Saya and Allen had one last conversation before departing. To do so, Allen went to Saya's room — unexpectedly feminine, with soft pink tones on the walls and a couple of stuffed animals on the bed.
After a few typical exchanges, with Allen teasing her as usual, they both stepped out onto Saya's balcony, looking out over the city.
"You're not sure if you should come with us?" said Allen, noticing her silence.
"I don't know," Saya looked at Allen with sincere eyes. "I'm worried that this will be the last time I see my parents alive..."
"I see" Allen gazed toward the horizon. Saya's doubts were understandable. In this cruel world, any tragedy could happen — as proven by what occurred with the deserter soldiers.
Saya pressed her lips together, and in an act of courage, she took Allen's hand. "B-but at the same time, I want to be with you. I want to join you on this journey."
"Saya, you know this could be a one-way trip, right?" Allen replied with a mysterious smile.
"Pff, who are you trying to fool? What could kill you?" Saya laughed softly before leaning closer. "Besides... you'll protect me, won't you?~"
Allen gave her a meaningful look. This girl was proud, stubborn, and a little narcissistic — but also kind, sweet, and although she hid it, she had pure and sincere feelings. If she loves, she does so from the heart; if she hates, she does so with conviction.
Since arriving in this world, Allen had met men and women with admirable qualities. Saying they were still strangers at this point would be a lie, even if only a few days had passed.
Allen squeezed Saya's hand before wrapping an arm around her waist. The girl blushed and looked away, but soon gathered the courage to meet his eyes.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Saya asked with a pleading look.
There was a balance in her heart — equal weight between staying and leaving — so her choice depended entirely on Allen's words.
"Coming with me is dangerous... far more than staying. But..."
At the start of his sentence, Saya's expression dimmed, anticipating rejection. Yet that "But" filled her with sudden hope.
"But I want you to come with me."
"...!"
Saya's eyes widened in shock. Her mind had run through countless scenarios, and in almost all of them, Allen told her to stay behind. Everyone would have expected that—it was the typical protagonist response.
"I don't want to leave you here," declared Allen with a bold smile.
A kind, selfless man would have left Saya safe with her parents in this cruel world. But Allen was also a selfish man — how could he abandon such a lovely girl in a place where he couldn't protect her from the corrupt and the undead?
No, to be completely honest, Allen simply didn't want to give his Tsundere to anyone.
Saya's heart raced so fast she almost fainted. Allen's declaration was as embarrassing as a marriage proposal — maybe even more so.
"Hmph! D-don't think you're that lucky! I'm not that easy!"
"Be honest, Saya."
Unable to handle the embarrassment, Saya switched into full Tsundere mode to protect her pride. But Allen, who knew her well by now, ignored her words and kissed her directly.
"Y-you Hmm~"
This time, there was no symbolic struggle — Saya accepted the kiss from the very first moment, even wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him with her legs.
"Saya?!"
Yuriko, who had been secretly watching through the crack of the door, was first happy that her daughter was following her heart — but then utterly embarrassed by how bold she was.
She knew her daughter well—how shy she got in romantic situations —yet now she was practically clinging to a young man like a koala, kissing him in a way that would make even a grown woman blush.
Yuriko swallowed nervously. Should she stop them? Should she close the door? This was her daughter's intimate moment — the moment she became a woman. It didn't feel right to interrupt...
Bang!
Yuriko jumped at the sound of gunfire.
"What's happening?!"
Had the soldiers returned?!
That didn't make sense — they had left not long ago. Even if they hated the Takagi estate to death, they wouldn't do something as reckless as returning right after losing so many men.
"Just as I thought," said Allen, stepping out of Saya's room.
"Kya!"
Startled by his sudden appearance, Yuriko stumbled backward. Fortunately, Allen caught her by the waist before she hit the ground.
Yuriko froze — she was being held by her daughter's handsome boyfriend. She could even smell his masculine scent, which only deepened her blush.
"Ahem" Saya's voice brought her mother back to reality. She quickly pulled away from Allen, trying to recover her composure.
"Allen-kun, what do you mean?" Yuriko avoided her daughter's suspicious gaze and swiftly changed the subject — a skill typical of a woman who once worked on Wall Street.
Allen chuckled softly before his expression turned serious. "Yuriko-san, there was practically a war outside — dozens of people shooting. To the zombies in miles around, that's like ringing a dinner bell."
"...!"
"...!"
Understanding his words, Saya and Yuriko both shivered. That was exactly why Allen and Soichiro always warned their groups not to fire unless necessary.
...
From all directions, the creatures advanced without pause. It was as if they wanted to remind everyone that no matter how much humans fought each other, they were the true threat.
The largest concentration of zombies was at one of the gates, where hundreds of them were slowly staggering toward the mansion.
Bad luck — all of Soichiro's men had been involved in the earlier conflict, leaving the perimeter unguarded. With so many wounded, there was no one left to sound the alarm until it was far too late.
"Damn it!"
Soichiro and his remaining men rushed toward the entrance where the horde was approaching.
The exterior front door was a sliding steel gate with bars — sturdy enough to resist tons of pressure.
Soichiro ordered several men to move to the gate with knives and kill as many zombies as they could through the bars. Not a bad plan, but he underestimated the sheer force hundreds of undead could exert.
If it were Allen, he would have ordered the gate to be partially opened to let the zombies in in a controlled flow and eliminate them systematically. But Soichiro was not Allen.
"Boss, there are too many of them!"
"The door won't hold!"
"Kuh..." Soichiro Takagi wiped a bead of sweat from his temple as he watched the heavy steel gate begin to deform under the relentless pressure.
"Quick! Order an evacuation!" shouted Soichiro. This was no joke — the Takagi mansion was no longer safe!
"There's no need," said Allen, walking past a stunned Soichiro.
Allen carried his hammer on his shoulder, a jacket draped over him fluttering in the evening breeze.
"Do you guys wanna be part of the zombie menu?"
With a half-smile, Allen mocked Soichiro's men, who were still near the gate.
"Allen... Walker..." said Soichiro with a grave look. "What do you plan to do?"
Allen turned slightly toward Soichiro. "Isn't it obvious? I intend to go out this door, so I'm going to clear the way."
"...!" Soichiro's eyes widened. He had heard from several survivors about Allen, but perhaps he had underestimated the capabilities of this young man.
"Oh..." Allen no longer looked at Soichiro and turned his gaze toward the horde pressing against the gate, their guttural growls creating a deafening noise.
"Damn..."
"Oh lord..."
Everyone was tense. They knew that once the gate fell, the entire place would be lost.
Takashi gripped his bat. Morita wiped the sweat from his forehead. Teshima tightened his hold on his axe. Kazu slapped his own cheeks to gather courage. Yamada took a deep breath while holding a metal bar. Hisashi looked at Rei with worry, but upon seeing her standing firm and fearless, he forced himself to contain his fear.
Tsunoda was terrified but didn't back down. Hirano held his nail gun, knowing he should only shoot as a last resort. Toshimi, Misuzu, Kawamoto, and Yui held light weapons to defend the rear alongside Kyoko, who carried a crossbow, and Alice, who despite being told to stay in the Humvee, insisted on being present.
Anemone and Asami were shocked that Allen's group could remain so composed in a crisis like this. But what surprised them even more were Saeko, Rei, Saya, Shizuka, and Yuuki. None of these women showed the slightest hint of fear as they faced the zombies.
'No,' Anemone thought as she lit a cigarette while holding her M4, noticing how those women were staring fixedly at Allen.
'I see...'
Anemone couldn't help but chuckle at how popular Allen was. No, it made sense — in a world like this, it was natural to follow someone strong.
'The truly surprising thing is that even the princess fell for him. I guess that speaks volumes about Allen...'
Just as Anemone had said, several of the girls didn't even look at the zombies — their eyes remained on the back of that mysterious young man who seemed to possess a strange charm that made it impossible to look away.
"..."
Even Saeko, who would normally be eager to take a step forward and start cutting down everything that moved, this time remained still — her gaze fixed on Allen, the young man who had completely captivated her.
'His bones creaked, aligning into the most optimal position.'
'His muscles tensed, awakening from their resting state...'
'His blood pressure rose, causing his veins to bulge...'
'His movements were calm as a lake, but beneath them hid the pressure of a volcano about to erupt...Hm~' Saeko felt a strange sense of pleasure as she looked at Allen's body, a body that had reached the pinnacle of human development, and even beyond.
"Everyone listen up! Don't leave a single one of them alive — this is a total annihilation mission!"
Allen's words struck everyone like a hammer. Was this not a desperate situation, but a cleansing operation?!
"Well, well, well, come on." Allen grabbed his hammer, which radiated an oppressive aura, and leaned forward.
*CRASH*
The gate gave way and fell heavily, and at that same instant, a tide of zombies poured in. Saeko's heart jumped — not because of the zombies, but because at that moment, Allen shot forward with such force that he seemed to create a shockwave behind him. That overwhelming display of power hit Saeko's heart directly.
In just three steps, Allen was already at the front of the horde.
"Good afternoon — and goodbye!"
The hammer struck several zombies with all of Allen's strength, turning them into a mess of limbs and intestines in the air. At the same time, he managed to halt the advancing horde for a brief moment.
He didn't stop there. Allen took two more steps and swung his hammer over his head as if it didn't weigh a third of a ton, then brought it down with such force that he pulverized the zombies in front of him, even causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Allen turned toward his group. "What are you all staring at? You waiting for me to do everything?"
"Let's go!" shouted Teshima before charging at the zombies. The muscular man used his axe to split a zombie's skull — an impressive sight, but still far behind Allen's display.
The rest followed quickly and began fighting the zombies on Allen's flanks.
Saeko snapped out of her trance, licked her lips, and dashed like a ghost toward the zombies. Soon, several heads went flying.
Allen nodded and kept going, crushing zombies down the center just as he said before — his goal was to cut through the horde.
The reporter who had stayed with her cameraman to broadcast didn't know what to say; she just stood there, mouth agape, as Allen tore through the horde, leaving behind a trail of blood and scattered body parts.
....
Ten minutes later, hundreds of zombies lay dead everywhere — but more remained.
Allen grabbed one zombie by the face while Rei drove her spear through its head. Saeko leaned back against Allen's back, her body splattered with blood after killing fifty zombies on her own.
"I'm exhausted..."
She didn't need to say it twice. Allen pulled an energy bar from his "pocket" and handed it to her. Saeko smirked playfully and opened her mouth, clearly wanting Allen to feed her.
Allen didn't want to argue, so he simply did it. Saeko took a big bite of the energy bar and soon felt her strength returning — she immediately went back to killing zombies.
"Hey, me too!" Rei demanded cutely as she skewered a Hunter's head with her spear.
Allen knew Rei was jealous, so he didn't argue and fed her a bite from the same bar. Rei smiled, satisfied, and bit down on it.
Allen shook his head while smashing another zombie's head clean off with his hammer.
....
– Can you believe this?! That guy's flirting with women in the middle of a zombie horde!
– I'm so jealous! Did you see how many beauties he's got with him?!
– What do I have to do to be like him?
– First, be as strong as a superhero. Second, be so damn handsome that you make women faint.
– No way, that's impossible!
– Then forget about having a harem of babes. ._.
....
As expected, the local spectators were losing their minds. Yet instead of feeling envy for Allen's power, many were shocked by how shameless he was — it was... enlightening.
As minutes passed, the number of zombies began to dwindle. It helped that they were only simple blind zombies — which made sense, since only those with an enhanced sense of hearing could be drawn to gunfire from so far away... or so they thought.
RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Just when everyone thought the crisis was ending, a terrifying roar echoed in the distance.
Allen threw the zombie he was holding by the neck against a tree, shattering it completely, then turned his gaze toward the sound.
"What is it this time?"
===
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