"Hahahahaha! I've been so pent up lately! This is so much fun! Killing is the best! Hahahahaha!"
Power gripped her naginata with both hands and swung it in a wide, violent arc. With a sharp whistle, the blade cleanly severed a zombie's head, sending a spray of foul black blood into the air.
Behind her, another zombie roared and lunged. Power didn't flinch. She leaped high, easily evading the attack. In mid-air, her feet came down hard on the zombie's skull. Using the impact, she pushed off with all her strength—the skull shattered under the force.
While still airborne, Power twisted her body and brought the naginata around. Upon landing, she dropped into a low crouch and unleashed a sweeping horizontal slash. The zombies surrounding her were cleaved in two at the waist, their split bodies spilling viscera and gore across the floor.
Renji scanned the area. The zombies here were basically cleared. But in an inconspicuous corner, one still remained—a female zombie whose hearing seemed impaired. It hadn't noticed its companions being slaughtered by Power. It simply stood swaying in place, staring vacantly at the wall, drool dripping from its slack jaw.
Renji, with Himeno still on his back, began walking toward the dazed zombie, intending to finish it off. But before he could close the distance, a naginata shot through the air like a thrown spear, impaling the zombie through the abdomen and pinning it to the wall.
"Hey! Renji, what are you doing here? You're getting in the way of my killing spree! You're messing it up!"
The naginata dissolved into a puddle of blood, splattering to the floor. The zombie, now dead, slumped down. Power hummed a tuneless melody as she strode over, raised her foot, and brought her heel down hard on the zombie's head.
Crunch.
The skull caved like a rotten melon. A spray of dark matter flecked Power's cheek, but she didn't seem to care—her face was alight with exhilaration.
"Was that the last one? Huh? So unsatisfying! They're all dead already? How boring. Hey! Renji, since you're here, do something to entertain this great one! Hurry up!"
Renji glanced behind Power, then around the room, and made a soft sound of surprise.
"Denji was assigned to this area with you, right? Where is she? Where'd she go?"
[Ding~ Detected Power's displeasure. System rewards 10 points.]
Power pouted, visibly annoyed.
"Tch~ What's this? Looking for that good-for-nothing Denji, huh? That good-for-nothing Denji got called away by that good-for-nothing Hayakawa Aki. Said she needed help inside the building."
"Oh, I see… So you're here alone?"
Power nodded. Renji studied her, hesitating. Asking Power to carry Himeno out…
It felt like a long shot.
After a moment, he spoke up.
"Can you do me a favor here? Can you watch Himeno for me? There should be a utility room around. You can just stay there with her. It won't take long, maybe half an hour…"
"No."
Power's expression didn't flicker. She answered Renji flatly.
Renji was taken aback, not quite understanding. At first, he thought Power might be refusing out of jealousy—some petty rebellion because he was asking her to look after Himeno.
But he waited, and no system prompt sounded in his mind.
Which meant this good-for-nothing Power…
Was genuinely, simply, unwilling to help.
Seeing Renji's lack of response, Power squatted down, tore an arm off a nearby zombie corpse, ripped a chunk of flesh from it, and began to chew. The wet, tearing sound was abnormally loud in the quiet.
Renji stared, astonished.
"Huh?! Why?!"
"Hmm, no reason. This great one just doesn't feel like helping you. Mhm."
"What? But why?!"
"No reason. This great one just doesn't want to. Mhm… good! I'm full!"
After gnawing the large piece of meat clean, Power tossed the remaining bone and gristle aside. She stood up, planted her hands on her hips, and stared at Renji, occasionally tapping her foot impatiently.
"So? Anything else? If not, this great one is heading upstairs too. I haven't killed enough yet."
"You…"
Renji felt utterly speechless. He truly didn't know what to make of Power's temperament. He considered just forcing her to agree—like he had in the blank-paper space, when he'd threatened to spank her if she refused. With Power's bully-but-cowardly nature, it would probably work.
But… if he really tried to spank her, Power would definitely put up a fight. She didn't have anything life-threatening to guard right now, so she'd most likely just bolt. Renji would have to chase her, and that would be a pure waste of time.
And now was not the time for such a chase. After all, Renji had promised Kobeni he would go up and help.
"Sigh… seems like I'll have to peel the tape off Himeno and let it all drain out," Renji thought to himself.
Truthfully, he was reluctant. The thought of distending Himeno's womb, of rounding her lower abdomen with his seed, held a twisted, perverse beauty he found deeply stimulating.
But there really was no other choice. Hayakawa Aki and Denji weren't here, and Power refused. The only option was to release it all.
Only then could Himeno be taken outside without leaving a trace.
Renji adjusted Himeno on his back and walked past Power, heading for the corner where another utility room should be.
Power didn't react at first. It was only after he'd moved some distance that she seemed to realize he was leaving.
[Ding~ Detected Power's panicked emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
"Eh…? Hey! Renji! Where are you going?!"
Power immediately rushed in front of him, arms spread wide to block his path.
"Hm? I'm taking Himeno out myself. I don't need your help. You go upstairs and help Denji and the others. I'll catch up later."
Renji was puzzled by Power's sudden panic. If she didn't want to help, why block him? What did she actually want?
Power's face flushed. She shuffled her feet, restless.
"I… I didn't say I wouldn't help you…"
"You did."
"I… I didn't say…"
"Didn't you just say it? Very clearly. You said you wouldn't help."
"I… I didn't say that! Your human brain is just broken! You heard wrong!"
Under Renji's relentless questioning, Power's lie crumbled, and her embarrassment twisted into indignation. Renji didn't have time to argue with a compulsive liar, so he simply went along.
"Fine, fine. So what do you mean now? Have you decided to help?"
"Help… I can help… but… but even Nyanko, every morning when I clean its poop, it still rubs against me and licks my hand."
The words made Renji laugh in sheer disbelief.
"I… Power, how can you lie like this? We've been living together all this time. Besides playing with Nyanko, petting it, and feeding it, what have you actually done for it? Bathing it, cleaning the litter box—that's all been me and Hayakawa Aki. What does it have to do with you? When that horny cat Nyanko yowls in the middle of the night, you're sleeping more soundly than anyone!"
Power's face burned redder.
[Ding~ Detected Power's angry emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
"I… I did not!"
"You did!"
"I didn't!"
"You did!"
"I didn't!"
"You did!"
...
They went back and forth more than a dozen times. Finally, Renji gritted his teeth and changed the subject.
"Whatever. I'm not arguing with you about this anymore. If you say no, then it's no."
"Anyway… anyway! I can help you watch the human on your back! But! But you have to help me a little too!"
"What help?"
"I also want you to… uh… that is…"
Power stammered, her index fingers poking at each other in front of her chest.
"…To lick me… like Nyanko does… but! Where I get licked! What gets licked! That's for me to decide! If you agree to that, I'll help you."
Power thumped her chest proudly, but Renji hesitated.
To be honest, if anyone else had said this, Renji would have agreed instantly. It was a more-than-favorable deal for him, and the idea was… appealing.
But Power was different. Her thought process wasn't normal. Was it?
It was hard to say what she might demand he lick when the time came.
Oh, right. She wasn't human to begin with. She was a Fiend.
[Ding~ Detected Himeno's 'blissful' emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
The prompt sounded in his mind again. Himeno's condition decided it.
"Fine," Renji said. "I agree."
"Fine, then. You come with me."
[Ding~ Detected Power's happy emotional state. System rewards 10 points.]
"You agreed! Hooray! I'll go with you!"
Power was thrilled, skipping along behind Renji as they turned a corner and arrived at a utility room. Renji opened the door and instructed Power to push two tables together, then carefully laid Himeno on top of them.
"What's the deal with this? This human called Himeno… why's her belly all puffed up like that? Looks like someone stuffed a ball in there."
"It's Himeno, not 'this human called Himeno.' At the very least, use her name. And how would a ball get stuffed in there? Go on, wait outside for a minute. And close the door behind you."
"Oh!"
Power stepped out and pulled the door shut.
Renji carefully pulled aside Himeno's clothing, exposing her smooth, pale lower abdomen, which was now visibly rounded, as if she were two or three months along. He placed a hand over the gentle swell, stroking it lightly a few times before focusing on the position of her womb. Gradually, he applied more pressure, pressing the rounded belly down slightly.
[Ding~ Detected Himeno's 'blissful' emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
Under Renji's kneading, Himeno peaked once more. A fresh rush of warmth surged within her, but with her entrance sealed, the flood had nowhere to go. It pooled back inside, mingling with what was already there, causing her lower abdomen to appear even more taut and full.
"Phew… This feeling really is something else."
Renji felt himself stirring again, dangerously close to hardening fully once more.
He walked out of the utility room and closed the door behind him. Still feeling somewhat uneasy, he turned to Power before leaving.
"Just keep watch. Wait here for me to come back. Don't wander off, got it?"
Power laughed boisterously, nodding vigorously and giving Renji an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"Human Renji, don't you worry! A small task like this is no problem for me, Power!"
Renji nodded. As he turned to leave, he remembered the peeping incident and briefly considered asking Power if it had been her. But he dismissed the thought instantly. It was impossible.
This wasn't the first time. If it really had been Power, she would never have been content with just quietly watching.
Renji left.
Two minutes later.
Power leaned against the wall outside the utility room, already beginning to fidget.
"So boring… Hey! Any more zombies around here? Can you pop out so I can kill you? Anything else will do too!"
The parking structure was silent. No one answered Power. Only her own voice echoed back at her.