With the girls safely secured, Son Goku no longer needed to temper his actions. They were all kind-hearted, and their discomfort with indiscriminate killing had forced him to hold back. Now, unburdened, he could operate with pure efficiency. To him, in this broken world, only the women in his care were real. Everyone else was merely a temporary fixture, an expendable part of the landscape.
After a brief flight of just over ten minutes, he hovered above a modest-sized city. The view below was a grim tapestry: streets and alleys choked with the undead, with pockets of survivors clinging to existence. On one narrow avenue, a police squad had established a barricaded checkpoint, trading gunfire with the encroaching horde. Beside them, absurdly, a news crew was conducting interviews, a cameraman broadcasting the chaos live.
At a time like this, are they dedicated or just profoundly foolish? Goku thought, shaking his head. All this noise is a beacon. Are they trying to lure more in? Either way, they're courting death.
His prediction proved instantly correct. The sustained gunfire acted as a siren, drawing zombies from every direction in numbers far beyond what the police could manage. As the barricades began to buckle under the pressure, the rescued civilians erupted into panic. Order dissolved into a riot of screaming people scrambling over each other to flee. The police line shattered.
Casualties mounted swiftly, each fallen victim rising moments later to join the enemy ranks, accelerating the collapse. Seeing the situation was irretrievable, the police commander gave the order to retreat. The officers, heavily armed, began a fighting withdrawal, abandoning the civilians to their fate.
Some desperate survivors, seeing their last hope leaving, begged and then tried to wrestle guns from the officers. The response was swift and brutal. A single shouted command, and the police turned their weapons on the scrambling crowd, cutting them down before the zombies could.
"Human nature reveals its true face in the apocalypse," Goku murmured from his vantage point, his expression detached. "To live here is to suffer. Let me grant you release."
He descended to a stable altitude and assumed his signature stance. Bluish-white energy crackled and roared to life between his palms, growing into a brilliant, volatile sphere. The air hummed with gathering power.
"Kame… hame…"
The energy intensified, its light washing over the city below.
"HA!"
A colossal beam of pure destruction lanced downward, striking the city's heart. A cataclysmic BOOM echoed across the landscape as a blinding sphere of energy expanded outward, vaporizing everything in its path—buildings, streets, zombies, and people alike—before erupting into a mushroom cloud of dust and debris.
When the light faded and the thunder subsided, a massive, smoldering crater marked the city center. Silence reclaimed the land.
Goku glanced at the virtual screen only he could see and gave a satisfied nod. "538,568 points. I didn't expect a city this size to hold over four hundred thousand. Finally, we have enough."
A faint, cold smile touched his lips. "Mission accomplished."
---
Back at the fortified house, the girls sensed his return even before he landed. Saya was the first to speak, her voice a mix of hope and anxiety. "Goku? Did you… gather enough energy?"
All eyes were on him, shining with a potent blend of excitement and nervous anticipation. They were on the cusp of leaving this nightmare for an entirely new world.
Goku nodded. "It's done. Everyone, gather what you need to bring. I'm opening the gate."
There wasn't much to pack—a few cherished weapons, some practical clothing, and minimal provisions. Within minutes, they stood together in the living room, bags in hand, hearts pounding.
Goku focused, accessing the Dimensional Shuttle System interface. With a mental command, he paid the initial cost of 10,000 Energy Points. The air before them shimmered and tore, coalescing into a shimmering, prismatic portal that hummed with latent power.
"So this is the dimensional gate… It's beautiful," Kurumi whispered, genuine awe in her voice.
"Wow! Amazing! We're really going to Onii-chan's world!" Alice cheered, clapping her hands with unrestrained joy.
Goku checked the timer. Thirty seconds. Slightly longer than my first crossing. "Listen," he announced. "The gate stays open for thirty seconds. After that, I'd have to spend another ten thousand points to reopen it. Who's going first?"
The girls exchanged glances. Saeko, ever the vanguard, stepped forward. "I will."
She took a steadying breath, squared her shoulders, and walked toward the shimmering light. Just as she was about to cross the threshold, she met an invisible, elastic resistance that gently but firmly pushed her back. She turned, a question in her eyes. "Goku, I cannot enter."
"Hold on." The moment Saeko attempted to cross, a system prompt, visible only to Goku, flashed before him:
[Saeko Busujima requests transit to Primary World: Dragon Ball. Transit Cost: 10,000 Energy Points. Authorize?]
Goku mentally selected Approve. His energy reserve ticked down by another 10,000, and the barrier surrounding the gate vanished for Saeko alone.
"Try now."
Saeko gave a final nod and stepped through the radiant surface. She vanished without a sound.
"Who's next?"
Emboldened, Alice dashed forward. "Me!" She disappeared into the light with a giggle.
One by one, the women approached the gate. Each time, Goku authorized the 10,000-point transit fee as the system prompted him for Rei, Shizuka, Kurumi, Rika, Yuriko, Saya, and finally, Kiriko. His energy reserve, though substantial, dwindled with each crossing.
When the last of them had passed through, Goku took a final look around the grim, silent world. Then, without ceremony, he stepped into the gate himself.
The prismatic light flared once, brilliantly, and then collapsed inward upon itself, leaving the empty room in silence. They were gone.