Ash fell from the sky.
It was gray, fine, and floated like snow.
It was the ash of shattered cars. Of planes and helicopters blown up in flames. Of buildings that had collapsed, one after another.
When the apocalypse came, civilization crumbled.
And over the blackened rooftops of a particular high school, smoke rose.
Inside…
—Grrrrhhh…
Pale-skinned zombies staggered around blindly. Their mouths were smeared with human flesh and dried blood.
They wore Fujimi high school uniforms, and most of them were students, with a few teachers mixed in. An hour ago, they were in class, but now, they moved with hunger.
In a corner where the walls were covered in graffiti written with blood, two students were cornered, their eyes wide as they watched the creatures approach. There was no escape.
The creatures advanced. And just when one of the students had the idea to shove his friend into the zombies to save himself...
—Crack.
A pair of white flashes cut through the smoke and ash.
Two zombie skulls shattered against the wall. Their bodies dropped like rag dolls.
There was a brief silence, then the sound of steady footsteps, and a person appeared.
Saeko Busujima walked through the fallen bodies. Her eyes were blue and cold. With those same eyes, she looked at the two trembling boys with her long and shiny purple hair swaying behind her.
"…Get up and follow me."
She still wore her school uniform, but the way she carried herself with her straight posture, made her look more like a samurai than an ordinary student.
In her hand was a bloodstained bokken she'd been using to kill zombies.
One, two, five zombies appeared.
And with a flick of her wrist and a twist of her hips, another body hit the ground without her even needing to look.
Still shaking, the students glanced at each other.
Then they looked at Saeko's back as she moved forward.
"Hmph. Idiots."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that instead of following her, the boys bolted down the opposite hallway.
"Instead of holding on to a chance, they'd rather run in fear…"
She closed her eyes for a moment.
No surprise there.
Hope was fragile when one gave up strength.
She gripped her bokken tighter and kept moving.
×××
The hallways were stained with blood.
And then, a scream echoed nearby.
Saeko frowned as she noticed that the shout came from the teacher's lounge.
Without hesitation, she spun her weapon in her fingers and sprinted toward the sound. Even though the oak bokken had crushed zombie skulls more than ten times already, it still showed no signs of wear.
Kicking open the door, she was met with a scene fairly typical for an apocalypse, and yet she found it utterly ridiculous.
A zombie was lunging with arm outstretched and mouth open towards a woman with long blonde hair.
It was the kind of scene that should've been tragic and desperate.
And yet, the reason Saeko found the scene before her eyes ridiculous was because the teacher didn't scream, didn't move, and didn't even look worried.
Instead, she just cocked her head to one side, as if wondering where she'd left her keys.
"..."
When the zombie's finger was only inches away from the woman, Saeko launched forward with a short stride and crossed the distance in a blink.
—Crack!
The bokken smashed into the zombie's skull with a dry crunch, and the body dropped.
The blonde woman plopped down onto the floor with a soft —pomf.
"Shizuka-sensei?"
Saeko was a little incredulous that this teacher had survived so far.
The woman looked up with eyes slightly clouded with confusion. But the moment she recognized her student…
"Saeko-chan~!"
She beamed, sprang up, and hugged her.
"W-wait… Shizuka-sensei!"
Saeko, of course, protested as she was pulled right into the teacher's two huge boobs.
Her arms weren't all that strong, but the woman clung to her like her life depended on it. Saeko began to flail her legs with a look of desperation on her face.
"Mmph… can't… breathe…!"
In response, she pinched the teacher's waist.
"Hyaa!" Shizuka yelped, pulling back immediately with a blush. "Saeko-chan's so cruel! I'm in shock!"
Saeko straightened her uniform with a deadpan expression.
"Stay behind me, sensei. More are coming."
"Huh…? Who?"
Right on cue, three zombies shuffled through the door.
—Crack. Crack. Crack.
There was the sound of three thumps, and three bodies fell to the ground.
"Wow… you're so reliable." Shizuka's eyes sparkled as she clapped softly.
"Don't say that in the middle of all this chaos. If you want to survive, follow me."
"Ah! Wait. I need my bag." Shizuka announced suddenly as she ran over to her desk.
"..."
When she finally found it, the teacher sighed in relief as she patted her bag, and since it was open, a small object fell from inside.
It glowed faintly.
Saeko noticed it immediately.
"What's that?"
Shizuka picked it up with a surprised look.
"Oh, that… it showed up in my room last week. I dunno how it got there, but when I touched it, I just knew it was for summoning a god or something. I threw it in the trash once, but it came back to me."
"…Huh?"
Saeko looked at her silently with expressionless eyes.
"Seriously." Shizuka raised her finger like a teacher correcting a student.
"Sure."
"But it glows! Look, look, Saeko-chan~."
Saeko ignored her, turning away with a sigh.
Would a god really hand out tickets? The glow was clearly made to fool kids, but she hadn't expected even a teacher to fall for it...
Well, it was Shizuka.
"It's true! I'm telling you, it works!!"
Seeing her student didn't believe her, Shizuka waved the ticket back and forth.
Saeko didn't even look at her. The more urgent sounds were coming from the hallway.
Low growls, dragging feet across the floor, and between all that, the stench of blood.
"We don't have time for this."
She grabbed the teacher's arm without ceremony and dragged her out of the room.
"Wait, wait! I haven't read the incantation yet! Saeko-chan~?!"
Ignoring her, they moved quickly. As they rushed down the hall, Saeko paused in front of a window and looked outside.
From the second floor, she had a good view of the surroundings.
And what she saw...
"…"
Were hordes of stumbling zombies moving aimlessly, crawling through the streets, piling up at the school's entrance, breaking glass, and trapping people.
Some humans were trying to run, but they were quickly taken down. And even though they screamed for help, no one came, because nobody had time to care about anyone else.
"This… isn't just a school crisis anymore."
The city was probably completely infested by these monsters.
"Ah…! More of those ugly people!"
Shizuka screamed, warning about three zombies heading straight for them from a side classroom.
Saeko reacted and propelled herself towards the first one and her bokken crashed down hard on its skull. Without pause, she spun with a circular slash, striking the second, and then leaped to knock down the third.
'They're everywhere.'
Every time she took down a group, another appeared.
Unlike her, the zombies didn't tire, didn't feel pain, and never backed off.
Saeko, on the other hand, did.
She was human, after all.
Fatigue build up, and it showed clearly on her face and neck as sweat. Even her breathing was getting heavier with every minute.
The worst part was that with just one bite or scratch, she would become one of them.
She couldn't let that happen
She kept cutting her way through the halls, with Shizuka trotting behind and letting out little squeaks every time a zombie got too close.
Finally, they entered an empty classroom, and Saeko cleared it of zombies fast.
She dragged desks and chairs to the door, building a small barricade.
Then she dropped to her knees. She wasn't the kind of person to show weakness, so she knelt only to control her breathing. Her purple hair stuck to her sweat-drenched face.
"Haa… Haa…"
"Saeko-chan, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just… need a moment."
She stepped toward the window.
The hallway outside was completely overrun. Wall to wall, nothing but zombies.
'How many of them are there…?'
There was no way they could escape without getting eaten.
And even knowing that, being a Busujima, she wouldn't back down, nor did her face show any panic. Her expression was calm.
"Shizuka-sensei. What do you think? Any plans?"
Turning away from the window, she flicked her wooden sword, and blood splattered the desks and chairs.
"Mm? Well yeah. Let's call the god!"
"…I regret asking."
"Enough already, Saeko-chan!" Shizuka puffed her cheeks like a sulking child. "You can't keep ignoring me like this!"
And just like that she rummaged through her bag.
She pulled out the black ticket.
Saeko raised an eyebrow, still skeptical, as Shizuka offered it to her.
"Take it. Maybe if you use it, you'll believe it."
Saeko held it between her fingers with suspicion. The paper looked simple, but there was a faint glow. In the center, a snake biting its own tail. On the back, a phrase written in letters that shimmered softly with a silvery light.
And then...
—These words summon the Being beyond time—
Hearing those words suddenly in her head, Saeko's blue eyes suddenly widened as she raised her bokken to fight.
Seeing no one in the room besides the two of them, she glanced at Shizuka, who was watching her with raised eyebrows, as if expecting a "sorry for doubting you".
—Bam! Bam!
The classroom door shook with loud bangs.
The zombies were pushing non-stop, and the desks and chairs serving as a barricade rattled.
Shizuka clung to the wall, hugging her bag. Saeko knew they couldn't hold out forever.
It was only a matter of time before the door gave way.
She looked back at the ticket.
'…Could it really be?'
Saeko sighed.
'Not much to lose now.'
"Alright. Let's see what this 'god' can do."
She cleared her throat, flipped the ticket, and read aloud the words written on it.
"The Serpent that Devours Time."
As soon as the words left her mouth, a cold wind blew through the closed classroom.
"Huh? What was…?"
Shizuka looked around and saw mist forming out of nowhere.
It was thick, like a blanket. It crawled across the floor tiles, wrapped around the women's legs, climbed the walls, and began dripping from the ceiling.
"The Eternal Aeon of Endless Cycles."
The mist gathered in front of them.
It swirled, spinning faster and faster, like a hurricane forming right there in the classroom.
And then, the vortex opened.
Beyond the portal, they saw walls of white marble, massive columns, and a carpet stretched out toward a throne.
It was clearly the inside of a castle.
And there on the solitary and imposing throne....
A young man with white hair rested.
His eyes were closed.
Until the final line was spoken.
"The Lord who Watches from the Castle of Fate."
Clack.
The man's eyes opened.
Golden and deep like stars.
And they were staring straight at them.
×××
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