To avoid being seen as merely an 'Impaty' God, after helping Busujima Saeko and Marikawa Shizuka become Hedonistic Chosen, it was time for a battle party.
It was also a party!
As superhumans, they definitely needed proper training to master their powers. So, taking advantage of the relatively ample time, he immediately led them in drills.
The surrounding Dead Bodies had been cleared last night.
Even if some wandered over, their numbers weren't particularly exaggerated, making them perfect for practice. They didn't bring any hot weapons from Minami Rika's home.
To improve combat skills, what was strong was oneself.
"..."
Holding a training wooden sword, Busujima Saeko's most direct feeling since becoming a Hedonistic Chosen was the enhancement of her physical strength.
The Busujima-ryū Swordsmanship she originally mastered, with the improvement of various physical functions, flowed smoothly in actual combat.
Looking at the Dead Bodies rushing from not far away, her eyes were resolute.
Wielding the wooden sword with both hands, her slashes were so fast they left afterimages, directly cutting the pouncing Dead Body in half at the waist.
She didn't just focus on defense. Noticing the Dead Bodies attracted by the sound of battle, Busujima Saeko's eyes were filled with fighting spirit, and her short burst of power even rivaled that of a sprinter.
In approximately 20 meters, she instantly rushed in front of several Dead Bodies, cleanly and decisively slaying them.
"..."
"So, Saeko-senpai... fighting these zombies is also very easy for her?"
Miyamoto Rei looked at the overwhelming battle, her face showing some surprise. Her understanding of Busujima Saeko was limited to her identity as the Kendo Club captain of Fujimi Academy.
And this sharp Busujima-ryū Swordsmanship truly refreshed her perception when fighting Dead Bodies.
"Next, you all will follow Busujima Saeko to learn swordsmanship."
"While hot weapons cause high damage to zombies, relying entirely on them doesn't help improve your own ability attributes."
Although he mastered Busujima-ryū Swordsmanship, Shiraishi Kawa still wanted to save some trouble and leave professional matters to professionals.
Through the tests of Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei, he finally figured out the special skill granted by his divine authority.
This skill was similar to how gods in the DanMachi World create their Familia, helping Familia members update their ability values and gain room for further improvement.
As for the abilities they mastered, it purely depended on the talent of the God Chosen.
If he really had to give specific development directions, he could only start with the Konosuba World.
"It feels like there are more things to deal with now..."
His points were temporarily insufficient to travel to the DanMachi World, master Hestia's ability value update skill, and materialize the ability values of the Hedonistic Chosen.
And then there was getting a way to awaken professions in the Konosuba World, to make the path for the Hedonistic Chosen to improve their strength clearer.
He couldn't just recruit them and let everything else develop wildly, could he?
Shiraishi Kawa didn't find it troublesome. Noticing that Busujima Saeko had easily dealt with all the Dead Bodies, helping her awaken as a God Chosen had indeed effectively improved her strength.
"That's about enough."
"I'll probably have to trouble you, Saeko, to teach them Busujima-ryū Swordsmanship. If they're not interested in swordsmanship, they can wait for now."
He briefly scanned the girls.
Improving strength couldn't be done in a short time. And coming to the Apocalypse World, besides increasing the number of Hedonistic Chosen, there was also monster grinding!
"This is what I should do, Shiraishi-kun."
Busujima Saeko knew that it was wishful thinking to help Shiraishi Kawa with his strength. So, she understood that teaching swordsmanship to others was what she could do.
"And then, I remember there's a car where you live, right? Bring some things that can make noise, and let's do a simple cleanup of some Dead Bodies."
Shiraishi Kawa looked at Marikawa Shizuka and asked with a smile.
"Yes, there is. It's my friend's SUV, but she's probably quite busy with work right now. It'll definitely be fine to borrow it temporarily."
Marikawa Shizuka nodded with a gentle smile.
She wasn't particularly interested in combat, but if there was anything she could help with, she would absolutely offer her loyalty without reservation!
Leaving the airport, Minami Rika rode her motorcycle towards her home.
Currently, too many things were perplexing her. The explosion last night definitely couldn't have been caused by conventional weapons.
An explosion is an instantaneous release of energy, and the prolonged firelight from that explosion didn't seem like the result of a natural gas pipeline explosion either.
Puzzled, she rode her motorcycle through the complex city streets.
Corpses were everywhere, and cars were burned out from collisions.
"Why do the zombies around here seem so few?"
Occasionally, zombies were attracted by the engine, but their numbers were 80% less compared to the airport where she was on duty.
It was inexplicable, as if someone had cleared them out.
But with government agencies essentially paralyzed, only able to build defenses against zombies, how could they have the spare capacity?
As for the survivors, they were left to their fate.
Minami Rika's brows furrowed, and a guess formed in her mind: "Could it be that someone used the zombies' sensitivity to sound to lure them all away?"
"..."
With no obstacles, the motorcycle moved unimpeded through the roads. Soon, Minami Rika arrived at the street near her home, and the most obvious thing was how clean this area was; there were no Dead Bodies at all.
In the distance, she could clearly see bodies that had been directly cut by a blade, with blood spreading on the ground, emitting a fishy smell, as if they had just died.
"Indeed, someone is helping maintain order."
Minami Rika's furrowed brows finally relaxed. After parking her motorcycle in her yard, as the captain of the SAT Special Assault Team, she noticed an anomaly as soon as she reached her doorstep.
The doormat, where the spare house key was usually kept, showed clear signs of having been disturbed.
After a moment of careful thought, she instantly understood.
Only a few friends knew where her spare key was: Marikawa Shizuka.
And the high heels placed on the shoe rack indirectly confirmed this.
Knowing that her few friends were safe, Minami Rika's hanging heart finally completely settled.
"It's a good thing this guy is okay, otherwise finding her would have been especially troublesome."
Just as she pulled out her house key and was about to open the door, Minami Rika heard the roar of a car engine starting in the garage.
Following her gaze, the garage's rolling door slowly opened.
Her favorite Hummer H2, which she rarely drove even to work at SAT, was being driven out of the garage by her familiar friend, Marikawa Shizuka.
"Shizuka!"
"..."
Marikawa Shizuka, who had specifically changed into flat athletic shoes for driving, poked her head out of the car window when she heard a familiar voice call her.
She saw her friend, Minami Rika, standing at the door.
She waved with a smile: "Xiao Xiang, you're back?"
"...If I hadn't come back now, I don't know what state you would have left the house in!"
Minami Rika looked at the unfamiliar faces in the Hummer, her feelings mostly of helplessness. She couldn't help but rub her forehead: "Are you preparing to go out?"
"Yes."
"Saeko, Saya, and Miyamoto Rei are all students from Fujimi Academy. I was saved along with them by Shiraishi Kawa-sama."
Facing her long-time friend, Marikawa Shizuka's inner joy was hard to conceal.
Having seen too much death in the Apocalypse World, her tenderness almost overflowed as she introduced Shiraishi Kawa.
"It's good that you're safe."
Minami Rika's gaze swept over the women in the car, finally focusing on Shiraishi Kawa.
If there were no accidents, this handsome young man should be... the Shiraishi Kawa her friend Marikawa Shizuka mentioned, who saved them?
Although she couldn't imagine why the word 'saved' was used to describe it, Minami Rika still expressed her thanks with a serious expression: "Thank you."
"If it weren't for you, I think finding Shizuka would have been very difficult."
"It's nothing."
Shiraishi Kawa didn't pay much attention, his gaze falling on Minami Rika.
Her purple hair was tied in a high ponytail, revealing her beautiful face.
The clothes she was wearing seemed to still be the SAT combat uniform.
The bulging pistol on her hip and the round-neck slim-fit shirt perfectly outlined her graceful figure. Although not as good as Marikawa Shizuka, Minami Rika's tanned skin not only represented health but also carried a hint of wildness.
"Where are you all planning to go next?"
While asking Shiraishi Kawa, Minami Rika noticed the speakers placed in the back seat, and her mouth couldn't help but twitch.
This was a Harman Kardon she bought with half a month's salary!
"We are following Shiraishi Kawa-sama's arrangements."
Marikawa Shizuka explained earnestly: "It's about using the zombies' extreme sensitivity to sound to lure them to an open area."
"..."
"So the zombies in the nearby streets were all lured away by Shiraishi Kawa...-kun?"
Following Marikawa Shizuka's words, Minami Rika analyzed a lot of useful information.
The reason for the scarcity of zombies in the nearby streets might be that he had lured them away.
No opposite-sex person had ever sat in the passenger seat of her beloved car.
But now... she looked at Shiraishi Kawa again, feeling much more at ease. His action of luring the zombies away undoubtedly helped the surrounding survivors.
"I happen to be free right now, so let's head out together. That way, even if we encounter danger, we'll have more people to look out for each other."
"..."
Marikawa Shizuka first looked at Shiraishi Kawa in the passenger seat. Seeing that he had a calm expression and didn't refuse, it meant he agreed to Minami Rika joining them.
She said softly, "That's fine."
"However, if we're going to act, we must follow Archmage Shiraishi Kawa's arrangements. As long as we follow him, nothing unexpected will happen."
"..."
Although Minami Rika wasn't sure what Shiraishi Kawa did to earn such high praise from Marikawa Shizuka, she didn't ask.
She pulled open the rear car door.
Upon realizing she hadn't brought any weapons, her brows furrowed slightly. "Wait for me for a bit, I have a good collection of firearms at home."
"They're quite effective against the walking dead. A headshot is an instant kill!"
Although Marikawa Shizuka wanted to say that Archmage Shiraishi Kawa, as a god, could easily deal with the zombies, Minami Rika didn't give her a chance to explain.
She walked straight towards her house.
Worried that her friend might leave a bad impression on Shiraishi Kawa, Marikawa Shizuka explained, "This is my good friend, Minami Rika. She's the captain of a special assault unit."
"Her style of doing things is... rather cautious."
"It's fine."
Shiraishi Kawa didn't particularly care about such matters. Instead, he was seriously considering something: if he were to activate a new profession panel...
He was still short of two Hedonistic Chosen. Could Minami Rika, also from the Apocalypse World, potentially become a God Chosen?
If all went well...
Then a new blank profession panel could be activated... Minami Rika, with her decisive and efficient style, didn't make everyone wait too long. When she left her house, she was carrying a tactical backpack.
A Mac-10 submachine gun.
She probably felt that not carrying a weapon and just planning to lure the surrounding zombies away was too reckless, and wanted to increase their overall strength.
"Shall we go then?"
Marikawa Shizuka, driving the Hummer H2 SUV, was not as flustered as she was the day before. Instead, she controlled the car's speed so that the zombies couldn't catch up,
but were still attracted by the noise of the horn.
After clearing the area,
the number of zombies in this street was not particularly large. They had even moved to other areas, stepping into territories overrun by the walking dead.
"I didn't expect there to be so many zombies here!"
Driving on the wide road, the continuously blaring horn kept attracting the zombies. From all directions, it could even be said, from everywhere,
an uncountable number of zombies were rushing frantically.
Even Minami Rika's emotions became tense. There were at least 2,000 zombies, a countless tide of corpses as far as the eye could see.
"This... the virus outbreak is too thorough!"
She couldn't help but click her tongue, looking at the wide, flat square ahead. Just as she was about to ask what they should do next, accompanied by a strong push-back sensation,
Marikawa Shizuka floored the accelerator.
The Hummer H2 that Marikawa Shizuka was driving instantly accelerated, directly rushing over the not-so-high curb and heading towards the center of the square.
When they stopped in the spacious central area,
the girls, whose comprehensive attributes had been strengthened, worked together to move the Harman Kardon speakers out and turn the volume to maximum.
The extremely high decibel sound
spread much further, having a fatal attraction for the walking dead. Zombies from all directions surged in like a tide,
making Minami Rika, who was sitting in the back of the 523, feel a tremor in her heart.
She gripped the Mac-10 submachine gun in her hand, her finger already on the safety, ready to help everyone fight their way out at any moment.
"Looks like it's done."
"Hold on tight, I'm driving!"
Marikawa Shizuka even became serious for once. As soon as she started the car engine, she floored the accelerator, causing the car to fishtail slightly.
She accelerated towards the area with the fewest zombies.
Minami Rika, who was constantly watching the zombies outside the window, felt as if her heart stopped beating for a moment when she saw the empty passenger seat.
Shiraishi Kawa wasn't in the car!
She said urgently, "Quick, the zombies haven't surrounded him yet. Hurry and pick up Shiraishi Kawa. Don't hesitate, or it'll be too late!"
"..."
However, none of the girls in the car reacted. As the Hummer stopped in a relatively safe area, about 500 meters from Shiraishi Kawa,
Busujima Saeko, Miyamoto Rei, and the others left the SUV with expectant expressions.
They all cast their gaze into the distance, at Shiraishi Kawa's somewhat small figure standing in the center of the square, seemingly anticipating...
"Could it be that Shiraishi Kawa... isn't as good-natured as I thought?"
"..."
Minami Rika was silent. He was willing to sacrifice himself to lure the street zombies away, helping the survivors create a relatively safe environment.
No matter what... she found it hard to label Shiraishi Kawa as a bad person. Seeing that her friend Marikawa Shizuka wasn't moving, and the zombies were closing in on Shiraishi Kawa,
with only less than a hundred meters left.
"Shizuka, you idiot!"
As a former member of the SAT special forces, Minami Rika didn't think her moral standards were particularly high. The car key hadn't been removed from the Hummer.
She decisively got in the car.
Without even taking the time to fasten her seatbelt, she decisively started the car engine.
After accelerating and turning the vehicle around, Minami Rika, looking at the number of zombies that made her scalp tingle, still drove towards the center of the square without hesitation.
"It should..."
"It should be in time!"
Although she didn't know what Shiraishi Kawa was thinking, Minami Rika felt it shouldn't end this way. Before she could step on the accelerator,
Shiraishi Kawa's somewhat small figure in her line of sight seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving only the noise-making speakers still running.
The zombies surged forward, one after another.
Her vision could no longer find any trace of Shiraishi Kawa. Minami Rika, utterly confused, could only smash her fist heavily on the steering wheel.
"Why... why did you do this?"
"You could have lived!"
No one was destined to give Minami Rika an answer. She even found Marikawa Shizuka somewhat incomprehensible. Was there really a hidden secret here?
But...
As Minami Rika looked up, she found that the originally clear and bright blue sky was covered by an immensely powerful magical vortex. When viewed through a filter,
her ability to think completely ceased.
Without understanding what was happening, the instantly ignited magic flashed with seven-colored light, and the sky-high explosion of fire changed the color of the sky.
"So, who can tell me what the hell this is!!!"