บท 501: Resolution Among the Dead

Takagi Souichiro was having a VERY annoying day.

Surprisingly enough it wasn't the actual apocalypse that was bugging him.

As one of the first people in Japan to learn of the impending apocalypse, Souichiro had begun making preparations to endure the tidal wave of infected dead instead of fleeing them. Water, power, defenses, and rescuing civilians, he had the men loyal to him jump on these different tasks immediately after determining who he still had under him.

With his wife, Yuriko, supporting him, Souichiro had quickly organized a base around their estate where hundreds of civilians and military personnel could live without fear of infection. But then he'd received something that neither he nor his wife expected, a message from their daughter, Saya.

Saya's message stated that she had known about the impending apocalypse since the date roughly a week prior, which both parents recalled the sudden shift in her demeanor as Saya became interested in using firearms. And though neither knew what caused the shift, both her mother and her father had been more than happy to ensure she had the best schooling in using firearms possible.

According to her message she had spent the week she'd known about the impending apocalypse preparing everything she could, gathering firearms, supplies, and drawing up numerous plans to defend against the infected. Plans Souichiro readily put into effect to safeguard his estate, while he'd had his men collect the supplies she had stored away for them.

And even after they'd secured water, power, and the supplies needed to maintain themselves, Souichiro had established a series of strict, but definitely necessary rules to ensure the infection didn't infiltrate them.

Any time a person was brought onto the estate they had to strip before a doctor to prove they didn't have any bites or scratches, before having their temperature taken since they had learned that the infected ran at impossibly high temperatures. This rule applied to newcomers, and those returning from any patrols or missions that involved an encounter with the infected.

They also had rations in place for necessities such as food and water, communal tents that their refugees had to stay in, and daily duties for every one of them to perform. On top of that Souichiro had also stated numerous times that no mercy was to be spared for the infected, even going as far as shooting a man in the head before he could turn once it was apparent that he had been bitten.

That was where the problems began.

Because of their rapid response to the epidemic there were numerous people being housed on the estate that hadn't seen the horrors of the infected firsthand. Among them were a number of people who were trying to turn the rest against him by forming committees and organizing to show their discontent, as if such things would work anymore.

In their minds the infected were simply people who had contracted a virus, and needed to be treated. His stance of executing them on site had made the majority of the people uncomfortable, and prompt them to label him as a murderer and extremist, while several even tried saying he would be arrested and possibly given the death penalty for his crimes once things were back to 'normal'.

Souichiro had actually been torn between laughing out loud and swearing up a storm when he'd heard that. How delusional could these people be?

But that paled in comparison to the biggest headache he had been dealing with today.

At some point in the middle of the night, a group of thirty women had mysteriously appeared in the middle of his estate, somehow bypassing a couple hundred trained military personnel.

The women ranged from their twenties to a pair of twins that were twelve, all of which were dressed as shrine maidens. As if that hadn't been weird enough though, every single one also possessed piercing blue eyes that almost seemed to glow, and swore up and down they'd been brought there by the supreme God Alexander Morningstar, the Dragon Emperor.

Souichiro was a traditionalist. He may not be particularly religious, but he did know of and respected the gods. And while he did know of Ryūjin, the lord of dragons, he'd never heard of someone called Alexander Morningstar.

Unfortunately though, the shrine maidens were completely devoted to him. Not only had they 'claimed' a hill on his land that granted them the most morning sunlight, but they were also in the process of building him a shrine on the hill.

And as if that weren't bad enough, those who weren't actively building were preaching the greatness of the Dragon Emperor to the rest of the refugees, singing songs of his strength and role as the supreme God who ruled over all. And worst of all, several of the people were LISTENING.

With the world they knew literally ending around them, many of those who had seen what it was coming to firsthand readily leapt into the arms of the shrine maidens, and pledged their faith in the so-called Dragon Emperor.

Souichiro didn't need religious fanatics, he needed people that could help him preserve what little existed of society that was left, even if they had to adapt to an entirely new world.

That was why when the sun began to set, Souichiro was more than ready to retire for the night in the comfort of his wife's embrace. Only, as he tried to do just that, one of his men atop the manor cried out,

"Sir! something is rapidly approaching us!"

"A vehicle?" Souichiro asked back, wondering what could be approaching that was THAT shocking. Even a fleet of tanks wouldn't be a surprise anymore.

"I-I don't know!" The man cried back, leading to Souichiro personally going to see what was causing the commotion.

The moment he got to the top of the manor though, Souichiro was stunned to see a trail of destruction following a vehicle that appeared to be a completely ordinary humvee, but was plowing THROUGH any building unfortunate enough to be in its way. And following the vehicle...

"Mobilize the men NOW! This is not a drill!" Souichiro cried out as he ran for the stairs to join the men.

For the first time he began to truly panic as a horde of thousands of infected followed the vehicle in the wake of its destruction, and it led them right to his estate.

"BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

Souichiro cried out as he rushed to the front lines where the infected would flood in, dozens of soldiers joining him as he did so, along with his wife.

"What is it?!" She demanded as they ran.

"Some kind of vehicle is smashing its way through everything in its path. It's headed straight here, and there's the largest horde I've ever seen following the carnage." Yuriko's expression darkened when she heard that, and she felt to ensure her favorite gun was strapped securely to her leg as she prepared to meet her end alongside her husband.

Word rapidly spread throughout the estate that something was headed their way, and was bringing a horde of infected with it as men and women willing to fight gathered at the front gate of the estate. Their final true defense.

"What is this?" Souichiro asked irritably when he saw not only the people protesting his way of doing things, but also the fanatic shrine maidens as they fell to their knees in reverence.

"He approaches!"

"Our lord!"

"The Dragon Emperor!"

Souichiro became confused when he heard their comments, as why would they consider their impending doom to be the god they worshipped?

Deciding not to worry about how a lunatic's mind worked, he turned his attention towards protecting the state.

"MEN! OPEN THE GATES AND BRING THE HEAVY WEAPONRY SO WE CAN DESTROY WHATEVER IT IS THATS LEADING THE INFECTED HERE, ALONG WITH AS MANY OF THE INFECTED AS POSSIBLE!"

While the men who had been awaiting his orders jumped to follow them, the group that had been organizing the dissenters snapped back at him,

"Hold it right there! We're not going to just stand by and watch as you murder any more innocent people! Just because they have a condition, doesn't give you the right to kill them as you please!"

Souichiro glowered at the woman who spoke, making her shrink back instinctively, before the man beside her stated,

"Stop it! We will not cower before your intimidation tactics! It is those who need to hide behind such tactics, instead of relying on logic and reasoning, that are the real cowards!"

"Do you actually believe the shit you're spewing?" Souichiro growled at the man as he fought the urge to use his katana to cut him down then and there.

Whatever the man was about to say in response was lost though, as Souichiro's men returned with the artillery cannons, pushing him and the others out of the way as they prepared it for firing.

"AIM ALL CANNONS ON THE VEHICLE!" Souichiro ordered as everything was put into placed and prepped for firing.

"Cannons ready!"

"FIRE!"

*BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!*

As one, the four artillery cannons boomed as they fired directly at the vehicle itself.

*KABOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!*

"DIRECT HIT!" One of the men cried out as the vehicle was enveloped in a cloud of smoke and dust.

"RELOAD!" Souichiro cried, intending to fire the next round at the crowd of infected, only for the vehicle to exit the smoke cloud completely unscathed.

"How...?" One of the men uttered in disbelief.

"FIRE AGAIN!" Souichiro cried out, as if unfazed by the lack of damage the vehicle had taken.

The artillery cannons roared once more as they all fired upon the vehicle bearing down on them, all getting a second direct hit, but doing no visible damage.

"AGAIN!"

Over and over again they fired upon the approaching vehicle as it inched ever closer, and again and again they did no notable damage to it right up until it was nearly upon them.

"MEN, READY YOURSELVES!" Souichiro declared as he drew his katana to prepare for battle. Around him others prepared as well as they drew their own weapons, and even Yuriko flared her dress to reveal the weapons strapped to her thighs, which she readily drew and handled with experience.

"Yuriko, you are a fine woman!" Souichiro exclaimed as he prepared to meet his presumed end, while his wife replied,

"You too Souichiro. I couldn't have asked for a better husband..."

The couple looked to each other for a brief second, their eyes filled with love and the years they'd spent together, before they both turned back to thing they believed would end them. And as they did so the vehicle, which Souichiro had noticed so far back to start with, was nearly onto them as they prepared to face it.

The couple were right in the path of the vehicle as it charged towards them, but neither made to move. Being flattened by the vehicle? Eaten alive by the thousands of infected following it? It made no difference.

They were all going to die.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Souichiro cried out as he prepared to face the thing that had destroyed their defenses, was understory able, and ensured their annihilation.

*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!*

The vehicle suddenly cried out as it started skidding across the asphalt, tearing it up as it slowly slid to a stop right in front of Souichiro and Yuriko.

"..."

No one said anything as they tried to register what happened.

The thing they believed was their harbinger of doom had stopped right before them, allowing them to truly get a good look at it for the first time. It's windows were so dark they were impossible to see through, and there wasn't even a scratch along the pristine surface of its body from the numerous rounds of cannon fire it had taken.

Just as the confusion regarding the vehicle had reached an all-time high, a door opened on the side that was facing the couple, making them blink in surprise, and wariness.

"Wow! Do you greet all your guests with such hostility? It'd make someone think you didn't want anyone to visit!" Exclaimed the man that stepped out from the open door, a hulking beast of a man that appeared to be covered in bright red fur, matching rings around his eyes, and a flowing mane of pitch black hair.

Naturally no one knew how to react to the man's presence, with a silence stretching that was broken only by the groaning of the oncoming infected.

"Mom! Dad!" A high pitched voice suddenly cried out, drawing everyone's attention to the next figure to exit the vehicle, one that the majority of those who were gathered were familiar with.

""Saya!!!"" Both Yuriko and Souichiro exclaimed when they saw their daughter, alive and well.

"How...?"

"Why...?"

They asked her while checking over her for any injuries or other signs of potential infection.

"I think we can save the questions for the time being. We're about to have company." The hulking man said as he turned towards the advancing hordes.

"Right! Men, FIRE!" Souichiro declared as he recalled the thousands of infected bearing down on them, now that the vehicle was apparently no longer a threat. But before anyone could pull a single trigger, the man declared,

"That won't be necessary. I can clean up my own mess, thank you very much!" As he said that the man did something that stunned those who were watching, as he slowly rose up into the air above them.

"Impossible..." The woman who had been criticizing Souichiro earlier exclaimed, before the man extended his hand forward, and produced a small ball of flames seemingly out of nothing.

Then, before anyone could say anything, the small fireball turned into a raging inferno that shot out to envelope all of the infected that were bearing down on them, all while radiating such heat that the surrounding buildings that hadn't been knocked down even began to melt.

The group watched in amazement as the infected that spelt their doom was instantly dealt with, being reduced to a state where not even ashes were left within seconds. But the man didn't stop there.

After there were no more infected bearing down on them, the man produced several more fireballs around him, before they were suddenly shooting at the buildings and districts surrounding the Takagi estate.

The sound of numerous deafening explosions rang out as the man destroyed everything surrounding the estate, reducing it to a raging sea of fire.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" Souichiro demanded angrily, as ALL of their defenses were destroyed in the infernos as well, leaving them essentially naked when the flames died down.......if they didn't consume THEM as well.

"Father! Trust Alex, he knows what he's doing!" Saya exclaimed as she grabbed onto his arm, shocking Souichiro as he looked down at her.

"Alex?" He uttered quietly, before turning his attention to the shrine maidens who had also gathered there earlier, all of whom were on their knees as they stared up at the figure floating above them, reverence in their eyes.

A feeling of foreboding welled up within Souichiro, but before he could say or do anything regarding it, he realized the infernos around them were rapidly dying down, leaving a charred and barren landscape in their wake. But the mysterious man, Alex, didn't stop there.

The moment the land was cleared he started doing something else, projecting glowing circles from his hands that made Souichiro even more confused, before the land itself began to move seemingly to his whim.

Materials appeared of thin air to accompany the twisting and churning landscape as it all joined together to create what appeared to be numerous buildings, all of which appeared to be something straight out of a movie about medieval Europe. Surrounding all of them was an impossibly tall and thick wall that seemed to be made of stone, which would be more than sufficient to keep the infected from infiltrating the perimeter.

And finally to top it all off, from the wall a massive done of light that shimmered with the same glowing circles that Alex was producing came to life, enveloping all of them before slowly fading, though Souichiro could swear he still saw the air shimmering slightly.

When all of this was done, Alex finally began to slowly drift back down to earth, looking no worse for the wear after the impossible feats he had just performed. And while Souichiro wanted to demand some answers from him, he was cut off as Alex suddenly stated in a voice everyone could hear,

"Greetings! I am Alexander Morningstar, the Dragon Emperor!" His introduction sent waves of muttering through the group, as everyone had heard that name by now from the fanatic shrine maidens that were with them even now, praying to the one they considered a god.

Ignoring the commotion he was causing though, Alex walked straight up to Yuriko and Souichiro, and continued while holding out his hand to shake,

"Alternatively, I'm also the man who's fucking your daughter."