Part 2: Goodbye, Tanaka-san

A thick black smoke is visible about a few kilometers ahead.

Our apartment building is old, but the view isn't bad.

The park right in front of me is visible at a glance.

People wandering aimlessly around the park... well, you know.

……。

...uhh.

I wonder if it's okay to say this out loud.

Please don't laugh?

...zombie-like?

The thing itself, or rather?

That thing is devouring something—(graphic content warning!) a white creature.

Huh? You guys are the type who'd eat each other, huh?

Is Halloween really this adult-oriented now?

That was pretty much my first impression.

Oh, right.

By the way, the thing I saw wasn't just a "zombie," you know.

……

……Hmm.

I know I'll definitely get laughed at for saying this.

Please don't laugh?

Something… dragon-like?

Something like that... a fantastical creature, you know?

I can see dozens of them flapping through the sky, screaming "Unggya, Unggya!"

It's utterly outrageous.

I guess even movie promotions have reached this point.

A brief escape from reality—just a few seconds.

For now, I rub my forehead hard.

Yeah, I know.

Even if I am carefree by nature, I can still tell the difference between movie promotions and reality.

...That said.

Isn't a crisis like this supposed to be one or the other?

Because if it isn't, well... it'd be a problem, wouldn't it?

For humanity.

"Monster movies" and "zombie movies."

Either one alone could easily wipe out humanity.

Now both of them?

At least the "Dragon" seems far enough away that there's no immediate danger—something to be grateful for, I suppose.

"Uh huh... hehehehe..."

I don't know why, but a faint smile slipped out.

I'm fine. I'm not going crazy, right? Probably not yet.

Take a deep breath.

After sleeping so long, I couldn't convince myself it was just a dream.

Maybe I've wandered into the world of a game?

I thought that might be the case, but when I turned around, there it was—the familiar sight of my own home.

Well, what now?

As I pondered this, a loud rumbling noise echoed from nearby.

Looking over, I saw my eccentric neighbor, Mr. Tanaka, through the wall separating our apartments.

Mr. Tanaka was a fifty-year-old single man on a corporate assignment, a bit balding on top, but very gentlemanly and a truly charming man.

There were times when Mr. Tanaka kindly hosted barbecue gatherings for us.

Yet, around that middle-aged gentleman's neck... ah, what a sight.

A deep, unmistakable bite mark remained.

I've heard that "zombies" multiply by biting their victims.

It's a well-known fact, isn't it?

Hmm.

I see.

So it's really like in the movies.

Incidentally, there was a similar scene in the game I was playing just a moment ago.

A thick, clotted mess of Dalesan's blood clung to the mouth of the middle-aged gentleman right in front of me.

Tanaka, who was a bit on the plump side but always maintained moderation during meals.

Now he's staring at me with vacant eyes, desperately reaching out both hands toward my soft skin as a high school girl (me).

『かぁあああああああああああごあああああああああああああああッ！』

生前、決して声を荒らげることのなかった田中さんが、今では獰猛な唸り声を上げています。

一緒になろうよ楽しいよ、と。

そう言っている気がしました。

さて。

そんなこんなで、少々困ったことが起こってしまいました。

As some of you may know, the wall panels in apartment buildings usually have a note that reads, "In case of emergency, break this section to evacuate to the neighboring unit☆."

In other words, these panels are designed to be easily broken—just enough strength to require determination.

And judging by the look on Tanaka's face right now, he's got more determination than anyone else I've ever seen.

—Please take up a weapon.

Another hallucination hits me.

Sigh. Here we go again.

"Looks like I've gotten myself tangled up in another troublesome situation."

I say it out loud.

A female version of the "well, well" archetype has just been born right here.

From now on, I plan to live a popular, flirtatious life as an ordinary high school boy with hidden powers, lavishing affection on a tsundere-type innocent heroine.

Ignoring Tanaka-san completely, I head back inside and let out a big sigh.

——Please take up a weapon.

"Ah, alright, alright. Got it, got it."

Reluctantly responding to the hallucination, I pick up my grandfather's inherited katana—yes, the one with the official national registration certificate.

Then,

——Please eliminate nearby "hostile lifeforms."

The voice had changed its message.

By then, I'd already begun to suspect that this wasn't just a mere hallucination, but rather something akin to a temporary hallucinatory entity, speaking with some kind of intent.

Zudon! Bakkii!

Realizing I had no time to calmly ponder, thanks to that ominous sound from behind.

Turning around, I saw Mr. Tanaka (deceased) staring at me with a pale, unsettling face.

I hadn’t noticed before, shielded by the partition, but the internal organs that should have been inside his abdomen—(ironic metal plate joke)—were completely missing.

And he’s still walking like that.

Ah, I see. This is what it is.

The relationship between the two of them, which should have been going well, was irreparably broken—forever, it seemed.

Takano pounding on the glass of the closed-off balcony.

His strength was far greater than expected, and the balcony glass shattered effortlessly.

Takano invades our home, collapsing onto a bed of scattered glass.

"If this is some kind of cruel joke, I request it cease immediately."

Drawing my slender katana, I issued a warning.

If you come any closer, I'll kill you.

A second warning.

Zombie-like, crawling through shattered glass without hesitation, even as wounds opened across his body—his sense of pain seemed to have long since vanished, left behind somewhere far away.

"This is the final warning."

I murmured, just to be sure.

And suddenly, memories of Tanaka-san flashed through my mind—

I will accept his death, as solemnly as possible.

"Then, farewell."

Tanaka-san, who had boasted more than anything that he loved his wife.

You knew, didn't you? I secretly brought a woman into the house during a weekend night.

Are love and lust truly separate matters?

I once wanted to hear the truth from him directly, someday.

I drive the blade straight into Tanaka-san's forehead.

The sensation of flesh and bone parting reaches my palm.

Tanaka-san became still forever.

"His soul—"

I was about to utter my usual line of farewell, when suddenly—

PANPAKA-PAN! The sound of a trumpet rang through my head,

—Congratulations! Your level has increased!

It was an illusion.

...Ah, so this game has levels.

Dizzy from the shock, that’s what I thought.