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After his latest round of enhancements, Hohenheim's strength had skyrocketed—his combat power had practically jumped several tiers overnight.
Now, even if he had to square off against first-rate Servants like Karna or Siegfried, he wouldn't flinch.Winning or losing was another matter, of course, but at least he had the confidence.
Still, Hohenheim didn't look entirely satisfied. He muttered to Akio, "Honestly, Boss, instead of raw strength, what I'd really like is for you to share a few more of your cells with me."
"Demihumans really are such a fascinating species."
Akio: …
He had no idea where to even begin roasting that statement.
Thankfully, Hohenheim dropped it there and, smiling faintly, shifted the topic."The Blacklight Virus has already been cracked. Boss, when are you planning to make a move against Umbrella?"
Akio answered calmly, "From what I've dug up, Umbrella doesn't just have one strain of Blacklight. They've got other viruses too. Unless we can neutralize every one of them and develop antibodies, we can't touch them."
Hohenheim smiled knowingly. "That part's easy. I've developed a Blacklight variant—it can devour other viruses and assimilate them into itself. And since we already have the cure for Blacklight, if Umbrella tries to drag the world down with them, we just unleash the variant. It'll swallow their entire arsenal, and then we wipe out the Blacklight afterward. Umbrella won't be able to stir up any real waves."
Akio let out a thoughtful "hm." If that was true, it might be a viable plan. Still, the future would tell.
Leaving the Umbrella situation behind for now, Akio headed to Shuchiin Academy. Not for classes this time—he was here to find someone. And of course, that someone could only be his shrine maiden, Miko Yotsuya.
It was lunch break.
After parting ways with Ritsu Tainaka, Akio found Miko and Hana Yurikawa, then led the two girls up to the school's balcony, locking the door behind them.
"Miko, I need your help."
"Please, Lord Akio. Just say the word."
Her gratitude toward him ran deep. Ever since awakening her Spirit Sight, Miko had been tormented by the constant presence of wandering ghosts. She could see them everywhere, yet had to pretend otherwise, forcing herself to stay tense every waking moment, terrified of slipping up and becoming their target.
But after becoming Akio's shrine maiden and gaining his power, all that changed. Any spirit she could see, Akio could destroy. Instantly, her life became lighter, easier—even her sleep had become peaceful again.
To her, Akio was someone to be revered to the extreme. Now that he asked for her aid, her heart pounded with excitement.
"I need you to look into the future," Akio said. "If I move against Umbrella, what happens?"
Miko blinked. Strike at… a company? She didn't get it, but still activated her Spirit Sight, pushing it further into Future Vision.
This time, because Akio was directly involved, her visions were crystal clear. And what she saw left her utterly stunned.
Akio noticed the way her expression kept shifting—shock, awe, excitement, fear—as though she were watching a series of world-shattering events unfold.
Minutes later, she finally lowered her gaze and ended the vision.
"Well?" Akio asked. "What kind of future did you see?"
Miko hesitated, then said softly, "It's… not good."
"Oh?" Akio arched an eyebrow. "Let's hear it." To him, Umbrella was just a corporation. Could they really make the sky fall?
"I saw you, my lord, destroying Umbrella's Tokyo branch," Miko explained. "At the same time, their other branches worldwide were attacked by unknown forces. Umbrella's industries suffered catastrophic losses. Not long after, the news reported that many of their executives had been assassinated, with heavy casualties among the higher-ups.
"But then… viruses suddenly erupted across the globe. Many were infected. Many died. Though the outbreaks were quickly suppressed, the viruses didn't vanish completely. The worst was in Raccoon City, America—hundreds of thousands were turned into zombies. Eventually, I saw a nuclear bomb fall on Raccoon City, wiping it from the map.
"Over time, the outbreaks dwindled, and everyone thought the nightmare was finally over. But then… a new virus emerged. A special one.
"They called it MaleKiller. MK for short.
"The MK Virus had no effect on women, but it was fatal to men. After its rampage, 99.9% of the world's male population was dead. Only five men survived. And all five were… demihumans."
Akio's eyes widened.
The MK Virus. Almost every man on Earth wiped out. Five survivors.
What the hell… wasn't that basically the setup for an end-of-the-world harem?
Good lord. Akio couldn't help muttering in disbelief. This world really did know how to pull off the most absurd twists, didn't it? Every time he thought he'd seen it all, it served up something new.
Even Hana Yurikawa was floored. "Wait, only five men left alive? Wouldn't that make them insanely lucky?"
Akio shot her a glance. "You really think they'd be lucky?"
Hana tilted her head. "Wouldn't they?"
"Picture this," Akio said dryly. "You alone, facing not one man, not ten, not a hundred—but tens of thousands. Still think that's 'lucky'?"
Hana imagined it for half a second, then shivered violently. Yeah, no—that was straight-up horror.
Seeing she got the point, Akio turned back to Miko.
"Miko, this MK Virus—was it Umbrella's doing?"
She nodded gravely. "Yes. When Umbrella was finally destroyed, someone declared they'd drag the whole world into the grave with them. And then, the MK Virus appeared. With the men gone, global order collapsed. The losses were devastating."
Akio had half-suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed still caught him off guard. Umbrella really was on another level if they'd developed something that specifically targeted men.
It was insane.
If not for demihumans, humanity might not have a single male left.
"And what about me?" Akio asked. "In that future… did I do nothing?"
Miko hesitated again, her voice dropping. "That's what confuses me most. After you destroyed Umbrella, you vanished. I never saw you again in any future beyond that."
"..."
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