"Of course I know them. They're my classmates—and my teacher," Komuro said, locking eyes with Kenthelion, trying to sound firm.
"I hope so," Kenthelion replied coldly, "Just don't come crying when you regret it."
He sat down, his eyes narrowing at the foolish man called Wisteria—who was clearly attempting to brainwash the other students on the bus. Typical.
Wisteria Koichi approached him nervously, forcing a fake smile. "Sir, I just—"
SLAP!
THUD!
Before he could finish, Kenthelion struck him across the face, hard. Blood spilled from Wisteria's mouth as he hit the floor.
"Don't speak to me. Don't you dare play games with me," Kenthelion growled. With a flick of his wrist, his chainsword roared to life.
VRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
VRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Wisteria flinched and nodded furiously, terrified.
"Hey! Why the hell are you hitting someone?!" Komuro shouted from the back of the bus.
Kenthelion glanced at Komuro like one might look at a barking chihuahua. This guy… does he even realize who he's talking to?
I've wiped out entire alien colonies. Committed genocides against cosmic threats. And this idiot thinks he can stop me with a baseball bat?
Too lazy to bother with an actual response, Kenthelion turned his attention to the others.
The rest of Wisteria's group looked like they wanted to vanish into the seats. Saeko Busujima silently polished her wooden sword. Saya Takagi rolled her eyes in disinterest. Rei Miyamoto, oddly enough, seemed amused. Shizuka Marikawa, the ditzy nurse, kept glancing between the road and the chaos behind her. Hirano Toda was practically shaking.
"You planning to protect him?" Kenthelion asked, glaring at Komuro.
"Why wouldn't I?!" Komuro snapped, stepping forward with his bat. "He's a teacher at our school! If you're attacking our teacher, then why shouldn't we protect him?!"
Kenthelion stared at him in disbelief.
This clown really thinks he can challenge me… with a stick. Does he have a brain disease? Is being a comic book protagonist just another way of saying "professional virgin and idiot"?
He sighed. Another fool in a world full of morons.
"Do whatever you want. Just don't regret it later," Kenthelion said coldly. "I'll be getting off the bus once we reach the city. After that, you're free to play hero."
Without waiting for a reply, Kenthelion walked past Komuro and made his way toward Saeko Busujima.
At that moment, a voice came through the earpiece hidden in Kenthelion's ear—Saint Celestine, radiating holy fury.
> "Your Majesty, allow me to eliminate this insolent man who dares to insult the Emperor."
The Adepta Sororitas were already seething, reciting prayers of execution. Inquisitors watching from orbit were preparing their holy punishments, their eyes glowing with righteous rage.
> "No need. Let him be," Kenthelion replied lazily. "I just want to take a walk for a bit."
> "Understood, Your Majesty..." Celestine answered reluctantly.
What Kenthelion didn't know was that the Adepta Sororitas and the Inquisition were already making preparations to torment the foolish man in a thousand ways, all for the crime of insulting the Emperor—whether directly or not.
Silence fell over the bus. The only sounds were the hum of the engine and the shallow breathing of the passengers.
"You're really leaving?" Saeko Busujima asked softly, her violet eyes meeting Kenthelion's sharp gaze. She remembered how he had saved them, time and time again. Her cheeks flushed red, and her heartbeat quickened.
"Yes. I have no interest in hanging around with that virgin idiot," Kenthelion replied, glancing toward Komuro. "You're all from the same school."
Then he looked at Saeko again, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "But you... you're different."
Saeko's blush deepened. She quickly lowered her head, trying to hide the flutter in her chest.
In the world of Highschool of the Dead, Kenthelion was known to have a soft spot for Saeko Busujima. He always flirted with her, even amidst chaos.
"I don't quite understand you," Saeko murmured, glancing around nervously. "But everyone here seems terrified of you."
The school bus rolled along a road by the river. Outside, the streets were filled with cars in panic, fleeing the outbreak. Kenthelion narrowed his eyes—he remembered this scene from the comic. The road ahead was supposed to be blocked, a massive traffic jam waiting to happen.
SCREEEEEECH!
The bus jerked to a stop. Sure enough, a long line of abandoned cars and barricades stretched across the road ahead. Police and military forces guarded the bridge in the distance.
"Shizuka, open the door. I'm getting off here," Kenthelion said.
"U-Um… Mr. Kenthelion, you don't have to go. We'll be safe once we cross the bridge," Shizuka Marikawa turned to him, her expression resembling that of a worried little girl. Though she might act a bit silly at times, she wasn't completely stupid—she knew Kenthelion had protected them the whole way. She didn't want him to leave.
Kenthelion gave her a calm look. "Alright, then. Open the door. It's clear your schoolmates don't really want me here anyway." He gestured toward the others behind her. Only Saya Takagi looked at him, her gaze unreadable.
The bus door creaked open.
Kenthelion stepped forward, pausing at the doorway to look back at Saeko Busujima, Saya Takagi, and Shizuka Marikawa. "We'll meet again," he said simply, his voice low but resolute.
Everyone inside the bus watched as he left, collectively breathing a sigh of relief.
Saeko Busujima felt a strange emptiness—the moment he was gone, a feeling of loss settled in her chest.
Takashi Komuro looked relaxed, relieved that Kenthelion hadn't decided to rip him in half.
Miyamoto Rei stared at Komuro in silence.
Saya Takagi bowed her head, her mind racing with unknown thoughts.
Hirano Kohta played with his homemade nail gun, unaware of the emotional tension.
Only Shizuka Marikawa kept whispering to herself softly, as if casting
"We will definitely meet again."
Kenthelion walked aimlessly, heading straight ahead without a particular destination—until he stopped in front of Rika Minami's house.
From the alley to his right, Saint Celestine emerged, flanked by her Adepta Sororitas. From the opposite side, four more figures stepped into view—three Space Marines and two Inquisitors.
Kenthelion turned to them and asked,
"How's the progress in America and Europe? Have you secured all the planet's nuclear facilities?"
One of the Inquisitors stepped forward and replied,
"Your Majesty, all nuclear facilities on Earth are now under your control. The Astra Militarum is progressing quickly. They've begun sweeping city by city, gathering survivors."
Saint Celestine then added,
"Your Majesty, we've set up temporary bases throughout Japan to consolidate survivors. However, in this city and its surroundings, we've only rescued those deemed worthy. The rest were sent to the servitor processing plants and handed over to the Mechanicus."
"Excellent," Kenthelion nodded. "Continue as you have been."
"Your Majesty," one of the Inquisitors asked, "may I ask—why did we deploy forces specifically to this city?"
"It's nothing special," Kenthelion replied casually. "I simply want to see which Astra Militarum recruits, particularly those with top scores but no actual military background, are capable of clearing a city infested with 100,000 zombies."
He smirked. "Besides, if they can't handle mindless undead, how could they possibly survive against real alien threats?"
Everyone present nodded in agreement. The logic was sound—this was a test of fire.
Kenthelion then gave a command to the nearby Mechanicus units.
"Modify that vehicle immediately—make it battlefield-capable, but do not alter its outward appearance. Then resume planetary conquest operations. No one conquers a world in a day. Six months, at best."
With that, Kenthelion turned his back to them and stepped into Rika Minami's house, leaving the others to carry out his will.
------
Kenthelion sat comfortably in a soft armchair in the living room of Rika Minami's house. In front of him, a large screen glowed from the game console he had just powered on. It had been a long time since he played a game from Earth—the feeling of being an ordinary "netizen" without the burden of ruling was truly refreshing. No state documents, no military affairs, no annoying aliens bothering him. Just himself, a controller, and the virtual world.
He chuckled softly as his in-game character failed to perform a combo. "Ah... it really feels nostalgic to be a commoner like this."
Unnoticed, night began to fall. The house's automatic lights turned on gently, creating a cozy atmosphere. Around the room, piles of snacks and soda cans were scattered—taken from "commandeered supplies" by the Space Marines he had sent to the nearest supermarket. Of course, no one dared to refuse their orders.
Kenthelion munched on some potato chips while glancing out the window. Outside, night slowly covered the city filled with chaos, but inside this room, everything felt peaceful.
"Sometimes, being an emperor is exhausting," he muttered quietly, switching the game to an action title—GTA San Andreas.
After that, he headed to the large bathtub filled with hot water in Rika Minami's house.
---
Meanwhile, inside a school bus
After Kenthelion left, the people inside the bus remained relatively calm for a while. But after some time, Wisteria started causing trouble again, continuously brainwashing the students with religious-like ideas.
"We need a leader so we can live together," Wisteria stood up and said to everyone on the bus.
"You want to be the leader?" Miyamoto Rei replied sarcastically.
"Exactly. I'm a teacher, I'm older than you, and I have far more life experience," Wisteria declared proudly, her tone dripping with the smug confidence of a career politician. "I'm confident that under my leadership, we can survive much better."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The moment she finished, the students she had brainwashed started clapping like they'd just witnessed the Second Coming.
Takashi Komuro said nothing. Sure, a teacher can be a leader… but this naive virgin bastard? Give me a break.
Meanwhile, Hirano Kohta was still eyeing Takagi Saya, waiting like a loyal knight for orders from his war goddess.
Takagi Saya and the others were huddled, still deep in discussion.
"The road ahead is blocked. There are police, U.S. Army, and JSDF personnel. We have no idea when they'll open it," Rei Miyamoto reported calmly.
"So… what now? The road's sealed. Are we supposed to just wait here forever?" Shizuka Marikawa asked, visibly worried.
"In areas controlled by the U.S. Army and JSDF, they're bound to restrict entry. Their resources are limited. There's no way they'll let everyone in… not unless all the zombies have been wiped out," Takagi Saya began explaining, pushing her glasses up with that signature I-know-everything attitude that made her look like she just hacked a military database.