Chapter 30:

4:58 pm.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!? AWACS!?"

"I… I have no idea! An Ancient Dragon just appeared here of all places!?"

The soldiers of Lastation are a mix of monster hunters and regular people scouted to be part of the military. They're trained to fight humans and monsters alike. Even when moved to special forces, their training for anything did not stop.

However, nothing ever goes as training.

Due to the increase in monster hunters after the nations united under 1 flag. They've yet to be deployed to deal with any monster threats. And thus, while they are capable of fighting monsters in a simulation, when it comes to the real thing, they're just helpless ducks with their mouths wide open.

*ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*

The Ancient Dragon screams its terrifying roar as it hovers above the lone street. Its giant brown wings beat the air. The plants bow down, the leaves sing their praises. Its yellow serpent eyes look around, finding food that it's been craving for all this time waiting.

"Shet! Open fire! Open fire!"

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Bullets rain down on the dragon. While its thick dark scales repel it, the winds it beats push the rest of course. The soldiers of Lastation continued to hold the trigger, emptying all of their lead. The dragon looks and licks its mouth as if it hadn't eaten in a long while.

"STOP FIRING YOU FOOLS! AWACs how the fuck did that thing get there!?"

"I don't know! It came from the north! We didn't see it coming at all! Fuck, IF! She's gone—!?"

*BAM!*

"Shit! She got us good!"

4:59 pm.

"Haa… haa…dammit… I went a bit too far there…!"

IF grimaced. Even when given adrenaline, her body is just too weak to keep up. Compa quickly supports her, as she helps her sit on the bench. The driver speeds up as, checking his only rear-view mirror of the insanity that the dragon caused.

"…It's a good thing that you're a monster hunter before, huh, Commander" the Driver complimented, as he steps on the gas.

"Yeah… I didn't think it would work though…" IF said as she puts down her knives.

"Shit almost gave me a heart attack" the Combatant straightens himself on his seat.

They knew how surrounded they were. That only confirms it when their jets left. And plus, with their Commander's reputation, they have several eyes locked onto the brunette. The Commander had the Nurse light up a scented bait hoping to use the monsters nearby as a distraction for their getaway.

It just so happens that an Ancient Dragon happened on the scent.

"Pffft! AHAHAHAHA! Man, you see the look on their faces! AHAHAHAHA! Wooo! Priceless!" the Driver laughs. The stress from earlier just now relieving from his body.

"What the fuck man… I swear that thing looked at me funny"

"Fuck bro, dragon into you? AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Fuck off!"

"…" IF snickers.

The two men at front laughs everything off. A moment of happiness over a series of losses. IF looks at her injuries, the stitches her friend did were rough. The adrenaline injected in her numbs the pain. 1 or 2 serious hit and it's game over. She takes a moment, and then breathes out.

"Thanks, Compa" she looks at her only remaining friend and smiles.

"Mhm…" the Nurse shakes her head.

IF takes on a serious look, and in one breath, changes her voice to a commanding tone.

"Alright boys, step on it. We're going to abandon the truck in the forest"

"AHAHA—Ma'am, it's going to be almost 50 kilometers of trekking through the forest. It'll take up to tomorrow if we walk" the Combatant raised a point.

"Plus, their AWACs have a thermal cam. We'd be spotted easily with their birds if we don't have anything to mask our heat" the Driver said.

"Their AWACs would be busy for a while, the Ancient Dragon itself is a tough opponent, even with 2 Goddesses. Their birds would also be busy fighting the thing too. In a way, whatever they're doing in Lowee, it'll be a fight of 2 fronts" IF said her observation.

"So, we'll have time, good. all these non-stop new flashes are making my body ache" the Combatant complains.

"You think they'd put eyes in the forest?" the Driver asks, to which the Combatant suddenly sits upright.

"It's best to assume the worst. How damaged are we?" IF said as she gestures to Compa to stay away from the hole in the truck's ceiling.

"Other than that hole, and one of my side mirrors is gone, we're good" the Driver answered.

"…I see" she whispers as she instinctively looks at the splatter of blood that's not hers.

"Alright, we're changing vehicles. We have a secret base in the forest that I had set up before, it has some bikes that we can use, from there we'll have to think up how to get into Lowee"

"You plan for everything huh, Commander" the Combatant comments.

"I planned it to be our supply cache once we escape. There're no meds there since it was a rush job but it's fine for shopping around."

"That's fine. With just the 3 of us, we need all the firepower we can get. I'll go as deep as I can with this thing then we bounce. Commander, you know where it is?"

"Yeah, we laid it out with several marks. There's a good spot to drop this tin can off"

"Alright. Hey, go up top and be on the lookout" the Driver looks at his only buddy.

"Alright. Entering forest"

The Driver gives a quick peek at his rear-view mirror again. There's no one, or anything following them. The chaos caused by Ancient Dragon is now beyond the mirror's horizon. Aside from the sound of his vehicle, the rubber grinding on the dirt, he can't hear anything.

The forest quickly envelopes them. The trees blocked the sun and sky. The sound of animals and bugs slowly rings in his ears.

He steps on the gas a little bit more.

8:00 pm.

"Ah…"

A dimly lit room.

Kei Jinjugi wakes up in a room with 1 light bulb above her. Her mind is hazy, her sense of time is off, her sense of direction is off. It's like waking up from a really good sleep. The most comfortable sleep she ever had.

Her vision slowly comes back, she looks around, trying to discern where she is.

A single lightbulb above her. Wooden floors, cemented walls, single door right in front of her. Her nose itches, dust becomes part of what she inhales. She looks down and notices the thick dust on the floor is marked by footprints.

"4… no 5…"

5 pairs of shoes, judging from the pattern, it's Lastation guards.

She moves her hands, but notices that they're stuck onto something. She turns; her hands are tied to the chair. Her entire forearm is literally wrapped with rope. Tight enough that it restricts the movement of her hands. She tries pulling her hands through but gives up after a few attempts.

"Dammit… How did I...!?"

She can't remember.

She looks around once more, trying to know where she is exactly. The room doesn't have any windows, and the gaps through the door don't bleed any light. She sharpens her ears: but she can't hear anything. Not even faint vibrations of the bustling city of Lastation.

"Kh…! I don't even know where I am…!"

*step* *step* *step* *step* *step*

"…!"