True Apocalypse!

These suspicions had already been confirmed when Kevin entered the room, noticed the furnishings around him, and saw the photo by the bed of Shizuka Marikawa with a purple-haired policewoman.

Just as the Commander had expected, Saeko Busujima, who had finished washing first, had originally gone to Shizuka Marikawa's bedroom to get her a fresh set of clothes, only to encounter the blond-haired guy who had entered ahead of everyone else.

Because the lighting was dim, the blond-haired guy mistook her for Shizuka Marikawa. Seeing that she initially showed no intention of resisting, he became increasingly brazen in his excitement.

In the end, Saeko Busujima took down that idiot in a single exchange and viciously smashed his arm.

"Because I killed that idiot outright, you thought I was too inhumane and came here to get rid of me, this 'devil'?"

The gun Kevin pointed at Saeko Busujima's heart was steady as a mountain, and little emotion could be heard in his calm voice.

"Originally, I only intended to teach him a simple lesson, but he inadvertently revealed that he had harbored improper intentions toward Teacher Shizuka for a long time."

"So I crippled him..."

With both hands raised, Saeko Busujima showed not the slightest pity or guilt over the blond-haired guy's death.

Kevin still did not lower his gun, though a teasing note entered his voice.

"So, you came to stop me from cleaning up the other two scum?"

Faced with this meticulous agent, Saeko Busujima's expression once again revealed surprise, and she nodded instinctively.

"The remaining two were only peeping. Their crimes do not warrant death..."

Hearing that, Kevin holstered his pistol and pulled a smile across his lips, as though the vicious Wolf King who had just pointed a gun at a high school girl's head had been nothing but an illusion.

"Relax. Am I really that bloodthirsty?"

"The blond-haired guy was the first to cross the line, and you broke the bones in his arm. Even if he recovered, he would be deadweight. If he held a grudge, he would eventually become a hidden danger within the group."

"Using his little life to scare the monkeys was putting him to good use."

Saeko Busujima let out a slight breath of relief. Her quiet, elegant Yamato Nadeshiko-like aura had unknowingly vanished without a trace.

Even the tension in her muscles and her defensive posture silently told her that she had already regarded this man as a terrifying enemy.

That sharp perception that seemed to see through everything, along with his decisive ruthlessness, made Saeko Busujima feel as though thorns were pressed against her back.

At that moment, the inwardly shaken Kendo Club Captain did not want to be alone with this guy and only wished to leave as soon as possible.

However, the instant Saeko Busujima turned around, the mocking, curious words from behind her shook her mind once more and stiffened her body.

"Still, someone with such strong violent tendencies is actually pleading for two peeping idiots. That makes me curious..."

"Ravaging! Slaughtering! That is the dark essence within you! Why not submit to it instead of putting on a hypocritical mask?"

"When you watched me kill Koichi Shido, you got excited, didn't you?"

"We are the same kind of people, Saeko—the natural predators of this world!"

The Kendo Club Captain instinctively retreated again and again, panic rising in her heart. This was her deepest secret.

There was an unforgivable darkness hidden within her heart, so she had always felt unworthy of a maiden's heart. Thus, although she had once liked a boy, she had never confessed.

Because someone like her was unqualified to confess, unqualified to love others or be loved.

During her battles with the "dead," she had confirmed it once again: killing brought her immense pleasure.

Within her elegant, cold shell grew a twisted, frenzied soul!

"No! I just... I just..."

Saeko Busujima kept shaking her head, yet she could not fundamentally refute Kevin's words, because they were the truth.

Feelings of inferiority and panic continued brewing within her.

"All right. If you answer my next question correctly, I will not only apologize for what I said earlier, but also swear to protect your secret."

Kevin smiled faintly, spreading his hands as he slowly approached. His whisper by Saeko Busujima's ear was like a devil's murmur.

Having her dark soul exposed before a classmate was what Saeko Busujima feared most, so she had no choice but to nod and accept the wager before her.

But the resilient heart of a swordswoman allowed her to swiftly adjust her mindset as soon as she made up her mind.

A strange curve formed at the corner of Kevin's lips. He lightly patted Saeko Busujima's shoulder with his left hand and began posing his question as he paced, though this vigilant bastard never took his right hand away from his holster.

"Suppose that deep in your heart live two Beasts: a black wolf and a white sheep..."

"And one day, the wolf wants to eat the sheep. You have a blade in your hand. What would you do?"

Saeko Busujima understood the metaphor in Kevin's words. The "wolf" was the evil in a human heart, while the "sheep" was the good of life.

The clash between good and evil had never ceased within her heart, and the ending in which evil devoured kindness had already occurred once during her middle school years.

When Saeko Busujima was in middle school, she had encountered a pervert who tried to assault her on her way home from school.

But because the Kendo Club Captain carried a wooden sword with her, she deliberately let the pervert approach before using it to severely injure him, breaking his leg and shoulder blade.

The pleasure of destroying life had made her realize in that moment just how terrifying the sadistic urges buried deep in her soul were.

Facing this question, Saeko Busujima took a deep breath. Clenching both fists, she gave her solemn reply.

"Use the blade to kill the wolf!"

"Or cut off its limbs so it can no longer threaten the sheep!"

The smile on Kevin's face gradually brightened, but the instant he moved behind Saeko Busujima, he slapped the high school girl on the head.

"Idiot! Who told you the wolf must be bad and the sheep must be good?"

"Besides, how do you know the sheep would not take the chance to eat the wolf?"

A sheep eating a wolf? Faced with such an absurd notion, Saeko Busujima was filled with astonishment and confusion.

"The correct answer is to leash the wolf, then pen up the sheep..."

Kevin gave a soft snort, leaned close to Saeko Busujima's ear, and spoke in a low voice.

"We are not absolutely kind, nor are we purely evil..."

"When we encounter those in need of help, offering compassion is only human..."

"When faced with injustice along the road ahead, then repay blood with blood and tooth with tooth!"

"So do not deny the brutal darkness in your heart, and do not yearn for spotless purity above your head..."

"If you want to struggle for survival in this mad world..."

"You need the goodness of humanity, but you cannot lack the necessary evil either..."

"Sadistic urges are not frightening. Frankly speaking, killing really can become addictive. Even I have started to like that simple, brutal feeling..."

"But the key is whether it controls you, or whether you control it."

The magnetic whisper by her ear changed Saeko Busujima's expression from resistance and confusion to bewilderment and struggle.

Her long life of peace had made the girl constantly hate and deny her sadistic urges, even forming a deeply rooted sense of inferiority.

But the devil before her had opened a new door for her.

This world was not kind, and she did not need to force herself to become spotless and pure. Human hearts were inherently a union of good and evil, so why insist on tearing them apart?

Kevin paused, recalling that Buddhist culture seemed to share deep ties with Japanese swordsmanship philosophy, so he gave one final example.

"Even Buddhism has not only compassionate Bodhisattvas, but also wrathful Vajras..."

"So do not do something as stupid as washing yourself into some saintly white lotus..."

"Just know your limits and be yourself..."

After a long while, the struggle and confusion in Saeko Busujima's eyes completely faded. A powerful confidence condensed in her heart, and the shackles that had restrained the edge of her sword heart vanished without a trace.

Saeko Busujima gently exhaled the stale air in her chest, becoming radiant again. When the girl whose inner knot had finally dissolved wanted to thank him, she discovered that he had already quietly left.

"Thank you... Teacher..."

With the bearing of a junior, Saeko Busujima bowed toward the direction in which he had departed.

PS1: Thanks to readers such as @{"reader_id":"1767192","reader_name":"Galactic Emperor Belial"} and Scathach the Gacha-Baiting Maiden for the rewards, recommendations, and monthly tickets. Yesterday's recommendations rose to 1,000 again, satisfying my obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Chapter 74: True Apocalypse!

In a corner on the first floor, two boys hiding behind the partition were huddled together and trembling.

Even though it was mealtime, they had only taken two cans of food and hidden there in a daze.

"If he finds us, that lunatic will kill us, right?!"

They were the teammates who had previously kept watch for the blond-haired guy, but when they realized things had gotten out of hand, they had immediately jumped out the window and fled in terror.

The blond-haired guy being shot dead by the Commander made these two, who thought they had escaped disaster, feel a chill run down their spines.

"Should we run away?"

The thinner male student pointed at the pitch-black road ahead and suggested it to the companion beside him, who had spoken first.

"If you want to die, do not drag me along! Do you know what is outside? A pack of man-eating monsters! We have neither weapons nor food. Even if we escape, how long can we survive?"

The sturdier basketball team forward immediately shook off his companion's arm and scoffed at his terrible idea.

"Then what do we do? Wait to die?"

The thinner student was nearly crying from fear.

"He is very kind to women. You saw it too..."

"How about asking School Doctor Shizuka to plead for us..."

"She is so kind and easy to talk to. She would not let her own students die. If we can persuade her, we might be able to survive!"

"Do not forget, she is so beautiful and popular. That guy looks so lecherous, so he definitely will not be able to refuse Teacher Shizuka's request..."

Though the basketball team forward was strong and burly, once he calmed down, his mind spun wildly and he finally came up with what seemed like the most reliable plan.

The thinner student nodded frantically. Since that guy had not dragged them out and immediately blown their heads off on the spot, perhaps there really was a chance to turn things around.

"It would be best to get Teacher Shizuka to drink a little. She is a bad drunk..."

"Right, and have her wear less, fully displaying a woman's charm..."

For some reason, though, the further the two talked, the more off-track they became. Their scheme seemed to carry the unmistakable flavor of pimping.

Meanwhile, in the second-floor hall, the cooked food was distributed to everyone one by one.

As Kevin arrived, the students hurriedly made room and offered the most lavish dinner to this United Nations Agent.

Kevin's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. This was not a good sign.

But in order to put these frightened birds at ease, Kevin could only accept the food and think over his next strategy.

There were currently thirty students: eighteen boys, twelve girls, and one teacher whose profession was that of a school doctor.

Unifying them would indeed be difficult, but at least after this demonstration, the destabilizing elements within the group had been removed.

So after swinging the stick, it was time to offer some candy.

Kevin quickly finished his meal, then chewed a few mints before taking out a map of Toko City from his backpack and spreading it flat on the table.

"First, mark the locations of your homes on the map in order. Once we finish organizing tomorrow, I will plan a route that can rescue as many of your family members as possible."

"Second, Toda Hirano is trying to modify the vehicle radio so it can communicate on the same frequency. We may be able to contact more people through it."

"That way, even if we cannot rescue everyone one by one, as long as your parents are alive, we can have them head to the destination and rendezvous with us."

"Also, the Electromagnetic Interference is gradually weakening. Communications may recover after a while..."

"Until then, do your best to stay alive, everyone..."

That faint hope immediately prompted the previously terrified students to crowd forward, registering their family information on the map and the notebook beside it.

Their fear of Kevin gradually turned into respect and gratitude.

With nothing better to do, Kevin walked onto the second-floor balcony, letting the cold wind blow over him in hopes of briefly relaxing his exhausted mind.

"Will you really rescue their families?"

Saeko Busujima, who had followed him out, leaned against the railing beside him and asked the Commander, who was chewing coffee candy.

"This is a war that belongs to humanity. If possible, I am naturally willing to unite more forces."

"But the premise is that it cannot affect my mission..."

As they spoke, Kevin frowned slightly at the bitterness of the coffee candy in his mouth. He casually took out some Mentos from his backpack, popped two into his mouth, and tossed the rest to Saeko Busujima beside him.