A brown-haired female reporter was broadcasting live from the Tokonosu Bridge, one of only two bridges left to cross the Onbetsu River.
"Dear viewers, as you can see, the protests have continued since yesterday. The police are still blocking the bridge, preventing citizens from crossing, which has caused several conflicts that keep worsening."
"Let us through! It's all the government's fault—and the Americans'!" shouted a protest leader through a megaphone, waving a sign.
The crowd behind him roared in agreement.
"We, the people, have been abandoned! There's no help, no answers! While the politicians hide in their bunkers, we're the victims of these weapons created by foreigners!"
"Yeah! Let us through!"
"This is inhuman!"
"We have rights!"
Despite the shouting and insults, the nearly twenty police officers—including a three-man SWAT team armed with a water cannon—did not move an inch.
Their orders were clear: no one was to cross the bridge. They knew the hell breaking loose across the country, but they clung to their orders. Even if no one responded from headquarters and the world seemed to be ending, it was the only thing keeping them sane.
"Government dogs! We all have families! What makes yours more important?!"
A protester threw a bottle at a police officer, hitting him square in the chest. The captain, seeing this, approached the protest leader—but the man only smiled. In Japan, the police were known for being restrained, rarely resorting to violence, and criminals usually weren't this bold. But this time, the captain's eyes looked different.
He had lost contact with his wife hours ago. He didn't know if his family or his children were alive. He was standing in total darkness, being insulted by people who had no idea how bad things really were.
The officer drew his revolver, aimed it at the man's head, and pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
Blood splattered everywhere. The man's smile remained as he fell backward, disbelief still in his eyes.
The protesters and the female reporter froze in shock. No one had expected the officer to actually shoot.
The captain under his weapon, his face shadowed. He knew exactly what he had done—broken his oath to protect and serve. Beyond that, he had taken a life, an innocent one. The man had been an idiot, yes, but at the end of the day, he was just protesting.
The internet and TV still worked, so people across Japan witnessed society's collapse in real time. But this was the first time they had seen a public execution at the hands of law enforcement.
High School Girl – "That's a lie!"
Nurse – "That can't be true!"
Otaku – "The world's over!"
Old Woman – "The police can't be trusted anymore!"
Despair spread. People had still clung to the hope that the police and JSDF would regain control, but after this, they realized it was over. There was no hope left.
The officer looked up at the sky. "May God have mercy on my soul."
Before anyone could react, and live on both TV and the internet, the captain raised his gun to his head.
"NOOO!"
Everyone thought the scream came from someone reacting to the suicide—but it didn't. A woman yelled from behind the crowd.
When everyone turned, they saw a zombie tearing half her neck off. Behind her—an entire horde was closing in.
"No!"
"Run!"
"We can't!"
"Let us through!"
The protesters lost all composure, dropping their signs and trampling over each other in panic.
"Captain, what do we do?!" shouted a young officer, staring at the middle-aged man still holding his weapon.
The captain gave him a tired look. "Tanaka-kun... you're in charge now—"
"No! We need you!"
The captain smiled weakly. "I—"
The roar of an engine interrupted him.
"What?!"
From behind the horde, a military vehicle approached, followed by a massive double-decker bus with barred windows.
Despite being scared, the cameraman turned his lens toward it, and viewers at home went wild.
– What's going on?!
– Is that a JSDF vehicle?!
– Forget that, look at the bus! I've never seen a double-decker like that in Tokyo!
– The windows and armor are modified! It looks like something out of Mad Max!
...
"What should we do, Allen?" asked a voice over the radio. It was Teshima, driving the bus.
Allen picked up the radio from inside the Humvee. "Break through the blockade."
Teshima hesitated only for a second before flooring the gas, overtaking the Humvee.
Ahead of them were hundreds of zombies scattered across the bridge. The horde turned at the roar of the heavy vehicles.
"Don't hesitate!" Allen's voice came through the radio, as if he could see Teshima's face tightening behind the wheel.
"Agh!" Teshima stomped the pedal and plowed through everything in his path.
The zombies were launched into the air, dozens of them crushed beneath the weight of the bus, not even slowing it down.
"Get out of the way!" shouted the captain, and both officers and civilians scrambled in terror.
The bus was an English Routemaster model—a beast weighing over 25 tons (55,000 lbs) after all its modifications.
It rammed through the police vehicles, sending them flying like toys.
Once it crossed, everyone stood stunned—but the screams soon returned. The horde was still coming.
In that situation, tragedies were inevitable.
A woman with a baby in her arms tried to run, but she tripped. She managed to protect her baby from the fall, but he began to cry, attracting the attention of a zombie.
A guttural groan paralyzed the mother for a moment.
Teeth. A grotesquely stretched jaw. A horrifying face with half of it eaten away. That was the image reflected in her eyes.
"No!" She reacted and covered her son with her body.
The zombie lunged—but everyone else was too busy fleeing toward the other side now that the blockade was gone. No one cared about the dying mother and child.
Or at least, almost no one.
"Ah—"
The zombie's growl was cut short, its body crushed into pulp by a massive object—a hammer, rectangular and beautifully crafted, yet terrifying. It was the size of a concrete block, with a long handle made for two hands.
The slab of metal lifted from the ground, dripping blood.
"That was close," said Allen calmly, his voice reaching the stunned woman.
He rested the enormous hammer on his shoulder as if it weighed nothing and stared at the oncoming horde.
"Heh," Allen sneered and took a step forward.
With a swing powered by his whole body, Allen smashed through five zombies in a single blow, turning them into shredded flesh. Those behind them were thrown back by the impact.
With just one attack, the entire horde stopped.
"..." The woman gasped, along with everyone who saw it—the reporter, the cameraman, and the countless viewers watching the broadcast.
– What the hell?!
– How can he swing that with one hand?! That thing must weigh hundreds of pounds!
– Is this a joke?! Since when do we have superhumans in this world?!
After finishing his first strike, Allen didn't continue, but the zombies didn't stop just because he did. In the middle of the horde, a roar echoed as one zombie pushed its way forward through the others.
"Grrraaah!"
It was a mutant zombie. It resembled a Rage Zombie — or perhaps a Hunter — but its eyes and pupils were completely black.
With blood-soaked hands and a gaping jaw, the creature was overwhelmed by the instinct to devour.
"Watch out!" screamed the terrified woman as the beast charged forward.
She had every right to be scared. These creatures didn't care if it was a baby or a pregnant woman — to them, everything was flesh, everything was food.
"Don't worry…" said Allen, turning his back on the zombie without even the slightest concern. He left his hammer standing upright on the ground, crouched down, and looked at the crying baby.
He extended his fingers and touched the infant's forehead. The baby stopped crying instantly, opened his eyes, and smiled, trying to grab Allen's fingers.
"Oh, he's a tough little guy," Allen said with a faint laugh, leaving the woman in shock.
The zombie reached Allen from behind, but in that instant, a spear and a katana sliced it cleanly in two before it could react.
The two beautiful girls, Rei and Saeko, stood protectively in front of Allen.
"Wh-who are you people?" the woman asked.
Allen stood up, turned around, and walked past the girls as he faced the horde again.
At the same time, the rest of the group stepped down from the bus and the Humvee, standing behind Allen — armed and ready to fight.
"We're just survivors."
Before the cameras broadcasting to the entire nation, Allen and his group confronted the horde.
"Damn zombies!" shouted Teshima as he crushed skulls with his axe.
"There are too many!" yelled Takashi, swinging his baseball bat with all his strength.
Hisashi wasn't far behind, killing zombies with a metal pipe — though not Allen's pipe. "Don't lose your nerve, Takashi! Otherwise, we'll always be in Allen's shadow!"
Tsunoda swung a golf club. "I don't want anyone calling me a coward again!"
"I want to use the Springfield..." said Hirano before firing his nail gun. Kazu struck a zombie with his crowbar.
"Stop complaining!" scolded Yuuki as she fired the Glock 44 from the back of the group. Unexpectedly, Yuuki turned out to have natural aim. She had quickly learned the basics and could land clean headshots, though she was still slower than Hirano.
"Should I help?" asked Shizuka. She had another gun holstered but hesitated to use it, afraid of hitting someone by mistake.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," said Saya, controlling a drone beside her. It had a high-definition camera, allowing her to observe the entire horde. "Allen, there are two mutant zombies among them — one's a Spitter crawling straight ahead at twelve o'clock, and the other's a huge, obese one, but it looks slow."
Allen nodded, then hurled his hammer forward, crushing every zombie in its path. He reached into his jacket and pulled out two .45 caliber pistols — one black, one white.
[Special Weapons: Ebony & Ivory – Custom oversized handguns based on the M1911 model.]
Allen twirled both guns in his hands before crossing his arms and aiming, a smile spreading across his lips. "The red zone rewards are truly something to admire..."
He fired!
The bullets from Ebony & Ivory tore through the zombies, clearing a path straight to the Spitter — which didn't even have time to react before its body was shredded by lead.
Allen twirled his guns once more before holstering them and charging forward. He grabbed the hammer still buried in the ground and spun, sending dozens of zombies flying.
Rei and Saeko exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with competitive fire, and quickly caught up to Allen.
No one could believe it. In a world where everyone ran for their lives, this group didn't just fight a horde — they overwhelmed it!
With Allen's relentless advance, the rest of the group gained courage and fought harder. Even Toshimi, Misuzu, Kawamoto, and Taniuchi — among the weaker girls — found their strength and managed to take down zombies two-on-one.
"Kyoko-san!" shouted Saya.
Kyoko nodded and took out a remote-controlled car from the Humvee. Attached to it was a block of C4. Kyoko, with Alice watching beside her, guided the toy through the horde, weaving between everyone — even past Allen, who smiled and signaled for a retreat.
Rei and Saeko followed him just before the C4 detonated, bringing the bridge down behind them.
Allen blinked, looking back. "Didn't expect one block of C4 to bring down an entire bridge. Whoever built this bridge deserves to be thrown in jail."
Rei laughed, holding onto Allen's arm as they walked. "If it makes you feel better, that person's probably already dead~"
Saeko frowned when she noticed Allen still carrying the war hammer in his other hand — annoyed she couldn't do the same as Rei.
Allen noticed, then tossed the hammer, which landed right beside Teshima, startling and angering him.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Teshima-sensei, help me carry my hammer to the bus."
Allen didn't wait for an answer. Without shame, he took Saeko's hand while Rei was still holding onto his arm. Saeko blushed but didn't pull away — instead, she moved closer to Allen, while Rei could only huff in irritation.
– I don't know who that guy is, but I want him to be my dad!
– That'd mean you want him to screw your mom, right? lom
– "If he's that badass, I wouldn't mind~
The system noticed that Allen had become "public" in this world and linked that world's internet comments to the Chat feed. Of course, they couldn't interact — the comments were only visible within Chat.
Wade – Haha, I understand this guy. I got wet too when I saw Allen in person~
Kimiko – You're disgusting...
Raven – He's always like this.
Akeno – Ufufufu, I–
Rias – Akeno!
Tony – Allen's finally gone viral. Well, it had to happen eventually. I mean, come on, it's Allen.
Nikky – Oh, wouldn't it be fun if Allen started live-streaming in the HOTD world?
Rangiku – He could even do a live survival tutorial~
....
Allen, oblivious to his Chat's chatter, turned his gaze toward the crowd watching him.
"There's a safe place for everyone at the Takagi Mansion. We'll escort you there — that's the most I can do!"
Allen wasn't a saint. Saving these people and escorting them was already the limit of the kindness he could afford in a world where even he risked his life every moment. He wouldn't take responsibility for anything beyond that.
"Wait!" shouted an officer, his trembling hands aiming a gun at Allen.
The action didn't bother Allen — but it did infuriate everyone else. Even Saeko, Rei, Hirano, and, surprisingly, Yuuki, were about to attack the officer, filled with killing intent.
"Tanaka!" yelled the captain, running over and snatching the revolver from his subordinate's hands. Then he turned to Allen and bowed. "Forgive my subordinate's actions."
Allen shrugged with a faint grin. "Don't worry about it. He's just scared — I'd be too if some guy showed up and turned zombies into jelly right in front of me."
The captain lowered his head, sighing. "I suppose the young adapt better to this new world... there's no place left for stubborn old men like me."
He knew his mistake — stopping the civilians when it was already too late had only put them in more danger. He deserved to pay for that.
Seeing that the man was ready to die, Allen nodded, walked up to him, and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
"You!" shouted the other officers, but before they could even aim at Allen, Saeko placed her katana at one's throat, Rei mirrored her, and Saya, Yuuki, and Hirano aimed their guns at the rest.
"Stop!" shouted the captain, wiping blood from his mouth as he stood up.
"Did that help you think straight?" Allen mocked. "You're a man of skill and character, but you lack flexibility. Listen, these people need help. Instead of taking the easy way out and ending your misery, why don't you help them, huh?"
The captain froze. He had expected some kind of motivational speech — not a verbal slap to the face.
He was fifty years old, for God's sake!
Unable to hold it in, the captain laughed for a moment, then looked at Allen seriously and gave him a salute.
....
The group traveled slowly, with the Humvee leading the nearly hundred survivors and the bus guarding the rear. Allen made sure that pregnant women, mothers with infants, the elderly, and children rode inside the bus — which was large enough to hold them all.
It made the journey slower, but eventually, they arrived at the Takagi Mansion.
Soichiro was already waiting for Saya and Allen at the entrance.
This would mark the first encounter between Allen and Soichiro.
===
A/N: Sorry for the delay 😎
If you want to read more, there are up to ten chapters ahead on Patreon.
Patreon.com/_Aizen