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"Listen to him, Takashi, if what you're saying is true and my assumption about him is correct... then he knows far more than any of us and is probably the last hope of humanity!" Hisashi spoke from behind, wincing in pain as his state got worse over the passing seconds.

Arthur turned to him and slightly raised his brow, "Why would you assume that, Hisashi Igou... I mean, I could also be the one who caused all this, don't you think?"

His certainty in addressing Hisashi, bothered Takashi a bit.

Hisashi paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts before he coughed and replied. "Yes, you could be the one behind all this... but if you had malicious intent toward us, towards humanity, you would be watching all this hell from somewhere above, somewhere safe, like some evil overlord. Instead of coming here and blocking the stairs to help some high schoolers."

And then he smiled a bit, "And even in the case where it was an accident caused by you. I'm sure you'd also have some way to put an end to this hell... In any case, I'd just like to think that way, that you're our hope. I want to be optimistic... *cough* But still, why are you HERE and why do you know OUR names?"

Arthur hummed as a knowing smile formed on his lips, "As expected of the Main Character of High School Of The Dead world, you are calm and collected even during your last breaths, truly admirable. But it's strange... you weren't supposed to die... I was hired to assist you, you know..."

That was a lie. A lie, that will initiate his plans to break Takashi completely.

Arthur glanced at Hisashi's foot, "Hey, mind if I take your shoes after you turn into one of THEM?"

Hisashi didn't mind Arthur's nonchalant way.

"N—" he was trying to say something before he got interrupted by Rei.

"Noo!" She lashed out at him, "You're wrong! He won't turn into THEM! It was just a bite! Hisashi is different he won't die!"

Hisashi held Rei's shoulder, she stopped her tantrum and looked at him with despaired eyes.

He looked back at Arthur, "You called me 'Main Character', huh? Haha. So, we are in a movie or something? All this really did look like a movie *cough* so what happens now, my turning into THEM can't be stopped *cough* even if I'm— I was the Main Character can it?"

This time he coughed some blood. Rei covered her mouth with her palms as she shook her head, tears overflowing from her eyes. She really wanted to deny this cruel reality.

"You are quick on uptake, Hisashi, your death spoils most of my plans for this mission." Arthur smiled, a bit impressed.

It truly did spoil many of his plans. But all this interaction would form the foundation for what he will be doing next.

Arthur continued. "But, yes, it can't be stopped, even if you are the Main Character. I don't have the ability to stop it from happening. Heck, even I can turn into THEM when bitten. Anyway, after you're one of THEM, a new Main Character will be chosen by the world, I guess, I'll just find him and assist him then. It was good meeting you Hisashi Iguo, soon-to-be the former Main Character and a THEM..." he shrugged.

"No, I don't wa- *cough* I don't want to become THEM!" Hisashi coughed and lowered his voice, and removed his shoes.

"Here, Arthur-san..." He smiled as he set his shoes towards Arthur. He was giving them to him.

Then he gazed at Takashi, who was standing behind Arthur as if in a trance, his eyes were unfocused.

"Takashi, my best friend, could you do me a favor? *cough* *cough* I want you to drop me from there, the impact should crush my skull."

"Noo Noo noo noo!!" Rei chanted as she tightly clung to Hisashi.

"..." Takashi couldn't reply, he was just frozen, frowning in confusion and despair... He was confounded, all of this was too much for him to process.

Being inside some kind of movie... Hisashi was the main character...? What did this guy mean he wasn't supposed to die...? If he wasn't supposed to... then how is he dying right now?

He didn't want him to die. But at the same time, some part of him really wanted him to die.

He was confused.

Arthur interrupted Hisashi's death chats. "Oh, no need for that... If not right now, I may be able to turn all these 'Them—'... You know what? Fuck your conventions, I'm calling THEM, Undeads. So, as I was saying, in the future I might be able to turn you back to normal, so till then I'll be keeping your body in a separate space from this world, you don't mind it, do you? But don't take my word for it... I also might never get that ability."

"I don't know *cough* *cough* what are these abilities you talk about but I'll like to put my trust upon you I'm *cough* *cough* dying anyways, do what you want with *cough* *cough* my bo— bugaahhgh" Hisashi coughed a huge amount of blood and writhed about in pain.

"Don't DIE!!... Hisashi...?" Rei yelled as her eyes widened seeing her boyfriend slump lifelessly.

"You guys just love to yell, don't you..." Arthur scoffed and slouched down, Rei hugged Hisashi more tightly not letting him go. Not wanting, Arthur to take him away from her.

But Arthur picked the shoe. "I wonder if they will fit?" He said as he tied the laces. "A little tight but okay." He smiled.

"You!!" Rei stood up in a frown, "You don't even care that he died, huh? I don't want such a man to wear his shoes, give them back to me, you don't deserve them! I'll take care of his belongings!!" She glared and grabbed the hoodie's collar of a squatted Arthur.

Arthur's eyes turned cold as he looked up at Rei holding his collar, he wasn't liking what she was doing. "He said it, didn't he? That he's giving it to me... these are mine now."

She flinched looking at his eyes, she let go of his collar as she backed away.

Arthur stood up and wiped his hoodie's collar then stared right into her eyes as he tilted his head a bit, "All this info that I dumped on you all, might be a little too much for your brains. I don't know if you believed what I said or not... But know this, I am your sole hope of ever reuniting with a living Hisashi." He patted his hoodie once again.

His eyes were devoid of any gentleness toward her, it was rare for Rei to witness such eyes, she was too accustomed to the gentle and caring eyes of Takashi and Hisashi.

Rei glared at him for calling her boyfriend an undead and mostly because of his disrespectful and unkind behavior towards her before wiping her tears and snot.

No one acted this way toward her, they respected her as her police father's daughter and treated her gently for the cute beauty she was.

But she couldn't say anything to him, Hisashi had said that this guy is the last hope for humanity, and this guy even proposed to turn Hisashi back to normal one day, so she had no choice but to do as he says.

No matter what 'commands' he might give her... She thought.

...

Arthur can't put undeads in his inventory since they have a bare amount of consciousness still awake in them. They can't even pass out. Or Arthur would've loved the idea of exploding sleeping gas throughout the city and bagging each undead in his inventory.

But right before turning into undeads, they do lose all their consciousness for a few moments. It was the state of death. And the state after that was undeath...

Hisashi was in the state of death right now, Arthur touched his head and just then his lifeless body disappeared as if it never even existed.

Takashi's and Rei's jaws dropped at that.

"Now then..." His attitude was back to normal, "What's the most important thing in this kind of world?"

Arthur said as a gun with multiple cylindrical tubes and silverish-grey luster manifested on his arms, it had some kind of blue lights peeking from a transparent chamber.

Rei and Takashi who were already bewildered by the disappearance of Hisashi got even more surprised by the appearance of this big gun.

"Hail Hydra!!" The corner of his lips lifted a bit as cocked the gun.

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