Rias's voice brimmed with absolute confidence, which became even more apparent the moment she stepped out of the reinforced iron cabin and into the bleak wilderness.
From inside, Li Ke could hear nothing but a continuous barrage of roaring thunders and massive explosions. The sky outside flashed with the brilliant, violent glow of flames, accompanied by the heavy stench of charred meat. Countless zombie birds fell from the sky like rain, crashing into the earth only to become fuel for the raging inferno.
As far as Li Ke's eyes could see, there was nothing left but roaring fire and the scorched remains of zombie vultures. The blazes ignited by the burning monsters continuously swept across the sky, painting his entire field of vision in an apocalyptic shade of crimson. Had it not been for the magical barrier safeguarding the iron cabin, everyone inside would have undoubtedly suffocated or been incinerated by the blistering heat wave.
This overwhelming spectacle lasted for a full twenty minutes before the smoke cleared enough for Li Ke to make out Rias's figure.
She stood quietly at the edge of the cliff, a defensive wall of swirling fire enveloping her. Zombie birds continuously hurled themselves against her shield, bursting into balls of fire the exact instant they made contact.
With a simple, casual wave of her arm, she could conjure a massive whip woven purely from flames. A single sweep of the whip swatted countless monstrous birds right out of the sky, sending them crashing down to the earth, entirely devoid of life.
The crackling fire danced in tandem with her vibrant hair, making it impossible for Li Ke to tell where the flames ended and her hair began.
Against the grim backdrop of falling, charred monsters and billowing black smoke, the red-haired Rias radiated a dangerously enchanting, demonic beauty. Spreading her devil wings amidst the rising plumes of dark ash, the woman weaponized fire and destruction, captivating Li Ke through a display of sheer death and slaughter. She drew him in, threatening to submerge his mind completely within her mesmerizing charm.
"She really is beautiful," Li Ke couldn't help but murmur in admiration.
"But, Miss Rias is..."
Lux opened her mouth, wanting to say something. The strict upbringing and education she received back home dictated that devils were symbols of evil. Yet, Rias had treated her incredibly well, refusing to abandon her in the face of mortal peril and even sustaining injuries to protect her. Because of this, Lux found herself completely unable to utter a single negative word against Rias.
"Yeah. A real devil," Li Ke noted, taking a deep breath. Although he had rejected her offer earlier without a second thought, it was impossible for him to claim he didn't feel a hint of yearning toward that kind of overwhelming power.
"Hey, don't you dare stray down the wrong path. In the legends of my world, anyone who makes a deal with a devil never ends up with a good ending."
Kiri walked over, chewing on a piece of candy she had scavenged from a vending machine. Draping an arm over Li Ke's shoulder, she pressed her chest against the back of his head and rested her chin right on top of his hair.
"Though big sis here is pretty envious too, there's no way I'm ever trusting someone who openly calls themselves a devil. Who's to say she didn't lure all these monsters back here on purpose?"
Kiri was still deeply annoyed that Rias had dragged a massive horde of creatures straight to their doorstep.
Perhaps the version of Kiri who would eventually settle down in Arad wouldn't care as much. However, the current Kiri—who had only recently escaped a literal war zone—clearly despised this kind of reckless behavior. Furthermore, Rias was currently putting on a display of completely overwhelming combat power, which made Kiri highly suspicious of her true motives.
Rias could use the excuse that her powers were being suppressed by this world, but Kiri knew better. Take Tsunade for example: even though her power was restricted, making her chakra recovery rate and intensity much weaker, her actual total reserve hadn't shrunk a single bit. At worst, a punch that used to obliterate half a mountain would now only obliterate a tenth of it.
Even if their upper limits were nerfed, they could still crush these fragile, weak monsters.
"But her current combat power is undeniably greater than ours, isn't it? Besides, she didn't attack us directly... You won't have to worry about this in a few days anyway."
Li Ke accepted a piece of candy that Kiri handed him. He noticed that she had passed one to Lux as well.
"And what about you? Once Tsunade and I are gone, how exactly do you plan to survive in this world?" Kiri let out a soft huff. She was acutely aware of Li Ke's actual capabilities.
"I'll find a way to get by."
Li Ke let out a long breath. He knew Kiri was genuinely worried about him. Everyone could see that the difficulty level of this world was spiking continuously. If things kept escalating at this rate, it was only a matter of time before he would be trapped inside the iron cabin permanently, besieged by zombies for the rest of his days.
If it ever came to that, there would be only one outcome: game over.
"You idiot..."
Kiri let out a cold snort, giving Li Ke a light nudge before walking out toward the door with her gun in hand.
"Big sis here doesn't buy into the idea that a world can actually have a literal infinite supply of monsters. While you were knocked out, that Rias girl told me something interesting. She found a fully operational factory out there that's continuously spawning zombies. It likely holds the key to the truth behind this world. Let's go investigate it together when the time comes."
Li Ke had no objections to the idea. Conveniently, Kiri knew how to fix vehicles, so heading out to look for some unburnt cars would fit their plans perfectly. As for a factory that constantly produced monsters, investigating it was definitely the right move.
"Sounds like a plan."
Li Ke nodded, drawing his gun as he stepped out of the reinforced iron cabin to hunt down the remaining zombie birds, which had now thinned out significantly.
This time, however, the task was much more tedious. Because the zombie birds were so scattered, they couldn't just blindly fire into the sky anymore. It took them nearly half an hour of coordinated effort with Rias to fully eliminate the last remnants of the swarm.
By the time they finished, night was rapidly approaching, and the ground was littered with the charred carcasses of zombie vultures. Although Li Ke and the group had successfully survived the crisis, the day was entirely spent, leaving them no time to accomplish anything else.
They threw together a quick, simple dinner. During the meal, Li Ke took some time to use his pure system blocks to build a separate shelter right next to their iron cabin for Rias and Lux. With that taken care of, he finally headed back to his own bed to get some rest.
However...
In the dead of night, Li Ke suddenly felt a heavy weight pressing down on his chest. Blinking away his sleepiness, he opened his eyes to see Tsunade straddling him, her face a storm of complex, conflicting emotions.
Before he could speak, Tsunade beat him to it.
"Why did you have to play the hero?"
The flickering glow of the torches danced in her eyes. Even though the room was dimly lit, Li Ke could clearly see the deep anger and bitter frustration swirling in her gaze.
"Well... because we need their strength. If we want a better shot at surviving in this world, doing things like this is a necessity."
But before Li Ke could even finish his sentence, Tsunade angrily grabbed him by the collar, a low, suppressed growl escaping her throat.
"Is my strength not enough for you?!"
Li Ke couldn't answer. As she spoke, tears finally spilled over her eyelids, and she collapsed completely against his chest.
There was one detail Kiri had kept from Li Ke: when he had charged out of the cabin earlier, Tsunade had actually regained her ability to move. She had stood there, forced to watch helplessly as he was completely swallowed by the swarm of zombie birds.
Li Ke had originally intended to tell her that her strength really wasn't enough, but Tsunade didn't give him the chance. The two of them quickly became entangled in a passionate embrace, and then...
Knock, knock.
"Hey... do you mind if I crash here for the night?"
With a flushed face and bloodshot eyes, Kiri knocked on the door to Rias and Lux's shelter.