Anime Crossover: Post-Apocalyptic Survival, My Stand is the World

but……

Uncontrollably, the feeling of powerlessness she had felt when time stood still flashed through her mind.

I recalled the golden giant, and the absolute, undeniable power he displayed when he punched the shadow monster into nothingness.

as well as……

The man whispered those words in her ear, words that filled her with shame and rage.

He was like an omniscient and omnipotent demon king, manipulating all her pride, pretense, and even the frequency of her heartbeat.

Faced with such an existence...

What does one's own pride matter?

Perhaps, this is the only truth in this crumbling world—

Power determines everything.

Just as she was struggling to the extreme, a soft and cool little hand gently tugged at the hem of her clothes.

It's Eriri.

The blonde girl's face had long lost its usual arrogance, leaving only the purest desire to survive.

"Shiyu..."

Her voice was soft, with a hint of pleading.

"I want to...live."

These words, like the softest feather, became the final straw that broke the scales of pride in Kasumigaoka Utaha's heart.

Yes.

live.

Only by surviving can one have the right to talk about pride and the future.

She slowly took a deep breath, as if using all her strength.

Then, she raised her head, her beautiful wine-red eyes filled with complex emotions, and looked at the man who had been calmly waiting for her answer.

"us……"

Her voice carried a subtle hoarseness and a hint of compromise.

"Come with you."

After saying that, she felt as if all her strength had been drained away, but at the same time, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

“But,” she added, this was her last act of defiance, “I need to know your name. A real name.”

Su Chen smiled.

He laughed like a child who had just received a favorite toy.

"Su Chen."

He looked at the senior student with long, straight black hair in front of him and declared, word by word.

"Your future support."

Chapter Ten: Return

dusk.

The setting sun, like blood, stained the desolate city with an even more melancholic hue.

Su Chen carried Eriri, who had injured her ankle, on his back as they walked through the abandoned streets.

His steps were steady, his breathing even, as if he were carrying a petite and soft girl on his back, as light as a feather.

Kasumigaoka Utaha followed beside him, holding her treasured backpack containing her laptop.

This is her only "possession".

All the way, Eriri lay on Su Chen's broad back, her little face flushed, barely daring to breathe.

This was the first time in her life that she had such close contact with a boy.

The reassuring masculine scent emanating from him, mixed with a faint soapy fragrance, kept wafting into her nostrils, leaving her mind blank. She didn't dare to look up at the sharply defined profile so close to her.

Meanwhile, Kasumigaoka Utaha had been observing Su Chen discreetly.

This man was like a thick, mysterious book written in an unknown language, completely beyond her comprehension.

He always manages to change his route at the intersection before the monsters appear.

His range of perception seemed unbelievably vast.

Several times, Shiyu clearly saw a black mud monster sluggishly wandering past the street corner they had just turned.

This incredibly precise and effortless ability to evade attacks made Kasumigaoka Utaha feel even more uneasy than his previous devastating punch.

This means that he not only possesses the power to "destroy," but also the absolute wisdom and perception to "control" the situation.

Following him might actually be the best choice.

……

When the familiar stadium building reappeared in view, it was already completely dark.

"We're back."

Su Chen's voice broke the silence in the stadium.

The heavy iron gate was slowly pulled open from the inside.

"Su Chen!"

A beautiful figure, filled with surprise and relief, was the first to rush out.

It was Yuigahama Yui.

When she saw Su Chen return unharmed, and even bring back two survivors, a bright smile instantly bloomed on her face.

"Thank goodness! You're all alright!"

However, when her gaze fell on the blonde girl with twin ponytails on Su Chen's back, and the aloof, long-haired senior with black hair beside Su Chen, her smile faltered slightly.

What a beautiful girl!

A strange sense of crisis, which she herself couldn't quite understand, quietly rose within her.

Following closely behind was Yukino Yukinoshita.

Her expression remained unchanged, that same icy demeanor.

But when she saw Eriri on Su Chen's back, and Kasumigaoka Utaha wearing the same school uniform as herself from Toyonosaki Academy, a barely perceptible ripple still flashed in her icy blue eyes.

Her gaze did not linger on the two new girls for long.

Instead, it was like the most sophisticated radar, silently scanning back and forth between Su Chen and Kasumigaoka Utaha.

The atmosphere became somewhat subtle at that moment.

On one side are the "old" team members with whom a preliminary relationship of trust has been established.

On the other side are the "new" team members who have just been rescued by a hero and whose relationship is still in an ambiguous stage.

Two different auras quietly collided in this small open space in front of the stadium.

An invisible battleground, a battlefield between girls, has begun.

"cough."

Su Chen coughed lightly, breaking the eerie silence.

He carefully put Eriri down from his back, helped her lean against the wall, and then introduced her to Yukino and Yui:

"This is Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai, and this is Sawamura Spencer Eriri-san. They are both students at Toyonosaki Academy and are the new companions I brought back this time."

Then, he said to Utaha and Eriri:

"This is Yukino Yukinoshita, and this is Yui Yuigahama. They are now the mascots of this shelter."

"Hey! Who's the mascot?!" Yui protested, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Yukino.

Yukino stepped forward, looking directly at Kasumigaoka Utaha, and formally extended her hand.

"Hello, Kasumigaoka-kun. I'm Yukino Yukinoshita, and I'm in charge of supplies management and personnel allocation here. Welcome to the team."

"Hello, Yukinoshita-san." Kasumigaoka Utaha also extended her hand and shook it lightly, a polite smile playing on her lips. "It seems I'll be troubling you more in the future."

Two equally intelligent, proud, and outstanding girls, in the instant their eyes met, both read a complex message in each other's eyes: "kindred spirits" and "rivals."

"Okay, let's go in and talk."

Su Chen interrupted the silent confrontation and walked into the stadium first.

He briefly explained the rescue process to Yukino, and emphasized the talents of Utaha and Eriri.

"Kasumigaoka-senpai is a well-known new writer with extremely strong observation and logical analysis skills. Eriri is a moderately famous doujinshi artist who can accurately reproduce the forms of the monsters we encounter."

“Writers and illustrators?” Yukino raised an eyebrow slightly.

In the apocalypse, this sounds like the most useless profession.

But she was clever and immediately understood what Su Chen meant.

“I understand.” She nodded. “The recording and analysis of intelligence is indeed the area we are most lacking right now.”

She is a person who prioritizes the big picture.

Although she was a little unaccustomed to Kasumigaoka Utaha's sharp tongue and Eriri's tsundere attitude, she quickly arranged a place for them to rest and the only food they had.

A small welcome dinner (compressed biscuits and bottled water) was held in a corner of the stadium.

With Su Chen, the absolute core figure, keeping things in order, the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

The girls began their first cautious, familial interaction in this apocalyptic world.

……

late at night.

Everyone has gone to bed.

Inside the stadium, only the occasional crackling sound of the burning campfire could be heard.

Su Chen remained seated cross-legged at the doorway, continuing his unwavering cultivation.

A faint, almost inaudible sound of footsteps came from behind him.

He didn't turn around, but he knew who it was.

"Aren't you going to sleep, Kasumigaoka-senpai?"

"I can't sleep until I've figured out whether I'm sleeping in a 'safe haven' or a 'demon's lair'."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice carried a hint of the coolness unique to the night.

She walked over to Su Chen and, imitating him, sat down cross-legged.

She handed me a thermos filled with warm water.

"Thank you." Su Chen took it, but didn't drink it.

The two fell silent.

The firelight danced on their young faces, casting flickering shadows.

After a long while, Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed to have made up her mind and asked softly:

"Su Chenjun".

"Ok?"

"Your ability to stop time..."

Her voice trembled slightly, carrying a mixture of fear, curiosity, and fervent curiosity.

"Could you... let me see it one more time?"

She raised her head, and her beautiful wine-red eyes shone brightly in the firelight.