Location: Takagi Estate - Dawn
The sun crept over the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. It looked peaceful.
Ren stood by the commandeered tour bus (which Souichiro had reluctantly provided). He was checking the fuel levels.
"You're actually going through with this," Saya Takagi's voice came from behind him.
Ren turned. Saya was dressed in her school uniform, but she had donned a tactical vest over it. Her arms were crossed, and she looked annoyed.
"Good morning to you too, Saya," Ren said.
"Don't ignore me," Saya snapped, adjusting her glasses. "You humiliated my father. You took our best vehicle. And now you're claiming a nuclear bomb is going to go off in the atmosphere in..." she checked her watch, "...two hours?"
"Give or take," Ren said.
"It's statistically improbable," Saya argued. "The geopolitics don't align. Why would the US or China trigger an EMP over Japan now? It creates a power vacuum that benefits no one."
Ren looked at her. This was what he liked about her. She wasn't a soldier; she was a calculator. But calculators were annoying when you knew the answer key.
"Logic doesn't apply to the end of the world, Saya," Ren said, wiping grease from his hands. "And I didn't say I wanted you to believe me. I said get on the bus."
Saya bristled. "You're an arrogant jerk, you know that?"
"I've been told," Ren shrugged. "But I'm a jerk with a shielded Humvee and a plan. Your father is a samurai stuck in the Edo period. Stay here, and you die in the dark. Come with me, and you might live to call me a jerk tomorrow."
Saya bit her lip. She looked back at the mansion. She knew he was right—her father's pride would get everyone killed. But admitting Ren was right tasted like ash.
"Fine," she huffed, stomping onto the bus. "But if the sky doesn't fall by noon, I'm taking this bus back."
Ren smirked. Much better. No instant submission.
The convoy rolled out. Ren drove the Humvee (with Saeko and Shizuka). Maggie drove the bus (with Andrea, Amy, Saya, Hirano, and the supplies).
They left the estate gates just as the estate's sirens began to wail. A horde was approaching the perimeter.
"Timing," Ren muttered.
They hit the highway. It was gridlocked. Abandoned cars, wandering zombies, chaos.
"We can't get through this," Shizuka said from the backseat of the Humvee, clutching her medical bag. "It's a parking lot!"
"We go off-road," Ren said. "Hold on."
He yanked the wheel. The Humvee surged over the guardrail and down the embankment, tearing through the grass. The bus, heavy and lumbering, followed, bouncing violently.
[Comms - Walkie Talkie]
Maggie: "Ren! The bus isn't made for rally racing! We're sliding all over the place!"
Ren: "Keep it steady, Maggie. Just follow my tracks. We need to reach the bridge before the EMP hits."
The Bridge
They reached the massive suspension bridge leading to the airport district. It was clogged with the dead.
"Ramming speed?" Saeko asked, her hand resting on the hilt of the Murasame. She looked calm, but she wasn't looking at Ren with hearts in her eyes. She was focused on the kill.
"No," Ren said. "Too many. We'll get stuck."
He stopped the Humvee.
"Everyone out! Formation Delta!"
The team spilled out.
"Hirano, Saya, get to the roof of the bus!" Ren ordered. "Hirano, suppressive fire. Saya, be his spotter."
"Don't order me around!" Saya shouted, climbing the ladder anyway. "Hirano, watch the left flank! It's weaker!"
"Yes, Takagi-san!" Hirano racked his rifle.
Ren looked at his heavy hitters. Maggie, Andrea, Amy, Saeko.
"We need to clear a path for the vehicles. 100 meters. Push them off the bridge."
"That's hundreds of them," Andrea said, looking at the sea of groaning bodies.
"Then we better get started," Ren said.
He activated Limit Breaker (Strength).
He didn't transform into a Titan—too conspicuous here—but he channeled the strength. He picked up a wrecked sedan with two hands.
The veins in his neck bulged.
"Batter up!"
Ren threw the car.
It tumbled through the horde like a bowling ball, crushing twenty zombies and clearing a lane.
"Advance!" Ren roared.
Saeko moved. She was a blur. The Murasame hummed, slicing through bone and metal guardrails alike. She wasn't fighting for Ren's affection right now; she was fighting for her own survival.
Maggie and Andrea moved in a pair, covering each other's blind spots.
They fought for ten minutes. It was grueling. Sweat, blood, and the roar of Hirano's rifle filled the air.
Zero Hour
They reached the center of the bridge.
"Ren!" Saya screamed from the top of the bus. "Look at the sky!"
Ren looked up.
High above, a silent flash of light occurred. It wasn't an explosion of fire, but a ripple of purple distortion.
"It's here," Ren said. "Brace for impact!"
ZWUMP.
The sound was felt more than heard. A wave of electromagnetic energy washed over the city.
Instantly, the streetlights exploded. The cars on the bridge that were still running died. A commercial airliner in the distance fell out of the sky, its engines dead, crashing into the bay in a silent plume of water.
In the convoy, the bus engine sputtered and died.
"The bus is dead!" Maggie shouted. "Ren! The bus is dead!"
Ren looked at the Humvee. The military shielding held. Its engine was still purring.
"Abandon the bus!" Ren commanded. "Grab the essential supplies! Pile into the Humvee and on the roof! We leave now!"
"My luggage!" Shizuka cried.
"Leave it!" Saeko grabbed the nurse and shoved her toward the Humvee.
The team scrambled. They loaded ammo crates and food into the Humvee.
Hirano and Saya jumped from the bus roof to the Humvee roof.
"It... it actually happened," Saya whispered, staring at the darkened city. "You were right."
She looked down at Ren. Her eyes weren't filled with love, but with fear and a grudging, terrified respect. "How did you know?"
"I told you," Ren said, climbing into the driver's seat. "I'm prepared."
The horde was closing in on the rear of the dead bus.
Ren gunned the Humvee. It was heavy, overloaded with eight people and gear, but the diesel engine roared. They pushed through the remaining blockers and sped off the bridge.
They reached a secluded park near the bay. It was quiet. The city across the water was burning, but silently now. No sirens. No lights. Just fire.
Ren stopped the car.
"Everyone out," Ren said. "This is the end of the line."
"What do you mean?" Hirano asked, clutching his gun. "Where's the safe house?"
Ren walked to a clear patch of grass.
"System," Ren thought. "Open World Anchor portal."
The air shimmered. A tear in reality appeared, revealing the sunny, peaceful lawn of the Pocket Dimension.
Shizuka gasped. "Is... is that a hologram?"
"It's home," Ren said.
He turned to the new recruits. Saeko, Saya, Shizuka, Hirano.
"Listen to me," Ren said, his voice serious. He dropped the charm. This was business. "Step through that gate, and there is no going back. You leave Japan. You leave this Earth. You come with me to fight wars in worlds you can't imagine."
He looked at Hirano. "You can be a warrior there, not a fat kid with a toy."
He looked at Shizuka. "You can be safe."
He looked at Saeko. "You can be free."
He looked at Saya. "You can be right."
Saya looked at the portal. She looked back at the dark, burning city where her parents were likely already overrun. She clenched her fists. Tears pricked her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
"I hate you," Saya whispered to Ren. "You breeze in, prove everyone wrong, and steal us away."
"Is that a yes?" Ren asked.
Saya marched toward the portal. "It's a 'I don't want to die', idiot."
She stepped through.
Hirano followed, cheering. Shizuka ran after him.
Saeko lingered. She sheathed the Murasame.
"You promised me a world of giants," Saeko said.
"And you'll get it," Ren promised.
She bowed slightly—a sign of respect, not submission—and walked through.
Ren followed, the portal closing behind him. The High School of the Dead world vanished.
[Quest Completed: The HOTD Heist.]
[Rewards: 4 New Followers, EMP-Proof Vehicle, Supplies.]
[Current System Points: 6,350 (Quest Rewards + Kill Counts).]
The Pocket Dimension
Ren stood in the villa. The dimension was crowded now. The Walking Dead crew (Rick's group was back at the prison, but Ren's core harem was here) and the HOTD crew were eyeing each other warily.
"Okay," Ren clapped his hands. "Introductions later. Everyone, get settled. Find a room. Rest."
He walked away from them, heading toward the armory section of the villa.
Maggie followed him.
"You okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Ren said. "Just tired."
"That pink-haired girl," Maggie said. "Saya. She's a handful."
"She is," Ren chuckled. "She's smart. She'll keep us alive."
"And the sword girl?" Maggie narrowed her eyes. "She looks at you like she wants to eat you. And not in a zombie way."
"She's a weapon, Maggie," Ren said, turning to her. "But you..." he touched her cheek. "You're my anchor."
It was a line, sure. But it was also necessary. He needed to maintain the hierarchy.
"We stay here for a week," Ren decided. "We train the new recruits. We let them adjust to the reality that they live in a magic box. And then..."
His eyes turned golden.
"...We go back to the Wall."