Chapter 10: (CH9)THE LONG ROAD
Day 3 Since the Royale Began
The city was a warzone.
From the cracked window of his apartment, Luis watched plumes of smoke rise from downtown—guild clashes. The GFH had locked down the forests, and the streets were crawling with Hosts hunting easy kills. Monsters still roamed, but only the strongest remained—the ones even the organized guilds didn’t dare approach.
Zyx hovered beside him, unusually quiet for once. "We can’t stay here."
Luis didn’t argue. He already knew.
He packed what little he had: some rations, a half-stocked first-aid kit, and his trusty Scrap Hammer. In the dim light of the garage below, he dusted off an old scooter he’d salvaged from a junkyard years ago.
Zyx raised an eyebrow. "This thing run?"
Luis kicked the ignition. The scooter sputtered, coughed... and roared to life. "It does now."
The Escape
Navigating the city felt like threading a needle through a minefield. Luis stuck to alleyways and back roads, avoiding main intersections. Twice, he ducked into half-collapsed buildings as Host squads marched past—gear bristling, eyes sharp, voices clipped.
"Crimson Blades control the East now."