Roy's detached, uninvolved attitude made Saeko Busujima certain that this terrifying disaster had nothing to do with the strange boy in front of her.
She asked the question she cared about most. "What are you going to the military base for?"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Roy stomped on the accelerator. The heavy truck sent zombies flying as it plowed through them. He answered honestly, "Borrowing their weapons. I'm going to clear out these zombies."
As soon as he said that, out of the corner of his eye Roy noticed a faint blush flash across Saeko Busujima's beautiful face.
She was excited.
Combined with Roy's earlier performance of cutting down zombies, the moment he mentioned going to the military base, Saeko Busujima had already vaguely guessed his goal.
After hesitating for a moment, she slowly said, "Actually, there's something that's been troubling me for a long time…"
As Saeko Busujima began recounting her past, Roy, sitting in the driver's seat, tugged at the corner of his mouth. Miss, I'm not interested in your story. Just take me to the military base and our connection ends there.
Yet Saeko Busujima seemed to have found a kindred spirit and continued talking about her troubles on her own.
When she was in middle school, Saeko Busujima had once been assaulted by a perverted molester on her way home. She deliberately let the man get close, then used a wooden sword to severely injure him, breaking his leg and shoulder blade.
In reality, it counted as excessive self-defense.
But considering it involved a middle school girl resisting a perverted molester, the police did not pursue Saeko Busujima's responsibility.
From that moment on, she realized she had a strong tendency toward violence. When she struck that pervert, she felt extremely happy and excited inside. She believed there was an unforgivable darkness hidden within her heart, and that she was unworthy of possessing a maiden's innocence.
How could Roy not know about her experience? He had already seen through it long ago. When Saeko Busujima separated from Takashi Komuro and the others, she looked as if it were a life-and-death farewell, but in truth, she felt joy inside.
Because she was about to take part in a massacre.
"What should I do?" Saeko Busujima's expression was conflicted. At this moment, she looked like a fragile girl. Earlier, when she saw Roy charging through the zombie horde like an unstoppable force, the excitement in her heart was indescribable.
She thought she had found someone similar to herself, which was why she bared her heart.
"Don't ask me. I don't know. None of my damn business," Roy curled his lips. What, did she expect him to hug her tightly and comfort her with gentle words?
Saeko Busujima's expression dimmed.
After several minutes of silence, Roy sighed. He was still too kind. "Sticking to your true nature isn't necessarily a bad thing. Like me—I occasionally do things that look crazy to other people."
A trace of madness hung on Roy's face.
Saeko Busujima's eyes, which had lost their color, grew brighter and brighter, as if she had found a new goal in life.
"We're here!"
Looking up, at the end of the wide road, a dilapidated base gate came into view. It looked as though it had experienced a fierce battle, with tall surrounding walls.
Man-made railings blocked the gate. Adults could easily climb over them, but they were enough to stop zombies.
The two jumped down from the truck.
Seeing the empty military base ahead, Roy felt his guess was correct. With the military strength of this base, even a hundred thousand zombies might not be able to break through it. Only a virus spread through the air or water could silently wipe out an entire base.
"Something's wrong. It's too quiet."
Roy frowned. Had the American troops already withdrawn—or been completely wiped out?
"Those are human corpses, right?" Saeko Busujima pointed to a pile of bodies by the roadside.
Roy followed her gaze. At first, he thought they were zombies, but upon closer inspection, some of the corpses showed no signs of zombification. They had gunshot wounds!
Suddenly, a strong sense of danger surged over him. Roy abruptly raised his head and looked toward a tower inside the base, roughly six hundred meters away.
Saeko Busujima followed Roy's gaze and slightly leaned her body to the side. That single movement saved her life.
Bang!
Roy suddenly heard a faint sound. He turned toward it and saw a small hole appear in the ground about two meters behind Saeko Busujima, dust drifting into the air.
Someone was sniping them—and with a suppressor!
Riding the Wind!
Roy's expression changed. Without hesitation, he activated the special effect of his Wind-Chasing Boots. His Agility stat broke through to SSS rank. Violent wind wrapped around his legs as he scooped up Saeko Busujima and dashed to the blind spot by the wall on the left in a single burst.
Bang!
As Roy rolled, he casually tossed a stone, smashing the surveillance camera mounted on the wall.
At that moment, on the tower inside the base, a blond, blue-eyed young man saw the boy who had escaped into the blind spot through his sniper scope. A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"That brat's pretty fast."
The blond youth said in surprise. That kind of movement didn't look like something an untrained kid could pull off.
The tall girl beside him looked older, probably the other party's sister or something like that. That was why he planned to shoot her dead and keep the kid alive to play with for a while—but he had misjudged.
"Waylin, stop playing around. You'll attract the zombies again, and that'll be a hassle," a rough male voice came through the radio.
"Got it~"
The blond youth replied lazily.
The sudden outbreak of the zombie tide had turned most of the soldiers in the base into zombies. Only a little over ten people remained, but relying on powerful firepower, they had still cleared all the zombies inside the base.
The voice from the radio belonged to the highest-ranking officer currently in the base, Lieutenant Alton (OC).
They were tasked with protecting an old professor conducting on-site research in the island nation, though he felt it was completely meaningless.
Today was his shift. Waylin Alves (OC) especially liked to toy with islanders who brought their families and sought refuge at the base, using sniping to give forensic examiners headaches.
Anyway, no one would hold him accountable.
In this lawless, chaotic world, he could fully unleash the darkness within himself.
…
At the foot of the towering wall.
Roy placed Saeko Busujima on the ground. The bullet had punched a small hole through her chest, blood gushing out like a fountain, her face visibly turning pale.
The sniper had clearly aimed for her heart, but at the critical moment, her body had shifted slightly, causing the shot to deviate just a little.
Saeko Busujima murmured, "Am I going to die?"
"You think that's possible?" Roy replied.
He took out two bottles of low-grade healing potions and fed them to her. The bullet passing cleanly through her chest was actually a good thing. Otherwise, without proper tools, there would have been no way to remove it.
All that remained was stopping the bleeding.
A burst of emerald-green light emerged from Saeko Busujima's body. Her deathly pale face regained a hint of color, her mental state improving significantly as she looked at Roy in astonishment.
Roy said, "I'll avenge you."
Saeko Busujima fell into a hazy sleep, a satisfied smile hanging at the corner of her lips. The massacre she could not take part in would be completed by Roy in her stead.
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