camry’s backseat.
Jenny silently watched the entire exchange.
Then her eyes drifted toward the motorcycle. The muscular body, that leather, comfortable seat...
She clicked her tongue as her eyes lowered toward her own waist and her bruised body.
She could feel a lingering touch on her skin... Some soft whispers about a man speaking about riding the bike with his father...
Without saying anything, she opened the rear door of the Camry and climbed inside before slamming it shut behind herself.
She wasn’t angry because of Rose.
Not really.
Logically, she understood that having Rose with them was far better than facing her as an enemy.
Rose could control weaker zombies. She could eliminate stronger ones.
She drastically increased everyone’s survival chances.
Jenny understood all of that.
But... She just didn’t like how fast she was getting replaced by Fredrinn.
It hadn’t even been 2 hours but she already lost her bike, her seat and her right to hug him!?
*What kind of bullshit is that?!*
Her fists tightened unconsciously.
She glared at Fredrinn through the window before letting out an irritated harrumph.
"Just drive, Aadav. What are you waiting for? Want a written request for it?" she said coldly.
"Geez, lovesick maiden. Don’t take it out on me." Aadav quietly murmured.
He wisely chose not to argue further.
The engine rumbled to life.
Slowly, the Camry pulled away, its tires crushing zombie corpses beneath them as Aadav carefully maneuvered around the massive barricade of piled-up vehicles.
Metal scraped against metal.
But the car squeezed through.
Watching them leave, Fredrinn stretched his shoulders before sitting astride the Harley.
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Hop on."
Rose’s eyes sparkled.
"Yayyy! I am with Hubby!"
She eagerly climbed onto the motorcycle, wrapping both arms around his waist and pressing herself against his back without the slightest hesitation.
Her one-piece dress rode up to her thighs as she settled onto the seat, exposing far more skin than any decent outfit was meant to during a bike ride.
Rose, however, couldn’t have cared less.
As long as she was riding with her hubby...
Everything else was perfect.