"Teacher Marikawa, these people don't deserve sympathy," Saeko Busujima stated calmly, her serene purple eyes betraying no emotion.
Indifference was her nature, and besides, these individuals were far from innocent.
Was that truly the way to beg for help?
"Busujima-san is right!"
Shizuka Marikawa nodded obediently, her earlier decision in the office reaffirmed.
Tsubasa Amagiri remained silent, lost in his own thoughts.
"By the way," he finally said, a dangerous glint in his eyes, "if the opportunity arises, perhaps we can directly eliminate that man."
Shido Koichi.
The man was repulsive enough in the anime, constantly causing trouble for the protagonists and harboring vile intentions towards Shizuka Marikawa.
For Tsubasa, that alone was reason enough to ensure the man's demise.
"Ho ho…Hoho…"
"Roar!"
Tsubasa and the two women halted abruptly.
The students' desperate shouts had attracted the attention of nearby zombies, effectively blocking their path forward.
"These guys!"
Saeko Busujima's eyes narrowed, her gaze chilling. Had the situation allowed, she would have kicked down the classroom door and silenced those screaming students herself.
Tsubasa's expression also darkened. He cast a brief, contemptuous glance at the students within the classroom, then raised his knife, efficiently dispatching the encroaching zombies.
"Haha! You deserve it!"
"If you don't save us, we'll die, and you won't be able to live either!"
The students who had just been clamoring for help now erupted in cruel laughter at the sight of the approaching zombies.
Their ugly display turned Shizuka Marikawa's stomach.
How could such vile creatures exist within the school's walls?
Puff!
Even as their laughter echoed, Tsubasa, wielding the deadly dead leaf knife, had already surged into the group of zombies. With swift, silent movements, the infected surrounding them fell as easily as wheat before a harvester.
Moments later, the familiar chime of the system notification signaled the end of the brief, brutal encounter.
However, the matter wasn't yet concluded.
Tsubasa turned and strode towards the tightly sealed classroom window. Through a small, fist-sized gap in the glass, he fixed his gaze on the students who had just been shouting.
"You! What do you intend to do!?" one of them stammered, fear creeping into his voice.
"Let me tell you something! We're all members of the Student Union, and our families have power and influence! If you mess with us, you'll regret it!" another shouted, trying to sound brave.
"That's right! If you know what's good for you, you'll hurry up and rescue us! Otherwise, our families will make sure you suffer!" a third chimed in, his voice laced with arrogance despite his desperate situation.
These were the quintessential bullies, arrogant towards the weak and obsequious towards the strong. They had just witnessed Tsubasa effortlessly cut down over a dozen zombies with a single knife, and the realization that they were now facing a far more dangerous predator had finally dawned on them.
If this guy could kill zombies so easily, what would stop him from killing them?
The thought sent a shiver of fear down their spines, and they instinctively recoiled from the window.
But not everyone possessed the sense to back down. Some were still foolishly courting death.
"You are utterly shameless!"
Shizuka Marikawa placed her hands on her hips, her impressive figure accentuated by the indignant pose. Her cheeks puffed out slightly, drawing attention to her slender waist.
She tried to sound angry, but the effect was more cute and alluring than threatening.
"In the apocalypse," Tsubasa said flatly, his gaze unwavering, "the ugliness and base desires within human nature are magnified countless times. They are the vile thoughts usually hidden beneath the veneer of peacetime. Reasoning with such people is futile."
Without another word, Tsubasa raised the dead leaf knife in his hand.
Swish—
Crack!
The next second unfolded in stunned disbelief for everyone present.
A jagged, diagonal gash appeared across the reinforced window and the iron cabinet behind it. Then, with a swift, brutal motion, Tsubasa executed a powerful sideways kick, slamming his foot into the weakened window.
Instantly, the steel bars of the window and the iron cabinet behind it were ripped away by the sheer force of the blow.
The unfortunate students inside had no chance to escape the sudden destruction. They tumbled to the ground in a heap as dust and shattered glass filled the air.
"Killing you has stained my hands," Tsubasa sneered, sheathing the deadly knife. "Weren't you rich, powerful, and influential? Well then, let your power save you now."
With the commotion he had just created, the groans and shuffling of approaching zombies would reach them in less than half a minute.
"No! You can't do this!" one of the students screamed, his voice filled with terror.
"Please, save us..." one of the trapped students whimpered, their earlier arrogance completely evaporated.
"We apologize. I didn't mean to yell at you just now..." another added, his voice trembling with newfound fear.
Finally, they understood the true weight of their situation.
"Let's go!"
Tsubasa Amagiri turned and led Saeko Busujima and Shizuka Marikawa away from the classroom door.
Ten seconds later, the horrifying sounds of the trapped students reached them, a brief, desperate symphony of screams and panicked cries.
"Hohoho..."
"Roar!!!"
"Don't bite me! Get away! Get away from me!!!"
"I don't want to die! Please, save me!!"
"Ah!!!"
The piercing screams abruptly ceased, replaced by the chillingly monotonous groans and roars of the undead.
"Tsubasa, Saeko Busujima, we're almost there," Shizuka Marikawa said, a note of relief coloring her voice.
"Just through this corridor, the teacher's office is on the third floor of this building."
As they continued onward, their destination, the teacher's office, finally came into view, and a wave of hope washed over Shizuka.
This particular corridor connected to another academic building and had initially been swarming with zombies due to the high concentration of students and faculty during the outbreak.
However, thanks to the earlier broadcast, the majority of the infected had been drawn away, clearing their path and saving them considerable trouble.
Two minutes later, the trio arrived on the third floor of the adjacent building.
"Roar!!!"
"Hoho...ho..."
"Woo woo..."
"Is that them?!" Tsubasa exclaimed, his eyes widening slightly as he clearly identified the group surrounded by zombies.
Miyamoto Rei, Komuro Takashi...
It was indeed them.
The individuals desperately fighting off the undead were none other than the protagonists of this grim reality.
At the forefront, Komuro Takashi swung a baseball bat with surprising ferocity, the wind whistling with each deadly arc as he connected with the zombies' heads.
Beside him stood Miyamoto Rei, tall and clad in her signature JK short skirt, wielding a javelin with a determined glint in her eyes. Further back, Tsubasa recognized Takagi Saya with her vibrant pink hair in twin ponytails, and Kohta Hirano, the portly tech enthusiast clutching a nail gun with trembling hands.
As Tsubasa and his companions spotted the familiar figures, the protagonists simultaneously noticed them.
"Classmates over there, help! Please... save us!" Kohta Hirano yelled desperately, his voice cracking with terror, the lenses of his thick glasses magnifying his wide, fearful eyes.
"Unexpectedly, they all got together so quickly..." Tsubasa mused, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. Could his own actions have already begun to deviate from the established storyline?
Tsubasa had little inclination to answer Kohta Hirano's desperate plea.
Frankly, the protagonists' survival held no bearing on his own objectives, so why involve himself in a potentially dangerous and thankless rescue?
Just as Tsubasa was about to turn and walk away, he heard Shizuka Marikawa's voice beside him.
"Tsubasa, if we want to get to the teacher's office, we have to go through this corridor. It's right over there."
"..."
Shizuka Marikawa pointed to the far end of the hallway.
Tsubasa followed her gesture, his gaze passing over the struggling protagonists and the surrounding horde to the sign clearly indicating "Teacher's Office."
"...Damn it," Tsubasa muttered under his breath, a sense of reluctant obligation settling upon him. He took a step forward, addressing his companions, "Saeko, you don't need to do anything. Just protect yourself and Teacher Marikawa. Leave the rest to me."
With that, Tsubasa moved with blinding speed, becoming a fleeting shadow as he surged forward towards the mass of zombies surrounding the protagonists.