After the arrival of the otherworldly mercenary in no time and without much difficulty, a sufficiently large area was cleared off of the undeads and now they were all making their way back into the Takagi Estate.

Arthur was going to bring all the people from Takagi Estate to the island where he had set up that small base. Well, all the uninfected people to be exact.

And to make sure whoever climbing the Valkyrie wasn't a bitten person, he needed a bit of time and a good amount of space. Takagi Estate would serve the requirement of that space pretty well because they weren't that far from the Estate.

After reaching the mansion, they had to clear the perimeter from the undeads too and after that, Arthur ordered his soldiers to guard the perimeter.

Also, before moving into the mansion, Soichiro ordered his men to inspect and sort out the bitten and healthy person from all the survivors.

The time taken for a person to transform into an undead depended upon the constitution of that person, but no matter how strong that person is, their fate, once bitten was sealed.

So, no matter how much anyone tried to hide it, they'd be caught for sure. And the decree was to kill any undead on site. One mustn't hesitate even if the undead was once their closest and most precious ones in the world.

And unfortunately, as if fate itself had cursed her, Yuriko, the most needed and one of the most capable women in this world got bitten too...

"Unfortunate, truly and really unfortunate..." Arthur sighed as he looked at the heartbreaking scene in front of him.

He didn't want her to die, she could've been a really good asset in managing the future shelter.

Right now, inside the living space of the mansion, everyone (Saya's family, HOTD's main cast, and Arthur) was present, including Rika and Tajima.

Yuriko was being hugged by her grief-stricken daughter and husband as her form deteriorated more and more. The nerves on her forearms, neck, and face were darkening and spreading all over her body like a branching tree.

"Mamma, please... please don't! Please don't say that!" Saya cried, she just couldn't bear to see her mother in such a state.

The worst thing was how her mother just accepted it with a graceful smile and asked Soichiro to be the one to kill her after she becomes an Undead.

"... and" Yuriko coughed up a small amount of blood on her hands, "And Soichiro-San, thank you for being my hus... band... I will love you... and Saya even in—"

"I will love you too, Yuriko..." Soichiro's voice slightly cracked, he was hurting inside, his eyes were filled with tears to the brim he tried to hold them in, but his efforts failed as a drop of tear escaped and trailed down his cheek before falling on Yuriko's head.

'Huh? So they really were in love with each other huh...' Arthur mused.

"I am sorry, it happened because of me..." Takashi muttered.

Those who heard Takashi's faint words just chose not to comment anything on it for now.

But hearing his statement, Saya realized something, she quickly turned toward Arthur with widened and reddened eyes, her face was a snotty and teary mess.

"Arthur! On the day you arrived, you told Rei and Takashi that you could gain the ability to turn people back to normal, didn't you? You even promised Rei to bring back Hisashi if you could. Arthur, even if there is a 0.01% chance, do what you have to do and save my mamma too!!" She cried, that was no question or request, she wouldn't take anything but yes for an answer.

Arthur sighed through his nose and nodded.

He was just waiting for anyone to suggest that anyway. And if nobody didn't he would have to take the initiative here just as he did with Takashi.

"I had said it then and I'll say it now... the chances for me to gain that kind of ability is really low. Again, really really low! Saya and Soichiro, I would rather suggest you both move on and forget about her just like here Rei did about Hisashi..." He joked at the end, obviously, no one laughed.

... Except for Yuriko herself, even though she didn't get the joke but she did understand from his tone that he was wanting someone to laugh, her pale self chuckled with ever-present royal elegance and gracefulness.

The beautiful tanned woman even at death's door didn't seem to faze at all, instead, she was emitting a charming graceful aura, just like a goddess, "I know what you're doing here Arthur, I know it well enough. Bearing people's hope on your shoulder is tough, I guess that's why you didn't suggest saving me yourself. So you get to put everything on us. So, you don't have to carry any responsibility, the responsibility of my life... but for my daughter and for my dear husband, I myself will bear those responsibilities. That's why do whatever you have to, save my life, no one shall blame you if you can't."

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Arthur sighed, "Sure then, but you still need to die,"

After saying those unintentionally chilling words, Arthur explained to them how he will have to store Yuriko in his inventory and preserve her body in his timeless inventory till he gets such an ability. And to store her in his inventory she needed to be either sleeping, passed out cold, or simply dead.

After everything that was said, was done, Rei, Shizuka, Rika, and Tajima gave the remaining family their condolences and left the room, leaving just Saya, her father, Arthur, Saeko, Miku, Kohta, Kazu, and Takashi in the room, Arthur sighed and then sat on the couch, "Honestly, just what's happening in this universe..."

Soichiro turned to him and squinted his eyes, "Are you pointing out something specific?"

Arthur pursed his lips as he gave him a slow nod, "The thing that happened today was... just too strange... Look, from my future knowledge, the worst that happened in this world was a H.A.N.E. explosion, that too didn't kill anyone directly. By the way, Saeko and I have already dealt with it..."

Arthur leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a bit, after a few moments of silence he opened his mouth, "Whatever happens in this world, it should be something to develop your strengths and personality be it for the better or worst. That H.A.N.E. too could have accelerated your growth by thrusting you all into difficult situations, it's like increasing the difficulty of a game a little bit by bit to level up and strengthen the player..."

Saya's heart started beating fast as what he was implying here was slowly dawning on her. The last time when Arthur's expressions were this serious was on the first day he arrived in this world.

Saya parted her lips, "And you think that what happened today was something which wasn't meant to be cleared by the players...? Really?"

The otherworlder sighed again, "Something like that but not quite. From an objective point of view, that is, from MY point of view..." he waved his hand as if he himself wasn't sure, "It seemed like that world wasn't just thrusting you all into an insanely difficult situation but also trying to eliminate 'you all' or 'someone specific'... I really get the hang of the situation..."

He clasped his hands together and slouched a bit while supporting his face with his hands, his expression looked really troubled and concerned about something.

Along with Arthur, Saya was contemplating the situation too, and it suddenly hit her! A memory surfaced in her mind... Takashi's words echoed in her mind, ["I am sorry, it happened because of me..." ]

Her lips quivered, 'Mamma... she was definitely bitten when she was protecting Takashi... or at least that's what his sorry seemed to me like.'

'It's always him! All of this happened because of him! Everything! Hisashi's death, my mamma's death!'

There was a time when Saya had a slight attraction toward Takashi.

Perhaps, being her childhood friend and being one of the few or like the only male of her age with whom she had a good relationship was the reason for that little crush.

But after the outbreak, those little feelings slowly became lesser and lesser as Takashi's significance in her life decreased.

Still, as his childhood friend, she did care about him. Those peaceful and innocent memories of their gaily childhood weren't all for nothing.

But a heart that understands everything gets tired... She became kinda fed up...

Right now, after what happened and what she realized right this moment, those little feelings and goodwill, turned into hate, scorn, and resentment.

After a long moment of silence, Arthur looked up and glanced at Takashi for a moment before he sighed, "Look—"

"It's him, isn't he?" Saya interrupted Arthur's words and pointed at Takashi, her words were laced with utmost scorn and hate, and the tears in her dried eyes started flowing again.

Takashi was surprised. Why and just what was she implying here?

Arthur furrowed his brows but he didn't look her in the eye. Saya took his silence as a sign of affirmation.

"So, it is just as I had said that day, huh..." She gritted her teeth. Losing her mother was a big blow to the heart of the girl, and now it really irked her that it was 'someone' else's fault. That, had that 'someone' wasn't there her mother would've lived.

"What do you m-mean, Takagi?" Takashi asked Saya in a shaky voice.

Saya looked at him, her tears started flowing again, "If only you didn't exist Takashi..."

Takashi's sunken eyes widened.

"Don't you realize it...? How stupid can you get...? Because of you Hisashi died, because of you my Mamma died. And both of them shouldn't have died Takashi!! You are an ANOMALY! Someone who shouldn't exist! Someone who should have died long ago!... And someone who the world is trying its hardest to eliminate!" She screamed.

"Go die somewhere!!! At least that way we will be able to live longer than you! At least..." The never stopping tears in Saya's eyes fell one after the other on the ground.

She huffed, "At least that way we won't have to suffer cause of some Anomaly!!"

With those words, Saya broke all the connections she had with Takashi.

Takashi stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say... what could he say when she was... right.

Yes, Takashi wasn't that stupid. He had long realized that he was just some other random mob in this world... but it turns out he was wrong again.

He wasn't just a random person...

But something much worse...

An Anomaly...

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1793 words!

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