Breaking the Circle...

"He is right. Yes, right now we are safe here, but we don't have food or water" Saya Takagi began to say and Daichi noticed Kyoko's look, but he was quite glad that the woman didn't blurt out anything. "And we can't expect them to just disappear" Saya Takagi said. 

"Zombies, they are called Zombies" Daichi added and Daichi noticed a couple of members frowned after hearing that. 

"How do you know that?" Rei Miyamoto snapped. 

"If you kill them then a notification will pop up. If any of you have killed them then you already know" Daichi answered calmly. 

"He is right" Saeko Busujima said with a small nod and Kohta Hirano also nodded his head. 

"Ok, Zombies. We don't know if they will ever die or stop moving… the Mana might keep them moving if nothing else. We also know that anyone scratched or bitten would turn into… Zombies. I don't think this is an isolated event, this is happening all over the world and the army and police would try to help the bigger cities" Saya Takagi finished her explanation. 

Daichi was about to say something but he had to duck when he noticed something in his peripheral vision. A large wolf… dog had burst into the room. The dog was insanely fast and strong, before anyone could say or do anything, it lunged at Daichi for the second time. Daichi stopped the dog monster from sinking its fangs in his neck by placing the bat in between its mouth. 

Saeko Busujima was already behind the dog, she slashed down her wooden sword, making a deep gash on its back…. The dog howled in pain and this gave Daichi a chance. He kicked the dog with all the power he could muster right now, the dog was shoved back, and the dog's gaze shifted from Daichi towards Saya Takagi, who was completely defenceless and she was frozen stiff due to fear. 

All of a sudden a green beam hit the dog. The dog faltered for a moment but another green beam hit the dog and it dropped on the floor, completely unmoving. It didn't even seem to twitch. Bella started to cackle in mad glee making all the weaker survivors in the room shiver in fear. Three white orbs shot out of the dead dog and entered, Daichi's, Saeko's and Bella's bodies. 

[You have gained the Mana of Evolved Level 1 Mutated Dog. Strength +1, Agility +2, Health +2]

[You have gained 1 Status Point to distribute freely]. 

'Wow… that's a lot of stats for just one kill and the Stats were divided among three members. I also did the least' Daichi pondered as he gave a grateful nod while looking towards Saeko Busujima. 

Then he turned towards Bella. "Thanks, Bella" he said gratefully. 

"Oh!! I can think of a couple of ways you could use to thank me!!" Bella cheerfully exclaimed and started to clap her hands. Though only after a second, she scowled while looking at the dog. 

"It was supposed to go down with one!! Why didn't it go down with one??!!" Bella shrieked with a look of insanity marring her face. 

"Maybe it had something to do with Mana and being stronger than a normal human?" Daichi proposed in an unsure tone. Bella tilted her head and gave a stiff nod. 

"That is so unfair!" Bella whined childishly as she stomped her foot with an indignant look on her face. 

"I think I am going to leave… clearly this place isn't safe like you have thought" Daichi said in a sarcastic tone. 

"There are going to be more things like that lurking outside" Rei Miyamoto argued. 

"You are free to stay if you want but I will be leaving…" Daichi said. "Kyoko, where do they keep the keys?" Daichi questioned. 

"I will get them" Kyoko said and opened the top shelf and took out a key. 

"If you don't mind, I will be joining you" Saeko Busujima said with a small smile. 

"Etto~ then, I will be joining too~" Shizuka Marikawa said while tapping her chin with a dazed look on her face. 

"All of you can't be serious…" Hisashi Igou whispered in a horrified tone. 

"Yozora-Senpai, I would also like to join you" Kohta Hirano said nervously and gave a sidelong glance towards Saya Takagi. The bespectacled girl looked really conflicted right now. 

"...Then I would also like to join all of you" Finally Saya Takagi said in a low tone. 

"Saya! You can't be serious. You just saw how strong that dog was… we could hide somewhere and barricade ourselves!" Takashi Komuro said in a pleading tone. 

"Do you think I don't know that?? You saw how strong that dog was… what if a stronger animal breaks through your barricade, then what? They are the fighters and if it wasn't for Hirano-San, then I wouldn't be here right now" Saya Takagi said while shaking her head. 

'She is quite smart…' Daichi mused. "So, are you guys going to stay or come with us?" Saya Takagi asked and started to tap her foot. 

"...Hisashi and I have decided to stay" Rei Miyamoto said while looking down at her feet. Takashi Komuro looked at Rei and he also looked down. 

Saya Takagi noticed that and sniffed. "I suppose this is where we will be parting" Saya Takagi said and Takashi Komuro nodded his head and gave her an apologetic look. 

Daichi simply climbed the window frame and jumped outside. After that, he helped Kyoko and Bella to get down from the window. The others soon followed their example. Saya Takagi gave a last look towards the window but she quickly caught up to the remaining group. 

"Busujima-San, you are level 1, aren't you?" Daichi asked and the girl nodded her head. 

"Yes, what about you and that woman?" Saeko Busujima asked as they slowly and carefully made their way toward the bus stand. There were nearly twenty Zombies lurking around the bus stand, but with Bella's ability, they could easily deal with them.

"Yes, both of us are level 1" Daichi said in a firm tone. Saeko Busujima was a fighter, and she had already helped him. Having another person to depend on was always welcome under these circumstances. 

"Ok… there are nearly twenty Zombies around the buses. We will get on the bus as quickly as possible… Bella, you will be the one to take care of the Zombies. Use those blue flames… and Kyoko you will be driving" Daichi said and everyone nodded their heads. 

"Ohh!! Can I have a princess dress? I always wanted to be a princess" Bella said with stars in her eyes. The whole group turned back towards Daichi and gave him a sceptical look. 

"I will get you a princess dress and whatever else you want, but you have to deal with those Zombies" Daichi said once more. 

"Ok!" Bella chirped excitedly. 

The whole group started to run towards the bus stand. Shizuka Marikawa started to fall behind, Daichi noticed that and stopped for a moment, he grabbed her by the waist and put her over his shoulder. The said woman squeaked and started to complain, but Daichi wasn't listening. 

The group finally arrived near the bus and blue flames erupted out of Bella's hand, engulfing everyone, but before any of them could scream, they sensed that the flames weren't hurting them, instead, the Zombies were turned into dust only in a matter of a few moments. The whole group quickly climbed on the bus and Kyoko practically dived into the driver's seat. 

Kyoko put the key in the ignition and turned the key. The bus roared to life… without waiting, Kyoko put the bus in gear and stepped on the accelerator. Kyoko drove over the Zombies without any remorse and they were almost past the gate when they heard someone scream from behind.

"Wait!!" All of them heard the scream and Daichi turned around to find the slimy bastard Koichi Shidou waving at them while running… a group of students were following him. Daichi looked around and he could see that if they stopped then they would be surrounded in a matter of seconds. Then there was Shidou. 

"Don't stop, keep driving. If we stop then we will be surrounded from all sides and the bus will tip over if there are too many Zombies!!" Daichi exclaimed hurriedly and Kyoko reluctantly nodded her head and kept driving. Daichi felt bad for the students, but there was no way he would allow that bastard Shidou to step inside the bus. 

Daichi felt like he was punched in the gut and he felt sick… he slowly sat down in a nearby seat and palmed his face… he might have called the shots, but right now, he was feeling very bad. He wasn't regretting it, but he couldn't stop feeling guilty about it. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, Daichi slowly raised his head expecting a slap or at least a look of disdain, but he was surprised. 

Saeko Busujima was looking down at him with a smile on her face. "You shouldn't feel bad, you know. You made the decision thinking for our best. You prioritised our safety over being a Hero and that is the trait of a good leader. I am glad that I decided to follow you… I think the others also feel the same and to be honest, I never liked that bastard!" Saeko Busujima said with a soft smile. 

Daichi gave the girl a grateful nod and finally looked around. "Yozora-Senpai, I am glad that you didn't stop to help him. He is a bastard!" Kohta Hirano said while gritting his teeth. Daichi could see the malice in his eyes which was pretty out of character for the boy. 

'I wouldn't be surprised if Shidou was one of his bullies' Daichi thought. Saya Takagi pushed up her glasses. "I never liked the man and I have also heard pretty bad things about him" Saya Takagi said and sniffed. 

"Um~ I also never liked him~" Shizuka Marikawa said with a thoughtful look on her face. Daichi smiled, at least his group was completely okay with his choice. 

The bus jerked as Kyoko ran over another Zombie. "Daichi-kun! I have reached Level 1!!" Kyoko gushed out in an excited manner. 

'Hoh… so the Mana Archive considers the bus as Kyoko's weapon? Hmm… what happens if someone else drives the bus?' Daichi immediately started to wracked his brain and his eyes focused on Kohta. Daichi noticed that Kyoko's statement had surprised everyone. 

"Hirano-San, have you reached Level 1?" Daichi questioned and for a moment, Kohta Hirano was surprised but shook his head. 

"Then take the driving wheel, Kyoko will help you. We must use all the chance we can get to level up" Daichi said and Kohta Hirano stood up with an unsure look on his face. Upon Daichi's and Saeko Busujima's urging, he went towards the cockpit of the bus. Kyoko had heard Daichi's words, so she stopped the bus and got up from the driving seat. 

Kohta gulped and sat down… Kyoko decided to stay beside him and show him the ropes. At least the bus had power steering, so it wouldn't be hard. Kohta Hirano gulped as he put the bus in gear and the bus slowly started to move. Daichi turned around to look at Shizuka Marikawa and Saya Takagi. 

"I assume that the two of you haven't killed any Zombies?" Daichi asked and both Saya Takagi and Shizuka Marikawa nodded their heads. "Don't worry, I will also give the two of you a chance to level up and gain Skills but Hirano-San is a combatant, so I decided to level him up before you two" Daichi explained. 

"I understand and I agree with your decision" Saya Takagi said with a neutral look on her face and the airheaded nurse simply tilted her head. 

"But I don't want to kill anyone~" Shizuka Marikawa said and Daichi simply sighed, he wasn't annoyed or anything, but he was simply tired of motivating everyone. 

"I also don't want to force you, but it is for your own good. You fell behind when we were making our way towards the bus… that difference will keep getting bigger as the others in our group keep getting stronger" Daichi explained softly.

"Umu~" Shizuka Marikawa nodded her head with a determined look on her face. "I will also become stronger~" the woman added in a sing-song voice. 

"My God!!" Kohta Hirano gasped. Daichi turned around and saw that they could finally see Tokonosu City. The city was in ruins… multiple locations were burning and the streets seemed to be completely empty… except for the Zombies. 

"I can't believe our City turned into this" Saya Takagi said while shaking her head. "There is no way, the police and army would come looking for survivors in the school with all that chaos out there" Saya said frantically while pointing towards the City. Daichi could see that she was shaking in fear. 

"... By the way, where are we going, Yozora-Senpai?" Saeko Busujima questioned all of a sudden. 

"We will be going to our house, if we want to survive, we need more weapons, at least for now" Daichi said with a shrug. 

"What type of weapons do you have in your house?" Saeko Busujima asked as she sat down on the opposite side. 

"Guns, blades, explosives… you name it" Daichi said with a shrug. 'I don't think Mom would be angry if I took them for my survival… in fact, I think she should be happy' Daichi mused in amusement. 

The whole group was kind of gobsmacked after hearing something like that. "Y-you have all that in your house?" Saya Takagi asked with a stutter.

"Um… yeah. My mom works for the Government, she has a permit to keep weapons and explosives" Daichi wasn't sure about the last part, but he was sure that there must be something like that. 

"Um… now I understand why your mom looked so scary, I could swear that I felt like she was about to break my neck when we met for the first time" Kyoko said in a scared tone as she rubbed her neck. 

"Yeah… she does seem to have that vibe" Daichi added dryly.

"By the way, Kyoko, is your Skill working?" Daichi asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation. The bus jolted as Kohta Hirano ran over a Zombie. 

"Yeah… I can see all of your Status Windows, I could even see some of the stats of this bus" Kyoko said and Daichi raised his eyebrows in interest.

"That is quite a useful Skill to scout our enemies" Saeko Busujima added calmly as with an impressed look on her face. 

"Kyoko, can you see the stats of our weapons too?" Daichi asked and Kyoko looked at her bat for a moment and nodded her head.

"Your bat is about to break…" Kyoko added and now that Kyoko mentioned it, he could see multiple cracks on it and the Mutated Dog's bite didn't help matters and damaged the bat even more. 

"Cutie… What is this thing called? I don't know but it feels so smooth and nice" Bella said with a smitten look on her face. 

"That is a fire extinguisher…" Before Daichi could say anything, Saya decided to answer the woman's question. 

"Oh… can I keep it?" Bella asked, looking like a kid asking for a toy. Daichi simply shrugged and the insane woman started to cuddle the fire extinguisher. 

"Finally!! I have also reached Level 1!" Kohta Hirano cheered loudly. Kyoko helped him park the bus at the side of the road and Daichi immediately turned towards Saya Takagi. 

Saya Takagi understood what Daichi wanted to say, so she got up and made her way toward the cockpit. Once again, Kyoko started to help. Daichi felt that the girl was pretty nervous, but she was still willing to get strong. That was completely fine with Daichi though…

Daichi quickly gave Kyoko the directions. Saya Takagi got her first Skill but Daichi had no idea what it was. He would probably ask her later… he also didn't know what Kohta Hirano's Skill was, but he was sure that it was related to guns. 

"Umm… I think we are going to have some problems crossing the bridge" Kyoko called out. Daichi immediately rushed towards the front of the bus and everyone except Bella did the same. 

"But why? Why are the cops stopping the people?" Kohta Hirano questioned loudly. 

"They are trying to screen people, I suppose. But I can't tell anything for sure, from here… they are also being pretty loud… I wouldn't be surprised if the Zombies show up from the other side of the bridge… then they will have another problem to deal with"

"Those people would be pinned and I don't think jumping into the water is a good survival strategy" Daichi said with a complicated look on his face. They couldn't go around the city, it would take way too long and it would be dark only in a few hours. Daichi looked around and noticed that everyone was stressed and tired. They badly needed a break. 

"We need to find someplace to spend the night. We really need to take a break" Daichi said as he looked toward the members of his group. 

"Ah~ I know a place. It is a friend's house, she has guns and a tank in her garage… I don't think she would mind~~" Shizuka Marikawa said while tapping her chin. 

"I believe someone told me that guns were kind of illegal in our country" Saya Takagi said while glaring at Daichi and Shizuka Marikawa, but her glare didn't contain any sort of malice. 

"She is some sort of police~, I think" Shizuka Marikawa added, looking quite unsure. 

"Okay… give her the directions" Daichi said in a serious tone. Daichi was pretty sure that the nurse's friend didn't have a tank. After all, if you could keep a tank in your house then his mother would have been the first to get a tank in their basement… 

"Okay~" Shizuka Marikawa said in a cheerful tone and the rest of the group headed back towards the seat. Daichi noticed that Bella had fallen asleep in her seat while cuddling the fire extinguisher. 

After half an hour, the bus finally stopped in front of a two-story house in the residential area. As expected, the place was littered with Zombies. Thankfully, Daichi didn't see any mutated beasts or anything… he woke up Bella who almost attacked him with the fire extinguisher. 

"Park the bus there" Daichi said while pointing towards the end of the street. Saya Takagi didn't know why he asked that, but she didn't argue and followed his command. She did get two more Zombies before they finally parked the bus. 

"Ok… no need to attack the Zombies if they aren't near you. Bella, you will be in the middle, Hirano-San, you will be at the back and Busujima-San, you will be with me, at the front" Daichi quickly dished out the orders. Everyone nodded their heads and rushed out of the bus brandishing their weapons. 

'Please don't break until I reach the house' Daichi prayed and fortunately, his bat didn't break and the whole group finally entered the house. They didn't have to deal with a lot of Zombies as most of them were scattered around even though there were a lot of them and Zombies moved slowly… which also helped. 

Daichi looked at his small group with a bright smile on his face. They were becoming a gold team… Daichi looked around the building and found that it was sufficiently fortified. Daichi released a relieved sigh… they were safe, for now… 

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