After fusing the new Meme, only one important matter remained.
The door to another world.
Yami focused, letting his thoughts guide the system. In response, a swirling vortex shimmered into being before him.
[World Gate: Highschool of the Dead]
[Duration: 24 hours]
[Invitation Slots: 5]
A pale-blue text glowed above the whirlpool of light.
"…So this is it."
The portal led to the world Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei once called home.
But the rules were clear: the gate would only remain open for a single day. Whoever entered would be forcibly returned once the time was up.
And then there was the matter of "invitation slots."
"Invitation quota… so I can bring five adventurers with me?" Yami muttered. "But why? Why not just summon them here like usual? Why bother stepping into their world myself?"
He narrowed his eyes, thinking it through.
"…Wait. It doesn't say I have to go. I could just send others through."
His gaze shifted to the girl beside him.
"Ella."
The ever-loyal necromancer tilted her head, awaiting orders. Yami noticed the faint glow beneath the portal's surface—yes, the system was allowing him to "dispatch" his subordinates.
That would've been the cautious move.
But Yami wasn't satisfied with second-hand knowledge.
"No… I'll see it myself. Ella, you're coming with me."
The girl bowed lightly, eyes gleaming.
"Understood, Master."
Together, they stepped forward.
—And in an instant, the tower vanished.
His vision warped. The air grew heavy.
The moment Yami's foot landed, he stood atop the edge of a high-rise building. Wind howled around him, carrying the stench of blood and rot.
Below, the city was chaos incarnate. Cars overturned. Smoke curled into the sky. And the streets… were filled with them.
The twisted groans. The stumbling figures. The endless hunger etched into hollow eyes.
Zombies.
"…So this is their world."
Beside him, Ella's eyes widened in surprise.
"Master… there are so many undead here!"
Yami raised a brow.
"You're saying those things count as undead?"
"Yes," she replied with certainty, puffing her chest proudly. "They're the weakest kind of undead. I could control them easily!"
Her little hand pressed against her chest, her crimson eyes sparkling with anticipation, like a child eager to play with a new toy.
Yami couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out, ruffling her hair.
"Good girl."
"Hehe~" Ella narrowed her eyes in delight, smiling as if she'd just been given candy.
Then, focusing again, she extended her hand toward the writhing mob below.
The system interface flickered:
[Monster: Zombie (Dead Body)]
[Rank: 0]
[Title: None]
[Race: Undead]
[Meme:]
— F-Class "Infection" (Lv.1)
"Zero order?"
Yami narrowed his eyes.
Just as Ella had said... this was nothing but trash.
These "zombies" weren't even on the same level as the weakest undead he could create.
His gaze sharpened. A ripple of shadow spread out beneath his feet, like a roulette wheel spinning in a bottomless pool.
The black maw surged upward, swallowing a cluster of corpses and even dragging a few abandoned cars into its depths.
The street was silent again.
"…Tch."
No system prompt.
Not even a single magic stone.
"So worthless," Yami muttered, clicking his tongue.
He had hoped to test whether killing these zombies might yield stones, but it seemed pointless. Destroying trash was still just… destroying trash.
Giving up that thought, he turned his gaze toward the cityscape, its neon signs dimmed and streets haunted by the shuffling dead.
"Now then… time to use those invitation slots."
His eyes locked on a terrified man hiding in a corner alley. Yami extended the system's power toward him—only to be met with a cold chime.
[Ding! This individual does not possess Special Invitation Potential.]
"…Special invitation potential?"
Yami frowned.
Which meant Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei had possessed this unique quality. The common thread?
Plot relevance.
"So the dungeon only recognizes story characters as valid."
A slow smile curved his lips. That narrowed his search considerably.
Spreading his wings of shadow, he scooped Ella into his arms and took flight.
"The main stage begins at Fujimi Academy," he murmured. "That's where the characters gather."
Ella, nestled against him, giggled softly, her crimson eyes glinting as they soared above the ruined city.
The City at Night
Darkness smothered the world below.
Once-bustling streets now lay silent, broken only by the distant groans of the undead. No human dared walk outside under the cover of night.
Not long ago, the virus had swept through the city—and the world. Ordinary people had become ravenous corpses. A single bite, a single scratch, and another human would join their ranks.
Civilization had collapsed into an apocalypse of flesh and ruin.
The dead wandered freely. The living cowered in the shadows.
Inside a house with its doors and windows barricaded, no lights dared flicker. Only the sound of breathing broke the silence.
"…Teacher Shizuka, are you asleep?"
"No, Saya."
The quiet exchange drifted through the pitch-black room.
Saya Takagi lay awake on her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling she could not see. Beside her, the school nurse Shizuka Marikawa sat up quietly.
"…Where did Saeko-senpai and Rei go?" Saya whispered.
The silence that followed was heavier than the air outside.
They had gone out together. Then, suddenly, both Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei had disappeared—without a trace, without a goodbye.
Neither Saya nor Shizuka could bring themselves to believe they had been abandoned.
And the thought of them being devoured by zombies… was something neither could bear to accept.
Alice, the young girl, slept peacefully nearby. But for Saya and Shizuka, sleep was impossible.
They stayed awake, their thoughts circling endlessly—wondering, worrying, and planning where to search for Saeko and Rei when dawn came.
[Author Note]📢
Hey everyone!
Just a quick update — I've started a new Naruto novel:
Naruto: From Scratch With a Template System
It's a fresh project with cleaner writing and a steadier release pace.
If you enjoyed my previous stories, feel free to check it out!
Thanks for the support 🗣️
— Arthorain