Outside the subway, Asami and Anemone waited anxiously for Allen's return. They had heard explosions and gunfire from inside — a clear sign of what was happening.
"Will he be alright?" asked Asami, holding her hands against her chest. "It's my fault… I shouldn't have insisted on rescuing those kids."
Asami wasn't stupid. Judging by all the commotion inside the subway, it was obvious there were a lot of zombies in there. Entering that place was practically suicide.
Seeing her kohai in such a state, Anemone sighed. In a world like this, where people were starting to lose their minds, good-hearted people usually didn't live long. Still, both Allen and Anemone liked a girl like Asami.
"He's very strong…" replied the blue-eyed, black-haired woman, looking toward the subway entrance. "I don't know how strong he really is, but I can assure you that young man is terrifying… it takes a lot to kill him, so he should be fine."
Anemone lit another cigarette.
The truth is that she had not been entirely sincere in her words. Her words were meant to comfort Asami, and though she had a feeling Allen would be fine, there was still a lingering sense of worry.
The woman couldn't understand it. Since she was little, she rarely cared about others. Many times, she felt out of place in this world, as if she didn't belong in it. Countless times she pushed people away; only good girls like Asami, who managed to stay by her side for so long, had broken through that wall.
That's what made it so surreal — that she was this worried about a boy she had met less than an hour ago. And yet, here she was, holding herself back from grabbing her weapon and running into the subway after him.
Anemone turned her gaze away, her cheeks slightly flushed. 'How ridiculous…'
Just thinking that she might have fallen for some kid who saved her — like the classic cliché where the hero saves the beauty — made her want to throw up.
....
The wait dragged on, and ten minutes slowly passed.
"Damn it!"
"Anemone-san?"
At this point, Anemone couldn't even smoke properly anymore. She threw her cigarette to the ground, grabbed her gun, and was about to go look for Allen — but not before tossing the car keys to Asami.
"Stay in the car! If something happens and I don't come back in ten minutes, don't hesitate to leave!"
"What are you saying?! I'm not going to abandon you!"
Asami ran toward her, wrapping her arms around her waist to stop her. She couldn't believe that this Anemone was losing control just because of Allen.
"Let go of me!"
"No!"
Anemone clenched her teeth. She knew better than anyone that she was acting recklessly — but she couldn't help it. Something inside her screamed that she would not let Allen die.
Asami held on tightly, but she was far too weak to compare to Anemone. Just as Anemone was about to break free from Asami's grasp, countless zombie growls echoed from the subway… followed by the roar of a chainsaw!
"What?!"
Both women were speechless. And just as they hesitated about what to do, a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. His clothes were in tatters, covered in cuts and wounds, and drenched in blood. Yet this man remained calm as he walked out of the subway with a chainsaw resting on his shoulder.
Allen smiled as sunlight washed over him. He looked back one last time — as expected, the horde didn't leave the death zone. It was as if they'd been ordered not to, or were bound to that area.
It was a massacre...
Armed with nothing but his new chainsaw, Allen had carved his way through a horde of zombies using pure brute strength and willpower. Of course, the terrain had played in his favor. The subway corridors weren't wide enough for thousands of zombies to rush him at once, and at some point, the fallen bodies piled up, creating obstacles that slowed the rest down.
It was utter madness...
And everything had been witnessed by the spectators of this world.
Once outside, Allen smiled at the drone. "Well, that concludes today's tutorial. Remember — don't go into the subway, don't fight mutant Volatiles, and don't charge into a zombie horde with a chainsaw. If you follow these rules, you won't die... probably."
The system ended the local broadcast but continued transmitting to other worlds — to avoid giving away his location to dangerous people.
Allen walked up to the two women and stopped in front of them. "I'm sorry, I couldn't find those kids."
At this point, he was almost certain those children were part of a trap. But he had promised to find them, so he had no excuse and apologized.
Asami pressed her lips together and shook her head. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have asked you for something so absurd!"
Allen smiled and patted her head. This girl was far too good for this world.
"..." Anemone looked Allen up and down — his wounds, his exhaustion. It was obvious he'd gone through hell down there, and that made it impossible for her to understand why Allen would go so far just for a promise to Asami.
Allen sat on the car's hood to rest. Once out of the subway, his walkie-talkie started working again.
Several minutes later...
"..." Allen set the walkie-talkie down after giving his group the order to finish off the enemy soldiers. Of course, "finish off" included killing them if necessary.
In this world, there were no police, no prisons, no justice system. Having killer soldiers around was a huge danger. In apocalyptic worlds, prisoners were rarely taken during conflicts between survivors — at least, not by those who still retained some humanity.
His gaze turned cold. 'Among corrupt survivor groups, the worst are the ones who treat people as toys, slaves… or even food.'
Allen hadn't seen those soldiers himself, but just from Saeko and the others' descriptions, it was enough...
"Allen-san," said Asami, who was wrapping a bandage around his arm, pausing mid-motion. "From what I understand, people are attacking your group. Shouldn't we hurry?"
Allen smiled. "Don't worry. They're strong."
Asami fell silent for a moment. She had seen how strong Allen was, so she figured his companions must be the same.
Armed soldiers — if Hirano and Saeko weren't there, Allen would be worried. But with those two, they should be fine, or at least able to hold out. Besides, this time Allen wasn't underground, so they could call him if things got complicated.
The sun began to tilt toward the afternoon; Allen had already been outside for nearly two hours.
"Mm, you're right, but the way you say it is strange," Anemone commented.
Allen looked at the woman kneeling before him. Her blue eyes blinked with a clear buildup of questions, but she chose not to ask them. She could tell Allen had many secrets — things you didn't just tell someone you'd met hours ago.
Anemone returned to her work... though all she was really doing was cleaning a wound on his abdomen. The woman "accidentally" touched Allen's body more than once, but he didn't mind. He'd felt a strange sense of affinity toward her ever since they met. This tobacco-loving woman would be more than welcome in his group — and of course, so would Asami.
Allen sighed. The green herb wasn't omnipotent; after taking one, he had mostly healed, but there were still a few cuts left on his skin.
Seeing this, both women offered to bandage him. He agreed — after all, it wasn't worth wasting another herb or bandage on mere scratches.
Once Anemone was done, she stood up and cleared her throat. "We should go now..."
Allen chuckled softly at her reaction but knew she was right. No matter how strong his group was, anything could happen in this world.
....
....
"Hahaha, magnificent!" shouted the soldiers' leader as he laughed, watching everything from a Jeep that followed closely behind his men.
His troops advanced slowly but steadily; they had only suffered a couple of injuries, while Soichiro had already lost five men.
"..." Shido, who was sitting behind him, looked at him with a flash of coldness, but quickly hid it.
"What do you think, Shido-sensei?!" said the man, turning back with a twisted smile.
"An impressive display of force, Mr. Miller."
His name was Jack Miller, a Caucasian man with an unpleasant expression, whose most distinctive features were a snake tattoo on his neck and a gold tooth that gleamed every time he smiled.
'Laugh all you want. Once I find my father, I'll mobilize a JSDF regiment to wipe you and your men out!'
The only reason he had joined this man was to survive. The moment he saw an opportunity, he would betray him. However, there was another reason — if he guided these men all the way to the Takagi mansion, there was a chance they could eliminate Allen.
The humiliation he felt that day was something he would never forget, something that ate away at him inside. Until that debt was settled, Shido would never rest in peace.
"Hahaha, look how many survivors! I'm sure there'll be plenty of pretty girls~"
Shido was a degenerate bastard in his own way, but compared to Miller, he was nothing. This man loved to abuse the women who fell into his hands, and he had a disgusting fetish for doing it in front of their husbands, boyfriends, or even children.
In just a few hours around him, Shido had completely understood what kind of man Miller was. He wanted to build a survivor camp where his word was law — a place where he could own the beauties he could only dream of before.
Shido was similar, but his methods differed. He manipulated people into believing they acted of their own free will, whereas Miller didn't care — he used brute force to create his twisted utopia.
"Soon, they won't be able to stop us. We'll be inside that mansion soon!"
Miller's grin widened as he saw Soichiro's sixth man fall.
....
"Takeda!" Soichiro ground his teeth — he had lost another good man.
They were being cornered. If only he had more time — two days, no, even one day would have been enough for Soichiro to recruit twice as many men and prepare them to face the apocalypse. But at that moment, those men were in hiding — some were even fleeing from the other side of the mansion.
"Damn it, they're getting closer!" shouted one of his men as he saw the soldiers advancing behind the truck they were using for cover.
Soichiro Takagi was a smart man, smart enough to know when a battle couldn't be won. So he made a decision.
"Everyone, retreat! Go out through the east gate! Those who wish to stay with me, we'll fight to the end!"
Soichiro's words echoed in everyone's ears. His men turned pale, while the soldiers — including Miller — began to laugh.
Admitting defeat was something terribly difficult for a man like Soichiro Takagi, who had climbed the ruthless ladder of politics by crushing his adversaries.
"A wise decision!" said Miller, but his smile turned mocking. "But we're not letting anyone go! Your men will be cannon fodder, and your women... our toys!"
*Bang*
Miller's words were interrupted — one of his men fell to the ground with a hole in his head.
"What?!"
The soldiers couldn't react before another one fell, a bullet hole through his skull.
"There's a sniper! Everyone take cover!" shouted James, before smirking. "That's more like it! It's not fun if they don't fight back!"
Hirano clenched his teeth. He had killed — despite his doubts, Allen's words combined with Miller's declaration had awakened his survival instinct, suppressing all his fear and allowing him to shoot.
'Come on, you can't miss!'
Hirano was so focused on shooting that he didn't notice he was already being targeted. That was natural — Hirano had talent, had killed many zombies, and had practiced shooting with professionals. However, he lacked real combat experience. He had never faced another sniper before!
On Miller's side, there was James — an experienced sniper. Just by seeing his fallen comrades, he immediately figured out where the enemy shooter was.
"Got you~" James aimed at the second floor of the mansion, where Hirano was positioned, a grin spreading across his face.
Hirano noticed a glint on the lens and froze. He had let his guard down — he hadn't even considered the possibility of an enemy sniper. So when he was targeted, he couldn't react.
Hirano Kohta was dead... or at least, that's what should have happened.
In a blur, a purple figure dashed across the battlefield straight toward James.
"James, watch out!" shouted Davis as he fired his machine gun — but the bullets only hit where Saeko had already passed.
Davis tried to hit Saeko again but was struck in the shoulder by an arrow.
"Argh!"
"What?!" James lowered his gaze and tried to change targets, but like any sniper — no matter how deadly at long range — he was defenseless at close distance.
The man only saw a metallic flash before his arm was sliced off by Saeko. James stared at his severed arm, stunned. Before him stood a beautiful woman, her eyes dark and excited.
'Who the hell is this monster?!'
The katana didn't stop — this time, it cut again, and James's head was severed cleanly.
'This is the 21st century... who the hell uses katanas against soldiers?!' Those were the sniper's last thoughts.
"What are you waiting for?! Kill her!" shouted Miller, but soon he heard the sound of a drone above his head. He looked up, only to see it flying directly toward the Jeep.
Miller felt a chill run down his spine and jumped out of the vehicle — Shido did the same.
The drone crashed and exploded, destroying the Jeep. Inside the mansion, Saya removed her VR goggles.
"That'll teach you not to underestimate a Takagi!"
....
"Ahh, my arm!" Miller clutched his arm, shards of glass embedded in it. Unfortunately, both he and Shido had survived — but barely.
"What the hell is happening?!" shouted Shido.
"Ahhh!"
"Nooo!"
"..." Miller turned just in time to see more of his men being killed — some by Hirano, others by Saeko.
What the hell?! Weren't they supposed to be just regular survivors?! Wasn't this supposed to be easy?!
"RETREAT!"
Seeing his tenth man fall, Miller ordered the retreat. They weren't prepared to face this group of strange individuals.
Hirano saw the men running away and stopped firing. Shooting someone who wants to kill you is one thing — but shooting someone who's escaping, even if they're scum, was still something Hirano couldn't bring himself to do.
Saeko, on the other hand, watched Miller flee. For a moment, she wanted to chase after him and finish him off — but she didn't. She couldn't lose control, or she'd truly become a monster.
....
Soichiro stood before Saeko, and in front of all his men, his stern expression finally softened.
"Thank you..."
Saeko shook her head. "We only followed our leader's orders — and he was fulfilling Saya's request. If you want to thank someone, thank her."
With those words, Saeko walked into the mansion, leaving Soichiro standing silently behind her.
Yuriko, who had been watching, said nothing. Soichiro had made mistakes many times, but that was part of his nature — he would never admit them.
An hour later, Allen returned with Asami and Anemone, who were both stunned to see so many survivors. And just as Allen had said, everyone was safe.
As he stepped out of the car, a girl ran from the mansion and threw herself into his arms.
"Welcome back~"
Allen smiled. "I'm back."