"Boom!!!"
The distant roar of artillery echoed through the city once more.
Over the past few days, it had become almost routine.
"Hisashi… what do you think is happening?"
Rei Miyamoto leaned into Hisashi Igo's embrace, her face heavy with sorrow.
"It's been more than twenty days already, and there's still no sign of the army coming to rescue us. Why…?"
Hisashi gently stroked her back, trying to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Rei. Your father will be fine."
"For the army to enter the city, they'd have to deal with an enormous number of them.""The undead aren't something you can wipe out in just a day or two."
"Besides, the Takagi family estate is secure. As long as we wait patiently, rescue will come."
Even as he spoke those words, Hisashi himself held little hope.
The situation was anything but optimistic.
The outbreak had erupted without warning, and even the military was likely affected.
From time to time, refugees mentioned seeing soldiers retreating and evacuating shortly after the disaster began.
Those rumors were swiftly silenced by Soichiro Takagi.
Then, a few days later, the distant sound of artillery fire from another part of the city reignited the survivors' morale.
Uncle Soichiro urged everyone to endure, insisting that the army would arrive soon.
But some people understood the truth all too well.
It was only an illusion.
The artillery fire was far too infrequent.
It didn't sound like a large-scale military operation at all.
Hisashi suspected it was nothing more than troops from a nearby base fending off undead attacks.
Expecting them to fight their way across the entire city just to rescue them was unrealistic.
"…Sigh."
As the two of them leaned against each other, quietly lamenting the passing seasons, a venomous gaze fixed itself on their backs.
"Dog and bitch…"
Takashi Komuro leaned against the wall, limping, his eyes completely devoid of light.
Why was he always this unlucky?
Back at school, the very first time he saw that guy named Jacob, he knew something was off.
And sure enough, during their escape, that bastard attacked them.
If Takashi hadn't secretly found a police revolver beneath a wrecked patrol car by the roadside, he would've been torn apart by the undead right then and there.
Hisashi Igo.
If I hadn't stepped forward back then, you would've been the one killed.
Rei.
I was there first.
So why did you fall for him?
I even broke my leg saving all of you, yet I'm left cast aside while you and Hisashi keep flaunting your affection like nothing happened.
Why couldn't you choose me?
I was the one who saved you.
"If Jacob hadn't killed that undead back then…"
"If Hisashi Igo had been bitten instead…"
"No… that's not right…"
His breathing grew uneven.
"I still have Saya."
"Saya Takagi…"
"She's always liked me. I'm not alone…"
Takashi's eyes suddenly lit up, a fragile spark igniting within their emptiness. Muttering to himself, he turned and staggered away.
After he disappeared, a figure slowly emerged from behind a large tree nearby.
It was Gavi, a nameless observer.
Takashi Komuro might have looked pitiful now, but in Gavi's eyes, this was nothing more than retribution.
After all, what could Takashi possibly compare to Hisashi Igo?
Immature.
Short-sighted.
Consumed by jealousy.
And yet, he stubbornly believed himself to be the protagonist, entitled to everything.
But the true protagonist of this world was obvious.
It was Hisashi Igo.
Even if Saya Takagi had once liked Takashi Komuro…
Even if she had gone looking for him after he was brought back to the Takagi household…
However, after watching him obsessively hover around Rei, never once thinking of saving her, even forgetting her entirely, his own childhood friend.
Takagi Saya had completely lost all hope in him.
It could be said that Komuro Takashi's current situation—abandoned by everyone—was entirely of his own making.
Unfortunately for Gavi, this also meant that his more than twenty days living at the Takagi residence had been utterly miserable.
Because the scene that had just played out repeated itself almost every single day.
Without exception, Komuro Takashi would soon be chased away by the guards stationed outside Takagi Saya's room.
After all, this place was practically the Takagi family's personal kingdom.
Takagi Saya's parents were the absolute authorities here.
And Saya herself ranked just beneath them, above everyone else.
No one wanted that unstable guy anywhere near her.
With the thirty-day survival mission deadline drawing closer,
Gavi felt he was finally about to be freed from this hell.
Honestly speaking,
he would rather go out and face the walking corpses than sit through this melodramatic love story one more time.
It was downright eye-searing.
"…Come to think of it."
What ever happened to those two people from back then?
Gavi still felt a lingering curiosity about the pair from the very beginning—
especially that man.
After taking away two clearly important plot characters from the school, he had vanished without a trace.
Gavi searched the entire Takagi residence, but there was no sign of them.
Had they never come here at all?
Or had he met with an unfortunate accident and died along the way?
No. That was impossible.
Someone like him wouldn't die so easily.
Which meant there was only one possible conclusion—
"Boom!!!"
Gavi's gaze snapped toward the horizon.
Please don't let it be what I think it is.
Because if it was…
That would be utterly terrifying.
---
"Hahaha!"
A majestic steel beast thundered through the streets of Tokonosu, its tracks grinding asphalt into dust, accompanied by wild, arrogant laughter.
"Today's cannon fire was incredibly satisfying!"
With a single shot, over three hundred reincarnation points had poured in!
Arthur leaned halfway out of the hatch, standing atop the tank with his hands gripping the heavy machine gun, spraying fire in every direction.
Accuracy?
Completely unnecessary.
The corpses mindlessly crowded together on their own, piling up neatly as if lining up to be slaughtered.
One sweep — and an entire area was wiped clean.
"Ding! You killed a corpse. Gained 1 reincarnation point."
"Ding! You killed a corpse. Gained 1 reincarnation point."
"Ding! You killed a corpse. Gained 1 reincarnation point."
"Ding! You—"
Thankfully, the system notifications could be muted.
Otherwise, Arthur would have gone insane listening to those prompts nonstop over the past twenty-some days.
That said…
Japan's tank reserves were tragically small.
There was only a single tank in the entire camp.
Judging by the track marks, two other tanks had already been driven away, most likely due to a lack of personnel, leaving this one behind.
Arthur enjoyed using it, sure, but its performance was honestly just average.
Still, it was more than enough to deal with these low-level corpses.
Even if the armor were as thin as paper, it wasn't something the claws of unenhanced corpses could tear through.
Their strength was mostly limited to their wrists; their overall physical power hadn't increased by much. More importantly, there was no way they could stop a super high-horsepower tank.
Thus, with Arthur giving directions, Marikawa drove the steel monster rampantly through the city, completely unchecked.
Saeko and Ellen, following behind in a Hummer, were often left speechless.
Over the past few days, they had seen an entirely different side of Arthur.
This reckless, youthful exuberance stood in stark contrast to the calculating, shrewd figure he had been before.
It even carried a trace of boyish spirit.
In Saeko Busujima's eyes…
He almost looked a little cute like this.
As for Ellen, after spending so much time around a so-called "big shot," she had completely given up on trying to understand why he was so amazing.
Even if she asked, she probably wouldn't get an answer anyway.
She shook her hand, sore from nonstop shooting, then picked up an oval-shaped object and calmly pulled the ring.
Rolling the car window halfway down, she casually tossed it outside.
"Bang!"
Another 50 points secured.
So sweet~
Knew it. Ride with a big shot and even background characters get their moment.
"Stop howling!"
Rika Minami's playful scolding drifted up to Arthur from below.
"That was the very last shell. We hauled every single one out of the warehouse today. You've had your fun, but I haven't even gotten my fill yet!"
"Haha."
"Firing the big gun is a man's job. Women should step aside!" (💀)
Arthur felt like he was floating on air.
"Oh?"
Rika Minami's voice suddenly took on a dangerous edge.
"Do you believe I'll 'fire a shot' at you right here inside this tank?"
Arthur shuddered from head to toe.
"People are watching from behind… please just drive the tank properly, ma'am."
"Don't drive the wrong kind of vehicle…"
Maybe that forced kiss back then had really struck a nerve.
Because after taking him into the armory at the military camp, Rika Minami had pinned him against the tank and kissed him back, forcefully, for a full half hour.
There had been absolutely no enjoyment to speak of.
After the first ten minutes, it had been pure suffering.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
Since she was the only one who could properly drive and operate the tank, she'd spent every single day since then deliberately messing with him from below.
Relentlessly.
If no one was around, Arthur honestly thought this woman might actually "pull the trigger" right here in the middle of nowhere.
"It's the last day…"
The excitement that had been coursing through him finally began to cool.
He glanced at the system interface.
Reincarnation Points: 134,567
A clean, satisfying number.
Which meant that over the past few days, he had personally killed at least 130,000 zombies.
Still, he hadn't done all this just for the points.
Even if his current total probably exceeded the lifetime earnings of 99% of veteran reincarnators combined.
But that wasn't the point.
Pocket change.
What truly caught his attention was the mission displayed beneath the survival objective on the system screen.
[You have triggered the mission: "Enemy of Humanity."Kill at least 10,000 Zombies within 30 days to complete the mission.]
This notification had appeared on his second day of zombie hunting.
Clearly, this dungeon had more than one possible clear condition.
It was just that the survival route was relatively… forgiving.
After all, what normal person could kill 10,000 zombies?
With cold weapons? Even if the zombies obediently lay there and let you chop their necks, your arms would give out long before you were done.
Firearms were loud, burned through ammo, and—more importantly—where would you even get that many guns?
If Arthur hadn't known the original story like the back of his hand, if he hadn't meticulously planned his survival route, managed interpersonal relationships, and spun half-truths and bluffs to manipulate others...
Who else could farm points this insanely?
Saeko approached Arthur after they had stepped away from the vehicles for a while.
"You were actually pretty cute just now, you know?"
Arthur, hearing her soft voice and catching the faint scent that only Saeko had, glanced at her and smiled, gently taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers.
"You know no man likes being called cute, right?"
Saeko smiled softly as she felt his hand—larger than hers—holding it. With each passing day, she found herself growing more attached to this boy she had met less than a month ago, yet who was becoming more and more important to her.
"But to me, you are… hahaha."
Arthur lifted her into his arms, giving her light tickles on her waist.
"Tonight, I'll show you just how 'cute' I can be," he whispered into her ear. Feeling the warm breath of his words, her ears turned slightly red.
"I'll be waiting for you, then…"
Arthur gave her a quick kiss on the lips and, holding her close, looked up at the sky.
"But still…" he muttered. "The timing should be about right, shouldn't it?"
Almost as if responding to his words—
From the darkening horizon came a strange sound.
Far out at sea, at an indeterminate distance, a sudden flash of light tore through the heavy twilight.
A blinding white radiance spread outward, devouring the dusk as it advanced across the sky.
…Did it fail?