Bio Defense ~A City Built in a World That Has Ended~

Chapter 3-3

“What the hell? I thought it was a crappy house, but there’s some good stuff here.”

Katsuya had entered a house in the backstreet that had caught his eye. Of course, he didn’t give a thought to the residents. He didn’t care about the key, and he probably broke into the house by burning and breaking the glass at the crescent lock part of what was probably the living room. It was a complete burglar’s technique.

The house was not new, but it was relatively grand, so he explored it with high expectations, but contrary to his expectations, he couldn’t find anything in particular. In reality, there were some useful things, but Katsuya’s knowledge was biased and shallow, so he didn’t notice them.

The main reason he chose this house was that he had a vague feeling that there might be a hunting rifle stored there, so it was unreasonable to expect more from Katsuya.

Katsuya, who had chosen the house based on its atmosphere, began to get irritated as he couldn’t find anything useful. But when he entered the Japanese-style room, he noticed something for the first time on the tokonoma (a recessed space in the wall). There were two Japanese swords, a katana, and a wakizashi, hanging on a deer antler sword rack.

Of course, they were replica swords. Even if you could possess them as works of art by reporting them to the Board of Education, they were not something you could easily buy. Collectors would probably buy them through the proper channels, but managing Japanese swords as works of art was a lot of work. No one would casually place them here.

But for Katsuya, they were like the holy sword waiting to be drawn by the hero.

He slowly reached out and took the katana, slowly drawing it out of its sheath. It was probably about 70 cm long, and when he held it in a fighting stance, he was surprised by its weight. He gently touched the tip of the blade and was a little disappointed to find that it was rounded. Katsuya had expected that it wouldn’t be a real sword, but since he thought of himself as the protagonist, he even thought that it was possible that there might be a real sword here by chance.

“But how can anyone swing this thing?”

He said this as he imitated the movements of a swordsman, swinging it around for a while. It was a ridiculous sight, but Katsuya was completely serious. With Katsuya’s physical strength, arm strength, and technique, he could barely swing a wakizashi, let alone a katana.

“Phew… it’s not that easy to handle, is it? I’ll get used to it soon, though.”

After swinging it around a few times… or rather, being swung around by it, Katsuya activated his unfounded confidence and awkwardly sheathed it. He then put the wakizashi in the belt loop of his pants and tied the cord attached to the sheath of the katana, which he had untied, and tied it to his back like a backpack. Foreigners would probably be delighted to see this.

“Hmph… I’ve won.”

As Katsuya left the house, he looked at himself in the full-length mirror by the entrance and admired his appearance, then stepped outside, seemingly more confident.

Just as he was about to leave, two infected people were standing in front of him. The old Katsuya would have quietly left the scene before being noticed, but now Katsuya had a “holy sword” (laugh) on his back and waist!

“Regret the misfortune of meeting me.”

He said this as he approached the infected without trying to be quiet. The infected slowly began to approach Katsuya, who was smiling confidently.

“Uoo…” “Aaah…”

The infected, who were growling lowly as they approached, didn’t seem to panic, and Katsuya tried to draw the katana from his back.

“Huh? Wait, I can’t draw it! What’s this?”

…Considering the length of the katana and Katsuya’s arm length, it was impossible to draw it from the sheath in the first place. Even now, Katsuya was stretching his arm to the limit, but the blade was still halfway inside the sheath. If he wanted to carry it on his back, he needed to adjust his grip or pull the sheath with the sword, but it seems he didn’t think that far.

The infected wouldn’t stop moving just because Katsuya told them to wait, and as he struggled, they got closer and closer.

“Ouch! That’s cheating!”

It was a ridiculous claim, but the infected didn’t care. As they reached out to grab him, Katsuya gave up on drawing the katana and instead drew the wakizashi, using it to block their arms.

The blade vibrated with a “biiin” sound, and it didn’t cut through, but it was a powerful blow that could break bones. However, the result was not as powerful as expected, and it was rather repelled.

“What the hell! It’s so heavy!”

An unexpected vibration was transmitted to his hand, and Katsuya was so surprised that he dropped the wakizashi on the spot. He wondered if it was because it was a replica sword or if the wakizashi was not powerful enough, but he didn’t consider the possibility that it was his own lack of skill.

Although it was a weak blow, he managed to hold them off for the moment. He untied the cord he had tied and grabbed the sheath, and this time, he was finally able to draw the katana and hold it in a fighting stance.

“This time, it won’t be like before…”

He said this, but his tone lacked the confidence he had before.

“Come on!”

He raised his voice to cover up the growing fear in his heart and swung the sword down at the head of the infected in front of him.

“What? Why?”

Although he hit, he couldn’t split the skull, and the blade slid off, tapping the infected’s shoulder. The sword also vibrated unnaturally, and the power was not as expected.

“Damn it!”

If it were a human, they would have been stunned by the impact, even if it was not a real sword, but the infected didn’t feel pain, and even if their limbs were damaged, they didn’t stop moving. The distance between Katsuya and the infected closed in an instant.

“Huh!”

Katsuya’s heart broke surprisingly quickly. After all, he was a person whose confidence was based on unfounded arrogance and an unnecessarily high self-esteem. His skills, physical strength, and mental strength were all lacking.

“Wait, this is different!” Nothing was different. The infected, who was approaching Katsuya, seemed to say that.

“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…” You, a person like you, deserve to die here. As he looked at the infected, the image of the woman he had abandoned earlier appeared in his mind.

“Help me!” I also said that many times.

“I tried to help you!” No, you didn’t have any real intention of helping.

“No, it’s not…” It is! Die here!

“Uwaaaah!”

Katsuya, who was becoming overwhelmed with fear as the blood-covered woman approached, screamed. Because he had been shouting, another infected person had joined them. The infected in front of him didn’t look anything like the woman from before…

…Is this the end? The way to deal with zombies? That thought had completely flown out of his head. Am I the protagonist? I don’t want to be the protagonist, I just don’t want to die.

Katsuya backed up desperately, but he felt the hard wall behind him and realized that this was a dead end. Three infected were approaching from the front. So this is how she felt… Katsuya finally understood, albeit belatedly, a small part of her feelings.

…There’s no one who will save me…

Katsuya was about to give up, and he didn’t want to look at the approaching infected, so he averted his gaze. Then, he saw something that shouldn’t have been there, and his fading consciousness began to return.

That was… a girl peeking at him from behind the infected. Was it an illusion? Maybe the last thing he wanted to see was becoming a hallu

cination. The person he saw was a classmate, the girl he had liked…

“Kenzaki… no, Hinata-chan.”