415 Unsettling Observations

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Takanosu.

October, x785.

===NSFW=== {A/N: I don't know if it's enough to call it R-18, but I put up an NSFW tag at the beginning and end of this short section.}

In an abandoned grocery store, a group of young men were going through the available food. Meanwhile, in the back room, there were many young women spread around the room. On top of that, they were all strip completely naked.

At the same time, there was a single man viciously violating the most voluptuous of the young women. And had any of the six survivors Alfonzo and Elicia rescued been present, they would have been able to recognize him immediately.

"Damn those bitches!" Shido, the man violating the young woman shouted angrily. "Once I've had enough time to amass more magic power, I'll give them a punishment worse than death! Ugh!"

Just then, after only four minutes of relieving his sexual urges with the young woman underneath him, Shido shuddered before flopping down powerlessly. Meanwhile, the young woman showed no signs of happiness or enjoyment. She only had a lifeless look in her eyes and an empty smile on her face.

A moment later, Shido pushed himself off the woman with a manic smile on his face.

"And once I've amassed enough magic power, I'll have full control over all the undead." Shido said with insanity in his tone. "When that happens, I pray all of you are still alive. I'll enjoy seeing you beg me for mercy. Hahahahaha!"

Standing up a moment later, Shido looked down at the young woman he just ravaged with disinterest.

"Such a plain woman." Shido said before walking away.

As he moved, Shido remembered another woman he lusted for. A blonde woman with an exaggerated hourglass figure.

"Then, once I've punished all those bitches." Shido said with a deranged smile. "I'll reward you for giving me this power, Junko Enoshima."

===NSFW End===

Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who had made a trip to his Escalade, was on his way back with his and Elicia's luggage. However, instead of flying straight to the Escalade and back, Alfonzo took the time to thin out some of the zombies roaming the streets.

On top of that, he found something rather unsettling. While most of the zombies were content with just roaming the town aimlessly, some of the more powerful ones were feasting on the weaker zombies. And when they did so, they grew in power.

"Damn, this is bad." Alfonzo muttered as he shot a bullet-shaped chunk of metal through one of the cannibalistic zombies. "Things are gonna get way out of hand if we don't start putting these mother fuckers down fast."

Eventually, while killing as many zombies as he could along the way, Alfonzo returned to the front door of Rika's home. Then using his [Metal Magic] he quietly unlocked the door and went inside.

A few moments later, Alfonzo had climbed the stairs to the main living area. When he did, he smelled the scent of food coming from the kitchen. Turning his head in that direction, Alfonzo froze in surprise.

'Damn, even though I knew this shit happened in the anime, I wasn't expecting to see it here.' Alfonzo thought to himself while he stared. 'But yeah, baby got back. God damn she thick.'

At the end of Alfonzo's line of sight, Saeko, only wearing an apron and a purple thong, was tending to a pot of soup over the stove.

"Uh... Miss Busujima..." Alfonzo said in an uncertain tone. Though he did not look away from Saeko's backside.

"Hmm? Oh, Mr. Marcus, you're back." Saeko said as she looked back over her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

Naturally, Saeko had noticed Alfonzo's gaze. However, it did not seem to bother her. Instead, she simply turned back to the pot she was tending to. Though, Alfonzo would swear that he saw her butt jiggle when she did so.

"Believe me, I'm not complaining about the view." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "But why are you dressed like that? I thought Lici was making clothes for you girls."

"Oh, that..." Saeko said. Then, she shrugged her shoulders, causing her butt to bounce a little, as she continued. "She's making them now. But I told her to focus on the other girls first."

"I see." Alfonzo replied as he started walking towards the stairs.

Climbing the stairs a moment later, Alfonzo missed it when Saeko looked over her shoulder and smiled. Instead, he noticed Saya sitting on the top step and glaring down at him.

"Is something wrong, Miss Takagi?" Alfonzo asked curiously.

"Your wife said you were some kind of genius." Saya said in a competitive tone. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that you're not as smart as I am."

With that, Saya stood up, turned around, and entered the master bedroom before closing the door.

"Well, that happened..." Alfonzo muttered while shaking his head.

Continuing forward, Alfonzo walked past the room where Takashi and Kohta were filling magazines with the bullets Alfonzo created. Then, he reached the room where he and Elicia would sleep. And when he did, he saw Elicia putting the finishing touches on an outfit that Rei was wearing while the two chatted animatedly.

*Knock!* *Knock!*

"Hey, I'm back." Alfonzo said as he knocked on the door frame.

"Welcome back, Fonzie." Elicia said as she continued to work. "How was the trip?"

"I got the luggage with no problem." Alfonzo replied. "But on the way back, I saw some shit I didn't like."

"The people are starting to act like animals, aren't they?" Rei asked, frowning slightly as she did so. "Situations like this really bring out the worst in people."

"Although you're not wrong, that's not what I was talking about." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "What I saw is a lot more dangerous."

Hearing that, Rei's frown deepened. Meanwhile, Elicia waited until she was done working to react.

"What happened, Fonzie?" Elicia asked after making sure Rei's outfit was perfect.

"I think it would be better to explain it so that everyone can hear." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone.

"It's that bad, huh?" Elicia asked rhetorically. "Then, should we wake up Shizuka and Saya?"

"I doubt Saya is even asleep." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "I mean, she did just tell me that I wasn't smarter than her."

Hearing that, Elicia and Rei could not help but giggle.

"Anyway, I'll go get Saya." Rei said as she started moving towards the bedroom's door. "I don't know about waking up Miss Marikawa, though."

"Well, she's a non-combatant, anyway." Elicia replied with a shrug. "We can give her the short version tomorrow."

"Okay." Rei said as she left the room.

At the same time, Alfonzo stepped into the room and put down his and Elicia's luggage.

"You couldn't make a simple pair of shorts and a tank top for Miss Busujima?" Alfonzo asked while smiling wryly as he took a seat next to Elicia.

"What's wrong, didn't like the view?" Elicia said playfully.

"You know that's not it." Alfonzo replied, his wry smile widening. "But still, what if Kamuro or Hirano went down stairs. Kamuro aside, Hirano would have fainted while leaking blood from his nose."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Elicia said. "I had my [Detection Threads] spread all over the apartment. So, if they had left that room, I would have known. Then, I would have stopped them from going downstairs."

"I see." Alfonzo replied while narrowing his eyes. "So, that was just to tease me?"

"What do you mean?" Elicia replied in the most innocent tone she could muster.

Rolling his eyes, Alfonzo took a change of clothes out of his luggage. He wanted to take a shower and get cleaned up, after all.

"Even if it was just to tease me, I don't understand why she would go along with it." Alfonzo muttered.

"Who knows." Elicia shrugged. "But when Takashi saw her like that in the anime, it didn't seem to bother her either."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Alfonzo replied with a shrug.

"She's got a nice butt, though, doesn't she?" Elicia said with a smile while nudging Alfonzo with her shoulder.

In response, Alfonzo could only smile wryly while shaking his head.

"Anyway, I'm gonna take a bath." Alfonzo said. "Get her a pair of shorts before everyone gets together for what I have to say."

"'Kay~~~." Elicia replied.

With that, Alfonzo left the room and went downstairs to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Elicia made a simple pair of shorts and a tank top for Saeko while Rei and Saya tried to wake up Shizuka for the announcement. At the same time, Takashi and Kohta continued loading ammo into clips.

Half an hour later, Alfonzo left the bathroom. When he did, he saw the entire group, even Shizuka, sitting in the living room.

"So, what was so important that you needed to gather all of us?" Saya asked with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Everyone else was looking at Alfonzo with solemn expressions as well. Well, everyone other than Shizuka, who was doing her best to stay awake.

"You all saw those zombies that were faster and stronger than the others, right?" Alfonzo asked after taking in everyone's expression.

In response, the others nodded.

"Well, while I was out getting Lici and I's luggage, I saw those kinds of zombies devouring the weaker ones." Alfonzo continued.

"Wait! You mean they were eating the other zombies?" Takashi asked in an astonished tone.

"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "And they got stronger with every zombie they ate."

While Elicia narrowed her eyes in response, the others opened their eyes wide in surprise.

"Now, I made sure to kill all the ones I saw eating other zombies while I was on my way back." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone. "But I'm sure there's no way that was all of them. So, when we go out tomorrow, we'll have to be careful of more powerful zombie variants. Hell, there's a chance they could even unlock magic with the extra magic power they gain through cannibalism."

That speculation caused all the survivors, with the exception of Saeko, who seemed excited, to wear downcast expressions. Seeing that, Alfonzo and Elicia made eye contact for a moment. Then, after a short conversation via eye contact, they both nodded.

"So, for tomorrow, we'll be putting you all through a crash course on how to use your magic power." Alfonzo said. "Meaning, while Lici goes out to cut down the number of zombies, I'll be training the lot of you. Unfortunately, I don't have any magic books on hand. Then again, I guess that doesn't matter. If you haven't awakened magic naturally, there's no way a day of training will be enough for you to use it in any meaningful way."

"Then what good will training do?" Saya asked in an irritated tone.

"For one, learning how to use your magic power can help strengthen your body." Elicia said while raising the index finger of her left hand. "Meaning, you'll be stronger, can move faster, have better reflexes, etc."

"Also, it will allow you to use some of the magic guns we found to protect yourself." Alfonzo added. "Because to use [Holder Magic] like [Guns Magic], all you need to do is flow your magic power into the magic gun as you pull the trigger."

"Learning the proper way to fire a magic gun would be needed, too." Kohta chimed in.

"Hirano's right." Alfonzo said with a nod. "So, he'll be helping me when it comes to training you in the use of magic guns tomorrow."

"Hmph! Like he could teach a genius like me anything." Saya said as she looked away.

"Anyway, you all should get some rest." Elicia said, ignoring Saya's statement completely. "Fonzie and I will take turns watching the surroundings."

"Are you sure?" Saeko asked. "Shouldn't we all take turns on watch duty?"

"If it were just the six of you, that would be a good idea." Elicia said as she wrapped an arm around Shizuka, who had fallen asleep on her shoulder. "But none of you are trained wizards. So, I'm sure you're minds and bodies are much more stressed and exhausted than you realize."

Reaching that point, Elicia picked up Shizuka and stood from the couch.

"As for me and Fonzie, we've been training since we were six." Elicia continued. "So, we'll take care of night watch."

"Lici's right." Alfonzo added. "Just take the chance to get as much rest as you can. You'll need it for tomorrow's training."

After hesitating for a moment, the group of survivors, minus Shizuka, for obvious reasons, nodded in understanding. Then, Elicia, carrying Shizuka, Saeko, Saya, and Rei headed up stairs to get some sleep.

While Elicia carried Shizuka into the master bedroom, Saya followed her. Meanwhile, Saeko and Rei took the only remaining empty room.

"You two aren't going to bed?" Alfonzo asked Takashi and Kohta curiously.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted." Takashi replied. "But I wanna take a bath first."

"Yeah, me, too." Kohta added.

"Alright." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "You guys get the room where we moved all the guns. And I'll be sharing a room with Lici."

"Roger that." Kohta replied.

"Got it." Takashi said as he stood up from the couch.

With that, Kohta and Takashi made their way into the bathroom.

"I'll have Lici make you guys some stuff you can sleep in." Alfonzo said from outside the bathroom door. "It should be ready by the time you're done with your bath. We'll get some clothes for you to move around in taken care of later."

After receiving words of understanding, Alfonzo made his way upstairs. And when he eventually made it to the room he would be sharing with Elicia, he saw her weaving her Vibranium thread into cloth.

"Can you make something for the guys in the bath?" Alfonzo asked.

"Already on it." Elicia replied with a smile. "And I'll take the first look out. You can get some sleep for now. I'll wake you up in a few hours."

"Alright, thanks." Alfonzo replied as he lay on the bed next to Elicia. "Good night. Love you."

"Love you, too, Fonzie." Elicia said with her smile widening.

Like that, Elicia continued to work while Alfonzo got a few hours of sleep. All the while, Elicia worked on functional, protective clothing for the six survivors they were looking after. She even managed to finish the clothes for Takashi and Kohta to sleep in before they got out of the bath.