— — — — — —
Black Bullet World
Late at night.
Inside a single house, a group of young girls were chattering non-stop, their voices filled with excitement.
Clearly, they were still hyped up and overjoyed.
"Lord Lynn must be an angel!"
"No, he's a Devil! A Devil!"
"That's right! Angels never came to save us!"
"Then he must be a god!"
"I told you, he's a Devil! A Devil!"
"Uh… the Devil of kindness?"
"Ah! He should be treated like a god!"
"It's decided! When I grow up, I'm going to become Lord Lynn's shrine maiden!"
"W-What?! Only I can be Lord Lynn's shrine maiden!"
"Hey! Stop arguing! We're all Lord Lynn's—"
"Yay!!"
After their heated debate, their excitement finally settled, and one by one, they drifted off to sleep.
— — —
The Next Morning
At dawn, the Cursed Children woke up early.
Even though they were only around ten years old, their harsh lives had forced them to mature quickly.
Lynn had not only taken them in but had also turned them into Devils, completely removing the curse of the Gastrea virus.
To them, Lynn was their god!
They had made up their minds—they would repay Lynn!
So, they eagerly waited for him to give them something to do.
Seeing their anticipation, Lynn chuckled.
He didn't reject them.
They needed a sense of purpose, a way to prove their worth.
Only then would they feel truly needed.
"Alright, then. I'll leave the mission of bringing back your fellow Cursed Children to you."
"Yes!!" x13
— — —
Outer Area
Tamako Nishida arrived at an abandoned sewer entrance.
She crouched down and knocked rhythmically on the manhole cover.
A moment later, a small head cautiously peeked out.
A worn-out hat sat atop her head, her white hair messy and dirt-streaked.
Her thin eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her purple eyes carried a hint of nervousness.
When she saw it was Tamako Nishida, she finally let out a breath of relief.
Her voice was weak.
"Ta-Tamako… you're back…"
"Midori-chan! I brought good news!"
"Huh…? R-Really?"
Fuse Midori quickly stepped aside. "Come in, quick!"
Tamako nodded and slipped into the sewer entrance with practiced ease.
She sighed inwardly—her new clothes were going to pick up the smell again.
After steadying herself, she looked around at her companions inside the underground hideout.
This was just a small shelter. Including herself, there were only—
They all turned to her with eyes full of hope.
Tamako didn't disappoint them.
"Everyone, listen up!"
"Our savior has arrived!!"
---
Meanwhile
Similar scenes were unfolding at twelve other hideouts.
After a short while…
Thanks to the efforts of the first group of Cursed Children, the rest—though hesitant, anxious, and skeptical—
Ultimately chose to trust their companions who had shared their struggles.
One by one, they prepared to leave their wet, suffocating underground homes—And head toward the shelter created by the so-called "god" their friends spoke of.
In the central zone, where all the hideouts connected, two military-green trucks were parked.
Busujima Saeko leaned against one of them, keeping a sharp eye on her surroundings.
The Outer Area wasn't safe.
Gastrea creatures roamed the area, often attacking the Cursed Children.
According to the first group's reports, they would be transporting a total of 113 children this time.
A migration of this scale—if they ran into Gastrea—could easily cause panic.
As long as they didn't encounter anything too high-level, Saeko could handle it.
Yeah… as long as it wasn't a Stage IV Gastrea, she could kill it while ensuring the children's safety.
"They're here."
Suddenly, Saeko spoke up, her gaze locking on Tamako Nishida, who was waving at her from a distance.
She smiled slightly.
"They've arrived?"
On the other truck, Marikawa Shizuka jumped down and started scanning the area.
"Mhm."
Actually, Lynn assigned this mission to Busujima Saeko and Marikawa Shizuka because they were the only two in his Familia who could drive.
When Lynn found this out, he was speechless.
Without hesitation, he urged the others to practice their driving skills.
Of course—If they could master teleportation via Magic Circles, that would be a different story.
Not to mention—If they could actually learn it, it would make transporting the Cursed Children way easier.
In the end, he still decided to leave the mission to his Familia and not take action himself. After all, if he had to do everything, what was the point of having a Familia?
---
"Saeko-neesan! Shizuka-neesan!"
Tamako led thirteen little girls in an energetic march toward them.
Saeko greeted them with a gentle smile and said, "Go wait in the truck first. You're the first group to arrive."
The Cursed Children behind Tamako exchanged uneasy glances.
They were nervous, their eyes darting around as they avoided looking at Saeko directly.
One of them even shrank back, as if trying to make herself invisible.
After a brief pause—With Tamako's reassurance and guidance—They finally climbed into the truck.
Before long—The second, third, and fourth waves of children arrived without issue.
Everything was going smoothly.
Until the fifth group showed up.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Leading a group of Cursed Children, Moriko Noda suddenly cried out in alarm.
Crack
A faint tremor spread beneath their feet.
It felt like something was moving underground.
The next second!
A massive monster burst out from the ground behind the children!
"Ahhh!"
The sudden attack sent the last girl in line tumbling to the ground.
When this girl turned back, her face frozen in terror.
What she saw—Was a monstrous creature that looked like a hybrid of a centipede and a spider.
It had no visible facial features—Only a massive, vertical mouth lined with three rows of zigzagged fangs.
Sssshhh—
A faint, poisonous mist seeped from its abdomen.
"This is bad!!"
---
Inside the truck
The children who had already boarded screamed at the scene unfolding before them.
Their hearts sank.
"We're… We're going to die!"
"What do we do?! What do we do?!"
"We need to help her!"
All the Cursed Children were overwhelmed by fear—And the pain of knowing one of their own was in danger.
But just as despair crept in—
Saeko drew her sword.
She raised the blade—And swung in the direction of the Gastrea creature!
SHZZZ—!
A brilliant white slash cut through the air—Slicing toward the monster at an incredible speed!
The Gastrea had no time to react.
The blade cleaved through its tough exoskeleton like paper. The sound of flesh tearing filled the air.
BOOM!
The creature's upper body was severed clean in half—
And crashed onto the ground!
"Huh?"
The Cursed Children stared in shock.
A stunned silence filled the truck.
Then—
"That… That was so cool!!"
A small voice whispered in awe.
Noda Moriko blinked in surprise—Before quickly snapping back to reality.
"What are you all standing around for?! Move!"
The others snapped out of it, immediately grabbing the fallen girl and sprinting forward.
"It's not dead yet!"
Moriko, well aware of Gastrea biology, shouted out a warning.
Saeko's eyes narrowed.
Sure enough—despite having its upper body severed—the creature's lower half remained standing.
From the exposed wound, dark, writhing masses of flesh squirmed, desperately attempting to regenerate.
"The core, huh?"
Saeko's sharp gaze scanned the creature's body—But she couldn't immediately spot the core.
"Oh well…"
"If I can't find it…"
"I'll just keep slicing until I do."
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Saeko's sword flashed through the air several more times.
The spider-like Gastrea was dismembered—Its body parts scattering across the ground.
"Oh… There it is."
After reducing the monster to minced meat, Saeko finally spotted its core.
She wasted no words—And destroyed it instantly.
Then, she sheathed her sword—And turned to the children with a gentle smile.
"No need to worry, you're safe."
.
.
.