Zeig swayed as he stood up, lifted his coat hem, and wiped his face.
Seele couldn't help asking:
"Why were you lying here? You're the one who turned all these Fragmentum creatures into corpses, right?"
Upon hearing this,
Zeig covered half his eye and grinned sinisterly:
"Hm hahahahaha…! I didn't expect you to figure it out. That's right! That's right! These things blocked my path! They deserve to die… They deserve to die ahahahaha!"
His unrestrained, maniacal laughter sent goosebumps over both of them.
Seele quickly interrupted:
"Alright, alright—you still haven't said why you were lying here."
It couldn't be that something knocked him down, could it?
With Zeig's lawnmower-like behavior, was there anything in Rivet Town that could beat him?
"Hmph, this humble one was merely conserving energy. Don't you need a rest after cutting down so many?" Zeig frowned.
"Huh? If you're tired, why were you cutting so enthusiastically? Didn't you think to conserve some stamina?" Seele didn't understand.
In normal combat, people fight while recovering stamina—who charges full throttle and then just collapses?
"If a monster ambushed you while you were down, wouldn't you be done for?"
Zeig: "I was having too much fun cutting."
Seele: "…"
Bronya said worriedly:
"Executor, you seem to be in a bad mood. Did something happen?"
"It's nothing. Don't mind me. Aren't we here to find supplies? Let's go!"
Zeig carried the greatsword Judgment of Shamash, his eyes gleaming sharply as he searched hungrily for traces of Fragmentum creatures like an eager old lady.
It made both Seele and Bronya genuinely afraid.
But remembering the supply recovery task Natasha had given them, they continued forward anyway.
After walking a bit, Seele pointed uphill and said to the two:
"Over there—that building on the distant slope is Natasha's old orphanage."
She gazed toward the orphanage and sighed:
"After Uncle Oleg picked me up, he sent me there. I spent most of my childhood in that orphanage."
Zeig also looked over and couldn't help praising:
"It looks pretty impressive. A lot of protagonists come from orphanages—you've got a bright future ahead!"
Seele shook her head with a smile:
"I think my life now is already pretty good. Maybe this is what you meant by a bright future."
She continued gazing at the orphanage, reminiscing:
"According to Natasha, that building was donated by some wealthy merchant long ago. Whatever he did, he must have been a great person. Thinking back to those carefree days as a kid… I really miss them…"
Bronya, however, said nothing and simply stared blankly toward the orphanage.
Noticing this, Seele asked curiously:
"Bronya, why aren't you saying anything?"
Bronya said in a low voice:
"No, it's just… it feels a little familiar. It's nothing."
Seele nodded. Some people get déjà vu about certain places, but that doesn't mean they've actually been there.
She didn't take Bronya's words seriously and continued introducing the area to them:
"Look down there—see those cluttered stalls? That's the market square of Rivet Town. The supplies Natasha wants are probably piled up there."
She turned back and said:
"Let's keep going, okay?"
At that moment, Zeig was no longer in her field of vision.
Seele scratched her head and looked where Zeig had been standing:
"Huh? Where's Zeig?"
From not far away came the sound of a chainsaw.
Zzzzzzzzz—
From the sound, the chainsaw was spinning at extremely high speed and cutting something.
"Hahahaha, the little red bird is so pretty! You can't escape~ Hohohohoho~!! Teacher XX, I want to become the strongest Valkyrie! Hahahahaha!" Along with the chainsaw noise came Zeig's joyful voice.
Zzzzzzzzz—
Bronya explained to Seele:
"The Executor is already clearing the path for us. Let's go."
Seele sniffled, somewhat bewildered.
"Does he know the way?"
Bronya replied:
"When you mentioned the market just now, the Executor glanced over and charged off. At least the direction won't be wrong."
The two headed toward the chainsaw sound.
Sure enough,
along the way, many more Fragmentum creature corpses appeared, glowing faintly and on the verge of vanishing.
After seeing so many, they grew accustomed to it.
The two walked quickly until they reached a rundown open-air restaurant.
Bronya looked over and said uncertainly:
"This is… a restaurant?"
Seele nodded:
"Yeah, the best-rated one in town. Natasha used to bring well-behaved kids here for better meals."
Bronya: "Then did she ever bring you here?"
Seele: "Heh, hilarious."
Bronya: "…"
The two followed the path Zeig had cleared and arrived at a brightly lit area.
All sorts of equipment, televisions, and other items were polished and shining.
Bronya couldn't help saying:
"The equipment here seems well-maintained. It doesn't look like it's been abandoned for long."
Now that she mentioned it, Seele also examined the place:
"Huh, you're right—it does seem a bit… Could someone still be living in this town? Impossible… It can't be that Zeig maintained it, right?"
Bronya shook her head:
"No, the Executor's chainsaw is still sounding in the distance. We've been following closely—he wouldn't have time to specially maintain equipment."
After glancing at the place once more, the two continued forward.
Soon, Zeig's chainsaw noise grew even clearer.
The monster corpses on the ground increased, and they were getting stronger.
But unsurprisingly, their limbs were all mutilated.
Zeig hadn't just killed them—he had sliced them into pieces with the chainsaw, utterly brutal.
The two emerged from the edge and saw Zeig with a crazed expression, straddling the waist of a humanoid Fragmentum creature, revving the chainsaw and pressing its high-speed spinning teeth against the monster's forehead to cut.
Sparks flew everywhere in an instant.
Zzzzzzzzzzz—
"Roar—!!"
The monster let out a pained, wretched howl that pierced through the entire market.
It flailed its limbs wildly, trying to shove Zeig off, but to no avail.
It was as if an invisible mountain pinned it down—it had no ability to resist.
Only when sparks flew and the monster's head was cut into fragments did its limbs finally stop struggling.
Its entire body collapsed to the ground like a broken sack.
"Phew~ Almost couldn't hold it down." Zeig wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up with the chainsaw.
He turned and saw Seele and Bronya arriving.
"Ah, you two are here."
Seele and Bronya exchanged a glance, both swallowing hard. They were stunned by the scene.
Most people would be impressive just for beating Fragmentum creatures—this guy was playing with so much flair.
Seeing neither speak, Zeig said curiously:
"What's wrong with you two? Want to try it?"
He handed the chainsaw to them.
"This thing really works well. Give it a go."
Seele backed up several steps and waved her hands frantically:
"No thanks, no thanks—you keep going, you keep going! We'll look for the supplies, hahahaha!"
Zeig nodded, slung the chainsaw over his shoulder, and strode into the deeper darkness.
Bronya crouched beside several crates and poked one:
"This should be it, right? Seele, we…"
Seele's eyes widened as she looked at Bronya, who was squatting and studying the crates, and said urgently:
"Why are you still studying crates—call the police!"
"Huh?"
…