Coming to the basement, Charlie saw the Nakano quintuplets and Fuutarou watching TV with serious expressions.
Every minute that passed, hundreds of men would die from the MK Virus. This pandemic had even broken the record of the plague outbreak, or better known as the Black Death, in the 14th century.
However, their attention was diverted when Charlie appeared. Fuutarou, who had been feeling depressed from the start, immediately exploded. With an expression full of anger, he slammed into the glass wall repeatedly.
"Damn bastard! Get me out of here quickly, or I'll—"
"Enough."
Before Fuutarou could finish his words, Charlie with Spirit Arts created a magic chain that instantly restrained the other party's body, stopping him from taking any action that could hurt himself.
The magical scene beyond common sense in front of them frightened the quintuplets. This was the first time they saw Charlie show supernatural power.
"There's good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Ignoring Fuutarou, who couldn't think logically, Charlie turned to the quintuplets.
"Then the good news first." Although a little scared, Ichika stood in front of her sisters.
"Nakano Maruo is infected with the MK Virus." Charlie said lightly.
"What? And you say this is good news? Is something wrong with your head!" Nino had a fiery temper among the quintuplets; for a moment, she forgot her fear, she glared angrily at Charlie.
"Avalon-kun, I beg you to let us see Dad." Itsuki said in a pleading tone.
"Dad..." Clenching the hem of her skirt, Miku bit her lip silently.
"Avalon-san, please release Ichika and the others. You can just take me hostage." Yotsuba willingly sacrificed herself so that her sisters could be freed.
"What are you saying, Yotsuba. There's no way we're leaving you here! Never say that again, or Onee-san will be angry." Knocking Yotsuba's head, Ichika smiled, but her eyes looked scary.
"S-Sorry…" The green ribbon on her head wilted, Yotsuba lowered her head with guilt as she received Ichika, Nino, Miku, and Itsuki's annoyed gazes.
"Let me finish my sentence." Charlie sighed deeply.
Attracting their attention, he didn't beat around the bush.
"It's true that Nakano Maruo is infected with the MK Virus, but you don't need to worry, I've already cured him."
"Really? You're not lying to keep us from making trouble, are you?" Narrowing her beautiful blue eyes, Nino was skeptical.
"It's up to you to believe it or not. Anyway, now I have Nakano Maruo's consent."
"In other words… Dad knows we're kidnapped and he doesn't mind?" Ichika asked in surprise.
"That's right." Charlie nodded lightly.
The quintuplets were speechless. It was hard to believe that there was a father who would let his daughters be kidnapped willingly.
"As you can see, the outside world is not safe. The MK Virus is just the beginning of the disaster. Until the disaster passes, you have to stay here."
"How long do we have to be locked up here?"
"Two weeks more. It depends on whether I manage to eliminate the enemies who come. Just now, I eliminated the mastermind behind the MK Virus."
"...!!!"
Ichika and the others heard something incredible, but Charlie took it as a matter of course.
"Thank you for curing Dad, Avalon-san. You're a good person." Knowing their father was safe, Yotsuba returned to her usual cheerful self. She could feel that the other party had no ill intentions towards them.
"No need to thank me. I'm just doing what I can. But let me make it clear, I don't see myself as a good person, and I don't aspire to be a good person. Being 'good' means sacrificing self-interest for the sake of others, and I won't do that. As long as my interests are not affected, I'm willing to extend kindness to anyone. But if we ever disagree, I will choose my own interests without hesitation."
After experiencing the dark side of the world, Charlie couldn't do selfless good deeds like before.
No longer paying attention to the quintuplets, he turned to look at Fuutarou, who had been staring at him with anger since earlier. Unfortunately, his mouth was covered by chains so he couldn't speak.
"There's bad news for you, Uesugi Fuutarou. Uesugi Isanari is dead."
"W-What?!?!" Hearing that, Fuutarou was shocked, and didn't even realize that the magic chain binding him was gone.
"Lies… You must be lying!" Holding his head, he refused to believe it.
"..." Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki looked at Fuutarou with sympathy.
'Uesugi-san…' Yotsuba wanted to go to Fuutarou, hug him and comfort him. However, she couldn't do that.
"Sigh… Aishia, bring her in."
The door behind Charlie opened, Aishia walked in while holding Raiha's hand.
"Raiha!" The appearance of his younger sister here made Fuutarou both happy and angry.
"Onii-chan!" Releasing Aishia's hand, Raiha ran to her older brother's side. The two siblings were separated by thick glass.
"Raiha, did something happen to Dad?" Fuutarou hurriedly asked.
"Dad… Wuwuwuwu~…" Suddenly, Raiha couldn't hold back her sadness, tears flowed down her cheeks, and she started to cry softly.
"Damn it! Why is all this happening! Why did Dad leave us… I haven't served you…" No matter how reluctant Fuutarou was to believe it, his younger sister's reaction verified the truth of Charlie's words.
"Sigh… This suffering was caused by the Abyssal Devourer." If before Charlie fought the Abyssal Devourer only because of the Quest from Gaia and Alaya, now he was determined to eradicate it.
His conscience wasn't as good as before. Even so, he wasn't a cold-hearted person.
All humans couldn't avoid death. However, in this world, there wasn't only beautiful death.
There were people who died in accidental accidents, or the evil of others' hearts.
Undoubtedly, the death caused by the MK Virus was due to the Abyssal Devourer's actions behind the scenes.
❀❀❀
After putting Raiha in the confinement room with Fuutarou, Charlie rested on Aishia's lap in the dilapidated apartment.
There was no other choice. Raiha was only a nine-year-old child. There was no way Charlie could let her live alone after losing her father, and her older brother mysteriously disappeared, right?
"Hey, Aishia. What kind of villain do you think will show up next?" Enjoying Aishia stroking his head, Charlie asked in a low voice.
"I don't know."
"Sorry, I'm asking a strange thing. The Abyssal Devourer's arrival in this Planar World has caused the deaths of billions of lives; it's really weighing on my mind."
"It's not your fault, Charlie. You've done your best. I'll always be with you. So don't be afraid, don't waver, and go down the path you've chosen."
"All fear comes from ignorance and lack of strength, Charlie is strong. You can definitely face any villain summoned by the Abyssal Devourer." Aishia, who usually rarely spoke, motivated Charlie not to lose heart.
"Aishia. Thank you." Charlie felt a little more relaxed.
Aishia's encouragement was very valuable. If he was alone in this Planar World, Charlie was worried that he would blame himself for the deaths of people caused by the MK Virus.
Although he was strong, he wasn't omnipotent. This was his first time participating in a Quest facing the Abyssal Devourer. So, he wasn't familiar with the enemy's methods. Thus, he was careless; it didn't occur to him that the other party would act so cruelly, wanting to exterminate humanity in the process of eliminating the protagonist and heroine.