Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331
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-Tokonosu-
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the Takagi estate, bathing the well-manicured grounds in a warm, golden light. For a moment, it was almost possible to forget that the world had reached an apocalyptic hell scape, that the dead now walked, and civilization had crumbled.
Even plumes of black smoke in the distance, the putrid smell of burned plastic, and a lingering presence of burned flesh from the deceased bodies being burned by the soldiers. With the spread being already confirmed by bite wounds, taking more precautions seemed wise. On the other side of the estate, the gentle breeze carried the scent of cut grass and distant woodsmoke, creating an illusion of peace that felt both comforting and deeply fragile.
Inside one of the many large utility tents, Kohta sat, his modified nail gun resting in the hands of a few curious eyes. Around him, a group of the estate's soldiers leaned in, their expressions a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"I'm telling you, kid, this is brilliant," one of them said, reaching out to touch the weapon before thinking better of it. "To think you could turn something like this into a weapon with just a few pieces of wood and duct tape. The improved stability and firing accuracy would be a literal lifesaver! Especially since it's easier to find nails than bullets when in a pinch!"
"Forget about the stability, how is this thing even capable of firing at anything beyond a couple of feet?"
Kohta beamed with pride. "It's all about understanding the mechanics. The pressure from the gas was modified for more power, the loading mechanism altered for easier reloading, and so on."
Another soldier chuckled, shaking his head. "At this rate, modern students will fashion a sword out of pencil sharpeners and box cutters if they have to."
"Nah," his companion replied with a grin. "They've already skipped the sword and gone straight to guns. Next thing you know, they'll be building bombs."
"That already exists," a third soldier added, his voice lowering slightly. "That Seth guy threw several 'Deo-bombs' when he first arrived. Gosh, makes me want to make some mods to my own gun, but the boss will kill me if I mess it up."
The first soldier frowned, scratching his head. "I'm still confused about that. I could have sworn I saw those things being shiny rocks he threw, given how numerous they were and how small a single one of those things looked… it shouldn't be enough to carry a ton of impact, right?"
"You're imagining things," the second soldier insisted. "How would that make any sense? Rocks that explode? Come on. The size of those detonations was as big as a rocket launcher, but with more fire. I bet my life's savings that it's something involving nitroglycerin and some leaked fuel on the ground we missed."
"What life savings? As if money has any value left anymore."
"Hah… don't remind me, all my effort for a vacation in Hawaii is now down the drain."
Their attention returned to Kohta, who had been listening with growing awkwardness. "Speaking of the Irish fellow, you two seem close enough, right?"
To that, Kohta could just scratch his head and sigh in disappointment. "Hah, I don't know myself, to be honest. I didn't create any sort of explosive of that kind, let alone of that magnitude. He must have gotten them from the same house as this car, since it's clear its owner had some affiliation with the US army. Sorry, guys, you'll have to ask him yourselves."
"Don't worry about it."
"So you're really serious about modifying our guns? What kind of improvements are we talking about?"
Kohta's eyes lit up. "Oh, I can definitely improve them. For the Type 89 assault rifles, I could enhance the gas system for better reliability, maybe add a custom muzzle brake to reduce recoil. For the Howa Type 64, I could work on the feeding mechanism to prevent jams, and possibly modify the stock or remove it for better ergonomics."
The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances. "Guns and ammunition are limited supplies during a zombie apocalypse, kid. We can't just let you experiment with them. We are familiar with those changes ourselves and even tried to experiment with stuff, but it's very risky."
Before Kohta could respond, a voice cut through their conversation. "He's creative, and you can trust him. I'll have dad working alongside him as a weapon technician."
All heads turned toward the tent entrance where a certain pink-haired girl stood, arms crossed over her chest, now wearing casual clothes rather than the school uniform. A faint fragrance of shampoo and perfume wafted in the air, creating a pleasant atmosphere compared to the lingering stench earlier. "But just to be certain, he will be given a single weapon to modify. If his improvements work, we'll consider expanding his role. Does that work for you?"
No one dared to say anything against her and immediately nodded like chickens.
She fixed the soldiers with a look that brooked no argument. "Now leave us. I need to have a private conversation with him."
Patting Kohta's back, the soldiers filed out, still muttering among themselves. Saya stepped fully into the tent, her gaze softening slightly as she looked at him. "You really think you can help them?"
Kohta nodded enthusiastically, clutching his nail gun like a prized possession. "I know I can. This is just the beginning. This was done at a difficult moment with very limited resources and short on time. But with what we got from that house and your family resources, I can tinker and repairing some of the old parts and make sure to arm as many people as possible."
"My family is not exactly lacking when it comes to a gun expert. You'll have to talk with them about whatever plans you have."
"I will."
Saya sighed, her arms dropping to her sides as she leaned against a nearby crate. "Regardless, that's not why I came over." Her voice lowered, the edge from a few seconds ago replaced by a weary concern. "It's about Cu. He left with Saeko a few hours ago."
Kohta's head snapped up, his earlier excitement vanishing in an instant. "What? He left already? But we just got here! They haven't even been here for a full day."
A flicker of the same frustration crossed Saya's face before she smoothed it over with logic. "I know. But he made the right call." She pushed off the crate and began to pace slowly in the confined space. "Think about it. The power plant and the water treatment facility. If we lose access to those, everything falls apart fast, and the number of people we need to take care of just keeps growing. No lights, no defenses that rely on electricity, and no filtration system means we have to consume possibly tainted water. Our biggest issue right now is communication to the outside world; if we lose that, that's far more disastrous than anything else right now. You know what I mean by that…."
Kohta nodded slowly, having heard from Takashi and Ego about the zones and the different classifications given to each region. The moment their region was deemed a black zone, the possibility of a bomb being dropped practically became a guarantee in order to stop the spread. So far, they have not been there yet. He understood the logic, but it didn't quell the stress churning in his stomach. "Yeah, I get it. It's a smart move." He looked down at his hands. "So... why are you worried?"
Saya stopped pacing and turned to face him, her expression unguarded for once. "Because it's been hours. They left hours ago, and we've had no word from him or any one of the team stationed there."
"Maybe they are busy dealing with a bunch of zombies and don't have time to answer yet?"
She gave him a short glare, "And you truly believe those words?"
"...No." At best, they were just rationalizing and finding a plausible explanation to calm his nerves. "Honestly, I am not that worried about him. He has proven again and again that he can handle himself, and not hearing from him for a bit is practically the norm by now. Saeko herself is not a pushover either, and they have a car in case things get messy and they need to retreat. Just give it time, I'm sure we'll get a call from them soon enough."
"Hmph." Saya crossed her arms again, the fabric of her shirt straining slightly against her chest as she tapped her fingers against her biceps. "Fine. I'll wait a few more hours. But if they're still radio silent after that, I'm organizing a small party to check on them and the facilities. Those are critical infrastructure, and they can't be ignored, no matter the risk. Even if we have generators that can go on for days, the other people around town need this resource."
Kohta chuckled, "You really do care about them, don't you? I guess the nickname of pack mom makes sense."
Heat rushed to Saya's face, a furious blush that she tried to hide by turning her head slightly. "Shut up, fat ass! Of course I care, it's my duty to ensure our survival, and they're part of that equation! Their success is our success, their failure is a liability we can't afford."
"Alright, alright, I agree."
Still smiling, Kohta turned back to the disassembled rifle spread across a clean cloth on his bench. Saya grabbed a nearby folding chair and sank into it, the metal groaning in return. The silence uncomfortably stretched between them for several long minutes. The only sounds were the hammering sounds from nearby construction, on and shooting of the undead, and the clinking of tools as he sorted through them. The awkwardness grew until Kohta finally broke it, without looking up from his work. "What else is on your mind besides Cu and Saeko?"
Saya let out a long, weary sigh, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "That girl, Miku. I don't trust her. I don't know why she, of all people, was given a second chance, but she should be locked up after what she pulled. That opportunistic bitch is just waiting for the perfect moment to stab us all in the back. Cu giving her a second chance was a monumental mistake, one we might all pay for if we give her the chance."
"I don't trust her either," the bespectacled boy admitted, setting down a bore brush and finally turning to face her. "But locking her up isn't the answer. We'd lose another helping hand when we're already short-handed. We'd have to waste manpower babysitting her and anyone who sides with her. You know Rei and Takashi are already watching her closely. If we put her in a room, we're practically guaranteeing we'll have to lock up others who are just as dangerous, if not more… I think it's better for us to show them that we are the best choice out of this shitty situation."
Saya considered this, her sharp features softening slightly as she ran the logic through her mind. "I must be going crazy if you're the one making sense."
He chuckled again, a more genuine sound this time. "That's because the best ideas come when you're relaxed. Your mind isn't so cluttered with panic."
She shot him a glare that could curdle milk. "How can you be relaxed right now? Making jokes when everything's falling apart around us?"
Kohta shrugged, picking up a cleaning rod. "Worrying so much just gives you a headache. Nothing more. It doesn't solve problems; it just creates new ones. Maybe you should stop trying to carry everything yourself and share some of those burdens with people you trust."
Saya grumbled something under her breath, too low for him to catch.
"What was that?"
"There aren't that many people to trust," she said, her voice clear but filled with a bitter resignation.
"What about me?"
She looked away, her gaze fixed on the tent wall as if she could see through it. "Despite being an idiot sometimes, you're capable enough. Your logic is... surprisingly sound when you're not trying to be a comedian."
Kohta grinned, accepting the backhanded compliment with good grace. He reached over to a small thermos on the corner of his workbench and poured a cup of coffee, the steam rising in the cool air of the tent. "Here." He held it out to her. Saya hesitated for a long moment before taking it, her fingers brushing against his in a way that made her pull back quickly. "Want to see what I'm working on? Might take your mind off things. It's a new modification for the shotgun and improves the spread pattern to that of the duckbill muzzle."
"What? Whatever. Fine," she said, standing up and walking over to the bench. "But I only have five minutes. Hurry up and show me your little toy."
As Kohta explained the intricate workings. The modified choke tube he was fabricating, Saya found herself actually leaning in, asking random questions out of plain curiosity. "You know, I just realized something, for a loser gun otaku, you are surprisingly quite composed when it comes to dealing with those zombies and the other idiots. I haven't seen you have a panic attack, puke, or have that thousand-yard stare like the others. You even laugh when shooting those things. Kinda concerning."
"Uh… thanks for the compliment?" He answered with some uncertainty.
"I wasn't complimenting you!"
Kohta just scratched his cheeks and shrugged. "Well, your insults and compliments tend to overlap with each other. But to answer your question, I just don't think about it. Being bullied for years does help with giving me a high tolerance for stress, I think. Also, I know that if I do, I'll definitely start to have regrets and dark thoughts about others and my parents. Now that it's confirmed that the zombie plague has spread across the world."
For a moment, the pink-haired girl's face softened. "Oh, I'm sorry. With all that's going on, we haven't tried to reach them yet. Let's talk to my father and see if we can establ—"
"—Not now." The boy replied with a surprising amount of sternness in his tone, the sunlight reflecting from his glasses and making his expression unreadable. "I know he is occupied and overwhelmed with other tasks. Other people need his attention more than I do at the moment. Best we wait until things have calmed down."
Saya frowned, finding his reaction somewhat strange. "Aren't you curious if they are doing well?"
"What if they aren't?" He said, while pulling one of the gun's levers and testing out the motion. "If I find out that I'm one of the many unfortunates who lost their loved ones — I honestly don't think I'll be able to help out anymore. I can't let that happen at all. So I'll continue to hold out hope that they're fine and I'll see them one day."
"Kohta…"
A smile forced its way onto his face, "Hahaha, but then again, mom and dad have always been very creative. Despite being a jeweler and fashion designer, respectively, they have plenty of powerful friends to help them out. So don't worry about it, Takagi, I'm most likely just being paranoid for nothing and stupid like the others."
"..."
It was practically disgusting how fake that smile looked in Saya's eyes. But she could not yell at him or even argue back, for she knew that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "You're not an idiot. You're doing more than those spinless fools who tried to run with the bus combined."
"Is that a compliment? Hehehe, the other boys will be jealous for sure! Tch, I should have recorded that!" He asked again with a knowing smile, while letting out a goofy laugh that lightened the mood. A sight that made her own frown lessen as she then found herself asking the same question from earlier again, but worded a bit differently.
"How can you stay so jovial?"
"Happy thoughts. Always happy thoughts and a bit of beer helps."
She hummed with amusement, "I guess I should have expected that kind of ans—hold on a minute, beer!? Since when do you drink!?" Saya practically jumped from her chair the moment she heard that, grabbing him by the collar and then noticing some hidden cans on his table.
Startled, Kohta quickly brought up his hands in mock defeat. "I-It's just a few cans! N-No more! And not even the strong stuff either!"
Even though he did not say it, she already knew who was to blame and growled out his name. "I swear when Cu comes back, I'll let Kyouko-sensei loose on him."
The radio on the table remained silent, with the girl soon finding herself leaning back against the chair and massaging her temples before another person came inside the tent.
"Takashi?"
"The power went out," he wasted no time in sharing this piece of news. Both of them went wide-eyed with disbelief, with Takashi voicing their worries. "Something happened to them."
"Damn it, screw waiting, call Rei!" Saya exclaimed, storming out of the tent with Kohta and Takashi following. Though she soon stopped in her tracks upon both Rei and Igou both restrained by several guards. This caught her by surprise, especially when she saw her mother walking over.
"Neither of you will be going out at this moment."
What the hell was going on?
{Break}
-???-
Who did not fear death, that did not mean he underestimated the concept as something that could never claim him, but rather accepted it full-heartedly from the beginning. Unlike his master, immortality was never part of his legend, and sooner or later, he would fall into the embrace of death.
Dying during combat and defending one's home satisfied the warrior, and he hoped such a similar fate would follow him during his summoned days as a Servant — which unfortunately did not come to pass, but at least he saved someone at the end. With the Fuyuki grail having wiped his memories, it was hard to tell how often it happened.
'Am I just goin' on a tangent to distract myself?' The thought rippled in the quiet space of his mind. Finding them to be both funny and somewhat grim, yet he had grown used to them. 'This isn't the first time I've done that. Focusing on the small, insignificant details to keep the bigger, more terrifying ones at bay.'
The Irish hero found himself uncertain whether to call it a defense mechanism in the first place. But then again, he never bothered to put any effort into figuring it out.
A slow blink, and the world of fractured concrete and explosion dissolved into a clear blue sky, as vast and endless as one could imagine, with white clouds drifting lazily across it. "Hoh?" Below him, beautiful, lush green grass spread out in every direction.
The wind gently caressed his face, carrying the scent of clean earth and something vaguely floral. It was definitely a stark and even violent contrast to the chaos he had just been swimming in a few seconds ago.
Was it a few seconds ago?
Having lost his consciousness back there, he still doubted Saeko managed to drag his body safely in the middle of this area.
"..."
Still, he was speechless.
His gaze swept across the landscape, taking in the rolling hills in the far distance and the vibrant, unnatural health of the nature around him. It was unfamiliar because he did not recognize the landscape. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if this was his homeland, the cliffs of Howth, but the sensation was wrong, along with some aspects of the topography being unusual for his hometown.
Then he considered Japan, but with no information to go with, it remained a mere guess. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his movements feeling strangely light for someone who had just had his back withstand a boiler explosion. Plucking a couple of grass blades from the ground, holding them in his palm before letting them go. They fell and seemed to dance on the breeze, dispersing into the air like tiny green spirits.
"An illusory realm?" he whispered, the words barely sounding audible to his own ears. "Can't be… who would even cast this, and the sensation is different."
Deciding to look around for a bit, Cu tried to push himself up to his feet, but his other hand refused to let go. For it gripped something, solid, and only now did he realize this to be the case. "What the…" The man turned his head slowly, and his breath hitched. Lying beside him in the grass was a crimson spear, its long shaft a deep, bloody red, the spearhead gleaming with a supernatural gleam.
"Well, I'll be, this is a surprise."
A soft and genuine grin spread across his face. "I've missed you, old friend." He tightened his grip, lifting the spear and holding the cool metal of its head against his forehead, closing his eyes. Not even worried about where he got pulled to for as long as he had this spear in hand, no obstacle would stop him.
Time passed in that peaceful silence. Finally, he opened his eyes again and paid more attention to his surroundings. "Alright, I've had my nice surprise," he said, his voice calm as it carried across the open field. "Now, why don't you show yourself? The one whose realm this is, or the one who put me in this illusion. I'm not naive enough to not recognize a construct disguised as a dream."
No response.
The wind continued its gentle sighing, the clouds their lazy drift. He kept his expression even, his posture relaxed. "Givin' me the good ol' silent treatment, great. I'll admit, I don't know how to address you. A divine spirit? A nature spirit? Perhaps a mage or even a powerful Elemental?" He listed the entities from his world, the beings of power that could craft such a space. "But I sense no hostility. No killing intent."
Another moment of silence stretched on. Nothing answered him. Cu sighed, a sound of mild exasperation rather than frustration. He slung the spear over his shoulders, letting its weight settle comfortably across his neck.
"Hm?" The wind had picked up, shifting direction slightly, pulling at his hair. Following the gut feeling that had never steered him wrong, he started walking, following a random path with no particular end goal. "Guess we'll just be walking for now."
As he traveled across the beautiful space, he brought a hand up to his face, touching the line of his jaw, the rough skin, and even looking down at his body. This was his fully grown adult body, the exact one he had in his first life and as his Lancer self. Not a trace of the younger Cú Chulainn remained. A new question formed in his mind. "If this is an illusion, how would this entity know my current self? And how would they know my spear? The details are too perfect. If this is really all just a dream of mine, then I'll be a bigger idi—Who!?"
He whipped his head around as a sharp sensation prickled the back of his neck. A person's gaze… Someone was watching him. His eyes narrowed, every warrior instinct screaming that he was no longer alone in this space after all.
Yet he did not hold his spear in a defensive stance, staying true to his earlier words so as not to harbor any hostile intentions.
The sound of his boots scrunching on the grass came to a halt. A short distance away, the vibrant green of the landscape began to falter — the grass turned brown and wilted. Further still, there was nothing but cracked, barren dirt. And at the center of this blight stood a large, dead tree, its branches like skeletal fingers clawing at the sky.
"Is this you?" he asked. "The one who called me? You don't appear to be like the beings I'm familiar with and definitely not a forest spirit…"
As expected, there was no answer.
Cu started to question if this thing could even understand him. His gaze dropped from the tree to the ground at its base, and he noticed a particular object almost hidden from view. There, half-buried in the dry earth, was a small wooden carved figure; a simple, stylized charm.
"That…"
He stared at it, his mind racing, making him feel as if he'd seen it somewhere.
"Hold on," taking a few steps forward, the blue-haired man tried to grab it, only to feel a faint pull on his body and stop in his tracks. "Tch, so that's how you're gonna play. Hah, fine, I still have to check on Saeko."
And then everything faded to black.
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Saeko had never truly been dropped in a scenario where death was practically guaranteed. Even when she first faced that criminal who broke into her house, the cold, final sensation of death's knock never truly arrived. She felt the thrill of breaking someone, the danger, but not the absolute certainty of her end. The moment the thundering sound of the boiler explosion reached her ears, however, her mind went utterly blank.
'Ah… I'm going to die.'
It was the boom that did it.
If the horde of zombies overwhelming her hadn't frozen her in place, the explosion certainly did. It was a sound that bypassed thought, bypassed instinct, and went straight to the core of her being.
In that stretched-out second, they say your life flashes before your eyes. For Saeko, it truly did.
She saw the quiet hallways of her high school before it all turned into hell, felt the familiar weight of her bokuto resting in her hands during practice, along with the image of her father's stern but proud expression. For years, she believed she would face death calmly, with the same discipline she carried in her matches. Yet when that moment arrived, those convictions crumbled.
Somewhere in the depths of her heart, a faint sliver of regret settled in as a simple truth surfaced through the fear spreading across her face. She didn't want to die. There were still things she wanted to do, to feel, to experience, to fight and love. Bracing herself, she waited for the pain to come — for the burning heat, the crushing weight above her, and the violent end she believed was only a heartbeat away.
"..."
However, none of it came.
Seconds bled into what felt like minutes. The heat from the boiler lingered in the air, making it feel like she had been thrown into a sauna with sweat already starting to form on the surface of her skin, while a sense of intense vertigo took hold of her senses. Nearly making the purple-haired heiress faint right on the spot, but stopped herself from blacking out.
"H-Hn…"
She was still living. Still… breathing? Hard to believe.
"I... I'm alive?"
Her own voice was a rough croak, several wet coughs following soon after. She opened her eyes, but was met with only an all-consuming darkness with no trace of light. "—!?" Panic seized her; had she been blinded? Are her eyes damaged? It only took a few more seconds for her pupils to adjust, for faint shafts of light to register, cutting through the gloom.
And only then did the woman find out that not only was she not crushed, but rather was in a small, dark pocket of space with no visual indication of where she was.
"Well, good morning ya, hope you had a nice little nap there, princess," a certain rough voice called out, the words carrying a faint Irish lilt. "You look a little rattled. I've never seen you make such a face."
By some miracle, they had survived, and hearing his voice brought on a sense of pure relief to the young woman.
"Cu!" she called out his name, waiting for her eyesight to fully recover. "Are you okay? The boiler… did it hit you?"
"Well, it kinda did, but my skin is very durable. Some good ol' hot water won't hurt me much, hahaha — ah, easy there," he warned, his voice sounding strangely strained. "Don't move around too much now. The place is surrounded by broken shards of glass and debris. You'll get more cuts, and with all the zombie blood around, infection's a real nasty possibility."
Remembering the sheer number of those things from earlier, Saeko agreed. "It's a miracle I'm not more injured," she murmured, her heart still hammering against her ribs.
Cu let out a weak, breathy laugh. "Ey, that it is."
Then it hit her. Right before the boiler exploded, he was the one who ran to her and shielded her at the very last second. While he mentioned him being fine and not getting burned by the water, that kind of detonation sent more than just water. Not to mention the crumbled ceiling around them.
A new wave of worry started to fill her being as she advanced ahead. Moving despite his warning, her hands gently and carefully explored the small space in order to avoid any potential cuts. It was incredibly tight, surrounded by layers upon layers of concrete. The entire ceiling must have collapsed on them, as even trying to push against it proved futile. She tried to look around, but her vision remained a blur of shadows and light, forcing Saeko to crawl carefully in the direction of his voice, her hands continuing to pat the ground.
"Hm?" Then, her fingers touched something warm.
At first, she thought it was water from the boiler, now cooled. But then the smell hit her. It was thick, coppery, and overwhelmingly metallic.
Blood.
'Blood of the undead?'
That idea left her my as soon as it appeared, for the undead did have blood, but there was no warmth to it. Especially from some of the older ones, the splatter across her skin from hitting them with her wooden sword had proved that point again and again. One of the newly transformed undead kept some of that warmth within them, but even that was accompanied by a disgusting stench of rot.
"My phone," the darkness becoming a bigger obstacle by the second, she needed light to illuminate her surroundings. Searching for it in her pocket, her hands no longer shaking, but the pain remained to linger. To her astonishment, it remained intact, not a single crack on the screen. "Alright, I found my phone, we can use it to get out of here." She turned on the flashlight, and the beam cut through the darkness. As expected, the entire place was nothing more than pieces of debris surrounding them, this being almost a miracle of how they managed to survive without any grievous wounds. But the girls soon regretted saying those words as she got closer and closer and finally shone a light on him and discovered the source of the blood coating her hand.
"Cu?" she called out again. "Are ye alrig—"
Her words got stuck in her throat.
The light landed on him, and she finally understood why his voice sounded so strange this entire time.
He was pinned, half kneeling, his back and arms holding up several massive slabs of concrete with so much debris on top of that and twisted rebar above them. What basically appeared to be several floors of material resting upon his shoulders. The only thing keeping them from being crushed to death.
Saeko's eyes widened in horror as the light traveled down his body. Two long pieces of rebar had completely pierced through him. One jutted from his stomach, another from his left thigh, with blood still dripping in a continued flow from his body. How one could survive such a thing, let alone have the strength to try to humor her early on, was a mystery she felt unable to answer.
"C-Cu..." she stuttered, the phone nearly slipping from her grasp.
He managed a weak grin, his face pale and slick with sweat. "Heh. Might look a bit grisly and fatal, but... don't ye worry, lass. It's not as bad as it really looks. You kind of woke up at a bad time. Oh, and before you ask, I'm perfectly fine thanks to the help of magic. That will keep me alive, so calm down."
His words did nothing to reassure her.
A genuine, unadulterated panic she had never felt before surged through her.
"Oh god, don't move! I—what do I do?"
If there was one lesson taught to her at a very young age, that would be to always keep her cool during any situation. To maintain a tranquil mind with not even a ripple on its surface, a disciplined mindset honed through years of training with the sword. But all of that shattered into oblivion as the girl scrambled over, her mind racing, trying to find a way to help him, but it was useless. Pushing against a piece of concrete, but it would not budge. It formed part of a multi-ton structure.
"Hn!"
No matter how much strength she pushed, nothing budged.
"Hey, ye need to calm down," he grunted, his voice tight with pain.
"How can I calm down?" she exclaimed in disbelief, her voice echoing in the small space. "You're bleeding while a ton of metal and concrete is on top of us! You can't expect me to calm down whatsoever!"
She saw a trickle of red escape his lips.
"None of them... hit a vital spot," he said, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "If ye move something careless like, the whole thing will come down on ye. Just... Hold your horses and take a deep breath, I'll be fine with some rest. I just need to… ugh! Just gotta get into a good position to push this thing off. A bad move and this thing crumbles like a house of cards."
It was only then that the full scope of their situation crashed down on her with shocking clarity. Upon further observation, Saeko realized that he was holding up the ceiling, but instead of holding up the debris from several stories of the power plant.
She could see it now, the way his entire body trembled under the strain. His muscles screamed with effort, and his arms were visibly shaking.
Extreme emotions she did not know how to process warred within her mind. Fear, horror, gratitude, uncertainty, and so on.
She was utterly helpless.
She did not know what to do.
"Hold on," Her hand flew to her belt to retrieve the satellite phone granted to her for communication, but her fingers only found crushed plastic and mangled wires. It had been destroyed by the debris. "Damn it. I can't call for help."
"Y-Yeah, I figured as such, and I don't think they'll be able to help me out much in this scenario, regardless. Also, they must have noticed the main power going out, so it's very likely for another group to be sent over."
"We can talk about the details later. How are you… How are you able to hold this up? Magic again?"
"Y-Yeah, you can say that, and my body is pretty naturally strong itself, hahaha! Ah!"
"Stop laughing! You're making the injury worse." Her hands clenched, "Is there really nothing I can do?" Never had she felt this amount of helplessness, this sensation that no matter what she tried, it would be pointless. Still, she held on to hope and waited patiently while trying to ease her mind and follow his advice.
"Yeah, come next to me. Stay as close as possible while I push this thing away. Quick, I may be strong, but I can't do this forever." Having already moved halfway through the conversation, Saeko positioned herself right in front of him, her hands tracing the area where the rebars had pierced his body.
'How is he even alive?' This sheer amount of strength you have to exert just to hold up the ceiling must have been enormous. She could not imagine just how much effort he was exerting just to stand still. Upon closer inspection, the girl saw him tense up and grit his teeth.
"Alright… urgh!" A low, guttural groan rumbled from his chest, tensing every muscle in his body and using every bit of effort to push the obstacle away. Saeko watched in awe as the debris above them began to move.
The very muscles around his body bulged with veins showing across his face that had gone red. A terrible, grinding sound filled their small pocket of space, the screech of cement blocks scraping against each other, the groaning of stressed metal, the crackle of settling dust. His frame, already trembling, started to shift upwards, pushing against the weight.
"—!"
The more he moved, the more blood began to pour from his wounds. The dark red flowed freely, soaking through his torn clothes and dripping onto the floor beneath him, but he seemed to ignore it completely. "F-Fucking hell, careful, this thing keeps breaking apart!" Slowly, surely, the ceiling of their tomb was being pushed to the side. Dust and thick, acrid smoke filled the air, making her eyes water and forcing her to cough into her sleeve. She shielded her face, her gaze locked on the impossible feat of strength before her. Light began to peak through the widening cracks, a thin, dirty line of gray that was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
"Mmm-ah!"
With a final explosive shout, he gave one last, monumental heave. The giant slab of concrete and rubble was finally shoved aside. It crashed down beside them with a deafening roar, sending more debris tumbling, but he had angled his body perfectly, ensuring none of the falling rubble touched her. The ground beneath their feet shook at first, with the entire building showing signs of collapsing again.
"Hah… hah… hah… eugh!" He gasped, looking deathly paler than before, with his eyes no longer as focused. Cold sweat plastered his blue hair to his forehead. Being in a state that made her genuinely worry for his life. "You might want to close your eyes for this, though it's not as messy as some of the things we had to deal with."
Saeko's breath hitched.
Cu grunted and took a step forward, straight up, just walking out of the rebar. While not as gory and visceral as seeing one of the undead get cut into two, this one differed because it happened to someone she knew.
The thick piece of metal impaling his stomach scraped against the inside of the wound with a wet, tearing sound as he pulled his body forward. "Cough! Cough!" Flesh and muscle snagged and pulled, stretching unnaturally before finally giving way with a sickening rip. A fresh gush of blood followed, painting the gray concrete. "Argh… damn it… Why does it always have to be there?"
Somehow, the person before her eyes did not scream from the pain. He only grunted and cursed, his body not even shuddering from the agony that long until he regained his composure. Then came the second one, in his leg. The rebar was lodged deep in his thigh muscle, and as he stepped away, it came free with a sound like tearing leather, leaving a gaping, bloody hole that she could see straight through.
"Ah," He stumbled free, leaving the two gruesome metal spears behind.
"Careful!"
As soon as he was clear, the strength he had been holding onto vanished. His eyes rolled back, and his body went limp, but Saeko was already moving and lunged forward and caught him, his full weight crashing against her.
"Oof!" his body slumped entirely against hers. She called his name, her voice a calm whisper despite the chaos in her heart. "Cu."
"..."
He said nothing, his head leaning against her shoulder. The warm and sticky blood from his wounds soaked through her own clothes, but she didn't care at all. Able to feel the faint but steady beat of his heart against her own body brought a sense of relief.
'He is still alive.' Regardless of what he said about magic, if nothing was done now, he would die.
She looked up at the sky, no longer hidden by a ceiling, and noticed nighttime was about to descend soon.
Then, carefully laid him on the ground. Without a second thought, she grabbed the hem of her own skirt and ripped. The sound of tearing fabric filled the ruined building, continuing to tear several long strips, then he pulled his ruined shirt open, exposing the horrific wounds. "I don't have anything to disinfect it… should I use fire to cauterize the—"
"—i-it's fine… cough!" Cu answered, surprising Saeko, for she had believed he had fallen unconscious. "I won't get infected by any disease, don't worry about it. Just… let me close my eyes for a bit here. It took a lot to get that stuff off me."
"Alright, but first, let's get you out of here," quickly, her hands surprisingly steady as she pressed the makeshift bandages against the bleeding holes in his stomach and leg, tying them tight with a grunt of effort. "Hold on," she muttered, more to herself than to him. "Just hold on."
They needed to move somewhere safer.
With all that commotion, it would only be a matter of time before more of those undead show up. And in her current state, she did not feel confident enough to deal with all of them at once. Worst of all, anything could crawl in or rush in if she didn't pay attention, given that her eyes were solely focused on him.
"Damn it." Gritting her teeth, she looped her arms under his, her muscles straining as she began the difficult task of dragging his dead weight to a more defensible position. "Come on."
Never in her life had she carried anything this heavy.
{Break}
(A few hours later)
Waking up for the third time in a single day had to be some kind of record. He sighed, the sound a dry rasp in his throat. Then again, training under Scáthach was a constant cycle of near-death experiences and revival; this was almost nostalgic.
He had been caught completely off guard when he regained consciousness in that strange, beautiful space, only to be thrust back into reality an instant later, finding himself holding up the ceiling with rebars skewered through his body. He figured the entire illusory encounter must have lasted less than a second in the real world.
'Got lucky,' he thought. 'Damn lucky. If those bars had pierced a lung, it would have been a much bigger issue. A very likely another brush with lady death.' His current body wasn't that of a Servant, nor even the prime of his original self. But even the Cú Chulainn of Ulster wouldn't have taken injuries like these lightly.
"Urgh!" He tried to push himself up, an intense, searing pain flaring from both his abdomen and his leg. He looked down to see that the wounds were bandaged, wrapped clearly, made from torn clothing.
A small campfire crackled nearby, its light flickering against the walls.
And despite having been doused in boiler water and steam at first, he enjoyed the warm sensation. "This place," the man immediately recognized the room; the same one where he'd killed that fast zombie earlier, the door now firmly closed and barricaded with a bunch of tables and chairs. Parts of the upper ceiling had been blown out into the night sky, glittering with distant stars.
A few hours must have passed.
"Cu?" Saeko called out his name from nearby, making him turn his head and find the girl sitting beside him, wearing nothing but her skirt and underwear, making it painfully obvious she had used her upper uniform to create the makeshift bandages for him.
"Don't move," she said with a firm voice.
"It's alright," he replied, his voice still rough. He carefully began to unwrap the blood-soaked fabric from his stomach and leg, revealing the two gruesome, still-weeping holes. He placed a finger on the skin next to one of the wounds, tracing glowing, intricate runes in the air. They hovered for a moment before sinking into his flesh, leaving a faint, shimmering pattern. The bleeding immediately slowed to a trickle, and the sharp edge of the pain dulled to a throbbing ache. 'This wound is far more grievous than the one from stopping the bus, or even what Miku suffered,' he thought. 'A single night's rest won't heal this entirely. The runes will help stop the bleeding and ease the pain, but that's about it for now.'
While no vitals were touched, his current self would have some difficulty moving around as he could before. But if push came to shove, then his body would withstand the brief moment of pain, no problem. But hopefully, such a scenario would not come to pass.
He looked over at Saeko, who looked quite tired herself with those dark circles around her eyes. "Thank you. For helping me."
"It's the least I could do," she said, pulling her knees to her chest. "After you literally saved my life. Ripping some clothes and pulling you away is nothing."
A moment of silence passed between them, the only sound the crackling of the fire. Both stared into the flames, lost in their own thoughts.
"When I heal up a bit more," Cu finally said, "I'll try to see if I can salvage the situation here."
"Don't bother," Saeko's voice was flat, devoid of emotion. "Aside from the boiler, several other critical parts of the area have been destroyed. Fixing it would be impossible. I doubt your magic can fix everything back to its previous state, or else you would have done that earlier with our other problems… like with the car."
She was not wrong; keeping the area secure until another batch of soldiers arrived would still be helpful.
Saeko pushed herself up and moved over to sit beside him. She reached out, her fingers gently probing the area around the runes on his stomach, her touch surprisingly soft. "These past few days," she began quietly, "they gave me a false image of you. Invincible and capable of just rushing through everything with few obstacles pushing your back. But today... I finally remembered that at the end of the day, you're human. One who knows magic, but still human."
He found the thought ironic, but also undeniably true. A demigod was still part human, and by no means did the latter part make them unkillable.
Saeko rested her head on his shoulder, letting her body relax against his. The warmth of her skin and the fire were a stark contrast to the cold sweat still clinging to his. "Does it hurt?" she asked, her voice muffled slightly against him.
"I heal fast," he answered, leaning his head back against the wall. "But there's still a lot of numbness. And a dull ache. Give me two days tops, I'll be back on the field, spearing anyone that gets in our way."
"Heh, why am I not surprised by that answer?"
The fire crackled, casting dancing shadows on the ruined walls. He let the silence hang for a moment before speaking again. "What happened back there? Before the boiler exploded."
The girl didn't give him an answer. She just stared into the fire, her expression unreadable.
"..."
Cu pressed gently. "Did it have something to do with those little kid zombies?"
Several emotions across face, and after what felt like hours and dozens of moments of hesitation, the girl answered.
"Somewhat, I just froze at the thought of striking them. Funny, I've told you that something is wrong with me and that I take pleasure in the pain of others, yet here I am nearly killing both of us." She stared at the fire, placing her hand before it. The light passed through her fingers and lit up her somber face. "I know you said to me before that I should embrace that side of me, that it's natural. But I don't think that's the case. I'm not like you, and when I raised my sword against those young ones. Part of me was terrified that I might have ended up liking it just like I did with the others. Or rather, I knew I would like it, and that haunts me."
"I see." He nodded at her words, getting a clearer picture of what had occurred and even understanding where she came from. "Honestly, I am the worst one to give you advice on this matter, for I am no better."
"Did you really kill people before? Those alive…" she asked with a whisper. "And amongst them, was there…"
"I have," answered the man without hesitation. "I am no saint myself; I do not see myself as a hero at the forefront, but instead as a warrior. And in my past, I have taken the life of those who had a long life ahead of them or had families waiting for them."
The face of his son flashed across his mind, Saber's Master, and several more. Same for Berserker's Master, he saw her as an enemy and would have killed her regardless of how young her appearance was.
"You won't believe me if I tell you this, but I do not think you are the kind of person you're worried about becoming. The fact that you hesitated, that you genuinely felt worried and disgusted by said actions already puts you way above some of the people I've met in the past, so it's not even a comparison."
"So you think I should have struck them?"
"Yes," Cu replied almost coldly, sounding very different from his usual self, which even took her by surprise. "When you are in the middle of a war or an apocalypse such as this, you don't have the luxury to choose your opponent. Sometimes, you have to make the hard decision to keep yourself and the people around you safe. Kill first and think about it later."
"That doesn't inspire much confidence, you know," Saeko said with a dry tone.
"See, told ya I'm not the best at this." He chuckled at first, before letting out a deep sigh. "If it's for the sake of others and most importantly yourself, to keep on going and live, I'd say that you do not need to push that side of your way. Because I don't think you really are the monster you think you'll become. But let's say if in the worst case possible, your worst fears come true and you become the monster you have always feared — then I'll be there to keep you company."
"..."
"If the whole world rejects you, if you feel like you no longer have any place anywhere, or you feel overwhelmed by everything, I'll be there to help you get back up. If you one day lose control of your bloodlust, I'll beat that out of you; if you end up lost, then I'll pull you back. And if one day you believe that you've reached a point of no return… where you have become a danger to everyone — then I'll kill you." Despite the nature of his promise, Cu showed her a silly grin. "Two monsters wandering the world killing armies of undead and even living at times, I'm sure it will turn out well. What could possibly go wrong?"
As he finished saying those words, Saeko looked back at him with a face that screamed pure disbelief at what he had just said. But the next second, what came out of her mouth was a beautiful laugh that even he did not expect to hear. Rather, she looked pleased by him basically telling her he would kill her if she went too far.
"Hahaha~! I knew it, you really are quite ridiculous, Cu. Sometimes I ask myself who is really the monster here, me, those undead, or you?" The prior look of unease melted from her being, for she now had a much more relaxed expression. "I really do envy Rei."
He shrugged, "There's nothing to envy. You'll find someone who will accept you for who you are, no matter how tainted your soul is; there are people out there willing to embrace it fully. Not just me, I've gotten to learn more about our little group, and they will also accept you." This felt like the best opportunity to pull both Takashi and Igou into the conversation, as, despite knowing the girl's feelings towards him, he also cared about those two.
"Really? I think Rei hates me. Hisashi will be disturbed, and Takashi still loves Rei."
"Rei's just being a hardass," Cu said, forcing a jovial tone. "She genuinely trusts you with her life. Takashi and Hisashi wouldn't be weirded out by it either, and if you want, in fact, quite the opposite. In fact, give them a chance and one of them will surprise y—!"
He was cut off mid-sentence as Saeko's hand shot out, her fingers gently but firmly gripping his chin. She turned his head towards her, and before he could process the movement, her lips were on his.
It wasn't a chaste peck, but a deep and sensual one. With only her bra covering her upper body, the warmth of her skin pressed against his side. Her tongue traced his lips before delving into his mouth, a bold, exploratory dance that stole the breath from his lungs. When they finally parted, a thin, glistening string of saliva connected them for a moment before breaking.
"That's not going to work," she whispered, her voice husky. "Trying to pair me up with the others just to put some distance between us. If it didn't work back at that house, why would it work now? I made my stance clear."
Cu swallowed, his mind racing. "While I agree that you're... incredibly attractive," he managed, his voice strained, "I'm in a relationship with Rei. And, I don't believe it's wise to be in a relationship with both of you now."
A sad, knowing smile touched Saeko's lips. "I envy her," she whispered, her breath warm against his face. She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to an intimate murmur. "Still, that means you won't mind this after we get somewhere safer, fight?"
"Not exactly what I'm trying to say here…"
Take responsibility. For making me accept that I'm a monster." She said sternly, her eyes gleaming in the firelight. "And a monster won't care about things like that; we only care about ourselves. They get what they want. And right now... I want you."
With a fluid motion that belied her earlier exhaustion, she swung a leg over his lap, straddling him but without pressing her weight on the spot where he got hurt. Her hands braced against his shoulders as she leaned down, her hair falling like a curtain around them.
She really did make it hard for him to resist.
{Break}
-Tokonosu International Airport-
(Early morning)
The roar of the helicopter's rotors was a constant noise Rika had gotten used to. From her prone position on the rooftop of the Tokonosu Offshore International Airport's control tower, the tanned woman had a clear view of the runway.
Calling it chaotic would be an understatement; every single soul scrambled to save themselves from the deadly outbreak. Through the scope of her sniper rifle, she watched the undead stumble across the tarmac, mindless targets in a deadly game of clearance. VIPs and essential personnel were screaming to be evacuated, and her job was to ensure their path was clear.
Bang!
"Got another one. Not a runner this time, hopefully no more of those fucking bastards show up."
She had been at it for hours.
Her cheek was raw from pressing against the stock of the rifle, and her eyes burned from straining in the dim light. But the worst part was the numbness. She had been lying on her stomach for so long that her breasts had lost all sensation, a dull, pins-and-needles ache that was more distracting than the groans of the dead below.
"Another one, eleven o'clock, near the baggage cart," her partner, Tajima, called out from beside her, his voice crackling over their comms.
Rika didn't answer, "hah," just breathed out, steadied her aim, and squeezed the trigger, and another loud bang followed. The distant figure dropped.
A tiring job, but it paid well… in more ways than with money, of course.
"Alright, I think that should be all of them. All the planes have left, and only one plane is left for us to board in a few hours. Let's go, our client is also in a hurry."
"Nah, I'll pass."
"What?"
At first, Tajima did not believe what she had just said. Thankfully, she continued to further elaborate her point. "I'm heading back into the city," she said abruptly, lowering her rifle.
Tajima looked at her, bewildered. "What? Rika, our orders are to hold this position until—"
"To hell with the orders," she cut him off, pushing herself up with a groan as feeling rushed back into her torso. "This is pointless. We have dealt with all of them by now, and you've set up proper security already. Plus, most of those zombies no longer approach this place anymore, so you alone can take care of a few of them yourself."
"Pointless?" Tajima scoffed, lowering his binoculars while positioned on the other side of the airport. "We're the only reason that the last plane hasn't been torn apart on the tarmac. They're like a tide. Without us, this whole island would be swarmed in an hour if we're not careful enough."
"Humph, I say let it be," she said, her voice flat. "We're not saving anyone. We're just enabling the escape of politicians and executives who left their own people to die. I should be back in the city, helping survivors, not playing bodyguard for the senile and rich."
"Survivors?" Tajima laughed. "Rika, be realistic. What survivors? The city is gone. It's a meat grinder. Our best chance, the country's best chance, is to establish a secure foothold somewhere else. Get the leadership out, regroup, and plan a counter-attack. That's the strategy."
"Alright, alright, I'm not going to argue with you. Hurgh, at this rate, my tits will become flat with all the lying down I'm doing." She mentioned, changing the subject.
"Besides, I have my duty to help a friend; Shizuka should still be somewhere over there. I got a notification that someone opened my garage, and only she knows the code."
They stood there for a long moment, the silence between them filled only by the thumping rotors and the distant, hungry moans. Tajima's expression softened slightly, the anger giving way to concern.
"Are you really sure about this?" he asked, his tone shifting. "There is no guarantee you'll find another aircraft after this. The US army may have said to help people out, but they are more focused on containing the spread than anything else."
"I know," she said calmly, turning away from him and waving at the man in the distance who observed her through his binoculars. "But I'm willing to take the risk. Shizuka has always had ridiculously good luck. I don't see her dying from this."
"Heh, alright. But before you go, let me help you out with that problem of yours. I could massage them for you. Help get the blood flowing again, hehehe~!"
"Fuck off."
"Alright, alright," he said, raising his hands in surrender, though the smirk didn't entirely leave his lips. "Just trying to help a comrade in arms." He sighed, picking up his binoculars again. "Fine, I'll stay and watch over the place. Shame I couldn't bring you over for dinner one last time."
"You can," she answered light-heartedly. "But we ain't fucking."
"Tch, worth a shot."
She was about to pack up her belongings when her satellite phone began to buzz. She pulled it from her pocket, frowning at the caller ID.
"Shizuka?"
She knew that the woman wouldn't die so easily.
------------
The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.