Alexander and his army of vesta didn't take long to return home.

He felt a little tired, meeting that annoying old man, facing his own human and ghoul sides, realising that he needed to face his vesta more earnestly while only a few hours seemed to have passed.

'Why does this sword suddenly feel heavier....' Alex thought, not speaking about the actual weight, but knowing the feelings of Sarah were so intense, so relentless that she carved those markings into the sword; if he had never met old man McAlister Alex might have never known and been rather rude to her.

'Somehow, I'm really tired...'historical

Still not realising that he had spent more than a day inside with Stella, the strange feeling was akin to jet lag, causing his mind to be a little fuzzy and dazed.

To his left was Maria; after feeding all the other vesta, she stuck to him like glue, sometimes trying to attack Stella, not with the intent to kill, but kicking her away or slapping her tits and hiding on the other side of Alex.

While Stella just smiled, looking at Alex, she seemed to ask him to punish her later.

'Maria seems to have become slightly more immature, or rather childish, since becoming a ghoul. Was it her desire for freedom and the strong desire for revenge? Or did the blows to her head cause permanent damage even the ghoulification couldn't fix?' Alex thought while Lapis clung to his right side as a reward.

The girl who won the most was Himari, who had a crystalised blood layer covering her entire body, with only two strange golden eyes that seemed fixated on Alex, peering through the bloody crystals.

'This girl... She's going to be a handful...' Alex believed in his heart.

"Alex? Are you alright?" a voice came from behind him.

Laura's soft voice filled the area like a saintess here to save him.

Currently, it was Alex, Stella, Maria, Lapis and Himari. Behind them further were Mildred, Samantha and Laura, and several metres further back were the various vestas who would attack and eliminate stray zombies on the way back.

"I'm alright; it feels like a week ago that I was here.... a strange feeling."

In all honestly, it was true; since the moment he died or, more accurately, the day he met Mildred, it was like half of him was constantly dreaming, only the more volatile Alex, who mainly acted on instinct rather than using his logical thoughts, was active. Thus some things were quite intense; however, even now, he would not have changed how he was.

'Strangely, Poppy didn't come to the village. Is it because she heard my name? That girl... she's still a little resistant... I love it!' Alex thought, his wicked smile causing the golden eyes to flicker as they watched him, unblinking, unmoving.

Subconsciously, Alex stroked the bloody carapace-like crystals that covered Himari, unaware that her entire body could feel his soft touch, enjoying the sensations of his hands that travelled along her nerves, assaulting her brain.

"Mmmm... it's really strange, the end of the world happened days ago, but since meeting you.... every moment is exciting..." Mildred whispered before holding her hand to her mouth. She didn't want to deny her feelings, but it was embarrassing the moment she heard her words out loud; the looks from Laura and Samantha teasing her didn't help, as she began to walk faster.

The original plan was for Mildred to go ahead; however, due to Himari and the following Claire, who seemed a little apprehensive to follow closely, her small party of vesta now tailing Alex's group. Still, he wished she would stand with them, as his first vesta she was a little too shy, despite being a stage 2 like Maria, her personality was quite different.

'I need to make plans... Who will keep watch? How will we increase everyone's power.... groups to do mercenary work... Where should we make our base...' Alex's mind was more agile now, able to think of more complex thoughts, his thoughts slowly forming as the two girls at his sides began to bicker and fight about who could press their breasts against him the hardest.

"Stupid!"

"Slut!"

Maria got angry, yet each time she tried to land a blow on Lapis, the girl would become like smoke, fading backwards and wrapping around Alex's back, stealing Maria's spot, forcing her to hold onto his right, then mocking her as the cycle repeated.

"Alex....?"

"Mmmm?"

Once again, Laura tried to get his attention; it was strange for most women here because he never seemed to brood over things, just doing them without questions or thoughts. He had only relied on his luck so far to succeed.

Otherwise, it might have been chaotic for him in the past few days; a moment of eureka came to his mind as his eyes returned to a deep emerald colour.

As if just on time, the group entered the road of the Lone Star campus; a small group of 4 vestas with bows stood near the main building, seeming to argue with a group of humans, with two males on the floor dead, impaled by the arrows that Mildred left them with.

"Mildred, Laura, Samantha, take your girls and fix this situation, don't kill them unless you have to. I want to know what's going on within five minutes, or none of you will get to join me on tomorrow's 'hunt' as for what this hunt is, you will find out later, don't let me hear you whining later when you hear what it means. Also, note down the names of 3 girls who performed well; I want one of you to nominate them, whether it was today's fight or when you confront these guys."

"Yes... I will!" Laura replied, her voice a little unconfident and knowing that the tone he spoke to her and Mildred seemed a little different, but there was also more emotion in his eyes when he looked at her; there were feelings of worry and compassion that didn't exist before, now both of them feeling less like burdens or simple meat bags to him.

"Understood.... I'll do my best." Mildred spoke quietly, her green eyes looking back at him several times as she took her group of archers, leaving Laura one step behind, rushing to get Alex's approval again.

Samantha walked past, her hands stroking over his back, ignoring the narrow eyes of Lapis and Maria as she gently kissed his cheek, "I will do my best; please await the good results!"

Now the only person that was left at the gate was Alex, Stella, Lapis and Maria; once the main girls vanished, Claire began to approach, her long brown hair a little messy as she approached Alex, a little apprehensive that she no longer had a place, or meant anything to him—maybe being a simple pawn, she should remain near the mall and make more vesta to win his favour.

However, Alex knew better than anyone else that Claire was much stronger than any of the others; he remembered her fighting alongside him in the battle with the zombies from the beginning, her skill with a spear and her intellect during the battle; he rated her highly and never intended to split apart from her at all.

'The cute little weasel in back, finally.... her cute little ass won't leave again...' Alex thought, turning swiftly as he gently pushed Lapis and Maria away, his hands groping their smooth butts with a slight pat, "Girls go follow the other's if you manage to help, I'll do whatever you want tonight. Okay?" Maria tilted her head, those ruby eyes seeming more intelligent than normal, as she smirked and ran off with a giggle, Lapis nodding and chasing after her like a hunting dog.

She was a woman who could act like an idiot and be serious enough to protect herself and her friends. Claire had made vesta, despite his words not being an order but mostly a joke; Claire achieved his words, no... she exceeded his thoughts and became a stage 2 herself, through sheer determination.

Alex admired and liked Claire, not to the point of love, but he would use anything he could to survive if that meant taking advantage of her crush on him before the end. Then he would do so, only by the end he swore to also fall for her, or at least try to give her that chance and give her equal remuneration.

So instead of sending her away, he gave her something to do.

"Claire, I need you..." Alex stopped his words at this, on purpose, watching with sharp eyes as Claire's eyes began to glow deep red, her body stepping closer rapidly, now only a few steps away, her darting pupils, the slight shake of her arms, really adorable.

"Ah..... really? I thought that...." Her voice was deeper and more persistent than before; the several days she experienced seemed difficult. Thus Alex stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her back and stroking through the tips of her slightly dirty brown hair, noting that finding a method of washing and hygiene was a very important issue.

'Some girls can use water magic.... let's try to find a place where there's a big basin or hole in the ground...'

"Don't think... I never meant to separate from you for so long... On the day of the horde, to be honest... I died once."

He didn't want some annoying drama and told her the truth; the moment he mentioned dying, he spoke about that day from his eyes because the buildings collapsed; Claire had fled way before the huge mutant began launching rocks into the grounds. Thus she had no idea that many of her friends and classmates were crushed and devoured that day.

"How.... sad..." No longer the weak-hearted girl, she couldn't cry as she wanted. However, the pain in her chest caused her lips to tremble while holding onto Alexander's back tightly, pressing her face deep into his chest with a few sniffles.

"Can you stay with me, help me train the other girls to protect themselves? You've seen the horrible side of male and female people. Especially those like Chu Feng, who used strange hypnosis on the women with him, bending their wills completely.

Alex felt like a hypocrite for a moment but then realised that his ghoulification didn't make them love or loyal; it merely made it so they wouldn't hate him extremely or try to harm him. Thus he could take Stella and Mildred's actions with a pinch of salt.

"Mmm.... you mean it... I am still welcome...? Even if Sarah or Amy... came back?" Like a worried little wife, she looked up at him, clearly playing him as Stella, and the other women around looked slightly irritated.

However, Alex didn't mind, finding it amusing himself.

"I need you even if they were already here; only you can use the spear the way I find so beautiful, and only you are in my arms right now."

"Idiot...." Claire tapped his chest, her face slightly red as this bastard used such a cheap and poor compliment, but she couldn't deny it worked a little... telling herself it was because of her changes, it wasn't that she became an easy woman! Never...

Securing Claire was a big step forward for Alex as he began solidifying his plan; the only thing now was to stay on campus or find another place big enough for the 40 people group that would surely grow.

'Come to think of it... what happened to those nice guys who guarded the door? Simon was it... I hope they are doing fine... He was very respectful and helpful... Let's help him in the future, for sure!'

"A...Alex.... your hand...." Claire's slightly embarrassed voice sounded like the squeak of a little mouse.

"Hmmm?" He replied.

"Y...your hand... it's playing with my tits... Mmmm~ please.... not in front of others....!"