After gathering all the world's survivors into the final shelter city, Zeroy brought Saeko Busujima, Saya Takagi, and the others into the city as well.
The dust of the ruins had not yet settled, and those who had just arrived were still lost and confused.
Everyone stood upon a high platform, overlooking the city, baptized by hellfire, while the truth of the [World Purge] echoed in their ears.
"So it's true... you really purged the entire world?"
Saeko Busujima whispered, the hilt of her sword trembling in her grip, her violet eyes reflecting complex light—shock, disbelief, and emotions she could not name.
After all, if that were the case, then the gap between her and Zeroy was simply far too great.
If she had to put it into a metaphor... it was as if she had only ever been able to gaze at Zeroy's back from afar, and now she could only look up at the stars in the heavens.
The blow struck hard against the burning affection in the girl's heart, rekindled by their reunion.
Saya Takagi pushed her glasses up, trying to press her trembling heart down with reason.
She stared at Zeroy, her voice filled with disbelief and unease. "You... you were really a god all along?"
Her voice was hoarse in the wind, but her gaze inevitably drifted toward the distance—that wasteland known as the [Road of Hell].
The so‑called Road of Hell was the trial every survivor had to face.
After stepping from the teleportation circle, they had to walk one kilometer under the shadow of the flesh tree before reaching the next circle that would lead into the shelter city.
Every soul would be tested by the tree and the crow flocks of the divine messenger.
There, they had also seen a pure white idol standing silently.
Its outline was gentle and holy, a stark contrast to the tree's grotesqueness, silently declaring the boundary between judgment and salvation.
"God? No, I only do what I want to do." Zeroy paused, her gaze shifting to the flesh tree in the distance. "That tree is warning, that idol is hope—I want to build a heaven with no pests."
"Oh, right. Take this."
Zeroy handed a small idol to Saeko Busujima and the others.
"I'll be leaving again. It can protect you in my place, and you can draw upon its power too—but don't use it for anything evil."
"No... even if you hadn't said so, no one would dare do anything bad with it anyway, right?"
Saya Takagi felt awkward, thinking Zeroy's warning completely unnecessary.
Who would risk their lives playing around like that?
Zeroy chuckled softly. It was only a casual remark—she trusted Saeko and the others.
"By the way, if you have time and interest, you can use the idol's power to help those in need, to punish evil and promote good. That way, faith will spread faster, and you'll be able to draw more power from the idol."
"—!"
As Zeroy's words fell, a spark of inspiration flashed across Saeko Busujima's conflicted mind.
If Zeroy was a god, then by carrying out her will, spreading her faith, becoming Zeroy's divine messenger... wouldn't that bridge the gulf between them?
Perhaps, if she could become such a messenger, she could leave with Zeroy, instead of always waiting for her return.
The once‑lost, uncertain, dispirited Saeko was now renewed with vitality. Her heart brimmed with resolve, her eyes glowing bright.
It was even better than before.
Because she now saw a path of starlight leading toward Zeroy's side!
A road that had never existed before—once she hadn't even known how to close the distance. She hadn't understood what Zeroy was, or why she was so strong. There had been no channel to grow stronger, no way to even begin.
"Spreading faith, huh..."
Saya Takagi also fell into thought.
"So what's the god's name?"
"That... I haven't decided yet. My actions aren't about judgment. At their core, they're about hating evil and loving good. However, if I used the word 'judgment,' it might help people understand more easily... Forget it, I'll let everyone decide. As long as it isn't something unpleasant, it's fine. Just calling me [God] is fine too. I'm easygoing."
"..."
That was way too easygoing.
Saya wanted to say so, but like Saeko, she had also been shaken and found herself a little reserved.
At that moment, Zeroy suddenly frowned in puzzlement.
"This feeling..."
Everyone turned toward her in confusion. Zeroy closed her eyes, focusing intently.
It was some faint, almost imperceptible sound...
Like the power of faith she had once felt in the Black Bullet world, only this time within it were the voices of people reaching out to her.
Voices calling, praying, begging for aid, lamenting, accusing, hating, grieving, helpless, enraged.
A longing for the good, for hope, for a better vision.
Ah... it was the voice of many as one, cries of the suffering from afar.
"I... I heard it clearly!"
Zeroy opened her eyes and seized hold of something.
In the next moment, her body began to flicker before everyone's eyes, like an unstable image about to vanish.
"Zeroy!"
Just as the others were at a loss, in the instant Zeroy was about to disappear, Patchouli sensed something and reached out, grasping her wrist without hesitation.
The next instant, the two vanished together before the crowd.
...
In a brightly lit, luxuriously decorated room, three girls were bound tightly to chairs with coarse ropes, their hands tied behind them, faces streaked with tears and fear.
Opposite them, four men lounged on leather sofas, surrounded by bodyguards in suits. Their cold, cruel eyes were like wolves waiting to pounce.
The leader was a handsome man, a gentle smile on his lips as though this was the most ordinary transaction. "You've taken an interest in that lively little girl, haven't you? I believe her name was... Fal?"
"Yes, yes!"
Beside him, a bald, withered old man rubbed his hands, eyes glittering with sick excitement. "It's only fun when you torment a girl like that slowly."
The handsome man chuckled lightly, his voice casual yet dripping with malice. "Understood. Then let's start by breaking her legs. That'll stop her from jumping around."
At his words, Fal's pupils widened in terror. A broken whimper escaped her throat, her body shaking violently in fear.
The other two girls' faces were equally ashen, tears slipping down silently.
...
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