How does it feel to live in constant fear?

  Utaha received an answer to that question. Every ticking second touched her nerves. The sense of despair stemming from her powerlessness was long gone. All that was left was the most primal fear.

  She could not even get herself together to find ways to escape. She merely shut herself inside her bedroom, hugging her knees on the corner of her room.

  The world changed too fast.

  Four days ago, she was still thinking about what to have for breakfast. The appearance of zombies broke everything. Just when she barely recovered, she was struck by humanity's wlessness.

  'Am I next?'

  'Am I next?'

  'Am I next?'

  …

  Knock-!

  The set of knocks broke her thoughts.

  "Kasumigaoka-san? It is me, Hiraoka."

  A familiar voice came from outside.

  'Hiraoka..?'

  Inwardly, she remained doubtful. Utaha thought she was hallucinating. She let out broken ughter that soon turned into sobs.

  'I will die. Mom is dead. Dad is dead. I am next!'

  "I came to pick you up. Your work contract remains binding even now…"

  The voice continued speaking. This brought her back from despair. All Utaha did was to stare bnkly on the barricaded wooden door.

  Her heart had long sunk into the abyss.

  'Kill me…'

  Her survival instincts left her. She no longer cared about what would happen next. She removed the barricades and opened the door.

  She was expecting the image of her uncle, or worse, a random thug.

  Utaha is dead wrong.

  Eishi's tall stature was highlighted by his windbreaker. The chilly wind from the outside blew straight to her face. Her chapped pink lips were parted the moment she saw him.

  Unintelligible sounds came from her throat, soon morphing into another round of sobs. Seeing a familiar face made her tense body colpse, barely locking Eishi's firm body in a hug.

  'This cssmate…'

  He looked at the crying Utaha. He felt her soft body shake nonstop. If he hadn't held her waist, she would have colpsed on the ground.

  The atrocities of the apocalypse made him sigh.

  'Pragmaticism is in hot demand…'

  He used his other hand to pat her head. This led to her crying even more loudly. Fortunately, the zombies in the surrounding area were cleared up. He also locked the front door before entering.

  It took ten minutes for Utaha to stop crying. Her body was devoid of strength. He ended up carrying her to the sofa on the first floor.

  Eishi passed her a set of sandwiches and bottled water.

  "Eat first. I am bringing you home. The contract is legally binding."

  "...My parents. Did you see them?"

  "...Eat first. Then I'll bring you to them."

  His answer made her choke on her saliva. Utaha wanted to cry, yet her eyes were devoid of tears. Her rumbling stomach betrayed her sadness. She tore the sandwich's pstic packaging and ate with relish. She down the entire bottled water in one go, not minding her dirty body.

  The two were silent as they reached the other residence. Utaha stared at the corpses on the ground, with one of them being her uncle.

  "They seem to have been mind controlled. I killed the caster. Tell me if you have any retives."

  "...Mhm."

  By the time she saw her parents, her knees colpsed to the floor. Her tears that had just been refilled flowed endlessly once more. The strength she restored was emptied once more.

  Her spirit had been completely broken. Eishi could tell she lost the will to live… and he did not like that.

  'This won't work. I need to bring her back.'

  He knelt in front of her.

  "Hey. I saved you because I needed a maid. You can't die. Okay?"

  'Maid..? Was that why..?'

  If it was before, Utaha would have been ashamed. She would have filed him for sexual assault.

  In this damned world, being Eishi's maid is a lifeline… a new purpose.

  He let out a smile once he saw her nod.

  "Alright. Prepare yourself. We'll be leaving in five minutes. Say your final goodbyes before I burn this entire pce down."

  Just like that, Utaha gained another reason to live.

  *****

  Tokyo.

  The New Capital of Japan. It is a gathering pce of dragons and tigers. Yokohama's prosperity and Kyoto's cultural heritage could not match Tokyo's status.

  'Shelter… and a survivor group. Sword Art Online survivor group.'

  Shino looked down on the huge paper id on the table. It is a set of letter-sized bond papers taped together.

  Four days had passed since the apocalypse's descent. Two days ago, Shino boldly set out and found an evolution fruit. She awakened her talent, Sky Eye, from the said fruit.

  Her talent is an auxiliary one. She can view her surroundings from a god's perspective. Its range was limited by her spirit's strength.

  Its use right now is insane. She managed to find evolution fruits around Eishi's residence. She also saw the pces where zombies stayed, managing to avoid them.

  Aside from her daily rummaging of supplies, she also kept an eye on her various LINE chat groups.

  That was how she learned of Tokyo's situation.

  The rgest Zaibatsu, the Shinomiya Cn, built a private shelter along with a few other affluent cns. It is the rgest survivor group, followed by the ones built by the Sword Art Online survivors. These students missed school when they got trapped inside the death game, leading the government to create a special school for them.

  Due to their deadly experiences, the majority of them were able to barricade their college as a base.

  The rest of the survivor groups are smaller than these two. Shino did not pay much attention to them.

  She paid attention to the phone once more. She fiddled around the mango-like fruit with a satisfied look before paying.

  [Sinon: Today's zombie distribution.]

  [Sinon sent an attached file.]

  [Yuuki: Thank you! Tomorrow again?]

  [Sinon: Same spot.]

  [Yuuki: Understood. Same time too?]

  [Sinon: Yes.]

  Ever since she developed her talent, Shino got entangled with the ones on the Sword Art Online college. The two gradually developed a way of transaction. They will pce the evolution fruit in a certain location, Shino will pick it up, and then she will send the detailed distribution of zombies for that day.

  It was due to "Yuuki's" bold choice to trust Shino that their cooperation persisted until now. Else, Shino would have found it more difficult to conduct a 'business' like this.

  Just then, another notification came up. This time, it was from Eishi.

  [Hiraoka: Zombies are becoming stronger. Mutated zombies doubled from yesterday. Take care.]

  'He…'

  Shino's daily daydreaming session began.

  *****

  "Oh? Another one? It's faster than I thought."

  The first person that greeted Eishi upon his return was Saeko. The former stared at the yard devoid of snow, and then to the pile of snow gathered in one pce.

  "Everyone has nothing else to do. They swept the snow before starting their practice."

  She intently eyed Utaha who was being carried like a sack. The tter's eyes spun in spirals.

  Eishi's three-kilometer sprint took three minutes, but due to her, it took five. Still, it made her feel dizzy.

  "Teach me ter."

  "Alright."

  Saeko resumed her sword practice. It was clear she is testing her current limits.

  [Saeko Busujima]

  Innate Talent: Blood Predator (SS, First-order)

  Non-exclusive Talent: Agility Boost (B, First-order)

  Life Level: First-order, Four-star

  Strength: 38 > 123

  Agility: 44 > 154

  Constitution: 38 > 123

  Spirit: 125 > 210

  Her status went through a huge change after that night. Eishi administered the Gene Correction Serum and gave her a bunch of cherries and crystals to consume. To her who values strength, her decision to surrender is a huge win. She now has a strong partner and powerful strength.

  Upon seeing the fully-filled white light on Saeko, Eishi was stunned. She surpassed Haruno in terms of favorability, reaching Mahiru's and Airi's level.

  'Simple-minded girls are the best…'

  He kept this scummy line to himself. He first carried Utaha to the sofa in the living room.

  'She's asleep…'

  The comfort brought by the vil's heater made her comfortable enough to sleep.

  Eishi first visited the gym on the second floor. He took a peek and saw Airi, Mahiru, and Yukino being tutored by Shizuka about the basics of martial arts. She mainly talked about footwork and gathering strength.

  He did not show himself.

  'Right. The Ninja. Where is she..?'

  When he came back outside to ask Saeko, she was stunned.

  "I haven't seen her come out of her room."

  Thinking about the sharp gaze Eishi felt during the second hour of his surprise threesome with Saeko and Haruno, he is inwardly satisfied.

  'The fish is hooked. I can force a confrontation ter…'

  Going to the vil's fourth floor, he saw Haruno staying in the surveilnce room. A cup of coffee is pced on her desk, with her clothes nothing but an oversized shirt.

  "Eishi-kun."

  "How was it?"

  A blush appeared on Haruno's face. The mature woman could not stand his teasing.

  "I-if I knew she was there…"

  She felt deeply embarrassed about what she did st night. She initially pnned for a night attack in order to increase Yukino's favor. She knew her sister's status inside this vil was unstable.

  Airi, Mahiru, and Saeko are Eishi's women. Shizuka is a teacher he holds in high regard. Megumi is someone that can make him go through a sea of zombies just to save.

  Only Yukino did not have any special status.

  Haruno longed for her sister to not only have enough food and good shelter, but to also have power… and Eishi could give that.

  The women inside the vil knew about the never-ending cherries, crystals, and supplies. Yet, they did not ask him about that. It was his secret, just like how he has numerous superpowers.

  Haruno only has to know that these cherries and crystals could boost strength and awaken superpowers.

  Unfortunately, her pn took a weird turn with Saeko's presence. Her night attack was akin to jumping into the pits of the abyss. Having someone else watch her being fucked felt something.

  "There are several cameras that got destroyed by mutated zombies. They do not seem to actively look for them."

  "Mutated zombies… Got it. I will repce them ter."

  The atmosphere inside the surveilnce room soon became strange. Eishi's hands wandered underneath Haruno's oversized shirt, fondling her bountiful breasts.

  With the increase of his constitution, Eishi's internal organs were strengthened. That included his kidneys, hence his sexual needs became greater.

  It did not take long before sloppy sounds filled the room.

  *****

  After settling some "things", Eishi spent the rest of the time leveling up. His overpowered physical body allowed him to keep on chewing onto fruits while absorbing crystals.

  To his surprise, he was able to absorb two crystals at once. Eishi held two crystals while eating cherries.

  By the time the sky darkened, he consumed the equivalent of 100,000 golden grapes—roughly about 8,000 cherries and 200 mutated zombie crystals.

  [Eishi Hiraoka]

  Innate Talent: Time Dominator (SSS, First-order)

  Non-exclusive Talent: Spatial Backpack (310,000 Cubic Meters), Constitution Boost (A, First-order)

  Life Level: First-order, Six-star

  Strength: 208 > 228

  Agility: 203 > 223

  Constitution: 254 > 274 (762 > 822)

  Spirit: 400 > 420

  A tangible warmth flooded through his entire body. His bones turned hard. His muscles grew stronger. His internal organs transcended human limits.

  'Sixty points..!'

  Eishi relished the effect of the [Martial Master]. His constitution reached 822. Even a second rank mutated zombie won't be his match in terms of "toughness"!

  'I really need to fill up the confidante slots sooner…'

  Today, it was his constitution. If he receives a [Buff] that boosts his strength, agility, or spirit, that would be the end of zombies in this world.

  He stretched his entire body before leaving the room. The scent of curry wafted as soon as he entered the dining room.

  Compared to yesterday, the atmosphere is more harmonious. One thing remained the same, however. They remained mindful of Eishi, the head of this house.

  Fortunately, he wasn't really a cold bloke. He reciprocated their enthusiasm every now and then. It maintained his authority while making him closer to the girls.

  Only Megumi remained invisible at the dining table. Utaha was silent, but even she responds to the other girls every now and then.

  'Tonight…'

  Thinking of Utaha's predicament and the Buffs' insane effects, Eishi knew when to decisively strike.

  Utilizing Utaha's vulnerability and Megumi's votile reactions, he will bind them tonight or tomorrow.

  His thoughts were cut off by a slight shaking of the ground. The dinner atmosphere was broken immediately.

  "Haruno."

  "Mhm."

  She sprinted to the fourth floor's surveilnce room. The rest took their weapons nearby, as per their drills.

  Eishi ran to the top of the wall. He was followed by Saeko, katana in hand.

  "Hiraoka. Above."

  Saeko nudged his shoulder.

  Above the starry sky, they saw streaks of red light fall to various pces. Yokohama alone received at least a dozen.

  Eishi's keen eyesight saw one of them fall in the nearby neighborhood. The crater emitted a tall red mist. It continued to spread to its surroundings.

  Much to his surprise, the 'crater' qualified as an item.

  [Vanguard Pod]

  Details: The forward army of the zerg race. They carry a red mist that boosts the zergs' capabilities in the nd. It is non-toxic to humans, but its fatality remains to be seen.

  'Zerg..?'

  The second phase of the apocalypse had begun.