“Mrs. Takagi, are you alright?”
Standing in the shade, the sunlight made those golden eyes shine brilliantly.
Almost instinctively, Yuriko Takagi reached out and grabbed the arm Adrian had offered her.
With nothing more than a gentle pull, she was effortlessly lifted back onto her feet.
What incredible strength…
She was a fully grown adult.
Yet without her contributing any force at all, he’d pulled her up as if she weighed nothing.
This young man’s strength was downright unbelievable.
“Mom! Are you okay?!”
Saya Takagi rushed over anxiously.
“Saya… I’m fine. But… what’s going on here?”
…
“So… you people have supernatural powers…”
After hearing the explanation, Yuriko felt like her entire worldview had been turned upside down.
She’d never believed in psychic abilities or superpowers.
But after seeing Adrian’s impossible strength…
And the red-haired woman’s halo and wings…
There was no way she could deny it anymore.
“Mom, what happened here? Where’s Dad?”
Saya hugged her mother tightly, grief filling her face.
“Our safe zone was overrun by a massive horde of the dead. Soichiro…” 🧟♂️
Yuriko couldn’t finish the sentence.
She didn’t need to.
The answer was obvious.
“Dad…”
Tears burst from Saya’s eyes.
She lowered her head and cried uncontrollably.
😭
Yuriko’s own eyes glistened with tears as she silently patted her daughter’s back, comforting her.
No one disturbed them.
Rei Miyamoto and the others stood guard with their weapons while keeping watch over the area.
Meanwhile, Adrian, Exusiai, and Saeko headed off to finish clearing out the remaining zombies.
⚔️
Everyone in the compound had already become one of the dead.
Cleaning them up was straightforward.
By the time the three returned…
The Takagi mother and daughter had managed to collect themselves.
They had accepted reality and forced themselves to move forward.
As soon as Yuriko saw Adrian, she immediately stood up and gave him a deep bow.
Adrian simply waved it off.
“No need. But now that this place is gone, what’s your plan? Exusiai and I don’t have much time left.”
“…”
Everyone exchanged helpless looks.
No one had an answer.
Their safe haven was gone.
Where in this world could they possibly go that was truly safe?
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
A loud chopping roar suddenly echoed through the sky.
Everyone looked up.
A helicopter.
A voice came from the aircraft.
“There are survivors down there! Hold position. Lower altitude.”
Moments later…
A purple-haired woman wearing sunglasses and dressed in what looked like a fitted tactical suit climbed down the rope ladder.
😎
She landed lightly on the ground.
The powerful wind from the helicopter’s rotors whipped her long hair through the air.
Combined with her tall, athletic figure, she gave off an effortlessly cool, heroic presence.
The moment she removed her sunglasses—
Shizuka Marikawa dashed forward.
She threw her arms around the woman in a tight hug.
“Rika! You’re alright! Thank goodness!”
Only then did everyone realize who she was.
This was the woman who had supplied all of their weapons.
Shizuka’s friend—
Rika Minami.
“We heard this area had been hit by a massive zombie horde, so we came to investigate. I never expected to find you here, Shizuka.”
A warm smile spread across Rika’s face.
She was genuinely happy that her hopelessly airheaded friend had survived.
Another reunion in a world that had long since fallen apart.
Before anyone could dwell on the emotional moment—
Adrian, Saeko, and Exusiai all froze at the same time.
A notification from the Apocalypse Chat Group appeared before them.
[Apocalypse Companion Mission Complete!]
[Calculating individual rewards based on contribution…]
[Adrian obtained 75,000 Apocalypse Points.]
[Saeko Busujima obtained 15,000 Apocalypse Points.]
[First Apocalypse Bonus activated. Rewards doubled!]
[Adrian obtained 150,000 Apocalypse Points.]
[Exusiai obtained 30,000 Apocalypse Points.]
[Saeko Busujima obtained 30,000 Apocalypse Points.]
[Returning all non-native participants to their original worlds in 5 seconds.]
[5… 4… 3…]
“Looks like it’s time to say goodbye.”
Adrian’s voice broke the atmosphere of reunion.
“Saeko, with Rika here, maybe you’ll have better options now. If I get another chance, I’ll come back and help solve the problems in your world. Until then… keep getting stronger.”
“So we’re leaving, huh? Bye, everyone!”
Exusiai grinned and waved cheerfully.
Before anyone could understand what was happening—
The two of them vanished from the clearing without the slightest warning.
“…!!”
Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Rika, who knew nothing about them, was the most stunned.
😳
“Those two… disappeared?! I’m not imagining things, am I?”
“I saw it too! Big Brother Adrian and Sister Exusiai just—whoosh!—they were gone!”
Alice flailed her arms wildly, trying to imitate what she’d seen.
Saya, Rei, Shizuka, and the others all turned toward Saeko.
Out of everyone present, she knew the two of them best.
Saeko herself had been briefly distracted by the Chat Group’s notification.
But she quickly regained her composure.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“They’ve gone home. Their time helping us has come to an end.” 😌
“Then…”
For some reason, Rei looked unusually dejected.
She bit her lip, unwilling to accept it as she asked softly,
“Will… they ever come back?”
The others looked at Saeko as well, all hoping for the same answer.
Saeko noticed the unusual look on Rei’s face.
She also caught the strange emotions hidden in Saya’s and Shizuka’s eyes.
A knowing smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
“They will.”
“We’ll meet again.”
“…..”