Thud. Thud. Thud. 

Stephen woke up. He was at the back of the bus. It was like nothing had changed. He moved his fingers, curled his toes, blinked a few times, and even scrunched his nose. There wasn’t any blood pooling out of his orifices either. Everything worked just fine.

A small hand appeared in front of Stephen’s gaze. It shook back and forth rapidly. 

“Hello!” Sophia's voice echoed out. 

He turned towards her.

“Hell, hello.” She blushed, “Y-you were gone for a second?”

“A second?”

“J-just a moment…” She waved her arms back and forth, “I didn’t do… anything… yet…”

“I see.” An uncomfortable feeling remained in Stephen’s mind. He couldn’t recall what happened, or rather every time he tried to recall what happened it felt like something was blocking him from doing so. 

“Tsk. If I had known you two would flirt, I wouldn’t have sat back here.”

“Haha. We can move to the front, you know?”

“Do it?” Sophia glared at the two men. 

“Fuck you if you think I’m moving.” Alex pushed his knees further into the seat in front of his own. 

Thud. Thud. Thud. 

The bus seemed to bounce up and down as it crashed into an incoming horde. Looking out the back, it was apparent that the numbers being drawn to them were growing. 

In the distance, dozens upon dozens of them could be seen chasing after them. Luckily, they were slower than the bus. However, the cacophony of their shrieks and growls mixed in with the irregular clunking of the road kill was not pleasant. The heavy thudding was something that Stephen quickly got used to; it was just a loud clunking sound. 

It was the softer sounds that could be heard underneath: the plops and the cracks. Occasionally, the spinning of a tire could be heard eviscerating some carcass. The worse was if the thing was still alive, groaning in the process. While the tires never got stuck, the bus did stutter at times.

“How revolting…” With a wrinkled face, Sophia gave off the impression of being offended only to nuzzle her face into Stephen’s shoulder. 

At the same time, Mel would turn to look at everyone in the back. Her usual cold face was distorted by slightly puffy cheeks. It was like she was pouting.

Stephen ignored her sour look and instead looked at the bridge in the distance. They were almost in the home stretch. 

Feeling like it was appropriate to discuss things going forward, he gestured for Mel to come to the back of the bus. She stood up and almost immediately fell face first into the ground.  

She avoided such a fate by catching herself on the adjacent seats. 

“If you fall on your ass, it's your own fault for moving while I’m driving.” Mr. Lee watched Mel's movement with one eye, yawning between his breaths. Still, for a brief moment, there was noticeably no swerving. 

Mel patted her clothes down and sat in the seat diagonal of Alex, which was also the seat that was directly in front of Gawain.

“W-what a party without me!” Ravenna slurred her voice as she was about to wobble over. She started to hiccup uncontrollably. 

The bus swerved and Ravenna crashed to the floor. She was unable to catch herself like Mel. Her chin smacked the ground, causing tears to well up in her eyes

“Hey, puke breath, sit your ass back down,” Alex shouted at her. Stephen was sure he was going to actually kick her if she got close. They could smell the heavy scent of her drink even from the back of the bus.

“Oh, o-okay.” Ravenna rubbed her chin and crawled back to the window and began to puke some more. 

“Haha. I suppose everyone wants to hear my story then…” Gawain looked at everyone in order. He played with the bangs of his hair awkwardly before clearing his throat. “Well, there isn’t much to say. The big one was chasing me, and then when I got cornered, I just heard a laugh… like from a small child… and then the boss as well as the other zombies just left me alone. Haha!”

Stephen expected Alex to say something. Maybe call Gawain stupid or something, but he just sat there silently to himself with a frown. 

Stephen cleared his throat,“ I heard it as well.” 

“Are you sure you guys aren’t drunk? Wait, have you guys been stealing my booze?” Ravenna spoke loudly from several seats away. Apparently, she was still listening in on the conversation. 

“I didn’t hear anything,” Mel’s voice was quiet. 

Stephen turned to Sophia. Her ears twitched and she looked back at Stephen with hesitation. 

“I h-heard it… too.”

“Hmph. I actually heard it, unlike this lying bitch,” Alex scoffed. 

“Grrr.”

“What are you in heat or something? Can’t you speak for yourself?”

The two glared daggers at one another. 

Gawain’s expression darkened, but as he was about to say something, the drunk interrupted.

“So, some skank is trying to steal our men!” She shouted loudly out the window. The upper half of her body was hung over the window. 

‘She isn’t going to fall out, is she?’

“Wait… I see something… what are they… they look like weird flying rats. Rats with wings?”

“They are called bats, dumb ass,” Alex rebuked her. His mood was even more sour than usual.

“Stop the bus!” Gawain shouted loudly. His body began to shake.

‘What is it now…’ Stephen couldn’t help, but sigh. ‘We are almost there…’

“Huh,” Mr. Lee, who already had an ear towards the conversation, turned his head around. He didn’t even look at the road as he swerved to hit something. 

“We have to stop, now!” Panic filled Gawain’s voice. He stood up and began making his way to the front of the bus. He steadied himself with his hands, moving them between the seats as he moved forward.

Without even looking ahead, Mr. Lee slammed onto the brakes.  

“Just cause I like you, kid.”

The tires screeched for a good few seconds before things grew quiet.

Instantly, that silence was broken by a sudden and loud crash.

However, Mr. Lee was the only one who was able to keep head straight, so no one saw what made the noise. Stephen, Mel, Alex, and Sophia all experienced their faces being squished against the seat in front of them. At least, it was cushioned. 

Groans filled the bus. For a moment, it had felt like all four wheels of the bus had left the ground.

“I’m falling..? Wait, I’m really falling!” Ravenna shouted. 

Gawain pulled her back in with one hand. He collapsed into the seat afterwards and took a deep breath. He was standing when the bus stopped. His head had slammed into the ground. A little bit of blood could be seen on his lips. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Stephen saw Gawain had locked his arms around the metal legs of two chairs when he hit the ground. If he hadn’t awakened his powers, bolstering the strength of his body, he probably would have flown out the window. 

“Fuck.” Alex rubbed his nose and glared at Gawain.

Mr. Lee cackled and gave a whistle, “Hahaha, well I’ll be damned.”

Stephen looked out the front window. There was a woman, probably a bit more mature than the students and himself. She was standing in the middle of the road. 

A massive crater appeared under her feet, and within her hands was a massive hammer that was larger than herself. The large head of the weapon rested behind her own head. 

“So, I missed.” She stretched out her arms and then rested her weapon on the ground. 

Stephen looked out the side windows. They were about halfway across the bridge leading into the downtown area of Hammer Port. There weren’t any obstacles in the road. It was completely clear, except for the woman and a pack of ghoulish looking creatures.

“Are you going to come out?” She twirled the hammer in one hand, while her other hand scratched the underside of one of the creatures. She was treating it like a dog.

Gawain turned to Ravenna, “Give me that new bottle; the red one.”

“Just this once.” She whined a little, but surprisingly she handed it over without a fuss. 

However, she pulled it from her clothes.

Gawain hesitated, looking like he didn’t want to touch the bottle. 

“I kept it nice and warm,” Ravenna licked her lips.

“Ugh…” Gawain picked it up with the tip of two of his fingers. Stephen followed him out of the bus. The rest followed shortly after. 

“Ah, so you all came.”

“Here, an offering.” Gawain threw the bottle towards the woman. It was the blood wine that the party had gotten from the dungeon. 

“Sorry darling, I might only be Number Four, but I don’t drink cheap swill.”

The bottle smashed into the floor.

“No…” Gawain covered Ravenna’s mouth until her muffled cries slowly came to a halt. In the silence, sweat built on Stephen’s skin. Yet, despite the heaviness, he felt like he could move his body just fine. 

“But…” She licked her red lips, “You look quite sweet boy.” Her eyes lingered on the dried blood on Gawain’s mouth.

Stephen couldn’t help but think the woman was enchanting. Was it magic or some mesmerizing effect? The woman had crimson red eyes, lighter than the maroon of Sophia’s eyes. The color matched the woman’s lips, while it stood in contrast to the woman’s light green hair.

Her hair had a wavy and silky look to it. Yet, the woman styled it into pigtails instead of letting it loose. She was more on the petite side and gave off an elegant appearance. It didn’t feel as fake as how Stephen felt towards the actual nobility found in the academy. It was like the phrase ‘noblesse oblige’ fit her. 

The black dress with white frills went well with her petite frame.

‘Wait, she is wearing a maid costume?’ At the realization, the mesmerizing effect seemed to dampen. Perhaps, her elegance was indeed a lie — an enchantment. For some reason, Stephen felt disappointed. 

‘Wait, perhaps there is true nobility to be found precisely because it is a maid outfit.’

During this entire time, Stephen could hear the voice in his head repeat the same thing over and over.

It said: Don’t do anything. 

‘Is that why I’m having these weird thoughts?’ 

Before Stephen connected any dots, the woman approached them with her large hammer. Even though everyone had awakened their System, it seemed no one could move except Stephen. 

‘Should I…’

Don’t do anything. 

Stephen watched the woman grab Gawain’s chin. As she leaned forward with her teeth bared out, Alex managed to take a step forward. Gawain took a step back at the same time. 

“Ugly bitch!” Alex shouted at the woman. He gnashed his teeth, sweat drenching his body. He lifted the automatic rifle from his back and pointed it at the woman. 

A familiar sound of laughing could be heard under the wind. The woman looked to the sky and frowned. 

“If you say so boss.” Two black wings appeared out of her back, “I’ll have to leave my pets for you to play with though.”

With those words, she flew off into the sky. A colony of bats fluttered after her. 

Meanwhile, the pack of ghouls charged towards the group. There were a dozen or so. Now that the party was fully equipped and leveled up, the task seemed easy.

“Conserve your mana. Sophia and I will give ranged support.”

Gawain and Alex rushed forward. They worked together, covering each other’s backs. Ravenna and Mel were the same. 

The two duos split the fight in half. Each one could take on two opponents at once with the way everyone worked together. Stephen used the rounds stored in the Staff of Iron. The metal bullets from the stored spells were precise and always struck the head of the zombies. 

Sophia did the same. Although she wore a reluctant expression. He could tell she wanted to do nothing else but shout, “Fireball!”

“That fucker!” Alex had just finished crushing the skull of one of the ghouls when he realized that the bus was missing. In his anger he turned and smashed the monster that Gawain had pinned down.

“I wanted to drive,” Mel whined to herself as she kicked the abdomen of one of the zombies. It was launched into the air. Before it came down, she landed several more blows into an already bruised stomach. Even after particles of light appeared, she could be seen jabbing the air. 

After dealing with all the current enemies, it seemed like everyone wanted more. They needed a way to vent; however, when it felt like the bridge was shaking and they turned around and saw hundreds coming forward that thought disappeared.

The only thing they could do was run. 

“I really hate running,” Sophia panted.

“I thought dogs liked to run. Haha.” 

“Gawain shut up before I trip you.” For once, Alex agreed with Sophia. “No one wants to run this much.”

“I think we just have to make it to that barrier looking thing.” Ravenna cried out. 

“Is this bitch still drunk?”

“No, no I see it too. Haha.”

“Will you all just shut up and run.” Stephen sighed.