Exusiai: "Akira is amazing! He can generate lightning and fly!"[Image]
March 7th: "Wow! What does flying feel like?"
Exusiai: "It's insanely cool! Super stylish!"
Aqua: "This goddess can fly too."
March 7th: "Really? Pam is looking forward to JPG."
Aqua: "Ahem… not right now."
March 7th: "Uh."
Saeko Busujima: "Exusiai, Akira… thank you so much for your help."
Exusiai: "Haha, no problem! Zombies are gross, but they're not that tough. One shot and they're done."
Exusiai: "It's just that I used up quite a bit of my etched ammo, so I don't have much left."
Kisaragi Akira: "You could probably use ordinary firearms instead—pistols, rifles. They can still damage undead and don't rely on Originium Arts."
Although Exusiai's weapon was called a "gun," it was technically a staff-type weapon used to cast Originium Arts. Etched bullets combined with Originium techniques could unleash terrifying firepower.
However—
Against zombies, conventional firearms were more than sufficient.
If nothing unexpected happened, Shizuka Marikawa's friend's house would be nothing short of a small private arsenal.
Exusiai: "A pistol-like gun? Now I'm actually looking forward to that!"
Akira suddenly remembered something important and decided to warn Saeko Busujima.
Kisaragi Akira: "@Saeko Busujima."
Saeko Busujima: "What's wrong, Akira-kun?"
Kisaragi Akira: "There's something I need to remind you of."
Kisaragi Akira: "Don't trust strangers too easily. And make sure your companions don't act out of blind compassion—especially Shizuka Marikawa."
She had nearly agreed to Koichi Fujito's proposal earlier.
Anyone with eyes could see something was wrong with that man.
Saeko Busujima: "I understand. If I encounter someone like Koichi Fujito again, I'll kill him without hesitation—just like you did. I'll also be stricter with Shizuka-sensei and the others."
Kisaragi Akira: "Good."
Akira didn't dislike kind-hearted people.
What he despised were hypocritical saints.
A true saint sacrifices themselves for others.A false saint sacrifices their own people to benefit outsiders.
The two were fundamentally different.
...
Soon, the Jeep pulled up in front of Shizuka Marikawa's friend's house.
The emotionally drained Rei Miyamoto had already fallen asleep. Sitting beside Akira, her head had unconsciously come to rest against his shoulder.
Akira was resting with his eyes closed.
"We're here!" Shizuka Marikawa called out as she turned around.
When she saw Rei Miyamoto leaning against Akira, a strange glint flashed in her eyes.
Akira opened his eyes.Rei Miyamoto woke up as well.
"..."
Their gazes met, and silence followed.
"!!!"
Rei Miyamoto jolted upright and hurriedly apologized."I—I'm sorry! I must have fallen asleep!"
"It's fine," Akira replied calmly.
It was a trivial matter, not worth worrying about.
They opened the doors and stepped out of the vehicle.
Rei Miyamoto walked behind them, her eyes lingering on Akira's back.
The memory of that warm, steady shoulder sent a strange shiver through her.
She quickly shook her head, banishing the thought, and hurried after them.
...
They entered Shizuka Marikawa's friend's house.
"???"
Staring at crate after crate of firearms, ammunition, and even grenades, Saya Takagi felt a massive question mark appear above her head.
"This is… the weapons you were talking about?"
"Are you sure your friend's house isn't an armory?!"
"Well…" Shizuka Marikawa muttered sleepily, "All of this belongs to my good friend, Rika Minami."
"..."
Is your friend an arms dealer?!
Saya Takagi screamed internally.
Standing nearby, Exusiai picked up a firearm curiously and examined it.
After a closer look, she spoke from the heart.
"This really is a gun. Incredible."
"You all rest here for now," Akira said calmly."Saya Takagi, keep trying to contact your parents. Exusiai, Saeko—come with me."
Without further explanation, he turned and led the two outside.
The remaining three exchanged bewildered looks.
"They're really close," Shizuka Marikawa said enviously.
"Sigh… I still can't believe Saeko-senpai knows people like that," Saya Takagi muttered, pressing her fingers to her forehead.
She never imagined Saeko Busujima wielding anything resembling supernatural power.
Until now, Saeko's kills had relied purely on swordsmanship.
"..."
Rei Miyamoto glanced at the closed door, then lowered her head once more.
"Well…" Shizuka Marikawa murmured, studying Rei thoughtfully.
...
"Akira-kun, what are we going to do next?" Saeko Busujima asked as she followed him outside.
Kisaragi Akira: "Do you remember the conditions for traveling together during an apocalypse?"
"…To clean up corpses as much as possible."
Exusiai raised her hand enthusiastically, grinning.
"That's right! I think this Apocalypse Companion mission is similar to an Apocalypse Game. If we kill enough zombies, we might get rewards!"
Akira nodded."That's my guess as well."
"I see. Let's go," Exusiai said eagerly.
"I understand. I'll do my best," Saeko Busujima replied, gripping her katana tightly.
She had considered switching to a firearm for efficiency—
—but abandoned the idea.
She trusted her blade more than any gun.