The worst part of an apocalypse is that nowhere—no matter where you are—is ever safe
(Tokyo Sky)
A man in a suit looked at his watch impatiently. His flight had been delayed two hours, but he could finally leave Tokyo. His boss had sent him to negotiate an important contract, robbing him of the chance to be at his daughter's birthday, but now he could finally return.
The man reached his seat, placed his suitcase in the overhead compartment, and was about to sit when he glanced back. Behind him, a child played noisily with a Nintendo Switch, prompting a weary sigh. He braced for a trip full of kicks and tantrums.
As he settled into his seat, he decided to try sleeping but first pulled out his wallet to gaze at a cherished photo of his wife and daughter.
He whispered to himself, 'Papa will be back soon...'
Over the intercom, a voice announced, "Attention passengers, we apologize for the delay, but we will take off shortly," easing his tension slightly.
The man calmed down as the plane lifted into the sky. Next to him, his neighbor began coughing. The man felt disgusted but didn't show it. He put on his sleep mask, noise-canceling headphones with white noise, and relaxed while the sound of waves lulled him.
The man regretted missing his daughter's birthday. Even though he was fulfilling his duty at work, he felt he had disappointed his family deeply. Maybe he should dedicate less time to work.
With those thoughts, he fell asleep—or so he thought. He began to hear commotion. Opening his eyes and removing the mask, he saw his neighbor eating something messily, his mouth, neck, and clothes stained. Disgusted, the man tried to call the flight attendant, only to see someone collapse nearby, immediately attacked by another passenger. Even with the headphones, he could barely hear the screams. He tried to get up to help, but realized his arm was being held down. Unable to break free, he turned to look. The image before him was surreal. His blood froze. His mind shut down for a moment.
Blood dripped. He could hear his skin and flesh being torn apart. He could even see the bone in his arm.
The man who had been coughing beside him was devouring his arm!
"Ah… aAh… AAAHHHH!"
The man screamed in sheer terror as pain hit him full force. He tried to break free, but his attacker's unnatural strength held him. Punching the man's head did nothing—he was being eaten alive.
Tears streamed down his face as he desperately begged for help, but no one would come.
The rest of the plane was the same. People fought, people devoured each other. A man struggled to free himself from his wife, only for her to rip his throat out.
That boy from earlier had attacked his father and was now feasting on his intestines. There was no mercy, no distinction. No elders, no children. To these creatures, everyone was food. Every human was their obsession.
People tried to fight back, but it was useless. Even a short woman could bring down a burly man and rip his throat out. That was the level of these zombies.
The man remained in shock, forgetting for a moment that his arm was being eaten. The most absurd part wasn't the hellish sight in front of him, but the fact that with his noise-canceling headphones still on, the only sound he could hear was the soothing waves.
Nothing was spared. No one was spared...
Blood stained the cabin windows, and soon after, the plane began to lose altitude.
....
(Fujimi High School)
The flamethrower's power was greater than Allen had expected. Not only that, but the fire's spread was quite effective.
He had already noticed this with the S.T.A.R.S. combat knife. Even though Allen had used it to break bones more than once, it hadn't worn down as much as expected. It was clear that the weapons from the supply crates were superior to anything one could normally obtain.
Unfortunately, ammunition wasn't infinite. Allen put the flamethrower into the suitcase and handed it to Kyoko.
"Kyoko, take the flamethrower. It's out of fuel, so it's lighter now."
"Huh?! Understood!"
Kyoko clutched the suitcase, feeling both confused and embarrassed. She wasn't particularly useful at the moment, so it made sense for her to at least help with this. But it could also be seen another way—considering how important a weapon like this was, since it could even stop a horde, the fact that he asked her to carry the flamethrower made it clear that he trusted her.
At thirty, Kyoko was beautiful and voluptuous but labeled a spinster by her neighborhood's married women. Searching for her Prince Charming, she hadn't expected her heart to stir for this young man.
She couldn't help but get carried away with that second possibility.
'No, what am I thinking?!' Kyoko screamed in her mind, blushing furiously.
Allen was young, but he was also reliable, strong, kind in his own way, and very handsome. Her eyes went to Allen's back as he gave precise orders to ensure everyone's survival, Kyoko couldn't stop her inappropriate thoughts, nor the 'heat' rising inside her.
"If it's too heavy, I'll carry it, Kyoko-sensei," Kazu offered, seeing that Kyoko seemed to be in trouble. The tanks might be empty, but they still had weight, and Kazu knew he wasn't much help in combat.
"That won't be necessary... Isshii-kun," Kyoko replied coldly.
"Oh... I see... I'm sorry," Kazu stepped back, unsure what he had done to anger the sexy teacher.
"Saeko, Rei," Allen tossed each of them an energy bar. Neither hesitated to eat it. Since it came from Allen, in this situation, it had to be more than just food.
Saeko's eyes widened. The pain in her hands from smashing skulls vanished, the exhaustion disappeared, and even the fatigue lifted. It was as if she had woken from a refreshing sleep.
"Incredible."
Rei gasped in surprise. She didn't have as much stamina as Saeko, so her condition was worse, and she couldn't afford to be tired. Yet, in that moment, all her fatigue disappeared.
Allen shook the blood from his metal pipe, splattering it onto the ground. "Same formation! Don't split up unless you want to die!"
"Yes!"
The group advanced with Allen, Saeko, and Rei leading the way. This time, Allen was even more terrifying.
Allen gripped his metal pipe and smashed a zombie's head so hard it exploded. Then he broke another one's neck. Without stopping, he grabbed a zombie's head and threw it into several others, knocking them down.
Rei used her staff to knock down a zombie, not bothering to finish it off—her goal was just to push them away so the group could escape the pursuing horde.
Rei glanced back. Saya, Shizuka, Kyoko, and the two girls they had rescued earlier were struggling the most physically and couldn't run fast. Even so, Rei didn't see them as a burden, and she knew Allen wouldn't abandon them either. He had already proven that with Saya.
'Tsk... Huh? Why am I getting angry?'
Rei felt a twinge of jealousy but couldn't identify it. In the middle of an apocalypse, there was no time for such thoughts.
Her eyes focused on Allen's back as he cleared the path, unstoppable against the zombies.
'You really are strong, but beyond that... you've become so much more charming'
A smile curved across her face.
Rei still remembered how she had met Allen. Back then, she was constantly harassed by a teacher, all because that man's father was a corrupt official under investigation by Rei's father, the police chief. Since her father refused bribes, they targeted his daughter.
Those bastards, father and son, had made her fail a year. In Japan, education is extremely important, and Rei felt her future had been ruined. One of those days, she went up to the rooftop and stood at the edge. That was when she heard the voice that changed her life.
"Girl, if you're going to jump, I suggest you do it somewhere else. I don't want to be accused of murder."
At that time, Allen had been cold and distant, yet he still helped her deal with "that man." Rei never knew what Allen did, but soon after making some sort of arrangement, that teacher stopped bothering her.
Rei chuckled.
"Don't get distracted," Allen said, throwing his knife at a zombie approaching her.
"Sorry!"
Rei snapped back to reality, startled. She couldn't afford to get distracted—not now. She crouched, picked up Allen's knife, and kept running.
She shook her head. Allen's strength wasn't just a good thing—it unconsciously made people relax and lower their guard. But this was the end of the world. She couldn't let that happen.
Allen kept clearing the path through the horde.
Each swing of the pipe shattered a zombie's head or sent it flying. Unlike with a knife, with the pipe Allen didn't choose discretion—he brutally massacred every zombie that stood in his way. Some flew through the air like rag dolls, and others were crushed under Allen's sheer strength.
At this pace, they reached the parking lot, where even more zombies waited. They weren't just students anymore; these were drawn by the roars of the mutated zombie.
There were so many—it was hard to believe that so many could have gathered.
'No, this is damn Tokyo. It has 37 million people. Even if Suginami isn't one of the most populated districts, seeing thousands of zombies isn't strange at all.'
In the end, the most dangerous thing about zombies wasn't their strength but their numbers. Too many people had turned. Being surrounded by a dozen meant death for a normal person. But thousands? Tens of thousands?
"Ahh! Takuzo!"
A girl's scream rang out from the rear of the group, halting their advance.
"Run, Naomi!"
This time it was a boy shouting.
Allen turned, only to see one of the girls he had saved earlier crying out because one of the boys had been surrounded by zombies. It seems he has been left behind.
"Tsk, I clearly told you not to split up!"
Allen was about to go back, but ahead of them the concentration of zombies was overwhelming. If he didn't keep opening the path, they would all be surrounded and annihilated. Saeko and Rei were protecting the flanks—he couldn't send them back.
In this world, a single mistake could cost you your life, and unlike with Saya earlier, they had no way to help the boy named Takuzo.
"Keep moving..." Allen ordered the group, who had frozen in shock. "Don't look back!"
Leave him?
"What are you doing, we'll be killed!" Saeko shouted, striking another zombie with her wooden sword. Blood splattered onto her clothes.
The order might have sounded cruel to the others, but seeing Allen face the largest number of zombies, none of them could say a word. There was simply no way to save anyone in this situation.
"Move!" Rei shouted. She understood how hard it must have been to make that decision, so she chose to share the burden of Allen's guilt like Saeko.
Saya also understood and began moving forward, but beside her, a girl broke into a run in the opposite direction.
"What are you doing?!" Saya panted, shocked.
The girl stopped for just a moment, shaking her head with tear-filled eyes before rushing toward Takuzo, who was already being devoured.
Saya couldn't comprehend it. Naomi had chosen to die. But why? In this world where everyone clung desperately to life—even willing to sacrifice others to survive—why?
"I understand her," Shizuka said with a sad look. "Knowing this is the end of the world, I'd want to die with the person I love too."
Saya was about to argue, but she remembered that not long ago she had been in a similar situation. Despite the fear and despair, the warmth of sharing an embrace at the very end had brought her comfort.
Saya pressed forward with a determined look. "Didn't you hear Allen? Don't split up! We don't have the strength to save anyone who does!"
Allen glanced at Saya, who gave him a big smile. She wanted to tell him not to blame himself for what had happened. Everyone was responsible for protecting their own life.
"I know, thanks, Saya," Allen smiled back at her.
He knew it was true, but he couldn't help feeling frustrated that someone under his command had died. Maybe it would happen again in the future—that was the burden of a leader.
"Hmph, don't worry, you have a genius like me supporting you."
....
Allen chuckled at Saya's adorable attitude, then looked ahead and narrowed his eyes.
"You're in the way"
He swung his metal pipe, smashing through the zombies in front of him, sending them flying. With more force, with more power, he carved a path through the horde, leaving everyone speechless. Allen seemed to surpass human limits.
It all had to do with the mysterious past he carried.
Saya couldn't help but think Allen might be the result of some experiment that had escaped from a secret lab. That would explain his strange powers. Of course, none of that mattered. To Saya, Allen was her savior, and no matter what he was or where he came from, she would choose to believe in him.
After two hundred meters of zombies, they finally reached the bus.
"Now!"
Allen gave the order, and everyone threw phones that rang at full volume, luring zombies away and giving them time to board.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Allen summoned Hayabusa next to the bus in a blind spot, so he wouldn't have to come up with an excuse if he wanted to use it later.
"Everyone, get on the bus. I'll ride my motorcycle."
The group quickly boarded one by one, leaving only Saeko, Rei, and Saya approaching Allen.
Shizuka sat in the driver's seat, a little unsure at first but quickly figuring it out.
Hirano waited for the non-combatants to board before climbing in himself.
"I'm going with you," Saeko said with a determined look.
"Wait, I should go with him," Rei interrupted, locking eyes with Saeko.
Saya also stepped forward and spoke proudly. "No, I should go with him. I've memorized the Suginami map—I can be a great GPS."
"This isn't the time to argue," Allen cut them off as everyone else boarded. "Rei comes with me. If necessary, we'll get off to clear the way."
Rei smiled triumphantly. "Got it~"
Saya and Saeko were dissatisfied but boarded the bus. Allen didn't have time to worry about the girls' jealousy—he had simply chosen the best option.
Saeko, being the strongest after Allen, needed to stay on the bus in case they got separated. As for Saya, since she wasn't a fighter, it was safer for her to remain inside.
Rei climbed onto Hayabusa behind Allen and hugged him without hesitation. Saya glared from the bus window, cursing Rei under her breath.
The bus roared to life, attracting zombies that had been distracted earlier. But it didn't matter anymore—they were about to leave Fujimi.
"Wait!"
A distant cry caught everyone's attention. It came from the direction where Allen's group had broken through the horde of zombies.
Rei's eyes widened in shock. "Takashi and Hisashi—they're alive?!"
"Teshima seems hard to kill," Allen laughed.
Apparently, this group included Rei's friends and that P.E. teacher with a good taste in motorcycles. But Rei froze when she saw who was with them. Her gaze turned cold, filled with disgust.
"Shido!"
Rei's fury startled Allen, who turned his eyes to a man with glasses, a suit, and neatly styled hair—he looked more like a corporate worker than a high school teacher.
Allen hadn't known Rei for long, but judging by her reaction, that man had to be a bastard.
...
...
The Chat, which had been observing everything, couldn't help but draw a cold breath. It wasn't that this world had invincible monsters or overwhelming enemies—it was the cruelty, the raw despair, and the hopelessness of how people constantly died that was devastating.
Asia – Oh my Lord, have you abandoned that world?
Gwen – I still think this isn't something supernatural. It feels more like an apocalypse caused by a virus.
MJ – We can't know for sure yet, but bastard indeed modified the original world.
Erza – What do you mean? Do you actually know how that world is supposed to be?
Rogue – I can answer that. Leaving the mutant zombies aside, the normal ones are different. There shouldn't be so many. They shouldn't be that fast.
Amanda – Hm? They seem pretty slow to me... I don't get what you mean.
MJ – The zombies in HOTD should be some of the most harmless out there. Not only are they blind, they're slow—so slow you could just walk and they wouldn't catch you. Their danger lies in their strength, which is pretty high, but as long as they don't grab you, you're fine.
Rogue – Don't forget that at least the ones seen at the original Fujimi High School weren't that numerous. There were many, but not hordes. They were so scattered you could just walk between them.
Mayuri – I see! That's it! A greater number of zombies and increased speed... so we can assume the Devil touched that world~ Magnificent! I can't wait to see more of those abominations called zombies~
Unohana – Captain Kurotsuchi... I hope you don't forget that my husband is risking his life in that place...
Mayuri – Tsk... you're right... In fact, I'm surprised. Allen Walker actually seems endangered for the first time since the bet with Lucifer began...
Many fell silent. In Fairy Tail, although Allen had struggled against Deliora, as time went on he grew stronger to the point where enemies rarely posed a threat—even with Lucifer's power. But now it was different... Allen's margin for growth seemed to depend more on the weapons he obtained than on his own strength. If that was the case, who knew what kind of monsters Lucifer had prepared?
When they saw the mutant zombie, many felt chills—not because of its raw strength, but because of how terrifying it was.
Natasha – Allen, please be careful.
====
A/N: I think it's the bloodiest arc I've written and we're just getting started.
If you want to read more, there are up to ten chapters ahead on Patreon.
Patreon.com/_Aizen