Two days had passed since the three of them left Mariana. They'd covered a good distance. Evening had settled in — the sun was in its final moments, and on the other side of the sky, the moon was already making itself visible.
They had emerged from the Mimor forest. The path below had disappeared. Darkness had taken over.
"Light the torch," Jhed said.
"Right..." Shine pulled a stick from the pack hanging on Jhed's back, a strip of cloth tied around one end.
Nain lit it with her fire magic. It served as a torch now, casting light on the road ahead as they continued moving.
With darkness on all sides, they could only see as far as the torchlight reached.
"We should stop for the night. We'll cover the rest tomorrow," Nain said.
"Fine — let's find a decent spot and rest there," Shine said.
"They're slowing me down so much. We've rested six times in two days. At this rate, I'll never get back to my own world. It's already been fifteen days since I rented Shine. Only forty-five more — then I can take the water magician."
Jhed kept talking to himself as he walked. They were holding him back, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Shine walked ahead with the torch. They still hadn't found anywhere to stop.
Then — rustling from the bushes nearby. Like something was moving inside them.
"What could that be?" Nain said.
"Probably just an animal," Shine said.
Shine aimed the torchlight at the bushes.
And then—
Dozens of figures emerged. Their bodies had rotted. No blood remained in them — only bones showing through. There were so many of them.
"Monsters—" Nain screamed.
"What kind of monsters are these..." Shine said.
Jhed had gone pale. He seemed to already know.
"They're zombies!" he shouted. "Run — if they bite you, you'll turn into one of them!" He broke into a sprint.
The other two ran after him.
The zombies gave chase. Their speed was alarming — they closed the gap fast.
Shine drew his sword and cut several down. But they rose back up, exactly as before.
"O goddess, lend me your power. Fireball!" Nain said. A magic circle formed in front of her hands and fireballs launched from it, hitting the zombies. Several caught fire — but they healed and kept coming.
Shine set the surrounding bushes alight with the torch, hoping to create a barrier. But the zombies walked straight through the flames.
"What's that light in the forest?" An old man had been startled awake. He rushed out of his house and ran toward it.
"They won't stop chasing us," Nain said, completely out of breath.
"Keep running—" Jhed said, clutching his pack as he sprinted.
Shine hacked at as many zombies as he could to slow them down.
"Wait — why am I running. Nothing can hurt me." He remembered suddenly — his power gave him a hundred percent defense against any physical attack. And his hundred percent critical rate meant a single sword strike split anything in two.
"Look — a gate! Head there!" Jhed shouted.
"But it's closed," Nain said.
Just then, the gate swung open. The old man who'd run toward the light — he was the one opening it.
"Children, hurry — come in!" He waved them over. All three of them sprinted toward the gate at full speed.
A zombie latched onto Shine's back and tried to bite through his neck. Not even a scratch. The zombie's own teeth shattered against him instead.
Shine sheathed his sword.
"Jump!" Shine shouted.
All three leapt forward and slid inside the gate. The old man slammed it shut behind them. The zombies crashed into it from outside, rattling it hard — trying to break through.
What would happen next? Could they get through? How would Jhed fight creatures that kept coming back to life — just like him?
For Jhed, this was a whole new kind of trouble.