Before anyone could react, Nanashi, Yukino, and Haruno found themselves back in the apartment.
At the final count, Nanashi had earned over two million Doomsday Points.
"That's... a lot of monsters," he muttered. For comparison, all the smaller beasts on the last planet combined barely matched the value of five behemoths.
Yukino and Haruno sat down, their eyes closed.
Then—something shifted.
Haruno's body temperature surged, her hair lengthening and transforming into vivid, blazing red.
The air around Yukino plummeted in temperature, her hair turning a deep, icy blue.
Fire.
And Ice.
When they opened their eyes—
Haruno's irises were burning red flames.
Yukino's were a frozen blue.
"You two..." Nanashi stared in shock.
Haruno raised her hand. Flames flickered to life at her fingertips.
Grinning, she said, "Looks like I've gained the power of fire."
Yukino, ever composed, suppressed her aura. Her icy hair faded back to normal.
"My abilities have grown as well," she said quietly.
Nanashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So the sisters are now ice and fire, huh? Total opposites."
Haruno dismissed the flames and smirked mischievously. "Who says opposites can't mix? Haven't you heard of the fire and ice combination, Amin?"
She gave him a playful wink, licking her lips in a teasing gesture.
"!!!"
As a man of passion, Nanashi definitely understood the implication.
He recalled Esdeath's icy seduction—and now, standing before him, was Yukino with that same cold mystique… and Haruno, burning with wild heat.
Yukino, with her innocent mind, didn't seem to catch the undercurrent. She simply frowned, sensing something indecent in the conversation.
Clearing his throat, Nanashi took out his phone and turned to Haruno. "Mind sharing your contact?"
Once added, he created a group chat.
He named it Doomsday Family and invited Haruno, Yukino, Marin, Megumi, and Chika.
This would be their central hub—a communication group for all players who had touched the Doomsday Game.
Nanashi: "Did everyone make it home safely?"
Megumi: "Yep, I'm good here."
Chika: "Yay! I made it back too!"
Marin: "Same here. What about Yukino and Haruno-nee?"
Nanashi: "They're with me."
Chika: "Tsk tsk tsk~"
Nanashi: "What's that supposed to mean? Do you need to be punished?"
Chika: "Hehe, just saying... Nanashi-kun isn't with me right now."
Nanashi chuckled.
Was Chika trying to provoke him? Did she actually want him to discipline her? Was she secretly a masochist?
Still, it was good to know everyone was safe.
Haruno stretched with a lazy yawn, her curves on full display without a hint of modesty.
She walked up to Nanashi and placed a soft kiss on his lips—right in front of Yukino. It was gentle, fleeting, and over before it could be anything more.
With a playful smile, she said, "Since Yukino's already moved in, I'll swing by Amin's place tomorrow to check it out. I'll head home for now—don't want to interrupt whatever you two have going on."
And just like that, she turned and left without another word.
Of course, by "whatever you two have going on," she meant the activities that had been... rudely interrupted by the start of the Doomsday Game. Even though they had their fun in the tent during the game, something about being back home made things feel more real.
As the door clicked shut, Nanashi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Shall we pick up where we left off?"
"..."
Yukino blushed furiously, but still she let out a soft hum in response.
With a smirk, Nanashi swept her off her feet and carried her back to the room.
The next morning…
Nanashi and Yukino returned home.
They were greeted by Eriri's jealous stare and Sayuri's mix of relief and curiosity.
Flustered, Yukino hurried off to find Haru.
Meanwhile, Nanashi noticed something odd in the living room.
Eriri sat with a sketchpad, drawing intently while wearing glasses. Even though her vision had fully recovered, she still wore them when working—it was part of her "artist mode."
Nezuko, Chito, and Yuuri hovered nearby, their cheeks red with embarrassment.
"Whoa! Brother Nanashi!"
Chito and Yuuri instantly stiffened up, blushing so hard it looked like their faces might burst into flame. Their eyes darted nervously as if mosquitoes were circling their heads.
Nezuko inched away from Eriri, head lowered.
Nanashi glanced at the sketchpad...
Oh no.
That drawing...!
His eye twitched. "Eriri, aren't you corrupting them?"
Yukino sat silently on the far end of the couch, hugging Haru while sneaking glances at him.
"!!!"
She turned to Eriri with a look of disbelief.
Was she the one who drew those explicit scenes?
Eriri slumped her shoulders and pouted. "They barged into my room and found it themselves…"
Pfft.
Sayuri couldn't help but laugh softly nearby.
"Mom!" Eriri whined, spinning around in embarrassment. "This is your fault! If you hadn't let them into my room, none of this would've happened!"
Her secret hobby was now fully exposed. She was mortified—but also a little happy. It seemed Nezuko and the others didn't judge her for it.
Sayuri, ever the observant one, had seen this coming.
She'd quietly assessed the girls and found them all to be kind and good-natured. She was sure none of them would think poorly of Eriri's interests.
Maybe this was a good thing—Eriri could use a few more friends who truly understood her.
Before Nanashi came back, Eriri had been getting along quite well with the others.
"Sigh," Nanashi could only sighed.
Nezuko seemed fine.
As for Chito and Yuri...
Nanashi took on a mock-serious tone. "I'm not saying you can't look at this kind of stuff. Just... don't overdo it, okay?"
"Yes, sir…" The two girls nodded like obedient little rabbits, blushing furiously.
"Chito-chan, Yuuri-chan, I washed some grapes. Come have some!"
Sayuri called out to them like a doting mom.
The girls' eyes lit up at the word grapes, their expressions screaming "WANT!"
"Go on," Nanashi chuckled, patting their heads.
With his blessing, they dashed over to Sayuri's side with joy.
Nanashi settled between Nezuko and Eriri.
Nezuko scooted over to make room, then gasped softly as Nanashi pulled her into his arms.
"B-Brother Nanashi…"
She thought he might scold her.
Instead, he gently lifted her chin, kissed her, and whispered in her ear, "Nezuko's a grown woman now. Learning new things is a good thing—Eriri has a lot to teach."
"H-Hmm!" Nezuko nodded, her face red as she nestled deeper into his embrace.
"Idiot Nanashi, what are you saying?!" Eriri huffed, baring her little fangs as she kicked at him with her smooth, bare foot.
Nanashi caught it easily with one hand, gently kneading it.
"Ah—!"
A jolt ran through her, the ticklish sensation spreading from her foot throughout her entire body.
With his other hand, he pulled Yukino closer and stroked Haru in her arms.
"Meow~" (So comfy~)
Haru practically melted in their hands, purring in bliss.
"You really know how to enjoy life," Eriri muttered.
"Isn't that what it's all about?" Nanashi grinned, toying with her toes.
Eriri exhaled hot air, trying to concentrate on her drawing despite the teasing.
Nanashi leaned back, fully immersed in the beauty surrounding him.
He opened the chat group to share his experience—only to be greeted by a notification.
[Ding! Hai Xiaomei has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! The Red King has joined the chat group!]
Nanashi was the first to step forward and speak upon seeing it.
Nanashi: "Hai Xiaomei, Red King—welcome to the Doomsday Chat Group. This platform is designed for communication and mutual assistance across different doomsday worlds."
Nanashi: "Please evaluate the authenticity of the chat group for yourselves and refrain from making any disruptive remarks."
March 7th: "Haha, Nanashi's turned into an emotionless welcome machine."
Nanashi: "Well, someone's gotta do it—I am the admin, after all."
Tushan Honghong: "I hope the new members are easy to get along with."
Lemuel: "Where's Aqua? Shouldn't she be out preaching or something?"
Nami: "She's probably busy chasing money."
—
In a noisy, dimly lit tavern buzzing with activity, a group of flamboyantly dressed patrons laughed and drank by the bar.
A blond bartender mixed a cocktail with practiced grace, then poured red wine into a glass and placed it in front of a red-haired man in a white shirt.
With a laid-back smile, he said, "My lord, word is the Green Clan is making moves again."
The red-haired man took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaled a ring of smoke, and spoke with confident ease. "If they're coming, let's give them a warm welcome."
He paused, suddenly distracted.
Staring at a floating translucent screen only he could see, his expression shifted.
"Tatara, can you see this?" he asked.
The blond man blinked. "See what?"
Confused, the man—Tatara Totsuka—shook his head.
Suoh turned to a white-haired girl in a red dress nearby. "Anna?"
Anna looked up and replied softly, "Just red..."
Suoh fell silent, deep in thought.
Suoh: "I'm Suoh Mikoto, leader of the Red Clan. This floating screen… no one else around me can see it."
He changed his display name from "Red King" to "Suoh."
That name, his style of speech—it left no doubt in Nanashi's mind. This was the Red King from K Project.
As for Hai Xiaomei… the name sounded faintly familiar, but Nanashi couldn't quite place it.
Lemuel: "Only chat group members can see this interface. We're also not allowed to reveal any information about it to outsiders."
Suoh: "I can't confirm if this is the power of a King…"
Nami: "You'll have to judge that yourself. All I can say is that we come from different worlds."
Suoh: "Understood."
He was pragmatic and preferred to judge with his own eyes.
Hai Xiaomei: "This is incredible! I really can't figure out what kind of magic this is."
Hai Xiaomei: "Nice to meet everyone! I'm Hai Xiaomei, a Marble Warrior!"
Shinobu: "Such cheerful words. You sound like a very lighthearted person."
"Marble Warrior…"
The phrase stirred distant memories in Nanashi—of a forgotten, nostalgic legend. Yes, now he remembered. The Legend of Marbles. Hai Xiaomei did exist.
Esdeath: "Suoh, you called yourself the Red King earlier, didn't you?"
Suoh: "Yes. I am a King."
Esdeath: "How strong is a King, exactly?"
Suoh: "Not weak."
His words were modest, but there was an unmistakable confidence in his tone.
Esdeath: "Heh. I'm very curious about the end of your world."
Nanashi: "Let's stay calm. We don't yet know the nature of their doomsday scenarios."
Nanashi: "Even if you're skeptical about this chat group, why not take a look at your own world's doomsday classification? You can find it in your personal info panel."
Suoh: "Abnormal Doomsday—four stars."
Hai Xiaomei: "Mine says Uncertain Doomsday—three stars."
Suoh: "So this refers to... the end of our worlds?"
Momonga: "Not a high rating for either of them."
Emilia: "It means your world is indeed facing an apocalypse, but the cause is either uncertain or deviates from normal patterns."
Kisara: "Another 'uncertain doomsday' joins the group."
Nanashi: "I can share a bit about my experience with an abnormal doomsday. Just yesterday, I re-entered the Doomsday Game. The difficulty level spiked again."
Nanashi:[uploads an image]
Nanashi: "This is the kind of behemoth we were up against in the game."
The image revealed 17 titanic beasts gathered on a barren landscape.
Hai Xiaomei: "Whoa! Those things are real?!"
Suoh: "What exactly is the Doomsday Game?"
Nanashi: "It's a core part of the abnormal doomsday in my world. Selected players are forced to participate. If no one clears the stage, these monsters manifest in the real world."
Hai Xiaomei: "That's terrifying!"
Suoh: "If I'm also in an abnormal apocalypse… will I have to face monsters like these too?"
Nanashi: "It's hard to say. Each world's end is different. You'll have to find out on your own."
Suoh: "…I see."
Seitenshi: "Those beasts look even bigger than the Protostome of the Zodiac."
Kisara: "Estimated height—at least a hundred meters."
Silver Wolf: "They look pretty badass. Would make great endgame bosses in a game."
March 7th: "Silver Wolf, you're such a gamer. Aren't you a Star Core Hunter?"
Silver Wolf: "What, Star Core Hunters aren't allowed to have fun now? That's discrimination!"
Saeko: "Nanashi-kun's apocalypse really is bizarre. The enemies keep getting stronger each time. I wonder what's next."
Nanashi: "Doesn't matter. I gained a lot this round—I'm stronger now."
Reinhard: "So, did you clear the Doomsday Game?"
Nanashi: "Yes. It's been resolved."