"Wait, Takeru, are you leaving now?" Hearing Takeru's words, the previously moved Yuri stood up nervously.
"What's wrong?" Seeing the nervous Yuri, Takeru frowned, sensing something major might have happened during his absence.
"It's Kurumi. A week ago, when it suddenly rained, over a dozen zombies broke through the barricades and got in. To cover everyone's retreat, Miyamaru, Seikai, and Kurumi stepped forward. To save a child, Kurumi got scratched. Now... now she's locked up in the back."
Hearing Takeru's words, Miki pressed her lips together and spoke.
"I see. Kurumi isn't dead, right?" Hearing her, Takeru remembered the girl who liked fighting with a shovel.
"No, but she turned into a zombie and is locked up with the others." Hearing Takeru, Yuri said sadly.
"In that case, as long as she's not dead, it's fine. Let's go. We'll resolve Kurumi's issue now." Hearing her, Takeru sighed in relief.
"Eh? Takeru, did they develop a vaccine for the zombies?" Hearing Takeru, Yuri looked at him nervously.
"No, I don't have a vaccine. But I have a special ability that can reverse zombification." Hearing her, Takeru lightly shook his head.
Initially disappointed hearing Takeru had no vaccine, Yuri was stunned to hear Takeru could solve zombification.
"Alright, let's go now. We can save the others too." Seeing the two still dazed, Takeru spoke with a light laugh.
"Yes!" Hearing Takeru seemed to have a way, Yuri felt hopeful.
Then, Takeru and the others directly headed toward where the zombies were held. Along the way, Yuri and Miki explained the situation after Takeru left.
Initially, everything developed smoothly. Since Takeru transplanted many things before leaving, although water and other resources were somewhat scarce, being frugal sufficed.
After all, the school's facilities were built for a large number of evacuees, so accommodating under a hundred people was possible.
But then Kurumi's incident happened, demoralizing everyone. Also, members occasionally got injured during regular zombie cleanups nearby.
"You're... Takeru-san?" About to go downstairs, a burly man looked at Takeru in shock.
"Seikai, long time no see." Looking at the burly man, Takeru greeted with a light laugh.
"Takeru-san, you're finally back! Great! With you back, our base can develop even faster!" Seeing Takeru, Seikai spoke excitedly.
"Sorry, Seikai. I'm back only to handle some matters and will leave soon." Hearing him, Takeru lightly shook his head.
Hearing Takeru, Seikai paused, feeling disappointed. "Then, Takeru-san, can I leave with you this time?"
Hearing Takeru, Seikai spoke seriously.
"Sorry, the place I'm going isn't convenient to bring many people." Hearing him, Takeru could only shake his head.
"Alright, I was too presumptuous." Hearing Takeru, Seikai felt even more disappointed.
Seeing this, Takeru could only lightly shake his head and pat his shoulder.
"Seikai-san, don't be too sad. Didn't you bring back a zombie earlier? That was your younger sister, right? Now Takeru says he can solve this virus." Seeing Seikai down, Yuri directly spoke.
"Has a vaccine been developed?" Hearing Takeru's words, Seikai perked up, looking at Takeru with surprise and hope.
"Not exactly. It's my special ability." Seeing Seikai's hopeful expression, Takeru lightly shook his head.
"I see. I understand." Hearing Takeru, Seikai instantly understood. Takeru wasn't ordinary, and he knew that from before.
"Yuri-san, Miki-san, Seikai-san, hello!" Upon reaching the school building area, two guard-like people respectfully greeted Yuri and the others.
"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Hearing their greeting, Yuri spoke softly.
Then, Takeru and the others headed straight toward a relatively wild area at the back.
"Eh? That person..." Seeing Takeru's departing figure with Yuri and the others, the two guards were stunned.
Arriving here, three people were on guard. Additionally, Takeru saw a pink-haired loli.
Earlier, Takeru wondered where Yuki was. Turns out she came here.
"Yuki, here to see Kurumi again?" Looking at Yuki, Yuri directly spoke.
"Rii-san, Miki, Uncle Seikai, you're here too!" Seeing the three, Yuki directly spoke, then looked at Takeru somewhat dazedly.
"Long time no see, Yuki." Seeing Yuki, Takeru greeted her with a light laugh.
"You're Takeru!" Hearing Takeru, Yuki reacted.
"Yes." Hearing her, Miki nodded with a light laugh.
"Eh? Am I in your dream, Miki?" Hearing Miki confirm, Yuki spoke dazedly.
"You... what nonsense are you saying!" Hearing Yuki say this, Miki blushed and pinched her cheek.
"Ouch, that hurts! It's real! Takeru, you're back! But Kurumi got infected!" Being pinched, Yuki said to Takeru dejectedly.
"Don't worry. Kurumi will recover soon." Seeing her expression, Takeru spoke softly, then gestured for everyone to step back slightly.
The guards, seeing Seikai, Yuri, and others subtly deferring to Takeru, plus having seen Takeru briefly before, realized Takeru was likely the behind-the-scenes boss here.
So they didn't dare act rudely and stepped back. Seeing everyone move, Takeru didn't need keys or anything… he lightly pushed, and the gate opened.
As the gate opened, Takeru smelled a rotten odor. Zombies, hearing sounds and sensing light, surged toward the entrance.
"Kurumi!" Outside, Yuki quickly spotted Kurumi among the crowd, wanting to rush forward but was stopped by Yuri and Miki.
"Purify!" After a moment of concentration, Takeru released a wide-area purification inside.
Enveloped by the purification light, all zombies stopped moving, then slowly collapsed to the ground...
"Healing Magic!" Seeing many people, though virus-free, had injuries, Takeru performed group healing.
After healing, some people slowly woke up, looking confused.
"Kurumi!" Seeing clarity return to their eyes, Yuki couldn't hold back and rushed toward Kurumi. Seeing this, Yuri and Miki didn't stop her.
"Yuki, and everyone... wasn't I bitten?" Seeing Yuki hug her, Kurumi's memory remained from when she was bitten and transformed.
"It's Takeru! Takeru came back and saved everyone!" Hearing Kurumi, Yuki said excitedly.
"Takeru!" Hearing Yuki, Kurumi quickly found the most conspicuous Takeru. She hadn't dared confirm earlier.
Now hearing Yuki, she sighed in relief and smiled slightly.
With Takeru here, they wouldn't have to bear so much pressure, right?
After all, leading everyone and ensuring the base's operation and everyone's needs was quite stressful for them.
Besides Yuki and Miki, Seikai excitedly found his sister. Hugging her, the usually strong Seikai shed tears.
Most people in the area retained memory of being bitten. Some were infected instantly when the virus spread, unaware of what happened.
Takeru didn't plan to handle these situations himself, leaving it for others to manage later.
Though not wanting to interrupt everyone, Takeru's time was limited, so he couldn't stay too long.
Although Takeru didn't mind the 200 points, he didn't want to return to the main world too late. Having just gained new power, Takeru wanted to research it thoroughly.
So Takeru directly called Yuri and Miki, then left with Yuki and Kurumi.