In the corridor.
Yukino Yukinoshita finally snapped out of her daze.
She looked at Kisaragi Akira's back, her gaze complicated and conflicted. After hesitating for a moment, she gathered her courage and asked quietly,
"That person…"
"He's dead."
Before she could finish her sentence, Akira answered calmly.
"…"
Yukino pressed her lips together.
Akira had killed that man for her sake. She couldn't allow him to bear that burden alone.
Summoning her resolve, Yukino spoke firmly.
"Akira-kun, I'll take responsibility for the killing. I won't let you go to jail."
Thump!
Akira flicked her forehead.
"Ah!"
Yukino let out a small cry and covered her forehead with her right hand.
"Are you stupid?" Akira said bluntly. "What laws do you think exist in a world like this?"
"Whether he was scum or not, with that mental state, he would've died at the hands of zombies sooner or later. I just freed him from that fate."
His reasoning was straightforward and logical.
Akira had never liked getting tangled up in complicated moral debates.
No laws.The other party was dangerous.So he eliminated the threat.
Simple.
Too lazy to argue further, he stopped walking and raised his right hand toward Yukino.
"Also—can you let go of my hand now?"
"Huh?"
Yukino froze.
Only then did she realize—
Her fingers were tightly intertwined with Akira's index finger.
I'm the one holding on…!
"—!!!"
She immediately let go and shoved her hand behind her back.
Akira glanced at her bright red earlobes from the corner of his eye but said nothing.
They continued walking.
Yukino pursed her lips and stared at her right hand.
That lingering warmth felt strangely comforting… and nostalgic.
She shook her head sharply, forcing those chaotic thoughts away, and hurried after him.
...
After descending one floor, Yukino noticed something odd.
"There aren't… any zombies here?"
Sensing her confusion, Akira replied impatiently,
"I searched three floors to find you. I cleared out everything on the way."
Fortunately, his Eclipse Thunder Form wasn't fueled purely by stamina or magic, but by his body's life energy.
Life energy recovered quickly with rest.
It was a special advantage granted by the Doomsday Roulette.
Yukino followed behind him.
The entire floor was swept clean once more.
She thought Akira was searching for the other players.
In reality, he was simply farming points.
Suddenly, Akira paused and asked,
"Have you ever killed a zombie?"
Yukino shook her head.
"Do you want to try?"
"Me?" Yukino pointed at herself.
"That's right. Since this is a game, there should be rewards for killing monsters."
Based on that reasoning, Akira wanted to see what Yukino would gain from killing zombies without access to the Doomsday Chat Group.
...
Soon, they found another zombie.
Before Yukino could react, a viscous, water-like restraint locked onto the zombie's limbs.
"…."
Even after seeing Akira use this power multiple times, Yukino was still both surprised and curious.
He had only explained that it was a type of lightning-based ability.
"Go ahead," Akira said, handing her a steel pipe.
"O-Okay."
She gripped the pipe and stepped forward.
"Rrrgh—!"
Even with its limbs bound, the zombie's head thrashed violently, letting out hoarse, feral growls.
Taking a deep breath, Yukino steadied herself. Her eyes hardened with resolve.
"Hah!"
She thrust the steel pipe straight into the zombie's mouth and shoved with all her strength.
Pff!
The pipe pierced cleanly through its skull.
She yanked it back out.
The zombie's head slumped forward.
The dark restraint dissolved, and the corpse collapsed.
It was dead.
She had done it.
Yukino turned around excitedly.
Akira smiled faintly and gave her a thumbs-up.
For some reason, that simple gesture made her inexplicably happy.
She walked back toward him, steel pipe still in hand.
For a brief moment, she felt dizzy—
And when she came back to her senses, a katana had appeared in her hand out of thin air.
She organized her thoughts and explained,
"After I killed the zombie, the apocalypse game notified me that I gained 1 Survival Point. Then… the shop function unlocked."
"Items in the shop can be exchanged using points. Right now, there are only five options."
She listed them carefully.
"Food, water, a katana, a pistol, and pistol ammunition."
"Food and water cost 1 point for three portions.A katana costs 1 point.A pistol costs 5 points.Ammo costs 1 point for ten rounds."
Akira rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.
"So it's basically a game-style store."
"…Kisaragi-kun."
"Just call me Akira."
"…Okay."
After a brief hesitation, Yukino's clear eyes flickered, and she spoke softly.
"Then you can just call me Yukino."
Clearing her throat, she continued,
"Akira, didn't you get any points from killing so many zombies?"
Akira shook his head.
"I'm a bit… special."
He did gain points—but not Survival Points from the apocalypse game.
He gained Doomsday Points from the Doomsday Chat Group.
One zombie equaled one point.
With the original 500 points included, he now had 850 points in total.
Yukino didn't dwell on it.
Given Akira's extraordinary powers even in reality, it made sense that he'd receive special treatment.
She glanced at the sky.
It was already getting late.
"Shouldn't we find a place to rest?" Yukino suggested. "We still have six days left. We need to conserve our energy."
Akira nodded.
He'd already decided where to go.