Sighing, I turned to where the scream had come from just before hearing gunshots as well. At least I could enjoy a few moments of peace. Looking into the distance, I could see that about two streets away, a man was running from a small horde of zombies. He seemed to be carrying something in his arms; I couldn't make out what it was from the distance.
Taking a pair of binoculars from my inventory, it wasn't difficult to see that what he was carrying was a little girl. She appeared to be quite young, no older than ten, I would guess. She seemed strangely familiar for some reason. Interestingly, it wasn't either of them who had screamed.
Right behind the father-daughter duo was a man shouting while shooting at the zombies. I couldn't make out his words exactly, but I'm almost certain they were curses and insults.
"Tsk... Idiot," I clicked my tongue in annoyance. The guy was just attracting zombies to himself with that, and he was probably the reason the father and daughter were running for their lives.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who had heard the gunshots, as Saeko rushed up the stairs.
"Are those gunshots? Do you know where they're coming from?" She still appeared composed but seemed worried. Wise of her. Zombies are one thing to dodge and contain, but a bullet traveling at the speed of sound? That's a different story.
I nodded and pointed into the distance, where the guy with the gun was shooting at the zombies.
"There, it's just some guy with a particularly strong death wish. He's going to end up dead..." In fact, in this case, it would be natural selection, the world just making sure this guy doesn't pollute the gene pool. "...But before that, he's going to attract a horde of zombies. That's going to be a problem."
I tossed the binoculars to her to take a look. "If you're here, I suppose the rest of the group heard the gunshots too." She just nodded before responding.
"Saya-san and Rei-san were finishing up dinner. I asked them to keep going to avoid burning anything while I came to ask you what this was about." I could see her grimace before lowering the binoculars. I didn't need to see to know what had happened, as a louder scream occurred this time, one of pain and despair.
Shaking my head, I took the binoculars from her hand. Deaths were going to happen, that was certain, but it wasn't healthy to watch. She didn't resist and handed me the binoculars before continuing.
"Shizuka-sensei was taking a nap on the couch. She said the commotion from this afternoon wore her out, and she wasn't used to running long distances." ... I can imagine why.
"And the two? Have they left the bath yet?" Takashi and Kohta.
She shook her head. "Not yet, I don't think they've heard."
I waved to her and turned back to observe the father-daughter duo. "Tell the two not to worry, the zombies are far away, there's no danger." I could see the father running into the garden of one of the houses to hide from the zombies. Now I remembered why the girl in his arms looked so familiar; she was part of the group, wasn't she? After her father died trying to save her, right? Takashi had saved her from the zombies before she became their meal, but I was the only one here now.
Tossing the binoculars back to Saeko without turning around, I shouted, "I'm going to help the father and daughter, I don't think this will have a happy ending." Without hesitation, I jumped off the balcony. I could hear Saeko's shout behind me, but I didn't have time to pay attention to it.
In the air, as I reached the apex of my jump, gravity seemed to remember its job and started pulling me down. When I began to fall, I waited a moment to get closer to the ground and then tensed the muscles in my legs. I could feel the 'air' solidify under my feet, with the cloud tattoo taking effect, and then I jumped again.
Interestingly, the double jump or cloud tattoo, I still didn't know what to call it, didn't work exactly like in the game. Of course, it allowed me to make two jumps in the air, but this wasn't a game where I could fall from a great height and jump just before hitting the ground without consequences. Inertia still existed.
I could feel the tension in the muscles of my legs and knees, resisting the sudden movement I had forced upon them. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain, and forced myself to make the second jump.
Now closer to the ground, I embraced my head with my arms and rolled the best I could when I hit the street. I could sense that most of the impact had been softened by my quick maneuver, but my legs still ached from the sudden effort, and my back and forearms were slightly scraped from the small stones on the road.
Shaking my arms to remove the larger pebbles that had stuck to my skin, I reached into my inventory and pulled out two things. My short copper sword, which I held in my right hand, and the shotgun we had found in the closet a few minutes ago. I won't lie; I didn't remember its name; calling it just a shotgun would do.
With the weapons in hand, I began to run in the direction I had seen the father take the girl. I didn't know how much time I had, but I'd be damned if I didn't run as fast as possible.
I ignored the few zombies that tried to close in on me to take a bite, simply dodging them. Those who came closest to taking a piece of me received a quick blow from the back of the shotgun or a swift slash with the sword that sent their heads flying.
As I neared the house where I had seen them enter the backyard, I could distinguish, among the grunts and "cries" of the zombies, the sound of crying. Damn, I hope it's not too late. Jumping as high as I could before starting to fall due to gravity, I tensed the muscles in my legs once again and used the cloud tattoo again to leap over the small horde and land in the backyard, right next to the crying little girl...
And her father, lying on the ground bleeding. Damn, I took too long...
Grabbing the zombie closest to the girl by its clothes, I threw it toward the others trying to get in through the open gate, making them turn back to the street. Then, I ran toward the gate and closed it firmly.
Turning to the crying girl beside her father's body, I could see that the man didn't appear to have been bitten or anything. No, the blood came from a deep cut on his abdomen, probably from a knife or something.
Looking at the house, I could see frightened eyes peeking out from behind the window before disappearing behind the curtains and turning off the lights to hide.
"Cowards," I growled in a low tone. I understand being afraid, but attacking a father who only wanted to protect his daughter? That was too much. I could feel my blood boil, only to cool rapidly when two small hands grabbed onto my pants.
Looking down, I could see that it was the little girl. She looked up at me with two big, teary eyes, which seemed even sadder with the tears running down her face.
"Ca...can you help my daddy? He won't get up, and he's really hurt..." She seemed to hold back from crying again as she spoke.
I hesitated before going over to the girl's father and placed my hand on his neck, feeling for a pulse... the man was already dead. I had taken too long... Damn it! If I had arrived just a few seconds earlier, I could have prevented this. Even if he was injured, if he had been alive, I could have used a potion on him! Damn it! Damn it!
Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I turned to the girl and crouched down to get my face at her eye level, nodding.
"I'm sorry..." I could feel my voice wavering, but this wasn't the time for that. Closing my eyes, I focused and looked at her again.
"I'm sorry, I can't save your father... he's already gone."
I could see that the little girl already knew this; she just didn't want to believe it. She placed her tiny arms on my chest and whispered softly.
"My daddy... he's dead, isn't he?" I could feel her trembling, and my chest began to get wet with her silent tears. I hugged her as gently as I could with my left arm.
"Yes... but he died protecting you, like a true father would." I could feel her trembling even more and sniffling, but I continued speaking. "He was an exemplary father, just know that."
She couldn't hold back and started crying on my chest, loudly. I didn't stop her, no matter if it attracted more zombies; I would let her vent, she deserved at least that.
She cried for a few minutes while hugging me before becoming limp. Looking down, I could see that she had fallen asleep, with tears still on her face; it seemed that the stress and fatigue of the day had been too much for her.
Lifting her while holding her with my left arm, I supported her on my shoulder and went to her father's body. Looking closely, I could see that the man had deep bags under his eyes; he seemed like he hadn't slept well for a long time, even before the apocalypse, the complete opposite of the girl sleeping in my arms, she seemed healthy and well-cared for.
I shook my head while allowing a bittersweet smile to appear on my lips. "You were a good father, weren't you?" I said to the air; the man really was a good father.
Bending down to the man's body, I put him in my inventory. I won't leave him here to rot; he deserved more than that. I'll ask the girl what she wants to do next. If she wants to bury him, I'll bury him; if she wants to cremate him, I'll cremate him. It was her right to decide what to do with her hero's body.
Adjusting the little one in my arms, I turned and looked at the house again. I could feel my blood beginning to boil again; I had to get out of here before I did something I'd regret. Getting the girl to safety was the priority.
Looking at the gate, I could see that the zombies were close to breaking in. I glanced one last time at the house's door as I muttered, "Good luck, you'll need it." What happened to them from now on wasn't my concern; it was just the consequences of their actions.
Holding the girl with both arms in a princess carry pose, I jumped to try to climb the wall, then jumped again when I felt the cloud tattoo start working. Ignoring the pain in my legs, I balanced myself while ignoring the zombies and walked on the wall until I reached the end of the street.
Jumping twice again, I did this until I reached the front of Shizuka's friend's apartment. There, I could see Saeko, Rei, and Takashi, who still had wet hair, waiting for me. There were some zombie bodies around, so they must have been busy.
Looking at the balcony, I could see Kohta on standby with the rifle whose name I couldn't remember either. He hadn't fired yet, smart; he must have seen that it wasn't necessary and didn't waste ammunition or attract more zombies.
Walking over to the three of them at the gate, I nodded. As I got closer, I could see Saya a bit behind, holding Milton with her right arm and a dog I'd never seen before with her left.
The first to speak was Saeko. "Are you okay, Devas-dono? Did you get hurt anywhere?" She said, looking at the scratches on my arms and legs. "You're bleeding."
I just shook my head. It was nothing major, just a few scratches. What hurt more were my legs, but that could wait. Approaching the purple-haired samurai, I handed the little girl to her and turned to close the gate.
I could try to act like an angry protagonist and go kill all the zombies on the street, maybe go back to see if the family in that house had survived and finish the job as some sort of punishment, but really? I was tired.
My body was fine; I still had energy, even though my legs were hurting quite a bit, and the cuts on my body were itching. I still had plenty of energy. No, it was my mind that was tired.
Storing my weapons in my inventory, I hadn't even used the shotgun, but I guess that was for the best. I went towards the gate. I didn't want something like what happened to the gate of that house to happen here.
Going to the gate, I took out the heaviest things from my inventory: some tables, chairs, sofas, all sorts of junk I had stored, and placed them in front of the gate as a barricade so the zombies couldn't get through. I didn't want to deal with that today.
[WiseWizardGleam]: Don't blame yourself too much, kid. You couldn't have known. You were as fast as you could be. At least you saved that little girl. Don't feel so bad.
[HalfBloodPrince]: ...I'm not the best at this, but blaming yourself for what's already happened is foolishness. Maybe you could have done things differently, but what's done is done. Like the director said, don't blame yourself so much. I, of all people, know that guilt only eats you up...
[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Damn... I don't like playing the adult, but they're right. Go rest, kid. Take a shower, eat, and go to sleep. Avoid thinking about it for now, just relax.
A ghost of a smile crossed my face reading these messages. What were they? They were acting like concerned uncles. Well, Dumbledore was more like a grandfather, but it amounted to the same thing.
And why did only the guys write? Well, Stane didn't have one. Scrolling up the (CHAT) from the stream a bit, I could see that the idea was suggested by Stark, something about me possibly feeling embarrassed or something being comforted by the girls.
I shook my head. Stark had some strange ideas, but at least he had a good heart. I chuckled a bit as I entered the apartment. Only he would think I'd feel embarrassed by this.
Before entering the apartment, I just waved and gave a thumbs-up to the (CHAT). I still felt like it was my fault. I should have remembered this. I could have changed things, but as the head of the snake house said, what's done is done. I'll worry and think about it later. For now, I just wanted to eat something, clean my wounds, and go to sleep.
I saw that Saeko had placed the little girl on the couch. Shizuka had woken up and was examining her with a serious look that didn't quite match her face. Speaking of which, I need to ask her name when she wakes up.
I let the nurse take care of the little one and went to the kitchen. Saya and Rei were following me from behind, while Saeko seemed worried too. No sign of Takashi; it seems he went upstairs to tell Kohta that everything was okay.
Grabbing a glass of water, I turned to the girls. Saeko must have said something to them about the little girl because they didn't ask me anything. I thought they might inquire about the double jump or something, but it seemed they realized I wasn't in the mood for explanations right now.
"Well, is the food going to be ready soon? Or can I go take a shower first?" I joked while pointing to my arms. "I don't like pebbles on my skin, they itch."
I could see they wanted to laugh but were more concerned or something. It was Saeko who answered me.
"It will take a little longer, you have time to take a shower, don't worry." She had a strange look as she stared at me, especially at my wounds.
Shrugging, I turned to the resident tsundere while pointing at the dog she was holding. "And what's the story with this little guy?"
Saya placed Milton on the table and then crouched down to put the dog on the floor before answering me.
"He was barking at the zombies, seemed quite brave, but as soon as he saw us, he came running and hid inside the apartment. I held onto him so he wouldn't break anything." She just sighed as she approached me and gave my shoulder a light punch.
"Don't do that again, idiot!" I could see it wasn't a real scolding, and it wasn't a strong punch either. "Do you know how scared I was when Saeko came running, saying you jumped from the second floor?"
She gave me a few more playful punches before stepping back and huffing. She stared at me for a moment before blushing and turning her face away. "Just let us know next time, got it?" She tried to make it sound like an order or something, but she looked too cute at that moment for that.
I just waved my hand and said with a brighter tone and teasing.
"Alright, alright, I'm going, boss. I won't run off again." I turned to Rei and Saeko after Saya blushed even more at my words. "And you two, anything to say as well? If not, I'll head to the bathroom."
The stream was about to end on its own soon. I'll stall a bit before going for my shower. I don't want to waste SP for no reason.
Saeko just shook her head. "I won't tell you what you should or shouldn't do. You chose to risk yourself to save that little girl; that's what a real man would do." She had a small smile on her face as she said that.
Rei opened her mouth as if she were about to say something before closing it again and smiling. Then she pointed at Saya. "I'll leave the lecture to the tsundere, but as she said, just let us know beforehand, or if that's not possible, at least shout something before jumping off a building, okay?" She winked at me.
Saya slapped Rei's hand that was pointing at her and huffed again while pointing at me.
"Go take a shower already; we don't need your help. Just clean up; you're not sitting at the table covered in blood like that, understood?"
I just waved my hand as I turned to head to the bathroom.
"Alright, alright, I'm going, Mom, no need to say it twice." I could imagine she blushed even more, but I didn't turn around. I just chuckled a bit and went to the bathroom.
Once inside the bathroom, I could see that there were a few seconds left before the stream would close. I turned my neck to where the camera was to say goodbye. Speaking of which, I need to buy some other camera angles. I'm going to end up with a sore neck like this.
Saying goodbye to the (CHAT) and receiving various "goodnight" and "sleep well" messages, I took off my clothes and went to the shower to wash off the blood and debris from my body. I kept an ear out for any noise, thinking one of the girls might want to come in or something, but nothing happened.
I don't know if I should be disappointed or relieved about that. If something did happen, it could make things awkward within the group. I ended up choosing to feel a bit of both. And that was that.
After finishing washing up and tending to the cuts with some antiseptic, I put on clean clothes and went to the kitchen. I could smell the food was almost ready, which made my stomach growl a bit.
I could see from here that the little girl was still asleep, but her face seemed more relaxed. Next to her, Shizuka was gently running her fingers through the girl's hair while smiling and singing softly. Strong maternal vibes there.
Arriving in the kitchen, I could see the two boys were already sitting at the table, waiting for the food to be ready. I nodded to the two, and they returned the gesture, and I took a seat.
"So, did I interrupt your bath, you two?" I couldn't help but tease. Takashi chuckled a bit without saying anything, shaking his head from side to side in denial, and Kohta spoke half seriously and half jokingly.
"We were just about done, but you could have waited for us, Anaki!" Him too? Are they multiplying? "Are you the protagonist of an anime or something, going out to save a damsel in distress?"
I just shook my head and flicked one of the pebbles the size of a grain of rice that I had taken from my inventory at his forehead.
"Don't be ridiculous; there wasn't time to wait. And what kind of damsel is this? What kind of anime are you watching with damsels under ten years old?" I looked at him with a weird look.
He spluttered before starting to wave his arms quickly while speaking and explaining rapidly. I just started laughing, and Takashi followed suit, joining in the laughter. It seemed we were both a bit giddy since the girls turned to look at us.
They gave us strange looks, especially Saya, who had a look of "What are you guys laughing about, you idiots?"
I couldn't help but laugh even more. My mind was no longer focused on the sad events that had happened earlier. Now, I would just enjoy the moment.
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Well, this chapter is coming late because I was out all day. When I got back, I started editing the chapter, but I ended up deleting everything and rewriting it. I rewrote this chapter about three times. The reason? Devas's reaction to what happened. In one of the rewrites, I had him save the girl's father using a potion, even though he knew potions were precious. But then I thought, 'That seems forced.' So, I just had him fail. He didn't make it in time; he managed to save the girl, but the father died. He's not perfect, and he blames himself for not being able to save him. I thought this was the best ending for this part of the story. I'm not sure if you'll like it, so please let me know what you think. I'm reading all the comments. If you have questions, curiosities, or suggestions, please write them down. I'm reading everything, and if possible, leave a review for the story. Thank you very much; I'm really sleepy. Good night.