The fleshy axe materialized in Keneric's hand, pulsing with a living green light that faintly illuminated the shattered cafeteria floor.
"I said come out," Keneric ordered, his voice heavy and assertive. "Right now."
But there was no response.
Keneric sighed and moved forward, dismissing the axe. He sensed this wasn't a monster—probably a human. His walk looked calm, but his intentions were far from it. Once he reached the central area of the kitchen, he jumped over the counter with ease, using only his hands. Pots and utensils were scattered everywhere.
Joy watched from a distance, clutching a spatula like a weapon. She looked almost comical.
Keneric caught sight of her and thought, What are we here for? Catching flies? A smile crossed his face before he refocused on the task ahead… well, below in this case.
"You have one second. Last chance," he warned. And when nothing happened, he attacked like lightning.
He tore open the small wooden cabinet doors under the counter and yanked someone out. His hand gripped a neck, lifting an entire body into the air. A choking sound followed soon after.
The person dangled like a piñata, struggling without any restraint. Nevertheless they managed to aim a red fire extinguisher which they were rashly concealing and blasted it into Keneric's face—but his grip didn't loosen. He simply dodged.
Joy blinked in surprise. She saw a girl—barely five feet tall—with choppy brown hair and wide, terrified eyes spraying the extinguisher. But failing miserably. Ken used his other hand to snatch the red canister and tossed it aside into an empty corner.
"Who are you?" Keneric demanded.
The girl trembled. "R-Rune," she coughed multiple times, "I'm Rune fr-om the Art-s progra-m. P-Please don't kill me."
Keneric loosened his grip. "What are you doing here? And why didn't you come out when I said so?"
"I was sen-t here to find fo-od for the cam-p," she stammered, gesturing toward the corner Keneric had pulled her out from. "A-And I was too sc-ared to come out."
"From the camp?" he asked, glancing under the counter.
There was a large yellow backpack tucked inside the cabinet—well, large for her petite size.
"What camp?" he repeated.
Joy also looked intrigued, and stepped forward. There she saw the girl—scared and coughing—and glared at Keneric like she was about to scold him.
"Put her down," she eyed him angrily.
Keneric sighed and set the little girl down. The girl was probably their age, just short enough to be misidentified as a child and looked too young to attend this university.
Joy gently patted Rune and helped her stand. Her voice turned sweet. "I'm so sorry about that."
Keneric raised a brow. What was this good cop, bad cop situation? This felt like one of those scenes from a detective movie. And the whole thing was funny, really—except Rune wasn't a criminal.
Well… she was scavenging without permission. So, technically a criminal? Which made him and Joy criminals too.
Keneric chuckled at the thought.
Rune jumped back, startled by the laughing sound.
Joy half-hugged her, still gently coaxing her. But she was asking about personal stuff and not what Keneric cared about. He was enjoying the moment, but to speed things along, he cut in.
"You better start talking. What camp? How many of you? And where?"
Suddenly, Keneric reached for an axe behind his back—or pretended to—and aimed it at Rune. Her face went deathly pale as she tried to hide behind Joy.
Joy stepped between them like a protective mother. "Ken, stop!" she snapped. "You're scaring her. Put that… thing away."
Keneric rolled his eyes and moved to one corner. He hopped up and sat on the kitchen counter, still staring in their direction.
Joy turned to the girl with a hop and a warm smile. "I'm Joy, and this is… Ken. He won't hurt you… anymore. We're just trying to survive. Just like you. So… will you tell us about the camp now?"
Rune nodded, her voice steadier now. "There's a camp. Around thirty of us. Most are Arts students. Some are from the IT building too. A few professors as well. We barricaded ourselves inside the Arts and Humanities building."
"How did you organize such a group?" Joy asked. Keneric was also listening now.
"Well, Professor Nawatt—he teaches Computer Science—managed to send out an emergency signal in the middle of the earthquake. Then more and more students found their way there."
Her tone was a little odd. Keneric also let out a low ugh.
Joy raised an eyebrow at him.
Keneric simply said, "I know him. He has a bad reputation in the CS building."
He didn't explain further but instead asked, "What about Engineering? Anyone from there?"
Rune flinched at the question. But she answered honestly, "Engineering is gone. Destroyed completely… by one of those giant golems."
"Anyone survive?" Joy asked gently.
Rune's voice dropped. "No… not to my knowledge. We mostly have IT and Arts students. A few from Medical too. But that's all."
Joy turned to gauge Ken's reaction after hearing about the Engineering building. But he didn't flinch. Just turned his head and looked outside, his expression unchanged.
At least on the surface.
Then he looked back at Rune. Then at Joy. "At least now we don't have to worry about food."
Joy blinked. "And why is that?" she asked, her voice curious and expectant.