"Saeko, Yumeri, you lead the Sword Maidens and Thunder Maidens to continue exterminating the dead bodies and collect as many energy beads as possible."
"Rika, take a few girls and get some planes. Our hunting range will gradually expand, and we'll need those things. You should know where to get them, right?"
"Andrea, Alice, Shizuka, you stay home and continue absorbing energy beads to train your abilities."
"Finally, Saya, I leave the house to you."
At the entrance of the Takagi family castle, which had become Sora's private kingdom, he gave instructions to the women. Miyamoto Rei stood behind him, her face showing a hint of urgency.
Although Miyamoto Rei had informed her parents before the disaster broke out, communication had become extremely difficult since the apocalypse began, and she still hadn't been able to contact them. Now that things had settled down here, Miyamoto Rei planned to go and bring her parents over.
Given Miyamoto Rei's current strength, she could easily handle this task alone, but Sora had taken their daughter, hadn't he? Whether out of politeness or other reasons, he had to go along.
Moreover, the evil plan this scoundrel had been scheming for years was about to be put into action…
"Big bad guy, please take care of Miyamoto's parents."
Nodding, Takagi Saya could fully understand her friend Miyamoto Rei's feelings at this moment and, for once, didn't argue with Sora, directly agreeing.
As for Saeko and the others, they naturally followed Sora's instructions without hesitation.
"Alright, don't worry. We'll be back soon."
Nodding, Sora and Miyamoto Rei exchanged a glance and, in a flash, disappeared from the spot.
…
Tokonosu City, Shintoko Third Elementary School.
Like the chaotic world outside, this elementary school had not been spared since the disaster broke out.
Moreover, because the school was mostly filled with children, both in intelligence and physical strength, they were far inferior to adults. Almost on the first day of the dead bodies' outbreak, this place had become a living hell!
Now, the entire school was infested with groups of small dead body monsters. From their blood-stained uniforms, one could barely recognize that they were once the children who attended school here.
Among these small dead bodies, there were also a few adults who had turned into dead bodies—some were teachers, but more were parents who had come to save their children but were bitten instead.
At this moment, in a classroom of the school.
"Sob… Mrs. Komuro, I'm so hungry…"
This was a thin boy with chapped lips, lying weakly in a corner of the classroom, calling out to a woman leaning against the wall not far away.
"Teacher, I'm thirsty too. I want my mom, I want my mom!"
"Sob… I want to go home! I want to go home!"
"The monsters outside are so scary. I don't want to be here…"
…
Beside the boy, about a dozen children of similar size, both boys and girls, were lying haphazardly. Hearing the boy's words, they all began to cry out.
"Bastards! Do you want to attract those monsters? Shut up!"
A low roar came from a bespectacled man in his thirties. Originally dozing against the wall, he was awakened by the children's cries and, in a panic, harshly scolded them while quickly checking if any monsters had been attracted.
"Sob…"
The children were clearly terrified of the man and quickly covered their mouths, not daring to make another sound. Their young eyes were filled with fear.
"Sigh… Luckily, we weren't discovered…"
Seeing that no monsters had been attracted, the man let out a long sigh of relief and turned to the children with a look of disgust.
"If anyone dares to speak out of turn again, I'll throw them out to feed the monsters! Do you all understand?"
Not daring to resist, the boys and girls mechanically nodded their heads.
"Students, don't be afraid. Someone will come to save us soon. Just hang in there a little longer."
This was the voice of the woman the boy had called out to earlier. She had long, smooth black hair and wore the Shintoko Third Elementary School teacher's uniform, with long legs and an impressive figure.
Although her face was pale from hunger and dehydration, and she seemed somewhat weak, there was no doubt that she possessed a stunning and elegant beauty. Even the dirt on her face couldn't hide her natural charm.
Because she hadn't had water for several days, her voice was somewhat hoarse. Although she was comforting the boys and girls, her eyes were filled with helplessness and bitterness.
"Mr. Inoue, the children are still young. Please don't be so harsh with them."
Turning to the bespectacled man, the woman spoke. Even in this lawless apocalyptic world, she still behaved with courtesy.
"Chuckle, since it's Mrs. Komuro speaking, I'll be more careful."
"Actually, I'm just worried about everyone's safety. You know, those monsters are very sensitive to sound. If they discover us, we're all done for!"
Although he felt a bit displeased, the man quickly regained his gentle smile in front of the woman. However, as he looked at her frail appearance, a strange glint flashed in his eyes, leaving one to wonder what he was thinking.
The woman nodded and didn't say anything more, seemingly oblivious to the man's peculiar gaze.
"Teacher, I'm so hungry…"
At that moment, a few children crawled over to the woman, pleading softly while casting fearful glances toward the man. They only relaxed slightly when they saw that he wasn't angry.
"Mr. Inoue, could you please share some of your food with the children? They haven't eaten for almost three days. They're still young, and if this continues, they won't be able to hold on."
The woman had no choice. She herself hadn't eaten anything for several days and could only plead with the man.
"Hehe… Mrs. Komuro, you know very well that I risked my life to get this food. The outside is full of those monsters. Do you have any idea how much effort it took me to get this?"
With a strange smile on his lips, the man held up a pack of compressed biscuits, his tone implying something more.
Shintoko Third Elementary was a prestigious school in Tokonosu City. Under normal circumstances, these children wouldn't even glance at such food, but now their eyes were wide with hunger, and they were swallowing hard. If it weren't for their fear of the man, they would have rushed over to grab the food and stuff it into their mouths.
"Mr. Inoue, I know you've worked hard, but these children are your students. Can't you…"
Though she felt utterly helpless and understood the man's intentions, the woman couldn't help but plead, hoping he would show some kindness.
"Heh, students? Mrs. Komuro, don't you understand? It's the apocalypse now."
"The outside is full of man-eating monsters. Everyone is just trying to survive. And you're still talking about students? Mrs. Komuro, I don't know whether to call you too kind or too stupid!"
With a mocking smile, the man spoke without mercy.
A bitter smile appeared on the woman's face, and she had no response.
After the disaster broke out, she and a few other teachers had hidden in this classroom with a dozen children, narrowly escaping death. At first, everyone encouraged each other to survive and wait for government rescue. But so many days had passed, and no help had come. The limited food they had was gone, and some of the stronger male teachers could no longer hold back, suggesting they go out to seek help.
Some of them managed to escape, while others became food for the monsters. The only thing they had in common was that none of them returned…
"Students, please hold on a little longer. I'll go find food for you."
The woman had her own dignity. If it weren't for the children, she would never have begged the man. Since he refused, she didn't want to say anything more.
With great difficulty, she stood up and prepared to leave the classroom.
"Mr. Inoue, please step aside."
Seeing the man blocking the door, the woman's face showed a hint of displeasure.
"Hehe, Mrs. Komuro, I can't do that."
The man showed no intention of moving aside and instead responded with a cold smile.
It seemed he had made up his mind, and his eyes gleamed with greed as he looked at the woman.