A pure, untainted feeling. Megumi Kato's ardent, earnest emotions reached everyone present.
Fujiwara Chika and Kitagawa Marin both brightened, eyes gleaming. Yukino gripped her fists and Kanae pursed her lips.
They all waited to see Tatsuki's response.
Tatsuki studied Megumi's clear, moist eyes for a long moment, then sighed. "Megumi, I can't lie to you. There are other people who… are involved with me. I might not have just one partner. I want to return your feelings, but I can't deceive you."
"…"
The words were straightforward: Tatsuki had more than one girlfriend—commonly called having multiple partners.
Marin and Chika swapped glances of surprise. The renowned 'Peerless Emperor' is actually a philandering jerk…?
Kanae already knew. She inwardly sighed, feeling how deeply Megumi liked him. She worried the girl might get hurt, but it was unavoidable. She herself couldn't leave this man either.
Yukino stood off to the side, her worldview shaken by Tatsuki's statement. Instinctively she felt this was wrong, but a part of her tried to understand: this man carrying the weight of an apocalypse… maybe he'd take feelings seriously, and truly cherish them… Or was that rationalizing? Conflicting thoughts tangled in her mind.
"…"
Megumi also remained silent. Tatsuki sighed inwardly—indeed, not everyone can accept this. But then Megumi spoke again, startling everyone.
"Tatsuki-kun hasn't answered me yet. Do you like me?"
"?"
Chika put a hand to her ear, thinking she might have misheard. 'This girl…' Kanae was astonished, staring at Megumi's bright, determined gaze. She hadn't realized the usually ordinary Megumi could have such intense feelings.
Faced with such a direct question, there was no sidestepping. He answered loudly and clearly.
"Yes, Megumi—I like you."
"I like you too, Tatsuki-kun. I don't care about anyone else, as long as I can be the heroine in your eyes."
Megumi once again showed a luminous smile, an arrow of Cupid striking Tatsuki's heart. A mysterious surge rushed through him, pushing him forward to kiss Megumi's lips. This time, Megumi responded even more passionately, heedless of onlookers, as they shared a fiery, prolonged kiss.
"!"
Kanae, watching in her spiritual form, clutched her chest in shock—her heart pounding. Actually, it was Tatsuki's heartbeat she felt. 'This girl… incredible…'
Chika and Marin both felt they were witnessing a beautiful, pure love scene. They couldn't help being moved, and also a bit envious of such sincere feelings—though it was unfortunate the male lead seemed to be a playboy.
Only Yukino stood off to the side, leaning against the wall, gripping her upper arm with her other hand. Her expression was clouded, thoughts complicated.
…
The kiss lasted a full three minutes before ending. Megumi's sweet lips parted with a warm, alluring breath, cheeks flushed. Tatsuki stroked her silky cheek, then said to Kanae.
"Kanae, I'll leave them in your care. Make sure you protect them."
"Understood." Kanae discreetly licked her lips—her reply was a bit delayed.
"Tatsuki-kun, please be careful," Megumi pleaded.
"I will. But you all take caution too—don't rely entirely on Kanae's protection."
"Right!"
"Got it!"
With Kanae by their side, Tatsuki felt safe letting them act on their own. Kanae not only possessed the power of Dominator but also shared Tatsuki's mind, so she could directly call him if something happened, and he could sense her location at all times. If any real emergency arose, he could rush straight there in no time.
Now Tatsuki embarked on a solo spree hunting xenomorphs. The girls also moved into action, aware from his earlier explanations and from Yukino's background how crucial it was to gather survival points. Kanae would protect them from harm, but actually killing the aliens to earn points was up to them.
…
Tatsuki's side.
He dashed rapidly through the complicated corridors. Anything within his Observation Haki range got pinned down instantly—he didn't even need to look, just used air-pressure to crush xenomorphs. A total slaughter mode.
He'd been killing nonstop for nearly three days, still not done. The warship was vast. Moreover, strangely, none of the alien minds revealed information about any "Alien Queen." It was as if the Queen were some ghost in the ship. That didn't align with normal xenomorph lore; logically, all xenomorphs should sense their Queen. Possibly it was a forced game setup.
"Raaah!"
Tatsuki turned a corner to be ambushed by a dozen aliens. In a blink, invisible air waves burst them. Their acidic blood, forcibly contained, didn't splash around.
Hiss!
One xenomorph still lived, intentionally left alive under his control. He wanted intel.
"This place…" Reading the alien's mind, he discovered anomalies. The xenomorphs guarded this location.
"Could the Alien Queen be here?"
He saw a large metal door—a formidable barrier. Approaching, he pressed a finger lightly against it.
Boom!
The door blew open, twisted into a gaping hole. He walked in…
Inside was a huge, cavernous chamber, stacked from floor to ceiling with canisters of some black fluid, neat and orderly. Between them lay numerous green alien eggs. That black fluid appeared to be the "Black Goo" from the Alien lore—a biological weapon. In that lore, humanity's creation came from an Engineer drinking black goo…
The birth of the xenomorph was also due to black water.
If all of this substance were released onto Earth, it could cause untold havoc.
Black water was likely the real threat behind this "Apocalypse Game."
If the black water were scattered across Earth, and given that the "recognition apocalypse" in his world hadn't yet produced any mysterious power, ordinary humans would likely be wiped out.
Xenomorphs, with their incredibly tough exoskeleton, could survive in any hostile environment. They were fast, massively strong, fiercely aggressive, highly intelligent, and merciless—super killers. Without someone as capable as Tatsuki present, it was hard to imagine ordinary people surviving at all.
Sometimes, Tatsuki rather wished the recognition apocalypse would accelerate. For now, he wasn't sure what to do with the black water. He could only clear this game and destroy it all in one go.
As for the alien eggs—those were far simpler to handle.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers, and a stream of air wrapped around the xenomorph eggs, compressing them until they burst. Some facehuggers, almost fully developed, barely managed a screech before they were squashed into pulp.
Each egg was worth 1 point. With about fifty thousand eggs here, in one instant, he racked up over fifty thousand apocalypse points.
"Hope we find a few more rooms like this."
Just as Tatsuki muttered this, a message suddenly came from Kanae.
"Master, we've found the Alien Queen here. It's commanding many xenomorphs to attack, but I've already subdued them."
"Oh?" Tatsuki's eyes lit up. Locating Kanae's position, he shot off in a straight line, busting through everything in his path. Any wall that stood in his way was wrecked.
Unexpectedly, he didn't encounter many xenomorphs along the way—likely they'd all been summoned by the Queen.
…
"There're… so many xenomorphs!"
Marin trembled all over. Even though she now wore an advanced anti-corrosion suit, fully armed with weapons and shield, she still felt absolutely no sense of safety.
Even Yukino's gaze was grave. A massive Alien Queen lay before them, while blackish xenomorphs clung to every surface, even the walls, in all directions. Although Kanae assured them these xenomorphs had been subdued, the four girls still dared not move rashly for fear of rousing those monsters.
Kanae herself was quite vexed about so many creatures suddenly surrounding them.
"Is Tatsuki on his way back?" Megumi Kato asked Kanae.
Each time Megumi spoke, the others would look at her—otherwise, they'd forget she was even there. Even more ridiculously, Megumi could walk among the xenomorphs and they'd ignore her! That unbelievably low presence… None of them understood how Tatsuki had first noticed her.
Yukino studied Megumi with complicated feelings. She somewhat grasped how Megumi must have felt. A girl who was practically invisible, only truly seen by one person. Didn't that mean he was her one and only?
"He's almost here," Kanae reported. She sensed Tatsuki very close.
No sooner had she finished than—BOOM!—the metal floor of the distant corridor exploded upward. A few xenomorphs there were thrown against the walls with a crash.
"Tatsuki?"
They'd expected him to come from somewhere else, not from beneath them. The floor—seemingly so sturdy—ended up with a huge hole punched through it. So strong.
"Why are you dressed like that…"
Tatsuki had looked forward to another feast for the eyes, but found them clad in thick, weighty armor, reminiscent of some big, padded soldier. Probably the anti-corrosion suit. Green acid was splattered on it, leaving only faint corrosion traces.
"Hehe, so now you can't see anything, Tatsuki-kun," Chika said smugly through her transparent helmet. After these two days, and since she now felt safer, her usual silly nature was emerging again.
Could Tatsuki let that slide? Golden light flickered in his eyes as he stared at her.
"Hmph!"
Chika spread her arms and even spun around, as if to say go ahead and look.
Kanae watched her quietly, already foreseeing the outcome. A mischievous smirk curled across Tatsuki's lips as he said, "Oh? Maybe I can see through it, y'know. Looking great, Chika-chan."
"Huh?!"
Chika's spinning froze. She turned her head stiffly, meeting his glowing eyes. Immediately she freaked out, "X-ray vision? D-don't look at me! Waaah!" and fell into her old squat with head clasped pose once again.
"Chika-chan, you're so lame. Tatsuki-kun's obviously joking," Marin quipped, thinking she understood Tatsuki's teasing.
Tatsuki turned on Marin next, glancing down for a few seconds before giving a thumbs-up, "Gold, huh? Very pretty. I like it."
"Eeek?! Huh… d-don't look at me either!"
He'd nailed her little secret, causing Marin's cheeks to redden as she mimicked Chika's meltdown.
"…" Yukino stared with black lines on her forehead. These two are unbelievably lame.
She was about to speak when Megumi, somehow already in front of Tatsuki, had removed her anti-corrosion armor, letting her body remain only in the tight battle suit. She wasn't worried about him seeing through anything, but calmly asked.
"Tatsuki-kun, you aren't hurt, are you?"
Her tone was as placid as ever yet brimming with genuine concern. Face-to-face with the suit-hugging figure of Megumi, he managed to avoid any unbecoming reaction. He gently embraced her petite form, a soft smile on his lips.
"I'm totally fine. What about you, are you hurt?"
Megumi naturally returned the hug, resting her head on his chest, eyes closed serenely. "No injuries. Kanae protected us well."
"Good." Tatsuki gave Kanae a thumbs-up. Kanae smiled softly in response.
Seeing them so intimate, Yukino's eyes dimmed further. Words of concern stuck in her throat.
They didn't linger in the lovey-dovey mode. There was still serious business: the Alien Queen.
Approaching the uniquely shaped xenomorph, it stood roughly six meters tall, clearly different from the rest. Its head featured a large fanlike exoskeleton behind it, with sharpened limbs near its neck and spines along its body. Right now, it was under Kanae's dominion—terrifying face pressed to the floor, acting quite docile.
Additionally, a quick Observation Haki check revealed hundreds of normal xenomorphs in the vicinity. As the Alien Queen, presumably it knew more. Tatsuki directly probed its memory.
After browsing that knowledge, he frowned deeply…
***
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