Ouroboros stopped in front of what should've been their destination.
"No..."
Shizuka walked up to the window, feeling happy, because she knew she was going to a place she'd seen before. But as soon as her yellow eyes looked outside, she just said that one sound.
Shizuka said the house should have had a two-story design with a nice well-kept garden, but all that was there was splintered wood, concrete dust, and broken glass scattered across the burned lawn.
And right in the middle of it all...
The remains of a charred military helicopter. Its main rotor was buried in what had been the living room.
Next to the helicopter was a dead bird that had mutated. It was smaller than the one Saya killed, but it was still the size of a bus. Its wings were torn apart and its beak was stuck in the side of the helicopter.
"Ah."
"This scene..."
The girls didn't know what to say about it.
However, one could more or less guess what had happened.
The bird went after the helicopter in the middle of the flight. The pilot lost control. They crashed into each other. And the house had the misfortune of being exactly where they fell.
"Hah... what a stupid and random way to destroy a shelter."
As Yuu opened the door, the people inside Ouroboros came out.
"Shizuka-nim..."
Jin-ah seemed worried about how Shizuka might react.
Shizuka took a few steps forward and then stopped completely, staring at the wreckage. Her eyes, which were always bright and lazy, were now somewhat dull.
This was bad. Shizuka was never like this.
She was always smiling and always behaved cheerfully.
Seeing that empty expression on her face is...
The girls worried about Shizuka. They saw her expression, and they also knew how she felt through the connection.
The accident was recent.
Which meant it probably made a lot of noise.
And noise attracted...
Yue cast a spell to sense movement in the surrounding area.
During that spell, she sensed a bunch of zombies and mutants moving toward this location from every direction.
They had about ten minutes before they all showed up.
"It wasn't really my house..."
The girls looked at Shizuka when she started talking.
Shizuka looked away from the rubble and at them. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
It was the first time they'd ever seen Shizuka cry.
"It was Rika-chan's house. Rika-chan... She's my best friend. She lived here... before the apocalypse. I... I lived here with her too."
She paused, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
"Rika-chan is a police officer. Before all this started, she was sent on a mission. I... I don't know where."
"And now... now her house is destroyed. And that military helicopter... Rika-chan... she used to fly helicopters sometimes. What if this was her helicopter? What if she...? What if Rika-chan was in that helicopter and now she's...?"
She didn't finish the sentence.
The girls came over to comfort her. Jin-ah gave her a hug, Saeko put her hand on her shoulder, and Rei stroked her head.
Saya turned her head toward Yuu while keeping her arms crossed. Her eyes behind her glasses seemed to say, "Can you do something?"
Shizuka looked up at him. That made the sensei look pretty hopeless. She looked kind of sad.
"Kami-sama... You... you can do amazing things. You can create things out of nothing. You can make us stronger. You can... can you tell me if Rika-chan is dead?
She was putting all her faith in Yuu.
And he realized that this was a crucial moment for a person who can feel emotions.
So, he closed his eyes and, when he opened them, he focused on an area that was far away.
A few dozen kilometers away, up on a tall building that had been converted into an observation post.
There was a woman with dark skin, purple hair, and an athletic build, holding a sniper rifle.
Yuu's gaze pierced through the buildings and extended beyond the chaos until he saw her carefully aim and fire.
A zombie's head exploded loudly before its body fell.
Rika Minami. A police officer and expert sniper from the Special Assault Team.
He returned his attention to the present and looked Shizuka straight in the eye.
"No. Rika is alive."
"W-what...?"
"Umu. She's about forty kilometers northeast, in a tall building. She's using a sniper rifle to take out zombies."
She just eliminated her seventeenth zombie in the last five minutes.
Shizuka stood completely still for three full seconds.
Jin-ah let go of her, and Shizuka ran over to Yuu. Ta! Ta! Ta! Her feet made a thudding sound on the asphalt before she jumped towards Yuu, who quickly held her by the waist so she wouldn't fall. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and her breasts pressed against his chest.
"Kami-sama! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Then she kissed him right on the lips, pressing her lips against his with force and enthusiasm.
When she pulled away, she had the biggest smile Yuu had ever seen.
"I love you so much~"
The girls smiled with relief and amusement at Shizuka's explosive reaction.
Her best friend was still alive. That was all it took for her to declare her love for Yuu.
Saya cleared her throat, grabbing everyone's attention.
She adjusted her glasses using two fingers and started talking.
"So... Since this house is destroyed and we can't stay here..."
"We have Ouroboros now. It's basically a mobile base. Probably better than any static shelter anyway."
Ouroboros had everything they needed. Plus, it could travel anywhere in the world, which was a significant advantage.
Rei raised her eyebrows.
"And? Where do you propose we go?"
Saya took a deep breath.
"Takagi Estate. Where my parents are."
The original plan was to stay at Shizuka's house for a few days or weeks, as it was a good place to set up a base of operations, and then move on to Takagi Estate. But as Rei had said before, and Saya now, they had Ouroboros, a mobile base.
And anyway, Shizuka's house was destroyed.
That being the case, they wouldn't have to worry about finding another base.
After seeing what happened to Shizuka, Saeko decided to speak carefully.
"Saya... Your parents, do you think they're okay?"
"Of course. Yuu told me they were fine. I trust he'll tell me if something goes wrong, right, Yuu?"
"Sure."
Saya's expression softened.
Yuu looked at the other girls.
"Any objections?"
Jin-ah shook her head.
"We should help Saya-unnie."
"I have no objections, Yuu-sama."
"Nn. Wherever Yuu goes, I go."
They all agreed.
Unanimous decision then.
"Good. Takagi Estate is our next destination."
They started moving back toward Ouroboros when they heard growling.
The zombies were attracted by the noise.
The girls immediately went on guard, but Yuu raised a hand.
"Don't bother. I'll take care of it."
He reached out his hand toward the approaching horde. Probably about fifty zombies with several mutants mixed in.
And beyond...
He sensed a small, weak, and hopeless human life cowering in fear.
—Clap!
He snapped his fingers.
They all simultaneously exploded into particles of light that scattered in the wind.
The girls looked at him with varying expressions of amazement and admiration.
"Sometimes I forget that Yuu-sama is..."
"Absurdly powerful? Yes. Me too."
Saya nodded at Saeko's words.
"Yuu-kun..."
Rei tugged at the hem of Yuu's clothes as she pointed toward a distant house.
"That girl... She's a normal little girl! Yuu-kun! We've got to help her!"
There was a girl crying near the body of a dead man as several zombies broke through the walls.
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