"Maybe this isn't a good idea after all, Nach," Yui said upon their arrival at the rooftop of the high-rise apartment building.
It wasn't exactly the undead that gave them trouble. They didn't enter the apartment itself, only climbing through the emergency stairs outside, so they didn't encounter any undead on their way up—except for a few at the ground entrance. However, that climb was up to the 13th floor, which exhausted Yui, who didn't have good stamina, unlike Nach and Saeko.
Nach, of course, had offered to carry Yui—either in a bridal carry, piggyback, or like a sack of rice over his shoulder. But Yui didn't want to be a burden or hinder Nach from fighting the undead.
"Have these and take a rest for a bit, Yui," Nach said, offering a bottle of lukewarm tea and a piece of melon bread to Yui, who was breathing heavily while sitting on the floor.
She hadn't eaten anything since last night, so Yui hungrily devoured the bread and gulped down the tea, then looked at Nach, silently asking for more.
Nach took out quite a few items from what they looted from Rika's apartment and the neighboring units, offering a second meal—not only to Yui, but also to himself and Saeko.
While they were taking a break, with Saeko on the lookout for any threats that might approach, Nach grabbed the binoculars from his backpack and looked toward the main road in search of the Fujimi Academy bus.
"Found her!" he exclaimed excitedly, drawing Saeko's and Yui's attention.
—"Her?"—
Saeko and Yui said in unison, confused about what Nach was referring to—which was Miku, of course, after seeing a swarm of undead surrounding a red sports car.
"I mean the bus… and that gorgeous red sports car…" Nach said, putting on a dumb, flat-faced excuse for his slip of the tongue.
Saeko and Yui understood that men liked to refer to their cars as women, but they were still a bit curious about Nach's sudden interest in a sports car.
"Of course, I want to ride a car like that."
Satisfied with Nach's reasoning, Saeko and Yui waved the thought from their minds. Nach, on the other hand, took out the city map he got from Saya, memorizing all the streets from their location to where Miku was trapped inside the sports car.
It was only an hour past noon, and they still had plenty of time before sunset, but it wouldn't hurt to rescue Miku right away and find a place to stay for the night.
"Let's move before someone tries to steal the van," Nach said as he offered his hand to help Yui stand.
"You shouldn't say something like that in this kind of situation," Yui replied, taking Nach's hand as he helped her up.
And just like Yui said, something did happen concerning the van—not that it was stolen, but they wouldn't be able to reach it easily either.
As they made it to the second floor, they heard a man shouting—not in fear or desperation, not even trying to fight the undead, but instead confessing his love.
"Ever since the day I saw you for the first time, I've always—always, always—seriously and hopelessly been IN LOVE WITH YOU!"
—ROOAARRR!!—
The loud confession was followed by a terrifying roar, and a few minutes later, a young salaryman in his office attire came bursting out of the apartment entrance.
"He's going to get himself killed," Yui said, watching the young salaryman fight the undead unarmed, tackling them to the ground.
"He's doing great, though," Nach said, impressed by the guy's fighting capability.
"Nach-sensei, that roar."
Nach understood Saeko's warning—the danger they were both familiar with. And as expected, another dangerous undead appeared.
An erotic undead woman, wearing nothing but a torn black nightgown that exposed her large, bloodstained breasts, jumped from the hallway balcony of the fourth floor and landed on the ground, creating a crater beneath her feet. But that wasn't all. In her right hand, the erotic undead woman held the corpse of a large, fat man, swinging it like a blunt weapon.
It's another freaking overpowered undead.
Nach quickly crouched down, urging Saeko and Yui to do the same and hide their presence as much as possible, since there was hardly any cover on the emergency stairs outside the apartment building.
Yui frantically hid behind Nach. Saeko also hid, but kept her hands on her katana, prepared to draw her blade and fight.
"That's an opponent we shouldn't take on, Saeko."
At Nach's warning, Saeko lowered her killing intent, erasing her presence. But right then:
"GO!—Get out of here while I keep her busy!" shouted the salaryman, looking at Nach's group like a hero ready to sacrifice himself for others.
Then don't shout and look at us… / "…Idiot."
Nach barely managed to mutter his complaint as he quickly turned around, grabbed Saeko and Yui, and carried them over his shoulders before jumping down to the ground to dodge the fat corpse the erotic undead woman hurled at them, obliterating the stair platform.
"Nach…" Yui said, worried despite his perfect landing.
"Nach-sensei…"
Saeko's warning was more concern than fear as the undead woman rushed toward them.
—ROOAARRR!!—
Just how many strong undead women are going to appear in this new plot? Nach grumbled internally as he quickly put Saeko and Yui down and swiftly drew the hunting crossbow strapped to his backpack.
He could make the shot in time—and he wouldn't miss with the undead charging straight at him.
Or so he thought.
The instant he fired the crossbow, the salaryman intercepted and tackled the erotic undead woman, slamming her into the wall and causing the arrow to miss.
Stop interfering, dude!
With no time to voice his complaint, Nach dropped his crossbow, grabbed his sledgehammer, and charged straight toward the undead, swinging with all his strength to smash its head in a single blow.
"That's exactly… what I expected..." Nach muttered as the erotic undead woman easily blocked his attack, effortlessly catching the sledgehammer with one hand before swinging it, lifting Nach off the ground and tossing him into the air.
Nach let go of the sledgehammer, abandoning his foolish attempt to overpower an undead strong enough to throw a 200-pound fat corpse like a stone. Instead, he grabbed his axe, shifting the fight into a contest of speed—something the erotic undead woman seemed to lack.
The instant Nach landed, he was already charging again, coordinating his attack with Saeko and the salaryman.
"Please stop this, Manami-san!"
The salaryman reached the undead first, tackling it again. But this time, the undead grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into the ground. The impact nearly knocked him out; only the pain kept him conscious as he coughed up blood.
The erotic undead woman lifted the salaryman and moved to bite his neck—but not before Nach swung his axe, severing the arm holding him.
Before the salaryman could hit the ground, Saeko followed up with a sharp slash, slicing straight through the undead's head, cutting across its forehead.
That should have ended the fight—but even with its brain exposed, the erotic undead woman continued to move.
It lunged at Saeko, only for its jaws to be pierced as she swiftly recovered her stance and thrust her katana forward.
"Just rest in peace already, you erotic office lady!" Nach shouted as he swung his axe and chopped through the undead's neck, beheading it completely, its head left stuck on Saeko's katana.
Once again, that should have ended the fight.
"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it starts growing a totally inhuman head," Nach muttered, his voice tense as he tightened his grip on his axe, ready to continue the fight. After all, the erotic undead woman continued moving even without a head.
It could no longer see or react to sound, yet it continued its rampage—until an arrow struck its exposed belly.
Looking behind them, Nach and Saeko saw Yui holding the hunting crossbow with trembling hands.
Taking their eyes off an opponent should be a fatal mistake in battle. But somehow, the arrow that struck the erotic undead woman finally put an end to the fight, killing the undead as it collapsed motionless onto the ground.
"How is he, Nach-sensei?" Saeko asked as she approached Yui, who was still trembling in fear, while Nach checked on the salaryman.
"He's gone," Nach said quietly, finding no pulse at the man's wrist.
Being slammed into the ground by an overpowered undead had fractured the man's ribs, likely piercing his lungs and heart—or so Nach assumed, until he noticed the bite marks around the man's neck.
"Let's just leave before he turns undead."