Shitou

"Pfft—"

With one slash, she severed the Dead Body's head in front of Shizuka Marikawa. "Teacher, what are you waiting for? Get the keys and get on the bus!"

"O-oh, okay." Shizuka Marikawa nodded dazedly. Under Kurumi and Busujima Saeko's cover, everyone boarded one by one. The noise from earlier had drawn quite a few more Dead Bodies over.

Once aboard, Hirono Toda acted like a real soldier. He pushed open a window and held his Nail Gun, seriously taking aim at the Dead Bodies to either side. Takagi Saya, standing nearby, couldn't stand the way he was acting and snapped something that invited all sorts of interpretations. "Quit talking and shoot already!"

Under the pressure of the Goddess in his heart, Hirono Toda had no choice but to back down. He hurriedly fired at the Dead Bodies surrounding the School Bus, every shot a headshot! Kurumi had high expectations for the "dead fat otaku" Takagi Saya spoke of. In the Original Work, once Hirono Toda got his hands on a gun, his killing power was no weaker than Busujima Saeko's!

For Kurumi, who had no idea what kind of boss she would face in the future, one more combatant meant one more chance at victory. That was the wisdom she had gained in the Reincarnation Space.

Apparently, this fat guy had even trained for two months at the infamous Blackwater mercenary company. Honestly, when Kurumi imagined Hirono Toda training... she felt that image was too beautiful to bear looking at. Why hadn't someone who weighed nearly two hundred jin lost even a little weight after two months of such intense training? Even if he didn't turn into a handsome, fit man, he should have slimmed down somewhat. But Hirono...

Putting those random thoughts aside, she moved like a butterfly among flowers. Yet every turn of her body and swing of her blade brought up a blossom of blood, striking fear into the heart. The surrounding Dead Bodies seemed to sense the danger through their muddled minds. Rather than approaching Kurumi, they kept gathering around Komuro and Busujima.

"Bang—" Komuro Takashi kicked away the Dead Body in front of him. His naturally sharp senses detected the Dead Body behind him, and he immediately raised his baseball bat above his head. Leaning his body slightly backward, he jammed the bat into the Dead Body's gaping jaws as it lunged to bite him.

Its refusal to let go became Komuro Takashi's next point of leverage. Gripping each end of the baseball bat with both hands, he explosively flexed his waist and abdomen, sending the Dead Body behind him flying in an over-the-shoulder throw!

"Bang—" The baseball bat in his hand smashed open the head of another Dead Body trying to approach. Blackish-red gore clung to the tip of the bat, making it look especially grim and terrifying!

Running to the School Bus door, he saw the two women nearby still hunting Dead Bodies. "Busujima Senpai, Tokisaki Senpai! Get on the bus, quickly! Leave this to me!" Kurumi glanced sideways at Komuro Takashi. What a joke.

She had only just managed to suppress the frenzy in her heart. There weren't many Dead Bodies now, and they were all gathered around the School Bus. This was the perfect chance to hunt them! She still had to rely on these little cuties for side quests! That "Beginner Hunter" medal was quite tempting to her as well.

Shizuka Marikawa, the airheaded school nurse now inside the bus, still looked completely lost. She had never driven a large passenger bus before! She frowned in distress as she thought, Why is this different from my car? Uh... gas pedal, brake, clutch... sigh, what am I supposed to do?

After a while, Kurumi and the other two successfully got on the bus as well. Just as Komuro Takashi was about to shut the door, he vaguely heard... "Help! Wait! Take us with you!"

"Who is it?" Komuro Takashi asked from the bus door. "Shitou from Class 3-A, I think." Busujima Saeko immediately spotted the bespectacled man in the flashy suit.

Upon hearing that, Miyamoto Rei, standing beside Komuro Takashi, narrowed her eyes. She looked at that group as though they were her mortal enemies, and the words she uttered were audible only to herself. "Shitou..."

At last, Shizuka Marikawa in the driver's seat figured out how to control the vehicle. She shouted to everyone, "Are you ready? I'm driving!"

"Please wait a moment!" Komuro Takashi watched Koichi Shidou's group draw closer and closer, his savior complex flaring up... After all, they were from the same school. He wanted to save them.

"Dead Bodies are gathering ahead too. If too many gather, the bus won't be able to move!" Shizuka Marikawa anxiously reminded everyone. Komuro Takashi, however, looked somewhat impatient. "Can't we just run them over?"

"If you think this bus won't overturn after running over that many Dead Bodies... Also, I don't want anyone dragging the team down." Her normally Charming voice had turned somewhat icy. Kurumi Tokisaki sat by the window, her wine-red eyes utterly devoid of emotion.

Komuro Takashi immediately shuddered. Gritting his teeth, he still decided to save those people. Just as he was about to rush out, Miyamoto Rei grabbed him. "Don't save that kind of person! He isn't worth saving!"

Komuro Takashi instantly knocked Miyamoto Rei's hand away and turned back to look at her with a serious expression. "Rei, what are you talking about?"

"Don't save him! Let that kind of guy die!" Miyamoto Rei screamed at Komuro Takashi.

Not far outside the bus, Koichi Shidou seemed to sense someone watching him. He immediately put on an appearance of self-sacrifice, standing to one side and directing the students. "Everyone, hurry up! We'll definitely be saved!"

"Yes, Teacher!"

A girl running past him answered loudly.

Koichi Shidou watched the ever-growing number of Dead Bodies outside the School Bus, his expression darkening as he calculated what to do...

The last student still clutched several books tightly in his right arm. Thick glasses rested on his face. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was normally a good student in his teachers' eyes and a good child in his parents' eyes. But at a time like this, he was still carrying things that would only burden him... Wasn't that either suicidal or stupid?!

"Ah—bang—" His running figure stumbled amid the panic, and the books in his hands flew everywhere. He himself fell at Koichi Shidou's feet. Acting on instinct, he wrapped both arms around Shitou's lower leg.

He raised his head and cried out to Koichi Shidou in panic, "I twisted my ankle!"

Koichi Shidou turned to look at the student, his expression like that of a sinister Viper. "Oh? Is that so?" Seeing that no students were looking ahead, he gave the bespectacled boy behind him a heartwarming smile. "Then this is as far as you go!"

"Bang—" His raised right foot viciously kicked the bespectacled boy in the face. His glasses shattered and pierced his eyeballs, while several teeth fell from his gums under the enormous impact... The pain shot into his nervous system in an instant. His hands immediately released Shitou's leg and pressed against his face, as if that could lessen the pain.

"Ah! My eyes, my eyes!" The bespectacled boy knelt on the ground, sobbing nonstop. But the tears flowing down his face mixed with blood and seeped into his wounds, making the pain even worse.

Koichi Shidou wore a twisted expression. "This world is no longer the world it used to be. Those without strength have no value in continuing to live!" His words sounded earnest, as though he were speaking to the kneeling boy, yet also as though he were speaking to himself.

As Koichi Shidou walked, he straightened his heavily wrinkled suit. Behind him came the roars of Dead Bodies and the boy's screams, but they bought him more than enough time. He walked over at an unhurried pace, never realizing that Kurumi, seated by the School Bus window, had seen everything.

Kurumi, who came from the Main God Space, believed Koichi Shidou had done the right thing. Above all else, preserving oneself was what mattered most. But she could not be bothered with such childish tactics. Still, having someone like that as a teammate... that was absolutely impossible.

Her rejection of Koichi Shidou deepened further... As long as he doesn't provoke me, everything will be fine. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind... As she thought, Kurumi revealed a sickly smile. She seemed to be looking forward to it...