Gathering

"Anyway, don't overthink it. Let's head down quickly. The most important thing now is escaping, not wasting time here contemplating life." As she spoke, Kurumi had already passed the two of them and headed downstairs.

Komuro Takashi and Miyamoto Rei glanced fearfully at the Dead Body lying on the floor, then hurried after Kurumi.

Running into Dead Bodies on the stairs was much easier to deal with than encountering them on level ground. Sometimes, a single slash would send them tumbling down the stairs even if it did not kill them, smashing their heads open on impact!

Compared to the dull, stupid Dead Bodies in the Original Work, these Dead Bodies were indeed much stronger. No matter how good the Steel Katana was, it could not withstand such continuous chopping. Fortunately, Kurumi's current strength of 1.8 was enough for her to change her style of attack.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

Kurumi changed from slashing to thrusting. In an instant, the blade pierced through a Dead Body's mouth or eye socket. The tremendous momentum and sharp point penetrated its skull, and once she pulled the sword free, it collapsed with a thud.

Kurumi could clearly feel that feverish impulse rising within her again. She fiercely shook her head and braced herself against the wall, forcibly calming herself down.

Miyamoto Rei immediately noticed that something was wrong with Kurumi and hurried forward to support her. "Tokisaki Senpai, what's wrong? If you're tired, let Komuro Takashi take the lead."

Tokisaki Kurumi was now her idol. At first, when Inoue Nagahiro had talked about Kurumi in front of her, she had not thought well of her. She had thought Kurumi was just a seductive vixen who relied on her beauty to lure boys everywhere. Otherwise, why would there be so many posts about her on the school forum, with all those boys shamelessly fawning over her? It was disgusting.

But later, when Inoue Nagahiro had turned into a Dead Body on the rooftop and attacked her, Kurumi had saved her in an instant. Afterward, she had led the two of them through a bloody path, and Miyamoto Rei had become deeply captivated by her strength. She was like a Valkyrie.

Kurumi waved her hand, signaling that she was fine, then continued downstairs. Miyamoto Rei and Komuro Takashi exchanged a glance and pressed close behind her. At least if something happened to Kurumi, they could hold off the Dead Bodies. Her obvious dizziness just now had truly worried them.

The blade turned, and a streak of white flashed ahead. Another Dead Body's head burst apart beneath Kurumi's strike. By now, she had completely calmed down. She would no longer think about the Main God. She had survived six reincarnations, so what was there to fear from a crippled version of the Main God?

This floor was where Komuro Takashi's class was located. Kurumi tried to recall the Original Work. This should be about where the main group gathered together. The Dead Bodies were scattered about. When panic had first erupted, everyone had rushed outside. Even after being bitten, quite a few had successfully made it to the athletic field, only to turn into Dead Bodies and attack others again.

Looking out the window, the sea-of-corpses-like scene made the two behind her shudder. Those Dead Bodies had grayish-white faces and rolled-back eyes. Their once youthful, lively school uniforms were stained with dust and blood. Many of them clutched body parts torn from somewhere unknown, sitting on the ground and devouring them in huge bites.

Kurumi glanced at the two standing behind her and found that aside from their slightly pale faces, they showed no other adverse reactions. Was this what one would expect from "protagonists"? If ordinary people had been here, they would probably have vomited from fright at this hellish scene. The impact of two-dimensional anime imagery simply could not compare to reality.

"Ah!"

A shrill, distorted female scream reached the ears of the three. Looking toward its source, it seemed to be coming from a nearby classroom. Quite a few Dead Bodies were still moving around the doorway, and that scream had drawn over the scattered Dead Bodies wandering nearby.

Kurumi ran forward with her sword. From a distance, she saw Dead Bodies constantly being struck and having their heads burst apart. The firing mechanism resembled that of a gun, but its power was clearly far weaker.

By the time Kurumi reached the doorway, the Dead Bodies had almost all been killed. She casually finished off the one still alive nearby.

Looking at the Dead Bodies on the ground, all of them had been shot in the head. The tiny holes could not possibly have been made by bullets. If it had been a handgun, then from such close range, these Dead Bodies' brains would have splattered all over the floor!

She looked up into the room and, as expected, saw a Nail Gun. The one holding it was a plain-looking, bespectacled fat guy. Kurumi remembered that his name should be Hirono Toda. The one who had screamed was Takagi Saya from Komuro Takashi's class. She held an electric drill, and the blood splattered across her face, along with the Dead Bodies on the floor whose skulls had been drilled through, made it obvious that she had taken them down with it.

"What are you looking at?" Takagi Saya roared at Tokisaki Kurumi, who had barged in. "I'm a genius! This is nothing! When it comes to fighting, I won't lose to anyone!"

The Original Work had explained it before: PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, was a common psychological phenomenon. It occurred when someone experienced or witnessed an event that threatened their life, causing extreme terror and fear.

Kurumi felt a little helpless. She really did not want to babysit these people, but she still walked over, imitating Busujima Saeko from the anime.

She gently stroked Takagi Saya's hair, paying no attention to the blood on her body, offering her a little comfort from the bottom of her heart.

The instant Kurumi touched her, Takagi Saya's tears could no longer be held back. With a wail, she threw herself into Kurumi's arms and began crying. Kurumi used her free hand to gently pat her back, helping her calm down.

Hirono Toda, standing to the side, could only look miserably at the two beautiful girls embracing. One was his goddess, while the other was Tokisaki Senpai, the girl who drove all the boys in the school crazy. Damn it, protecting the goddess should have been his achievement!

He looked at Komuro Takashi and Miyamoto Rei, who had not entered from the doorway, then at Takagi Saya and Tokisaki Kurumi, who were still embracing. He felt as if the entire world had turned gray. Even the Goddess of Love had abandoned him.

After crying, Takagi Saya had clearly recovered quite a bit. At least she could remain calm. She left Kurumi's embrace and ran to the side to wash the blood off herself. "I'm so dirty. When I get home, I'll have Mom give me a proper wash."

By the time she reached her home, she would probably have gotten used to the bloodstains left on her clothes... After all, there was still much to go through along the way. Kurumi looked around. These people had to grow eventually. The trial of blood and humanity had only just begun.

After cleaning herself up, Takagi Saya put on a pair of glasses. When she saw Kurumi smiling at her, her face immediately flushed red. She felt a little embarrassed, since she had suddenly thrown herself into someone else's arms just now...

"Oh? Do you wear glasses, underclassman?"

Hearing Kurumi's uniquely charming voice beside her, Takagi Saya fidgeted. "Well... I used to wear contact lenses." She pushed up the frames on her nose. "I can't use them anymore, so I had no choice but to take out this spare pair."

Kurumi nodded. Hirono Toda, standing beside them, grew excited and roared inwardly, Glasses are great! Girls with glasses are the best! Of course, everything about a goddess is perfect!

At this moment, Busujima Saeko and Shizuka Marikawa, who had heard the scream from the infirmary, also arrived. They nodded to Komuro Takashi and Miyamoto Rei at the door in greeting.

Busujima Saeko looked into the classroom and immediately locked onto Tokisaki Kurumi—more precisely, the Steel Katana in her hand. Anyone familiar with blades could tell it was an excellent sword, but the bloodstains remaining on it spoke of what it had been through.

Seeing that the main group had all gathered, Kurumi did not want to waste any more time. "Let's go to the staff office next door. At least there's a television there, so we can find out what's happening."

Once everyone agreed, Kurumi did not waste any words. She picked up her sword and headed straight outside. Busujima Saeko narrowed her eyes slightly. She noticed that the Steel Katana in Kurumi's hand barely swayed at all as she walked, and there were no taut muscle lines on her arm. That meant the sword was probably quite easy for Kurumi to wield.

Then why had I never noticed someone like her at school before? Busujima Saeko asked herself.