The Transcenders

Chapter 4 - Coup d'État (3)

Once they reached the High Road, Ronald spoke, "Wow! He sure has a lot of mana for his age. Aaron. Rico. No matter what you encounter, I'm sure that as long as you rely on each other you will succeed in life. Farewell." He died soon after with no chance of getting revived. The other Jacob's troops made sure of that.

Much higher up, on a highway supported by giant pillars, Aaron and Rico started walking north. They stumbled upon a bus station after a few minutes. Aaron stopped walking and sat down. "Let's wait here and take a bus. We'll get out of here faster by bus than by walking."

"Okay."

After a short moment, a double-decker bus arrived. Its primary colour was blue, its tainted windows covered the two storeys, and "Bus #51" was inscribed on a panel.

As soon as the door opened up, Aaron walked in and Rico followed close behind.

"Hey! Do you two kids have your cards?" asked the bus driver. Just like many other guilds, a special card was needed to board any public transport services offered by the Amon guild.

"Uh... no we don't Ma'am," admitted Aaron. He had made a mistake. There was no point in waiting for the bus if he couldn't even board it! Just as he was about to walk out, someone seated close by intervened.

"Hey! Miss, don't you see who these two children are? Take a closer look at them."

The old bus driver squinted her eyes. "Hmm... OH! Y-you are... Sorry, please go on!" She realized that they were the young masters of the guild. She made an exception.

And so, Aaron walked in. But, he quickly halted. The voice from before spoke again. "Hey!" The woman's voice wasn't improper, but a bit coarse.

"Oh, it's you. Thanks for helping us."

"Hello. You can call me Miss Han. I'm just a fellow citizen." A big and fairly old woman greeted them. Aaron and Rico could tell that she had native origins. Before the Western continent was colonized by the other continents, the only humans found on the continent had goldish skin tone. She had such a skin tone. She had no doubt been through a lot. Before the Amon guild came into existence twenty years ago, the Topaz guild reigned over this territory.

"Come, sit here. I'm curious as to what the two new 'Amon orphans' are doing here." The woman abruptly lowered her voice, "Could you perhaps be... on the run?"

Aaron and Rico took a seat. Aaron sighed and confirmed her suspicions. "Jacob Raider is after us. He is the one behind all of the deaths that have been occurring since yesterday." "Yeah! We were forced to let our uncle die so that we could escape!" added Rico.

"That's what you think! The Obscure guild to the south might be the real one behind these events. The rulers, a.k.a. the 'Cursed', have been trying to take over the continent for... more than a century?

"Moreover, while it is supposed to have gone extinct after the 'second war,' there are rumours that the 'DARK FACTION' still exists. For all we know, they might be your true opponents!"

Aaron couldn't help but admit that what she said about the Obscure guild was indeed probable. However, the Dark Faction had crumbled down in the 21st century. "This is a fact that everyone knows! It couldn't possibly have just gone into hiding for 150 years." he thought.

"Well, in any case, the only thing Rico and I can do is leave for the Tremblay Guild and find Henri Tremblay. This place is way too corrupted!"

And so, for a few hours, the miss kept them company.

It was now midday. Something unexpected occurred. A missile was travelling "undetected" above their heads and had finally decided to land. *KABOOM!* The High Road broke in two. Yet, the driver did not hit the break. The bus quickly plunged into the void amongst the falling debris.

Then, the alarm system went off. "Dear passengers, please remain calm and evacuate the vehicle. The emergency doors will soon open," said a robotic voice. However, the fact that the doors would open was not in their favour at all. They had no parachutes!

The passengers cried. "AHHHH!"