"Nanashi!"
The moment Nanashi stepped through the door, Neko pounced on him.
He didn't resist and simply let her nuzzle into him like a real kitten.
"She's really attached to you," Kanae said with a chuckle, covering her mouth as she smiled.
"No kidding. She turns into a kitten and won't even let me touch her," Eriri pouted, clearly a little annoyed.
Nanashi laughed. "She's a person, not a real cat. If you turned into a kitten, wouldn't I be holding you right now?"
"Meow!" Haru peeked out from Eriri's arms as if to respond.
"Onii-chan, Aunt Sayuri said she left food for you in the rice cooker," Chito chirped playfully.
Nanashi smiled and gently patted her head. "You've all eaten already, right? Where's Sayuri—?"
Yuuri raised her hand. "We've all eaten. Aunt Sayuri and Sister Mine went to Aunt Tamayo's to learn flower arrangement."
Chito blushed and added, "We're going to play games for a bit before heading back. Mama Cocolia made us cake."
"...Mama Cocolia?" Nanashi blinked. "Since when did she become Mama Cocolia?"
Yuuri beamed. "She said we could be her daughters! We're really happy!"
Looks like Cocolia had taken quite a liking to Yuuri and Chito, enough to treat them like her own children.
"That's great. Go and have fun."
"Uh-huh!"
Kanae brought the food to the table.
Nanashi sat down, with Neko curled up beside him. Chinu and Abe no Seimei joined as well.
He glanced at the two of them. "You two want to eat too?"
"…"
Abe no Seimei pouted—she couldn't eat human food even if she wanted to!
Chinu smiled slyly, her eyes narrowing. "I saw this in a video earlier and wanted to try it out."
As she spoke, she picked up a pair of chopsticks, scooped some food, and moved closer to Nanashi's mouth with one hand.
"Ah…"
Nanashi froze. Was she trying to feed him?
He glanced at her—she wore a serene expression, eyes squinted in a calm smile.
Meanwhile, Abe no Seimei looked furious, like there was unresolved drama between her and Chinu.
Nanashi didn't dwell on it. He was being fed, hands-free. What was there to complain about?
He enjoyed the warmth of Neko in his arms as he was fed bite after bite.
Then a notification popped up in the chat group. Nanashi got distracted.
Classic scumbag behavior.
More importantly—two new members had just joined.
[Ding! Mumei has joined the chat group!]
[Ding! A Person with Superpowers Who Wants to Be Ordinary has joined the chat group!]
Aqua: "Mumei, and a Person with Superpowers Who Wants to Be Ordinary has joined the chat group!—welcome, newcomers! Learn the truth of the Axis Church!"
Momonga: "…"
Momonga: "Aqua, that was fast."
Aqua: "Hmph!"
March 7th: "And yet she still hasn't gained any followers."
Aqua: "…"
Another tragic day for Aqua.
Shinobu: "Aren't the newcomers going to say something?"
Kiana: "I'm more curious about the person who wants to be ordinary. That username's long, but 'superpowers' really stands out."
Esdeath: "Sounds like a world with special abilities."
March 7th: "I want to know what kind of power they have."
Mikasa: "How do we get superpowers anyway?"
Nami: "Uhh… you'll probably have to ask the chat group directly about that."
Mumei: "What… is this?"
A Person with Superpowers Who Wants to Be Ordinary: "..."
Nanashi sighed.
Judging by those names alone, he couldn't tell who they were.
Aragane Station
A long railway track stretched out before them.
A jet-black train stood still on the tracks—dark and foreboding like a fortress.
People bustled around it, busy with preparations.
A young girl walking along the street suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She had short braids tied on either side with a yellow headband. Her outfit was a red Japanese-style dress with an orange ribbon and a soft pink hem. Around her neck was a striking red choker. A kendama with a bell dangled from her waist, along with a red ball and a pair of traditional wooden geta.
The sudden stop caught the attention of the blonde woman walking beside her.
"What's wrong, Mumei?" Horobi asked, frowning.
"…"
After a brief silence, Mumei shook her head. "It's nothing."
She resumed walking as if nothing had happened.
Horobi's frown deepened.
She didn't understand why the young master had suddenly assigned her to guard Mumei.
And lately, the young master had been acting strangely—obsessed with researching the Kabane(*Corpse) and sending all the Karakata(*Hunters) on various missions.
There were doubts but no one dared to voice it aloud.
And right now, all of Mumei's thoughts were on something no one else could see—a mysterious, floating light screen in front of her.
A Room.
A young man with pink hair, green-tinted glasses, and two peculiar antenna-like devices on his head sat in a chair, deep in thought. His expression was unusually serious.
My name is Saiki Kusuo.
I'm someone with superpowers.
Telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, foresight, teleportation—you name it, I can do it.
If I really wanted to, I could destroy the world in three days.
If you think that makes me the happiest person alive, you're dead wrong.
In truth, I'm probably the unluckiest person in the world.
I feel no sense of accomplishment, no thrill, no surprise, no nervousness.
No anger, no sadness... not even joy or happiness.
That's the kind of life I've led so far.
But this moment—right now—something has changed.
A world that had been rewound countless times was no longer the same.
Something unexpected had intruded upon his reality:
A thing called the Doomsday Chat Group.
Just moments ago, he had used multiple abilities, even removed his power limiter to test it.
But no matter what he did, he couldn't determine the source of its existence.
For the first time in a long, long while, a faint, excited smile curled at the edge of Saiki Kusuo's lips.
Something unknown...
Mumei: "Are you human?"
Saeko: "Oh? So there are non-humans in your world?"
Aqua: "I am the Goddess of Water! Definitely not human."
WBC: "White blood cell."
Platelet: "I'm a platelet, hehe~!"
Tushan Honghong: "I'm a fox demon from Tushan."
Emilia: "Half-human half-elf here."
Mumei: "…I don't understand any of this."
Vivi: "Haha, that's just how this chat group is. It's chaotic, but fun."
Silver Wolf: "Can someone ask the newcomers to change their nicknames? Especially that 'superpower guy.' That name is way too long."
Saiki Kusuo: "…"
Silver Wolf: "Oh? So you're the one with the superpowers?"
Saiki Kusuo: "Yes."
Chito: "So cool!"
Saiki Kusuo?
It wasn't immediately obvious, but it soon became clear—this was the Saiki Kusuo, born with psychic abilities, and tormented by them ever since.
No wonder his nickname was A person with superpowers who wants to be ordinary.
And the other newcomer—
Mumei: "My name is Mumei. I'm a Kabaneri, not a human."
Seitenshi: "Your name is Mumei? That's... odd."
Nanashi's eyes narrowed slightly.
The names "Mumei" and "Kabaneri" were all he needed to confirm her identity.
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.
Mumei: "What exactly is this place?"
Nanashi: "Mumei, Saiki Kusuo—welcome to the Doomsday Chat Group.
It's a group where people from apocalyptic worlds communicate and support each other.
You can view your world's classification through the personal info tab."
There was a short silence.
Then, Saiki was the first to respond.
Saiki Kusuo: "The world-ending classification is showing as 'Future Doomsday (4)'…"
He couldn't make complete sense of what he was feeling.
If he remembered correctly, the apocalypse in his world was triggered by a massive volcanic eruption.
He still didn't quite understand how a volcano could destroy the entire world—especially since someone like him, capable of time travel, had failed to stop it.
But now, this "doomsday classification" confirmed his suspicion:
Level 4 Doomsday — an apocalypse that affects all life on a planet, without destroying the planet itself.
Mumei: "The end of the world... My world is already over."
Nami: "You don't sound okay."
Mumei: "Everyone has turned into Kabane…"
Kisara Tendo: "Can you tell us more about your apocalypse?"
Mumei: "Future Doomsday (Level 4), and Abnormal Doomsday (5 stars)."
Bronya: "Wait... two apocalypses?"
Momonga: "Hiss... is this the treatment of a final boss character?"
Nami: "Meanwhile, we still don't know what the three 12-star doomsdays are."
Reinhard: "Is this the first world with two overlapping apocalypses?"
Nanashi: "Yes. Besides me, this is the first."
Nanashi: "The presence of Kabane likely qualifies as a Future Doomsday."
Mumei: "You know what Kabane are?"
Mikasa: "Kabane? What are those?"
Nanashi: "They're monsters—similar to zombies, but more dangerous.
They don't die easily, covered in a steel membrane. Unless their heart is destroyed, they remain active.
Anyone they bite turns into one."
Saeko: "Sounds like a zombie."
Nanashi: "Exactly. But more agile, and capable of evolving."
Mumei: "...Who are you?"
Nanashi: "As you can see, I'm the administrator of the chat group."
Mumei: "But if we're from different worlds like you say, how do you know about the Kabane?"
Nanashi: "No comment."
Mumei: "…"
Esdeath: "Ha! Unless you have serious power, it's laughable to think you can make Nanashi talk."
Momonga: "Well said! The boss is a true big boss!"
Saiki Kusuo: "What qualifies as 'strong,' exactly?"
Momonga: "Like... able to destroy a nation."
Lemuel: "Pfft, that's nothing. Nanashi can destroy a planet."
Nanashi: "Can we make it galaxy-level?"
Momonga: "???"
Silver Wolf: "???"
A flood of question marks filled the chat.