She was struggling to breathe. She couldn't see in front of him. He was barely keeping his balance. He was trying to escape by dragging himself, but where to? Those sons of bitches were bandits.
I realized it when I saw my father, he thought, but I couldn't suppress my feelings. His familial emotions... At least he was relieved that he saw his father die last.
Everything around him was burning like fire. Then she noticed two shadows. He felt very relieved. Because one of these two people was the colonel.
"What happened here, Kuragari?"
"Sir, we were attacked. Bandits came. I think you arrived too late. They have already left."
"WHAT?!"
Kaito was furious. I hadn't even understood what had happened.
"Major, you're wounded, but there's nothing we can do. Gather everyone still breathing and check the shelter; make sure not even a rat is left inside!"
"YES, SIR!"
Kaito didn't even care about me. He just told me:
"And you, get the hell out of here. I'm not letting you into the shelter. Clean up your own shit."
Yes, I was abandoned by my son. It's fine, I guess. I deserved this. That schizophrenia... I had to return to life.
"_______: You will never return to that world, Tsuki."
I was startled when I heard that terrifying voice behind me. When I looked ahead, I saw that Kaito had already entered the shelter. Oh well, guess I'll go back home. This must be my punishment.
---
After leaving his cannibal dad, Kaito tried to put out the fire at the door. The major had rushed deep into the shelter, but what she saw was the same.
Almost everyone was dead. They had left no survivors. The first floor, where civilians stayed, was filled with corpses. When she reached the second floor, she saw what he had feared.
There wasn't even a single child's corpse.
On the second floor, he gathered 5 people. They were the last survivors. Dr. Baku was among them.
"They blew up the third floor, sir."
Upon hearing this, the major understood. In this fucked-up world, only seven of them remained.
"Alright, let's go meet the colonel."
They went down to the first floor and met with the colonel.
"Sir, my report is as follows: Everyone except us was slaughtered, the children were kidnapped, and our third floor collapsed. In short, this shelter is now no different than a grave."
"DAMN IT!"
Kaito started kicking the corpses around him.
There was now only a handful of people left. He didn't even have soldiers left to command. The place they were supposed to take refuge in was now useless.
"Put on the equipment. We're leaving this hell."
This was Kaito's final decision. A plan had formed in his mind.
---
I started walking towards my home again. Abandoned. As always.
For some reason, my schizophrenic world wasn't coming back.
The sun was even setting.
This abandoned world was beginning to look frightening.
While passing through the ruined back streets to get home, I started hearing human voices from the back door of an old cinema.
Who were they?
I could hear children's voices coming from inside.
I couldn't believe what I saw.
Armed old men and little children...
A lot of kids were lined up in front of the cinema halls. They were waiting in line for something.
Is it my imagination again? I thought. But when I looked around, I realized this was real.
Not knowing what to do, I decided it would be best not to get involved and backed away from the door —
But there was a big guy behind me.
"Who are you?"
"Me!?..."
"You're not even wearing radiation protection gear. What a surprising uninvited guest you are."
Because I had immunity. If I said that, I could end up in a community that wanted to use me for experiments.
"How interesting. Radiation doesn't affect you? Are you from Makyoukai?"
What did that mean? I was confused but the only thing I said was,
"Yes, Sir."
The man immediately believed me.
He bowed before me and said,
"Forgive me, sir. Our Demon Party is about to start. Please, enter and choose whichever cinema hall you wish."
I didn't understand what he meant.
Was this man good?
And more importantly, what were the children doing there?
Why were they here?
It was completely absurd for such things to be happening in a world that had collapsed.
And what did I do?
I couldn't resist my curiosity and entered a random cinema hall.
What I would see inside was horrifying.
To Be Continued