The sudden turn of events did not shock everyone. They are accustomed to violent scenes. Ten days of surviving in this wretched time gives that. It was Yui and her mother that was caught off guard.
At one moment, Eishi was the friendly 'prince-charming' they knew. The next second, he won't hesitate to break someone's arms without blinking.
To Eishi, however, it was a trivial matter.
'It felt like snapping off pocky sticks.'
He compared the feeling to snapping off metal bars and shook his head. Human bones are more fragile compared to them.
Seeing the man become unresponsive, Eishi shook his head. He had already fainted. The blood loss will spell his death if nobody treats him.
"Yuigahama-san."
"Y-yes!"
The way she looks at him now is admiration… with a mix of fear.
"Give me the boss' name."
"A-ah?"
"Even if you won't come with me, it will be safer with him gone, no?"
She swallowed her saliva.
Killing someone right off the bat?
Yui couldn't bring herself to do it. She considered it several times, but to kill someone else was different. She hid her 'esper' identity in this base and lived with her mother. It is her final insurance to ensure their safety.
Although she was often perceived as a friendly and simple-minded person, she wasn't dumb to see which was which. The man coveting her and her mother will take action at some point. Her 'power' would help them escape at that time.
Killing…
She hasn't thought of it.
Eishi was the exact opposite. He wasn't a maniac or a psychopath.
He is a safety freak.
As long as something or someone gets assigned as a threat, he wouldn't hesitate to strike down. He was already beginning to get accustomed to his lavish daily life. Any threats done to his life will pay the price.
"Yui-chan, what did he..?"
"Ah…"
Her mother heard about his 'proposal' and was confused. She hadn't heard of them coming with him.
Fortunately, or not, the city hall's 'guards' broke the surrounding crowd. A group of men and women wearing police vests surrounded Eishi and the fallen man.
"...ne over." The leading captain radio'd something before turning to Eishi. "And you. Come with us."
"Not even a passage of Miranda rights?"
The only response he got was a handgun pointed at him.
"You are not the only esper we caught. Stop getting cocky and put these in."
The other guards also pulled out their guns. Nine people circled Eishi, with their guns pointed at him. The captain looked at the three others behind him. They soon moved towards the Yuigahama mother-and-daughter.
"Tsk, tsk. You are a part of his circle too?"
"Put it on."
"What a pity."
Eishi shook his head. His feigned arrogance was to find more details. His reaction time guarantees he can activate his power right after the bullet was shot.
Click.
The world came to a standstill. He pulled out his newly-obtained [Soul Destroyer]. It is a blood-red katana without any handguards, giving it a rather futuristic feel.
Sou-!
Sou-!
Sou-!
…
Ten seconds was sufficient to cut through their necks—the three men included. Eishi took back his weapon inside the spatial backpack. He returned to his prior position, as per his operations.
'Intimidate others with the unknown. Even if they can guess, defending against this is hard enough…'
Click.
Time resumed.
Only…
Splash-!
Thud-!
…twelve headless bodies fell to the ground. Blood pooled at their necks, staining the white flooring red.
To the others' eyes, an instant passed. The menacing circle of nine guards was destroyed before they knew about it.
At its center, Eishi had barely moved. One gaze after another looked at him. Some with awe, but the majority was fear and terror.
A man who can instantly kill twelve people in a blink is someone to be terrified at!
"A…ah."
Some people could not take it… such as Yui. She turned her gaze away from the three men nearby and vomited. Her mother also did not fare well, though she did not vomit.
As Eishi moved closer to them, she felt a sense of dread… and safety. She patted her daughter's back, her mind making a choice.
"Shido Koichi. He is whom they call his boss." Mrs. Yuigahama spilled everything. "I have heard of the… sex parties held by the male students under him. They are all espers."
"Mhm. I got it. He has a politician father who has a say in this shelter?"
"...Yes."
Inwardly, Eishi clicked his tongue.
'That guy is a bastard even in this world.'
He thought of the motley crew under him. That Shido was an out-and-out psychopath, capable of manipulating others' fear and stresses to his advantage. In the anime he could remember, he allowed them to have sex to release their pent-up pressure from the zombies.
This world is more dangerous than their original one. The 'outlet' he designated is bound to be wilder as well.
"Do you know where his office is?"
"Yes. I will lead you to it."
"M-mom?"
Yui had recovered from her retching. She was wiping her mouth with her sleeves when she heard their plans. She merely smiled at her daughter.
"Let's go."
Eishi's urging forced them to follow him. Yui's mind was blank throughout the entire process.
Once he reached Shido's office, he stood for a while before nodding.
"Alright. It's settled."
Yui saw a pool of blood seeping through the door.
"Eek..!"
She moved back several steps. Mrs. Yuigahama was equally surprised, more convinced of Eishi's terrifying ability.
He took out a phone and dialed someone.
"Yes. I killed someone named Shido. Mhm, yes, I got it. Say my thanks to my father-in-law."
The phone in his hands went straight to his pockets.
"It's settled. Nobody will hold you accountable for this."
"Does your… offer still stand, Hiraoka-san?"
Despite their age gap, Mrs. Yuigahama addressed him respectfully.
"Of course."
"Then, I will entrust Yui-chan to you."
"Mom?"
Yui's blanked-out mind was turned even emptier. The shocking sequence of events she experienced was enough to make her dizzy. Seeing her mom entrusting her to Eishi—Mahiru's supposed boyfriend—made her unable to speak.
"You might have misunderstood something, Yuigahama-san."
He looked at the slightly haggard but still radiant mother.
"The offer includes you."
*****
Eishi's arrival overturned the city hall's crisis. The presence of three second-order espers exhausted the insects earlier than expected. Their five-days' worth of accumulation allowed them to face not only humans, but also zombies.
In fact, the zergs' main power was directed towards the subway—to the two third-order zombies hiding there. The city hall faced 30%, with the remaining 10% scattered everywhere else. It also helped that the zergs' strength was weak due to various factors.
He brought these precious intel home… as well as a mother-and-daughter pair.
'Legs instead of a clutch… It feels nice.'
Eishi discovered a brand new territory. He 'massaged' Shizuka-sensei's legs as he drove. The smooth and flexible sensation was secondary. It was her bashful reactions that sold the deal for him.
Soon, they returned to the villa. The sleeping Saya was woken up by Haruno. She blinked her eyes several times before coming to her senses.
The most awkward one was Yui. She could not sit still from the moment they rode on his land rover. She does not know any of the girls with Eishi. Wild thoughts entered her mind every now and then, making her blush frantically.
'What is mom thinking? Could it be…'
Yui was freed from her awkwardness when she spotted a familiar figure.
"Mahirun!"
"Y-yui-chan? And Yuigahama-san?"
Yui's chest pulled her into an embrace. Mahiru, whose chin was above her shoulders, stared at Eishi with grievance.
Every woman brought to his villa has met only one fate.
He swore he could see her 'Even my best friend?' plastered all over her hamster-like puffed face.
He could only sport an apologetic look. Seeing this, Mahiru's dissatisfaction disappeared. She knew it meant another 'exclusive' night. Since she could not keep Eishi to herself, she might as well accept it.
She led the two newcomers inside the villa. Saya groggily wiped her eyes, and behind her was Haruno who shot them with a knowing look.
Only Shizuka-sensei was left with him inside the closed garage.
Bam.
The door's closing made her inexplicably nervous. She inadvertently recalled the 'scene' she came across with back then.
Eishi placed his arms on her waist before pulling her towards him.
"H-Hiraoka?"
He did not give her a chance to speak. Eishi already placed his lips above hers.
From her hesitant and embarrassed look, Shizuka-sensei's resistance grew weaker. The hot tongue invaded her mouth, making her legs weak. The naughty right hand on her waist added into the chaos.
Click.
Eishi opened the door to the driver's seat.
'This garage is good…'
*****
Shizuka-sensei is deserving of her 'Martial God' talent. Her stamina during intercourse remains at the highest out of all his women.
Three hours.
That was how long they frolicked inside the garage. The tool table, walls, car seats, compartments…
A trace of them was left everywhere. She was so embarrassed she took the initiative to clean it all. Of course, Eishi could not bear to see her do tedious work.
One sweep into his spatial backpack and the car was as good as brand new. All of the blood, sweat, and sexual fluids were automatically separated.
'How would Hiratsuka-sensei react to this?'
He took out a ball of clear liquids. Shizuka-sensei stared at it blankly before her face was filled with redness.
"H-Hiraoka. Is that…"
"Your cum."
"..."
Facing such embarrassment, she chose to run away!
"Ha…"
A smile was plastered to his face. He was no longer dead-set on pursuing physical pleasures only. Eishi enjoyed knowing more about his 'confidantes'. That way, their 'trust' increases.
The heavy contrast between the responsible teacher and the bashful woman completely won him over.
Eishi shook these thoughts off as he brought out several fruits at once. They are all evolution fruits with the equivalent of tens of thousands of golden grapes. Unlike the city hall, he can keenly scan which talents the evolution fruits would give.
Out of the fifty or so he exchanged, three of them gave talents at A rating; almost dozen at B rating. The rest are C rated talents with small effects.
Eishi placed his focus on the three A rated talents: [Metal Sharpening], [Clairvoyance], and [Partial Beastification].
'Hey, hey, hey…'
[Metal Sharpening] lost all its meaning. His eyes are glued towards the [Partial Beastification] fruit. Eishi could already see a catgirl Mahiru waving at him.
It was originally listed on the city hall's log as a fruit with an unknown 'power'. Eating them is a huge gamble. One could imagine Eishi's surprise when his eyes landed upon it.
Its practicality is also good enough. It grants an animal's traits during the transformation. Nimble reflexes of a cat, night vision, and so on. It is basically an all-around improvement buff, albeit temporary.
Moreover…
[Mutated Evolution Fruit]
Details: An evolution fruit containing the genetic materials of Earth's animals. Consuming it will grant the A rated talent [Partial Beastification], slightly rearranging the genetic sequence to be able to handle temporary partial transformations.
From what he had heard, they got it in Yokohama's one and only zoo. This opened his eyes to the kinds of evolution fruits out there.
'This is a must. Partial transformation is safe enough. Saya is also here to analyze things.'
Saya's innate talent was [Genetic Analysis]. It wasn't built for combat, but for development.
As for the other two fruits, [Metal Enhancement] and [Clairvoyance], their uses are extremely practical. He planned to give the latter to everyone. The former depends from person-to-person. The close-combat women must have [Metal Enhancement].
Eishi hasn't forgotten about the 'talent limits'.
While the city hall wasn't clear about it, he saw through it. Tetsudarou brought several people who had reached their 'limits'.
Those with C rated innate talent have a limit of 1 non-exclusive talent. The B rated ones have 2. Theoretically, A rating has 3, S rating has 5, SS rating has 10, and SSS rating has 20.
Eishi wasn't so sure about this one, but he made it based on the consumption rate from each rating.
'The tenth reward…'
He killed the thought in his mind. Eishi was ready to wait until he leveled up to use it—to take the busty Shizuka-sensei with him. Her naivette made her somewhat oblivious of this villa's strange atmosphere. It was that personality that tempted Eishi's bottom line again and again.
'Third-order. I need to get there fast.'