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"Huh!?"
A biohazard outbreak in Bedmaster City, Tokyo falling within a month, and all of Japan collapsing in half a year?
Wait, what—what!?
That sounded more than a little unbelievable.
Honestly, though, the idea of a biohazard wasn't strange to Akio at all.
This world was stitched together from so many bizarre fragments—Bedmaster City, Raccoon City, Umbrella Corporation… If an outbreak happened here, it wouldn't be shocking in the least.
If anything, Akio thought it would've been weirder if no outbreak ever happened.
But Tokyo falling in just a month, and the entire country in half a year—that was harder to buy.
Because this world had too many things mixed into it.
Demons and spirits roamed everywhere.
And if even they hadn't managed to bring Japan down, how could a mere biohazard outbreak succeed?
What, did people forget that top-tier onmyoji still existed? Or that yokai weren't real?
Even setting aside exorcists, yokai alone wouldn't allow Japan to fall that easily. Some yokai literally fed on humans, while others were born from humanity's fear itself.
So in Akio's view, the idea of Japan collapsing to a zombie outbreak just didn't add up.
Not to mention—he himself was still here.
Could it be that what Miko Yotsuya saw wasn't the real future?
Akio frowned, unsettled.
"You're sure? You really saw the entire country fall?" Akio asked.
Miko nodded. "I saw it clearly."
"And me?" Akio pressed. "What was I doing in this disaster? Are you telling me I never stepped in?"
Sure, he wasn't Japanese, but there was no way he'd just sit back and watch Japan turn into a zombie paradise.
If that happened, how was he supposed to enjoy himself here anymore?
Miko froze, then recalled the future she had seen. Her expression grew uneasy.
"I didn't see you," she admitted. "There were lots of people I didn't recognize—fighting, sacrificing their lives against the mutated zombies—but you, Lord Akio, you… weren't there."
"At least not after Japan fell. I never saw you. And…"
"And what?" Akio pressed.
"In that future… I was just an ordinary girl. And Hana too—she wasn't your shrine maiden. We were both just… normal."
Akio's eyes narrowed in realization. "So what you saw was a future where I don't exist."
Miko nodded.
Hana Yurikawa blinked, confused. "A future without Lord Akio? But… Lord Akio is right here?"
Akio's gaze sharpened. "I think I understand. What you saw must have been the future of a parallel world."
Miko's eyes widened. "Parallel…?"
Hana lit up with sudden understanding. "Oh! So it's a parallel future! That's amazing, Miko—you can even peek into other worlds' futures? How did you do that!?"
"I… don't really know," Miko admitted awkwardly. "It just… happened."
"Like eating or drinking water, right?" Akio said.
Miko nodded. "Exactly."
She could feel it clearly: if she willed it, she could glimpse the futures of parallel worlds. That was the power of her fully awakened Spirit Eyes.
Hana shivered. "And the future of that world… was really that bad?"
Miko hesitated, then looked at Akio. "Lord Akio… I can't shake the feeling that what I saw wasn't a parallel world at all. That it was this world's future."
"You're sure?" Akio asked.
She shook her head. "Not really. It's just a vague, uneasy feeling."
"But that doesn't make sense," Hana protested. "If you saw this world's future, then why wasn't Lord Akio there? And why weren't we shrine maidens? Isn't that a contradiction?"
"That's exactly why I can't be sure," Miko admitted.
Akio studied her face. A spark lit in his mind—a new possibility.
Maybe what Miko saw wasn't a parallel world… but this world's original future.
The future that would have happened if he had never crossed over into this world.
That would explain why Miko and Hana were just normal people in that vision.
But there was still one thing he couldn't figure out. How could a simple biohazard outbreak possibly bring all of Japan to ruin?
This was a chaotic crossover world full of monsters and exorcists.
Was he underestimating the virus?
"Tell me, Miko," Akio said seriously. "When exactly does the outbreak in Bedmaster City begin? Was there any sign before it started?"
Miko thought carefully, recalling the scenes she'd witnessed. "From what I saw… the outbreak starts in a week. There were no signs at all—it just happened, suddenly."
"The moment it began, the entire city fell into chaos. People lost control of themselves, turned into zombies, and started attacking everyone."
"The government responded quickly, sending in troops to seal the city. No infected were allowed to escape."
"After that, countless onmyoji and exorcists entered the city to wipe out the zombies. For a while, it worked—the outbreak was suppressed."
"But soon after, some of those onmyoji and exorcists were infected too. They lost their minds, became zombies themselves. Their power was overwhelming. They broke through the barricades, and Tokyo saw its first waves of infection."
"Even though those special zombies were eventually eliminated, the mutated virus spread. Before long, even legendary yokai were infected and turned on humans."
"A month later, Tokyo collapsed completely. The virus slipped out of all control, spreading across the nation."
"By six months, Japan was gone. Nothing left but a zombie paradise."
Akio's eyelids twitched.
Interesting. Very interesting.
Not only ordinary people, but even exorcists and yokai were infected?
That reminded him of the Marvel Zombies universe.
In that world, even superheroes and gods themselves had been infected, becoming super-zombies—until the virus spread across the entire cosmos.
"..."
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