The sun was just beginning to rise when we set out again.
In the morning light, the town center looked even more devastated. No living creatures were visible anywhere, and the birdsong that used to fill every morning was completely gone.
Wrecked cars and collapsed building debris blocked the road — any ordinary vehicle would've been stopped cold. I just pushed through slowly, using the bus to shove aside whatever I could. There was something oddly satisfying about it, like watching an armored vehicle flatten illegally parked cars without a second thought.
The bus had incredible power. It felt like operating heavy machinery. Even as it plowed through jagged wreckage, it didn't seem to take a single scratch.
The shield was taking the hit instead, which meant Korca was draining. But there was no other way.
I rolled down the driver's side window. Even when I'd left the side door open, the monsters couldn't get in — the barrier even washed away their green blood without a trace. But a cool breeze still drifted through the window just fine.
Behind me, I heard the sound of someone clearing the table.
When she finished, she sat down at the living room table and stared out the window. Even in the rearview mirror, I could see how tense her face was.
I drove slowly, keeping an eye on the road ahead and everything around us. It was still the countryside, even if it was technically the town center. Most of the buildings were single-story, and there were plenty of empty lots and vegetable gardens.
The town wasn't big. It didn't take long to reach the area she'd described.
"Across from the town hall, right?"
But the town hall building I remembered wasn't there.
If the sign at the parking lot entrance hadn't still been standing, I would've driven right past without realizing this was the place.
The building was gone.
And it wasn't like it had collapsed — there was simply nothing there.
I stopped the bus and turned around. She was staring to the right side of the bus. I followed her gaze.
No building there either. Not even rubble. Just bare ground, as if nothing had ever stood there.
*Why didn't I notice something was off earlier?*
When we'd pulled up, I'd seen open, empty space through the windshield — but I'd been so focused on looking for the town hall that I hadn't really registered what was on the right.
"How… how is this…"
She stood there, frozen, staring blankly at the scene.
I looked around. This had to be the right spot. Yesterday, from a distance, this was roughly where all those spider monsters had been swarming.
But shouldn't there at least be rubble? How was it this clean — like everything had been sliced away and carried off somewhere?
I checked the surroundings, then grabbed my sword and stepped carefully out of the bus.
The autumn morning sun was sharp and bright.
I walked over to where the row of shops had been and examined the ground. It looked scorched somehow. The foundation work that should've been visible at the base of any building was nowhere to be seen.
It wasn't like anything had been torn out. It was just an empty lot — as if the buildings had never existed. Weeds were even growing there.
*How is this possible?*
It was too strange to explain away as someone cleaning up the wreckage.
I looked around more carefully.
Only the area where the town hall had stood, and a certain radius around it, was like this. That's why I'd almost thought I'd taken a wrong turn when we arrived.
On the way here, collapsed debris had been scattered everywhere — nearly blocking the road in places, and I'd burned through a lot of shield pushing through it all.
But this area alone looked like everything had simply vanished.
She climbed out of the bus and walked over to stand beside me.
"I don't understand this."
She spoke quietly, staring at the place where the shop should have been, her expression hollow.
"Yeah."
Every moment, we were running into things that made no sense. But the world had already changed, and we had to start building new knowledge from scratch.
The new world wasn't asking for our understanding. If we wanted to survive, we had to adapt.
She stood there in silence, unable to do anything with the confusion inside her.
I was worried about a possible monster attack, so I stepped closer and said, "Let's get back to the bus for now."
She didn't move. Just stood there, still as a statue. Like she hadn't heard me at all.
"They might be alive somewhere," I said.
At that, she slowly turned her head. Her eyes were red.
"Hey — what's wrong? Did you remember something?"
Her large brown eyes were trembling, caught between fear and rage. I'd never seen that expression on a person's face before. Not like that.
"I… I remember…"
Just from the look in her eyes, I felt like I already understood. So I didn't ask anything. Honestly, I wasn't sure I could handle hearing it.
That's when a strange feeling made me turn my head — and I saw them. A group of the ugly monsters.
About five of them, creeping up silently from behind us.
The moment I spun around, they flinched — just for a second — then let out a grating shriek and came charging.
*SKREEEEEE—*
"Perfect timing, you little freaks."
I tightened my grip on the sword.
"Wait—"
Then I saw it. More dark shapes cresting the hill behind them. Pouring over the top, one after another.
More than twenty.
"Damn it."
Taking all of them on alone wasn't happening. I had to get back to the bus.
The bus was only about thirty feet away.
I'd already made up my mind to bolt for it at any moment — but suddenly finding myself in this situation, those thirty feet felt like three hundred.
"Sunghee! Get back!"
I turned my head toward her as I shouted — and she was gone.
*CRACK.*
A sound like a wrecking ball hitting concrete.
*CRACK. CRUNCH. CRACK. CRUNCH. CRACK. CRUNCH.*
Not a wrecking ball.
It was the sound of monster skulls caving in.
*CRACK. CRUNCH. CRACK. CRUNCH.*
The Knee Goddess had awakened.
More than twenty ugly monsters — one by one, their heads exploded, bodies piling up across the town hall parking lot.
I quietly lowered the hand holding my sword.
The monsters were gone. Through the drifting gray smoke, her figure slowly came into view.
She walked back to the spot where her parents' shop had been and sat down on the ground. In her right hand was a small wildflower — I didn't know what kind.
It seemed like she still had something left to say.
I kept my sword in hand and walked a slow circuit around the town hall grounds.
The ugly monsters had picked the worst possible moment to show up, and every last one of them had their skull caved in within minutes of arriving.
Everything comes down to timing. And sometimes timing decides your fate. I thought about those red-blinking eyes I'd seen earlier, watching the bus absorb Korca.
I stayed close to the bus and kept scanning the area. Something other than the ugly ones could still show up. Sunghee might smash them all to pieces with her knees again — but I couldn't count on that.
If her focus slipped even a little and one of them got to her, it would be bad. And after burning that much power just now, I had no idea what kind of shape she was in.
Still — holding the sword just felt good. More than good. Exhilarating. Like some ancient part of me was waking up, hungry to keep cutting through things.
*Weirdly addictive.*
I was half-hoping something manageable would show up as I scanned the area — and that's when I noticed a ladder on the back of the bus.
"Was that always there?"
I walked over and climbed up.
Getting on top of the bus was like stepping onto a rooftop — the view opened up completely.
That's when I saw them. Footprints from the people who'd walked across this roof last night.
*Huh.*
A quiet feeling settled over me for a moment, then faded just as quickly.
The roof was a great vantage point. But if monsters showed up while I was up here, getting back inside fast would be—
*Wait.*
There was a small hatch on the roof. Another post-evolution addition?
I grabbed the handle and pulled. It didn't budge.
*Hm.*
I tried different angles, different amounts of force — and then, as if it were reading my biometrics, a mechanical click sounded and the lock released.
I pulled again. The hatch swung upward with a solid, heavy sound.
The opening connected down to the driver's side — I could step through onto the driver's or passenger's seat.
"Okay."
Getting in and out through the roof wasn't going to be a problem.
I left the hatch open and surveyed the area.
Looking more carefully at the cleared zone nearby, the whole thing seemed to form a near-perfect circle. Diameter maybe three hundred feet or so?
"A circle."
Whatever phenomenon had caused this, it had made everything inside simply disappear. I didn't know what that phenomenon was — but standing here, I had a strong feeling it wasn't safe to stay.
I climbed back down to the driver's seat, closed the roof hatch, and pressed the accelerator.
I moved the bus forward a little and stopped just behind where Sunghee was sitting, and waited.
It wasn't long before she stood up and walked over to the driver's side window.
"Thank you."
Her voice was flat. Drained. Like someone who'd let go of everything and stopped caring.
"What? Why? Where are you going?"
I asked, startled.
"I would've died a long time ago if it wasn't for you. Thanks for bringing me this far. I'll take it from here. Stay safe."
I started to say something — but she was already running, disappearing into the town center.
"…Hah."
I didn't call after her.
*So that's it.*
Suddenly alone again. I'd spent almost thirty years basically on my own, but being alone again right now felt genuinely strange.
I got up from the driver's seat and sat down at the living room table.
In the lower bunk of the two-tier bed, the blanket she'd used was slightly rumpled, still holding the shape of her.
The pillow had a hollow in the center where her head had rested. A few strands of her hair were still caught in the fabric.
"Damn it."
She'd walked out into a brutal world with nothing.
But whether she came back or went her own way — that was her choice.
I went back to the driver's seat and put my hands on the wheel.
*Where do I go now?*
That's when I caught movement in the direction she'd disappeared.
*Damn it — if it's just one or two monsters, I'm almost more worried for the monsters. But if it's not…*
I moved the bus toward it. My mind started filling in the worst possibilities.
Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't Sunghee. But it didn't look like a monster either.
*Seemed smaller…*
As the bus crossed out of the circular clearing, the collapsed building debris reappeared. And from behind the rubble, I could sense someone moving.