The grand hall was bathed in the warm orange light of sunset. The enormous glass windows reflected the sun's rays as it slowly vanished over the horizon.
It looked like a quiet place at first glance, but inside...
"Hirano, shoot! Just shoot already!"
The voice belonged to a petite teenage girl with long pink hair tied into two pigtails on either side skipped lightly behind a toppled table. Her orange eyes were wide and her brow was furrowed.
Her name was Saya Takagi, and while she definitely looked like a bossy girl, right now one could tell she was seriously worried.
"More are coming down the hallway! What're you waiting for, for them to eat us alive?!"
"I'm doing the best I can, Takagi-san!"
The one who answered was an overweight boy with thick glasses that fogged up with sweat. His shirt was already stained with blood, though none of it was his.
At least not yet.
This was Hirano, and he was now kneeling. He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger on his improvised weapon that was actually a gas-powered nail gun.
—Bam!
A nail shot straight and buried itself in the forehead of a zombie that was stumbling forward with its arms outstretched. The creature staggered, fell backward and lay motionless.
"Take that!"
Hirano made an exclamation that showed he was satisfied, but his smile disappeared as soon as he looked down.
"Takagi-san, can you give me a hand here…?"
Saya, who had been watching the scene with her arms crossed, opened her eyes in disbelief.
"Me!? And what exactly do you expect me to do?!"
Hirano was busy firing another nail to kill a zombie, so without looking at her, he said.
"I'm running out of nails, Takagi-san. I can't do this all by myself. So you could at least throw a chair at them or something!"
"Out of nails!? Why didn't you tell me that sooner!?"
"Because I figured someone as smart as you could figure it out on her own!"
"Tsk...!"
She glared at him, even more indignant.
He fired another nail that snatched the life of yet another undead. He hadn't missed a single shot so far, which was impressive considering he was still just a high school student.
Saya pursed her lips and crossed her arms. She was about to fire off one of her usual complaints when Hirano spoke again.
"Ah, Takagi-san…"
"What?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"There's one right behind you."
"...Huh?"
Saya turned her head and came face-to-face with a zombie just a step away. Its lifeless eyes, rotting skin, and half-open mouth released a gruesome sound.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
Panic completely overtook Saya, and she let out a high-pitched scream.
She instinctively scrambled back, but at the worst possible moment, she tripped over her own feet and crashed to the ground, landing hard on her butt.
×××
Across the hall, a shadow crept silently.
—Zassh!
A red flash cut through the air, and a zombie's head rolled skyward. The bloodstained bokken flailed once more, leaving a line of blood on the floor.
Saeko stood on ler long legs amid the lifeless bodies. And even after so much fighting, her breathing was still calm and her gaze serene.
Well, one could see that for some reason she was rubbing her thighs a bit.
A bit further back, Yuu stood watching beside Shizuka, who was commenting on how pretty the sunsets would be if there weren't so many zombies around.
Then they heard the scream.
"Hmm? Sounds like someone needs help. Kami-sama, Saeko-chan, should we help?"
"It's not far. Saeko, what do you think?"
Saeko was already running before he finished speaking.
×××
"No, no, no…! Get away from me!"
Saya crawled backwards with a desperate expression. Her back hit the wall, and the zombie chasing her raised its arms toward her.
"Don't... don't come closer!"
Her arrogant and confident attitude from moments before completely crumbled in the face of danger. Honestly, anyone would break down into tears in a situation where three zombies with rotting jaws and hollow eyes were closing in on them.
There was also nothing she could use to defend herself, not to mention that she couldn't even stand up because her legs felt limp.
Thus, Saya for the first time felt a knot of terror in her glut and didn't know what to do.
"Takagi-san!"
Hirano shouted her name, but he was in trouble too.
He raised his nail gun quickly, aiming at the nearest zombie. His finger pulled the trigger, but no nails came out.
—Click!
Just the dry sound of an empty shot.
—Click! Click! Click!
"…No… it can't be…"
No more ammo.
He quickly looked back at Saya.
"N-no! I said stay away!"
The zombies were about to get her.
And just then…
—Bam!
A leg swung through the air and smashed into the zombie's face. Its head exploded like it was a ripe watermelon falling from the tenth floor.
"Yo."
A soothing voice echoed through the hall.
A white-haired boy with messy hair and his hands in his pockets stood next to the now headless zombie. His expression was as relaxed as his posture, and a calm smile graced his face.
"Looks like I got here just in time, huh?"
The boy made a gripping motion with his hand, and another zombie that was lunging toward Saya floated. Then he clenched his fist, and the zombie exploded.
Saya and Hirano froze.
"W-what…?"
While Hirano gazed at the scene with wide eyes, Saya felt disgust as she felt the zombie's blood splattering on her.
But when she raised her head, the boy she'd seen suddenly appear was no longer there.
In his place, another zombie that had been sneaking up behind Hirano suddenly exploded.
"Kaboom!"
Bits of its head scattered everywhere as the zombie froze midair before hitting the ground.
Saya stared at the scene in total shock.
"This is fun."
The one responsible grinned cheerfully.
The boy, despite his beauty, his smile in the middle of the bloody room were strange.
"You guys can relax now since you're safe."
A beautiful girl appeared right behind him and said those words as she crushed the heads of the other zombies coming down the hallway with her bokken.
Yuu let out a sigh.
"…Guess I just ruined my own dramatic entrance."
×××
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