The vehicle plowed straight through the Mad Buffalo.

For a moment. At the instant when the accelerator’s thrust carried us bursting out of the Safe Point.

But it quickly became clear that things would not go so smoothly.

The windshield filled with creatures.

Thud! Boom!

The car shook with the impact. Like being caught in a crowd, we were surrounded by creatures.

Thud! The car crashed heavily into the herd of Buffalo and came to a stop. The thick belt of creatures blocked the engine from working.

“Air support!”

Ami shouted from beside me, holding the accelerator down hard.

“Requesting air support!”

[Air support commencing.]

Sylvia’s indifferent voice came over the radio.

[All drones launching.]

Propeller sounds thundered overhead.

Boom, boom, boom! Violent shockwaves struck the car’s side. Drone fire rained down from all directions. A three-eyed goat burst on the windshield. The sound of bones shattering, organs rupturing.

The colorful noises of death were drowned out by sharp explosions.

A narrow view opened.

The flash of explosions, the wasteland road revealed between torn flesh and flying bones.

I floored it.

Vroom!

“The road’s open!”

Amid the roar of the exhaust, Ami laughed brightly.

“Go! To the cliff!”

Boom!

Heavy footsteps.

They thundered right beside the car. The rearview mirror filled with the enormous leg of an unclassified creature. If the body was the size of a two-story building, then those ash-colored, fur-covered legs were monstrously huge.

If we got stepped on, we’d be flattened.

“Two o’clock!”

Screech!

“Eleven o’clock!”

Screeeech!

I twisted the wheel madly at Ami’s calls. Boom! Boom! I felt the giant creature pursuing us. The car was swallowed in shadow, then barely slipped free again.

Diagonal, straight. Brake. Gas. Hard brake.

Accelerateee!

Boom!

We never moved backward.

“We’re pulling ahead,”

Ami muttered, twisting her body to look behind.

“Once we break through the belt, open the roof.”

“Yes.”

I kept my foot on the gas.

“I’ll open it in three seconds.”

The view widened.

A vast wasteland stretched out. A place eroded by the wind, slowly decaying.

We broke out of the creature belt. A giant unclassified creature chased close behind, but at least we were free of the belt.

I reached and pressed the button.

Whirr.

The roof slid open.

At the same time, a massive explosion erupted behind us.

Boom!

“What was that?”

“Richard.”

The wind whipped my hair wildly across my eyes. I squinted at the rearview mirror.

A huge cloud of smoke rose where the creature belt had been. From within the haze came the threatening roar of motorcycle engines.

The seniors had begun to follow. They would cut down the creatures on their bikes and eventually link up with us.

In the smoky clouds, creatures defied gravity and flew into the air.

Perhaps Walker was grabbing them and hurling them.

“Two o’clock!”

Thud!

Thud! Thud! The deafening pounding rattled my eardrums. In the side mirror, the massive creature’s limbs moved furiously.

Limbs so long they seemed they would tangle with one another as it skittered across the ground. Its speed was nearly equal to the car’s. Big and frighteningly fast.

Crash! Its ash-gray hand smashed the left side mirror.

I clicked my tongue and yanked the wheel. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“Hilde, I’ll fire a missile.”

“Yes.”

Ami hefted a shoulder-fired infantry missile launcher as tall as she was.

The muzzle pointed toward the bloodshot-eyed creature in the rearview mirror.

The senior shouted in a clear voice:

“Bang!”

Explosion.

The open roof made the sound pound my ears harder. The creature’s ash-gray leg blew apart. Thud! It dropped to one knee. A haze of smoke rose.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem too badly hurt.

“Didn’t work. It’ll stand back up.”

“Continuing forward.”

“Mm.”

Ami calmly readied another shot.

“To the bridge.”

I had memorized the map at dawn.

Beyond the wasteland surrounding the Safe Point was a ruined city. Following the cracked asphalt there led to a pedestrian bridge. A bridge connecting cliff to cliff for sightseeing. The gorge was deep. Anyone falling would not climb back up alive.

Once across, we would destroy the bridge. That was the operation’s end.

So far, things were smooth. Four volleys had widened the gap between us and the unclassified creature. Flying types were shot down by drones, and long-range, witch-like attackers were sniped by Aki.

In the rearview, creatures continued defying gravity, leaping into the air. Shockwaves struck the back of my head. The noise numbed my °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° ears.

It wasn’t far now. Finally, the bridge came into view in the distance.

If we just held out like this.

We would reach the bridge without issue...

Crackkk! Boom! The rear of the car shot into the air. My view dropped sharply downward. “Aaagh!” Ami’s reflexive scream. The missile tube clattered to the ground.

The scene whirled. The vehicle rolled and rolled across the road.

The car slammed hard into a building’s rusted framework.

Thud!

Agony ripped through my body.

“Ugh...”

“Hilde.”

Ami’s heavy voice.

We were inside an overturned car. Hanging from the seatbelt, I was pinned between the shattered window and seat.

Having unbuckled to fire the missile, Ami was already upright inside the crushed car. I could see the wounds on her face and body knitting back together.

The scent of blood. Something burning. Warm liquid ran from my brow and blurred my sight. A wound on my head, it seemed.

My body would not move.

“We have to get out. It’ll blow soon.”

Ami swiftly slashed the seatbelt holding me.

“Or we’ll be crushed by a creature’s arm.”

No sooner had she spoken than the creature’s footsteps stopped.

But I couldn’t move. I tried, but not a finger twitched. I could only watch as Ami kicked skillfully at the wreckage, forcing an exit. She slipped through, then reached back inside, grabbed me, and dragged me out.

Cold wind struck my body.

Before us loomed the enormous creature.

“I’ll hold it off. You recover and get to the bridge.”

Ami shot into the air, speaking lightly.

My view filled with the creature raising an arm to smash her. Blue light crackled across the gray fur. Electric sparks sizzled ominously. Snap, crackle.

It uses electricity.

Something unknown about the unclassified creature. The very uncertainty the seniors had feared when planning. No one knew what kind of power it had until it revealed itself.

Even now we still did not know fully.

Ami sprang skyward.

Boom!

For a while I could only watch helplessly.

Until my body obeyed again, all I could do was watch, miserable. Here I realized just how fatal impaired regeneration was in this place.

Even worse, I was the cause of all this. Ami was fast enough to blur from sight, but she was overpowered. I clenched my teeth and struggled to rise.

Get up. Get up.

Get up and grab the sword!

Boom!

Ami was slammed violently into the ground.

“Ami!”

My heart dropped.

Barely, my limbs obeyed. I pressed the ground and forced myself up. The creature slowly turned its head and looked at me.

It was that right arm that had swatted Ami like a fly.

As I reached for the sword hilt, its arm was suddenly bound by a gleaming wire.

“Hilde!”

Ami shot into the air like she had springs on her feet.

The wire extended from her gloves. I saw her soar to the creature’s head height, then dive hawk-like, pulling the wire taut.

Blood burst from the bound arm.

“Go!”

“Together—”

“If you don’t get to the bridge, the operation fails!”

Flesh tore but the arm was not severed. Was her dive not strong enough? She had shredded Mad Buffalo easily with that wire before.

This creature endured, and Ami cut the wire binding its arm.

Back to the start.

The creature twisted its body and swung its electric-charged arm.

Crackle, boom!

The arm crashed into asphalt, surging with electricity. If I hadn’t rolled, my body would have burned. I tumbled aside and quickly got back up.

The pain lingered, but my movement was improving.

Ami darted between the creature’s body.

“The bridge is ahead. Run!”

I bit my lip until it bled.

My legs didn’t want to move. But I knew I had to. Toward the bridge. To lure the other creatures as planned.

I twisted my body but couldn’t resist turning to look.

Ami, soaring, met my eyes and frowned faintly.

“Hilde!”

She whipped her wire around the creature’s neck and shouted.

“You should’ve been ready to risk your comrade’s life the moment you joined!”

Blood spurted from the creature’s neck.

The sound of tearing flesh, the metallic screech of its scream. I didn’t take in the gory sight. I dashed the moment her words hit.

There was nothing wrong with what she said. The operation had to succeed. The bridge had to fall. And I had to believe my comrade would survive and return.

I ran for the bridge.

It seemed the neck hadn’t been severed. The creature’s enraged howl and a blast of electricity shook the air. The explosion’s shockwave struck my back hard.

The roar of motorcycles grew louder.

Behind me, Aki seemed to be calling Ami’s name. Other seniors’ voices followed, laced with worry. I ignored the tightening fear in my chest and ran.

The ground trembled. The horde chasing me was closing the distance. The reasons were clear: first, I had slowed. Second, the seniors who had been cutting down the horde had joined Ami.

Forget seventh rank—this was eighth.

“Why are you here!”

Ami’s desperate voice faded farther away.

“Richard, Richard! Help Hilde! There are too many left!”

“Ami, come here!”

The seniors’ urgent voices were drowned by the stomping horde.

“He’s bleeding too much!”

“Richard! Go to Hilde!”

“In the end he’s the cause, he should take responsibility!”

Jason Trevain’s furious voice rang out.

Loud enough to be heard even through the massive electrical blasts.

“What the hell did you drag in!”

The bridge.

The broad bridge spread out before me. It spanned the cliffs. I gritted my teeth and ran. Poured all my strength into my legs. Bit my lip and sprinted straight across without looking back.

It was right there. The weight of the creatures pressed at my back.

But they did not catch me. Keeping some distance, I finally fulfilled the mission. I cleared the bridge and spun around. Wide enough for ten people abreast, the bridge teemed with creatures. Mad Buffalo. Young goats. Even Reversed Gods had joined.

The bombs meant for this had been lost when the car overturned.

But I wasn’t unarmed.

Kwoooom!

Drawing.

I cut without hesitation. The black blade struck. And my body finally had the strength to execute a remembered technique.

The bridge’s end sliced cleanly. Following the arc of the huge sword Yun had given me.

Neat. Severed. It collapsed helplessly.

The bridge and creatures dropped away.

When I opened my eyes again, they were gone from sight.