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In the castle's great hall, Saya's words rolled out like ironclad orders, airtight and impossible to refute.
Ten minutes later, the others left one by one, all of them subdued and convinced.
Only Saya and Saeko remained in the hall.
"Saeko-senpai… are you really sure about this?" Saya asked quietly, doubt flickering in her eyes now that they were alone.
It sounded good in theory, but in practice… it was a colossal undertaking.
"Yes," Saeko answered without hesitation, nodding firmly.
"This isn't a small task. From the latest reports, the same outbreaks are happening all over the world."
"From current research, the virus only spreads through blood or saliva. With summer coming, there's the question of decay—whether those things outside will rot away. But even if they do, it'll take months."
"Months is all it would take for humanity to be wiped out."
"If your goal is to save the world, Senpai… with just the people we have, it's impossible." Saya's tone sharpened again, her analytical mind laying out the grim facts.
"Even so, I have to try," Saeko replied, voice steady with conviction. "Before I leave this world, I want to give something back. That's my way of repaying the life I was given."
Saya pushed her glasses up again, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
"Saeko-senpai… I don't have your strength. I can't fight by your side the way you do. But I'll use my mind to support you in every way I can."
She knew her own role clearly. She wasn't a warrior. Her only true weapon was her intelligence. So she'd take the strategist's seat, clearing away every obstacle for Saeko.
Saeko's expression softened. A small smile touched her lips.
"I was right to choose you. Thank you."
A year ago, Venom had warned Saeko of the coming outbreak. Together, they had formed the reckless but resolute plan to save the world.
The first step was gathering people. They pulled local gangs under their control, shaping them into subordinates.
But running a gang? That had been a nightmare for Saeko.
And then Saya appeared in her life. At first just a wide-eyed admirer who clung to her like a shadow.
Then one day, when Saeko was nearly buried under the headaches of managing their growing ranks, Saya spoke up.
"I can help."
Back then, she'd still been hesitant. But Venom was the one who agreed to give the guy a chance.
Since Venom didn't mind, she didn't either, and let him try.
Turned out, after a few days, not only did he not mess anything up, he actually kept the gang running like clockwork.
From that day on, Saeko Busujima started letting him handle gang affairs, while she went out to wipe out the other gangs around the city.
When Saeko crushed a gang, Saya Takagi immediately sent people to bring them under control, folding them into their own organization.
The gangs that got beaten had no choice but to comply. One by one, they joined.
And so, working together, the two of them gradually unified all the city's gangs.
To prepare for the apocalypse, Saeko and Venom agreed they should build a base outside the city.
As for money? Venom simply hacked into major banks and pulled funds whenever he felt like it.
With that money, they stockpiled an enormous amount of resources.
Most of the gangsters, though, were sloppy and untrained. Their fighting skills were pathetic—just wild, unorganized attacks.
After some discussion, Saeko and Venom used the stolen money to send them abroad in batches for military training.
Once members completed training, they were recalled to Japan and immediately assigned to secret missions.
As for weapons and ammo? Venom handled it personally, sneaking into foreign armories and hauling back whatever they needed.
After a year of this cleanup and restructuring, everything had completely transformed.
"For you, senpai, this is the least I could do."
Hearing that, Saya adjusted her glasses thoughtfully and said,
"If we really want to save this world, we need to wipe out the virus completely. But we don't even know how."
Killing zombies wasn't enough. Unless they destroyed the virus itself, more people would just keep getting infected.
"I'll handle it. I'll make an antidote to wipe out the virus."
As the two of them were thinking it over, Venom appeared on Saeko's shoulder, looking uncharacteristically serious.
With the sheer amount of knowledge he carried, as long as he could identify the virus type, he was confident he could cook up a cure.
"Much as I hate to admit it, you're probably the best one for the job."
Saya muttered reluctantly, clearly annoyed but unable to deny that he was the only one who could pull it off.
"Leave it to me."
Venom stretched his form out and slid over in front of her, scrutinizing her face before teasing,
"Hmm… looks like you've changed a bit since last time. Mind if I check the texture?"
"You bastard!"
Saya's face flushed instantly as she swung at him.
Venom dodged easily and snapped back to Saeko's shoulder.
"Alright, enough fooling around."
Saeko's voice cut through sharply, making him stop.
Saya just stood there fuming, arms crossed, glaring at him.
"....."