Chapter 226
Next time
Seconds ago...
Thor gave a sideways grin and patted the steering wheel once—like he was greeting an old friend before a job."I'm planning," he said, a glint of excitement flashing in his cloudy eyes, "to test your driving skills."
There was a long pause.IAM turned his entire body toward him in disbelief.
"…What?"
Thor's grin only widened—like that was exactly the reaction he'd wanted.
Then, without warning, his foot slammed down on the clutch and yanked the gearstick.
The truck lurched forward.
IAM was nearly thrown into the dashboard and quickly grabbed the handlebar on the inside of the passenger door to steady himself. His heart spiked in his chest—no Avien meant he was just a regular human in a metal speeding vehicle. One wrong move or one crash… and he was done for.
"What exactly is the plan!? What are you trying to do?!" he shouted over the sudden roar of the engine and screeching tires.
Thor gave him a quick sideways glance. His expression said: Really?
"A plan?" he repeated, like IAM had just asked him the dumbest question in the world.
"You can't be serious…" IAM muttered, staring at him with an exasperated mix of disbelief and growing fear.
Thor grinned and said, "Of course I'm not... The plan's pretty simple, considering how last-minute this is."
He leaned slightly to the side, as he shifted gears again, and IAM, holding on tight, followed his gaze.
"Do you see the six green cars? The ones trailing at a bit of a distance?"
IAM squinted, it took him a moment, his eyes darted through the traffic ahead. But then he saw them. Six distinct green vehicles following in a loose, jagged line—far enough back that they hadn't been obvious before. They were spaced irregularly, weaving through traffic with far too much vigor and speed.
"I didn't even notice them..." IAM admitted quietly, his eyebrows furrowed.
He hadn't. In the chaos of the moment—his body tense, his mind caught in Thor's insane momentum—he'd barely registered them. And without his Avien activated, his ability to take in the full scope of his surroundings was noticeably limited. The clarity, the speed of perception and the detail—all of it was dulled. With his normal senses, he just hadn't processed the information quickly enough.
Now, though, he nodded. "Yeah... I see them. They're driving just as recklessly—they're probably chasing the white cars, right?"
Thor said, "And just behind them are a few police cars. They'll handle the six green ones—we just need to focus on the two white cars at the front. We don't know the full situation yet, but we might as well try to catch everyone while we're at it. The problem is... I can't be in two places at once."
His voice was calm and composed.
"I also don't want to use any of my stronger Path methods here. Not in public. There is too many people around. If I go all out, someone's going to get seriously injured—or worse. And honestly, I don't even know what these people have done yet. Killing them without answers would be a waste."
He glanced quickly at IAM before turning his eyes back to the road.
"So, here's how it'll go. I'll take the car in front—the lead white one. I'll stop them and let the cops do the rest. Meanwhile, you're going to follow the second white car. Just follow. That's it. Once they see their backup get taken down, they'll likely try to make a run for it. I'll be done quickly and catch up. My truck has a tracker, so I'll find you no matter where they lead. Understood?"
IAM blinked, then raised both eyebrows slowly. "Wow... You're actually shameless enough to say, 'there's no plan,' and then drop a full step-by-step strategy right after."
Thor's gaze flicked to IAM for just a second. "But IAM... seriously. Do not try to be a hero. You're only a novice."
"Shameless," IAM muttered. "You're actually so shameless."
Thor chuckled, then reached for the manual window crank and began rolling it down. The wind rushed in immediately, flapping his coat like a loose sail as the noise of the city flooded the inside of the truck.
"What are you doing?" IAM asked, as the truck sped forward.
Thor didn't answer. Instead, he leaned halfway out the window.
IAM's eyes widened. "Wait—wait, wait, wait—"
With one smooth motion, Thor slipped a leg out over the window, gripping the roof's edge with one hand. His foot planted on the side mirror.
"Are you crazy!?" IAM shouted as the truck jerked slightly from Thor's shifting weight.
"Take the wheel!" Thor yelled back over the wind. "Keep it straight!"
Then, Thor pulled himself fully out the window and onto the roof of the moving truck, his coat whipping behind him as he sprinted toward the back of the vehicle like he had done this a dozen times.
"Shit!" IAM swore, lunging across the center console to grab the steering wheel. The truck swayed, veering slightly into the next lane before IAM righted it with a sharp tug.
He quickly scooted over into the driver's seat, nearly sitting on the gear stick in the process. One knee smacked into the underside of the steering column as he fumbled with the clutch, his foot barely catching it before the engine sputtered.
IAM muttered under his breath as he yanked the seatbelt off the side and pulled it across his chest with one hand, his other hand tight on the wheel. "I'm going to die. I'm actually going to die in this truck."
IAM heard it—a deep thud that echoed through the frame of the truck like something massive had landed on it.
But it hadn't.
It had left it.
He jerked his eyes toward the windshield just in time to see Thor's black-coated figure already in the air, soaring forward like a projectile hurled by the gods themselves. The speed of the truck launched him ahead, and Thor tucked into a roll mid-air before landing hard on the roof of the leading white car.
The impact was loud— the metal groaned and bent beneath his weight. The white car wobbled slightly in its lane, nearly veering into the median before the driver corrected with a panicked swerve.
IAM's mouth hung open for half a second.
All around, pedestrians, passengers, and other drivers caught sight of the impossible leap—gasps, screams, and the screech of tires followed. Someone shouted, "What the hell was that!?" while another cursed loudly, fumbling to record it with their phone.
IAM slid properly into position and adjusted the rearview mirror with a sigh of disbelief, muttering, "Next time... I'm walking."