Joy lay sprawled across the car's roof, crying in helplessness. A bunch of mutated mushroom monsters surrounded her in the dark. They pushed and shoved each other, desperate to reach her like she was a delicate prize they had spent their whole lives trying to get.
Joy had stopped kicking. Her energy and motivation were an all-time low. She held her breath in that cold, lonely place, waiting to die.
But death didn't come.
What came instead was a sound like lightning—BAM!
Her eyes flew open. Keneric's figure burst through the crowd, kicking one mushroom and slashing another with his axe. He carved through them all, making a bloody green path toward the car's roof.
"Ken…" Joy whispered in her disheveled state.
But Keneric didn't answer—or maybe her voice was too soft to hear in the chaos. He was focused entirely on killing the mushroom monsters one by one. His axe swung with brutal efficiency, slicing dozens of them—big or small, all fell to his hands. He even used his legs to cover his blind spots, creating a perfect defensive ring around her.
Joy was… well, joyous.
"I thought—" she began, "I thought you wouldn't come back…"
Once the way was clear, Keneric knelt beside her.
"How could I not? Your friends from the Dentistry building would kill me if I did that."
He smiled, finally taking initiative instead of moving passively for once.
She gave a sheepish smile back. She didn't really have friends there—just some punching bags she wanted to… well, punch.
Keneric studied her. "Can you stand?"
Joy nodded and tried getting up but failed miserably.
Without hesitation, Keneric turned around, crouched lower, and said, "Hop on."
Before she could argue, he added, "There are still some stragglers. I haven't killed them all."
That did the trick. Joy wrapped her arms around his neck as he hoisted her onto his back. She pressed her tear-stained face against him, thinking how useless she must seem.
But Keneric didn't give her time to spiral. He carefully hopped down from the car's roof.
Joy's body tensed. She tightened her grip. "Ken, wait! The water—"
But before she could finish, Keneric said, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing." His feet touched the wet ground.
Joy squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the splash that would soak them both in swamp water.
But it didn't come.
Just a shallow plop. Barely worth mentioning.
She reopened her eyes, confused. Keneric was already moving toward the exit—slowly but steadily.
That's when she noticed the floor of the parking lot was almost visible. The water had mostly drained out. It didn't make sense. By her calculations, it should've taken far longer for this place to empty.
Maybe the drainage sped up during the later stages? Who knew?
She also noticed something else—on Ken's foot, to be exact. Most of his lower leg up to the knee was wrapped in layers of bubble wrap, sealed at the top with duct tape. It created a makeshift waterproof barrier and gave him enough confidence to walk here.
She was relieved. But more than that—grateful. Overwhelmingly so.
She hid her face on his shoulder again to keep him from seeing the fresh tears welling up.
Meanwhile, Keneric continued walking carefully. The bubble wrap was slippery and offered little traction on the wet ground.
Feeling awkward in the silence—and shy about being so close to a boy—Joy did what she did best. She started blabbering.
Her voice came out a little choked, but she forced it anyway. "Where were you?" She bit her lip, eyes puffy, trying not to embarrass herself more. "What took you so long?"
She later added a fake "hmph" sound, like she was mad. But she was actually simpering.
Keneric couldn't see it. He was too focused on spotting any mushrooms that might try to attack. He had already kicked a few clever ones while covering this short distance.
Finally, he answered. "I looked everywhere to bridge the gap between the cars. But I found nothing useful."
He kept walking.
"Then I spotted a dumpster filled with boxes, bubble wrap, and some tape. Someone definitely ordered PC parts from the engineering department. And I got an idea."
Joy raised her eyebrows. Not at the explanation—but at something else.
"Why throw it here, this far out from the main building?"
"Oh, you don't know how it is in the boys' hostel," Keneric said, sighing. "If someone sees you buy something, it's not yours anymore. It's public property."
Joy laughed. "It's the same in the girls' hostel—but for clothes, accessories, and worst of all—undergarments! Those thieves are everywhere."
Keneric, for a moment, imagined boys stealing each other's underwear and felt more appalled than when he saw that big-ass golem.
"May the Lord be upon me," he muttered under his breath three times, trying to erase the mental image.
Then, out loud, he said, "You girls are weird."
Joy laughed harder, finally feeling better—finally able to breathe again.
"I'm sorry for doubting you."
"Don't be. I should've come faster."
They reached the exit ramp without Keneric slipping or dropping Joy, much to her relief.
But just as he stepped out of the water, he suddenly muttered, "Ow," and came to a stop.
"What is it?" Joy asked, startled.
"Nothing," Keneric said quickly, but he could now feel the pain growing at the back of his thigh. Gently, he let Joy down and checked the spot.
Joy followed his gaze, alarmed.
A tiny mushroom—about the size of a coin—had bitten the back of Ken's leg and was bobbing every time he moved. The adrenaline had masked the pain until now. He had no idea where it came from or when it bit him.
Also, there was something very odd about this mushroom. First, it was small. Second, it was rhythmically digging deeper into his flesh—and shrinking as it did so.
Without wasting time, Keneric used his axe to slice it off, then dug out the rest with his hands.
What remained was a sticky, green, discolored wound behind.