"W-We need to get out of here!"
The boy's voice trembled; each syllable laced with urgency. He nearly tripped over his own feet as he caught his breath, still crouched on the uneven pavement. His chest rose and fell in rapid gasps from the desperate sprint moments earlier. Sweat clung to his skin, stinging his eyes as it mingled with the grime and smoke thick in the air. Behind them, the shattered silhouette of Raventon Campus loomed like a mausoleum in the dark—its broken windows flickering with firelight that spilled eerily across the open field where they now stood.
He looked around—distant screams echoed from multiple directions, some human, others not. The cold night wind howled past the trees like a warning, rustling through scorched grass and broken signs. There was no shelter here, no walls to hide behind. Out here, they were exposed.
"Let's go, mister," the girl said quietly beside him.
Her voice, steady and emotionless, sharply contrasted the chaos around them. She couldn't have been more than ten, yet she stood as if she had faced this kind of horror all her life.
"Yeah let's—hey wait, you walking in the wrong way!" he called out, panic threading through his voice.
He was about to agree—his legs already twitching to run—when he realized she wasn't following him. Instead, she was walking away.
When she turned to look at him, her expression was blank—just a curious glance, nothing more.
"Why am I wrong?" she asked plainly. "I saw my target go this way."
"B-But that path is dangerous," he explained gently, eyes locked on her, trying to reason with the child. "We need to leave this place."
What terrified him was where the girl was planning to go back to where he had just escaped from. He knew what awaited them in that area. The scream they had heard earlier had come from that same direction—and now she wanted to return?
Instead of listening, the girl simply smiled, then gently brushed his hand off her shoulder, where it had unknowingly rested.
"Mister," she said with unsettling calm, "I know it's dangerous there. But I never waste an opportunity... especially when it offers itself to me."
"W-What do you mean by that?"
He whispered the words, baffled. What exactly was going through her mind? She didn't behave like any other child her age. Any other kid would've been crying, terrified beyond reason.
But this one? She grinned—wide, fearless. Her eyes sparkled with an odd light, right after the hallway around them momentarily darkened.
"That thing!"
The girl suddenly pointed toward the sky, her voice a mix of excitement and awe.
The man instinctively followed her gesture—and his heart nearly froze.
Above them, gliding through the thick, smoke-filled clouds, was a monstrous winged creature unlike anything he'd seen. Its grotesque silhouette sliced through the foggy air with a menacing grace, leaving trails of mist in its wake.
"W-what the...? What is that!?" he stammered, eyes wide with disbelief.
"It's a Vireth!! I couldn't possibly be wrong!"
The child declared confidently, her face lit up like she'd just spotted a rare animal. Her eyes never left the beast as it soared away, becoming one with the gray sky.
"V-Vireth...?" he repeated, trying to make sense of the word.
"Let's go!" she suddenly blurted out and took off running.
"Huh!?—H-hey! Wait up!"
The girl didn't even glance back. She disappeared into the mist, her small figure swallowed by smoke and debris, leaving the man no choice but to follow. His legs moved on instinct, but his mind remained tangled in confusion.
Just like earlier—every time she did something unexpected—it left him more unsettled.
'Who… who are you really?'
The question haunted him as he ran, dodging broken glass, spilled blood, and scattered bodies along the cracked pavement. His lungs burned, and every step echoed like a heartbeat against the lifeless campus.
"Aahh!! Somebody help me—aaarggh!!"
"No, no!! Stay away from me! P-please—aaahh!! It hurts! It hurts—aaaghkk!!"
The air near the auto service station was filled with deafening screams. Panic had completely overrun the place. People were breaking down, some sobbing, others clawing at their faces in sheer terror.
The creatures—those horrifying, persistent monsters—showed no signs of slowing. Even as bodies piled up and the ground was soaked with blood, they prowled the shadows with eerie precision, always able to sniff out those who tried to hide.
"Everyone, hurry up!! Move it!"
Light shouted from the entrance of the shuttle bus, his voice almost drowned by the screams and crashing metal. He swung a thick, blood-soaked rod at a monster, smashing it square in the face just as it lunged for a crying student.
"Come on, keep moving! Don't stop in the doorway!"
"Ow! Quit pushing me! Can't you see how narrow the entrance is!?"
"Then stop being fat! Damn it, hurry up!"
"You little—watch your mouth!"
A heated punch connected, and the man who had shouted stumbled sideways. He lost his balance and collided into the others behind him, toppling a small cluster of students trying to get onboard.
"Ahh!"
Cries of pain and confusion followed, echoing off the walls of the station. Light turned to the source of the noise—and his face darkened at what he saw.
Some students were sprawled on the pavement, injured from the fall, while one man—already inside the shuttle—was more concerned about dusting off his tuxedo than helping anyone. His suit was still immaculate, aside from a bit of blood on his collar.
"Looks like you don't know who you're dealing with!"
The man barked, pointing with smug arrogance at the younger man whose lip he'd bloodied.
"Serves you right, loser!"
Light clenched his jaw. His grip on the weapon tightened. Wasting time like this—when people were being torn apart outside—was more than irresponsible. It was disgusting.
"Hey, old man! Start the damn engine—we're leaving!"
"S-sir, b-but there are still others trying to get in—"
"I don't care! The people who matter are already onboard. Now drive!"
"B-but—"
"I said go—"
"What's going on there, Jake?"
A cool, composed voice rose above the noise, crisp and unshaken. Heads turned toward the back of the shuttle bus. Seated near the rear window was a tall young woman, legs crossed neatly, her posture straight despite the tremors rocking the vehicle. Draped over her shoulders was a high-end designer coat, more a fashion statement than protection. She didn't move—only observed with narrowed eyes, her face calm and unreadable, like someone far too used to getting what she wanted. Even as the world outside collapsed, she looked as if she were merely watching an inconvenience unfold.
Jake, the man she addressed, stiffened.
"A-ah, ma'am—nothing's wrong here!" He forced a nervous smile.
"I wasn't asking about your nerves. I was referring to that."
She pointed through the window, where another commotion was breaking out outside.
Jake followed her gaze, and his expression turned bitter. One of his own was now in a shouting match with civilians just outside the entrance.
"Let us in!"
"Please don't block the way!" The crowd pleaded, voices strained with terror.
But the large man blocking the doorway only chuckled. He looked like he was enjoying himself.
"What, don't you get it? I said the bus is full! No more seats!" He sneered, then shot a look at the man he had earlier assaulted—Rian.
Rian glared back, his chest heaving. Something inside him snapped.
'Why is this place crawling with people like him?'
He wondered bitterly. But his hand had already moved, retrieving the steel hammer that had fallen earlier.
The moment he turned around, another monster burst from behind a twisted car frame, lunging for a girl near him. Rian didn't hesitate—he spun and drove the hammer into the beast's head with a sickening crack.
"Eeekkk!!"
"Aaahhh!!"
Blood sprayed. The monster screeched and crumpled. But the chaos only grew louder. The civilians at the back were breaking down in tears.
"Please, we're begging you! Let us in!"
"I don't want to die!"
Rian's blood boiled. He turned back toward the fat man.
"I said the bus is—AAAGH!!"
The words never finished.
Rian's hammer struck again—this time slamming straight into the man's gut with brutal force. The impact knocked the man clean off the doorway, clearing a path for those behind.
"Maybe the bus wouldn't be full if you didn't take up three seats," Rian muttered coldly.
The others flooded into the bus. Feet pounded on metal, bodies collapsed into seats, some weeping, others still gripping their wounds.
From the back, the woman in the coat watched silently, her sharp eyes narrowing.
"Jake. What's going on? Why are they here?"
"U-uh, ma'am, well—"
"Did I stutter?" Her voice was low but laced with steel.
"No, ma'am! It's just… all the other buses have been destroyed or burned down. This is the only one left..."
"So, what you're saying is… my shuttle is now a public transport?"
"N-no, ma'am! That's not what I meant! Please forgive me! I'll... I'll get them out right away!"
Jake turned quickly and rushed forward, approaching one of his fellow guards who had been knocked to the floor during the earlier scuffle.
Meanwhile, the woman remained in place, her gaze scanning the crowded, trembling figures packed inside the shuttle.
Her expression darkened. Her body stiffened.
Not from anger.
But from something deeper. Something she hadn't spoken of in years.
Agoraphobia. The irrational, paralyzing fear of being trapped in crowded spaces.
She tried to center her breathing, holding back the rising anxiety. But in the midst of her inner battle, a quiet voice startled her.
Someone had taken the seat beside her.
An unknown girl student maybe younger by a year or two. Her features were pale under the dim lights, and there was a strange calm in the way she sat, hands resting neatly on her lap. She wasn't panicked like the others. Instead, she simply turned her head toward the rich student, her eyes wide with soft curiosity.
"Is that your father?"
The question landed like a pebble tossed into still water. The rich student's head snapped to the side, her eyes widening in clear shock, her composed expression cracking just slightly as she turned to face the one seated beside her.
There was confusion written all over her face, as if she hadn't expected anyone to notice—let alone ask.
"I-I mean," the other student clarified, sensing the shift in energy, "the man you've been staring at up front—is he your dad?"
She repeated the question gently, as if trying to dispel any misunderstanding from her first attempt. But instead of receiving an answer, all she got in return was a tense silence.
The rich student's gaze hardened again, her features slowly returning to their usual cold elegance.
"Uhm... is there something on my face—?"
"Leave."
The word came firm and unblinking.
"What?"
"Leave."
The repetition was quieter, but the weight behind it was unmistakable. It wasn't a misunderstanding. It was deliberate.
Yet instead of responding with irritation, the other student simply offered a small, polite smile. It wasn't smug or mocking—just... quietly steady.
"Don't worry. I'm not bitten," she said softly, her tone calm and collected. "I just have a lot of blood on me, that's all. I'm safe."
She spoke as if that were the issue—that the girl didn't feel comfortable sitting beside someone covered in gore. But her words didn't soothe anything. In fact, the rich student's frown deepened.
"I'm not asking for your explanation," she snapped. "I'm telling you to get lost."
The insult wasn't shouted, but it hit like ice—sharp and deliberate. Her tone held the same superiority that dripped from her every word and movement.
But the other girl simply let out a slow exhale and adjusted how she sat, leaning back against the seat.
"I can't do that. Actually, I want to live." She looked ahead calmly, her voice still even.
"If my presence still bothers you... then just pretend I'm air."
With that, she went quiet, her attention shifting to the window as though the conversation was already over. The other student didn't reply. She didn't need to. Her silence said enough.
And yet, something about that final statement—pretend I'm air—clung to her mind. The tension between them didn't ease, but neither of them spoke again.
Instead, the rich student slowly began to realize something.
It wasn't the girl's words that had shaken her.
It was everything else.
The sounds bleeding in from outside—the inhuman shrieks, the muffled sobs, the pounding footsteps and howls of the monsters hunting the last of the stragglers. Every noise scraped against her nerves like glass.
And for all the chaos still echoing through the bus, the scariest part was how...
...this stranger beside her had entered without a word, sat beside her uninvited, and spoke to her like none of it mattered.
Compared to the screaming outside, her voice had been... almost quiet.
Almost too quiet.
Almost too calm.