Once again, a horde of frenzied zombies surged in from all directions—faster than ever before. Their bodies radiated an eerie green glow. Without even greeting the two newcomers—who had clearly been briefed by Rias—Ryuji instinctively drew his machine gun and began unloading bullets into the swarm.
Blazing hot rounds ignited the explosives strapped to several zombies. The explosions tore apart nearby undead, but it was a mere drop in the bucket—the zombies were already halfway across the field, sprinting madly.
Ryuji quickly shifted his fire toward the cliffside, where zombies had piled into grotesque mounds, using their fallen as stepping stones. This time, the effect was immediate—his gunfire triggered a chain reaction of explosions that collapsed a large section of the cliff, sending dozens of zombies tumbling into the ravine below.
But everyone knew it wasn't enough. These creatures were endless, unstoppable.
Frustrated, Ryuji lowered his weapon and prepared to retreat into the steel shelter.
Just then, two figures suddenly dashed past him.
One was green, and the other—none other than Misaka Mikoto—had been standing quietly nearby just moments ago.
Both wore serious expressions. Especially Mikoto, who summoned black iron sand from the earth to swirl protectively around her, forming a shimmering magnetic shield. Gardevoir soared through the sky, charging straight into the zombie horde.
"What are they doing?" Ryuji asked, confused, turning to Rias.
"That magician named Misaka Mikoto doesn't believe us—she probably wants to confirm with her own eyes that these things really are zombies," Rias explained. "And that creature calling itself Gardevoir seems to be doing the same… Tch. Both are powerful and independent. Honestly, I'd love to make them my vassals."
She licked her lips, eyeing the pair with interest. "Too bad I haven't figured out how to bring people back with me yet."
"But it seems that creature—Gardevoir—didn't take me seriously at all," she added, frowning as zombie birds took flight from the forest canopy.
"I can't intervene anymore," Rias said. "If I keep leveling up, I'll inevitably become this world's dominator. From now on, protecting them will be up to you and Rin. I can only ensure your safety."
"No problem," Ryuji nodded.
Rias activated a protective barrier, and nearby, Rin pulled out a machine gun. Ryuji watched Mikoto and Gardevoir charge into battle and couldn't help but feel envious.
He wished he had that kind of power—the ability to face overwhelming numbers on his own.
Meanwhile, Mikoto and Gardevoir closed in on the zombie horde.
Mikoto saw it clearly: most of these frenzied undead had obvious fatal wounds. Some even had milky-white, blind eyes—yet they still noticed her.
The bizarre sight sent a chill down her spine. After all, she was still just a teenage girl. It was only natural to feel fear in such a situation.
But determined to confirm her theory, Mikoto's body sparked with electric energy, and the swirling iron sand around her formed an even thicker barrier.
Zombies crashed against her iron-clad shield—and at that moment, she fired a concentrated blast of electricity into the mob.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"Their brainwaves are seriously abnormal!"
As a Level 5 esper, Mikoto couldn't control others' brainwaves, but detecting them was easy—and these zombies had incredibly weak, nearly nonexistent signals.
It was like… they were brain-dead.
In other words, they weren't alive at all.
The moment she confirmed it, her iron sand exploded outward, blasting away the surrounding undead with a surge of electromagnetic force.
She kept her senses sharp, anticipating something unexpected—but nothing happened.
She saw several zombies shambling toward her with exposed, rotting intestines. Some were so decomposed they could barely move. One even tried to roar at her, but its throat had been torn out—only a gurgling rasp escaped.
"Damn it… So this really is another world!"
Mikoto stopped holding back.
Massive electric blasts erupted around her. Zombies with explosives strapped to their chests had their triggers activated by the electricity—one by one, they detonated in a fiery chain reaction.
At the center of the chaos, Mikoto turned the battlefield into a hellish storm of electricity and fire.
Gardevoir's side of the battlefield was less flashy but no less terrifying. After dashing through several zombies, she glanced skyward at the flock of undead birds. Her large eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, a black void opened where she had just been standing.
The space around the rift twisted unnaturally, and a terrifying suction force emerged. Screeching zombies were pulled into the vortex—many of them crushed into unrecognizable sludge before they even got close.
Watching this unfold, Ryuji looked at the weapon in his hands, then at Rin's gun. He fell silent. Finally, he turned to Rias.
"That's a… black hole, right?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Gardevoir suddenly appeared beside him, her voice calm and cold:
"It's a miniature black hole. It'll disappear soon. Technically speaking, it's just a temporarily distorted space."
Her tone carried a strange, unshakable dominance. Ryuji stared at her in disbelief.
Then she added, flatly:
"Although I am capable of mating with humans, I'm not interested in you. In fact, I'm curious—if I use telekinesis to force your organ to release, would that help me return to my own world?"
She raised her hand and made a gentle squeezing motion.
"Can I run an experiment?"
~~~~~~~
Bonus chapter every 200 PS.