Chapter 15: The Magnificent Figure of Alyna! An "Unexpected" Guest Suddenly Arrives
"Hoo~..."
"I'm... so full..." — Hinata sighed, falling backwards against the back of her chair, running her hands over her belly, completely satisfied.
Aya and Alyna weren't looking much different. The three of them were slumped in their chairs, letting out sighs of pure contentment.
Ever since they evolved thanks to Akira, their appetites basically doubled. Or maybe even tripled.
Just in this one single meal, the group demolished nothing less than five kilos of beef, more than two kilos of lamb, and FOUR giant lobsters.
In a collapsing world like this... that was practically a crime of luxury. A level of unprecedented extravagance.
But... to be honest? This didn't even make a dent in the absurd stockpile of that supermarket.
In fact, part of the food was already close to its expiration date. Even if they tried eating until they exploded, they wouldn't be able to finish everything in time.
— Click.
Akira pulled the tab of an ice-cold beer can and downed it all at once, feeling the chill burning down his throat.
"Master! I wanna drink too!" — Hinata quickly wrapped herself around his arm, eyes sparkling.
Alyna and Aya also looked at him, full of expectation.
Akira raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"Seriously? You... girls drink?"
"Tsk! Don't underestimate us." — Hinata pouted.
"It's just fermented wheat juice. I can handle it... easily."
"Exactly." — Alyna crossed her arms, puffing out her chest. "We're not that weak."
Aya also nodded, looking determined.
Akira smirked from the corner of his mouth.
"Alright then. If that's how it is... let's drink."
Without wasting any time, he pulled out two more crates of beer from the stockpile.
And that was more than enough to instantly turn that dinner into a mini festival.
The four cans started going around between them. Laughter, casual conversations, the atmosphere was light and relaxed.
But... it didn't even take much.
After just two rounds, Hinata was already passed out on her side, completely unconscious, hugging an empty potato chips bag.
Aya didn't even get that far — she knocked out leaning against Akira's shoulder, her face entirely red.
"Seriously...? That's it?" — Akira shook his head, letting out a mocking laugh.
"Talking like you could handle it..."
His smile turned kinda mischievous as he glanced at the two knocked-out girls lying on the floor.
"Way too weak."
Akira shook his head, kind of laughing at the situation.
He always enjoyed eating and also absolutely loved drinking during his meals.
The only one who hadn't passed out yet was Alyna, but it was very clear that she was already very close. Her eyes were kind of hazy, clearly starting to spin.
"Master... why... is your skin better than mine?" — she mumbled, half groggy, staring at him with a kind of dazed, lost look.
"Huh?" — Akira brought his hand up to his own face, confused.
And then... it made sense. Ever since he awakened the accelerated regeneration ability, every single blemish, pimple, and even old scars had simply disappeared. His skin now looked absurdly clean, smooth, and even kind of translucent, with that healthy glow.
Thinking about it now... it was actually pretty easy to understand why that guy, Scar, kept calling him "pretty boy" all the time.
"It's so hot..." — Alyna moaned softly.
The alcohol definitely hit. Her face was ridiculously red, and a wave of heat started to rise throughout her entire body.
Half out of her mind, she grabbed her own shirt and just threw it aside, ending up wearing only a ridiculously tiny and absurdly provocative top.
And then...
PFT! — Akira literally spat out the beer he was drinking, completely caught off guard by the scene in front of him.
The generous cleavage slit on her chest was simply... insane.
Deep. Impressive. Hypnotizing.
"Holy shit..." — Akira held himself back.
No wonder she was the president of the dance club. Her body was absolutely sculptural. Insane curves, a waist so tiny it looked like he could literally hold it with just one hand.
It was a sight that felt almost criminal.
He took a deep breath, fighting against his own instincts.
"Okay... yeah... definitely can't keep drinking tonight."
If this continued... something VERY serious could easily happen. And he honestly wasn't sure if he could hold himself back for very long.
The warehouse had several makeshift beds, left there by survivors who had passed through earlier.
Akira grabbed a few brand-new mattresses, set everything up properly, and placed the three girls separately, each one on her own bed.
Alyna, after ripping off her shirt, apparently felt way more comfortable... and collapsed on the bed right after, passed out just like the other two.
After making absolutely sure that all of them were settled in and sleeping, Akira took a deep breath, grabbed another dozen cans of beer, and walked out of the warehouse.
He honestly didn't have any problems with alcohol. In fact, now that he was level three as an awakened, his body handled it absurdly well. He could drink, like, a thousand shots and at most he'd feel slightly dizzy, nothing more.
And honestly... after this night, he really needed a moment for himself.
He locked the warehouse door carefully, just to be sure, and walked straight toward the security room.
Inside the room, the main monitor was still on. The supermarket's camera system was still functioning perfectly, thanks to the generator that was still running.
Akira looked at that and thought:
"This is gonna be really useful..."
Decided, he was already planning to move that entire system down to the basement, where it was way safer. This way, he could monitor everything happening outside without needing to go upstairs all the time.
After all... that warehouse was basically their headquarters now.
At this exact moment, Akira made a sudden pause.
His eyes locked onto the security room's monitor, which was showing the supermarket's external camera. Right there, at the corner of the street, a black van was parked, completely still.
"Strange..." — he thought, narrowing his eyes.
In his memory, he definitely hadn't seen that vehicle before.
"Looks like we have... some unexpected guests." — the corner of Akira's mouth curved slightly, forming a cold and carefree smile.
Without any rush, he turned around and walked out of the security room, walking like it was absolutely nothing serious.
...
Time kept passing. It was already starting to get dark.
Inside that black van, the atmosphere was heavy. Everyone was visibly tense.
"Kaito... it's already been six hours. No one has come out until now..." — Sora broke the silence, staring suspiciously at the supermarket building.
"Do we... keep waiting?"
He glanced sideways. Everyone inside the van was visibly starting to get tired and even a bit restless.
Kaito frowned deeply. Honestly, he also felt like they couldn't just stay like this for much longer. After all, they hadn't brought that many supplies for a mission that, until now, was supposed to be just surveillance.
He was already about to open his mouth to suggest a new plan when, suddenly, Sora stretched his arm forward, pointing directly at the entrance of the supermarket.
"Kaito! Someone just came out!"
"Huh?" — Kaito instantly turned his head, staring toward the direction Sora pointed.
And then he saw it.
A young man... walking out of the supermarket completely casually. A can of beer in his hand. The relaxed posture, the slow steps... he looked completely disconnected from the apocalypse going on outside.
No tension. No nervousness. Zero fear.
On the contrary... he looked like someone who was just enjoying a vacation.
"Sora... was this guy with the group that attacked you?" — Kaito asked, his expression getting visibly more serious.
"No... never seen him before." — Sora shook his head, narrowing his eyes.
"Probably someone who joined them later... or maybe just another lucky survivor."
While they discussed, Akira... simply kept walking. Without any hesitation, he walked straight toward the van.
As soon as he got next to the vehicle, he raised his hand with complete naturalness... and knocked on the window.
Tum-tum.
Total silence inside the van.
Everyone exchanged glances at the exact same time, eyes wide open. Faces filled with pure shock.
"How... he... how the hell did he know... we were here?"
The van's windows were all pitch-black tinted, highest possible level. From the outside, it was absolutely impossible to see anything inside. Completely impossible.
And yet... he went straight to their window.
For a second, the silence got so heavy it felt like you could hear your own breathing echoing.
Kaito narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and very slowly lowered the window glass.
"... Yes? Is there... a problem?" — his voice came out calm, but heavy with tension and alertness.
Behind him, everyone else had already, very discreetly, drawn their knives, completely ready to react at the slightest sign of danger.
But then... Akira flashed that relaxed smile of his, sharp and just a little bit mocking.
He pointed down at the ground with his thumb, then twisted his wrist, motioning all around.
"This place..." — he made a dramatic pause — "is my territory."
His smile widened, becoming almost cruel.
"You've been here... way too long. And here's a very sincere piece of advice..." — his eyes narrowed, becoming as cold as a blade.
"...Don't go... looking for death."
Akira stared directly at the people inside the van.
His gaze... cold as ice. Razor-sharp.
In that exact instant, the hearts of everyone inside tightened. A chill ran down their spines.
"How... how did he notice so easily like that?" — they all thought, completely shocked.
Kaito frowned, narrowed his eyes, and even though he felt that shiver crawling on the back of his neck... he didn't back down.
"Your territory, huh?" — his voice came out firm, trying hard not to show the discomfort. — "And... where is Scar?"
Akira raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharpened even more, almost looking bored.
"Ah... so you guys are here because of him." — he took a deep breath, let out a half-smile. — "What a pity. You arrived too late. Scar... is already gone. Died... by my hands." — he said in the most casual tone possible, like someone just mentioning they took the trash out.
Silence. Heavy. Suffocating.
"...Stop bragging." — Sora narrowed his eyes, sneering, but the tension hiding in his voice was obvious. — "Scar had more than a dozen men. Even for us... dealing with them is a real pain. And you... alone... handled it? Seriously?"
He snorted.
In his mind, that guy, with his clean face, pale skin, looking all neat... looked way more like a lost university student in the middle of the apocalypse than someone capable of going head-to-head with a monster like Scar.
"This guy... is dreaming." — Sora thought, clenching his fists tightly.
But Akira... just shook his head. Didn't even bother to respond. He had absolutely zero interest in explaining anything.
He simply... lifted his hand, grabbed the handle of the van's door... and pulled.
"..."
"???"
For a second... nobody reacted. It was like everyone's brains just completely froze.
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