Collaboration

Things after the destruction of the Will of Humanity had been pretty tame. Shido's death had put a complete halt to some of the more half-baked indoctrination he'd been up to, along with anyone who held out hope for a potential resurgence.

That did leave Michael to pick up the pieces however, despite his original intentions, he'd ended up getting involved, so he was partly responsible for the people here... Thus, he had to give up some of his supplies to keep the survivors alive until they become self-sufficient...

Of course, he didn't part with anything he actually valued, simply handing over all of the pet food he'd stolen and nothing else. That'd keep them fed for a month or two, at least enough to recover from their ordeals.

Speaking of recovery, he'd also been called upon by Kiriko, Rei, and the rest of Takashi's group to 'Magic up a solution' to the more physically and emotionally damaged survivors. Those that'd been brutally maimed, crippled, had their tongues cut, fingers removed, etc.

Now, while he wasn't a psychologist, he could help them physically, via Cold Embrace. It also helped to show just where its limits started and ended. It could push a bullet from Takashi's chest, heal fingers, tongues, even those unfortunate guys who'd been castrated by those who'd ruled over them.

What it could not do, was heal full limbs like arms and legs, though... Michael wasn't sure if this was because their wounds had already scarred over and 'recovered', or if it was just a basic limitation of the spell. Could it heal full limbs if the spell was cast immediately after the injury? Or would he need to place the severed limb against the stump for something like that to work...

Unfortunately, he'd not find out anytime soon, as most of the douchebags in the region had either already been killed, or fled once Shido was executed.

Takashi's group had been 'alright' since the battle, they'd ended up missing the evacuation which may or may not has held some of their family, and no one really knew where the evacuation was going, so they were basically stuck in the city.

Their problems didn't end there however, as due to their actions of basically freeing everyone from Shido, they'd been unanimously elected as the leaders of the surviving group, with Takashi at the head of it all.

They'd tried the same with Michael of course, but he flatly rejected them, having no compunction to ditching them all then and there if they pressed the issue... Besides, he still had zombies to hunt, so he couldn't waste any more time babysitting than he already was.

Two days after the battle, the group was presented with an ultimatum. There were three options that they could choose from, but they could only really pick one.

The first was, to take the group and join up with Saya's parents at the Takagi estate, assimilating the groups together, relinquishing most of their control and hoping for the best.

The second is simply to pick up all of their shit and leave the city in hopes of finding where the Japanese military had set up. This was a hail mary, to be frank, as the radios were only giving out brief bits of information. The reason for this was obvious, the military feared that survivors may attempt to raid them for supplies and weapons. It was dangerous for them to simply invite everyone and anyone to their base of operations. Plus, anyone who'd survived thus far would either be fine on their own or so ruthless that this new world suited them.

Lastly, the third option was to simply set up shop somewhere in the city and attempt to make new lives for themselves. Set up walls, farms, etc. Everything you'd expect a medieval civilisation to have... It wasn't far off either, as the Nuke had destroyed most working electronics anyway.

Michael didn't have a horse in any race, to be honest, he was leaving soon enough and would probably not visit again anytime soon. Not unless he direly needed some EXP. But, even then, the zombies were giving increasingly low amounts of it, so he'd need to find a new world to farm it anyway.

"So, our great and luminous leader! What have you decided?" Michael sarcastically asks Takashi while he props his legs up on the nearby table and chews on a bag of crisps... They were sadly salt and vinegar, he couldn't find any prawn cocktail ones in Japan...

Takashi hums in thought, ignoring Michael for the moment. They weren't really friends, maybe just acquaintances, they were too different to truly find common ground between one another, especially Michael's casual disregard for their situation...

Instead, he glances around the room at the original members of his group. Saya, Saeko, Kohta, Rei, and their new addition, Kiriko, Rei's mother. Shizuka was absent, as she was looking after some of the more emotionally damaged folks. "I'd say we go to the Takagi estate but most of the people who'd lived under Shido don't trust them... I can't blame them either, after what they went through." he mutters, sending a guilty look to Kiriko, the fact that he hadn't killed Shido when he first saw him and when Rei requested it weighed on him heavily.

Saya leans back and crosses her arms, "It wouldn't be a good decision either. My parents plan to take back Japan by force, which means fighting every group that resists them to death. They are nationalists through and through, and won't care about what you've been through before sending you off to fight... They'll use the people here like cannon fodder." she harshly states.

"Well, we can't just go wandering in search for help. Michael-san helped get rid of most of the zombies in the area, but if we leave we'll have to fight constantly to get anywhere. It's not worth the risk... I say we stay here and wait for the military to do their jobs." Kohta adds from the side.