Akimitsu Ayame

'What happened to me? Why... I can't move... my body... at all...'

'Am I... having a nightmare?'

'My body... is so... hot...'

'Why... am I... here?'

'Wait... who... me?'

Ayame thought absently.

Trying to recall her memories, Ayame slowly began to remember.

'Right... My name is... Ayame... Akimitsu Ayame.'

'I... went to Senba Academy.'

'That day... I went to class... as usual... The first lesson was... Mathematics... but then.... There was screaming outside.'

'The subject teacher... went to check... a girl ran... towards the teacher and... tore her neck... with her teeth.'

Each memory fragment was rearranged to form a complete memory. She remembered the sound of her friends' hysterical screams.

She was then stared at by the girl who tearing the teacher's neck, her appearance was very pale, she smelled of blood and a foul mouth odor that pierced her nose.

When the 'Zombie' launched its attack, Ayame blinked making the memory disappear.

Ayame realized with a blank stare that she was standing in the same place but at a different time because of the dim lighting and complete silence around her.

'It's so messy here...'

As Ayame was thinking about trivial matters, she suddenly raised her head as she felt two extremely powerful presences slowly approaching the building she was in.

At the same time she wondered how exactly she could feel them.

Ayame didn't realize that when the two presences entered her perception, thorny vine roots grew and blocked the entrance of the building as if to protect Ayame.

She focused her perception on one of the two presences.

'This guy...? Why do I feel a familiar feeling from him?

She could see the two people slowly approaching her location until they were only separated by a door.

*Squeals!*

Ayame heard the sound of the door being pushed open with force as she locked her eyes on the classroom door.

The person pushing the door seemed to have realized that she had noticed the two of them.

The person then knocked on the door and shouted behind the door, "Excuse me, Miss! There's a package delivery!"

The person knocked again and continued, "Miss, I will open the door. If you are changing clothes, please notify me immediately."

Ayame was silent at the person's ridiculous behavior and somehow she felt very familiar with his actions.

The man then casually opened the door, then walked towards her before somehow suddenly stopping when he saw her face.

"I really didn't expect that we would meet each other in a situation like this, Ayame."

The man began to slowly lower the mask he was wearing, "Don't you remember me? It's me, Kouro."

Ayame's lifeless eyes stared at the man who identified himself as Kouro, a piece of familiar memory flashing through her eyes.

"... Kouro...?"

For some reason, when she said that name, an emotion arose in her chest.

Hatred.

'Ah... I see... this Kouro... someone I hate...'

Ayame's empty eyes slowly began to glow coldly.

__

Kouro continued to stare at Ayame, he found that Ayame's lifeless eyes were slowly regaining their light.

He really didn't expect his childhood friend to attend Senba Academy.

Kouro slowly approached Ayame and after reaching a distance of one meter from Ayame, he spoke with some relief.

"Ayame, do you know I--"

His words were cut off by Ayame who gave him a sweet smile.

"I'm glad you're here, Kouro."

*Stab!*

A thorny vine suddenly pierced Kouro's chest from behind.

"... What?..." Kouro muttered in confusion without realizing that his mouth was bleeding red blood.

Then, several vines followed and pierced his body again in succession.

[HP: 8.543/10.800]

[HP: 6,346/10,800]

[HP: 4.756/10.800]

Notice after notice about his health appeared before Kouro's eyes.

* Shik! * Shluk! * * Kishuk! *

Theresa heard a noise from inside the classroom as she rushed in, she saw Kouro had been turned into a kebab by a Pseudo-Herrscher.

"KOUROO!"

Theresa took a chain from inside the [Oath of Judah] and used it to pull Kouro away from Ayame.

Seeing Kouro who was dying and vomiting blood with a hole in his chest.

Theresa turned to look at Ayame and said angrily, "You're in big trouble, young lady!"

*Swoosh!*

*Swoosh!*

*Swoosh!*

Ayame controlled the thorny vines around her and attacked Theresa, like using a whip.

Not only that, she wielded a large spiky root to block the exit so that the two of them wouldn't escape.

Theresa used her large Cross as a shield while protecting Kouro who was lying behind her.

'I have to take Kouro away from here before his injuries get worse.'

Thinking about that, Theresa then used the chains from [Oath of Judah] to pull Kouro behind her.

On the other hand, Kouro who was being carried like a sack by Theresa had not lost consciousness and was currently focused on the system interface with a serious look.

[A Harmful substance has been detected]

[Skill 'Unknown' has been activated}

[Buff: Cure Poison's effect is healing you]

It wasn't this notification that made him look at the System interface seriously, but rather his level of fatigue.

[Fatigue: 57]

Why are fatigue levels increasing so quickly?

Could it be, neutralizing Herrscher's poison required a huge amount of energy and therefore his fatigue level increased?

Kouro didn't know, but one thing was certain, he now had to avoid being exposed to Herrscher's poison as much as possible.

Theresa who didn't know Kouro's complicated thoughts at the moment, was currently thinking about how to get out of this place.

She looked around with a serious expression before finding a glass window big enough for her to pass through near Ayame.

*Swoosh!*

*Swoosh!*

Ayame's vines continued their attack and instead of parrying them like before, Theresa chose to dodge.

* Bam!*

The vines hit the floor where Theresa was.

Seeing this, Theresa then ran with her little feet to the window and jumped.

* Crash!*

After breaking the window, Theresa fell to the ground and immediately ran away.

Ayame didn't chase them, she just quietly watched from the window that Theresa broke.

She then muttered, "It doesn't matter even if they escape, the poison I put into his bodies will turn him into Zombies sooner or later."

Ayame then rested her body and began to digest the new memories that kept emerging.

...

Thirty minutes later.

Theresa, who had been running quickly along Nagazora City, finally stopped and looked back to observe Kouro's condition.

"Kouro, how are you feeling?"

Kouro smiled bitterly at Theresa's question and said, "I'm already fine, by the way, can you put me down. It's really hard to move if I'm tied up like this."

Kouro was seen shaking his body which was bound by the [Oath of Judah] chains.

Theresa heard Kouro's words but didn't let go, instead she examined Kouro's body and focused on looking at his chest which should have a hole due to being stabbed.

"Wha-!"

Theresa was surprised, Kouro's perforated chest was not found as if the wound she saw before was just an illusion.

But she knew that the wound was real and the proof could be seen in the blood staining Kouro's clothes and chest.

After confirming that Kouro was no longer in critical condition, Theresa opened the chain and lowered him.

Kouro stretched his body a bit before speaking, "Thank you for saving me."

Hearing Kouro's thanks, Theresa just replied calmly, "You're welcome. Now, can you tell me the identity of that Pseudo-Herrscher? It seems like you know her."

"...Okay, but before that, let's talk about the timid person hiding over there."

Kouro answered before pointing at a building fifty meters away. Theresa followed Kouro's gaze and saw a girl coming out of the building.

"... How did you find me?"

The girl had a strange appearance, she had long pink hair and wore ancient white and red miko clothes, but what stood out most about her were her long fox ears that stuck out from the top of her head.

"..."

Theresa felt strange that Kouro didn't respond, so she turned her head to the side and saw Kouro's face.

There was an extremely astonished expression on his face.

Theresa blinked her eyes and thought, 'This boy... Did he fall in love with this girl at first sight?'

Kouro was stunned, not because he fell in love at first sight, but because the creature floating next to the girl had the same appearance as a kitsune (human fox).

'Isn't that Higokumaru?!'