After two gruesome hours of cutting through the horde of zombies, the group of main characters finally managed to escape and lost the undead on their trail with no casualties other than bruises, torn clothes, and blood splashed on their bodies. There were some dangerous moments, but the group pulled through with sheer determination and desperation to survive.
After they put quite a distance between the bridge and themselves, the group are all very exhausted and want to just collapse on the ground, but they can only rest for a moment to catch their breath before they have to move again to find shelter, and just like Zeno has predicted, the dishevelled Shizuka suddenly remembers that her residence is nearby in the suburban area and tells the group about it.
With nowhere else to go, the group decided to go to Rika's place for shelter, and then when they arrived in the neighborhood where Rika's house is located, they met with the unexpected sight of a group of heavily armed men standing around the road in the distance, unfortunately in front of their destination.
The group was very wary at first, hesitating to approach them, but one of the armed men spotted their group and unexpectedly beckoned them with his hand for them to come closer, which caused the group to look at each other with apprehension. They aren't really sure what the armed men's intentions are towards them.
The group was considering running away, but Kouta chimed in that the armed men could have shot at them with their gun or threatened them to surrender by now if they wanted to, but they don't seem to do any of that and only wave at them to come closer, so they don't seem to be hostile in his opinion.
"It might be a trap."
Saya, who had regained her consciousness a while ago after their escape from the zombies, warned everyone with an uncertain look as she shot a glaring look from the lack of glasses on her face at the group of men in black suits and sunglasses with assault rifles that seemed to be guarding Shizuka's friend's house for some unknown reason. It's quite an inconvenience for Saya to see anything clearly since her glasses were lost after she headbutted the car's window.
"But just like Hirano-kun said, if they have bad intentions towards us, they should make their move by now, so they should be reasonable at least."
Saeko, with her wooden sword broken, expressed her opinion next as she observed the Freedom Guards, who were still looking at them with no intention of doing anything just yet. She doubts that they can do anything other than surrender if the armed men decide to shoot at them.
The group argued a little bit before Takashi was forced to make a decision for the group again, much to his exasperation.
"I say, let's just go and talk with them. At least they seem friendly enough, so maybe they can help us."
Takashi, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a tired face as he makes his decision. The constant fighting and running really exhausted the group, and they need to rest. He hoped that the armed men could at least provide them with water or something; at least they should not mind them resting nearby in the house next door, right?.
With the decision being made, the group then eventually moved towards Rika's house with nervousness on their faces and a sense of palpitation for what was to come. They're not sure what will happen next when they arrive in front of the armed men in black suits.
÷×÷×÷
"Eh, is that Zavior-san~?! How come you are here~?"
After the group arrived at Rika's house, Shizuka suddenly said in a pleasantly surprised tone as she and the group spotted the out-of-place Zeno, who was relaxing while reclining in a lounge chair in front of Rika's house with a glass cup filled with orange juice and a straw. Everyone in the group all have a surprised look on their faces from Zeno's unexpected presence among the armed men.
"Oh~? If it isn't you guys. Looks like going to the bridge is not working out for you guys, huh?"
Zeno glanced at the group that finally arrived as he sucked on the straw in a nonchalant manner, while secretly they caused him quite a bit of worry when there was no sign of them coming even as hours passed until he connected to the spy drones that he spread throughout the city and saw them manage to escape safely. Even Kyoko had managed to survive the ordeal.
"That's right~! It was terrible; we almost died, you know~?"
Shizuka whined as she tried to approach Zeno to air out her grief like a disgruntled office lady, but one of the Freedom Guards suddenly stepped up and raised his hand in front of her face to stop her from approaching Zeno.
"E-ehto~? Ano—?"
Shizuka stops in her tracks as she looks between Zeno and the guard, who stops her from approaching him with some confusion on her face, while the others behind her look at the situation with some concern.
"It's fine; I know them. Let them through."
Zeno orders his guard with a lazy wave of his free hand while smirking internally; he has wanted to flex and say something pompous like this for quite some time now, and the opportunity is finally here!
The stoic guard just nods in response and steps aside, allowing Shizuka and the group to approach Zeno. Now the group of main characters' feelings were filled with curiosity, and some with suspicion, as they approached Zeno, who sat on the lounge chair in a casual getup.
His unexpected presence here, surrounded by the armed, burly men in black suits and sunglasses, was quite an oddity that they couldn't help but feel doubtful as to why he was here. He looked fresh and relaxed with an outdoor BBQ grill and a mini stereo currently playing a relaxing track nearby, indicating that he just had dinner right here like the zombie apocalypse is not currently going on, a stark contrast to their sweat-soaked, blood-stained, exhausted forms.
"You have quite a particular group of guards..."
Saya muttered while squinting her eyes, trying to focus on the blonde-haired man in the lounge chair. Her suspicion grew as she thought about how coincidentally he was here at their destination, almost like he was waiting for them while surrounded by a group of heavily armed guards under his command. It was like they were in the anime plot, where the protagonist's friend is revealed to be the big bad villain that plots against the protagonist all along or something cliché like that.
"Pfft, as if…"
Saya scoffed quietly at her own silly thought while not knowing how right she was, not at the plot against the protagonist part but the big bad villain part. If Zeno knows what she is thinking, he will love to see what kind of expression she will make when she sees him actually take over the planet.
"What is there to be surprised about? I'm quite a big shot, you know? It's not that unusual for an influential figure to have a dozen of guards around them."
Zeno chuckled, placing the orange juice cup on the small table beside him where there's a plate filled with bones, a remnant of his dinner earlier.
"Well, I admit that my heavily armed guards are quite unusual sight here in Japan, but with enough money anything is possible."
"That's true, I suppose."
Saya hums in agreement as she crosses her arms under her breasts. She is a politician's daughter after all, so she knows how the world works. Heck, her family also has their own guards and servants, so she's not really in any position to voice her doubt.
Hearing the conversation between the two of them, the others in the group also looked around, taking in the sight of the seemingly well-trained and well-equipped men. It was clear that Zeno had connections that none of them could have fathomed except Shizuka, who seemed to be generating an illusion of question marks above her head.
"Well, enough about me. How about you guys go take a shower and change your clothes?"
Zeno suggested to the group with a smirk, gesturing to their blood-spattered clothes.
"We can talk more later after you have taken a rest first."
Zeno said, looking at all of them briefly but with a longer, lingering look at the two adults, Shizuka and Kyoko, whose clothes were torn and dishevelled, exposing a bit of their skin. His gaze might have turned lecherous looking at the two mature women in front of him if not for White Dream, who ambushed him in the bathroom earlier and put him in a sage mode.
The group exchanged glances with one another while Kyoko and Shizuka felt a bit shy under Zeno's gaze on them, and then they decided to do as Zeno suggested and went inside the house to rest. They can talk with him later tomorrow.
Zeno watches them going inside Rika's house before he also stands up and goes inside with them, but not before nodding his head at his guards.
He has just given them a green light to start the rescue operation in the city since before the main characters' group was here, he already saw the government abandon the city and escape to the offshore airport, leaving their city free for Zeno to grab for himself.