RED AND THE APOCALYPSE
CHAPTER 30 — THE CHOICE OF STRENGTH
The air trembled.
The distant roar of the approaching horde grew louder with every passing second—like a storm rolling in, unstoppable and hungry.
Tokita stood at the center of it all.
Behind him—fear.
In front of him—death.
And above—
Ragnar.
Perched on the edge of a broken cliffside structure, Ragnar looked down at him, no longer smiling.
For a moment, his expression was cold.
Then—
"Yo, Tokita!"
His voice echoed across the ruined city.
"What's the plan?"
A grin slowly crept across his face.
"Are you going to save them?" he continued, gesturing lazily toward the civilians. "Or fight off the infected?"
His eyes sharpened.
"Or… are you going to try something stupid—like fighting me while protecting them at the same time?"
A pause.
Then a low chuckle.
"Because it doesn't matter what you choose…"
His grin widened.
"People are going to die here."
The words sank into the air like poison.
"And if you pick wrong…" Ragnar added, tilting his head slightly, "you might be one of them."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"Go on, hero. Make your choice."
Tokita looked up at him.
Silent.
Still.
He's right.
The thought came instantly.
Cold.
Precise.
Behind him, the civilians shifted nervously. Some whispered. Some cried. Some stared at him like he was the greatest threat among them.
Tokita didn't turn around.
If I release even a fraction…
His eyes narrowed slightly.
One percent is enough.
Enough to wipe out the horde.
Enough to overwhelm Ragnar—at least for a moment.
Enough to end this.
But—
His gaze shifted slightly.
Back toward the civilians.
They won't survive it.
The pressure.
The shockwave.
The aftermath.
Even if he saved them from the infected—
They would still die.
For the first time since the fight began—
Tokita hesitated.
What do I do…?
The question echoed in his mind.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Then—
A memory surfaced.
A quiet room.
A wooden table.
A younger Tokita sat across from a man whose face he could no longer clearly remember.
A puzzle lay between them.
Unfinished.
"I can't solve it," the younger Tokita muttered, frustrated.
His father scratched his head, thinking.
"Yeah… me neither," he admitted honestly.
Tokita looked up at him, unimpressed.
"…You're supposed to help me."
His father laughed softly.
"Alright, alright."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Listen, kiddo… not everything gets solved by thinking too hard."
Tokita frowned.
"What do you mean?"
His father paused, searching for the right words.
Then shrugged.
"Sometimes… you just move."
A small smile.
"You act first. Figure it out while you're already doing it."
Tokita blinked.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Yeah," his father admitted. "It doesn't."
A quiet chuckle.
"But sometimes… that's what saves time."
A pause.
Then—
"Sometimes, it saves people too."
The memory faded.
Tokita's eyes sharpened.
"…I see."
Behind him, the civilians were still watching.
Still afraid.
Still waiting.
Tokita exhaled once.
Then turned slightly.
"Excuse me."
Before anyone could react—
He moved.
A blur.
He appeared directly in front of the man who had been shouting earlier—the self-proclaimed leader.
The man flinched hard this time.
"Wha—?"
Tokita's hand shot forward—
And grabbed his collar.
"Wait—what are you—"
The man was gone.
Launched into the sky.
A scream tore through the air as his body soared upward—higher and higher, past the height of surrounding buildings.
The civilians froze.
"…Huh?"
Before confusion could settle—
Tokita vanished again.
Another figure lifted.
A young girl.
Thrown upward—
Following the same trajectory.
"Tatsumi?!"
A woman screamed.
Too late.
Tokita was already moving.
Fast.
Precise.
Unstoppable.
One by one—
He grabbed them.
And threw them.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Panic erupted.
Screams filled the air as bodies were launched skyward like fragments of debris.
"What is he doing?!"
"Has he lost his mind?!"
"He's killing us—!"
Tokita didn't respond.
Didn't slow down.
Didn't hesitate.
When he reached the elderly—
He stopped.
For a fraction of a second—
His movements changed.
Gentler.
He crouched slightly.
Lifted them carefully.
"Close your eyes," he said quietly.
Then—
He threw them too.
Higher.
Further.
Same direction.
Above—
Dozens of bodies filled the sky.
Falling.
Screaming.
Terrified.
From the cliff—
Ragnar watched.
Silently.
"…Well," he muttered, a slow grin forming, "this is new."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"So you've got a dark side too, huh?"
But something felt off.
Ragnar's gaze sharpened.
He focused.
Adjusted.
Zoomed his vision further.
Then—
He saw it.
A river.
Far in the distance.
Hidden between broken structures and collapsed terrain.
Every single person Tokita threw—
Was falling toward it.
Ragnar's grin faltered.
Just slightly.
"…Oh."
Realization hit.
"He's not killing them…"
His expression darkened.
"He's saving them."
Below—
Tokita finally stopped moving.
The last civilian had been thrown.
The sky was empty.
The ground—
Silent.
For a brief moment—
Everything paused.
Then—
Heat surged.
"I've had enough of your bullshit, Tokita."
Flames erupted beneath Ragnar's feet.
The ground cracked under the sudden pressure.
He vanished.
A streak of fire tore through the sky.
Descending.
Fast.
Violent.
Tokita looked up.
Ragnar appeared above him—
Body angled downward like a falling star.
One leg raised.
Engulfed in blazing heat.
A meteor.
"I'm done playing around!"
The air screamed as his kick came crashing down toward Tokita's head.
Tokita didn't move.