The streets were covered in zombie corpses. Dozens of them, scattered everywhere.
The ones responsible for that massacre were none other than a trio of girls, each cute in her own way.
(Get ready. What's coming next will be more troublesome for you.)
At that moment, Yuu's voice echoed inside their heads thanks to telepathy.
And when they heard him, the three of them looked at each other and nodded with serious expressions. If Yuu was saying that, then it really would be troublesome.
Just then, a strong flapping cut through the air.
"A bird?"
Rei said that, but it didn't really seem possible, especially when the sound was so intense it made the nearby windows rattle.
"Doesn't sound like a bird…" Jin-ah gripped her staff tightly.
The girls froze for a moment, confused, until a dark blur appeared at high speed.
"…!"
The shadow shot straight at Saeko.
It was already too close, and there wasn't enough room to dodge between the decaying cars. Instinctively, she grabbed her katana's hilt, placing the blade in front of her while pressing her other palm against the flat of it to reinforce the block.
"Saeko-senpai!"
"Saeko-ssi!"
At the same time her companions' worried voices reached her...
—Clink!
A metallic crash echoed down the street, and Saeko went flying backward. She flipped twice in the air before planting her foot on the ground and sliding several meters across the asphalt, stopping with elegance.
When she looked up, her eyes locked on the new enemy.
Seeing that Saeko didn't suffer any visible injuries, Rei and Jin-ah relaxed before shifting their gazes in the same direction as Saeko's.
"…A mantis?"
Right in front of them, in the spot where Saeko had been...
There was a mantis the size of a motorcycle. Its body was covered in green armor, and across it ran dark markings like tattoos made to look more sinister. Especially when you added those piercing ruby-red eyes set into its sharp triangular face.
—Shhhhs!
When it moved its forearms, those thin scythes gleamed and whistled as they sliced the air. If it weren't for Kurokami being a weapon forged specially by Yuu with rare materials, Saeko's body would've been cut clean in half.
Rei gripped the shaft of her spear as her lips tightened.
"That's… a mutated insect?"
"E-eh… Rei-ssi, did your world have bugs that scary? Haha…"
Saya felt a cold sweat sliding down her cheeks.
"No way. Not just zombies… even the bugs are evolving."
That kind of thought terrified her. Still, her mind worked quickly.
"If this is possible… then there could be other types too. That means giant spiders might show up, cockroaches the size of cars, or… or…! Not just insects… maybe animals too."
"…Better not say it." Yuu shuddered dramatically while hugging himself. "I don't want nightmares tonight."
"This isn't a game!"
"Yeah, well. Who wants some music?" He ignored her protest and, grinning from ear to ear, cranked up the radio until the singer sounded like she was screaming from his shoulder.
Saya's expression darkened as she kicked his shin at the same time.
Tok!
"Hm?" Yuu blinked and looked down curiously. "Looks like a mosquito just crashed into my leg. Weird."
"I'm not a mosquito!!" Saya shrieked, hopping on one foot while clutching her hurt toe. Tears of pain welled up in the corners of her eyes. "Your leg's made of steel! Aaah, damn it!"
"Oops, sorry."
Yuu laughed without remorse.
"Baka…" Saya huffed and started limping before leaning against him. "Next time I'll use steel-toed shoes…"
"Ugh… bugs are the worst."
Meanwhile, Shizuka murmured with a finger on her lips and her head tilted, staring at the mantis.
The mantis swung its scythes with a metallic scrape. At that exact moment, several doors of a nearby restaurant burst open, and staggering zombies began spilling out. Clearly, they were being drawn by the music.
But among them…
"That's…!"
Rei's eyes widened when she saw a zombie much larger than the others step forward. Its bloated body moved quickly, but then suddenly it grabbed another zombie and bit its head off without hesitation.
"Ugh!" Jin-ah covered her mouth.
From the corpse, black smoke poured out and was absorbed by the mutated zombie.
Saeko watched the scene unfazed. She was already used to it because she'd fought one of those before, so it wasn't anything new. Rei had seen it too, together with Yuu, from a distance.
But for Jin-ah, this was her first time.
'This… this world is worse than the zombie movies I've seen…'
It wasn't just slow zombies. There were mutated zombies. And now, mutated insects too.
—Shhhhs!
The mantis lashed its scythes at Saeko, cutting the air.
Saeko sidestepped calmly, dodging the strike. Her lips curved into a cold smile.
"I'll handle the mantis."
Rei raised her spear and stepped forward.
"Then I'll deal with the zombies… and that mutant."
Telling herself that if she didn't face her trauma, she'd only be a burden to her allies and to Yuu, she steadied her heart. Her reddish-brown eyes showed determination as she looked at Jin-ah.
"We're counting on your support."
"Y-yeah… I'll be backing you up from behind!"
Even though her skills were still at Basic Level, whenever she used them on her allies, their effects were surprisingly noticeable. Aside from being able to heal her mother, another reason she wanted to become stronger was to be even more useful to the group.
×××
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