Vol 1 Prologue (1/2)
Prologue
Everyone held their breath, to seal the flood of terror rising in their throats
Nina did the sa at the back of the bus, she looked out of the , peering past the short, fat business before her with his head tucked beneath a pair of tre arms On the other side of the dirt-smeared as a vast wilderness Cracks crept across the parched ground Jagged shards of earth rose towards the sky A tall, dark mountain loomed before Nina
But everyone on the bus kneasn't ain the h a pair of binoculars Nina could see big drops of sweat on his face, his large Adaulped nervously
Nina squinted at the dark shape It wasn't a mountain It was a city What looked like a mountain peak was in fact the top of a tower Atop that toas a tattered flag, fluttering in the wind Nina couldn'tthat carried the city's name She couldn't confirm if the city's naust of wind struck the bus, rocking it
”Hey!”
Startled and surprised, the passengers bent over in their seats and held their heads down They curled up, instinctively trying to hide Instead of covering her head like everyone else, Nina held her breath and continued to stare at the city, trying to see any kind of reaction from it
The city was already dead
The bus squatted on its legs, is in the city were also dead Terrible wounds were carved into e Nina could see that a part of the city's ri a mountain of debris Columns of smoke rose everywhere The attack must have happened recently
It would be i at the city froet to it to see if anyone was still alive The bus eak and insignificant outside the city Nina knew that probably there weren't any survivors; humans couldn't breathe without the air shi+eld around the city, and this city had lost its shi+eld
Next to her, Harley said in an anxious voice, ”Nina”
”Don't worry We haven't been discovered”
Nina realized her voice was tre She felt coazed resolutely at the attackers hovering in the sky above the city Even though her mouth was dry, cold sweat broke out on her skin
”This is the world we live in, Harley,” she said to her childhood friend, but she did not get a response from him
The effortless moveal The attackersthey were called the Kings of Nature — filth s
”Now!” soine The legs of the bus rose, raising the body upward
Nina's line of sight rose with it The bus began to hop,away from the stricken city It was better to leave this place The bus continued to run Nina looked back at the shrinking city
After they had put sohed ”It's safe now”
As the tension in the bus eased, Nina clenched her fists tightly and said ”We're so weak”
◇
The sound of huge feet tra in the ears of people The footsteps of the city drowned out all other sounds — even the furious roar of the wind
”Are you still not giving up?”
It cah to be heard over this din
A girl spoke to a boy in the city's roaolden hair Her clear blue pupils looked directly at the boy Her youthful face, which er than she really as full of disapproval and unease She gazed at the boy standing at the bus stop
Looking troubled, the boy kept glancing back and forth between the girl and the bus waiting to depart A chain held up the long s of the bus that were folded and bent The body of the bus swayed along with the ainst a cushi+on pad Since it was dangerous when the cityin the s area This kind of bus was built to withstand up and down shaking, but it couldn't stop froer not yet in the waiting area – Layfon, looked away from the bus He had tea-colored hair and blue eyes His face showed an expression that came from the loss of adolescence This look was now coupled with a powerless smile
”Even so, I can't stay here anymore, Leerin”
Layfon didn't raise his voice, so Leerin stepped closer Even with her expressive eyes right in front of him, Layfon didn't feel attracted to his childhood friend
”But-! You didn't have to pick a school that was so far away!”
”Even here” Again, the sound of the city's ust of wind blew past them Layfon reached out and placed a hand on Leerin's shoulder to steady her
”It can't be helped The only place that gave e's ht?”