Zen walked ahead with Hako as they climbed the stairs.
The handrail was broken, and the stairs themselves were in terrible shape but they held, leading the way upward.
When they reached the first floor, Zen was stunned by what greeted them: a wide, spacious hall. Not even a broken stick in sight.
"Wow," he muttered. Just hours ago, it had been a chaotic mess.
"How did you guys clean it so fast?"
Even with superhuman strength, he didn't think that would've been easy.
Kozen groaned as he brushed past him.
"Does it matter? We got rid of it."
Hako shrugged.
"You heard the guy. Let's get to work."
He walked off without another word.
At that moment, Konan stepped beside Zen, muttering under his breath.
"I think I know how they did it."
Zen blinked. "How?"
Konan gestured toward the window with a weak point. Curious, Zen walked over and peered out.
On the massive lawn below, heaps of fabric, broken beds, and shattered furniture were stacked high into a mountain of discarded junk.
Zen leaned down, skeptical.
"They didn't… just throw it out the window, right?"
Konan nodded solemnly.
"Bet they did."
After all, they were talking about a bunch of high schoolers who only knew how to throw punches. Who was going to clean up that mess again?
Crack.
The window frame splintered under their combined weight.
Zen nearly had a heart attack and stumbled back.
"Damn. I almost went to heaven."
But something caught his attention.
He looked back at the now-spacious room and realized—
"They don't have any partitions…"
Konan nodded again. "Must've been the children's bedroom. That's why there were so many beds earlier."
Zen stepped closer to the wall and tilted his head, studying it.
"I think you're right. There's even doodles here—look!" He laughed. "A dinosaur."
Konan followed his gaze.
"Is that a T-rex? Breathing fire, too."
Zen smiled faintly. "Do you think the kids ran away? They must have… right?"
Konan inhaled, then exhaled slowly. "Yeah. I think so."
A silence settled between them.
Just then, a guy with crown-like hair bent down and picked something up.
"Oh—found a rattle. It's broken though."
He dusted it off. "Where should we keep it?"
"Huh?" Kozen grumbled from the other end of the room, pushing a broom around.
"Just toss it and keep sweeping."
Zen's eye twitched. What an insensitive guy.
Still, for someone who complained earlier, Kozen now seemed oddly committed to the job.
But the crown-haired guy looked down at the little rattle in his hand.
"…It doesn't feel right to just throw it away."
Another guy chimed in.
"Why don't we put it all in a box? I saw one outside the door. I'll bring it over."
He dashed off and soon returned with a medium-sized cardboard box.
It became a collective effort after that.
While cleaning, they discovered puzzle pieces, flashcards, toy blocks — small things left behind.
One by one, each item was placed into the box. Before long, it was nearly full.
Zen found a little doll tucked in the corner. He gently placed it inside and turned to ask,
"I think that's everything. Want to wet mop next?"
Hako, busy dismantling a broken light fixture, glanced over.
"Definitely needed." Then he added, "It's almost evening. We should bring our stuff here before dark."
Fabasa dusted off his palms and looked outside.
The sky had deepened into orange. Dusk was settling in.
"Yeah. We should. It's dangerous after nightfall, after all."
Zen listened to their conversation.
Dangerous—?
But before he could ask, Hako tugged him away, leading him toward the inn they were staying at.
Zen didn't have much luggage to begin with, but on Hako's suggestion, he brought along a blanket. Before the market closed, they even managed to grab a mat.
It made sense. Without it, they'd be sleeping directly on that hard, dusty floor.
Even though they had cleaned it several times.
Zen wasn't exactly a neat freak, but even he had his limits.
As they walked back, Hako hugged the mat to his chest and asked,
"Do you know why I asked if you were strong when we first met?"
It was such a random question that Zen had to blink twice.
He shook his head and guessed, "Because it's... dangerous here?"
Hako snorted.
"Your word choice is really limited." He gave a nod. "But yeah. You'll understand soon enough. Why Sinilite is a force to be reckoned with, and why this place is considered a hellhole."
Zen raised a brow.
"Oh! I'm looking forward to it."
Hako laughed at that.
"Tonight. Like you said, either prove our worth or get flushed down the drain."
Zen watched Hako's back as he entered the building.
He still didn't really get what Hako meant. What will happened tonight?
But there was no rush.
He'd find out soon, just like Hako said.
The moon hung high in the sky, its pale light barely outlining the jagged silhouettes of the half-ruined buildings.
Night had fallen.
But it was only the beginning.
Zen sat cross-legged on his mat, wrapped himself tight with the blanket.
He pulled out his phone and resumed memorizing the alphabet before moving on to reading practice.
"The bird has… poop?" He tilted his head. "That can't be right."
Did that even make sense?
Sort of?
He tapped the screen to hear the sentence aloud.
A mechanical voice read:
[The bird has pink eggs.]
Pink egg?
Okay.
He moved on to the next sentence when Hako sat down beside him.
Zen did a quick double take.
There was something different about him now.
His expression was tense, his breathing was stiff too.
Zen swore he hadn't seen Hako look this serious before.
Then again, he hadn't known him that long either.
"…What's up?"
Hako shook his head.
"Nothing. Just… be on guard."
Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a long staff, easily seven feet in length.
Even in the cramped space between them, Hako lightly spun it with ease but Zen wouldn't underestimate the impact on how it look.
He could hear the sharp wind whirling with it's movement.
Hako suddenly stood up.
"Zen," he said, without looking, "get ready."
Zen paused, confused.
Ready for what—?
He'd just pushed off his blanket and was about to ask when—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the air from afar.