The kids would stare and talk about the brothers. They had heard of the grim news.
During class, one of them bullied Matteo. The kid's hair was slicked back. His hair on top was black, and his hair on the sides were silver.
As Matteo teared up, Hafen grabbed his desk and almost stood up.
Pepe put his hand on his shoulder and urged him to stay calm.
As the kid was laughing at Matteo, Stark stood up and kicked his chair.
The kid fell.
Pepe sighed.
The teacher was surprised. She wondered what was going on.
Ms. Lily caught the kid on the ground. She sternly questioned if they were fighting.
The kid glared at Stark. He questioned who he thought he was.
Stark warned that if he messed with his brother, then, he would kill him.
The kid, shocked, stood up. He, furious, lunged at Stark.
Stark stepped out of the way.
The kid crashed onto the table. He growled, and a brawl ensued.
Ms. Lily and Pepe struggled to stop their fighting.
At the same time, Hafen showed off his intelligence when he ended up teaching the rest of the class.
The other kids were shocked.
Afterwards, the bully was embarrassed and upset. He wondered if they were thinking little of him. He alleged that he was the son of Flint, a dead member of The Guild.
Meanwhile, Pepe gave Ms. Lily an apple as a gift.
Ms. Lily, delighted, accepted the gift.
Stark asked Ms. Lily about the outside world.
Ms. Lily claimed that the outside world was ravaged by war and dangerous creatures. She explained that humans were trapped in cities as monsters roamed the outside land. She elaborated that beyond the forest was cruel and unforgiving. She urged them to stay in the forest where it was safe.
Stark seemed disappointed. He questioned if the outside world was beautiful.
Ms. Lily answered that it was not and only soldiers and traveling merchants could traverse the horrifying area.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo looked at each other.
Ms. Lily continued that there was currently a zombie apocalypse in their country, Stribora.
Pepe and the three brothers were shocked. They thought Stribora was a person.
Ms. Lily continued that the zombie outbreak was a recent issue.
Intrigued, Matteo asked Ms. Lily what a zombie was.
Ms. Lily explained that zombies were a new species of monsters that were at war with the humans. She continued that if a human was bitten by them, they could become a zombie, undead.
Hafen asked if the zombies would invade the forest.
Ms. Lily laughed that the zombies would never attack The Sacred Forest.
Hafen interrogated how she could be sure.
Ms. Lily explained that even with The Guild gone, the humans in The Sacred Forest have been safe from the major problems of the outside world. She continued that the forest was protected by a strange magic. It was a holy place where people were able to live in peace.
However, the three brothers were unsure. They knew that peace could be easily extinguished.
Suddenly, the school alarms went off.
The students grew worried.
Ms. Lily soothed them. She reassured the students that everything would be alright.
A student, at the window, gasped and pointed outside.
Ms. Lily, and the other students, approached the windows.
The brothers and Pepe saw a cloaked figure approaching the school. They recognized the symbol on its cloak. It was The Exalted One.
There were students crying.
Ms. Lily shushed the students. She demanded them to hide under their desks.
The students complied.
The three brothers wondered if the Exalted One came for them.
Pepe, furious, declared that they should take the opportunity to get some payback.
The Exalted One asserted that they gathered the next generation of special individuals into one room. He continued that it was very convenient.
Ms. Lily stood by the window. She questioned who he was.
The Exalted One chuckled and proclaimed that they were the harbingers of death.
Just then, a zombie broke through the door and lunged at Hafen.
Ms. Lily tackled the zombie into the ground.
The zombie and Ms. Lily tumbled across the floor.
The students, hiding under the desks, screamed, and they were horrified.
Ms. Lily struggled to hold off the zombie as it chomped at her.
The zombie bit Ms. Lily's shoulder and broke her arm.
Ms. Lily yelled.
Pepe reached his hand inside his bag. Inside his bag, there was a pistol. As the zombie chewed on the teacher's neck, Pepe shot the zombie in the head.
Blood splattered everywhere. As the zombie stopped, the students panicked and ran out.
Ms. Lily groaned and stood back up. Her skin turned pale. She, in the corner, slowly staggered towards them. She was now a zombie, and she lunged at Pepe.
Pepe gritted his teeth. Seeing no other choice, he kicked the teacher in the head, and her head was sent flying through a window. In that moment, he noticed that The Exalted One was gone.
The brothers were shocked. Stark questioned if she was really dead.
Ms. Lily's body was limp on the ground.
Pepe felt horrible. He, trembling, muttered that they needed to leave.
As more zombies dashed through the hallway, Pepe turned to the surprised brothers and insisted that they follow him.
The four of them dashed away from school after jumping through the window. Students and teachers were running out of the building.
Zombies chased after them. Some of them were eaten, and others were infected and became a zombie.
Stark asked Pepe what was going on.
Pepe explained that the zombies were bad guys even if they were once human, and that they have infiltrated the forest.
As they ran away, Stark stopped and insisted that they needed to help the others, too.
Pepe alleged that they were not strong enough.
Matteo, confused, remarked that he didn't expect school to be like this.
Hafen replied that this went further than school life, and he asked Pepe about the pistol.
Pepe explained that he was warned before school, and that he hid the pistol in his bag in case any zombies appeared. He led the three brothers into the deep forest and away from the chaos.
Hafen asked Pepe where he was leading them to.
Pepe answered that they were going to his master, Old Man Blacksmith.
The three brothers wondered who Old Man Blacksmith was.