Fujimi was a relatively famous high school, as among its students were many young people from peculiar families—from Saeko Busujima, whose father ran a dojo on the surface but was secretly a Yakuza leader, to Saya Takagi, whose father was a politician with great influence in the district, and finally Rei Miyamoto, whose father was the head of the police department.
But at this moment, social class, origin, influence, money, fame, or anything that once had superficial value in society no longer mattered. The world was plunging into a frenzy of death and despair, where the only currency was your own abilities and... luck.
Yes, luck, because the most capable didn't always survive. Sometimes, the lucky ones were in the right place at the right time. Such was the case of an overweight boy crawling slowly among zombies, hoping not to be devoured.
'This is bad, this is bad, this is really bad!'
Kohta Hirano was just another student. When he heard the school broadcast, he also wanted to run, but due to his poor physical condition, he fell behind. The only thing he could do was crouch down and crawl among the frantic wave of students.
Unexpectedly, that was what saved him—he avoided being crushed between zombies and a human stampede. Now Hirano was trying to reach the carpentry workshop. He knew that with his physical condition, there was no way he could escape by running, so he decided to rely on the one skill he secretly took pride in.
'I'm almost at the workshop…'
Hirano saw the carpentry workshop with hopeful eyes, but at that moment, a zombie stood in front of the door. For a moment, Hirano felt his life was over as the creature stared straight at him.
'Ah… I'm dead…'
Hirano braced himself to be torn apart—no, no one could truly brace themselves for that. He only hoped they would kill him quickly, without too much pain, but he knew that was impossible. He had seen several students being eaten alive, and many remained conscious for far too long while it happened.
'I don't want to die!'
As if the heavens had heard his plea, the zombie ignored him and walked away. Hirano was baffled. After thinking for a moment and observing several zombies wandering, he realized something.
'They… can't see?'
Hirano thought back—ever since everything began, he had stayed low to the ground and silent. He thought he had been lucky not to be noticed, but in reality, it wasn't luck. They couldn't see from the beginning.
'I see…'
Hirano smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile—it was a wild one, a smile that a boy bullied by thugs shouldn't have had.
He entered the workshop, finding it empty. Once he closed the door, he felt a momentary sense of relief. For an instant, he thought about waiting there for someone to rescue him, but realistically, he knew that in cases like this, help would never come.
Kohta Hirano was a bullied boy—often beaten or mocked, he had no friends.
'I wonder if he's still alive?' Hirano recalled that despite everything, there were a couple of people who treated him decently—or rather, who didn't mistreat him. But only one had ever truly offered him a hand, and that was the senpai the whole school considered strange and dangerous.
Allen Walker, the one who, without knowing it, had saved him yesterday. In the past, Hirano had felt envy toward Allen. The guy was tall, strong, handsome, and even intelligent. Despite his indifferent attitude toward everyone, he was popular with many pretty girls. However, Hirano had been wrong about him. That man, who had every reason to look down on others, was the one who didn't hesitate to lend him a hand.
'I'm sure senpai is fine. I can't be like him, but at least I won't give up so easily!'
Hirano looked around the room and spotted something that made him smile.
'That'll do…'
....
Allen stopped for a moment and looked at the sky. In the distance, a plane was crashing in a nosedive. Luckily, it wasn't heading toward Fujimi, but even so, it gave him valuable information—there were infected on board. Airports were the most dangerous zones for spreading the virus; that was why governments closed them first during pandemics. It was said that a single airport could infect a third of the world.
"Allen?"
Saeko noticed Allen had gotten distracted and watched him in silence. The others behind them also stopped.
"It's nothing…"
Allen shook his head and kept moving forward. He didn't want to worry them with the possibility that this was happening all over the world.
Saeko looked out the window and also saw the plane crashing down. She could only sigh and follow Allen. Saya, Rei, Kyoko, Shizuka, and Kazu looked through the window too, but none of them said anything. They were already in a life-or-death situation themselves. They didn't have the luxury of worrying about anyone else except themselves and their families.
"a... hh… h"
Ahead of Allen, several zombies staggered aimlessly, having already eaten or turned all the students in the area into zombies. Allen reached into his jacket and pulled out a combat knife.
He moved forward, and with a swift motion, he stabbed the knife into a zombie's neck at cervical height, making sure to neutralize it in one strike.
"Aaaah"
Another zombie tried to bite him, but Allen grabbed it by the neck, pulled the knife from the first one, and drove it into the second zombie's eye.
Compared to using his raw strength, killing zombies this way exhausted him less.
A third zombie lunged forward, but Saeko struck it in the head, shattering its skull.
"Where did you get that?!" Saya exclaimed. This was a bladed weapon, and an illegal one at that. A combat knife was used by special forces or soldiers, not something for civilian use.
Kyoko frowned. "Allen-kun, did you bring that to school?"
Regardless of the world ending, how could a student be carrying such a thing in school? For what purpose?
"…" Rei blinked in disbelief, but thinking about the past, it didn't seem strange to her that Allen had it. On the contrary, she knew that was probably the least dangerous thing Allen could be carrying.
"I'm not surprised you left the bokken I gave you behind~" Saeko chuckled lightly. She wasn't upset. She knew a wooden sword wasn't made to crush skulls and would eventually break. But when she saw the knife's blade, she realized how sharp and durable it was. "Actually, it's a good knife."
Allen played with the knife in his hand for a moment before offering the handle to Saeko.
"You can use it…"
Saeko was surprised that he would offer it to her.
"You getting stronger benefits me. And it won't take long for me to get something else."
Allen smiled mysteriously. He had no intention of mentioning the supply crates so easily—not because he didn't trust them, but because he couldn't explain them. Still, he planned to find a way to separate from the group whenever a crate appeared, so he could open it in secret.
Saeko looked at the knife, took it, felt its weight, touched the edge, and smiled beautifully before handing it back to Allen, stepping much closer than she should have.
"It doesn't seem quite right for me. I'd like something longer~" Saeko said in a provocative tone that almost seemed intentional.
Kyoko coughed, blushing. Saya widened her eyes, then grew annoyed. Rei called her a slut in her mind. Kazu pretended to stare at the wall, and Shizuka tilted her head in confusion.
If it had been anyone else, Saeko's flirting would have embarrassed them, because she truly was a beautiful girl. But Allen wasn't a vegetarian. He took the knife back while covering Saeko's hand with his own, leaned toward her, and whispered.
"You shouldn't get so close to a man unless you want him to misunderstand your intentions."
Saeko quickly stepped back, blushing and looking away. She acted well as a mature, seductive woman, but in Allen's eyes—as someone experienced with women—she couldn't hide her inexperienced and timid nature. That's right, despite being a bloodthirsty lunatic when holding a sword, Saeko was very shy when it came to matters between men and women.
Allen chuckled under his breath and then looked at the group. "As for this knife, I found it in a classroom."
He wasn't lying—he really did. As for the wooden sword (Bokken) Saeko had lent him, that was stored in his inventory.
"We should hurry…" Allen said as he kept moving forward, with everyone following behind him. Between him and Saeko, they cleared out all the zombies in their way.
It was fortunate that no other mutant zombie appeared, proving they weren't that common.
'Now what?'
Going down through the main entrance would be suicide, so they would take the stairwell farthest from the front doors, which should have fewer students. As for Rei's friends, Allen thought about searching while they tried to escape the school, but beyond that, it was too dangerous. Rei understood, so she didn't push him.
"We're going to need a vehicle. Does anyone have an idea?" Allen said as he kicked a zombie, sending it flying out the window and crashing onto another below.
"The school has a bus, the keys are in the teachers' office," Kyoko replied worriedly after thinking for a moment. "But I can't drive large vehicles."
This was Japan, so very few students knew how to drive. Getting a bus only to crash two streets later wasn't exactly the smartest plan.
"I can drive~" Shizuka said, slapping her large chest.
"You?" Kyoko looked at her in disbelief. She had known the nurse for years and always thought of her as clumsy. She never expected her to be that capable.
Allen blinked at the sexy blonde with her carefree, older-sister aura.
"How many buses have you actually driven?"
"None," Shizuka answered with a smile, but as soon as the words left her lips, she covered her mouth.
"Just as I thought."
Embarrassed, Shizuka decided to be honest. "I just wanted to be useful. I can drive, but I've never tried with something that big."
"Shizuka."
Hearing Allen call her name, she looked up, afraid she had made him angry for lying. But instead, Allen wore a faint, confident smile.
"We're counting on you, sensei."
Hearing those words, Shizuka's eyes widened, the usual drowsiness vanishing. It was a strange feeling. Everyone always saw her as dumb, clumsy, unreliable—even her friend Rika before going on a trip every time, gave her a lot of warnings of what to do and what not to do, as if Shizuka was not an independent adult woman, of course she was careless but she was not going to die just because of a couple of carelessness.
But now, seeing Allen's eyes full of trust, she couldn't help but feel a strange warmth filling her chest.
"Leave it to me!" Shizuka said with a bright smile.
"As expected of you~" Saeko teased.
Rei, Kyoko, and Saya looked at Allen as if he were some delinquent, while Kazu looked at him with admiration.
Allen coughed. He hadn't intended to seduce the nurse, but in everyone else's eyes, that's exactly what it looked like.
"We need to keep moving," Allen said, noticing that behind them, the zombies were getting closer. Their hearing must've been too sharp—no matter how quiet they were, the undead could still detect them.
....
"Help!"
Allen heard someone screaming inside a classroom. Normally, helping others was a stupid move, but Allen could afford to give a hand to one or two people. Without hesitation, he opened the door and kicked a zombie coming at him. The creature flew back and smashed into the wall. Unfortunately, he was already too late.
"AHHH!"
A boy screamed as two zombies devoured him in the corner. It was his end, but even so, Allen quickly finished off both zombies and then looked down at the boy bleeding out on the floor.
Shizuka took a step forward, but Saeko stopped her, shaking her head. This was the harsh reality—even if there had been a chance to save the boy, he'd already been bitten on the neck.
"You understand…" Allen said, kneeling at his side. "What do you want me to do?"
"K…"
The boy reached out a trembling hand toward Allen. But in his tear-filled eyes, there wasn't a desperate will to survive—only determination.
Allen understood what he wanted and took out his knife.
Kyoko, Saya, and Rei turned their faces away, but Saeko's voice cut through.
"Look closely. This is the world we live in now."
Allen granted the boy a swift death, then stood and walked out of the classroom, passing between the girls. Saeko followed him first, and soon the others did too. Deep down, they all knew it was for the best. When the time came, who would want to become a zombie? Who would want that fate?
"You're strong…" Saeko said as she walked up beside Allen.
She knew he could've avoided it—could've told everyone to leave the room before doing it. But he hadn't. He'd made sure they saw, even if it risked them fearing him.
"They need to know…" Allen replied calmly with a faint smile. "Besides, you're strong too."
Saeko's strength was incredible. In his own world, her skill and agility would be on par with a superhero. But more than that, she had embraced this new world with open arms—something far from easy to do.
Saeko smiled widely, as if the two of them had grown closer.
Saya, overwhelmed by what had just happened, felt a wave of fear—not of Allen, but of the possibility that her hesitation had pushed him away. She was about to approach him and explain that she had only been shocked, but someone beat her to it.
Rei puffed her cheeks at the sight of the mutual admiration between Allen and Saeko. She stepped forward, snatching the broomstick Kyoko was holding. She smashed the tip against the wall, breaking it, and then walked between Saeko and Allen to strike down a zombie approaching.
The tip pierced the zombie's eye, killing it and showing great skill. After the body collapsed, Rei turned to Allen and smiled.
"Shouldn't we hurry~?"
"That was amazing," Allen said, admiring Rei's technique, which showed years of practice.
"Hehe~"
"Oh, I expected nothing less from a member of the Sojutsu Club…" Saeko added with an admiring smile, though Rei felt she was being underestimated.
"Maybe it's not as impressive as a Kendo champion, but I have some skill," Rei said, standing tall and refusing to be intimidated by Saeko.
Allen had no memories of this world, so he wasn't sure if these two already had a rivalry, or if they were actually fighting over him.
It confused him. From what he knew, Rei had been a little scared of him before, thinking he was dangerous, so their relationship had been strictly superficial. As for Saeko, she admired his strength, but beyond that, she shouldn't have any romantic feelings.
Saya came up from behind and grabbed Allen's arm. "Hey, shouldn't you stop them?" she said, glaring at both girls.
Allen noticed Saya wasn't afraid of him and chuckled inwardly. Even though he wanted to tease her, he decided to stop the fight.
"Girls—!"
He cut himself off when he heard the sound of a nail gun echoing down the hallway. It had to be another survivor. Without hesitation, Allen advanced—maybe this time he'd arrive in time.
---
Hirano grinned wildly as he fired his nail gun into zombies' heads, dropping them one after another with deadly precision.
'Hahaha, me too… I can be strong too!'
Hirano felt euphoric. After so long being looked down on, he was finally the one standing while others were corpses. Among the zombies, he even spotted a couple of girls who used to mock him—and he didn't hesitate to shoot them. This was his redemption, his moment to shine. Or so he thought, until his magazine clicked empty.
He needed to reload. But before he could, a zombie lunged at him.
'Shit, no, no!' Hirano panicked. He should've counted his shots, should've paid more attention. He had gotten drunk on the feeling of not being weak for once, and now he was going to pay for it.
The zombie slammed him against the wall, its jaws snapping just inches from his face. Hirano had no chance in close combat.
He knew it... It's over.
But just as all hope vanished, the zombie's head was kicked aside by a heel, smashing it into the wall.
"What did I tell you about wandering into dangerous places?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Hirano's eyes widened in shock and joy.
"Senpai!"
====
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