May the traffic lights guide us!

The bull monster shook off the remaining magma, irritated by anything on its body. The couple on bikes pedaled, attempting to outpace a fan at maximum rotation. They struggled to keep up without losing their breath, but the bull was faster than their top speed – much faster.

With every step the bull took on a corpse, bodies splashed like grapefruits. Its weight pressed against the floor, causing the ground to quiver. The cracking floor reverberated and intensified its charge.

With brutal swings, it tore apart every vehicle in its path. Some exploded on its face, hardly affecting the monster, like water balloons. Some flew a few meters up, and others were folded like paper.

Chump turned to the left, searching for a path for her sister to follow. During the turn, the giant bull-like creature slammed a part of its body into a building, coming to a complete stop for a moment before recovering and darting toward them again.

Her sister shouted, "We're barely doing anything, and we're just going in circles! Brother, any ideas?" Her breath came in ragged gasps as she pushed her limits.

"Follow me! We're going to take a sharp turn to the right!"

Adrenaline surged as they rushed through the streets, desperate to escape the mighty beast. They entered a narrow street, too small even for cars to fit, barely a meter wide. The bull came to a complete stop and rammed its horns against one of the walls.

"Hehehe! I think we've got him!" Chump slowed down to assess their situation. "Okay, I think we should head east, towards the port."

The horns shed their outer coverings, revealing the inner bone made of some steel-like material.

Its legs retracted slightly, and it charged with a swift assault against both walls of the buildings to pass through the street. The bull treated the buildings like dense mud, plowing its way through.

"Oh, come on!" Chump shouted, pushing his body to keep going. "Let's head for the narrow streets!"

"No! Head for the bridge and make it collapse under its weight! If it's powerful enough to plow through everything, it must be heavy!" Her sister explained.

"O-Okay! Quick, there's one nearby!"

The buildings that the bull destroyed in its path were mostly old houses from over ninety or even a hundred years ago, barely a single floor tall, from the ancient part of the city. Like a house of cards, they fell dramatically; the destruction it left behind was akin to a bullfighting arena.

The bridge was congested, and they had to jump from a makeshift ramp, barely reaching the bridge.

The brothers positioned themselves in the center of the right side of the bridge, with just enough space for them to fit between the remaining vehicles. In the next moment, the giant bull followed suit, showing only a few scratches on its horns, its stone skin, and its determination.

It also had to jump, creating a large crater at the start of the bridge.

The distance was shrinking. It lowered its horns and accelerated, still brimming with strength. The massive monster roared, and dread gripped the hearts of the brothers.

With a hundred meters of separation, the bicycles were midway. A faint smile could be seen on the face of the mighty beast. It was having fun.

Crack.

With fifty meters of separation, it wasn't even pushing away the vehicle; there was enough space.

Crack! Crack...

As the distance closed to ten meters, Chump looked back and saw the horns closer than before.

Crack! Crack! Craaaaaaa-

At two meters, they could feel the monster's foul and damp breath on their necks. Tears formed on the boy's face, while his sister felt adrenaline and anger coursing through her veins.

Just before they were about to be rammed, as the bull took its final step, it stumbled. The bridge collapsed under its weight, just before the three of them made it off the bridge. They fell too, but they reached the other side just in time.

They hit the ground, tumbling sideways, but without any major harm. Their bodies absorbed the impact, sparing their heads.

The woman rolled over, but the man didn't, resulting in deep chafing on his hands and legs. Both of them collided with a nearby bus. The couple ended up in a roundabout with two exits, one heading north and the other east.

The bull fell into the green river, roaring in frustration. Any man-made passage was too short for its considerable length. It took less than a second to recover from the small concussion, ramming against the sides with no success.

Both brothers gradually recovered from the impact. They managed to stand up with very little energy left. They checked on each other, and with a brief silence and a small smile, they knew they were fine.

Chump signaled to one of the small cars. The driver left the door open, keys in hand. He grabbed the bags attached to his bike. They walked slowly, limping from their legs, exhausted from their adventure.

"Hell yeah! We did it!" The man celebrated with minimal effort. "How the bags survived such a sequence is beyond my comprehension... I don't even have a license yet. Hope you don't mind." He giggled.

"I don't care; you already have ten crashes, which is ten more than I've had in my life."

They both laughed halfheartedly at the small joke. Chump placed the bags in the passenger seats. They moved the bodies of the other passengers outside and sat down. Chump took the driver's seat, and her sister occupied the co-pilot's seat.

Releasing all the stress they had been holding, both Chump and her sister finally felt free to let out their emotions. Her sister coughed violently as her insides rebelled. Soon after, both were overcome with fatigue.

While her brother was occupied with starting the car, her sister checked on her left arm. She felt a strange numbing pain.

Back in the main square, Gunnhildr returned through the portal, washing her hands and murmuring an incantation. Ephiron was engaged in conversation with a crystal.

"Yes, Miss Ladice, we placed the eighteen humans within our world, but two of them escaped. We'll address it. Please bear with us for a little longer."

Gunnhildr laughed at Ephiron.

"Well, that was entertaining; I think I broke around a hundred bones~. And you?" The woman's face was radiant with joy, her eyes gleaming with uncontained excitement.

"New meat to train – after a long time, we'll have a new generation!" Gunnhildr thought's were a roller coaster of emotions.

In contrast, Ephiron's expression displayed a mix of concern and exasperation. "Just a couple of ribs."

"See? I knew you were a weakling. How would you say it… Ah yes, 'You should work on your strength training' mimimimimi, kyehehehe!"

He placed a hand on his forehead and retorted, "I was trying to avoid getting our new guests killed by our own hands. But unlike me, you treated this like a game and had a 'wrestling match' with them. You should have focused less on that part called 'Texas' and more on understanding the general lives of these creatures."

"Alright, fine, but you'll have to feed my Beastie once she's back."

"It's my duty, Miss Gunnhildr..." He extended his arms, gradually floating upwards. "Speaking of the little devil, we should keep an eye out for her."

"Oh yeah, Beastie always leaves the best traces – hahaha!"

Gunnhildr placed her hands on the ground. A subtle orange light illuminated the area. The ground melted and covered her feet.

She could move freely as if she were wearing skates. The terrain that Gunnhildr skated over reverted to its original state once she was off it. Both of them took off, following the trail of destruction left by their pet.