Finding chapters

There seems to be a little problem with our posts.. The posts apparently don’t seem to go in order of most recent. So a way that you all can access those chapters are by the menu on the top! Sorry about the inconvenience, but we don’t know why this happens.
If you don’t know how to use our menu, just hover your mouse over:
Projects in Progress< Web novel< (Novel name)< (Volume) < (Chapter you desire)

*** UPDATE****

Click on the volume page, once you click there you will be directed to a page with all chapters and titles for that volume. If you don’t like to click volumes, you can just hover over the volume menu and move your mouse over to the chapter you want.

Or if you don’t like that method, you can just type in our search box whatever chapter that you would like to read.

~ann@chan

Regarding the black diamond ◆ ……

Uh.. we figured out that the black diamond symbol stands for 18+ content. Just so that everyone understands, the symbol means that there are sex scenes in that chapter. There will be more of these chapters in case anyone of you wants to skip it. Usually, there will be more of the story after or before these scenes.

~ReanKun & ann@chan & Rainn-chan

Guess whose back

I’m back to say that I am now closing this site because I hate you all…. I’m joking, late April fools joke?

Lets get into the real stuff now.

Okay, so in case you’ve probably forgotten about me, I am one of the members and owner of who picked up this project. The other members, sad to say, have left due to lack of motivation of this project and due to their stressful lives. As irresponsible as I was, when I found an active and new member, I pretty much abandoned ship and bailed on him right after he translated a few chapters. Now that I’ve gotten a hold of a lot of free time, I’ve decided to get back into it on this project. Noticing Ruckkus’s lack of activity, I think it’s pretty obvious that he too left due to reality businesses. Don’t blame him as he’s done A LOT for this project, I mean a hella lot. Quality chapters + consistent releases, what else could you ask for?

This post is pretty much going to be about me ranting some random things on the top of my head, but oh well. Originally I planned on making my ‘debut’ early April, but found out that I couldn’t do any work if I don’t have the right tools. Thankfully, a few days ago, I’ve managed to nick myself a charger and grabbed the necessities to get myself going. I’m pretty motivated on continuing this project, I think it’s safe to say that I have the same motivation that I had when we first started this blog. I don’t know if any of you guys have been lurking much, but I’ve remodeled some things on the site, and even added some changes to posts.

I’d recommend you to check over the status page as I’ll be regularly updating that everytime I make a new change, or translate a couple lines. Also, I’ve noticed that there are a whole bunch of new guys following this blog, and I can’t really keep up with the comments as I’ve yet to go through the 30+ pages worth of unread comments and don’t get me going for my google inbox. Once again, thankfully, we have the chat box right over —-> which I personally fiddle with whenever I get the time to. So if you want to contact me, best way to do so is to either hope that I see your message in the chat box, or straight away contact me through my twitter  as everytime I log in, I’m obliged to log into twitter too.

But anyways, let’s hope that this motivation stays for long because you know already what happens if…

 

tl;dr: site is once again active

Zonbi no afureta sekai de ore dake ga osowarenai: Volume 3

Use this as a redirection to any of the said chapters.

Mainly something to link our menu’s to, so ignore this.

Page is subjected to change. Title’s are most likely going to be changed.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAUTION READING THE TITLES MAY LEAD TO MINOR SPOILERS

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Volume 1

Volume 2

Chapter 32 「Goodbye」

Chapter 33 「Tokiko’s change ◆」

Chapter 34「Makiura」

Chapter 35「Alone」

Chapter 36「Food provision」

Chapter 37「Distribution center」

Chapter 38「Dinner party」

  • Chapter 38 Summary of the story so far

Chapter 39「Garrison」

Chapter 40「Revelation」

Chapter 41「Trauma」

Chapter 42「Operation」

Chapter 43「Daily life」

Chapter 44「Whereabouts」◆

Chapter 45「Suicide」

Chapter 46「Parting gift」

Chapter 47「Outdoors center」

Chapter 48「Collapse」

Chapter 49「Inversion」

Chapter 50「Courage」

Chapter 51「Injury」

Chapter 52「Fury」

Chapter 53「Black Nightmare」

Chapter 54「Exposure」

Chapter 55「Bottom of one’s heart」◆

Chapter 33: Tokiko’s Change

I know it sounded like he was leaving City Hall for good last chapter, but he was just saying that he didn’t have to wait for the helicopter at City Hall, not that he didn’t have to wait for it at all.


 

 

When the sun set, Yusuke slipped out of City Hall.

Riding a bicycle he picked up along the way, it was late at night when he arrived at the apartment complex.

“It feels somewhat nostalgic…”

Entering his own room, he looks around.  The power was out, so he had to rely on the dim moonlight.

The inside of the room smelled dusty… anyway, he began looking through the place for items to bring with him.

“First, what should I do with this….”

Inside his closet was the other firearm he got from the police station.  There were also boxes of bullets.

He could secretly bring them, but if he were found out, then it would be troublesome.

“I could hide them somewhere close by City Hall…… and use them when I’m in trouble.  The best place would be in the car huh.”

It would be fine if he left one in a gun case with a padlock behind the drivers seat.  If rescue came as scheduled, then it would become useless, but it was good to be prepared in case something went wrong.

He places the firearm in his field bag, and moved onto other things.

When the pandemic started, he collected items that could be useful from retail stores.  Within those items, he finds a hand-crank radio and throws it in his bag.  If there was a USB terminal, it could charge mp3 players.  Picking up other items that looked like they could be used, he closes his bag.

Among his personal belongings, there was nothing he especially wanted to bring.  He had enough clothes.

He didn’t have any mementos either, and at the time of his employment, he had stored away things from his past.  It was a room with no individuality.  It was fine if he just had his keys and ID.

After searching the place, Yusuke lets out a breath and opens the fridge.  He takes a beer from inside and popping the tab, he takes a drink.  Because the power was out, it was lukewarm.

The nostalgic alcohol wet his dry throat.

Letting the can back down, he once again searches the fridge.  There was one can left.

“There’s liquor in Tokiko-chan’s room….. oh that’s right, Tokiko-chan.”

He remembers his original objective.  With his half finished beer in his hand, he heads toward Tokiko’s room.

Opening the door and taking off his shoes, he enters the dining room.

There he saw the collapsed figure of Tokiko on the floor.

(TL: ……………)

“What…..?”

In the faint light, her loosely braided black hair was spread across the floor.  Her lower body was clothed in nothing but white panties, peeking out from beneath her thin pink pajamas.  She was laying on her side with a stone-cold appearance, her legs spread out.

The handcuffs that bound her hands behind her were Yusuke’s.  More than that, she had been tied to a chair with a towel and should have been detained.

However, those restraints were now undone.

“Did you remove them yourself….?”

As he slowly approaches her, there is no reaction.

“Ooooi….. Tokiko-san…….?”

Grabbing her shoulder and shaking her, there was no reaction.  Her eyes were closed as if she returned to being a corpse.

“Is it hibernation?  …….. there’s no way..”

Yusuke tilts his head.

Zombies that were cold to the touch, that moved inside, the wandered underground; he had seen them before, but this was his first time seeing a zombie stop moving completely.

Sipping his beer, he rocks Tokiko.  He strokes her smooth thighs, and entering the hem of her thin pajamas, his hand reaches up to massage her breasts.  She wasn’t wearing a bra, and a soft texture could be felt in the palm of his hand.

“As always, she has nice breasts.”

He plays with her breasts in search of a reaction, but as expected, there was none.

“Well, it’s fine.”

Anyways, by leaving the door open, Yusuke had allowed Tokiko to roam on her own.  If she started moving again, she could leave on her own.

Opening the fridge, he removes a large amount of beer cans.  Removing the jerky from inside the cupboard, he heads to the back of the apartment.

Opening the curtains in the bedroom, moonlight lights the room.

Taking off his jacket and sitting on top of the bed, Yusuke begins drinking.

Since the rescue helicopter would be arriving the day after tomorrow, he planned on returning to City Hall tomorrow night.  Because he wouldn’t be there to answer role call, they would notice him missing if he were gone for more than a day.  Tomorrow he planned to explore the city.

For that reason, he wanted to get some rest, but because of recent stressful events, he couldn’t calm his nerves.  He was forcefully calming himself with alcohol.

With the added alcohol, he would be able to numb his brain and his chaotic thoughts would fade.

(You were drinking here too huh….)

Certainly, it was after his second time meeting Mizuki.

He had asked for her body in return for providing food.

After he said that, she looked at him as if she wanted to kill him.

With the start of that horrible relationship, through many twists and turns, they came to live together.

However, that eventually collapsed,

(And so we come back to the beginning huh….)

“Ridiculous.”

He opens another beer.  Beer after beer, his thoughts are swept away as he drinks.

 

 

As he slept, wrapped in the futon, the night went on.

With a creek in the floor, Yusuke’s consciousness slowly faded back into reality.

It took him a while to focus his vision.

What entered his vision was Tokiko standing right next to the bed.

Her expressionless face was watching him, dimly lit by the moonlight.  With her braided hair dripping over her shoulder, and her hands bound behind her, it emphasized her breasts under her pajamas.

(What the…..?)

Unable to distinguish dream from reality in his current state, Yusuke blankly stares at her.

Suddenly she moves.

Leaning over from beside him, she bites his neck.

(…..!?  She’s!)

He instantly becomes fully awake.

He let his guard down.

To fall asleep next to a zombie…

Throwing off the futon, he pushes Tokiko away.  Losing her footing, she falls onto the bed.

Glancing sideways at her, he reaches up to where he was bitten in search of a wound.

There he noticed something discomforting.

The place he was bitten didn’t hurt, but instead felt wet.  Lit by the moonlight, the only thing on his hand was saliva.  (TL: bit frisky are we)

(……it wasn’t a bite?)

With her hands bound behind her back, Tokiko was struggling to get on top of him.  In a hurry, Yusuke grabs her shoulders, suppressing her.

Tokiko looked at him with clear eyes, as if looking at prey.

(TL: Even in death, a woman’s lust for D can not be slated.)

However, unlike when a zombie attacked humans, there was no hostility or malicious intent that could be felt.  There was no strength or momentum, to the point where he could suppress her with one hand.

“D, don’t get violent!”

Because it looked like his right hand would be bitten, he drew it back in a hurry.

Her intention wasn’t clear.  Pushing her down on the bed, he straddles her stomach, sealing her movement.  With both of her hands bound behind her back, she could no longer do anything.

While Tokiko blankly stares up at him, he looks at her, confirming the situation.  Her small tongue was peeking out of her loosely opened lips.

(What happened….)

With Tokiko restrained, the sat there for several minutes.

Finally, he realized what she was trying to do.

It was certain that she was after him as her prey, but what she was after wasn’t blood and flesh.

Yusuke tries holding out his hand, and she comes to bite it.  Her teeth were gently nibbling on him as her small tongue wet his fingers.

Her tongue wraps around his fingers, licking them as if they were ice.  Once one finger becomes clean, she moves to the next.

It was a fondling gesture, but more than that, it felt matter-of-fact.

(She’s eating the dirt…..)

Without breaking the skin, she just licks the dirt from the surface.

It was like a dog licking a bone.

(So I’m the bone huh……)

With the alcohol in his system, he begins to fall back into his hazy state.

The standing hypothesis was that there had been some kind of change in Tokiko, and Yusuke was included as her prey.

However, Yusuke has a body that zombies will not attack.

He was her prey, but she couldn’t attack him.  As a compromise, she eats the waste off of him.

Most likely she would prefer flesh and blood, but she couldn’t act in a way that would hurt him.

(I over reacted…..)

Being attacked by Tokiko was startling.  Yusuke lets out a relieved breath.

Tokiko was still continuing her meal.

Looking at it, a beauty was sucking his fingertips.

Watching that scene, Yusuke began heating up.

There was the urge to push her down and have his way with her, but since it had been so long since he’d seen her, he let her do as she pleased.

Lying his head down on a pillow beside the bed, he pulls Tokiko on top of himself.  Her soft breasts are pressed into him through her pajamas.

Her tongue moves from his fingertips to his elbows.  Her lips stuck to his skin.  It tickled as her tongue spread saliva over his arm.  With a sound similar to a kitten lapping up milk, her tongue licks and traces across his skin.

Finally reaching his armpit, Tokiko begins awkwardly moving her body.

Tokiko’s smooth bare feet comes into contact with his feet.  With her chest that was pressed into him shifting lower, it became right over his waist, burying his hardening bulge.

Because he had stripped off his pants when he had gotten into the futon, he could feel her soft breasts through the thin fabric of his boxers.  With her firmly pressing her breasts into him, the soft feeling of pleasure made him want to thrust forward and he had to stifle the urge.

He shirt had been pulled up from her movements, and he could now feel the wetness of her tongue on the exposed skin.

(……the mood has become strange…..)

Clinging onto his waist, her lips moved across his skin.

From his ribs to his abs.  She left a trail of saliva while tracing the lines of his muscles.  But her lips never went as far as to pleasure him, only leaving a frustrating and tantalizing feeling.

As her tongue neared his belly button, his body tensed.  Her lips had covered his entire stomach in sticky saliva.

(……..)

Feeling the warm liquid on him, Yusuke lie there spacing out.

Finally, Tokiko’s lips went down to his waist.

Slowly, blow his belly button, to his lower abdomen, until he could feel the hot and muffled air at that place.

After a few seconds, her soft lips brushed against the taut band of his boxers.  At the pleasant feeling that ran through him, Yusuke lets out a small breath.

Her lips go further, and her small tongue licks him through his boxers.

It was difficult to keep his voice in, but it didn’t last.  She soon moved to his inner thigh.

“……Haaa, haaaaa……..”

She wasn’t really caressing him.  She was just having a meal, and Yusuke was selfishly deriving pleasure from it. It was an immoral feeling.

Tokiko’s tongue slowly crept up his inner thigh, working its way under the hem of his underwear, nearing his shaft.

(Tha… no…… I haven’t bathed lately s……)

Recently it’s been rough.  Because it is winter, it didn’t stink, but it could not be called clean.  In contrast, it became for food for Tokiko.

As her tongue reached his balls, his body trembled.  As if finding what she was after, she began licking and sucking more fiercely.

Her tongue licked his sack top and bottom.  Her slimy lips suck the wrinkles in, thoroughly cleaning it before sucking in a different spot.

Each time her tongue moves, pleasure swirls in his waist, leading up to ejaculation.  It builds to the limit and his hardness presses against his underwear, poking out of the top of the hem.  Precum leaks onto his abdomen, and a single touch could send him over the edge.

Once she has licked his sack clean, she trails up the bulge in the underwear, nearing the part that is exposed.  It requires all of his concentration not to release the built up stuff as pleasure assaults him.

As her lips reach the top, she traces up the exposed shaft, taking the soft head in her mouth.

He could feel her soft lips wrapping around his shaft.

The itchiness that he had felt as she trailed up his bulge had turned to pleasure.  She traces the shape of his member with the tip of her tongue, and rubs it with her lips.  Sliding back and forth to scrape off the grime, her tongue hits a sensitive part of the scrotum.

Not being able to suppress the urge to ejaculate any longer, Yusuke grabs her head and thrusts into her mouth as far as he can.

With her hands bound behind her back with handcuffs, her braided hair surrounding her expressionless face and dropping down on the bed, her white breasts peaking through her pajamas, and her thighs spread out across the bed, in the moonlight, her appearance exuded an inhuman lewdness.  (TL: the run on is strong)

Thrusting his manhood all the way into the back of her throat would normally have made the person throw up, but that didn’t happen as his partner was dead.

As he stretches to the back of her throat, he embraces her head.

Yusuke feels a sucking sensation as Tokiko’s throat begins moving in an attempt to swallow what had been lodged there.

“…….!”

At that moment, with her throat sucking and rubbing him, the pleasure explodes and he releases his load.

While Yusuke’s body was shaking at the pleasure and the release, Tokiko was completely opposite.  Her throat just continued to swallow the semen without effort as his member pulsed in her mouth, as if squeezing out the remaining juice, licking the base of his shaft with her tongue.

Yusuke keeps his waist pressed against her until the last of it has been released.

When his is finished, he finally releases Tokiko’s head,

“Haaa…..”

Breathing roughly, he falls back onto the bed.

He is enveloped by a pleasant fatigue.

Although he had released that much, he was still energetic.

As if she was obsessed with it, Tokiko quickly licks up the remnants of semen left on his abdomen.

At the sight of that,

(Ah……. this huh……)  (TL: “ah…. kore ka……”)

In his clouded consciousness, a thought dawns on him.

Previously when he had shot semen inside her, it had disappeared after about half a day.  He didn’t think anything about it at that time other than it was convenient.

What would be the result of her absorbing it?

When they eat human flesh, the become smarter.  It wouldn’t be strange if there was a similar effect with semen.

When he thinks about it, when he came to embrace Tokiko, though it was only small, but she would react.

The signs were there.

(…… I guess I had been the prey since the beginning…..)

He recalls the zombies at the university campus.

However, the atmosphere with her was different from them.

The zombies at the campus would observe you from afar, like predators, but such a feeling could not be felt from Tokiko.

Though it was surprising when he was suddenly attacked, it was more of a playful behavior.

Thinking about it, Yusuke was the only human Tokiko could feed off of.  If the stuff the zombie is ingesting is different, then the zombie will be different.  There was the possibility of there being additional effects that will occur in the campus zombies as well.

(With that…… there isn’t really any meaning in experimenting with Tokiko-chan…)

He thought of using her to find out the strong points and weak points of intellectual zombies as well as behaviors, but as of now, the difference was only this much.  At best she could serve as a reference.

(It’s about time to say goodbye…)

Thinking that, he finds it regrettable.

Pulling back his waist, he pulls himself from Tokiko’s mouth.  He was covered in saliva and long strings were stretched between her lips and his shaft.

Resisting the urge to thrust into her once again, he lays her on the bed.  Her pajamas had been pulled up, her white belly was exposed.  Her lower body was dressed in only white laced panties, and spreading her soft ass, Yusuke enters with his waist.

(TL: This sounds a little strange, basically he is spreading her legs around his waist, not sure why the author says ass….)

Tokiko, both hands bound behind her, looks up at him with empty eyes.

Lifting her thigh with his right hand, the panties are shifted, revealing her opening beneath a thin bush.  He slowly enters with his tip.

Covered in saliva, he slowly wet her dry interior as he pushes inside.  Every time he pulls back to start again at the entrance, his head hangs up on her walls.  Pushing on to the back, the friction creates a tingling sense of pleasure.  The flesh of her vagina clings to him as he thrusts into her.

Pushing in to the root, there was a strong tension grabbing him.

He rolls her pajamas up to her neck, exposing her breasts.  He buries his fingers in the beautiful mounds that don’t even sag from gravity.  He lays on top of her, pressing against her soft body while slowly moving his waist.

Soon he feels her licking his ear.  Her wet tongue starts at his earlobe, and moves up, tracing the contours of his ear.

It was a strange feeling, and before long, the pleasure builds until he can’t bear it.  Holding her slim body, he thrusts into her pushing up against the entrance of her uterus,

“……..!

He releases inside her.

As he ejaculates, his waist convulses two, three times; spurting his accumulated liquid.

After letting everything out, he falls asleep with the sensation of Tokiko licking his ear.

 

 

“It’s no longer evening…..”

Yusuke looks up at the red sky in dismay.

The sun had already fallen.  The transition from evening to night had cast a red light over the city.

The plan was to get up in the morning and search/explore the city.  However, in the end, he had spent the entire time with Tokiko.

Maybe his stress had built up without him noticing.  Due to the backlash, he mated like a monkey.  (TL: not 100% on this.  “saru no youni moritte shimata”)

Having expelled all of the poison within himself, he now felt much better; like he did when he first started freely exploring the city.

The rescue helicopter would be coming tomorrow.  He had to return to City Hall tonight.

Tokiko stood behind him as he left the entrance of the apartments.

She wore a knit sweater over thin outerwear, a long black skirt with some flare, black leggings, and lace up boots.  They were articles he found in her closet.

Because her outfit looked weak to rain, he also took a moss green camouflage raincoat with a hood and put it on her.  As this was a men’s item, it was a little big.  Her over all appearance, with her black hair, solidified her grown-up beauty and made her look pretty cool.

With this, she wouldn’t be wandering the city with a disgraceful appearance.

It’s not like he didn’t have any worries about releasing the semi-intelligent Tokiko to roam the city, but there wasn’t anyone in this area.

Everyone in this part of the city was gathered at City Hall, and rescue would be coming for them tomorrow.  He had various attachments to her, and couldn’t just leave her confined.

“Thank you Tokiko-chan.  Take care.”

He waved to her, but of course there was no reaction.  Remaining silent, her gaze drops to his feet.

Without minding it, Yusuke grips his field bag and walks while pushing his bike.

“Now then…”

Walking along side his bike for a bit, he murmurs.

“How long is she going to follow me….”

Tokiko was quietly following behind him.  Not hurrying to catch up and not falling behind, she casually walks behind him.

It’s been this way ever since he left her room at the apartments.

After releasing inside her so many times, it was like she was asking for food, but didn’t look like she would attack him; it was more like a baby duck following its mother.

Past the station and into downtown, she never parted with him.  As expected, he couldn’t just let her follow him to City Hall.  Speeding up and taking distance, Tokiko seemed to finally give up when he got far away and came to a stop.

Watching her, she turned and went down the stairs of a nearby subway.

“……stay well.”  (TL: not sure how to translate this, just parting words.)

Waving his hand loosely, Yusuke turns and leaves.

Chapter 32: Goodbye

Well, I finally finished.  The longest chapter ever.  Full of hardcore terms and informational bricks of text.

I don’t understand why this author thinks you need electricity for running water.  Does Japan not have any water towers??  In fact, with nobody in the city using water at all, the pressure would be better than it has ever been.

Anyway, enjoy.



 

The city was quiet.

Heading east on the highway, there wasn’t a person in sight.  Not a single zombie either.

While avoiding the abandoned cars on the road, they slowly headed east in the truck.

As they moved towards City Hall, Mizuki was silent.  While embracing Takashi in her lap, she wasn’t wearing a seat belt.  Behind the seats lay Yuu, wrapped up in a blanket.

Where City Hall was located resembled a sand bank at the point where a river splits in two.  It was sitting in between a river to the east and west.

(So that’s how it is…..)

Yusuke thought this while taking in the approaching scenery across the bridge.

North of the sand bar was a commerce block with buildings including banks and hotels lined up.

In front of the buildings, across a large road, stood City Hall.  Behind it was a large park.  It had a parking lot and sidewalk paths winding through it, creating a nice backdrop for the building.

Perhaps because the zombies couldn’t swim, there weren’t many trying to approach from the water side.  If it was this place, which was almost completely surrounded with rivers, they could prevent zombie intrusions.   All they needed to do was be cautious of attacks from the north, and across the east and west bridges.

He had visited the place many times before the pandemic, but looking at it now, it was built in a good location.  With the help of this kind of terrain, over 100 people were able to survive.

Crossing the bridge, they saw people ahead.  They appeared to be 2 male sentries standing on the sidewalk, waving their hands.  Both of them were holding iron pipes about a meter in length.

Mizuki’s body tensed beside him.

Looking at his handgun, confirming it was ready to be used at a moment’s notice; he opens the driver side window a little and drops the speed of the truck.

He slowly brings the truck to a stop in front of the men.

The man wearing a hunting hat raise one hand and opened his mouth.

“Hey!”

“Hello.”

Yusuke’s short reply was followed by silence.

The atmosphere was like they were both trying to find something to say.

Thinking about it, it had been a long time since he had a conversation with anyone other than Mizuki.

Yusuke takes the initiative,

“Ah…… are you from City Hall?”

“Y, yes!  Did you hear the broadcast?   You did well in staying safe.”

“Thanks.  Though there’s three of us, can you take us in?”

“It’ll be fine.  We’ll guide you underground so follow us.  Slowly if possible.”

Saying that, the men started walking.  Yusuke followed them slowly in the truck.  Looking at the side mirror, there was another one behind a car.  There was nothing overly suspicious about their movements.

Turning his gaze ahead, he can see people walking out from behind a barricade in front of City Hall.  They were a young man and woman, coming toward the bridge; both holding an iron pipe in their hands.  It seemed they had come to guide them further inside in place of the sentries.

It didn’t appear as if the male sentries had contacted anyone, so they must have decided to place the two by the barricade upon seeing the vehicle.

(This could turn bad…..)

They were more organized than he thought.

Countless people were looking down at them from the windows in the top floor of City Hall.  People of different age and gender were looking at them with faces filled with worry as well as curiosity.  They were refugees.

Yusuke slowly lets out a breath.  They seemed legitimate.  The man he first spoke to had also appeared to be honestly happy that they survived.

Returning his gaze, he brings the truck down the slope to the dark underground parking.

 

 

 

 

He had been expecting them to seize the goods in the truck once he reached the loading platform, but surprisingly, no one said anything.  Since rescue would be coming in a few days, it wasn’t a situation where they needed to desperately secure rations.

In place of that, they were told to hand over everything that could be used as a weapon for the sake of improving security.

Yusuke hesitated a bit, but it didn’t look like he would be able to keep anything hidden, so he did as requested.  He also handed over the pistol, wanting to avoid any needless trouble.  He had a spare gun, and if he removed the bullets, there wouldn’t be much danger in handing it over.  When he gave the gun which had lost its weight to the sentry, he received it firmly.  Confirming there were no bullets in it, the sentry seemed relieved.

Fortunately, there was a doctor among the survivors.

It was a young female doctor in her mid twenties with dark circles under her eyes.  Her wavy black hair was tied up behind her, with frayed bristles covering her face down to her cheeks.  She looked tired, as if she pulled an all-nighter.

While feeling around Takashi’s belly,

“Has he vomited?”

Yusuke shakes his head.

One of the rooms in City Hall had been renovated to serve as a doctors office.  The lights were working, so they must’ve had a generator.  He could also here the faint sound of the refrigerator running.

Takashi was resting on top of a simple bed.  He was scared of being treated.  Mizuki had walked over and held his hand.

The female doctor cuts the hems of his pants, exposing the affected areas.  His leg is swollen with cuts here and there.  From there, the doctor speaks to what appears to be her assistant,

“Bring me a 30 centimeter ruler from the office.  If you can’t find one, search for something similar, it’s fine if it’s longer than 30 centimeters.”

After she finishes speaking, her assistant disappears into the corridor.

The doctor takes a bandage from the numerous first aid kits on top of her desk, and wraps the wounded area as she speaks.

“We don’t have an x-ray here, so I can’t be certain if there is a fracture or not.  But just in case, we should keep the leg in a fixed position while we monitor it.”

Mizuki watched with worry on her face.

When she is finished wrapping the leg, the doctor asks him,

“Takashi-kun, does your stomach hurt?”

Takashi shakes his head.

“Is that so.  Well, if it becomes painful, speak up and don’t just try to bear with it alright?”

He gives a small nod.

She presses her stethoscope against his chest,

“Please take deep breaths for a moment.”

Takashi’s chest slowly begins to rise.

“Does it hurt breathing in?”

Takashi replies “Just a little.”.

“Okay.  Thanks.  Don’t cry, you did well.”

The female doctor spoke gently.

The female assistant returned holding two thirty centimeter rulers.

Receiving the rulers, the doctor sterilizes them in boiling hot water on the stove in the room.  Removing them from the water and allowing them to cool, she places them on both sides of his leg, pinching the affected area.  Together with her assistant, they tied them to his leg with a towel.

“You’ll have to stay off your leg and rest for a while.  Also, if you see blood in your urine, please contact me.”  (TL: I think that goes without saying..)

Mizuki, who had been watching the treatment, speaks anxiously.

“Ano…. will he be alright?”

“He hasn’t shown any severe symptoms yet, so at this time there is no reason to worry.  Because he is still growing, it would be better to not use painkillers.  If the pain becomes intense, please let me know.”

“Okay.  Thank you very much.”

Relieved, Mizuki bows her head deeply.

The doctor stares blankly at her for a bit, then opens her mouth.

“….Whether or not you two have been injured, let’s confirm it now.  Fujino-san, come here.  Takemura-san, please follow that Tamiya-san’s instructions.”

Saying that, she takes Mizuki and disappears into the next room.

A man standing in the entrance taps Yusuke’s shoulder and brings him behind a partition wall.  (TL: One of those screen walls.)

Behind the wall, Yusuke does as instructed and removes his clothing to show that there are no wounds on his body.  They were wary of him being infected.  Roughly checking Yusuke’s body, the man let out an “Ok.”.

Yusuke returns to the bed, and after a while, so did Mizuki and the doctor.

When the inspections were over, the man Tamiya called over spoke.

“Sensei, may I continue the procedure?”

“Yeah…. that’s right.  The evacuee’s card.  Please have them fill it out here.  I do not what to pointlessly move the child.”

“Roger.”

After a while, a refugee form similar to a residence form was brought out in front of Yusuke.  It asked his age, sex, street address, whether he had any diseases, skills/qualifications, and a checkbox for if he owned a car.  A single sheet was given to him for a single household.

Yusuke wrote his name first as the representative, then passing the sheet along, Mizuki and Takashi write their names as well.

In this kind of confusing situation, they group people who have been traveling together in the same household.  Rations would be distributed to the representative of the household, and the representative would in turn distribute them among their group.

After the rules were explained, they were guided to their sleeping quarters.

Along the way evacuees were sitting on chairs and benches in the corridors, chatting peacefully.  Because there was no heater, everyone was overdressed.  There were many women and elderly.  Work had been assigned to the workers. (TL: Workers as in Men I guess.)

It was most likely because rescue was on its way, but everyone had bright expressions.  As Yusuke’s party passed through, curious gazes were directed towards them.

(They don’t really look like they’ve been cornered….  They must be doing well.)

As he was thinking such things, they arrived at their destination.

The destination was a room on the second floor, across the hallway, in the west branch of the government building.  The room was about half the size of a classroom, and had a partition wall set up in the corner.  It had a nameplate on it that read “Urban Development Bureau, housing unit.”.  A stove had been placed at the center of the room.

Inside the room were five people.  Cardboard and sheets were spread on top of the tile and carpet floor.  Everyone had improvised their own beds to sleep in.  Everyone had dirty and exhausted appearances.  Nobody lifted their face to look at them as they entered.

It was completely different from the lively appearances of the people they past along the way.  These were probably the people who had shown up after hearing the broadcast.

The man that guided them walks over to the wall,

“Have that child use this.  His level of exhaustion must be much greater.”

He spreads out a disaster stockpile mattress beside the wall.  Takashi lays on top of it and covers himself with a blanket.  His expression becomes calmer.

Yusuke lets his field bag down from his shoulder,

“Thanks for everything.  You saved us.”

“No, it’s good the kid is okay.  If anything happens, call the people outside.  We distribute meals every morning, but do you guys need anything now?”

“No….. more than that.”

He increased their distance from Mizuki and Takashi a little.

“There’s the corpse of another child in the truck.  We’d like to make a grave for him, will that be okay?”

The man’s face becomes stiff.

“…….Was he bitten?”

“No.  He was killed by a human.”

“Ah….. is that so…..”

The man’s face relaxes,

“A child huh…..  What a coincidence.”

He shakes his head,

“We had an old man die this morning, it was a disease…..  Tomorrow we are going to bury him in the park out back.  Is it fine if we do it together at that time?  It’ll be easier with more help.”

“We’ll be in your care.  Thanks.”

“Well, rescue will be here soon.  Don’t lose your spirit.”

“Yeah.  Thanks.”

Finishing the conversation and returning, Takashi was already asleep.  He had been exhausting the strength in his body the entire time they traveled there.  He had reached his limit.

Mizuki stayed by Takashi’s side, watching him sleep.  The doctor had given them two bins of water to wash and replace his bandages with.

Yusuke sits beside her,

“It was good there was a doctor here huh.”

“Yeah…..”

Mizuki nods slightly.

Takashi’s injuries were definitely cause for worry, but it didn’t look like his condition was going to change anytime soon.

“You haven’t slept either right?  I’ll monitor him, so you get some sleep first.”

“……..”

Handing Mizuki a blanket, she takes off her jacket and drapes the blanket over herself.  Though there was a stove at the center, it was still cold in the large room.

She lies on the floor next to the wall, curling up with her knees in her chest.  She looks similar to a cat, balled up with gentle breathing as she sleeps.

“……….”

Yusuke sits there in silence, thinking about various things.

Rescue would come in three days.  How many people would survive until the rescue comes?  How many safe places are left?

(What’s going to happen now…..)

While they rested their bodies, the people around them increases little by little.

It was morning when they had arrived at city hall but during that day, other survivors began to arrive.  Because they were all piled in the same room, the once wide open space became cramped and crowded.

Every time someone came and went, Mizuki woke up.  She would look at Yusuke and her brother from under her blanket, and confirming that nothing had changed, she would go back to sleep.  Though after repeatedly waking up, it would be a shallow sleep.

While nursing Takashi, switching out with each other to sleep, it became night.  In the corner of the room dimly lit by the hanging LED lantern at the doorway; Yusuke, Mizuki, and her brother eat dinner.

The number of people in the room had increased to 30.  They stayed in groups of two or three people.  There wasn’t really anyone that was by themselves.

What stood out in the center of the room was a group of 10 people.  They were mainly well-built middle aged men, but there were a few girls mixed in.  Because they had brought a light with them to eat, as everyone ate, it was only well-lit around that group.  They weren’t keeping their voices down, and were talking actively among themselves.  It was the same atmosphere as a campsite.

On the lantern above the doorway, there was a note attached.  The writing could be read from inside the room, and was informing readers to call for help should anything happen, like the toilet going out of order.

Outside in the corridor, a group of men with armbands were chatting peacefully.  Yusuke leaves the room and one of the men asks him where he is going.  Saying he is going to the bathroom, the man tells him not to go anywhere dangerous or anywhere he has no business going.

On his way to the bathroom, he sees two sentries guarding a connecting corridor.

They seemed to be gatekeepers, keeping the people of the west wing out of the rest of the government building.

Yusuke suddenly thought of something.

(……Are we being isolated?)

If you thought about it, it was a stable environment accepting newcomers.  They didn’t know what all kinds of people would be arriving.  It was also possible someone could be infected.  It wasn’t strange for them to be cautious.

With rescue on their way, they broadcast the information and accepted people in out of goodwill.  That the people who were accepted were slightly inconvenienced couldn’t be helped.

Using the bathroom as an excuse, Yusuke stretched his legs.  Most likely to save power, one in five florescent lights had been removed from the ceiling, spreading the lights further apart.  Everywhere except the corridors were pitch black.

The stalls external tank had been attached and could be used to replenish the water in the toilet.  It was unexpectedly well prepared.

(TL: Not entirely sure about this one.  Just think of it like refilling the tank manually on a normal toilet.)

The power outage had just happened yesterday.  It did not appear to be addressed in a hurry, so they must have made meticulous preparations in advance, anticipating the power going out.

He had felt it ever sense they arrived at City Hall, but they were extremely well prepared.  The people giving out orders must be competent.

After he inspected the other doorways and closed fire exits, Yusuke returns to the room.

Upon seeing him enter the room, Mizuki’s face blatantly revealed her relief.

 

 

The following morning, Yusuke awakes feeling a chill in the air.

“Ah, I’m sorry……”

“Yes……..?”

He rubs his eyes, half asleep.

The morning sun shines through the windows, illuminating the sleeping evacuees, cramped up together on the floor of the room.  Yusuke was lying in the corner of the room, wrapped up in a blanket.  Takashi was sleeping right beside him.

Cold air rushed in through the gaps in the blanket as Mizuki dove under the covers with them.  Body heat could be felt coming through from the other side of her cold clothes.  It appeared as if she left to use the bathroom.

Bringing her face close to Yusuke’s ear, she whispers to him.

“It’s okay if you keep sleeping.  I’ll get up.”

“I’ve already woken up….. I’ll get up in a minute.”

“Okay.”

With that, the two fell silent.

Together under the same blanket, time quietly passed.

“Takemura-san.”

“Nn?”

“……Thank you very much.”

“For what?”

“……For everything.”  (TL: “Iroiroto” means various things though I think everything sounds better.)

Muttering softly, Mizuki rests her cheek on Yusuke’s chest.  It was as if she were a small animal.

As the sun rose, the evacuees began waking up.  There were people going to the bathroom, people talking to each other around the stove, and people asking about when the meal would be distributed.  The room was filled with a crowded atmosphere.

Right when Yusuke was thinking it was about time to get up, a man’s voice resounded.

“Mizuki!”

The lift their face.

Coming toward them, weaving through the crowd, was a tall young man with black hair that looked to be in high school.

“A-kun……”

Mizuki replies in a daze.

“Thank god you’re alright!  I couldn’t find your name on the roster.  I’ve been worried.”

Calling her, he came closer; and seeing them both under the same blanket, his face became tense.

The young man’s words seemed to be caught in his throat as he stood there staring at the two of them.  Eventually he looks away,

“……..Mizuki, I’d like to talk to you for a bit.  Is it alright?”

“Y, yeah……”

After that, she looks at Yusuke as if to ask if it’s okay.

“Sure, go.”

“…….Okay.”

With Yusuke’s consent, she leaves the blanket.

Prompted by the young man, Mizuki is guided out into the corridor.  Watching them leave,

(I have a feeling he will become troublesome…..)

While watching Takashi sleeping beside him, he thinks.

(It felt like he could have been a boyfriend.  If that’s the case, there will be a fight……)

If you saw your lover huddled under the same blanket with another guy, you wouldn’t be able to remain calm right?  Though it would be good if it didn’t turning into something big.

It was only about 10 minutes.

The young man returned by himself.  He lightly bows his head to Yusuke and speaks.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for Mizuki until now.”

“……  You’re welcome.  What’s she doing?”

At those words, the young man slowly raises his head.

Contrary to his earlier words of thanks, his face was expressionless.

“From here on, I will protect her.  She’ll no longer be a problem for you.”

“…..Ah, is that right.”

Meaning he should no longer associate himself with Mizuki.

At those blatant words, Yusuke’s mouth twitches.

The young man responds as if irritated,

“Thanks for protecting her, but now her relatives will assume that responsibility.  Do you have a problem with that?”

“Nah, not really.  Are you her boyfriend?”

The young man answers with an expressionless face,

“That’s right.  We’re dating.”

“Sigh…..” (TL: “Fuuun…..”)

Yusuke responds apathetically,

“But you know, will you really be able to take care of her properly?  That child is injured.  Do you have enough food?”

Those words seemed to sour the young man’s mood.  He raises his eyebrow,

“…..It seems you don’t get it.”

“?  Get what?”

“The one who runs this place is Makiura sensei.  If I ask, I can get various accommodations.”

Hearing that, he was referring to that female doctor.  So the young man is close to the doctor, who is the top in command at City Hall.

“Until rescue comes, we’ve been having all the new people stay in the west wing of the building.  But if I were to ask my relatives, I can move her to the main building.  The doctors office will be close, and Takashi could easily be moved.  It is definitely a better place than here.”

“……..heee.  That sounds great.”

Somehow his line of sight moved to the sleeping Takashi.

This room was overly crowded, and staying warm was a problem.  It was certainly not a very good environment.

“Then….”

Something bitter floated in the young man’s eyes.

“I’ve already expressed my gratitude.  Why is Yuu not here?  I got along well with him.  Also Takashi received these kinds of injuries……. Who is responsible for this?”

“……….”

Yusuke was silent.

If Yusuke hadn’t intervened, the three of them would certainly have starved to death.  If he were to put the blame on Mizuki…

In any case, the man in front of him didn’t deserve a proper answer.

However, Yusuke didn’t refute him.

(….well…… it’s fine right?  If the relatives take care of those two then……)

Yusuke lets out a small sigh,

“……..I get it.  I’ll leave the rest to you.  Where should I take him?”

Standing up and attempting to lift Takashi, the young man interrupted.

“I’ll take Takashi.  It’s our responsibility to get his name in the roster.  Feel free to use the left over blankets.”

“…….Thanks.”

Suddenly looking, Mizuki could be seen standing in the doorway.  She was looking at them with a panicked expression, not knowing what was going on.

When Yusuke approaches her, the young man vigilantly notices it.  He waves back at her letting her know nothing is going on.

Passing through the entrance, Yusuke turns to Mizuki who was looking up at them and speaks.

“Sorry for everything.  You’ll be in his care from now on.”

“Yeah….”

Mizuki answered in a daze.

“See ya.”

Yusuke walked away with the young man talking to Mizuki at his back.

 

 

The burial began that morning.

Under the clear sky, several men were assisting in digging holes.  Since they couldn’t afford to cremate them, the would be buried wrapped in sheets.  In the park, there were countless gravestones made of sticks from the trees.

Yusuke waves his arm, innocently intermingling with the men digging the graves.

Once the grave reached one and a half meters deep, a body wrapped in a sheet would be carried to it on a stretcher.  There were no coffins.  Once the body is passed to the men inside the hole and they lower it to the bottom.  The hole is then back-filled.

A middle aged woman and her daughter were watching with vacant expressions.  They appeared to be the family of the deceased.

When the old man’s burial was finished, the men dug a hole for Yuu beside the previous one.  Their arms had tired from digging the first hole, so they began switching out with each other.  Little by little, the hole was dug further down.

Yuu’s sheet wrapped body was light, and Yusuke was able to lower it to the bottom of the hole by himself.  Each time they shoveled dirt into the hole, his body slowly disappeared.

When everything was over, the grave diggers patted him on the back.  Friendly comforting him.  After giving his thanks, Yusuke was the only one remaining.

Crossing his legs and sitting in front of the grave, he began musing to himself.

Thinking about it, Yuu’s burial should have been left to Mizuki and that young man.  They had a much closer relationship than the one between her and Yusuke who she just met.

However, he couldn’t pass up participating.

(I wonder if I’ve become a stubborn person…..)

Yusuke takes a breath,

“Looks like your luck’s ran out too huh…..”

Gently patting Yuu’s resting place, Yusuke stands.

(Well then….. before rescue comes, I should release Tokiko-chan huh)

(TL: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS)

Without Yusuke around, there would be no one visiting the first floor of the apartment.  He couldn’t bear to leave her all alone there forever.  It was just his opinion but it was better to let her roam the city freely.

In order to find a point he could leave City Hall without anyone noticing, Yusuke walked around the park.

Ahead on the walkway was a small bridge.  There was a sturdy barricade built half way across the bridge.  At the base of the bridge were two men holding pipes, talking to each other.  They were monitoring the bridge.

Looking at the far ends of the park, Yusuke thinks to himself.

(I’ll probably be able to get out at night….)

Due to the active security, it wouldn’t be easy to escape.

At that time, a large choking sound was heard.

Turning around, a woman was sitting on a bench in the shade of a tree.

She wasn’t wearing a white coat, so he didn’t recognizer for a moment, but it was definitely the female doctor Makiura.  With her head dropped down, he had severe dark circles around her eyes.  She was wearing a long black skirt and a white shirt with a cardigan over it.  Her web of black hair flowed naturally.

Just looking at her, she had the appearance of an elegant language teacher liked by all the boys.

She takes a drag on her cigarette and begins coughing.  Seemingly noticing Yusuke, she puts her hand up towards him in a ‘please wait a moment’ gesture.

After a moment, she calmed down.

She slightly lowers her head,

“…….Excuse me.”

“Ah, no it’s okay……”

Yusuke was puzzled at their chance meeting.

Not caring about Yusuke’s presence, she fiddles with the cigarette in her hand in silence, but then looks at him,

“Do you smoke?”

At those words, Yusuke responds slightly embarrassed,

“No, I don’t smoke much…… these days.”

“That’s good.  It isn’t very good for you.”

To Yusuke who looked as if he were going to say “Then why are you smoking?”, she tilts her head,

“I thought I needed a change of pace.  There were a lot of people around me who smoked so…  Halfheartedly, I gave it a shot but…… it doesn’t taste that great.”

“Well…. if you’re not used to it, it’s not something that’s very fun.”

Speaking to a doctor, he should use honorifics, but somehow he found it hard to do so.

When the pandemic hit, life became about survival.  In this kind of situation, worrying about social status and changing your speech to match felt awkward.

Makiura speaks indifferently,

“It’s fine to speak however you want.  In this kind of world.  We also look around the same age.”

“No, your the leader around here….. right?  Makiura sensei.”

“Who told you that?”

“A guy mentioned it to me…. he looked to be in high school.”

Makiura mutters something under her breath.

“…….My position is the vice president, but I’m in charge of treatment and counseling, I’m not the top.  The chairman, Mizuhashi-san who teaches high school is much more qualified than me in age and experience.”

“Everyone takes their orders from you, or so I was told.”

“That’s, not a good thing…”

“Is… that so.”

A doctor should dedicate themselves to the role of a doctor, anything else would be a waste of time.

Wanting to change the topic, Makiura opens her mouth.

“I watched the burial.  Thanks for your help.”

Yusuke shakes his head,

“You dug a grave for us as well.  You really helped us.”

“……Was he your little brother?”

“No.  He was the brother of…… the kid you were treating in your office before, whether he was the older or younger brother…… I don’t know.”

“Is that so…..”

They fall silent.

Right when Yusuke was thinking it was about time to walk away, Makiura suddenly opens her mouth.

“Today, we buried a man named Shinozaki-san……..”

Makiura cuts off her words, looking around with vacant eyes.

“The cause of death was unknown.  I had various ideas of what it could be, but the equipment here sub standard.  I couldn’t treat.. couldn’t do anything…..   I thought that at least I’d be present at the burial, but I didn’t have the courage to look at the family.”

Slowly the words flowed out as if she were whimpering.

He didn’t understand why she would tell him something like this in spite of this being their first time speaking to each other, and kept his mouth shut.

Perhaps realizing this, Makiura lowers her head,

“I’m sorry…….  However, about that boy.  There were no signs of danger.  But, I’m not confident.  There weren’t any signs of Shinozaki’s life being in danger either.  If possible, I’d like to keep an eye on him.”

“Ah…… so that’s it.”  (TL: “Aa….. naruhodo”)

Yusuke scratches his face,

“However, we’ve already separated….”

“?  Did something happen?”

“That kids sister….. she met and joined up with her boyfriend.  He said that he would take her and her brother to stay in the main building.”

Makiura furrowed her brows in silence.

Without saying anything, she thinks about Yusuke’s words.

After a while, she nods slightly.

“I understand.  I’ll take responsibility for the matter of looking after him.”

“Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.”

(TL: Couldn’t really think of a good way to translate the two lines above.  Original is: “Tanomimasu” “Ie”)

Makiura spoke while standing.

“It’s about time to get back.  Sorry to have kept you.”

She leaves while waving.  While watching her go, Yusuke lets out a breath.

Across the river stood the quiet cityscape.  A nice breeze was blowing and the sky was blue without a cloud in sight.

“Well, with that……  Time to get back to roaming freely.”

With a crack, he stretches his body.

With this, he didn’t have anymore ties.

He was free to move as he pleased.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t have any worries leaving the two in the man’s hands, but he felt Makiura could be trusted.

As long as he could grasp the location of the Self-defense forces, he didn’t need to wait for the helicopter.  He was able to achieve the goal of making contact with a structured civilization.  (TL: not 100% on this.)

The zombies on the college campus did make him uneasy, but City Hall’s defenses were strong, and even if they couldn’t hold off an attack, rescue was coming in just three days. (TL: It says around 3 days.  Though in my opinion it should be 2 days since one has passed.)

“When night comes, I’ll once again return to the city.”

Grasping the positions of the security, Yusuke returns to City Hall.



It’s superficial but Mizuki-san was not NTR’d.

(TL: The author says this at the end of the chapter.)

 

 

 

Character Page:

Before you read this, know that it contains the names, age, sex, and a brief description of characters that have not been introduced.

Also, I went with previous translations and called Mitsuki Mizuki, but this page confirms that it is actually Mitsuki.  I will keep it Mizuki though so there is no confusion.

Also I found that Yuu is actually read as Masaru.  Lol.

That is all.

 

 

 

 


 

This page contains spoilers, use it only to confirm the names of characters.

Takemura Yusuke

Main Character.

Male.  25.

 

 

Fujino Mizuki

Heroine

Female.  17.

 

 

Fujino Yuu   Fujino Takashi

Mizuki’s brothers.

5.  6.

 

 

Takasaki Atsushi

Mizuki’s childhood friend.

Male.  17.

 

 

Makiura Sayaka

Obstetrician  (TL: like a physician, looks like they find a doctor.)

Female.  27.

 

Chief

The builder chief.

Male.  46.

 

 

Kudou

Chief’s subordinate.  Blonde ponytail.

Male.  25.

 

 

Onodera

Timid college student.

Male.  21.

 

 

Sasaki

Chief’s subordinate.  Original SDF.

Male.  32.

 

 

Little girl at the garrison

6.

 

 

 

(TL: *sniff* looks like our favorite zombie girl is gone forever.)

Picture of Tokiko as tribute:

3372065

Chapter 31: Retaliate And Purify

Hey everyone who hasn’t given up.  I say that, but there were longer waits in between chapters before.  You can’t deny it!

I’m starting to become interested in the story a bit.  I’m kind of excited for Mizuki to witness the zombies not attack Yusuke.  Though I just flagged it, so it’ll probably never happen….

Anyway, expect quicker releases.  I’m serious this time!

But not too quick, as I am participating in the Black Desert Online beta test one soon….

Until this weekend.

….I promise.

Also, I added a picture of that girl holding a severed head to the skull man chapter for those who are interested. Here it is.


 

Arriving at the 3rd floor, Yusuke could already hear signs of an engagement. Pulling the hammer back and placing his finger on the trigger, he quickly walks towards the office.

In the office, faintly lit by a lantern, Yusuke can see a man looming over Mizuki’s body.  He points the pistol in the air and fires.

Hearing the gunshot, everyone stops moving.

The sound of the gunshot echos through the room, slowly fading.

While crying hysterically, Mizuki is stretching out to her collapsed brothers.  The man had been straddling her back, trying to remove her clothes.  With a surprised expression, the man looked at him.

Quickly approaching the man, Yusuke pulls back the hammer on the pistol.  The cylinder spun, loading the next bullet.

Yusuke points his pistol between the man’s eyes and the man’s body becomes rigid.  Yusuke then kicks him in the face.  As he was wearing steel toed combat boots, the man’s nose was crushed and he let out a scream like a pig, falling to the floor.

“………..”

While the man is holding his bleeding face, cringing in pain; Yusuke points the barrel of the gun at the back of his head.

Holding his nose, the man begins crawling away as if to escape.  Watching him crawl until he nears the wall, Yusuke then opens his mouth.

“Stop.”

At that cold voice, the man stops.

“Put these on your legs.”

While saying this, Yusuke takes out a pair of handcuffs from a leather pouch on his waist.

“Secure one end to your leg, and the other to the leg of the desk.”

The man looks firmly at the pair of handcuffs thrown in front of him.

The gun is once again fired.

With the bullet flying into the cabinet next to him, the man screams.

“Do it quickly…..”

Hearing that voice which sounded like he was tired of waiting, the man hurriedly picks up the handcuffs and, fumbling through the darkness, secures his right leg to the desk.

With this, he is unable to move.  There was nothing within his reach that could be used as a weapon.  Yusuke finally lowers the gun.

“Oi, you okay?”

He calls out to Mizuki, but there is no response.

When he turns around, he sees Mizuki holding Yuu’s body in her lap and not moving.

“Ah……..ah……..”

Something that was neither a cry or a sigh was coming from her.

“…….Oi.”

“Yuu is……”

Walking over to her, he looks down at Yuu from above.

His neck had been broken.

His eyes were hollow and lifeless.

“……….”

Yusuke closes his eyes and suppresses something welling up within him.

Forcing himself to swallow his anger, he opens his eyes and looks around.  The collapsed Takashi enters his vision.  His body is rolled up and trembling.

“You okay?”

Yusuke walks over to him and crouches down.  His leg is swollen below his pant legs, and was smeared with blood.  His leg was most likely broken.  And with him holding his stomach in pain, it would appear he took damage to his intestines.  Yusuke wasn’t sure if the boy’s life was in danger, but it was clear he received serious injuries.

(Shit.)

Even if it was a small wound, it would turn serious if left untreated.  That is the limit of the strength of a child’s body.

(I should take him to the hospital….. no, the it’s littered with zombies.  Can I somehow make due with a improvised treatment?  If only there was a doctor…. but where would we find one…)

While Yusuke was lost in thought, his right hand was grabbed by something.  Looking up, Mizuki was trying to take the handgun from him.

“I told you it’s dangerous!”

Afraid of accidentally firing it, Yusuke tried to shake her off, but she wouldn’t let go.  Her hands were firmly gripped around it, unwilling to let go.  Reluctantly, Yusuke releases the gun.

As soon as she got the revolver in her hands, Mizuki stands in front of the man in handcuffs; and holds the gun in front of her with both hands, preparing to fire.

“Hiiii!”

The man screams and tries to fall back, but is unable to with his leg handcuffed to the desk.  He holds both of his arms in front of himself, blocking his face in fear.

Looking at him, it was a pathetic appearance.  His cheeks were sunken and his nose was broken with blood running down his face.  His clothes were stained with the blood from a cut on his arm.  He looked like a homeless person that was a victim of vagrant hunting.

(TL: I guess some Japanese like to hunt homeless people and beat them up.)

“How dare..!”

Mizuki calls out in a shaking voice.  Ever since she grabbed the handgun, her hands that held it were trembling.  With just a squeeze of the trigger, the bullet would be shot.

“H, help me……” (TL: “Ta, tasukete kure….”)

At the man’s words, Mizuki’s anger grew.

“How dare you, something like that..!”

“I was wrong!  I’m sorry!  Forgive me!”

“How can you say that!  Yuu was, Yuu was..!  To do something so terrible..!”

(TL: Her words are really broken and unfinished.  Sorry if it sounds incoherent.)

“I had no intention of killing him!  It somehow happened!  I was trapped by myself for so long, I became messed up!”

“I, I don’t care!  What does that matter!  You coward!  Are you scared of being killed!?”

(TL: She says this like “Are you yourself scared of being killed”.  Relating to the death of Yuu.)

“Forgive me!  Please, don’t do it……”

He cowers on the ground while covering his face.

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Looking at the man, Mizuki tightens her finger on the trigger.

“I won’t forgive you…..”

“I’m sorry…. please, I don’t want to die…..”

At that begging.  (TL: This was an incomplete sentence in the raw)

No matter how much she wanted to, Mizuki couldn’t pull the trigger.

She put strength in her finger, trying to pull the trigger many times, but the gun did not fire.

Eventually.

“Why……”

Mizuki lets out a hopeless voice.

Her arms were trembling.

If it were in the midst of a fight, she may have been able to do it, but she was unable to ruthlessly take the life of a cowering human.

“Why are you begging for your life….?  Why can’t you just shut up and let me kill you……”

Listening to her talk as if she was broken, the man became frightened.

Seeing Mizuki like that, Yusuke walks over and stretches out his hand from beside her.  He pulls back the hammer on the pistol in her hands.  The gun was still clasped tightly in her hands.

“Mizuki.”

Surprised by Yusuke’s voice, she looks up at him.

Come to think of it, this was the first time he had called her by her name.

The strength leaves her body, she loosens her grip, and releases the gun to Yusuke.

With her face cast down bearing a ghostly expression, she looks at him.

“My brothers…..”

Mizuki spoke.

“They thought of Takemura-san as a hero…. they spoke about you so many times after you first came to help us….. they said they wanted to be like you when they grew up, so I thought it was dangerous and tried to escape with them.”

Hatred was floating within her eyes.

“Why….. why didn’t you protect us?”

Yusuke looks at the pistol in the palm of his hand and remains silent.

Eventually, he speaks.

“Sorry.”  (TL: He uses “Suman.”  which is more like “My bad.” xD)

At Yusuke’s words, Mizuki acts as if she had just woken up,

“Ah, ahh….. what am I saying.  I’m sorry, my head suddenly stopped working….. did I perhaps say something rude?  I’m sorry, even though it was my fault…. ahh, what should I do….. are you mad…..?”

“It’s fine.  Look over Takashi’s injuries.”

“Okay…..”

With uneasy steps, Mizuki wanders towards Takashi.  (TL: Takashi, RUN!!)

“Fuu……”

Yusuke turns towards the desk and lets out a sigh.

With his elbows rested on his knees, and his hands folded to support his chin, he glares at the man while thinking of what to do next.

The sounds of fighting had disappeared, and there was a painful silence spread over the room.

Mizuki was by Takashi’s side, staring with a blank expression.  The man was trembling in the corner of the room.

Time flowed slowly.

Everything had been ruined.

The cause of it lie with himself.

Yusuke understood that fact.

(It’s my fault huh…..)

He didn’t think he would be able to do everything perfectly, and he knew various setbacks would come up.

But…. the problems just keep getting worse and worse.

If he had left Mizuki with the hand gun, this situation wouldn’t have happened.  (TL: Butt hurt gun law fags rant in 3…2…)

He had a spare gun.

Even without fighting the opponent, she could have threatened and restrained them.  There aren’t many people who would approach despite a gun pointed at them.

Then, if he were to say why he never left a gun with Mizuki…

It’s that.

(……I couldn’t trust her.)

If he handed over such a powerful weapon, there would be fear of rebellion.

He never thought this place would be attacked, and so never thought to arm Mizuki.

(TL: I guess he means the zombie guards were supposed stop the intruders.)

However, now that it had become like this, there were no excuses.

With regards to this incident, Yusuke’s suspicions of Mizuki are what caused it.

“Ah…Ahh…..”

Yusuke looked up at the ceiling.

“What to do…..”  (TL: Takashi is just dying in the background)

An uncomfortable silence dominated the room.

(We have no choice but to go the the mountains…. but what do we do if Takashi’s condition worsens.  Can we treat him good enough ourselves?  Does he need a blood transfusion?  What kind of medicine does he need?  Would it be fine with just antibiotics?  Damn it, if only we had a doctor….)

At that moment, a siren sounded from far away.

Yusuke stopped moving and listened closely.

It was a discomforting sound he hadn’t heard until now.

The wall separating him from the outside made it difficult to hear, but it was definitely the disaster prevention sirens.

He stood up and started to head into the corridor, but stopped, worrying about leaving Mizuki in the room with the intruder.

Had she not acknowledged the siren yet?  She sat there with glazed over eyes, staring at the space in front of her.

If an announcement were to be made over the broadcast, he wouldn’t be able to hear it from inside the room.  It would be best for him to head to the roof, but he didn’t want to take his eyes off the man.

(Tha…. no, with the radio…..)

Picking up the lantern, he approaches the desk with the radio.  Flipping the switch, there was no reaction.  It was obvious it wouldn’t work due to the power outage.

Clicking his tongue, Yusuke goes under the desk and switches the radio’s plug from the outlet, to the battery box next to it.  There was power.  Coming out from under the desk, he starts up the radio.

The disaster prevention radio frequency had to be among the default set of channels.  He operates the key pad, searching through the channels.  The siren suddenly stops, and is replaced by a muffled sound.

A voice began to flow through the speakers.

It was the stammering voice of a young woman.

“…..gawa.  …..if possible choose wide roads and move silently.  I repeat.  …..this is Oono City Hall.  We are currently providing shelter for over 100 survivors.  Three days from now, a rescue helicopter will arrive.  For those able to move, please head towards Oono City Hall.  Located at the intersection of route 33 and Hidakagawa.  …..if possible choose wide roads and move silently.  This message will broadcast every hour on the hour for five minutes, 24 hours a day until the battery dies.  To all survivors that can hear this voice, head towards Oono City Hall.  Whatever you do don’t give up!  I repeat.  This is Oono City Hall…..”

It was a hard voice, not accustomed to broadcasting.

With a puzzled look, Mizuki stares at Yusuke.

(There were still that many survivors huh…..)

Yusuke covers his face with his hand.  What he had just heard jumbled his thoughts.

(….100, 100 people huh?  They seem to have the place under control enough to broadcast…. maybe they have medical personnel there, but even if they don’t, when the helicopter comes, we can get medical treatment for Takashi then.  I was worried about those dangerous guys at the university but…… city hall is pretty far away.  Can we make it in three days…..?)

Thinking it over, Yusuke opens his mouth.

“Mizuki, Takashi will be in your care.  Use a blanket or something to wrap him up.  I’ll…… I’ll take Yuu.  We will be leaving soon.”

“Y, yes.”

Mizuki hurries to the back to get a blanket.

While Yusuke was also preparing to depart,

“Ah!  H….hey…..”

With a voice calling to him, Yusuke turns.

The intruder’s line of sight was directed at him.

“………….”

Yusuke and the man’s gazes meet.

“…..P, please…..”

At the man’s pleading voice, Yusuke slowly drops his gaze.  What entered his vision was the hand gun, tightly held in his hand.

An impatient look was spread across the man’s face.

Yusuke lets out a sigh,

“You want to go too?”

“!  Ah, ahh!  Please!”

Yusuke flings the key from his hip,

“Bind both of your hands with the handcuffs.  When you are finished, throw the key back to me.  If you make any strange movements, I’ll shoot you in the head.”

“I, I understand!”

The man desperately unlocks the handcuffs around his ankle, and uses it to bind his arms; showing a flattering smile.  He was probably thinking that compared to Mizuki’s earlier actions, Yusuke showed no intent to kill.

“Takemura-san?!”

Mizuki, who had returned, let out a surprised voice.

“Why would let that kind of person..!”

“It’s fine so be quiet.”

“But…!”

“Shut up.”

Furrowing her brows, Mizuki wraps Takashi in a blanket while glaring at the man with eyes full of hatred.

With the handgun, Yusuke urges the man forward.

“We’ll go outside first.”

With a willingness to follow their orders, the man walks along the wall, heading toward the exit.  Yusuke follows behind him.

Entering the hallway, the man heads in a direction when Yusuke calls out to him.

“Wrong.  Go right.  Before we escape, I want to see what the condition is outside.”

At those words, the man stops and turns right, heading towards the end of the hallway.  It appeared to be morning, and sunlight was shining through the windows along the corridor.  The green leaves of the plants along the windows were soaking in the morning sun.  Beyond them was the parking lot.

Yusuke speaks up.

“How is it outside, are there any zombies?”

“N, no…..”

“Is that right.”

Surprised at the voice so close to him, the man turns around.

Less than a meter away, the hand gun was pointed at him at waist height.

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The sound of a gunshot is heard.

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The man falls back and slams against the glass.  Cracks spread across the surface.  Leaning against the glass, the man stares blankly at the hole in his stomach.

“Did you think would quietly let you come with us?”

The hammer is pulled back.  A bullet is shot through the man’s right leg, and his body jolt with the impact.  The cracks in the window at his back get larger.

Once again the hammer is pulled back.

A bullet is shot at the man’s left leg.

With the 3rd shot, the glass shattered.  The man’s body falls through the window among the tiny fragments of glass.

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His body slams into the concrete, and his arms are bent at absurd angles like some kind of toy.  Blood gushes from his wounds, and a puddle begins to slowly spread beneath him.

Yusuke looks down at him with hard eyes.

He was still alive.  He turns over and tries to crawl with his distorted arms and legs.

“………..”

He felt the presence of someone standing next to him.

It was Mizuki.  (TL: Takashi is seriously going to die in their hands.)

She watched the man in silence.  While the two were staring down at him, zombies started to appear.  There were attracted by the stench of blood.  There was about a dozen of them.  They slowly approach the man.

The man tries to flee, but it is impossible with the condition of his arms and legs.

One of them bites into the man’s arm.  The man screams as his flesh is torn.  With that, the zombies begin forming a group around him one by one.  With blood splattering everywhere, the mans screams echo in the air.

It was a feast of blood and flesh.

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Unexpectedly, he has a flashback of the video he found on that campus.

“…..While he is distracting the surrounding zombies, we’ll escape from underground.”

He turns away from the man.

There, Yusuke comes to a stop.

Mizuki was staring intently at him.  At her intense stare, Yusuke shuts his mouth.

It felt like she was looking deep within the depths of his heart.

As if she could see everything within him like he was transparent.

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“……Let’s go.”

“Hai.”

Mizuki answers quietly.

With the screams from below echoing behind them, the two slowly departed.

 

Chapter 30: Assassin

Good news everyone!  I’m not dead!

So… not much I can say for myself.  I want to blame it on the holidays, but the fact of the matter is I’m a lazy, good-for-nothing, bastard.

(Reflecting)


 

 

After Yusuke had left to investigate the fire…

On the 3rd floor of the super market, Mizuki and her brothers were preparing to leave.

Mizuki makes her brothers wear jumpers to ward off the cold.  Placing a battery powered lantern on the desk, they quickly gather everything necessary for their departure.

She had divided food and clothing up and placed them in her brothers ruk-sacks, along with bottled water.  With this it would raised the likeliness of them surviving if they every got separated.

They could grab another one along the way, so Mizuki didn’t pack the rice cooker.  Besides, the generator couldn’t run very many appliances at once.  Yusuke had found some solar powered equipment, but was unsuccessful in installing it and it was left untouched.  In any case, they would have little power.

Mizuki packs various documents and self-made notes in a bag, as well as tightly wrapped food into a cardboard box.

The bulkiest items were clothing.  So that their luggage wouldn’t become cluttered, they just brought their winter clothes (snow suits) and underwear.  Mizuki packed what her brothers couldn’t carry with their rucksacks in her bag.  She also used the field backpack Yusuke had left behind to pack towels and other cleaning supplies.

(It’s like I’m preparing to travel.)  (TL: She means go on a trip/vacation)

This thought runs across Mizuki’s mind.

About to leave the now familiar office, she felt uneasy.

However, she was looking forward to leaving this cooped up environment.  She had expectations for her life in the mountains.

Mizuki was absorbed in learning about agriculture as instructed by Yusuke.

She wasn’t all that familiar with potteries, but the thought of growing something lit a fire in her chest.

It was hope.

Right now, Mizuki and her brothers were just survivors of a broken civilization.

However, growing the food they needed in order to survive through the soil and her own power; with that action befitting humans, it would feel like things were getting back on track.

Living as a human, she felt it was something to be proud of.

(Anyway… if I follow Takemura-san, it’ll all work out, no matter where we go.)

Mizuki was smiling happily.

It was a strange sense of trust.

She carries the stuffed bag into the hall.

Rays of sunlight shine through the windows along the wall in the corridor, signalling the breaking of dawn.

At that moment, she notices the elevator display flash.  The elevator was raising to her floor.

(I wonder if the fire was nothing?)

Thinking that he arrived quicker than she expected, she stops her movements.

She sets down her bags and waits for the elevator to open.

With a ding, the elevator arrives, and the doors slowly open.

“Eh…..”

Mizuki steps back.

What appeared in the elevator doors was not Yusuke.

It was a ragged, dirty, grimy, thin homeless looking person.  (TL: Laughing so hard.)

Thick beard hair was growing out of his jaw, extending all the way to his shoulders.  Scraps of vegetable waste were tangled the man’s hair.  His clothes looked like something that was thrown away.  Stains were scattered all over them.  A terrible stench escaped into the hallway.

She remembers seeing him before somewhere.

The man looks at her and slightly opens his eyes.

The man places his hand on the door to keep it from shutting, and with his feet trailing behind, he walks out of the elevator.

As if pushed, Mizuki takes another step back.

“A…..no……”  (TL: Searching for something to say.)

Leaking out a puzzled voice, the man’s right hand enters Mizuki’s line of sight.

In his hand was a dirty hammer.  (TL: Have you come to fix the generator?)

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“…………..”

Remaining silent, she slowly steps backwards towards the office.

She has the feeling she has seen this man before.

However, she is unable to recall when they have met.

Suppressing the shaking in her voice, she speaks,

“Are you a…… survivor?  If it’s food, we have some.  We have a bunch, so help yourself……”

She removes some food from her bag and places it on the floor.  While the man’s attention is drawn to the food, Mizuki quietly falls back.

The man approaches the food and crouches down in front of it.  At that moment, Mizuki turns and flees to the office, shutting the door behind her.

She would need a barricade as there was no lock on the door to the office.

If she had fled to the locker room, she would have been able to lock herself inside; but she escaped to the office thinking of her brothers.

Then, she remembers the identity of the man.

(……It was him……)

It was the lean looking man that was the last to leave the 3rd floor.

The man who’s gaze stuck to her, and who had banged on the locker room door late at night, trying to get her to open it.

Why was he still alive?

Where had he been until now?

At first Mizuki had been confused with his sudden appearance, but he was not the kind of opponent you could take a friendly approach with.

“Tak-kun, Ma-kun!  Get to the back of the office!”

She yells at her brothers in the office.  Surprised by her strong (threatening) attitude, they take their rucksacks and run to the back room of the office.

(If I can’t protect them…..!)

Thinking she could use a desk as a barricade, she goes to move it, but is unable to with her strength.  It was the same with a nearby cabinet.  During this time, the man could enter at any moment.  Unable to compose herself, she panics.

With a confused face, she thinks,

(This won’t work!  What should I……  How can I……)

A weapon.

The hot water supply room was outside across the hallway, so she couldn’t get the kitchen knife.  However, there should be unused knives packed away in the office.  So that her brothers couldn’t get to them, she had packed them in a locked cabinet along with other tools.

Pulling open the desk drawer and searching inside using the dim light from the lantern, she was finally able to find the key.

Unlocking the cabinet with trembling hands, she shoots a look at the door to the office, confirming that the man has yet to enter.

What was inside the cabinet consisted of a gas torch, a portable stove, and cutlery.  Taking out the package containing the knives, she tears it open and grabs one.

At that moment, the door to the office opened.

Slowly, the mans face appears from the crack.  He is still holding a hammer in his right hand.

The man silently observes Mizuki as if appraising her.

With trembling breaths, she stands from the cabinet and grips the knife in both of her hands.

She was surprised at her own killing intent.

“Don’t come any closer than that.”

“………….”

The man remained silent.

“If you’re looking for food, I can give you everything we have.  Once you have received everything, go back to where ever you were before.  We will not be here tomorrow.  You can come back then and use this place as you wish.”

If the man was listening to her, he didn’t show any signs of it.  He just silently looked around the office.

(Is it no good?)

Mizuki bites her lip.

The previous time she was attacked, she could do nothing but tremble at the situation.

However, this time is different.

The current her had a goal, a purpose.  The four of them would build a life together in the mountains.  Someday, they would be living their days quietly in the mountains.

It was her reason to live.

Seeing the man take a step forward, Mizuki points her knife at him.

“…..I’m not… bluffing.”

“……………”

The man stops.

Dropping his gaze to the hammer in his right hand, he pats it with his left hand, then looks back up.

“Ah……”

He begins coughing.

“……….I understand.”

While saying this, his hand loosens on the hammer and it falls.

Careful not to let her guard down, Mizuki keeps her stance and waits for the man to speak.

“……..And?”

The man opens his mouth.

“……..Are the only other people here those two?”

At those words, Mizuki unintentionally looked back.  Her brothers were peeking out from a door within the office, looking at them with worried expressions.

“Don’t!  Go bac…..”

With a body crashing into something, Mizuki’s words were interrupted.  A desk had been pushed over and pens, scissors, and other office supplies were scattered all over the floor.  At the center of the mess was the man rushing towards her while holding a hammer.

Twisting her body, she swings the knife blindly.  She feels the knife cut through something, and at the same time, feels a dull pain in her side.

“Kafu…..”

Falling to the floor, she grips herself in pain.

While holding her side, she crawls away from the man, trying to put distance between them.  Her transceiver had been knocked from her neck and was lying on the ground nearby.

She could feel something wet with her right hand holding the knife.  The lantern was far away and she couldn’t see very well in the darkness, but it seemed to be blood.

If she looked intently, she could see the man holding his arm, staring at them.  There was a lot of liquid dripping down from were he was holding.  With that amount of blood, the cut appeared to be deep.

The man’s eyes were lit with anger.

“…………!”

Gripping his hammer, the man drew close with great strides.

Still gripping her side, Mizuki gets on her feet and turns to yell at her brothers.

“Close the door!  It’s dangerous to come out!”

Saying what she needed, as if leaving the room her brothers were in behind, she presses forward into the desk’s surroundings.

Her forehead was wet with sweat, and the pain in her side was getting worse.  The hammer seemed to have hit her in the ribs.  Holding her side with her left hand, she grips the knife tightly with her right.

She was afraid.

However, she was dominated by an anger even stronger than her fear.

(By this kind of person…..!)

A despicable kind of person that preys on the weak.

Were they just toys to him?

Waiting for the right moment to strike, they glare at each other.

“…….hear…. me?  ……………there……….”

Suddenly something could be heard at the man’s feet.  It was the receiving sound of the transceiver.  Surprised, the man comes to a stop and drops his gaze.

Not letting that opening pass, Mizuki runs towards the entrance.

(Takemura-san!)

Yusuke would be there soon.

With that encouragement, she is able to run through the mess of supplies around the desk despite her clumsy footing.  Just when she was about to enter the hallway, an intense pain ran through her calf.  Her posture breaks and she crashes into the cabinets next to her, collapsing on the floor.

“It….. hurts…..”

Gripping her shoulder that hit the cabinet, she sits up from lying on her back.

The hammer was lying next to her.  It had been thrown, and hit her leg.

She had let go of her knife at some point during the fall and it had disappeared.

Suddenly she feels a presence at her back and before she is able to turn around, she is kicked.

With the wind knocked out of her, Mizuki twists her body in pain.  Writhing in pain on the floor, her thoughts start to scatter.  She is unable to think straight.

Grabbed by her hair, she is pulled up from the floor.

Above her was the man, breathing like a beast.  The stench of his breath hit her in the face.  Assaulted by the smell of rot, the black silhouette of the man comes over her.

“N…….no…….!”

Mortified, tears begin forming in her eyes.

The man’s hand stretches out and hits her in the face.  Her mind goes blank for a moment, and then she sees the man’s silhouette standing over her, holding the hammer.

“Onee-chan!”

Yuu’s crying voice called out.  A small figure rushed over and crashes into the man’s back.  The man staggers, but doesn’t fall; and directs his attention towards the younger brother.  Behind him, Takeshi could be seen as well.  While frightened, they had jumped out to help their sister.  The man shakes them off with one arm and swings his hammer.

“Damee!!”  (TL: “Don’t!!”)

Mizuki grabs onto the man’s legs, but is unable to stop his movements.  The weapon swings, and blood flies through the air.

Chapter 29: An Oversight

So I decided to translate this chapter a little early because it’s short and because it has a nice cliffhanger to torture you guys with until I release the next chapter.

Enjoy.


By the time he returned to the super market, it was dawn.  It was still dark, but there were traces of the sun light rising up over the horizon.

After making sure there were no zombies around, Yusuke opens the shutters to the loading entrance.  Once he was inside, he operated the switch box, closing the shutters again.

With no lights in the place, the ground sloped towards the back, shrouded in darkness.  There were emergency lights here and there along the way, but they were only bright enough to illuminate their immediate surroundings.  Yusuke turns on his flashlight, and proceeds underground.

He planned to prepare the car, then call Mizuki and her brothers and immediately set off.  Approaching the loading zone with his flashlight, Yusuke unlocks the truck parked there with the remote on his key chain.  He climbs in the drivers seat, and turning on the headlights, the concrete floor in front of him is lit up.  Confirming there is enough fuel remaining in the truck, Yusuke leaves the lights on, and exits the vehicle.

At that moment he stopped.  He had started to notice it earlier, but a strange smell was drifting from further down.

(…..What is it?  This smell…..)

The smell was caught in his nose.  It smelled like waste.

(Was there a sewage problem……?)

Following the smell with the help of the headlights, he comes across a slightly opened door.  It was the door he had closed when he took the wandering zombie back upstairs.  It was a door leading inside.

“……………”

Yusuke pulls out his handgun while remaining silent.

It didn’t feel like there was anyone nearby.

Stepping inside the door, he checks the surroundings.  There was a passageway in the front of the room, which extended to the right.  The fire door next to the staircase leading to the front floor was barricaded.

(Was it a zombie……?  There’s no way Mizuki would come here…..)

It could have been a zombie that was left inside the room leaving.  If that was the case, there was something he had to do before calling down the three from upstairs.

However, he wanted to know the source of the odor.  Since he entered the room, the smell had gotten stronger.  It appeared as if it was coming from a passageway nearby.

Yusuke wondered what it might be, while drawing closer, looking for the source.  The passage he was walking through shouldn’t be connected to the boiler room or the electrical room.  (TL: Idk of a better term for electrical room.)

Relying on the dim emergency lights on his left, he heads down the corridor.  He passed by several rooms, but they were all shut and locked.

At the very end of the corridor, he finds a set of double doors left slightly open.  The smell was coming from inside.

(This place…. was left open?)

With questions raised in his mind, he opens the doors to find a room full of trash.

Sticking down from the ceiling were trash shutes which were connected to the first floor.  Beneath them were giant piles of trash.  The numerous cargo bins were overflowing.  The trash was deteriorating into compost with countless bugs and bacteria growing from it, the smell of the fermenting waste filled the room.

Remembering something he read on the 3rd floor of the supermarket, Yusuke takes in the sight using the flashlight in his hand.  The hardly visible concrete floor was stained by the aging trash.  A bottle of detergent was lying on a rack nearby.

(It was the smell of trash?  No, something inside the trash……)

There was definitely the smell of rotten garbage coming from the pile, but he could still smell the distinct scent of sewage.

While keeping the floor in front of him lit up, he continues towards the back of the room.

Within his light appeared a compost bin.  With an outline of one meter high and two meters wide, it was made of stainless steel.  Thinking nothing of it, he flashes his light next to it and comes to a stop.

Lying up against the side of the bin was a dirty blanket.  There were pieces of cardboard holding the blanket up like walls.  It was a homeless hut.  (TL: If you can think of a better term…)

Hurrying over to it, Yusuke removes the blanket.  Even though it was cold, he could feel residual heat coming from the manure.  The compost had begun to give off heat while fermenting.

Bursting with frustration, he shines the light all around the room.

Scattered next to the hut were vegetable scraps.  It might have just been trash, but they were over eaten, only the skin and the sprouts remained.  If you looked closely, you could see other signs of scavenging through the heaps of garbage.  Debris had rolled to the floor and rotten juice was splattered here and there.

Turning his head, he could see a faucet with a rubber hose attached to it for a wash station.  Along the wall, a drainage ditch had been dug to catch the water, draining it into a container in one corner of the room.  The stench was coming from there.  Walking over to it, he removes the square lid and is assaulted by a foul odor.  The inside of the container was packed with feces.

It was evidence of human life.

(…………………)

Yusuke turns off his flashlight and perks his ears.

There were no signs of anyone nearby.

If this was an ambush, he would already have been attacked.  In the darkness, Yusuke’s light should have stood out like a beacon.

In that dark room, his thoughts spun.

(It’s not an intruder…….. it’s someone who has been here from the beginning.  Was it an employee who was late escaping?)

Zombies were prowling around outside, so it should be impossible for an intruder to get in.  That meant that he had been living here since before Yusuke had ever come.

(No….. if it was an employee, they would have gone to the 3rd floor.  They would have tried to make contact.  Normally, they wouldn’t think to live in a place like this…..)

He suddenly remembers Mizuki’s words.

When the zombie’s attacked, people all around the supermarket sought shelter inside.  With food becoming scarce, and frustration building, the people who went to check outside had increased.  And nobody had returned.

(Nobody had returned……)

He hadn’t confirmed that all of them had died.

Hearing about their faces, he could have searched for them using the security cameras in the monitor room.  The first and 2nd floor were riddled with zombies, so he should have known it would be impossible for anyone to escape through there.  If they had, they would have become a zombie.

That only left underground…..

When he had first come to the supermarket, there were no zombies below ground.  A person in the monitor room, looking at the underground cameras, would realize it was the best place to escape to.

However, there were zombies all around the parking garage.  It would be difficult to go outside through the drive way leading above ground.

In trying to, there would be no other choice but to go back indoors.  If it was this trash deposit area, it had food, water, and heat.  The zombies that had come downstairs were probably moving because of this person.  With zombies in the boiler room and the electrical room connecting to this place, this person had barricaded themselves in here for more that a month.

That was until the power outage.

The lights had gone out.  Starving in the cold without light or water; a normal person wouldn’t be able to bear it.

That’s when they went outside.

Thinking up to here, Yusuke cuts off his flashlight and hurries back to the platform.

Because he had the key for the shutters, they could not be opened by anyone else.  His destination was just ahead.

Looking at the elevator, he could see it was stopped on the 3rd floor.

(Shit)

It was still operating on emergency power.  Rapidly pressing the up button on the elevator, Yusuke impatiently calls it down.

Yusuke remembers the transceiver and retrieves it from the truck.  The range on it was short, and so he had left it in the drivers seat when he went out.

Taking it in his hand, he contacts Mizuki.

“Oi, can you hear me?  It’s Takemura.  There might be a survivor heading your way.  Stay quiet and wait for me.”

There was no reply.

Putting the transceiver on his waist, he waits for the slow moving elevator while thinking.

(Just because it’s a survivor doesn’t mean they will be hostile…. it should be okay as long as they share food with them.)

Gripping his flashlight in his hand, he looks around and his eyes fall on the truck on the loading platform.  One of the boxes had fallen on its side and the smoked meat was scattered.  The packaging had been ripped open, and a number of them had been eaten.  There were also empty water bottles.

“…………..”

With a ding, the elevator arrives.

Yusuke steps inside and punches the 3F button with his fist.

(TL: As one who hates Mizuki, allow me to be the first to say; all of you who like Mizuki, get shreked.)

Chapter 28: Skull Man

Well, not much to say.

A moment of silence for the end of Overlord

………………………………..

……………………………………..

……………………………………………………


The site of the fire was located on a university campus.

Stopping across the street from the campus, Yusuke stops his bike, lifts his visor, and looks at the campus questioningly.

The surroundings were lit by moonlight, but were still dim.

Facing the front gate, there stood a five story building, shrouded in darkness.  Across the avenue, there is an enormous tree engulfed in flames.  They flames had stripped the leaves off of it, leaving it nothing but burning branches, illuminating the darkened ground beneath it.

(…..Was the fire accidental?  It would be great if there was no trouble, but…..)

When heading to the mountains, cutting through here would be the quickest route.  For that reason, Yusuke wanted to confirm the area was safe.

It would take a considerable detour to avoid this area.  It would be fine if it was just him, but he had Mizuki and her brothers with him as well.  Because of that, he wanted to avoid a long journey.

In the vicinity, Yusuke could see zombies here and there.  They were draw to the university, but the main gate was closed, blocking their entrance.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine resounded from the back of the campus.

(….What’s that?)

Gripping the handles of his bike so that he could escape at a moment’s notice, he looked toward the direction of the sound.

What had appeared was a silver mini-van.  With something riding on the top of it, it charges at the main gate.  Noticing the closed gate, the mini-van tries to come to a stop, but it didn’t make it in time.  With the high pitched screech of the tires against the ground, the mini-van plunges into the stone pillar at the side of the gate.  The front of the van took heavy damage as the sound of the metal frame ripping open resounded through the darkness of the night.

The thing riding on top of the mini-van was thrown over the gate, and rolled to a stop on the road.  Stretching it’s limbs, the thing gets it’s feet under itself and stands up.

The thing that had been riding on top of the van was a man in a black coat.

Ignoring Yusuke who had braced himself to escape, the man turns and sprints towards the van.  Jumping over the gate with nimble movements, he comes up to the window of the van and bashes it with a rod he removed from his waist.  The window shatters in an explosion of glass, and a women inside lets out a high-pitched scream.  The man thrusts his arm into the window, and drags out the screaming woman.

With a savage hostility radiating off his entire body, the man slams the crying woman into the iron bars of the main gate countless times.  The zombies gathered on the other side became excited by the spurts of blood flying through the bars, and reached their hands through.

After a while, the woman became quiet, and the man releases his grip on her.  Her body collapses on the ground.

The man then takes a hatchet out of a sheath on his waist, and swings it down on the woman’s neck.  Her head separates, and rolls on the floor.  Picking up the severed head by the hair, the man lifts it in front of his face as if admiring the expression of agony left on it.  The blood spurting from the severed neck began pooling on the floor.

After a while, as if the man was now satisfied, he tosses the head aside and begins opening the main gate.

The gathered zombies rushed through the gate and flocked to the woman’s corpse.

Observing that scene, Yusuke’s finally reacted.

“Oioioi…..”

Unintentionally, his voice leaked.

“…….Is it a….. zombie?”

His movements were too good to be a zombie.

However, it didn’t appear as if the zombies around him were going to attack him.  He is standing leisurely, turning to leave.

Staring at his back, Yusuke becomes troubled for a moment.

He wants to know everything about him.

But he doesn’t know how much risk was involved.

However, Yusuke quickly prepares himself, and makes a decision.  Even if he was attacked, he could get away on his bike.  If he let’s him leave without learning anything about him, it would be dangerous.

Yusuke revs his bike, letting the engine roar.

The man in the black coat turns around at that noise.  The surrounding zombies don’t react, and continue their meal.

The man’s entire body seemed to be covered in scars and various wounds.  The black coat had several rips and tears.

However, what drew his attention more than anything, was the man’s face.  His nose had been broken off and you could see the nasal cavity bone.  (TL: Not sure what to call it.)  His cheeks were gouged out, exposing his bare gums beneath.  His eyes were sunken deep into their sockets, creating a ghostly appearance.   The only parts undamaged, were his eyes themselves, his forehead, and his short black hair.

They stood there staring at each other as if glaring.

There was intelligence in the eyes that were staring at Yusuke.

In spite of that, no life could be felt from him.

(So it’s a zombie after all…)

Besides spirit, there was no hostility or anything that could be felt from the man.

Inadvertently, looking at the black coated man, he sees clothing near the cuff of the coat and is reminded of something.  It was a familiar navy blue uniform.

Hanging on his waist next to the sheathed hatchet was a baton.  (TL: nightstick)

(A cop….?)

A zombie’s power was relative to the body while it was living.  If a child were to become a zombie, they wouldn’t exhibit super human strength, but if a large male were to be turned, he would be a threat.

Unexpectedly, the man turned and ran away.

(Shit-)  (TL: Yabe)

Yusuke put his bike in gear.

That man was obviously not a normal zombie.

Fortunately, it didn’t look like it would attack him.  What he hand to do now was capture it.  He needed to know more about the irregular zombie.

Besides, that skull man was dangerous.  If that kind of zombie was around, troublesome things were sure to follow.  If Mizuki and her brothers were attacked by it, there’s no way he could protect them.

Tracking him down, he would look for a chance to trap him.

Deciding on that plan, Yusuke twists the grip on his bike, and follows after the zombie.

There was almost no one on the campus.  The smoke rising from the fire site near the main gate had blackened the surroundings.  There were no lights on in any of the buildings, shrouding them in darkness.

With Yusuke trailing behind, skull man runs up onto the sidewalk, and disappears inside of a research building.  Yusuke left his bike and followed him inside, but arriving in the first floor control room, there was no sign of him anywhere.

Readying his handgun, Yusuke quiets his footsteps while climbing the stairs.

Inside the building was dark.  The only source of light was from the moon shining through the windows.  He had a flashlight, but he didn’t want to give off his location until he had to.

(This is kind of bad huh…..)

It was bad that he lost skull man, but that wasn’t all that bothered him.

It would be fine if it’s a zombie, but he wanted to avoid encountering other survivors in close quarters at all costs.  The person he meets could end up being unfriendly.

There was no sign of skull man in the labs on the 2nd floor, and just as he was thinking he should head back, he hears a sound.

Silencing his breathing, he explores in the direction of the noise.

It was coming from a room close by.  He silently approaches the door to the room and presses his ear against it.  Something was moving around inside.

Readying his handgun and hesitating briefly, Yusuke calls out in a small voice.

“Is anyone there?”

There was no reaction to his voice.

The noise continues inside, unaffected.

(Is there no one inside….?)

Yusuke breathed deeply to calm himself.

Blood had gone to his head a little.  (TL: Not sure what expression to use, so I did the literal.)

His adrenaline was going and his heart was pumping wildly.  He turned the doorknob slowly, and pushed the door open with his foot.  Immediately pressing against the wall, he waited for movement inside the room.

The sound kept coming, unaffected.

Keeping his pistol out in front of him ready to fire, he slowly leans his upper body into the doorway, peeking into the room.

In the darkness at the back of the room, something about waist height was moving.  Holding the pistol with his right hand, he reaches his left hand into his and pulls out a flashlight.  Only shining the light on it for an instant, he understood what it was.

It was a female zombie without limbs.

With her neck strapped to a pipe on the wall, she was moving her stumps like a crocodile.  (TL: wtf)

Her mouth was filled with a thick rope she had bitten into.

Yusuke entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Turning on the flashlight again, he observes the woman.

She was a burnette woman with her hair died red in a bobcut.  She looked like a college student.  Her mid section between her cut off limbs was covered in a thin film. (TL: I’m pretty sure it’s semen.)

With a spaced out look in her eyes, she looked up at him.

Her naked body had dried dirt caked on here and there.  With the nasty smell drifting off of her, it was evident that she had been used.

Her voluptuous white breasts standing atop her chest, had several long nails driven into them.  Her thighs were littered with numerous cuts.  She was probably played around with as a toy for fun.

“How barbaric…..”

He unintentionally let out his voice.

Yusuke also treated zombies like things, but as expected, this kind of treatment made him raise his eyebrows.  He had no interest in hurting things which resembled humans.

“This is the end of the world huh…. seriously….”

He pulled out a knife and cut the rope sealing the zombie’s mouth.  The zombie looked up at him with a blank look in its eyes.  Her mouth looked strange, and upon closer inspection, he could see that all of her teeth had been pulled out.

(……I’m not one to lecture others, but as expected, this is……)

Thinking this, he cuts the rope around her neck.

Suddenly, he heard the door behind him open.

Following that was the sound of something clicking into place.

Feeling a great chilled down his back, Yusuke immediately rolled on the floor.

The next moment, the sound of air escaping and a metallic bang range throughout the room.  (TL: The author uses *Pashu* so it is either a silenced weapon, or not even a gun.  Crossbow?)

Scrambling to his feet, Yusuke escapes through an open door.  While he is doing this, he catches a glimpse of a figure standing at the entrance.  With a big build and a wide stance, the person was facing him.  It seemed he had some sort of shooting device.

The place he fled appeared to be the documentation room.  There were cabinets and steel desks, but there was no exit.

(Shit.)

Kneeling behind a desk in a shooting position, he calls out to the next room.

“Oi!  I’m human!  You’ve made a mistake!”

The response was more shots fired.  The door sways as it is hit by long nails, making dents and hitting the floor.

It appears to be a nail gun.  The safety device had been removed and it was gas powered.

(It can’t be helped, I guess I’ll startle him a bit.)

Yusuke pulls back the hammer on the revolver and points it toward the door.

His intention is to get the man to expose himself, not to kill him.  There was a lot of risk and he didn’t want a battle here.  It was better to intimidate him, and use that chance to escape.

Listening to the casually approaching footsteps of his opponent, Yusuke times his shot.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he hears the man screaming in despair.

He can hear the sound of something being kneaded, along with the repeated shots of the nail gun.  The nails hit the walls of the room and ricocheted everywhere.

Getting up and peeking through the door, at the bottom of the dark figure was the female zombie from earlier.  She seems to have freed herself from the rope around her mouth that he had started to cut before the man appeared.  With a low growling sound, she was wriggling her limbless body while biting into the mans legs.

She had no teeth so there were no mortal wounds, but the man seemed to have panicked after being attacked by a zombie.  Waving his nail gun around, he shoots nails all over the place.

(Abune-)  (TL: Dangerous, or look out.  He says it to himself.)

Yusuke ducks his head as a nail ricochets nearby.

The sounds of scuffling went on for a while, but then quieted down.  In panicked footsteps, the man leaves the room.

(TL: For those who are confused, I think he had moved from the desk to the door way, then after peaking, he stayed on his side of the door while listening to the fight.)

Cautiously peeking into the room, he sees the female zombie lying in the floor with countless nails sticking out of her.

Her eyes, which were faced toward the ceiling, had lost all light.  Her forehead had been punctured by several long nails.

Slowly, Yusuke steps inside the room.

There was no sign of the man close by.  It seemed he fled.

Only the tragic corpse of the limbless zombie was left.

“…………”

Offering a prayer with one hand in silence while keeping a look out on the corridor, Yusuke leaves the room.  As expected, he didn’t feel the need to search anymore.

As he reached the stairs, down another corridor, he heard the cries of the man from earlier resounding.

Looking down it, at the end of the corridor, the man from earlier was backpedaling while rapidly firing his nail gun.

Ahead of him was a figure that looked like a raptor ready to pounce on it’s prey.

It was skull man.  After a moment, the nail gun stopped firing, and the man was hit in the face.  With a loud crack, he flew into the air, into the wall of the corridor.

Keeled over and groaning, the man is grabbed by the neck.  Like that, he is dragged to the back of the corridor.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Yusuke hesitated, wondering what he should do.

“……Fuck.”

Raising his handgun in front of him again, Yusuke chases after the back of skull man.

Even though he was dragging that violent person in tow, skull man’s pace was fast.  While following them with some effort, Yusuke goes through a corridor and arrives at another building.

Looking around, the skull man is no where to be found.

Suddenly he sees a light.

It is leaking from the center of nearby double doors.  As if invited by the light, Yusuke steps inside.

Inside was a wide open area.

It was a concert hall with an open 2nd floor.

Right now he was at the 2nd floor entrance, and below him was a stage with a staircase connected to it on both sides.  As if surrounding the entire hall, there were aisles going down both sides.  Along the railing of the 2nd floor balcony, lighting equipment had been placed.  Along the aisles were a number of doors.

The hall was not lit up by the lights, but from the smoldering pile of charred wood and burnt chairs near the stage.  It would appear that this was the site of the fire.

Standing there, he could smell a putrid burn smell come up from below.

With that smell filling his nose, he fought to hold back his vomit.

“What is this place…”

He mutters this while covering his mouth with his hand.

If he looked closely, he could see that human bones had been scattered around.  Unknown meat was hanging from seats here and there, with dried blood scattered everywhere.  It was like a scene at a slaughterhouse.

Abruptly and without notice, two figures rose from their seats on the first floor.

They were girls.

With half eaten bodies and disheveled clothing, it was obvious the two were zombies.  In the thin darkness, faintly illuminated by the glare of a flames by the stage, they gave off a mysterious appearance.

While standing, the two zombies stared up at him.

They had the same inorganic look as skull man.

Yusuke took a step back without thinking.

They weren’t attacking, but there was pressure in the stares the zombies directed at him.  Normal zombies don’t even recognize Yusuke’s presence.

“What is this…..”

It wasn’t just skull man.

There were multiple irregular zombies here.

At that time, from the aisle to his right, a man’s screams rose.  Looking in that direction, he sees something strange.

A diving board-like structure extends from on of the aisle out a few meters over the hall below.

In a doorway near the aisle, skull man appears.  He is dragging the nail gun guy from earlier behind him.  The man which was illuminated by the flames was young and around the age of a college student.  With a sobbing voice, he screams.

“No!  Hiiii…….. don’t!!!  Stop…….. forgive me…….”

Without paying attention to the struggling man, skull man climbs the platform, and drives the man down the plank.  Unable to keep his balance, the man stumbles and it appeared as if he would fall.

Barely catching the board as he falls, he hangs from the board with both hands in mid air.

“Hiiii…… Hiiii…..!”  (TL: high pitched screams.)

The man looks up at skull man looming over him as he gasps for breath.

As if looking down on him, skull man watches the man from above.

Skull man slowly opens his mouth, stretching his bare cheeks, and revealing a heinous smile.

In the next moment, Skull man brings down his hatchet towards the mans hands.

With blood splattering into the air, the mans fingers were cut off, and he screams as he falls into the hole.

Yusuke unintentionally raises his voice.

“That guy!”  (TL: Aitsu)

After confirming that the man had dropped down the hole, Skull man loses interest and disappears back through the double doors.

Re-gripping his handgun, Yusuke follows him.

Going through the doors, he finds himself in a pitch black room.

Taking the flashlight out of his pocket with his left hand, he turns it on.  It looked like it was the control room for the concert hall as there was various equipment lined up along the walls.

There was no sign of Skull man.

Carefully, Yusuke shines the light around the room.  There were things everywhere.  Cords rose up from behind the equipment in complicated patterns.

Confirming that there were no hiding spots in the room, he discovers a door in the back.

It was open with moonlight shining through it, leading outside.  It appeared he had left the building.

Peeking through the door, he looked left and right down the hallway, but was unable to see Skull man.

“…..Shit.”

Sighing, Yusuke lowers his gun.

(I shouldn’t follow any further than this.)

Leaving the room, he returns to the concert hall.

Below the aisle, the female zombies were eating the man from earlier.

The man was foaming and spurting blood from his mouth while convulsing.  It wouldn’t be long now.  It couldn’t be helped that Yusuke didn’t watch any further.

Tearing his line of sight away from the man, Yusuke looks at the surroundings.

The board that the man had been pushed off was connected to a platform with a staircase that had been built in the aisle, looking increasingly like a diving board.  All around it were pools of dried blood.

(…..no, is it really a diving board…..?)

One word came to mind.

(Execution platform….)

It was something built by humans.

(…………)

Yusuke returns to the control room.  On top of a desk, he found strange items that he hadn’t noticed when he previously inspected the room.

It was a compact video camera and a bundle of mini tapes.  Shining the light on the tapes, he sees that dates are written on them as well as names.  If the man’s name was there, then so were the girl’s.

He felt a strange sense of uneasiness.

“……….”

He stared at the tapes for a while, but finally grabbed one and put it in the camera.  He turns on the power and the screen on the side opens up.  It still had some battery.

Just in case, he blockaded the entrance to the room with machinery.  After making sure there would be no hindrances, Yusuke presses the playback button.

It was the scene of a human executing a human.  Bound and crying, a young man is hauled to the execution platform.  The camera was diligently taping his appearance.  Off screen, stupid laughter is heard along with people screaming for the person to jump.

As the young man desperately tries to resist, he is prodded by a handmade spear, made by attaching a knife to a long rod.  Stabbed with the spear, the man becomes bloodied and soon loses his footing on the board, falling down into the hall.

Cheers arose from the surroundings.

The camera turns and changes locations before fixing itself again.  It showed the view from the handrail at the top of the hall, looking down.

The young man was crawling along the floor, dragging his body as he flees to a corner.  Chasing after him are two zombies.  One of the zombies climbed over a seat and began eating the man.  The camera zoomed in while shaking, capturing the figure of the predator. As the person holding the camera made elated sounds for excitement from the seen they were capturing, Yusuke began to feel sick.

The two zombies below had flocked to the man that was pushed down.  With his screams coming to a stop, the man stopped moving.

“…………..”

Yusuke stopped the video.

“…………..Fuu.”

Letting out a breath and leaning back in his chair, he looks at the dark ceiling.

(………..)

(A lynching?  Entertainment?)

It could have been that they were trying to overcome their fear of the zombies by keeping them like cattle.  Like keeping a tiger or lion in a cage.

There were still more tapes.

Opening the video camera, he puts in the tape with the latest date.  Fast forwarding it, he skims through the tape.

The content was similar.

The man from the first tape had become a zombie.  Every victim that was pushed down, had added one more zombie to the hall below.

He interchanged the tapes while looking through them.  When the 3rd tape showed a certain man, Yusuke paused it.

It was only a small hunch, but he thought the man wearing the coat in the video was that cop. His face was swollen and it looked like it had been beaten.  Both of his hands were tied behind his back.  His pants had a large tear in them around his thighs, and the leg beneath was bloodied.

He fast forwarded through the tape, so he couldn’t understand the conversation.  However, he could see the cop’s uncompromising attitude through his actions.  Up until the last moments it seemed he was trying to persuade them, but he was stabbed deep in the stomach with a spear and fell down to the hall below.

“…………..”

Yusuke silently changed the tape.

After the zombies below had reached 10, their numbers stopped increasing.  Before the person could turn into a zombie, they were completely eaten.

The cop was among those that flock to the victims when they fall.  His face had been gouged out when he was turned into a zombie.

He had the same appearance as Skull man.

“This is bad….”

Yusuke mutters to himself.

As he went through the tapes, he noticed the zombie’s behavior slowly change.  They started out like wild beasts, but every time they ate a human, their movements became slightly more human-like.

Even Skull man’s movements had been the same as a normal zombie in the beginning.

However, in the 2nd half of the tapes, he had a look of hatred in his eyes.  As if looking for an opportunity to attack.

A shiver similar to fear ran up Yusuke’s spine.

(While filming this…. those guys, why did they not notice this strange behavior?)

Right now, in his mind, Yusuke doubted that they were even zombies.

The zombies which acted like commuters at the station next to his home, and the zombies at the supermarket whom prowled around as if shopping.

Here and there in the city there were zombies moving as if repeating the lives they had.

As the masses of zombies wandered around aimlessly, Yusuke had always wondered why a few of them had these patterns.

Within his mind, one hypothesis emerged.

(Once the zombie feeds on a human, only then do they gain knowledge…..)  (TL: Holy shit, Tokiko was feasting on his sperm, that is why her behavior changed.  We may see her again yet.)

If he thinks about the small amount of zombies following a pattern, it would seem that only a small amount of them change.  For instance, even if they were to eat a bunch of humans, at best the would be able to remember some parts of life as a living being.

However, in regards to regaining knowledge if you eat humans………

He remembers Skull man’s figure.

How he took the man to the execution platform and pushed him off, and that heinous smile.

It was a pure hatred for humans.

Looking at the video, there were 10 zombies at the bottom of the concert hall.  They had nearly been released.

The fed zombies had regained intelligence like Skull man, and were now dangerous.

“………Shit!!”

Yusuke slams the video camera into the floor.

(Shit shit shit shit, for those pieces of trash to do something unnecessary like this!  Once the zombies become a threat, then what did they intend to do!  Fucking idiots!)

Breathing roughly, Yusuke stands up.

“…………..”

He thinks carefully.

(……….We have to detour around this area, it’s too dangerous.)

Deciding this, there was no longer a reason to follow Skull man.  He should check to make sure the detour route is safe, but he decides to return to the supermarket first.

It is also dangerous to stay in the city.  If the zombies in the city regain their intelligence, then grouping up with a lot of humans would be even more dangerous.  It would be safest in the mountains.

Deciding on a plan, Yusuke removes the blockade and exits the room.

Walking out of the entrance to the concert hall and continuing down the corridor, Yusuke stops.

A few meters ahead of him was a young girl dressed in rags.

In her right hand was a severed head, with its hair entangled in her hand.

It was the head of a man, his face contorted in a painful expression.

In her other hand was a spear, wet with blood.

“…………..”

Yusuke and the young girl stared at each other.

She looked like she was in high school.  Looking at her, she had a crying mole under her right eye.  She was pretty, but she had a big bite marks all down her collarbone.

(TL: I looked up crying mole or “Nakibukuro”, it’s just a mole under their eye, which supposedly is there due to them crying)

She was a zombie.

The young girl spaces out, looking at him with a blank expression.

She had long black hair and her feet were bare.  (TL: Sadako?!)

Naked except for the rags on her body, she had the appearance of a savage young tribe girl.

evz10fix

Suddenly the girl looked out of the window.  Following her gaze, he also looked out of the window and saw a mass of things folding over each other.

With it faded into the darkness, Yusuke couldn’t make out what it was.  Focusing his vision, he tried to make it out in the moonlight.

After a while, he sees them,

(…….Humans……?)

Yusuke swallows a breath.

It was a mountain of corpses.

Hearing footsteps in the corridor, Yusuke returns his line of sight.  The young girl had turned around and was leaving.  The severed head in her hand swayed as she walked.

At that time, off in the distance, he could hear the screams of a girl.

Yusuke realized it.

This campus was their hunting grounds.

Watching the receding back of the young girl, Yusuke stood still.

When her back finally disappeared in the darkness, Yusuke let out a big breath.

“…………Haa…………..damn.”

He stops thinking and heads towards the stairs.

There was nothing he could do here.

As if dispelling the cold feeling within him, he quickened his footsteps.

(TL: Wouldn’t it be interesting if there was a time lapse between when Yusuke was attacked by a zombie, and when he came back out of his apartment?  And he was a zombie and eating people the whole time, enough to regain all of his intellect and memories, thus thinking that he isn’t zombie, but he really is.  Though I’m sure there are some things that already disprove this theory, it would be a cool Fight Club-esque plot twist. xD)

Chapter 27: Blackout ◆

Well, I don’t really have anything to say for myself.  I’m pretty late with this one.

To be honest, I was losing interest in the story.  But with this chapter, the plot looks like it is starting to develop again, so the speed of the translations should increase.

I don’t know anything about radios, and as such, translating the part about the radio was very difficult.  (That was actually a big reason for the delay.)  If something doesn’t make sense about that part, I’m sorry.


Nothing in particular had happened during the rest of December, and then, a certain day came.

Yusuke was below ground, unloading cardboard boxes at the loading area.  The boxes contained the smoked meat Mizuki and her brothers had processed.  The meat was packed in sealed bags using the vacuum packer they he had found on the first floor.  The plastic bags containing the meat were separated by newspaper they used as buffering.

The meet consisted of the pork and beef they had kept in the freezer, but they had kept raw meat in the fridge to cook on the stove on the 3rd floor.  Because they had a working stove to cook meat with, they had been eating it a lot recently.

Mizuki had been trying a bunch of dishes from the cook book Yusuke had brought her, and as such, there was always a wide variety of food on the table.

“She’s pretty useful huh?”

Yusuke mutters.

“Her body is also lewd.  I wonder if she is getting used to it?”

Since that time, they had been going at it countless times, and not once had she acted like she didn’t want it.  She still blushed from time to time, but when he starts thrusting hard, she protests, and instead pushes harder into him.  Yusuke was satisfied with the now obedient Mizuki.

Yusuke raises the loading platform and secures the luggage with a rope.  The gas, tools, and equipment they had prepared, he had already taken to the mountain.  All that was left to take was the food and water.

The loading platform begins slowly raising with Yusuke standing on top of it.  The road curves and continues underground, but because he had to keep the shutters closed, it was dimly lit.  On the ceiling were exposed ducts and wiring, as well as small florescent lights, which barely lit the surroundings.

Near the loading zone was the elevator for transporting goods directly to the 1st and 2nd floors.  Because he could also go directly to the 3rd floor, he never really entered the machine room or the electric room, only giving them a quick look-over.  (TL: I’m not really sure what he is trying to say with this last sentence)

Walking by, he hears footsteps coming from inside and stops.

Mizuki was on the 3rd floor, so there shouldn’t be anyone in there.

Withdrawing his handgun from the holster on his waist, he approaches the door without a sound.

Turning his head, he presses his ear against the door.

He hears dull footsteps backing away from the door.

Flinging the door open, he sees the back of the middle aged women.

The one with the injured right arm.

A zombie.

(TL: He has each of these sentences as separate paragraphs.)

“So that’s what it was…..”  (TL: “ndayo.”  Short for “Nandayo.”)

Holstering his weapon, he walks inside.

Nearby was a staircase leading to the 1st floor.  It appeared that she climbed down from there.

As the zombie walked towards the back of the room, Yusuke drags and guides it up the stairs.  Arriving at the top of the stairs, he forces her out the fire door, closing it behind her so that no other zombies could get in.

Zombies don’t actively move to destroy things, but there was always the possibility one could inadvertently break something.  He didn’t want one hanging around the equipment.

Suddenly, a horrible smell entered his nose.

“……it stinks…”

There may be a corpse lying in the back.  It must have been attracted here by the smell.

Just then, a voice was heard from the transceiver on his waist.

“Takemura-san, Takemura-san, can you hear me?  This is the 3rd floor.”

Yusuke takes the transceiver from his waist,

“I can hear you.  The repeater seems to be smooth.  Did something happen?”  (TL: I think he means the connection is good.)

“Ano, could you come here?  A girls voice came in over the radio asking for help but….. is it okay to answer them?”

“I’m on my way.  Wait a bit.”

It’s been a while since there was contact with a survivor.

Yusuke hurried to the 3rd floor.

“Help…… help me….. anybody…..”

Yusuke heard the same thing repeated over and over through the headphones attached to the radio.  The voice also flowed through the external speakers.  Mizuki looks at Yusuke with a worried expression, as if asking him something.  (TL: Has a rival appeared?!)

The radio on the desk was about the size of a confection box.  It was connected to the antenna on the roof through a coax cable and so the range was quite large.

They had heard things come through the radio before, but it was encrypted noises and signals.  This was the first time a survivor had come through.

The girl’s tearful voice had been coming through for a few minutes, then cut off.

She had most likely been speaking for a few minutes, then changing the frequency before speaking again.  With a quick scan, they were able to hear her again.

While listening to her, Yusuke speaks to Mizuki.

“Try answering her.”

“M, me?”

“She will be more at ease hearing a girls response right?  Don’t tell her about this place.  Ask her about her whereabouts.  Can you do it?”

“Y, yes.”

Mizuki takes the mic in her hand, and presses the transmission button.

After hesitating a bit, she opens her mouth.

“Ano….. hello.”

As soon as she lets go of the button, the girls voice comes through.

“Help me!  Where are you?!”

Mizuki was about to respond, but the reception light was still on.  The other side was still sending the transmission.

When the light finally went out, Mizuki spoke.

“Calm down!  Please remain calm.  We can not speak at the same time over the radio.  Once you are finished speaking, please release the transmission button.  Where are you?”

After a short pause, the girl’s voice once again comes through.

“I don’t know!  Help me!  Where should I go?  Nee!”

The sound of a switch.

“…..Ano, calm down, please listen.  Where are you holed-up at?  Is anyone with you?”

A small interval.

“…….Why are you asking me that?!  Are you not going to help?!  No, noo, no more….. tell me where you are….”

“Ano…..”

“I want to come over…. so please tell me…. nee…..”

Yusuke extends his arm and cuts off the radio, interrupting the girl’s voice.

Mizuki looks at him with a puzzled expression, but he waves his hand,

“That’s enough.”

“B, but.”

Yusuke speaks while removing the headphones,

“I heard the footsteps of someone else behind her.  The pauses in her speech were also strange.  Someone else was working on the radio.  The girl was a decoy.”

“Eh….”

“What she was saying was inconstant, and she was trying to find our whereabouts right?  Everyone is thinking the same thing.”

“……but……that person, if she was acting……”

“It is possible she was being threatened into it.  But, it’s just as likely she wasn’t.  There is no merit to putting ourselves in danger to try to save her.”

“…………..”

Mizuki was downcast.

Looking at her, Yusuke scratches his face,

“If you tell them about this place, I’m not responsible for what comes.  Right now, the herd of zombies outside has thinned.  Don’t get any weird ideas.”

“That’s…………”

Mizuki lifts her head and lets out a lonely laugh.

“I won’t.  Everything Takemura-san has said has turned out to be correct.  I will follow what Takemura-san says.  Please do not worry.”

“Well that’s fine, but….”

“……….etto, I’ll go get the laundry.”

Mizuki stands from the desk and walks into the hallway.

At that small back, Yusuke lets out a sigh.

(What a troublesome person…..)

Yusuke faces the desk again and flips the switch on the radio.  Holding the manual in one hand, he awkwardly fiddles with the spectrum scope with his other hand, ascertaining that there are no other signals.

(There are too many buttons…. this thing.)

He could figure out how to operate the recorder and timer, but as far as decryption, he couldn’t figure it out.

Returning to the configuration of the radio, he takes a breather.

The calendar on the tabletop next to him enters his view.

In the box for today’s date, there was an event written at the bottom.

“Th…. no, that’s today huh…… It came quickly.”

Yusuke threw the manual on the desk.

Taking his jacket off the coat rack at the entrance of the room, he heads towards the back entrance where he parked his bike.

That night.

After dinner in the conference room.

“Fuuu…..”

When movie ended with a scene of the heroine being embraced by the main character, Mizuki took a short breath.

The ending credits had begun flowing down the large monitor in the conference room.

Cracking his neck, Yusuke frankly gives his impressions of the movie.

“Was alright.”

“It was huh….”  (TL: “Soudesune.”)

A retired information analysis officer was fighting a terrorist, it was a movie with a lot of action.

It wasn’t like nothing interesting happened, but there was nothing amazing, or anything that stood out.

“It got pretty good reviews, so I was expecting a bit but…”

“Yeah…..”

Once the end credits had finished, a preview came on for another movie.  As the promotional videos played one by one, the pictures were flowing and changing.

“Ah, this!  We should watch this one next.  I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks interesting.”

“Heee…… it’s about animals?”

A federal investigator who could speak to animals used his power to catch criminals.  It was a comedy.  It was quite popular and had three movies in the series.

“Well, it’ll at least be better than the one we just watched…..”

They had put a portable player and a sofa in the conference room, turning it into a home theater.  Around the edges of the table, various pastries, snacks, and PET bottles were stacked.  The lights were turned off in the conference room, and the monitor faintly lit the surroundings.

The clock showed that it was 1:00 in the morning.

It was Christmas.

Stockpiling food and collecting hand tools had been proceeding smoothly, and so today they would relax.  The first movie they watched was a Disney movie about Charles Dickens.  He had read the story a long time ago.  He had thought that the kids would like it and picked it out.

After the kids had gone to bed, Mizuki and Yusuke continued watching movies together.  As a gag, he had put in a zombie movie, but as expected, it wasn’t received well.

In the relaxed atmosphere, Yusuke grabs his coffee off of the side table and brings it to his mouth.  It had become cold, and when he contorts his face,

“Ah, I’ll fill it up again.”

While taking the cup, Mizuki heads towards the hot water supply room.

While watching her back,

(……….Lately she’s been quite honest huh)  (TL: He says “sunao”.  It means true to your feelings, transparent, etc.)

Yusuke thinks such while spacing out.

It’s like her attitude at first was a lie.

Mizuki returns shortly with a cup on a tray.

Setting down the trey, she holds the hem of her skirt while sitting next to Yusuke.  She sat close to him, and he felt the sofa sinking beneath them.

“Here you go.  Though it’s instant…”

“Ou.”  (TL: “yeah”)

While sipping his coffee, he stares at Mizuki.  While holding it with both hands, she is warily drinking her coffee.  (TL: Being careful of the heat.)

On a whim, he begun rubbing her waist with his hand.  The moment his hand touched her, she looked at him, but it wasn’t a look of rejection.

The look she gave him wasn’t unlike the look of a lover, but Yusuke knew that wasn’t the case.  If you think about it, that behavior was natural, as she was trying to sell herself to him.

(…..Well, that’s fine.)

He stopped his train of thought, and slips his hand under her skirt.

“Ah…..”

Mizuki cut off her words, and the strength left her body.  With trembling hands, she places her cup on the table and holds onto her skirt, gripping it with what little strength was left.

Having slipped his hand half way up her thigh, the feeling of cloth ended and he could feel Mizuki’s soft skin.  Folding up her checkered skirt, her white panties were exposed.  Today she was wearing knee socks instead of tights.  It would require little effort to strip her.

“So you had prepared for this~”

“It….. it wasn’t like that……”

Mizuki says this with bated breaths.

Yusuke slowly presses his finger between her thighs.  He knew she liked to be teased through her panties.  He draws circles around her clit with his index finger while tracing behind with his middle finger.

“……uuu……nn…..”

Mizuki’s breathing becomes ragged.  As he continues, he feels the area around her entrance become wet through her panties.

“………….”

Feeling something, he lowers his gaze to find Mizuki rubbing his bulge.  Gently wrapping her hand around it, she massages it.  With that itchy feeling, he becomes harder in her hand.

“Ah…..”

Miyuki’s voice becomes louder and she stops moving her hand.  Gripping his zipper with her hand, she slowly begins to pull it down.  She slips her slender fingers through the crack.

She begins stroking him through his thin underwear with her fingertips.  She traces his shaft from the root to the tip with her index finger.

It was a slightly ticklish feeling.  At that feeling he was unaccustomed to, blood began to gather.

“………….”

Without saying anything, Mizuki drops her line of sight.  Yusuke slightly slips his now wet finger inside of her panties.   Parting her wet pubic hair, he draws closer and closer to her entrance.

At that teasing movement, Mizuki’s breathing became even rougher.  Her body became stiff as she waited for the pleasure that was to come.

As Yusuke’s finger wiggled further down, it brushed past her sensitive bulge.

“Aahhh!!”

Mizuki arches her body, writhing while embracing Yusuke’s arm.  Gently rubbing that part, covered in her thick love juice,

“Ah……nnnn…..!  Ya…….da………”  (TL: “Yada” short for “iyada” as in “no don’t”)

As if escaping from the pleasure, she clings tightly to him.

After teasing that spot until his hand became soaked, Yusuke spoke.

“Get on top.”

“……..ah…….okay………….”

With a dazed expression, Mizuki nods her head and raises her wobbling body.  She straddles him and begins removing his belt.

After taking out his stiff thing, she removes a condom from the pocket of her skirt and covers him.

Yusuke slides down the backrest, pressing his hips forward and making it easier to penetrate her.  It was a posture where he was looking up at Mizuki.

Mizuki spoke in a voice as if she were in heat,

“I’m putting….. it in, ne…….”

Holding his member with her left hand, she presses it against her wet mound and slowly lowers her hips.

“Ah…..aa……”

With his shaft disappearing under her skirt, he felt himself wrapped up in a soft, wet warmness.  The contracting walls were tightening around him, stimulating his hardness.

Mizuki pressed the bulges in her white blouse against his face.  While hugging his head with both arms, she moves her waist.

“……Ah!  ……..Nnn!”

As she moves up and down on top of him, she lets out her voice.

He grabs her waist with both hands, and thrusts, matching her rhythm.

Occasionally as her waist bounces up and down, Mizuki lets out a loud voice.  With a slapping sound, her soft ass hits against his waist.  A pressure begins to build and accumulate at the tip of his shaft.

While watching Mizuki’s lewd movements,

“Looks like you’ve become perverted as well…”

“Who’s, fault….., do you, think it is…….”

Slightly raising her body, Mizuki glares at him.

Looking at her face, Yusuke moves his hips forward and back.

While her insides are gouged and stimulated,

“Don’t…….!”

Mizuki squats down further while clinging to him.  Feeling her hot breath against his neck, he moves to further gouge the walls of her pussy.

“How’s this?”

“……I don’t….. know…….”

Her voice is interrupted by the sighs she lets out from the pleasure.

Mizuki’s breasts are swaying under her blouse right in front of his eyes.  Placing his hand on a button on her blouse, Mizuki looks at him with wet eyes.

One by one, he undoes three buttons on her blouse from the top down.  Her thin white bra was so moist with sweat, that her bare breasts beneath were exposed.

Lifting his hands, he plays with her soft breasts.  The light pink buds had already become hard and were poking out.

While scooping the soft flesh in his hands,

“It’s lewder while you are wearing something after all.”

“Is…. that so…..?”

With her cheeks dying red from having her breasts rubbed, Mizuki speaks.

“It’s romantic, romantic.”  (TL: “Romandayo, roman”)

“Now that you mention it…… you are harder when I wear clothes resembling a school uniform…..”

“………I’m not really a lolicon.”

“……no, though that’s okay…..”

Mizuki giggles.

Stay silent, Yusuke covers the pink tip of her breast with his mouth.  Sucking it into his mouth, he flicks it with the tip of his tongue while pinching it with his lips.

“!!  Uaahh!  That…..!”

Curling her body, she embraces his head.

Moving his hips, he presses all the way to the back of her, raising her up.  While having her breast sucked, Mizuki moves her hips against him, rubbing her clit against his waist.

At Mizuki’s movement, Yusuke parts his lips,

“You seem to be having fun huh.  You haven’t forgotten your position have you?”

“But that’s……!  Lately…… you’ve been treating me gently….. that’s why……”

Mizuki tightened her embrace of him.

“Ah……ahh!”

As if overcome with emotion, Mizuki’s body trembles.  As her soft breasts and ass shack, she presses into Yusuke.  Being embraced wholeheartedly by a girl, and surrounded by her wetness, Yusuke feels a pleasant feeling grow.

Pressing against her womb, Yusuke approaches his limit.  Sucking and licking her breasts, he can no longer hold on.

“……….!”

Pressing against the back of her insides, Yusuke blows his load while wrapped in Mizuki’s warmness.

At that rhythm,

“Ah…..”

While embracing him, Mizuki lets out a satisfied sigh.

At his ejaculation, they both simultaneously relax their bodies.

Feeling the soft weight of the relaxed Mizuki, Yusuke lets out a breath.

Late at night, a chill in the air woke him up.

It was plenty warm under the blankets with Mizuki, but a bit of cold air had entered from a gap in the covers.

The heater had stopped.

Realizing this, he pulled the covers off of himself and began quickly dressing himself with the scattered clothes on the floor.

“Takemura-san?”

Also waking up, Mizuki sits up with a dazed expression as the covers slide off her naked body.

“The heater stopped.  I’m going to check it out.”

At those words, Mizuki opens her eyes wide.

The long anticipated thing had finally come.  (TL: running out of power.)

From the rooftop, the city was shrouded in darkness as far as the eye could see.

While holding the fence in the strong wind, the two watched the city.

It was a large scale power outage.

The supermarket’s emergency power had come on and emergency equipment as well as the elevator was still operational, but it wouldn’t be for long.

With fuel, they could prolong the time the emergency power would stay on, but it would be the wrong choice long term.  With their ability, they couldn’t provided electricity through any other means.

As to not get stuck in the elevator, it would have to be for emergency use only.

The pump on the water tank located on the rooftop had also stopped working, so they would no longer have running water.

However, their eyes were glued to one particular corner of the town.

A few kilometers away, a part of the city was still lit up.  If you looked closely, you could see smoke rising from the light.

They couldn’t see the origin because of the buildings, but it had to be a fire.  It was in the middle of the route to the mountains.

While looking at that scene, Yusuke speaks.

“You guys, be prepared to leave at any time.”

At those words, Mizuki looked up at him.

“What about Takemura-san…..?”

“I’ll go check it out….. if it is dangerous, we will escape quickly.  Wake up your brothers.”

Lately the zombies had been quiet, as if the entire city was dead, but now they were on the move.  It was the foreshadowing of a fight.