The sunlight stung like acid after days in the dark. Kenji Toma squinted, hand raised against the glare, heart still pounding from what they'd left behind. Sayaka's final words echoed in his skull, dull and painful: "Kill me... before I hurt someone."
He had.
And now, her blood was drying on his crowbar.
The school loomed behind them like a haunted memory. Burned windows. Cracked walls. No more screaming. No more mercy.
Just four of them now: Kenji, Rei Kanzaki, Akane, and Tetsuo. Their footsteps crunched against broken pavement as they moved through the front gate for the first time since the outbreak began.
Akane broke the silence. "So... where the hell do we go now?"
"Away," Kenji replied, voice low, flat. "Anywhere but here."
Rei checked the supplies Tetsuo had salvaged. "Two days' worth of water. A few energy bars. No meds. One flare gun with two shots. We'll have to move fast and find shelter."
Tetsuo adjusted the bat on his back. "City outskirts might be clearer. The highway leads out past the shrine hill. If we can reach it, maybe we can find a car or—"
RAAAHHHHHH!
A scream. Not human. A blur launched from behind a half-burnt SUV.
Kenji didn't think. He moved. Crowbar swinging in a perfect arc—CRACK—zombie down. Twitching. Gurgling.
Akane gasped. "They're faster now? That one looked... mutated."
Sin chimed in, sultry and amused. "Congratulations, host. You've encountered a Variant. Evolution is a bitch, huh?"
"Variant?"
"Yup. Stronger. Smarter. Hornier too, if you're unlucky. But killing them gives you bonus EXP."
[Ding!] +25 EXP New Skill Unlocked: Adrenaline Trigger – Brief combat speed boost when protecting a party member.
Kenji rolled his shoulder. He felt it. Power surging. But he also felt something else: that cold void in his chest growing deeper.
They walked.
The city had died screaming. Flames still licked the edges of storefronts. Glass shimmered in bloodied shards. Car alarms wailed in a dying chorus. They passed a bus half-crashed through a ramen shop. Inside, a family sat frozen in death. The father still held chopsticks.
Akane slowed beside him, brushing her fingers against Kenji's arm. "You okay?"
He didn't answer.
She frowned. "You did what you had to. Sayaka asked you to."
"I know. Doesn't mean it didn't suck."
Rei walked beside them, silent but close. Her shoulder grazed his. Even now, despite the blood and ash, she still had that damn scent—jasmine and formaldehyde. It grounded him. Infuriated him.
"We're alive because of you," she said quietly. "Don't forget that."
Kenji just nodded. Kept moving.
They reached a crossroad. Four corners, each a gamble. Straight led into dense city blocks. Left veered toward an abandoned clinic. Right sloped down toward the outskirts, lined with shrines, small homes, and forest trails.
"Right," Kenji decided. "Too many blind spots in the city. Forest means fewer zeds."
As they turned, Sin whispered in his head, almost purring.
"By the way, the Lust Meter's stable, but someone in your party is having... unclean thoughts. Want me to identify them?"
"Don't."
"Fine. But when things get hot under the stars later, don't say I didn't warn you."
Kenji exhaled slowly.
They descended the sloped road. The wind carried the scent of pine and rot. Distant birdsong clashed with the occasional snarl. The world had become a contradiction: beauty and death, lust and loss, blood and sunlight.
Finally, at the edge of a hill, they found it—a cottage. Old, but sturdy. Wooden walls. Overgrown garden. Faded wind chimes tinkling in the breeze.
"Safe house?" Tetsuo asked.
Rei stepped forward, testing the door. It creaked but opened. Empty inside. Dusty. No blood.
Kenji walked in, heart still cold.
"We stay here tonight. First thing tomorrow, we plan."
As they unpacked what little they had, Akane pulled off her shoes and sank onto an old couch. Rei rummaged for candles. Tetsuo sat near the window, watching the path they'd taken.
Kenji sat alone in the hallway. Crowbar across his knees. Sayaka's face still burned into the backs of his eyes.
You did what you had to.
He wasn't sure that made him a hero.
He just knew he was still breathing.
And in this world?
That had to be enough.
---
[System Update: Safehouse Secured] [Current Party: Kenji, Rei, Akane, Tetsuo] [Casualty Log: Sayaka Ueno (Deceased)] [New Goal: Survive the Night]
Sin whispered softly.
"Welcome to the next level, Kenji Toma. You've lost your first piece. Let's see how many you can keep alive... before you lose yourself."