While Tatsuki accompanied the crowd of beauties shopping and having fun, it wasn't entirely without benefits.
For instance, Leone and Chelsea insisted on riding the Ferris wheel with him. After coming down, both walked rather unsteadily.
Mine merely sniffed at them and then glared at Tatsuki with a flushed face.
Sheele and Najenda exchanged glances of mutual understanding, each keeping their own counsel.
Kurome eyed her sister, who seemed lost in thought.
Tatsuki feigned ignorance and pretended not to see a thing.
To the haunted house, he took Nezuko—haunted house and demon girl in perfect harmony. He went to the restroom with Eriri; the two had long since grown used to such routines. At mealtimes, Megumi and Kanae fed him, side by side, courtesy of existence suppression. While watching a film, he sat with Kie and Tamayo on either side, and Cocolia perched on his lap.
Everyone had a fulfilling, satisfying day.
Afterwards, Megumi returned home—she wanted to stay but also didn't want her parents worrying.
Chito and Yuuri took the last vacant room at Yukino's place, thanks to Yukino's own suggestion. She liked the two girls and was happy to take care of them. The two half-dozing travelers hardly knew where they ended up.
Back home, Kanae was in the shower when Tatsuki suddenly saw a message about a Apocalypse Journey in the chat group:
[Apocalypse Journey]: Six-Person Group
[Duration]: 5 Days
[Participants]: Tatsuki, Reinhard, Seitenshi, Kisara, Exusiai, and Shinobu
[Journey Objective]: Do your utmost to eradicate Gastrea.
A normal apocalypse journey, presumably fighting Gastrea. Then:
[Apocalypse Journey – End of the World]
[Duration]: No Limit
[Participants]: Unlimited
[Objectives]:
-Eradicate the Gastrea Virus.
-Eradicate the darkness of the world.
He was surprised by this end-of-world journey. In addition to destroying the Gastrea Virus, they were asked to eradicate the world's darkness? This was the first time the chat had produced such an odd condition.
Tatsuki's eyes gleamed. It seemed the chat group had specifically decided that world was too rotten, so it assigned him to tidy things up.
Exusiai: "Oh-ho, Seitenshi, Kisara, you see it now, right?"
Kisara: "Yes."
Seitenshi: "What does this mean?"
March 7: "It means all of you, along with Tatsuki, are heading to your world for the journey."
Exusiai: "Remember what Tatsuki said earlier about the world's darkness? Not sure if you're mentally prepared."
Kisara: "Doesn't matter to me. I'm sure the Tendo clan is part of that darkness—so long as they die, I'm good."
Seitenshi: "…"
She fell silent, swirling with complicated thoughts. She recalled countless dark events in her world, leaving her unable to protest that the world wasn't so vile.
Tatsuki: "Don't blame me. The chat group sees that it's dark, so it must be truly dark."
Reinhard: "Tatsuki, if possible, please give me time to see that world with my own eyes."
Tatsuki: "Sure. Five days is plenty. Look around that world as much as you'd like, though it won't affect my ultimate decision."
Reinhard: "Understood."
Tatsuki: "Nothing more to say—let's begin."
Exusiai: "Roger that."
Reinhard: "All set."
Shinobu: "I'm ready too."
Once Tatsuki and the others arrived, they found themselves in what appeared to be an ordinary room. Kisara gasped, reflexively reaching for her sword. Her first instinct was to draw it.
Tatsuki said, "Calm down, we're from the chat group."
"…"
She stared at them for a while before sheathing her blade. She could scarcely believe it.
Shinobu first glanced at the red-haired young man in white—he must be Reinhard—and then took in the black-haired school-uniform girl in front of them.
She asked, "So are you the Seitenshi, or Kisara?"
Kisara put away her sword, "I'm Kisara."
"I am Reinhard van Astrea," Reinhard said, revealing a straightforward, courteous manner.
"I'm Shinobu." She looked like a gentle elder sister.
"And I'm Exusiai!"
Kisara was startled by Exusiai's aura. Exusiai gave a quick explanation, letting her take it all in.
"Just call me Tatsuki," Tatsuki added afterward.
At that, Kisara's attention locked onto him.
"You have questions?" Tatsuki could see what she was thinking.
"Are you really… a god?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm not. The group has Aqua, an actual water goddess. As for me, I'm no god—but if I wanted, I could destroy this planet."
"…" Kisara frowned, "Then can you kill the Tendo clan? Tendo Kikunojo and the rest, can they die?"
"No telling. Through my screening, they might not die."
He gave no clear answers.
"You all wanted to see this world for yourselves—feel free to look around."
Kisara wanted to say more, presumably about asking him to kill her enemies. But he allowed no opening to ask.
…
Stepping outside, they found dim sunlight.
"Where's the Seitenshi?" Exusiai asked.
"Probably didn't spawn near enough to warp here. Let's ignore that for now. You guys want to look around the city? You might see something," Tatsuki suggested.
He turned to Reinhard. "Does your Divine Protection still work here?"
Reinhard focused inward, then nodded. "Yes, most of it seems intact."
Tch. Tatsuki clicked his tongue. Even across worlds, Reinhard's blessings still functioned, something Aqua's faith-based powers couldn't do. The powers of belief-based gods truly had huge constraints…
…
The city was fairly run-down, ringed by tall barrier-walls forged with the metal varanium. Like how demons in Shinobu's world dreaded sunlight or wisteria, Gastrea had its own weakness. Varanium was a metallic element that stopped Gastrea from regenerating. Outside the city were giant barriers—monoliths— slabs of varanium forging a massive fortress-like shell to keep out the Gastrea, also known as the barrier.
As they walked, they found the city locked in a grim atmosphere—mostly fear of Gastrea. Reinhard was starting to suspect they'd got it wrong… until they spotted two men in law-enforcement uniforms dragging a ragged girl into an alley.
"…"
Kisara and Tatsuki certainly knew what was happening, but Exusiai, Shinobu, and Reinhard frowned, confused.
"Let's go see," the righteous Reinhard declared, charging after them, only to be greeted by sickening thuds of flesh being punched, mingled with vicious curses.
"Heh heh, look what we got—another stinking rat."
"Tch, we've snagged a bunch of rats this month. Lured with a piece of bread, easy to kill her."
"She's a monster. Daring to glare at me with those red, cursed eyes? I'll gouge them out, bitch!"
"Stop!" Reinhard shouted.
The two officers halted, clubs dripping with blood. They had severely beaten some poor girl. Laughing maliciously, they noticed the new arrivals, a blue-haired young man and an orange-twin-tailed girl with a rabbit-shaped hairband.
That boy was Rentaro Satomi. The girl was Enju Aihara. She glared with blood-red eyes, fists clenched, ready to charge. Because lying at the officers' feet was a tattered, bleeding girl, battered to the brink of death. The blood on their shoes and batons showed how brutally they'd beaten her.
Seeing this, Exusiai and Shinobu felt revolted. They wanted to rush up and save the girl. Even Reinhard planned to intervene, but abruptly found himself unable to move. The starry-eyed Tatsuki said, calmly, "Watch carefully. This is their world."
No one noticed Tatsuki's group at all, as if they were invisible. The blue-haired boy was Rentaro, and the girl at his side was the Cursed Child, Enju Aihara.
"Hmm?" One officer scowled with a fierce face. Spotting the red-eyed child, he sneered. "A cursed brat, eh? Then you're also a monster?"
"Shut up! I'm an Initiator—a human being!" Enju shouted.
"Ha, Initiator? You're just a filthy cursed child," the second man retorted, bristling with contempt. "Same as that mutant here," he added, giving another kick to the collapsed girl.
All girls with red eyes were Cursed Children, unborn babies who'd absorbed the Gastrea virus in the womb. They possessed partial Gastrea powers. People loathed them, calling them cursed.
A cursed child had virus-based abilities. Because the fetus never developed male sex traits, all of them were female. Their eyes turned crimson when using their powers. If they let that power run free or got certain injections, their infection rate would climb beyond 50%, turning them fully into Gastrea. Daily suppressor doses were mandatory. Shunned by society, they mostly lived in the Outer District.
A normal adult infected with the Gastrea virus would quickly transform after blood contact. No airborne or ingestion-based infection. Oddly enough, swallowing or sexual contact wouldn't pass the virus. However, if a pregnant mother happened to ingest it, the developing fetus could accumulate the virus—thus producing a cursed baby.
Cursed children looked human outwardly but were all girls, born with red eyes. They shared certain Gastrea traits: they wouldn't die unless their heart or brain was destroyed, their bodies' viral elements sensed crisis and neutralized harmful substances. Each cursed child might also gain a power from different animal genes—for instance, Enju had rabbit-factor, bestowing massive jumping and kicking strength.
Because they could wield that monstrous power, they were used as a main fighting force against Gastrea. They joined pairs known as Civil Officers, typically an Initiator (the cursed child) plus a Promoter (the adult partner). The Initiator needed daily injection of anti-invasion medicine to avoid surpassing 50% infection. The Promoter was typically an ordinary soldier, though some were enhanced humans like Rentaro. They gave support, orders, mental backup—basically controllers. But many in the Civil Officers were criminals or violent types who just loved to fight.
Hearing the cursed child groan, Enju seethed with fury. "Bastard…!"
"Woah, the cursed brat wants to attack a law officer? That's illegal, you better remember your place."
"This girl's a thief, or are you going to break the law to protect her? Should I suspect you too?"
They were arrogant, unafraid, pulling out guns as they sneered. "We're human law, you're a cursed child. Don't butt in, or we'll investigate you as well."
One man grabbed the beaten girl's collar and pressed his gun to her forehead.
"No!" Enju's eyes flashed in anguish, recalling her own memories of being hounded, bullied. The dying child on the ground looked exactly like she herself once did. She wanted to save her—like saving her own self.