The humvee shook with the periodical bump of the accumulating corpses in the apocalypse. For those inside it felt like gravel but the driver, Shizuka, knew better. All she had to do was keep humming her lullaby while conversing with the group of girls in the vehicle, it helped her forget the periodically accumulating bloodshed in the windscreen which she had to keep clinging to preserve her vision.
Hirano had stopped shooting and was instead enjoying the scenery at the back of the humvee, holding himself against the vehicle in order to not fall... aside from that he was having a rather relaxing sunny day.
Inside the vehicle, however... someone was suffering. Brand Mercer had Clarent in between his legs, hugging his knees and shivering. For him, this Humvee provided no security for the authentic threat was inside, in his mind.
[Lucy: R-Really? like... you can get your toenails done in that floral pattern?]
[Rei: Yes! Okaa-san used to do it for me, don't get mistaken, she's a cop but she has this quite feminine side in her].
[Saya: So those times that you showed up with them done, it was your mother...? I never knew].
[Rei: You were interested weren't you?~ but you were just too shy to say it bookworm!]
[Saya: Shut up!]
[Chiyo: How cute, could you teach onee-chan how to do that? I have quite the large nails you see].
[Rei: Of course! As long as you promise not to eat us].
[Chiyo: Hum~ I will think about it, if they look cute on onee-chan then I'll at least eat just half your body].
[Lucy: Hahaha!]
[Saeko: Why are you laughing? we're all getting eaten]
[Lucy: Perhaps we could get our hair and nails done before getting eaten, I'm sure our boyfriend has enough money to spare doesn't he?~]
[Rei: Doesn't he now?! That cheapskate never spends money on us. He gets to fuck all of us in turns and doesn't even have to spend a single yen, isn't that unfair?].
[Lucy: Yeah it is!]
[Saya: Brand, we know you're reading, say something].
The boy's eyes resisted the urge to cry. Because... he couldn't put this chat on mute.
'Having a harem sucks. Please let me be... my sweet goddess please bless me from this tribulation! who the fuck told me buying this upgrade was a good idea?! I'll slaughter that cunt'.
[It was me].
'Hollow you damn prick! put this thing on mute! I don't want to be seeing this all day every day!'
[The update for that will cost you ten thousand gacha points, I'm afraid you don't have enough points].
'Suck ya motha, you scammer!'
"Brand-chan" Shizuka took him out of his despair, Brand always had the assurance that Shizuka would say something either kind, horny or clumsy.
"Hmn? What is it, babe? you want to switch?"
"No, it is okay, but... I hope you know I want this chat as well~ the sooner the better, the girls are enjoying it and I can't be left off"
'N-No...' The last thing he needed was Shizuka's clumsiness in his mind twenty-four-seven, 'Fuck, do I have to pay ten thousand gacha points?!'
[Lucy: Kyoko and Arisa said they want it as well... hubby you're going to have to work your ass off, a pity, all because you wanted a harem~].
"Please no more, my wallet..."
**
**
[WARNING, DELTA INFECTION DETECTED!]
When I received that message all of my alerts flared immediately, and surprisingly enough I wasn't the only one, all of my 'partners' received the same message from the system.
After a rather traumatic ride, Shizuka came to a stop. Finaly I had an excuse to have them all shut down their girly talk in my mind, the thing was so hopeless that even that monster, the black goat, was enthralled.
"The Takagi household should be up the next two blocks, however... there is something stopping us, Brand-chan".
"I know what it is..."
The convoy stopped and I hopped over the middle of the seats just to take a look at what was upfront. The noise wasn't loud as the whole event was taking place several miles away from us up the road.
But we could see from this spot how Blackwatch was fighting ferociously against a creature that resembled a gigantic bloody worm, the height of that thing was so massive that it was towering over the buildings and from this far away it still looked gigantic.
"W-What is that thing?!" Shizuka's eyes were shivering in fear just like the rest. We all came out of the vehicles to take a look at the scene taken out of a movie. At least three of those heavy-duty vehicles of Blackwatch, more than two dozen operatives, all of them fighting against that gargantuan worm.
*BOOOMM!!*
*GROWLL!!*
Shaking explosions, piercing gunshots, menacing growls, despaired yelling and unrestrained chaos were heard in a lower tone but existed nonetheless in front of us, ironically we were in the safe spot for the first time, watching Blackwatch be mercilessly dealt with from the safeness of distance, or at least, that's what I thought.
"Another delta infection... just like the one that nearly killed us, no... that thing must definitely be stronger... if this is a delta then it must be in the border of upgrading to the next level. I wonder, however... how do infections like this take place? what does it take for these things to keep evolving?".
My question entered deaf ears. None of us knew. My blood triggered the mutation in that previous delta infection, at this point, I know that I'm involved in this somehow, but I don't know how... Chiyo's delight in my blood only confirms it, if she likes mine and no one else's that means I'm special in more than one sense.
"Is there a way to divert?" Arisa suggested with shivering hands, holding Mikoto. Am I going to call her a coward? fuck that... I'm not fighting this lineup if I can help it.
Sadly, Saya walked up to me to break all of our hopes as she fixed her glasses.
"No, my household has only one entrance that's up this road to the right and into the Tokonotsu Hill. We can't take a diversion, at least not from this direction, we'd have to take the highway again in order to divert, losing a considerable amount of progress. There is a small forest surrounding it but there is no entrance from this side of Tokonotsu. Tch! Why did this thing have to appear here of all places".
"Then should we wait until everything is finished?" Shizuka suggested.
"Why don't we fight it?" Kyoko suggested, she looked as if she was panting and clenching her hands tightly for some reason.
"..."
"..."
Everyone present, mostly me, switched gazes to one another as if to ask ourselves one question, 'Is she okay?'.
"Babe, if you feel bad you can get back in the car" I proposed, it is not usual for her to be this reckless. Kyoko is usually the voice of reason.