They hardly had time to react before Tatsuki, Yukino, and Haruno found themselves back inside the apartment.
During the very last second of the game Tatsuki had raked in another two million Apocalypse Points. The lesser monsters were paltry: an entire planet of fodder equaled the value of only five titans.
Yukino and Haruno still had their eyes closed when fresh surges of power hit. Heat billowed around Haruno; her hair grew into a blazing crimson cascade. An icy chill fanned out from Yukino; her hair shifted to frosty blue.
Fire and ice, side by side.
When they opened their eyes, Haruno's irises were molten‑red flames, Yukino's crystalline blue frost.
Tatsuki stared. "Uh… girls?"
Haruno spread her hands—flames leapt skyward. Excited, she said, "I picked up flame powers."
Yukino withdrew her chill; her hair faded back to normal. "My own power rose a notch too."
Tatsuki pinched his chin. "You sisters—one ice, one fire—polar opposites, huh?"
Haruno let her fire recede, returning to her usual look. She curled a mischievous smile. "Opposites attract, you know. Ever heard of dual‑element ecstasy, Tatsuki?"
She winked and licked her lips.
Tatsuki, well acquainted with such ideas, instantly pictured Esdeath's temperature thrills—now double‑element with Yukino and Haruno. Dangerously tempting.
Yukino, innocent of those thoughts, only frowned; she could sense Tatsuki and her sister were plotting something indecent.
Tatsuki took out his phone. "Haruno, your contact, please." After exchanging numbers he created a new chat.
Group name:Apocalypse Family
Members added: Yukino, Haruno, Marin, Megumi, Chika.
Tatsuki: "Everyone home safe?"
Megumi: "All safe here."
Chika: "Ta‑da! Chika‑chan reporting in!"
Marin: "Me too. Yukino, Nee‑san?"
Tatsuki: "They're right beside me."
Chika: "Tsk‑tsk‑tsk."
Tatsuki: "Tsk what? Looking to be disciplined?"
Chika: "Hmph, Tatsuki‑kun's not at my place."
Tatsuki chuckled—was Chika baiting him to come spank her? Confirming all were safe, he put the phone away.
Haruno stretched languidly, flaunting her perfect curves. In front of Yukino she brushed her lips across Tatsuki's—a brief, teasing peck. "Since Yukino moved, tomorrow I'm visiting your place, okay? I'll leave you two to… continue." With a carefree wave she left.
The continuing she meant was, obviously, what had been interrupted before the game. Although they'd spent a night together in the tents, home turf felt different.
After the door clicked shut Tatsuki arched a brow. "Shall we continue?"
Yukino's cheeks flamed. She managed a shy "Mm‑hmm." Tatsuki carried her to the bedroom.
…
Early next morning they went home.
Inside, Eriri's jealous glare and Sayuri's pleased‑yet‑curious smile greeted them. Yukino, bashful, escaped to play with Haru the cat.
Tatsuki eyed the living room. Eriri wore glasses and sketched, habit‑glasses even though her eyesight had healed. Nezuko, Chito, and Yuuri watched, cheeks scarlet.
"Tatsuki‑nii!" Chito and Yuuri snapped to attention, faces bright red, eyes swirling like hypnotic spirals. Nezuko shrank away from Eriri.
Tatsuki peeked at the sketch pad. Good grief. The drawing was explicit.
He tugged a corner of his mouth. "Eriri, aren't you corrupting the kids?"
Across the sofa Yukino, cuddling Haru, glanced—and froze. Eriri drew that?
Eriri slumped, pouting. "They barged into my room and found my reference pile."
Sayuri giggled. Eriri wheeled on her. "Mom! Your fault for letting them in!"
Though embarrassed, she was secretly pleased the girls didn't reject her hobby.
Tatsuki sighed. Nezuko was mature enough; still, Chito and Yuuri… He donned a stern elder face. "I'm not forbidding you to look, but limit it, got it?"
Both nodded like rabbits, faces crimson.
Sayuri called, "Chi‑chan, Yu‑chan, I washed grapes. Come eat." The girls' eyes sparkled—grapes! Tatsuki patted their heads; they scampered off.
He sat between Nezuko and Eriri. Nezuko shyly scooted, but Tatsuki pulled her onto his lap. She assumed he might scold her; instead he lifted her chin, kissed her gently, and whispered, "You're a big girl now. Learning extra tricks is fine—Eriri knows many."
Nezuko buried her face, embarrassed.
"Idiot Tatsuki, what are you whispering?" Eriri huffed, flicking him with a bare foot. He caught the ankle, kneading lightly.
"Waah!" Sensitive tingles shot through Eriri; her breath hitched. Tatsuki's right hand meanwhile tugged Yukino over and stroked Haru's fur.
"Meow." (So comfy.) Haru's eyes drooped blissfully.
Eriri pouted. "You really know how to enjoy yourself."
"Obviously," he laughed, rubbing her toes until she pant‑sketched with warm breaths.
Wrapped in comfort, Tatsuki opened the chat to share news—only to see two new‑member notices:
[Ding! Hai Xiaomei has joined the chat.]
[Ding! The Red King has joined the chat.]
Tatsuki welcomed them first.
Tatsuki: "Hai Xiaomei, Red King—welcome to the Apocalypse Chat Group, an inter‑apocalypse help line. Judge its reality yourself, and please avoid ranting."
March 7th: "Haha, Tatsuki's become an emotionless introduction machine."
Tatsuki: "Hey, admin's job."
Hong Hong: "Hope the new people are easy to talk to."
Exusiai: "Where's Aqua? She'd normally be here preaching."
Nami: "Busy making cash."
—Some flashy street‑style bar—
A gold‑haired man mixed a drink with elegant flair. Scarlet liquor slid into a glass for the red‑haired man in a white shirt. "Mikoto, I hear Scepter 4 is coming again."
The brooding redhead—Mikoto Suoh—exhaled smoke calmly. "If they come, we'll fight."
He paused, staring at a floating translucent screen only he could see. "Tatara, can you see that?"
"See what?"
"What about Anna?"
The little white‑haired girl beside him shook her head. "Only red."
Mikoto frowned and typed in chat.
Suoh Mikoto: "Suoh Mikoto, leader of HOMRA, Red King. The screen is odd; no one near me can see it."
He renamed himself from Red King to his real name.
Tatsuki instantly recognized the identity: the Red King from K‑Project.
But Hai Xiaomei? The name faintly rang a bell…
Exusiai: "Only group members can see the interface, and it blocks sharing group info aloud."
Suoh Mikoto: "Could be a rival King's ability."
Nami: "You'll have to judge; we're each from different worlds."
Suoh Mikoto: "Understood."
Hai Xiaomei: "This is amazing—I really can't speak any info aloud! Hi everyone, I'm Hai Xiaomei, a marble warrior."
Shinobu: "Sounds cheerful."
Marble warrior—the phrase yanked ancient memories: Marble Legend (Dan Zhu Chuan Shuo)… yes, Mei from Marble Legend.
Esdeath: "Suoh Mikoto, you called yourself a Red King. How strong?"
Suoh Mikoto: "Not weak." (A modest answer—he was confident.)
Esdeath: "Interesting. I'm curious about your world's apocalypse."
Tatsuki: "Easy, Esdeath. We don't know their apocalypses yet."
Tatsuki: "Check your personal panes; you'll see your world's Apocalypse type."
Suoh Mikoto: "Classified as: Anomalous Apocalypse (4‑star)."
Hai Xiaomei: "Mine says Unstable Apocalypse (3‑star)."
Suoh Mikoto: "Meaning? Literal world end?"
Ainz: "Newcomers' ratings are low."
Emilia: "It means a Apocalypse exists, but the factors are hard to pin down."
Kisara Tendo: "Another Unstable Apocalypse world in the group."
Tatsuki: "Speaking of Anomalous Apocalypses—I cleared another Apocalypse Game yesterday, difficulty ramped again."
Tatsuki: [image] "These were the titans this round."
Hai Xiaomei: "Whoa, gigantic monsters—real?"
Suoh Mikoto: "What is a Apocalypse Game?"
Tatsuki: "One of my world's anomalies: players get dragged into a game; if no one clears it, the titans drop into reality."
Hai Xiaomei: "Scary!"
Suoh Mikoto: "My world is anomalous too—will I face such beasts?"
Tatsuki: "Unknown. Each Apocalypse is unique—you'll need to investigate."
Suoh Mikoto: "Understood."
Saint: "Those monsters dwarf Gastrea Zodiac types."
Kisara Tendo: "Estimate, a hundred meters tall."
Silver Wolf: "They look cool—perfect video‑game bosses."
March 7th: "You and your games, hacker."
Silver Wolf: "A hacker can't enjoy games? Biased!"
Saeko Busujima: "Tatsuki's foes escalate each time—what's next?"
Tatsuki: "Whatever. I gained plenty of power again."
Reinhard: "Tatsuki‑san, the game is resolved?"
Tatsuki: "Handled."
...
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