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Yotsuya Miko had been scared half to death, but luckily she was used to that by now.
Back in her own world, ghosts scared her with psychological attacks. Here, corpses scared her with physical attacks. Weirdly enough, that felt easier to accept.
Still, the bloody mess all around made her stomach churn. She felt like she could vomit at any second.
Misaka Mikoto frowned. "If going back gets you trapped, why not just fight our way out?"
Busujima Saeko shook her head. "That's too risky. There are countless corpses outside. You and Sanz—well, the two of you are strong enough to protect yourselves, but Miko and I would be in serious danger. We need a vehicle, and more importantly, we need a driver."
Mikoto instantly understood. She nodded and didn't ask further.
The four of them sprinted toward the school infirmary.
Saeko knew the school nurse—a sweet, airheaded type—would be there. Not only could she drive, she had medical skills, which made her the perfect companion in an apocalypse. The most important part: her airheaded personality made her easy to handle.
Not long after the girls left, the school gate descended into complete chaos.
Teacher Tejima lost his breath shortly after being bitten and died on the spot.The other teachers were horrified. When Mr. Alex stepped forward to check on him, Tejima suddenly stood up and bit straight into Lin's neck.
The remaining two teachers were infected soon after.
All four teachers turned as one toward the students having PE class on the field and charged directly at them.
The zombie virus erupted across the campus.
…
Inside the chat group, as soon as Mikoto and the others accepted their mission, Hestia quickly issued three more.
[Group Member Hestia published a mission: Path of the Strong. Difficulty: 4 stars. Reward: 100 points.]
[Group Member Alex accepted the mission.]
[Group Member Hestia published a mission: Arch-Magus. Difficulty: 4 stars. Reward: 100 points.]
[Group Member Roxy accepted the mission.]
[Group Member Hestia published a mission: First Kill. Difficulty: 0.5 stars. Reward: 1 point.]
[Group Member Kochou Shinobu accepted the mission.]
After Alex accepted his mission, he set off for Orario with Merlin, Morgan, and Artoria.
This was technically his second time traveling through worlds, though the first time had been so smooth he barely felt it.This time, however, he could clearly see himself and the three Servants passing through the world barrier under the chat group's protection, entering the vast hyperspace beyond.
There, countless universes drifted like floating bubbles. Each bubble was a world. Some multiverses appeared as clusters of bubbles strung together like grapes. The sight left Merlin and the others completely stunned.
Merlin's eyes sparkled. "So this is what lies outside the world."Artoria whispered, "Unbelievable. It's beautiful." Morgan added softly, "A view like this… I doubt I'll ever forget it."
To Alex, the scene felt oddly familiar. The hyperspace looked almost exactly like the one in Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial.
Before he could admire it for long, the chat group teleported them into one of the bubbles.
That bubble was the Danmachi world.
Hestia stood outside the church. She had just finished posting the missions when she noticed that Alex and the others had accepted them.
A moment later, six beams of light appeared before her.When the glow faded, Alex, Merlin, Morgan, Artoria, Roxy, and Shinobu all stood in front of her.
"Alex! You made it!" Hestia cried and leapt straight into Alex's arms.
After sealing her divine power, Hestia looked different from before. Her fiery red hair was now black and tied into twin tails.Her elegant divine robes had become a simple white short dress, with a blue ribbon lifting her overly generous chest. On her feet were flip-flops, showing off small, pale, jade-smooth toes.
The outfit was far too down-to-earth.
Alex caught her and supported her weight. Feeling that soft pressure against his chest, his pulse spiked a little.
There were too many cute girls around him lately, and his suppressed frustration was building fast.After crossing worlds, his body reverted to that of a sixteen-year-old boy, right at the peak of teenage hormones. Then Hestia's divine flame strengthened his body tenfold, which only made that frustration worse.Training with Luo Hao afterward had improved him even further… and built up even more heat.
Ever since arriving in the Type-Moon world, he hadn't had any chance to… relieve himself.
It was torture.
"Mr. Alex, you're here too!"
At that moment, Irisviel, Sakura, Illya, Sella, Liz, and Maiya stepped out from inside the church.
"Big brother!" Sakura and Illya called out happily when they saw him.
Artoria immediately brightened when she spotted Irisviel.Back when she served Kiritsugu, she had spent so much time with Irisviel that it felt like Irisviel was her real Master.The two were as close as sisters.
"Saber, you came too? That's wonderful!" Irisviel said with a warm smile.
"Come on, it hasn't even been a few hours since we split up," Alex muttered, unable to stop himself from teasing them as everyone greeted one another like they had been separated for years.
Roxy giggled. "A few hours is still a whole different world away."
"Alright, let's head inside first," Hestia said. She hopped down from Alex and led everyone into the church.
The church was old and shabby, but there was a basement where Hestia currently lived.
It had originally been even more rundown, with only a sofa and a cabinet, but Hestia had brought back a lot of modern furniture and supplies from the Type-Moon world and redecorated the place so it finally felt like a home.
The problem was that it was far too small for this many people.And Alex was a man—it was impossible for him to stay in such a cramped space with so many women.Hestia didn't mind, but the others definitely would.
"Lady Goddess, isn't this… a bit tiny?" Roxy asked, unable to hold back.
Hestia flushed with embarrassment. "I can't help it. I only descended to the lower world recently. At the start, I didn't have a familia, and the money I earned from part-time work wasn't much."
"Then how do we earn money?" Shinobu asked.
"You can register at the Guild to become adventurers," Hestia explained. "Then you head into the Dungeon and hunt monsters. Their drops and magic stones can all be sold to the Guild."
"How strong are the monsters down there?" Roxy perked up immediately.
In her world, she loved clearing labyrinths.In fact, she'd been hired as the Kingdom of Shirone's Court Mage because she had single-handedly cleared one.
"..."
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