Unbeknownst to the many, the invaders at the Shinomiya Clan manor wasn't an entire army filled with espers.
"E-ek..!"
The concrete pathway was stained with dark red blood. The moment they laid their eyes upon the tall and well-built man, they had already died. Not a trace of resistance ensued except for their startled cries. The crimson-red fluid crawled onto the ground, reaching the ruined grass in their yard.
From the manor's walls down to the largest mansion in the vicinity, Eishi took less than three minutes to arrive. His enemies never knew what was coming. All they saw was their comrades falling in an instant—including them. No amount of defense withstood Eishi's attacks. The superpowers they prided in themselves very much, to the point their superiority complex was overwhelming, did nothing to save their pitiful lives.
Since the massacre tonight, Eishi no longer took count of the lives that fell to his hands.
'Disgust? Maybe that's a part of it.'
He did not deny the growing weariness and disgust assaulting his mind. None could truly remain indifferent when carrying out a large-scale massacre. Those who could, in Eishi's mind, are the absolute psychopaths of this apocalypse. The most dangerous people this special time could produce. The ones who did not leave any trace of humanity for themselves.
That was the last thing he wanted himself to become.
Swoosh-!
Eishi's keen senses caught wind of the bullets streaking past him. His sudden movement to the left wasn't incidental.
Swoosh-!
Swoosh-!
More bullets came towards him, much to his expectations.
'There, there, and there.'
Click.
The world stood still at his command. He walked in front of a two-storey building. He could tell it was recently built. It did not have any windows, only pure cement and concrete. It is a building designed to act as a watchtower, but disguised as one of the rather 'ordinary' buildings.
One of the gunshots came from here, hence…
Rumble-!
…he scaled the entire building with a single leap.
The edge of the building cracked as his right hand maintained a tight grip. Eishi pulled himself upward, landing on the rooftop with ease. He wordlessly took out the dark-red curved blade and slashed it at the prone man's neck. A fine bloody line appeared on his neck as he remained frozen in time.
The slight distaste and disgust grew as he repeated this action several times. Once time went to normal, blood spurted out of their neck, dead as they are. Eishi took out his phone and opened the gallery, zooming onto one of the pictures of a map. His fingers traced his location from the walls down to his current one.
'Their Boss is here… around a few more blocks. The rich surely know how to enjoy their stuff well.'
Closing the app, Eishi continued his journey. He did his best with his minimal and clumsy methods of concealment. Unfortunately, his enemies were professionals in this line of work. Gunshots rang every five or so minutes, pushing him straight to a small-scale confrontation. Nothing much changed about its outcome. His time stop supported by the [Stamina Restoration Pills] is an unstoppable force at everyone's development level.
That was until another incident came.
The building Eishi went inside was a well-decorated one. It was vastly different from the last-minute constructions he encountered earlier. Sporting eastern architecture, there are overextending canopies made of translucent red materials. Icons of eastern dragons are carefully carved on the main supporting pillars. The wooden floor creaked with each footstep. The blood and dirt stuck on his combat boots dirtied the once pristine floor.
The moment he went inside, he stopped walking. A quick sweep of his Lucky Eyes foretold all of the dangers inside this building.
'A non-stationary danger… this level of brightness is insane.'
Eishi did one look and activated his time stop… and he was glad he did so. The sudden rise in the temperature had just swept his neck. He turned towards the direction of the orange light and saw a large crimson explosion frozen still. The same situation happened as he turned to look at the other places with orange spots.
"...Holy shit."
He did not know who cooked up such a devious plan. The entire place was rigged with explosives. Eishi only stepped inside due to the pursuit with other espers. It was clear they lured him to this 'unique' and 'high-value' building, making him think there is something valuable on it. Unfortunately, they did not account for his 'Buff' that sees through danger and opportunities.
He distanced himself from the mansion, stepping back onto the cold concrete outside.
Once his time stop wore off…
Boom-!
Rumble-!
…a large dust cloud was kicked off from a distance. One look made Eishi swallow his saliva. It took no testing to arrive at the conclusion he would not live from it. Blood rushed on his neck, forming strong enough pulsations for him to take notice. He looked at his palms and found them trembling.
"Fuck this…"
A curse escaped from his lips, barely calming himself down. If he did not have his superpower, he would have been turned into ashes. Eishi felt genuinely frustrated.
"If I catch them…"
Before anger could cloud his mind, he took a step back and heaved a sigh. He noticed adrenaline coursing through his veins. His inhuman constitution is deeply tied to production of hormones. That was why he lived such a decadent and indulgent lifestyle for ten days straight. He became susceptible to lust and anger… just like now.
The only attribute that balances it out was the spirit attribute. Eishi discovered how helpful it had been in his sporadic outbursts.
'Kill everyone with an orange light and spare the rest.'
Having regained his composure, Eishi's massacre ensued.
*****
"Good! Thank god!"
"Nii?"
Miyuki lost all of his concerns the moment he saw his sister and father being fine. The blast radius of the helicopters' RPGs caused the collapse of an entire building. His family was lucky enough to survive amidst that pile of rubble.
After letting go of his sister, Miyuki attended to his father. His right leg hung limply as bruises and wounds scattered all over his body.
"I'm fine. Don't think about it much."
Miyuki did not listen to his father's words. He led him to sit down on one of the academy's benches. His sister, Kei, seemed to be in a daze. Her bright blue pupils lost their focus, her body subconsciously following Miyuki. Her pearly-white face was stained with dust and blood. Strands of her white hair clung closely to her skin as sweat oozed out of her trembling body.
Only when he confirmed there weren't any fatal wounds did he calm down.
"What happened? We were sleeping when…"
After a brief contemplation, he explained everything that happened. The government's invasion. The clans' retaliation. The ensuing aftermath that followed. Most importantly, Miyuki's choice to rebel.
"So it has happened, after all."
Mr. Shirogane let out a sigh. His deep voice was strangely reassuring to the siblings.
"The girl that you like… prepare yourself to never meet her again."
"...I know."
Miyuki's composure was the exact opposite of his answer. He nearly choked muttering out his answer. He followed his dad and sat on the bench. The scorching heat from the burning rubbles and the dust clouds swept over his face. One of them got into his eyes, forcing him to rub it until it was removed.
Only silence ensued between the family of three. It was cut short by the gradual emergence of other people. They were not the wealthy kids—as they all lived on their own compounds—but the civilian espers and their family.
Seeing this forced Miyuki to swallow his weakness. He stood up and began leading others into conducting search and rescue. His father said nothing, merely nodding towards him. Then he looked at his daughter who finally let out her tears. Her ugly, disorganized crying caught the attention of some, but no one said anything.
In the face of this disaster which even the country could not cope with, their power as an individual felt insignificant.
Miyuki was preoccupied with searching amidst the rubbles when a familiar silhouette entered his sight.
"Busujima-san."
He showed her nothing but respect. It was this girl of his age that dealt with the espers all by herself. Her survival over the RPGs' salvo spoke volumes of her strength.
"I came to help."
"W-what about the mission?"
Hearing his question, she let out a sympathetic smile. Saeko looked towards the Shinomiya Clan's main compound with a trace of pity.
"Someone else will take care of it." She paused before adding, "You will learn about it later."
Saeko's presence made the rescue efforts dozens of times simpler. The tide of blood she controlled overturned most of the rubbles, carrying out those who were still alive. The RPGs were targeted towards the building's gas lines, hence the destruction. Out of the hundreds that lived in this complex, only a few dozen survived. They possessed varying injuries, from mild burns to amputation of limbs.
To that, the best she could do was manipulate their wounds into closing. The magical effect of her superpower made others look at her differently—with respect. Some of the gazes contained fear, shivering as they thought how bad it would be to have her as an enemy.
Amidst the academy complex's rescue, the clans also experienced a chaotic night. Some people who woke up to go to the bathroom were shocked to see their entire family exterminated. The screams reached the night sky, growing more and more as time passed by. This situation reached Fujiwara Daichi.
"So this is what he meant by his words..?!"
He had just ended his umpteenth call for tonight. News about the silent extermination of most clans sent a chill down his spine. He sat down on his cushioned seat, cold sweat forming behind his back. The creaking of windows due to the cold wind outside formed an eerie atmosphere amidst the silence.
His fears were soon turned into hope. Someone who could kill silently could save his family. Daichi did not care who he was. As long as they ensured his family's safety, he wouldn't care even if they were the devils themselves. He thought of Shinomiya Oko, the devil incarnate who suppressed all voices and took control of all clans. His iron-fisted rule and decisive killings established the authority of the Shinomiya Clan in this turbulent time.
"A devil… is fitting for a devil."
*****
The night sky over the Shinomiya Clan household hid the bloodstains under the cover of shadows. Nevertheless, a faint iron-like scent permeated the entire complex as time passed by. The reactions of the other Shinomiya Clan was one thing.
As a Zaibatsu that thrived greatly in this mixed world, its main hall was as luxurious as it could be. Resembling the emperor's hall, a desk and a seat was located at its center. It served not just the study room, but the place where the Clan Head issued orders.
Today, it housed two dozen bodyguards, all of which are the most loyal amongst their esper groups. One of them held a pink-haired woman hostage, ready to blast her head into pieces.
At their center was Oko, the de facto Clan Head. His bald head, thin goatee, and slit-like eyes painted the image of a crass leader. The ones who could be found in typical yakuza groups. However, he was not.
Keeping a clear head since the apocalypse, he took control of the Shinomiya Clan after his father turned into a zombie, followed by his younger brother. He did not want any issues to arise as he worked on their cure, hence he kept it hidden under the guise of 'sickness'. Some speculated they had long died in his hands… and he was completely fine with it.
For the sake of their Clan's survival, he was willing to do anything.
He faced the closed-off door. His mind still lingered at the time they were notified of one man's intrusion at their compound. The repeated loss of contacts fragmented the board of members. Almost everyone went off to escape.
Everyone except Oko.
'He will come for me.'
He knew it himself. His position as the Clan Head made him the most conspicuous target. Add to that the repeated attempts of removing the strong esper's life, Oko was bound to meet his death.
Not once did he view his decision to eliminate Eishi as the wrong one.
'A monster… yet he remained as a human.'
They overestimated him as much as possible, yet they could not touch the hem of his clothes. Their repeated failures already made Oko aware of the Clan's impending fate.
Even so…
He is willing to struggle one last time.
Bam-!
His thoughts were cut short as the door was blasted open. Oko was about to open his mouth when something hot touched his cheek.
Blood.
He mechanically turned his neck around the room. Every single elite of his family… the ones most loyal to him…
They are all dead.
His sight returned to the door. A tall man stood. He held the mature woman on her waist, placing her down to the ground as she fainted long ago. The sheer pressure emanating from him outdid every ounce of strength Oko possessed.
"A monster..!"
"It is our first formal meeting, isn't it, Oko-san?"