Saya was at her limit; she didn't have much time.
Allen thought about the supplies in the system. These had to be something useful, or they wouldn't be something that came in a system box, the contents of which could only be opened after killing a dozen zombies.
He didn't hesitate to open a ration pack, which contained four energy bars, although without any brand name or logo.
"Just emergency food?"
After tasting a piece, Allen felt part of his accumulated fatigue vanish. At that moment, he understood that these bars could restore energy.
In many survival games, you often can't sleep or rest when needed—either because you're in a dangerous place or want to take advantage of the night. For those moments, this type of food helps.
"Eat this first, it'll buy us more time."
Allen handed the energy bar to Saya. She stared at it for a moment—she wasn't hungry. She just felt her body slowly shutting down, pain spreading as if something inside was eating away at her. Still, she forced herself not to complain. Reaching this point, she would at least indulge the boy before her. But to her surprise, she suddenly felt better—her mobility returned, and color came back to her cheeks.
"What?! What's happening?!"
Allen didn't answer and simply handed her the other energy bars.
"If you feel tired, eat one."
He gave no further explanation and instead focused on the Green Herb. Allen tore off a leaf and bit into it, his eyes lighting up.
Even without magic, his experience as an alchemist had not disappeared. Just one moment was enough to know what to do.
He pulled out the whole green herb, placed it inside the silver wrapper, sealed it, and used the hilt of his knife to grind it down. Strangely, the herb dehydrated as he crushed it, turning into a fine green powder. Allen searched the desks in the classroom until he found a water bottle. He poured ninety percent of the powder into the bottle, shook it, and handed it to Saya.
"Drink it quickly. I don't know if a single green herb will be enough."
Allen had received this herb from the basic supply crate. If Saya's infection was too strong, maybe it wouldn't cure her completely.
The girl had been watching the entire process, which had taken less than a minute. A thousand questions flooded her mind—why Allen could pull things out of nowhere, why an energy bar could delay the spread of the virus. But when she saw the seriousness in his eyes, along with a faint trace of concern, all those questions disappeared.
"Alright."
Saya smiled and drank the bottle…
Allen placed the remaining ten percent of Green Herb in a gauze pad he took from his inventory with a little clean water and placed it over Saya's scratch before bandaging it. Now all they had to do was wait.
"Hey, don't touch a young lady's stomach so lightly, y-you pervert!"
Allen smiled.
....
In the faculty office, everyone wore anxious expressions. They were just waiting for Allen to come back.
"This isn't right…" Kyoko said with a heavy look.
"And what exactly were we supposed to do?" Rei was upset. Allen, despite being so incredible, was still just a student like them—how could it be okay for him to kill a classmate?
"That's not what I meant," Kyoko shook her head. "I mean, I shouldn't have let Allen-kun do it. I'm the only adult here!"
Shizuka blinked, pointing at herself, "What about me?"
Rei realized she had misunderstood Kyoko and felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, sensei."
"Don't worry about it."
"It should've been me…" Saeko muttered.
Saeko had a mental strength greater than most—not only because of her true nature, but also because she came from a Yakuza clan and had seen the cruelty of the world. She could kill without carrying the weight of it. But she hadn't done it because she had seen Allen's determination, and she believed a true woman wouldn't shame or deny a man's resolve.
Five minutes passed in complete silence, though some tried watching the news quietly. Learning that this was happening all over Tokyo made things worse. They had believed that if it were just a contained incident, escape would be easier. But this brought a new fear—that their families might already be dead.
"Papa…"
Rei was still worried about her father. She knew what kind of man Tadashi Miyamoto was—he would never abandon his post as long as people needed him. Noble, perhaps, but it greatly increased the chances of him dying.
Just when the atmosphere hit its lowest point, the door opened and Allen walked in.
"What's with the long faces?" Allen raised an eyebrow and noticed the television—a report from a bridge where the security forces had set up a barricade to stop people from crossing.
"Allen!"
"Senpai!"
"Allen-san!"
"Allen…"
Rei immediately threw herself into his arms, not to cry but to console him. She wasn't dumb—she had noticed some kind of bond between Allen and Saya. Maybe not love, maybe just respect and admiration, but it seemed the girl had feelings for him, and Allen had a certain fondness for Saya.
Saeko lowered her head, convinced that Allen was forcing himself to put on a brave face despite what he had just done.
"Hey, relax," Allen smiled. "Don't bury Saya so soon."
"That's right! And Rei Miyamoto, get away from Allen, you slut!"
Saya walked through the door, fresh as a daisy. If someone had said that minutes ago she had been on the verge of death, they would've been called crazy.
"Huh? Wait… SAYA!"
"Impossible!" Kyoko exclaimed.
"Sorry to disappoint you—I'm alive," Saya teased.
"That's not what I meant…" Rei felt awkward, unsure how to respond.
"Why are you alive?" Saeko asked directly. They had to know—because in this world, that information was worth more than diamonds or gold.
Saya glanced at Allen, and he just shrugged.
"The truth is, I'm not sure. As many of you already know, I have amnesia. As a result, there are a lot of things about myself that I don't know. One of them seems to be that I had a cure with me."
"What?!"
Allen had decided not to lie, since in the future he would need to use cures and miraculous items. Unless he planned to go solo, he had to reveal a little bit of his secrets. Of course, he wouldn't reveal their origin.
Saya exchanged a look with Allen. For now, she would be the only one who knew about his inventory. She would help cover for him and come up with excuses when he needed to take out stored items.
As for the supply crates, Allen already had an idea.
(Five minutes later)
"Wait, so it's true senpai lost his memory?" Hirano gasped in disbelief, thinking that kind of thing only happened in movies.
Kazu rolled his eyes at him. "We're in the middle of a zombie outbreak and that's what surprises you?"
Shizuka approached Allen and checked his head.
"There doesn't seem to be any trauma or visible injury that could've caused it," she said, letting Allen go after the inspection.
"Allen-kun," Kyoko stepped closer and hugged him, burying his face in her huge breast, "It must've been terrifying to wake up and not know who you were…"
Allen let Kyoko console him—it would reinforce the credibility of his story. Plus, he didn't mind taking advantage of Kyoko's softness while he explained what he thought had happened.
"So you might not be an ordinary type, given your abnormal strength and mysterious past," Saeko muttered, arms crossed.
"Hmm, so then… There are stashes out there that you know exist, but not specifically where. In one of them was the cure," Shizuka gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing.
It was certainly a surreal story. Was Allen some kind of secret agent? A superhuman hidden away by the government? Could this apocalypse have been caused by some powerful organization? If so… what awaited them in the future?
Noticing the mood, Saya clapped her hands. "Alright, enough talking. We don't have time to dwell on details. We don't even know if we'll survive until tomorrow."
Saya's words had a strong effect on everyone, since she had been on the brink of death just moments ago. But one thing was certain—no matter who Allen really was, he had helped them. At this moment, only Saeko should still be alive if not for Allen's intervention.
"Alright, we'll trust you," Rei said, stepping closer to Allen. "Just promise me that even if you recover your memories, you won't just leave without saying a word."
Compared to the Allen from before, everyone felt closer to this version of him. They didn't want him to suddenly disappear one day.
Allen smiled, patting Rei's head. "That won't happen."
With that topic settled, Allen walked toward the television. The situation at the bridge was pure madness, and the news anchors tried to pass it off as some kind of violent protest. Of course, that didn't last long, as both the reporter and the cameraman were attacked, cutting the broadcast.
"People will cling to any excuse, no matter how surreal, just to avoid facing reality…" Allen muttered before turning to the others. "Just to be clear, here's the deal: I'll go with you to check if your families are alive. In exchange, you'll lend me your strength."
Allen knew Lucifer wouldn't just let him escape into the mountains. In addition, everyone present had displayed floating labels with their names above their heads when Allen met them, which meant they were important—or at least relevant—to this world. Staying close to them was the only way he could truly understand this place.
After resting a little, everyone was prepared to leave the school. Allen gave Rei a pat on the shoulder, silently asking about her friends.
"I already called them, but no one answered. I hope they're alright… but it's too dangerous to stay at this school. I can only wish them luck."
Rei wasn't unreasonable. Saya had nearly died, and she wasn't selfish enough to risk everyone else's lives just to wait for her friends when each person here had their own loved ones waiting.
Noticing Rei's resolve, Allen nodded. "Then we'll head to the parking lot. For now, keep quiet. We'll use the phones as distractions and avoid fighting unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Got it!" (all)
Allen needed to kill zombies to open more supply crates, but it was better to find shelter first, so as not to risk the lives of non-combatants.
....
Takashi swung his bat, knocking a zombie away before sprinting across the school rooftop.
"This is insane!" Takeshi shouted, his hands aching from smashing a zombie. It was a damn zombie, just like in the movies!
Hisashi ran beside him, clutching a broken chair leg that he swung against a zombie, sending it rolling to the ground. He knew using karate would be suicide. Even striking someone with his bare hands could risk getting cut by teeth or bones. Not to mention, he couldn't kill a zombie with nothing but his fists—so he settled for using a weapon.
"Takeshi, stop yelling! You're going to attract more of those things"
"Don't stop!" Teshima roared, splitting a zombie's skull with his axe. "It's too late anyway—every zombie on this rooftop is already coming for us. Unless you wanna get eaten alive, keep running!"
Teshima might have seemed like an idiot, but he wasn't a bad guy. Allen could vouch for that. Despite having a seemingly poor relationship with him, this teacher had always let Allen slide in whenever he was late.
So when he saw surviving students, he didn't hesitate to help. Because of that, Hisashi's fate had already changed. Of course, he also carried the guilt of having escaped and left the other teachers to die.
The trio tried to take refuge on the rooftop, hoping for a helicopter rescue, but two had already flown by in the past hour without even glancing at them. It was clear—they were on their own in hell.
After some hesitation, the three decided to descend. They would try to escape on their own.
'I hope Rei and my mom are alright…' Takashi clenched his teeth and smashed another zombie.
….
Allen kept moving until they reached the stairs. The plan was simple: to avoid attracting hundreds of zombies, stealth was the best tactic. Saeko walked barefoot down the hall, slipped into a classroom, and tossed a phone inside. A newscast began playing, luring the hallway zombies into the room.
Once they were all inside, Allen shut the door.
They repeated the tactic in the next classroom and managed to reach the staircase.
But just as they were about to relax, they heard someone shouting from the floor below.
"Help!"
Allen returned Saeko's shoes to her and jumped down the stairs, smashing a zombie into the wall with a punch.
"So much for stealth," Allen said with a laugh. Life didn't always go according to plan. It had been a good strategy, but one couldn't forget—there were other survivors in this school, and they probably hadn't figured out the zombies' weaknesses yet.
On the first floor, Allen saw a group of students—two boys and two girls—surrounded by zombies. One boy wielded a coat rack like Kazu, the other a chair. Allen didn't bother asking questions. He simply tightened his fist and struck a zombie so hard its skull collapsed.
Saeko whistled in admiration as she used his shoulder as a step, leaping over and crushing a zombie's skull with her landing.
Allen shook his head. This girl has a bloodlust comparable to Esdeath. Hard to believe she was raised in an ordinary modern world.
A zombie tried to bite Allen, but a wooden pole pierced its throat. Rei stood behind him like a shadow. Allen grabbed the zombie's head and hurled it through a window.
Rei rested her chin on Allen's shoulder. "Hey, don't get distracted."
"Sorry."
Allen chuckled before pressing forward. The scene was surreal—his blows shattered bones, launching zombies into walls. Some even had their necks broken from a single kick.
In under a minute, nearly twenty zombies had been taken down by Rei, Saeko, and Allen. Even Kazu managed to kill one. Hirano didn't fire a shot, saving his ammunition—he wanted to, but the memory of almost dying after running out of ammo killed the thought.
One of the rescued boys, short-haired and wearing glasses, rushed up to Allen. "Thank you so much, I'm—"
"Not now. We need to move…"
Allen could already hear the sound of many footsteps approaching. There was no time for introductions.
"We're heading to the excursion bus. You coming with us?" Saya asked sharply. She was perfectly in sync with Allen—there was no time to waste.
"Please, take us with you!" begged a girl with braids.
"You two, go to the rear with Kazu and Hirano," Allen ordered the two boys before turning to the girls. "You two, stay with Shizuka. Don't stray from her side. Rei, take the right. Saeko, the left. I'll go up front clearing the path—"
*Ping Ping*
"...!" Allen suddenly paused, confusing everyone. Then, his eyes shifted to the gym, and he sprinted in that direction. "Change of plans. Before the parking lot, we're going to the gym."
The newcomers had no idea what was happening, but the others understood—Allen had "remembered" something.
With a quick slash of his knife, Allen decapitated two zombies before pulling up his minimap. Sure enough, there was a supply crate inside the gym. But there was also a strong presence of bloodlust emanating from it.
Allen had more or less figured out how the supply crates worked—they appeared nearby from time to time. But they never came easily, since mutants always lingered around them.
"Allen, we can't afford to waste time," Shizuka warned, pointing at the second floor. A horde was advancing down the hallway. It seemed they had run out of other students to distract them, and now they were coming straight for them.
"Just give me one minute. If I can't grab the supplies, we'll move on…"
Allen didn't let anyone accompany him. He needed Saeko to stay behind to defend the group.
"Be careful," Saya said, voicing everyone's concern.
"I'll be fine."
Allen stepped into the gym…
The stench of blood was overwhelming. The floor and walls were smeared with it, like some kind of satanic ritual. Allen walked deeper until he reached the volleyball court, where dismembered bodies lay scattered everywhere.
The sight was so grotesque that even he couldn't help but feel nauseous.
*Crunch*
But all that discomfort vanished the moment he heard the sound of bones being chewed.
Allen cracked his neck and drew his knife. "Come on!"
"GaaAAaHHhHHh!" With a guttural roar straight out of the depths of hell, something rushed at Allen with the intent to tear him apart.
"What a hideous thing…" Allen muttered, not showing fear but wearing a deadly serious expression. This wasn't a walk in the park—Allen was staking his life here.
====
If you want to read more, there are up to ten chapters ahead on Patreon.
Patreon.com/_Aizen