"I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die."
"Where did I go wrong? I just wanted to enjoy my last summer vacation. Why is all of this happening?!"
Higurashi grits his teeth, enduring the pain of severed hands and feet, crawling on the ground.
It's not just him; his other companions are doing the same.
Who wants to die if they can live?
So, when no one is paying attention, they attempt to escape.
Unfortunately, without hands and feet, they can only crawl on the ground.
"I don't understand. Weren't you all afraid of becoming zombies, doing heinous things? Now you're afraid of dying? It's ridiculous."
A young man's voice echoes from behind, adding to their miserable situation.
Higurashi and his friends turn to see Eiji approaching, a katana in his hand dripping fresh blood.
"Aaaahhh!!! Don't come closer!"
"I beg you, spare me!"
"It's all Higurashi's fault! He incited us to do all this."
Three others blame Higurashi.
What they say is not entirely untrue. Initially, like other survivors, they hid from zombies, praying for the military to come and rescue them.
Everything changed when they met Higurashi. He began to convey his deviant thoughts to them.
As social outcasts, they were tempted to commit unlawful acts as the law no longer functioned.
"You scoundrels..."
Seeing this, Higurashi glares angrily at them.
"I don't care why you did all this. It doesn't change the fact that you let zombies in and burned down houses."
Eiji stands in front of Higurashi, looking down at him with cold eyes. He lifts the Grass Sword, preparing to strike.
"Wait, Kamiki!"
Suddenly, Akira appears, blocking Eiji from carrying out his action, trying to restrain his hand from swinging the katana.
"..."
Eiji furrows his brow, not understanding why others are stopping him. Didn't Higurashi and his companions almost destroy the village, causing everyone to be killed?
Why is Akira stopping him?
"Stop, Kamiki. Murder is an illegal act. You must not break the law."
Akira says seriously, staring at him.
"You're naive, Tendo Akira. This is the apocalypse era; the law no longer applies. Right now, the survival of the fittest has come back."
Eiji says indifferently, still not lowering his hand.
"Even so, killing another person is wrong. I don't want Kamiki or anyone to become a murderer."
Akira displays a stubborn attitude, exerting all his strength to prevent Eiji from swinging the katana. Unfortunately, mere determination is not enough.
(You don't know how many people I've killed.) Eiji thinks.
Millions of people lived in the capital of the Lydia Kingdom. Eiji used Cyan, freezing them to death.
He wonders what kind of reaction Akira would show if he knew this.
"Akira!"
Kencho, Shizuka, and Beatrix appear. They find it strange to see Akira hanging on to Eiji's hand.
"Everyone, help me stop Kamiki! He wants to kill Higurashi and the others."
Seeing their friends arrive, Akira's eyes light up, hurriedly explaining the situation.
"Kill?!" Kencho exclaims in shock.
Shizuka looks at Higurashi and his friends on the ground. In her opinion, they would eventually die from bleeding.
"Amazing. This is the determination of a samurai!" Beatrix looks at Eiji's back with admiration.
"Don't stop me, Tendo Akira. Believe me, the people I killed outnumber those you've met in your lifetime." Eiji begins to lose patience.
"That's a joke, right?"
"..."
Akira's disbelief turns into horror as he sees Eiji's cold gaze and expressionless face.
"Kamiki-kun... Who are you really?"
Seeing Eiji not seeming to lie, even Shizuka shivers.
"According to a study published in the journal Social Networks, on average, a person has met about 10,000 people in their lifetime. This study was conducted by tracking the social contacts of 1,500 people in the United States over 25 years. However, this number can vary depending on various factors such as location, occupation, and lifestyle."
"For example, people living in large cities are likely to meet more people than those living in villages. People working in the service industry, such as sales or customer service, are also likely to meet more people than those working in other fields. And socially active individuals, such as attending events or joining clubs, are also likely to meet more people."
"If what Kamiki-kun says is true, he has killed more than 10,000 people."
Hearing Shizuka's explanation, a sense of fear arises in everyone towards Eiji.
Eiji looks at Shizuka, appreciation in his eyes.
"But it's impossible to commit murders on such a scale. Even the Colombian serial killer, Pedro López, who killed more than 300 people, was eventually caught by the police. Moreover, committing serial murders in the 21st century is much more difficult as they would be easily discovered."
Shizuka gazes at Eiji, doubting his claim. However, considering the superpowers of others, she doesn't entirely dismiss it.
"Stop this useless conversation. Since you refuse to let me go, don't blame me for being cruel. Tendo Akira."
Staring at Akira in front of him, Eiji's left hand gripped his throat, choking him, causing an ugly expression on his face.
"Nghhh..."
Despite being choked, Akira refused to release Eiji's hand.
"Oi, Kamiki, you're going overboard. Akira will die."
Kencho couldn't stand seeing his close friend suffer, he ran and crashed into Eiji's back, hoping to free Akira.
Unfortunately, Eiji remained unmoved and stood firmly in place. Instead, Kencho felt as if he had hit a concrete wall, his body aching.
"Shizuka-san, what should we do?" Beatrix asked anxiously, facing the situation before her, unsure of what to do.
She wanted to help Akira and Kencho, but considering the strength Eiji had shown earlier, she feared she couldn't do anything.
"Let me think for a moment," Shizuka said, contemplating a solution.
(Akira-kun is too foolish. Why is he calming Kamiki-kun for that trash? No... That's just how Akira-kun is, always acting according to his heart.)
Before, she admired Akira's decisive actions. However, defending the guilty without hesitation was simply foolish.
In the face of absolute power, schemes and tricks were useless.
Shizuka didn't think of any solution to persuade Eiji.
"Sigh. Forget it. Since you're so eager to save them, do as you please."
Eiji sighed, stopped choking Akira, and lowered his hand.
"Cough Cough Cough."
Akira coughed heavily, taking deep breaths. His face was pale due to lack of oxygen.
"Are you okay, Akira?!"
Kencho approached him and patted his back.
"..."
Eiji sheathed the Grass Sword, placing it in the Storage Ring.
"You're lucky, trash."
He glanced at Higurashi on the ground.
!!!"
Higurashi lowered his head, afraid to look at Eiji.
"Thank goodness, everything ended peacefully." Beatrix was relieved the situation resolved without further escalation.