"We are all going to die. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when. But it's the connections we make and the love we share that live on."
— Nagisa Furukawa, Clannad: After Story
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Just then, scattered zombies appeared up ahead.
"Zombies!" Saya shrieked.
"Don't worry. You're a Devil now, remember?" Roy said, giving Saya a reassuring head pat before directing the two women. "Saya, navigate. Shizuka, we're going to ram through."
"Okay, Shizuka-sensei, turn left…" Saya called out, directing Shizuka as the number of zombies on the road increased.
"Oh no, there's a barricade!" Saya cried, pointing ahead.
"Leave it to me. Shizuka, get ready to drive straight through the middle," Roy told Shizuka. He then extended his right hand towards the roadblock. "Magic Bullet!"
A blue orb of magic energy shot from his hand, one of the few spells he had mastered.
*Bang!*
The barricade exploded, creating a gap just large enough for the car to pass through.
"So cool!" Saya exclaimed, her eyes wide with admiration for Roy's magic.
Since her transformation into a Devil, Saya had become fascinated by magic. True to her nature as a bright, inquisitive girl, she was curious about everything.
"I'll teach you when we get back," Roy promised.
"Really? That's great!" Saya cheered, her excitement bubbling over.
"Hmm, that's strange. Why are there still zombies inside the barricade?" Shizuka wondered aloud, eyeing the scattered zombies ahead.
"It *is* odd. If someone set up a barricade, there should be JSDF personnel inside," Saeko observed, her tone analytical.
"JSDF? Mom…" Saya murmured, a note of worry in her voice. Her mother was a member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
*This isn't how it happened in the original,* Roy thought to himself. The JSDF were supposed to be here, and Saya's mother among them.
The car continued forward, soon reaching Saya's home, an impressive structure resembling a castle.
However, the density of zombies had increased drastically. Even with Roy's demonic power reinforcing the Humvee, it was impossible to drive through.
"How can this be?" Saya whimpered, her gaze fixed on her house, now overrun by zombies. The front gate was broken. Her worst fears had been realized.
Saeko and Shizuka watched in silence, the gravity of the situation evident.
Just then, a gunshot rang out from Saya's house.
Saya's head snapped up at the sound.
"There are still survivors!" she exclaimed, a glimmer of hope in her voice.
"Shizuka-sensei, hurry! Drive inside!"
"But…" Shizuka hesitated, her gaze fixed on the impenetrable wall of zombies blocking their path. With so many zombies, there was no way through.
"Saya, calm down. We can't drive through this," Saeko said gently.
"Then what do we do?" Saya was frantic, her eyes pleading with Roy for a solution.
Roy smiled. "Saya, don't forget you're a Devil now. We can fly." He unfurled his large, demonic wings, looking at Saya reassuringly.
Saya blinked, then spread her own demonic wings. Saeko and Shizuka emerged from the Humvee, extending their wings as well.
"Shizuka, take Alice. Let's go!" Roy instructed, taking the lead and flying towards the source of the gunshot.
The three women and the little girl, Alice, followed close behind.
They soon reached the location of the gunshot, the rooftop of Saya's house. A horde of zombies pressed against the rooftop access door, threatening to break through at any moment.
Not far from the door, a mature woman lay in a pool of blood.
"Mom!!" Saya screamed, rushing towards the woman.
Hearing Saya's cry, the others understood. This was Saya's mother.
It appeared that, driven to desperation by the zombies, she had chosen to end her life on the rooftop...
Tears streamed down Saeko and Shizuka's faces as they watched Saya's heartbroken sobs.
"Mom… Mom…"
Saya, in the midst of her grief, suddenly turned to Roy.
"Roy, can you save my mom? You're a Devil! You can do it, right?" Her tear-filled eyes held a desperate plea, even though she knew that resurrection was almost impossible.
"Hmm…" Roy frowned in thought.
He contemplated whether to save the woman. Even the pieces in Rias's peerage could revive someone recently deceased, like Asia. His mutated Evil Pieces were even more potent.
But Roy was a perfectionist, and this woman was…married…
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He had an idea.
"I'll try," he told Saya.
"Thank you! Thank you, Roy!" Saya cried, her face radiant with gratitude.
"If you really want to thank me, there's something I want later…" Roy whispered in Saya's ear.
Saya blushed crimson but nodded in agreement.
Roy smirked.
A large magic circle appeared beneath Saya's mother, Yuriko.
"By my name, Roy Lucifuge, I command the soul of Yuriko Takagi to become my servant Devil, reborn as my [Bishop]!"
This incantation was different from his usual ones. A spectral image of Yuriko's soul emerged from her body.
The [Bishop] piece in Roy's hand floated towards Yuriko's soul, merging with it.
In the next instant, Yuriko's spectral form glowed brightly.
Moments later, the light subsided, revealing a perfect, restored body hovering in the air.
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To be Continued...