Higher View

The first to step forward is the purple-haired girl named Saeko, her bokken flying through the air and splitting a zombie's skull with one swift strike before moving onto another. It was clear to Michael that if she had a metal blade, she'd be slicing the undead up like nothing.

Takashi was next, smashing the arms of a zombie as it tries to grab him before nailing the tip of the bat into its nose, crushing its face with a fair amount of exertion.

Rei was next, but she doesn't kill anything with her mop, instead electing to act as support, keeping the zombies at a distance while managing how many zombies Saeko and Takashi fight at once.

Kohta was at the back of all of this, nailing(literally) zombies in the face with extremely accurate shots from his nail gun.

All in all, the group was far more effective than any fresh-faced survivors should be... As if they were well suited for this world...

Soon enough, all the undead were cleared up, allowing the group to reconvene under where Michael was resting.

*Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap*

"Very nice. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you guys have been surviving like this for months!" he compliments, though, no one except Saeko takes it well...

She smiles at him, her face slightly red, not from exertion, but from arousal... Not that she'd illuminate this for anyone. "Not everyone is as fierce as you- Mr...?"

He grins back down at her, "Michael Tahlin. Good to meet you Saeko... Ah, you should probably take this, I've got too many as it is." he says, subtly pulling a steel straight sword from his book and dropping it down to her, much to the confoundment of Saya.

Saeko herself just stares down at the blade, her face reddening further as her breathing becomes breathy and hoarse.

"W-whaaaat!? Where did you get that!?" she all but screams, though, remembering to keep her volume down this time.

He lets out a sigh as he addresses her, "Youknow, you remind me of someone... Pink hair, bossy annoying attitude, entitlement, all while being completely useless and detrimental to those around her. The only difference between you two is that you have a nice pair of boobs..." he says, causing Saeko and the nurse, Shizuka to hold a hand over their mouths to suppress their laughter.

The girl couldn't say anything but stutter though, as his words hit way too close to home for her. She was smart enough to know her own faults and weaknesses, and she already had a complex about her worth to the group... All she had was her mind, and it was proving to be far from adequate in this disaster they'd found themselves in.

"Oi! She might have been rude to you, but that's no way to speak to a girl! Have some respect!" Takashi interjects, but Michael just sends a sniff of derision in his direction. He focuses his attention on Saya as a playful grin strikes his features.

"Alright, I'm a cosplayer then? How about this?" he asks, waving his hand and casting, "Dark Lights."

Saya scoffs at him, "Dark Lights? What's that, your activation command or something, loser, cosplayer! Baka, baka, baka!" she drawls, not noticing the way the others of her group were backing away from her.

Finally realising the silence, she turns and steps back as she's greeted with a see-through creature that stands at 12ft with monstrous features and a gaping maw. The thing quickly kneels down and places her head in its mouth before clamping it closed, much to the other's shock.

"S-SAYA!" Takashi roars, running over and swinging his bat at the creature... And finding it completely intangible.

It dissipates not long after, revealing Saya who was sitting on the ground with a wet patch under her and the smell of urine clear in the air... "W-w-w-what was t-that...?" she struggles to get out as Takashi and Kohta attend to her, the others staring at Michael as if he'd revealed the secrets of the universe to them.

"That was magic, genius. Some cosplayer, right?" Michael says as he laughs at her state, ignoring the glares sent his way by Takashi and Kohta.

"Magic exists? Are the zombies created by magic!? And why has no one ever heard of it before!?" Kohta inquires in place of Saya. At his question, everyone turns to Michael with speculative expressions, eagerly waiting for his response.

He shrugs, "How should I know?" he says, causing their expression to drop, "What? I'm not god you know, you want answers, ask him. Who else would be able to bring down the literal apocalypse?"

"You haven't answered yet... Why has no one else heard of magic before?" Rei asks.

"Sorry, it sounds to me like I'm beholden to answer your questions or something. Get this right, I'm only going to be here for a week, after that, my vacation ends and you'll have this paradise to yourself." Michael retorts.

Takashi helps Saya to her feet while not minding her filthy state, "Look, you don't owe us anything but, would it hurt you to at least help us find somewhere safe? You've already stole-taken all of the supplies around here, and we could REALLY use the help!" he says, wishing to reconcile for the moment and find a safe place to stay the night. Convincing Michael to join and explain just what magic was could come later...

...

"Hmmm... I can clear the way to somewhere if you like, but I want something in return for it."

Takashi frowns, "Like what? You see us, we don't have anything to give."

Michael glances to Saya, causing her to back away and hold an arm over her breasts. He laughs at her caution and shakes his head, "Yeah, no way in a million years would I touch you... I was actually hoping you'd show me any places that hold firearms, explosives, gold, etc."

"So you could steal all of it like everything else?" Rei retorts, "If we're doing that, we want at least half of the things you find."

"Yeah, that's not really negotiable. It's yes or no. Agree and I'll help, don't and I won't.-Oh, that kinda rhymes..."

...

Takashi looks between the members of his group before reluctantly nodding, "Fine. If that's what it takes."