My Goddess Brings Apocalypses 2

Inside Will's shadow, Nocturna froze. Shit! Why did this world smell like Necromancy?! This was supposed to be a low-power world. There weren't even any active gods from what she could tell! So WHY were the dead walking among the living?!?

Laughing awkwardly, she tried to buy herself some time to figure that out, "Hehehe… I'm sure it can be reasonably explained…"

There was tapping on the glass leading from the infirmary into the hallway. Then a crack. The glass exploded inwards and more undying corpses poured into the infirmary. Will made sure to spare the time to shoot his shadow a deadpan glare.

He got off the angel beneath him and helped her to her feet. The student — an uncomfortable extra who would spend his life meaninglessly — leaped in front of them.

"Miss Shizuka! Get out of here quickly!" He called as he was immediately set upon by the undead and devoured.

"Hey, I'm sorry, what was your name again, please?" Shizuka asked, heedless of the mood in the room.

"W-What…?" The boy's heart broke just before he was pushed to the floor by the biting undead.

Will would have helped. Really, he would have. But he had more important things to do at the moment. Namely, examining these undead. He weaved a minor spell over his eyes, looking deeply into whatever was animating the soulless corpses.

Surprisingly, it wasn't a spell. At least, not in the traditional sense. It was some sort of biological process that was pushing the corpses past death. That was a good thing. Actual Necromatic magic was much harder to deal with than some twisted disease.

The only reason they smelled like Necromancy was because of what they were. Not why they were. They were still corpses being puppeteered by something. That was enough to evoke the core concepts of Necromancy, giving the biological zombies the magical stench that Will had instantly recognized.

By the time Will was satisfied with his analysis, the student must have been dead. He would rise again soon enough. Oh well. Not much to be done about that. At least, he sacrificed himself in the name of knowledge. Knowledge for Will, that is.

The corpses that weren't feasting on the boy were getting much too close for Will's comfort. That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all. Nocturna would likely step in to defend him if he wasn't paying close enough attention. But would she step in to defend this angel next to him?

This 'Miss Shizuka' had already caught Will's attention. Not just for her beauty, though that certainly helped. But with the spell still lingering over his eyes, Will could see hints of something special inside her. A holy light, unawakened in this low-power world. Angel really was the only way to describe her.

Will cast the simplest offensive Cantrip in his magical arsenal, "Fire Bolt."

A mote of flames speared toward the first zombie in the group. It went up in flames, burning until nothing was left. Beside him, Shizuka blinked in surprise, her fear blasted away as if the Fire Bolt had hit it instead of the zombie.

"You know, as your Patron, I can give you Eldritch Blast," Nocturna offered from Will's shadow.

Will was never one to turn down new magic, "Yes, please."

Magic swirled from his shadow and into his mind. Something was imprinted there, overriding the Mending Cantrip Will hadn't used in ages. He blinked, adjusting to the sensation of a new Cantrip in an instant.

The Cantrip settled into his memories, tailoring itself to his magic. It was as if he'd known it his whole life. As if he'd studied and practiced it just as vigorously as he had Mending or Fire Bolt. Despite the name, Eldritch Blast wasn't actually 'Eldritch'.

It simply invoked the mere concept of higher or otherworldly beings. That was why it was usually reserved for Warlocks. That concept was then channeled through the caster's magic and worldview, taking on a life of its own. From there, it worked like any other missile-type spell. Just… one with a bit of unique spice.

It barely took any effort to cast, "Eldritch Blast."

A mass of magic blasted from his fingertips. Blacker than black, it seemed to absorb the light as it passed. It roiled and bubbled like thick ink. It splashed against the nearest zombie as if it were liquid. The undead was drowned by magic — black, flowing, viscous enough to swallow everything it targetted.

"Eldritch Blast," Will cast again. Another zombie fell — drowned and absorbed by the blackness that reminded Will so much of ink and almost seemed to smell like paper.

Still, the remaining undead kept coming. This wasn't the most ideal situation for a single Wizard to find himself in.

*THWACK!*

A wooden sword suddenly caved in the head of the nearest zombie. The others were similarly taken care of in the blink of an eye. Will allowed himself to relax. He wouldn't have to break out an actual spell just yet after all.

The young woman responsible stood still after taking care of the undead. She was posed dramatically and Nocturna couldn't help but scoff in Will's shadow.

'Oh, look at me,' She taunted in her mind. 'I'm all pretty and ruthless and useful.'

Will suppressed a smirk. Nocturna seemed to forget that their souls were very closely connected now. He could feel her jealousy and irrational dislike for the newest woman near him. Strangely, Shizuka didn't evoke those same emotions from the shadow goddess.

The purple-haired woman with the wooden sword approached the-… Huh, the other student boy was still alive. 'Well, not for long,' Will thought. He caught the woman's introduction — Saeko Busujima — before tuning out the rest. She was just offering the boy an easy way out.

Will would rather ponder how a world could even exist with this low level of magic. It was honestly uncomfortable for him, much more noticeable now that he'd accessed the non-existent Weave here. For the first time, he had to rely entirely on himself to cast. He didn't even want to think of how it must feel for Nocturna.

Sure, her divinity would provide some stability but gods still lived off magic and faith. He could feel her clinging tightly to his soul so she wouldn't start to fade away. Though she would probably be clinging tightly to him anyway.

Shizuka tried to step up and protest when Saeko offered the boy — Ishii Kazu — an easy way out. Will stopped her with a hand on her arm. He shook his head when she looked at him in askance.

"It's a Fighter thing. Probably a 'manly' thing as well. Honorable death, and all. Best not to interfere."

"H-How horrible…" Shizuka murmured in shock.

Will shrugged, "It is what it is. I'm still getting my bearings but it seems as if he would be no help to anyone right now. Not even himself. If I felt like sparing a spell, I would have done the same. Well, after a bit of experimentation, of course."

"This young man is going to die with honor. And I'm going to make sure that he does," Saeko announced seriously.

She raised her sword. There would be no stopping her now. Ishii closed his eyes, waiting blissfully for the end, for the pain to stop. Saeko swung. There was a crack and a visceral splat as blood and brains sprayed against the window behind him.

'She's taking this well for someone who claims to have never killed before. She'd be right at home as an Adventurer,' Will observed, thinking to himself and Nocturna.

Nocturna grumbled in Will's shadow, 'Yeah because she's probably a closet psychopath. In a world like this, she must have been waiting for a chance to let her darker side run wild…'

Will chuckled internally, 'I won't argue with you there. All Adventurers seem a bit touched in the head to me.'

Thankfully, Shizuka was easily distracted from the gruesome scene, "Spell? Like magic? Was that what the fire-thingy and the inky-thingy were?"

"Like magic? It is magic," Will scoffed.

Shaking his head, he apologized, "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. I'm rather serious when it comes to the arcane arts. I know you likely didn't mean any disrespect. Considering the mundane nature of this world, you probably didn't even know magic existed. It's just a knee-jerk reaction of mine when I feel people diminishing magic, consciously or not."

"Wow… Real magic," Shizuka said breathlessly, her eyes wide with awe. "Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat!"

"A classic Find Familiar Spell," Will nodded.

Shizuka vibrated with excitement, "Oh~! I love bunnies~! May I see?"

Will smirked with amusement, "I don't have that spell prepared at the moment. Perhaps once we have a moment of respite."

As if on cue, there was a crash from the door to the infirmary. It fell and a pair of zombies stumbled into the room. Saeko turned to face them, her eyes covered by her hair and a small smirk on her lips.

"S-Shouldn't you help her?" Shizuka asked with concern and fear returning to her voice. "Use your magic all like 'Kablooey!' and make them disappear?"

"She'll be fine. They're mindless undead and there are only two of them. A Lich would be ashamed to have them in its service. It's more prudent for me to save my energy for larger groups. Especially because it's much harder for me to recover my magic in this mana-barren world," Will dismissed her concerns.

Even as Will explained his caution and restraint, Saeko moved. If they blinked, they would have missed it. She was fast enough that her body was a blur, hard to track with the naked eye. Her sword swung twice, whistling through the air. The zombies fell, their heads caved in and their bodies once again returned to eternal rest. 

"S-So fast…" Shizuka muttered.

Will hummed, "Hmm, though mana is scarce, it seems ki is still available. Perhaps the natives have adapted to generating their ki much more easily instead of just absorbing mana?"

Saeko barely even acknowledged her feat of supernatural speed, "We should get moving."

"Good idea. Staying in one place will just lead to us being overwhelmed," Will agreed.

Saeko turned to look at him for the first time. Her voice was more curious than accusatory, "I don't recognize you."

Will nodded, "You shouldn't. I'm… not from around here. Will. Will the Wizard."

"Wizard," Saeko raised an eyebrow.

"A real one too~! He was throwing around spells before you arrived~!" Shizuka enthusiastically vouched for him.

"I try," A smile crossed Will's face at the praise, even if it wouldn't have held much weight in his original world.

Saeko was surprisingly accepting, for someone who'd never seen magic before. Or maybe she was just being pragmatic, saving doubts and questions for a more appropriate time.

She nodded, "Saeko Busujima."

"Shizuka Marikawa~!" Shizuka helpfully added.

"It's nice to meet you both. Now, introductions out of the way, let's focus on staying alive, yes?" Will suggested.

"Oh! I need supplies!" Shizuka realized with a start.

"Take only what you can carry. We don't want to be slowed down," Saeko ordered.

Will was more than happy to help Shizuka gather supplies. He didn't know much about this world. Helping Shizuka collect medicine and other healing items gave him valuable data.

Almost immediately, he theorized that this world was both more and less advanced than his original at the same time. The medicines all went by elaborate, exotic names as if they were created by some kind of alchemical process. But other than the alchemy, they obviously lacked the other magical healing methods Will was used to.

Together, the three of them left the infirmary. Will quickly discovered they were in a school of some kind. It was interesting to contrast this place with the type of learning environment Will was more familiar with. Classrooms still looked the same between dimensions as it turned out.

Saeko walked quickly, leading their small group. She disregarded most of the wandering undead, simply pushing them aside with the tip of her wooden sword. Will followed her at a slightly more sedate pace, making sure to carefully observe and catalog his surroundings. Shizuka hurried to keep up as her blessedly tight skirt gave her difficulties matching the other two's strides.

"So tell me," Will casually inquired. "How does a society survive without magic?"

Saeko once again proved how accepting she was of the strange company she found herself with, answering genuinely, "Technology. As well as a lack of the threats that I assume typically accompany magic."

Will nodded, "Yes, that would be a boon. Though, I couldn't imagine living without the other races. Having only Humans must be odd."

"Not if it's all you've ever known," Saeko wisely pointed out.

"Other races? Like-! Like Elves~?! And Dragons~?! Oh! Do you know any Unicorns~?" Shizuka asked excitedly.

"Not personally. But they certainly exist," Will said.

"Wow~… That's amaz-AH~!" Shizuka interrupted herself, tripping over a poorly placed mat and falling.

Will and Saeko slowed and came back to her. Luckily, none of the undead were lurking nearby. Still, Will kept his eyes open as Saeko knelt down next to Shizuka.

"What you're wearing isn't exactly made for running," Saeko stated bluntly.

Without waiting for permission or even asking for it, Saeko grabbed Shizuka's skirt and ripped it partially open. The fabric came apart along a seam on the side.

"W-Whaaaaa~?!" Shizuka squealed. "Are you crazy?! This is Brand Name™!"

Saeko sighed, "Your clothes or your life, which is more important?"

Shizuka struggled cutely with herself for a moment, "Nnnnh…~! Both are!"

'Ooooh~! Nice one, crazy violent girl!' Nocturna cheered for only Will to hear.

Will watched the scene with a seemingly dispassionate raised eyebrow. Nice one, indeed. That was a lot of creamy-smooth, soft skin that was suddenly exposed. Plump and plush flesh that invited Will to take a bite. The tantalizing curve of Shizuka's hips as well. Fascinating.

It took him a second to shake off his silent appreciation. Was he really so pent-up? Well… It had been a while since he visited the Companion's Guild. He usually went once a week but he'd been so busy with his senior project recently.

"Once we're out of this mess, I can fix that-…" Will trailed off. "Oh, I suppose I can't anymore. How vexing. Years without using Mending and the moment it became useful, I'd just replaced it with Eldritch Blast."

"It's okay," Shizuka sniffled dramatically. "It's just… stylishly distressed now."

"It's a good look on you," Will complimented. "Gives your outfit an even more sexy appeal."

"Yes, very apocalypse-chic," Saeko drawled sarcastically.

Shizuka didn't notice the sarcasm, smiling brightly as she recovered from the loss of her skirt, "Really~? Thank you~!"

Will bent down and took her hand, "Cute and practical. Truly, it's an upgrade on something that was already perfect."

Shizuka blushed, her hands lingering on Will's after he helped her up, "Oh, stop~"

"Perhaps your flirting could wait for a better time?" Saeko suggested, her expression flat.

A crash and a scream echoed through the school. Shizuka jumped and the mood was ruined. Saeko was instantly alert. Will sighed, "Case in point…"

Saeko set off toward the source of the noise. Shizuka followed. Will was right behind them, keen to stick with them so he could learn more about this world. The three of them broke into a decent jog, no longer hindered by Shizuka's tight skirt.

As they ran, Will absently commented, "You know, I'm surprised that's the first scream we've heard."

"I suspect that the rest of the school is already a lost cause. There may be some survivors but the initial panic seized most of the students and staff," Saeko said.

They heard another scream, "Stay away!"

They were close. Saeko sped up. Will matched her and Shizuka was close behind. The trio ran into another pair of students as they reached the source of the scream.

The scene wasn't pretty. Two students had been cornered by half a dozen zombies. One of the students — a pudgy boy with some sort of gun — was huddled off to the side, seemingly frozen and unable to do anything but watch.

The other — a pretty girl with pink hair in twin tails — was backed against a case of trophies. She'd fallen and seemed unable to get her legs to stand beneath her. A zombie stumbled closer and closer.

"I can't take it anymore!" At the last moment, the girl screamed again and finally forced herself to move. She grabbed some device next to her and shoved the business end into the undead's skull. Blood sprayed everywhere but the thing didn't die again.

Saeko's eyes shined with steel, holding the gaze of the new male student they'd joined up with, "I'll take the right."

"Rei!" He called to his companion.

The other young woman acknowledged his call, "I'll hold the left!"

They were already moving even as they called their targets. The orange-haired girl — Rei — pinned a zombie to the wall with her makeshift spear. The boy slammed another with a club, sending it sprawling, already dead again. Saeko once again defied logic and sense, moving faster than the eye could track to brain two zombies at once.

Will sighed, "I suppose I'll handle our terrified new friend there. Eldritch Blast."

For everyone but Shizuka and Will, the impossible happened before their eyes. More impossible than the walking dead. A bolt of pitch-black inky magic blasted toward the last remaining zombie. Saeko raised a flat eyebrow, realizing that Will hadn't been lying when he called himself a Wizard. Rei and the boy with her just gaped in shock.

Saya Takagi — the pink-haired girl — found her eyes opening against her will. The terrifying stumbling corpse still stood before her.

The electric drill in her hand held it at arm's length, stabbing and whirring deep into the zombie's skull. It wasn't enough. The once-dead parody of a Human still kept coming. Saya found herself stuck between a wall and a ravenous corpse.

Then, before her very eyes, something happened. If she blinked, she would have missed it. The corpse was quickly consumed and dissolved into an impossible black liquid. Every trace of it was drowned by the strangely comforting substance that reminded her of calligraphy ink.

Saya felt the drill drop from her hands, "N-Nightmare…"

Her legs gave out under her. She collapsed onto her knees. There was nothing in front of her anymore. Not a drop of that impossible ink. Not a drop of blood. And certainly not the corpse that almost feasted on her flesh. Only then did she absently note that she and Kota weren't alone anymore.

Rei and Shizuka rushed to Saya's side. They tried their best to comfort the obviously troubled girl. With the chaos over for now, Saeko introduced herself to the boy who'd come to Saya's rescue alongside Rei.

"You know Marikawa-sensei, right? I'm Saeko Busujima."

"Takashi Kumoru. That's Rei Miyamoto," The boy returned the gesture.

"I-I'm Kota Hirano," The somewhat pudgy boy who was with Saya introduced himself as well.

"Nice to meet you," Saeko smiled serenely before that smile shifted into a slight smirk. "And this is Will. The Wizard."

"Yo," Will waved nonchalantly.

"Wow…" Kota's awe was genuine and entirely deserved in Will's opinion. "I didn't know magic was real. An actual Wizard. Amazing…"

That easy acceptance was the final straw that caused 'Mount Takagi' to blow, all of Saya's stress and fear coming out in a vitriolic explosion, "Wizard?! Magic?! You believe that shit?! Get real! Don't play with me! I'm a genius! I think I'd know if magic was real! But what? Some asshole who looks like he's straight out of an all-black Renaissance fair comes along and you just accept it?! Bullshit!"

"Uh, Saya?" Takashi said awkwardly. "I don't know if you've noticed but the dead are kind of walking right now…"

"Actually, that's not magic," Will corrected. "It may seem like it but I suspect it's a purely biological process, as illogical as that may seem."

"And why should we take your word for it, Will the Wizard?" Saya scoffed, derision clear in her voice.

'This little brat~!' Nocturna hissed in Will's shadow. 'I should spank her ass red!'

"Well, I did just save your life. With magic, I might add. Magic that you clearly witnessed," Will reasoned. He couldn't resist adding a verbal jab of his own. "And I don't mean to toot my own horn but… I'm kind of a genius too."

"B-Bullshit!" Saya sputtered. "Smoke and mirrors! You think this is the time for jokes and pranks?! I almost died! Died! D-Died… O-Oh God…!"

Saya started hyperventilating. Her panic grew and grew as everything hit her at once. She even threw off Shizuka's comforting hands and doubled over like she was about to be sick. Will approached her slowly and calmly.

"Easy there," He soothed, wrapping her in a gentle hug.

His words were laced with magic. A Charm Person Spell, to be specific. The spell washed over Saya and she shuddered. Slowly, her breathing came back under control. She huddled into Will's chest, finding it so warm, so reassuring for some reason. Tears welled in her eyes but didn't fall as she fought to bring herself back from the edge of complete hysteria.

When Saya pulled away, she wouldn't meet his eyes, her voice soft and small, "… Thank you."

"Better?" Will asked.

Saya nodded but didn't say anything more, still avoiding his gaze with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"We should get into the faculty room so we can rest safely. We can get our bearings there and decide what we're doing next," Saeko suggested.

The group moved to do just that, filing into the room behind them. Will gave Saya one last comforting touch on the shoulder before almost unconsciously drifting closer to Shizuka. She was the only person he'd seen here with any form of magical talent. He found her as interesting as he did attractive.

Saya, of course, didn't know Will's reasoning. She only saw the young man who just calmed her down trying to get closer to the sexiest teacher in the school. Her eyes darted between Will and Takashi, conflicted. She bit her lip, scowling without realizing it.

The door to the faculty room was barred shut. Will even wove a minor transmutation to fix it in place. None of the zombies would be able to interrupt them.

Everyone's attention was quickly fixated on the small TV in the room. The news was playing, expositing background information on the world and this recent outbreak. More like apocalypse but no one was willing to call it that just yet.

As the rest of the group discussed the nature of the current crisis, Will found himself relaxing in a chair with his feet up on one of the desks as he examined this 'TV', "Hmm, what a quaint little illusion."

In his shadow, Nocturna was active. Well, as active as she could be in a world that couldn't support her presence. Basically, she was just whining at Saya's previous disrespect to her chosen champion.

'Ugh, that little brat keeps looking at you. Back off, little girl! No one wants a rude thing like you! I don't care how cute you can be, you're still annoying! And useless! Oh, you're a genius? My William darling is smarter!'

"We need to team up!" Saeko called inspiringly in the background.

Will watched as the rest of the group posed and readied their weapons. It was as if they were acting in some play Will wasn't a part of.

"Let's try to pick up survivors where we can," Saeko suggested.

Takashi nodded, "Let's do it."

"What's the best way out of here?" Rei asked.

"Sorry to break it to you stupid but we're just going to have to go out the front," Saya's tongue was as sharp as ever now that she'd had some more time to recover.

"Let's do it," Takashi stood at the head of the group, looking so much like the heroic leader of a ragtag party of misfits who were destined to save the world.

Will could almost hear a soundtrack of epic proportions swelling as he watched them. But he could sense nothing out of the ordinary. No magic or higher presence. Just slightly odd behavior from the natives he'd joined.

"What a strange world we've found ourselves in," He muttered absently, already intrigued and ready to learn more.

IIIII

[AN: We won't be spending too much more time in HOTD. And Will and Nocturna won't be trying to save anyone, per se. They'll help but they won't sacrifice everything to save everyone. Their assistance/plot changes will mostly come from circumstance/their desires.

They're attracted to doomed/apocalypse worlds. But neither of them is particularly benevolent (no matter what Nocturna claims). That might change slightly with Shizuka's addition because she's a cinnamon roll who likes to help people but they still won't be 'saving' worlds. Will's main focus is magic and knowledge and Nocturna's main focus is Will.

On another note, I'm unsure what to do with Saya. I like her character. She makes for a great tsundere and shortstack. But she would be less than useless in any other world the MCs go to. So I think I'm going to have to leave her behind. Hopefully, Will's butterfly effects will give her and her family a much happier ending though (not that HOTD was ever truly finished).]