A detailed explanation

An hour has passed—maybe more, Yuto couldn’t really tell anymore—after he finished the meal brought in by a strange-looking attendant.

He lay back on the bed, resting peacefully and quietly, when a small group of people in an all gray uniform entered the room. None of them spoke much. One of them simply gestured for him to follow.

Yuto hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded and got up. He followed them out of the room, unsure of where they were taking him. Strangely, as he walked, he noticed something odd—his body no longer ached. At all.

The pain that had been weighing him down earlier was completely gone.

Then, after a short walk through a well-lit hallway, they stopped in front of another door and gestured for him to go inside.

When he opened it, he blinked in surprise.

It was just a bathroom.

“…A bath?” he muttered.

They nodded once and left him there.

Yuto stepped inside and started removing his bandages one by one. Once he was done, he entered the shower and turned on the water...

As he bathed, memories from his time in the university building began to surface—the zombies, the fire, the smoke, the strange vision with a fallen angel, the building nearly collapsing with him inside, the heat against his skin. His breathing and heart rate instantly became uneven, and he clenched his fists around the shower aluminum pipe, letting the water pour over his head.

“…I think that’s enough,” he whispered to himself.

He turned off the shower water sooner than he had planned and stepped out, grabbing a towel to dry himself. Afterward, he put on the clean clothes that had been left there for him—a black hoodie and black jeans.

Once dressed, he stopped in front of a nearby mirror and stared at his reflection for a long time.

The yuto looking back at him felt… different...

“Don’t worry, it looks good on you.”

He turned his head toward the entrance of the bathroom and saw Chihiro standing there.

“Chihiro…?”

“You’re recovering faster than expected,” she said, walking up behind him in the mirror. “That’s not normal.”

Yuto frowned his eyebrows a little bit, watching her carefully...

“There’s no need to be so tense,” Chihiro explained after noticing his facial expression. “None of us here is normal.”

“…What do you mean?” Yuto asked.

She cleared her throat and placed her hands behind her back, straightening her posture. “Come with me, Yuto. There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

Without waiting for a response, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

“What–Wait,” Yuto said, hurrying after her...

He caught up quickly, walking beside her as they moved down the well-lit hallway. “Where are we going?” he asked briefly. “Is this about Akira-sama… the one Hana mentioned?”

Chihiro glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “Hmm. You’re already using her first name.”

“No, it's not...she told me to call her that,” Yuto replied quickly.

“I know,” Chihiro said, with a little smile on her face. “I’m just messing with you.”

Yuto immediately noticed that she was using the teasing as a way to change the topic, so he decided to ask again...

“You still haven’t answered me.”

“Hm.” Chihiro kept her eyes forward and retained her pace.

“You’re dodging it,” Yuto said, reaching out and briefly grabbing her shoulder before quickly letting go. “I’m sorry.”

She slowed her steps and glanced back at him before facing forward again.

“Some questions,” Chihiro said at last, still retaining her calmness, “are better answered by the one responsible.”

“Responsible for what?” Yuto asked, with a frustrated look on his face. He was getting tired of all the suspense.

Chihiro stopped walking a few steps ahead of him.

She then stepped aside and gestured forward. 

“We’re already here.”

Then he saw it, vividly.

Right in front of him stood a massive traditional Japanese wooden door. The doorframe was far taller than any normal door should be.

Chihiro slid it open and stepped inside. After a brief moment of hesitation, Yuto followed her lead.

The moment he entered, his eyes widened...not from shock, or anything like that...but from relief. 

It was a tatami room...

But at the far end of the tatami room sat a woman—a very beautiful woman. No, unbelievably beautiful—perhaps the most beautiful woman Yuto had ever seen in his entire life. She was easily twelve feet tall, dressed in a loose yukata that wrapped naturally over her massive body figure.

Despite her massive size, her composure was calm, relaxed and almost motherly—as she sat on the wooden floor.

Beside her was the same little girl who had called out to Chihiro when he first woke up...

The beautiful woman gently played with her, moving a little floating toy back and forth as the girl giggled in excitement.

The scene felt… wholesome and peaceful, compared to everything Yuto had witnessed and experienced since the start of the zombie apocalypse.

Then...

The little girl noticed him.

She turned her head, her eyes lighting up as she pointed straight at him...

“Ah!” she exclaimed. “The sick oni-san!”

Yuto stiffened up, his mouth opening slightly.

“S-sick… o-oni?”

Chihiro let out a small sigh and rubbed her forehead. “Hina, please don’t call him that.”

“But he was sick,” the little girl protested, tilting her head. “And he looked very scary back then.”

“Hina, that's enough.”

The little girl’s lower lip started trembling...

Then—

“Waaah!”

She burst into tears, rubbing her eyes dramatically as she turned around, and hugged the beautiful woman.

“Akira oka-san! Chihiro onee-chan is bullying me!”

Chihiro froze mid-step. “I’m not—!”

Yuto stood there awkwardly, completely at a loss for words, his eyes moving between the crying little girl and Chihiro, who was standing beside him.

The beautiful woman let out a soft sigh. Her expression was gentle as she reached out and lifted Hina up with ease, settling the little girl onto her massive lap.

“There, there, don't cry,” she said slowly, patting little Hina's head. “You’re not being bullied, Hina.”

Hina sniffed twice...

“But Chihiro nee Chan was being mean,” she murmured.

Chihiro clicked her tongue, crossing her arms on her chest. “I just told you to stop calling him sick oni-san.”

Then the beautiful woman’s golden eyes looked at Yuto.

“So,” she said, her voice was loud yet soft and feminine, filling the entire tatami room without effort, “you’re awake at last.”

Yuto swallowed twice...

“Yes… ma’am."

"And thank you… all of you, for your help and care. Without it, I wouldn’t be here today.” He bowed his head in sincerity.

“It’s okay, child,” she said, smiling, adjusting her yukata. “There’s no need to be formal with me. Speak your mind—I’m sure you came here hoping for answers.”

Yuto blinked once, before clearing his throat...

“I… I…” He hesitated, searching for the right words. His hands were clenched at his sides, then loosened again. “I don’t even know where to start…”

The woman’s golden eyes slightly softened as she kept staring at Yuto.

“Start wherever you like,” she said calmly. “I can answer whatever you need to know.”

“What are you?” Yuto asked confidently... I mean, it was obvious he had to ask—who wouldn’t, standing in front of a twelve-foot-tall woman?

“And… what is this place? Who are you people?”

The woman smiled. “Yuto, how much do you know about the zombie apocalypse?”

Yuto blinked twice, caught off guard by the sudden change of topic... For a moment, he hesitated, but then decided it was better to answer first and let her explain—people often reveal more when they tell the stories themselves.

“To be honest…” He let out a very short and frustrated laugh. “I know nothing.”

The woman nodded slowly, her golden eyes were studying his gestures carefully.

“I see,” she softly said. “Then I suppose it’s my responsibility to fill in the intellectual gaps.”

She shifted slightly, placing little Hina, who was already fast asleep on her lap, onto the tatami floor... The floor creaked under the weight of her movement. Then she gestured for Yuto and Chihiro to sit across from her...

“You see, Yuto Sato,” she began slowly, “from my height difference, you can tell that I am not a normal human being. And yes—you are right.”

She stared into his eyes directly.

“I am an angel. An archangel... ”

Yuto’s eyes widened...

“I was sent to Earth alongside three other angels to deliver a Divine message to the people of your world. However, we were deceived by those who govern it.”

Her fingers tightened slightly against her teacup. “We were captured.”

Her voice was a bit shaky, as she explained.

“They severed our angelic wings—the source of most of our power, and the means by which we return to Heaven... Of the four of us, I was the only one who escaped.”

She looked down briefly...

“With only one wing remaining, I fled… and came here.”

She lifted a ceramic cup and took a slow sip of the green tea inside, before continuing to speak.

“Because I am an angel, I was able to adapt—to learn your language, your customs. I have remained in this country since 1985.”

The tatami room was quiet, as she kept explaining.

“I’m sure you’re wondering how all of this led to what you humans call the zombie apocalypse,” she said at last, after noticing Yuto's eager looks. “The answer is simple.”

Her golden eyes glowed brighter...

“My captured brothers are the cause.”

Yuto’s eyes widened.

“Your government has been using their life force,” Akira-sama continued. “For experiments. As weapons. And most of all…”

She paused for a second.

“As a power source—an unlimited one.”

Yuto felt a chill run through him.

“Angels possess an immense amount of radiation,” she explained. “Not the kind you understand. Ours is pure—ancient, sentient, divine. Until recently, we angels did not know how it would react when exposed directly to humans. That is why we angels were never meant to fully interact with your kind.”

Her voice got low at the next sentence.

“But when our wings were cut off, some of that energy was released into the world.”

She looked straight at Yuto.

“It awakened what had long been sealed away—humanity’s animalistic instincts, its sin, its hunger.”

“And thus… the zombie apocalypse known to you began.”

Sigh... "Any questions?"

Yuto stayed quiet for several minutes, letting her words and information sink in. Then he finally spoke up.

“You said angels give off radiation, right?” he asked carefully. “Then… how are we not affected by yours?”

Akira Sama's eyes slightly softened.

“Because I am incomplete,” she answered. “I only have one wing.”

She lowered her eyes to her side.

“An angel’s divine radiation is stabilized by the balance of both wings. With only one remaining, the output is greatly reduced—low enough that it no longer harms humans. That is also why I cannot use my full power.”

Yuto nodded slowly, absorbing that.

Then he lifted his hand and pointed toward Chihiro.

“And her?” he asked. “Are angels able to share their powers? I saw her use something that looked like magic—to communicate.”

Chihiro stiffened slightly, but Akira-sama spoke before she could.

“Yes,” Akira-sama replied. “Angels can grant fragments of their power and abilities to others. Not freely—and not without limits.”

She looked at Chihiro...

“What she used was not magic as humans define it. It was a divine technique—communication through authority.”

Chihiro exhaled, as Akira sama kept talking...

“Sharing power always comes at a cost,” she continued. “The human body cannot fully contain divine energy. What Chihiro carries is a controlled fragment—nothing more."

Yuto lowered his hand, and his expression became a little stiff.

“So… if someone took too much,” he said, “they’d—”

“They would lose themselves—becoming corrupted,” Akira-sama finished. “Or die.”

“Hav....”

Before Yuto could finish what he was about to say, she spoke out again, cutting him off.

“Yuto,” Akira-sama asked calmly, her golden eyes fixed on him, “Is this your first time speaking with an angel?”

Yuto froze up....

His breathing stopped for just a fraction of a second.

Angel...

The word echoed in his head.

Of course, it wasn’t his first time. He had already spoken to an angel—no, a fallen one. Morpheous. A fallen archangel. The embodiment of wrath itself… and he had accepted his offer.

Damn.

And from everything he’d learned through novels, movies, and anime, one thing was clear... angels and fallen angels do not get along..

So he lied.

“Yes,” Yuto quickly answered the question. “It is my first time. Why do you ask?”