The giant had nearly finished carving a wide enough path between the parking lot and the gymnasium behind it. His overgrown body now stood fully visible before Keneric and Joy.
Keneric had seen the terrifying creature before, but for Joy, it was the first time—and she couldn't help but shiver, frozen in place.
Keneric gripped the axe tightly as dozens of scenarios raced through his mind at lightning speed. He didn't forget to urge Joy, at least on the surface, to snap out of it and take a leap of faith.
But what truly jolted Joy back to reality was when the golem was almost done widening the gap between the buildings. Just as it was about to reach into the parking area, the ceiling finally collapsed onto the creature. Much of the parking lot and all of the gymnasium gave way with it.
Luckily, the parking lot was built in sections, each connected and supported by numerous pillars. Only the rear portion collapsed. Keneric and Joy screamed, but their section—closer to the entrance—remained standing amid the swirling dust and squirming water.
"Ken, go!" Joy shouted, finally snapping out of her daze as she processed the situation and realized the threat wasn't over.
They didn't know whether the golem was dead or still alive, but now, the mushroom creatures that had once fallen into the swampy water began mutating further. They started appearing again—this time from the underbody of the cars Keneric and Joy had once used to get across.
Seeing this, Keneric made his decision. He gripped his fiery-red axe and shouted across the flooded gap, "Joy! I'm going to find something to help bridge it. Stay away from those things!"
She nodded frantically as Keneric hopped across the last few cars near the exit ramp. From there, it didn't take long for him to reach solid ground, the remaining jumps were easy enough for him to manage.
Joy watched him leave, then stood up as if bracing herself for the worst. She noticed another change in the surroundings. It wasn't just that more and more mutated mushrooms were surfacing—it was that the green, bubbly water level was dropping.
She immediately looked toward the back of the parking lot, where the collapsed ceiling had buried the one-story-tall golem. That was it—the water was draining, like a reverse waterfall, into the opening the golem had created, either into the ground below or toward the gymnasium.
But she didn't feel relieved.
The water level was dropping too slowly—far slower than what would've been ideal. If only the structure hadn't collapsed onto the golem, she thought. Maybe the water would drain faster… But that was naive thinking.
Without the collapse, she'd be facing that hulking monster without a single plan. So in reality she valued her chances here with the mushroom minions surrounding her.
Soon, one of the larger, baby-sized mushrooms closed in on her, and she couldn't help but scream in panic, "Ken!"
However, there was no response.
She kicked at the wicked creature trying to gnaw at her legs. It worked—for about ten seconds. The mushroom flopped back, then glared at her. Joy shuddered. Maybe it was her imagination, but these things now seemed to show emotion—not just following commands like before, but calculating, watching, planning.
That was worse.
She'd prefer mindless minions over these "becoming sentient" mushrooms. At least they weren't human-level smart… not yet.
She kept kicking away the mushrooms crawling onto her last safe space, but it quickly spiraled out of control. Now three, four—sometimes five—large mushrooms were targeting her at once. And Joy wasn't known for stamina.
She was an academic, not a fighter goddammit.
The earlier jumping had already left her winded, and now, her breathing turned shallow in the thick, humid air. Her vision began to blur.
Sensing her state, the first mushroom that had landed here—the tallest one, now nearly half her size—glowed faintly from its button-like eyes. It shook with purpose, then crept up behind the car using its spider-like legs. Somehow, it had hidden itself so well, and now it was right behind her.
Joy saw it at the very last second.
A chill raced through her.
Maybe it was adrenaline or maybe instinct—but she moved faster than she thought possible and kicked the creature square in the face.
The half-human-sized mushroom crashed into the water, crying out with a high-pitched, chilling shriek. But it didn't disappear beneath the surface like before.
The water was too shallow now—only enough to cover its lower body. It simply settled to vanish into the swarming crowd of mushrooms still converging on the car.
Joy wasn't doing amazing either.
That premature kick had thrown her off balance, and she nearly tumbled off the roof—but somehow, she managed to stay atop the car.
Her blurred vision barely picked up the green masses inching awfully closer.
A tear slipped from behind her glasses.
Maybe this is how I die?
In those final moments, her mind conjured images of her father, then her mother, then her big sister. She prayed for their safety in this cruel, new world.
And finally… she thought of Ken.
How he left her.
How he promised to return.
How he had to lie to leave her.
She understood though. What else could he do? She knew her own weakness. If only she were athletic like him, maybe she could have saved herself.
She cried in sadness.
And then—BAM.