Pretentiousness

Screech—bang!

The door slammed shut violently. In the end, Koichi Shidou boarded the bus without a scratch. Seeing that everyone was present, Komuro Takashi shouted toward Shizuka Marikawa in the driver's seat, "Teacher Shizuka!"

Before he could finish, Shizuka Marikawa already understood what he meant. "I know!" She stomped on the accelerator, and the school bus shot forward like a released wild bull!

Though Shizuka Marikawa usually seemed absentminded, she was no worse behind the wheel than an experienced driver. In her hands, the school bus felt like a racing car. Rumor had it that she had served in the special forces before? Who knew if that was true.

The school bus barreled through the areas with fewer Dead Bodies. Takagi Saya stood up in the back and shouted, "Head for the school gate!"

That went without saying. Shizuka Marikawa hastily answered before focusing entirely on driving. The words "Fujimi High Academy" on the rear of the bus steadily pulled farther away from the Dead Bodies behind them, leaving them in the dust.

As they neared the school gate, Dead Bodies had completely blocked the entrance. One group after another, packed densely together. The school had a huge population, and these were probably the people who had been bitten yet managed to escape. But before they could run out of the campus, they... Whatever the case, they could no longer withstand the impact of a vehicle.

They might not end up like the Dead Bodies Kurumi had killed, but they would surely lose a few parts. Missing arms and legs would probably be the least of it... If their organs were crushed, leaving only their upper bodies and heads... would they still survive?

To be fair, in Kurumi's understanding, the "Dead Bodies" of this world had shown no signs of evolving even by the end of the anime. They moved slowly and had low intelligence. Aside from being a bit stronger and capable of infecting others, what else did they have? How had the government managed to collapse? The military, with all its guns and cannons, couldn't stop such weaklings?

Though the Main God had strengthened them somewhat, it was limited. They were merely faster, nowhere near comparable to zombies. Speaking of zombies, Kurumi was not entirely sure how that species evolved. Did they simply eat people, absorb energy, and continuously strengthen themselves?

If it were really that easy... controlling a horde of corpses would be a decent way to increase one's strength. Kurumi glanced at the Dead Bodies outside the window and shook her head in disappointment... What she wanted to control were zombies with limitless potential for evolution!

Then, when she went to some ruined worlds, she could simply let them feed! Unfortunately, she did not possess that ability yet...

Kurumi had thought through all that in only a few seconds. With his comparatively powerful soul, detailed observation was easy enough. As for her body being unable to keep up... she had no solution for that right now.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Shizuka Marikawa would be lying if she said she was not nervous upon seeing the horde before the school gate. She kept feeling that this was some kind of disease, that these people were not dead... But she no longer had the luxury of making the right choice!

"They eat people. They're monsters! They're already... no longer human!" Shizuka Marikawa kept hypnotizing herself in her mind. Her expression shifted from stern to dark. She lowered her head slightly, her beautiful golden bangs covering her forehead and hiding her expression from view.

Vroooom— Shizuka Marikawa increased the speed once more, pushing the school bus's engine to its limit. This old vehicle, which had seen many years, reached a speed it had never attained before. Its massive steel body charged into the horde of Dead Bodies like a gigantic monster!

A passenger bus traveling at over one hundred kilometers per hour was enough to smash a human being to pieces... and the Dead Bodies were no exception. The moment they came into contact with the bus, they were sent flying!

Bang—bang bang bang—...

The physical abilities of the Dead Bodies were not much different from those of ordinary humans, so naturally they could not escape being flung away, crashing to the ground, and dying. The luckier ones lost arms or legs and lay on the ground, barely clinging to life. The unlucky ones had their heads burst open upon impact! Like smashed watermelons... red and white splattered across the ground.

Those same two colors stained the windshield. Everyone inside the bus looked ahead with fear that would not fade. No one knew what would happen next...

Bang— The school bus smashed through the black-painted iron gate. The tremendous impact briefly sent the bus "flying," forcing everyone inside to grip their seats tightly lest they be thrown out.

Screech— Shizuka Marikawa pulled off a nimble drift with the school bus. The rear end swayed a few times before gradually stabilizing. Without slowing down, it sped toward the city. Kurumi, seated by the window and stunned by Shizuka Marikawa's "superb" driving skills, could not help raising her brows.

She used her right hand to straighten her slightly disheveled bangs. She swore that if anyone ever told her again that Shizuka Marikawa was a school nurse, she would blow their head off! At this rate, if someone told her Shizuka Marikawa was actually a professional racer, she would believe it!

The road leading toward the city remained mostly empty of vehicles. The sunset-lit road looked exceptionally beautiful, decorated by cherry blossoms... But right now, probably no one was in the mood to admire it.

Everyone on the bus let out long sighs of relief. "We finally got out." Komuro Takashi wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah." Hirono Toda, still clutching his nail gun and unable to relax, nodded at him.

At the front, Busujima Saeko wiped down her Oak Sword with a handkerchief. Looking at Kurumi beside her, she asked, "Would you like to use a handkerchief to wipe off the blood?" As she spoke, she pointed at the Steel Katana lying across Kurumi's lap.

"Then thank you." A warm smile, as though it could heal the heart, appeared on Kurumi's delicate face. Busujima Saeko froze for a moment, only coming back to her senses when the handkerchief vanished from her hand. She gave Kurumi a slight smile in return.

"Tokisaki, do you practice kendo too?"

"Just call me Kurumi. As for kendo... yes, I suppose it's a hobby."

"Then call me Saeko as well. Carrying around a sharpened sword at school really is... uncommon."

The bloodstains on the Steel Katana had been wiped completely clean. Its surface, clear as autumn water, reflected the lingering glow of the sunset, dazzling enough to make one squint. Even after cleaving through so many skulls, its edge had not chipped. That not only showed that it was an excellent, well-forged blade, but also that its wielder was highly skilled.

Seeing Busujima Saeko examining the Steel Katana beside her, Kurumi handed her the wiped-clean sword. Busujima Saeko accepted it, feeling its weight and admiring its artistic design. No one would have guessed that it was a long blade steeped in blood and forged through slaughter.

Busujima Saeko examined it repeatedly. Aside from the pattern on the hilt, whose meaning she could not understand, she had practiced kendo since childhood and could easily tell that this was a masterpiece of modern craftsmanship.

Though she was reluctant to part with it, she still returned the katana. Her favorable impression of Kurumi, who possessed an elf-like appearance, grew a little deeper. Like a companion who shared the same hobby, the curiosity in her eyes increased as well.

At that moment, Koichi Shidou, seated in the very back, stood and walked forward. He braced his hands against the two frontmost seats. "We're safe now. So who's the leader? Busujima, or Tokisaki?"

Kurumi glanced at him before turning to look out the window. She could not be bothered with him anymore...

"There is no leader. We are merely helping one another survive." Busujima Saeko's calm voice echoed beside Koichi Shidou.

His eyes resembled those of a viper ready to strike. The light outside reflected in them, making them seem even colder. "That won't do. If we want to survive, we need a leader. Someone has to shoulder everything. Don't you all agree, classmates?"

He turned to look at the students who had fled up with him, his expression exaggerated and his eyes slightly narrowed, as though he were suppressing a surge of excitement...