24 Pity!

Because of what Altair did at school the previous day, Fujimi Academy increased its security. However, the guards were still just guards, and they didn't have any particularly lethal weapons. As a result, the zombies still managed to injure the guards through the gate.

The injured guards quickly turned into zombies and started attacking others within the school. During the lunch break, many students were walking around the campus. In a short time, a large number of students were attacked and swiftly infected, turning into zombies.

Altair stayed in the infirmary, watching the courtyard through the window. He saw the students being attacked and infected one by one and shook his head helplessly.

"What a pity."

But enough of pretending to feel sorry here, it was time to act. Altair considered himself a good person, but he was only good to the people he cared about. So, although he had chosen the mission to save the world, he didn't plan on saving everyone... he wasn't a hero of justice.

"Shizuka-sensei, where are your car keys?"

"Huh? My car keys are in my bag. Why?"

Shizuka Marikawa, ever clueless, was completely unaffected by the screams outside. After Altair asked her, she looked down, rummaged through her bag, and pulled out her car keys.

"Where's your car parked?"

"It's in the school parking lot."

"Alright, no problem."

In the original storyline, Shizuka didn't drive her car. Instead, she got the keys to the school bus from the security office and used that to escape since there were so many people in their group, and a regular car couldn't fit them all.

Altair had no intention of tagging along with the main characters. He planned to take Shizuka and Saeko Busujima and form a small three-person team, driving off in Shizuka's car.

"There's trouble at the school right now. I'll take you out of here in a bit."

"Huh?"

"Come and see for yourself."

Seeing Shizuka's completely oblivious expression, Altair grabbed her by the arm, pulled her up from her seat, and brought her to the window, letting her see everything clearly.

"What's going on! What's happening to everyone?!"

Shizuka was horrified after witnessing the zombies chasing and attacking students in the courtyard. She took several steps back, looking at Altair in shock.

"This is why I raided the convenience store yesterday. A disaster sweeping the globe is happening. I came here to save you. Yesterday, I was stockpiling supplies because resources are going to be extremely scarce soon. We'll need a lot of supplies to support our actions."

"You came to save me?"

Shizuka looked at Altair, her expression shifting from terror to surprise, and finally to joy.

"Exactly, I came specifically for you."

'After all, you were my ex-waifu. From the moment I saw you again, I knew I still couldn't let you go.'

"But... I don't even know your name yet."

Uh... right. That was an oversight. Altair hadn't told Shizuka his name yet, which made things a bit awkward.

"You can just call me Altair. Everyone else calls me Altair-kun."

"Altair-kun?"

Shizuka didn't quite get the joke.

"Hm... I'll just call you Altair-chan!"

'What the heck, Altair-chan? Just call me Altair-kun!'

Altair inwardly complained but didn't say it out loud. With someone as airheaded as Shizuka, saying it wouldn't help anyway. She wouldn't listen. He just accepted the nickname with a twitch of his mouth.

"Altair-chan, are we leaving now? It looks really dangerous outside."

"No need. I'm still waiting for someone."

'Yeah, my second ex-waifu isn't here yet. Leaving now would be too soon.'

"Shizuka-sensei, no, I'll just call you Shizuka."

'Since you're calling me Altair-chan, I guess I can call you Shizuka. Constantly calling you sensei reminds me of those early days of school.'

"Shizuka, stay here in the infirmary for a bit. I'm going out to check. Lock the doors and windows, and don't open them for anyone, no matter who knocks. Got it?"

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Altair-chan."

Despite being airheaded, Shizuka could be obedient when it came to serious matters.

Altair left the infirmary. After hearing Shizuka lock the door from the inside, he tested it to make sure it couldn't be easily opened, then turned and walked away.

He needed to find Saeko Busujima. He wasn't sure where the kendo club was located, but the place where he had jumped into the school earlier that morning wasn't far. He figured he should start searching from there.

"Aghhh!!! Help me!"

Just as Altair descended one flight of stairs, he heard cries for help echoing through the hallway. Wow, shouting for help in the middle of a zombie outbreak... were they trying to make sure the zombies knew exactly where they were?

Altair was speechless, but he moved toward the source of the cries, drawing his lightsaber from his waist, ready for battle.

However, by the time Altair turned the corner and saw the scene, it was already too late. The person crying for help had already been bitten on the shoulder by several zombies.

"Help! Save me!"

The girl, who was being bitten on the neck, saw Altair and desperately reached out for help.

"There's no saving you. Just accept your fate."

Altair shook his head and pressed the button on his lightsaber.

Zzzzztt!

The blue glow ignited as Altair swung his right hand, creating an arc of light that instantly decapitated the zombies, as well as the girl who had been bitten.

"Rest in peace."

After the swift kill, Altair sheathed his lightsaber and continued on his way.

When he reached the third floor, he heard some sounds of fighting, the dull thuds of something heavy striking a body. Following the sound, he finally saw a familiar figure.

Saeko Busujima, with her long purple hair, was wielding a wooden sword, swinging it fiercely at the heads of the surrounding zombies. With each strike, the zombies' skulls caved in, causing them to collapse backward.

However, unless the zombies' heads were completely destroyed, this level of damage wouldn't stop them from moving. But Saeko wasn't trying to kill them outright. She was simply clearing a path for herself so she could keep moving forward. Her destination was the infirmary, as Altair had instructed her earlier.

But now that Altair was here, she could relax a bit.

Zzzztt!

The blue lightsaber ignited once again, humming as it traced a glowing path through the air, decapitating all the zombies around Saeko in one clean sweep.

After dispatching the zombies, Altair sheathed his lightsaber, struck a cool pose, and flashed a bright smile at Saeko.

"Yo, we meet again."

***

Keeping a precious item like the Power Stone is hard, so for your own sake, drop the Power Stone here, otherwise I can't guarantee your safety!