“Woah… that’s deep.” William winced after checking out the map. There was a line tracing a path on it, drawn by Feodora with Lily’s magic pen. She tried looking for other possible routes. She shook her head. “No other way, unfortunately.”

“Are you sure we will be alright?” Lily peeked through the hole connecting the cabin and the metal box.

“Hopefully.” William shrugged.

“I applied the strongest shield I can,” Feodora said.

The railgun was ready. Lily would be staying in the operator’s seat while Feodora took the role of the navigator. The western route connected Haleo Berena with a city from the old principality further up north. A fortress city that most likely had fallen into demons' hands. There was a fork somewhere along the road that led south. They needed to reach this fork if they wanted to go home.

“Since the route is an open one, we should have no problems spotting enemies.”

“The road shape is what I don’t like.” William used his finger to trace the pen’s ink.

The route involved passing through the mountainside, meaning a lot of twists and turns. It would be a test of William’s driving skills. Even the slightest mistake could mean death.

They stood right behind the now-empty western gate. The cobblestone road extended far beyond them.

“I’ll do some final checks first.” William got off the truck. He took a close look at the tires and various parts on the right side of the truck before resting his body on the metal box. He took a deep breath, his heart pounding. He thought he would be ready for that time, but now that he stood here, with only one possible way to escape, he felt things getting heavy.

Calm down, you’ll get through this.

He took a breather, then another. After his third one, he continued his walk around the truck, checking every single thing. He returned to the driver-side door and yelled inside.

“Lily, try an aim test!”

Lily stepped away from the connector and took up position. The railgun turned a full circle to the left, then a full circle to the right. Its barrel then aimed upward before going back down. With all the systems ready, William got back to the driver’s seat, buckling his seatbelt. He brought his left hand on the shifter, his foot ready on the brakes. He glued his eyes toward the road in front of him, his hands gripping the steering wheel.

Feodora took a look at the magic paper, which was now under her control.

“The rest of the army had regrouped.”

“So that leaves us?”

“Yes.”

“Everyone, ready?”

“I am ready.”

“Ready when you are.” Lily did another spin, as if to prove that she was ready.

“Alright. Here we go!” William planted his foot onto the gas and the truck jumped forward. The truck raced down the cobblestone road.

“Woah!”

“Everything’s blurry!”

The two girls yelp, holding themselves to the truck. Feodora hugged her seatbelt tight. William couldn’t see what Lily was doing, but he noticed the railgun turning violently.

“Lily, you’re alright?” he asked.

“Sorry, That launch surprised me.”

“I am fine. I am fine.” Feodora repeated to herself. They exceeded eighty kilometers per hour, the truck’s speed still climbing. William brought his left hand onto the wheel. They reached ninety kilometers per hour, but William continued pushing the gas.

I never got to reach the truck’s max speed in my previous life, let’s try it here!

The road switched to dirt, stretching far into the distance. He had a lot of space to slow down. The truck’s speedometer showed a top speed of one hundred sixty. He wasn’t sure the truck could reach that high, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

“William! William! Isn’t this a bit too fast!?” Lily yelled from behind. She did her best to keep the railgun aiming forward.

“Hell no!” he grinned. Cops didn’t exist in this world, they couldn’t pull them over.

“We’re not even in demon territory yet!”

“We’re using this speed for when we cross!”

“We will die before we even reach that place!”

“This is normal in my world!”

“This is normal?” Lily exclaimed. William glanced behind. She was peeking through the hole, her left hand holding the seat belt, looking toward Feodora.

“Okay, maybe not for this type of vehicle.”

“How fast are we even going, exactly?”

Feodora looked toward the dashboard.

“Twenty-six C.”

“That’s the air conditioning. We’re going one hundred.”

“I don’t understand what that means, but you really should slow die- I mean down!”

“What is that? Can’t hear you!?” William brought his left hand to his ear.

“You’re lying! I bet if Feo is the one saying this, you would have slowed down by now.”

“You bet I am!”

“Which part!? The lying part or the Feo part!?”

“I don’t even know at this point!” Now he understood those who drove like they had multiple lives. One hundred kilometers per hour. Normal for sedans and small cars, not for trucks. All the shaking made it feel like they traveled far, far faster than they actually were. It was exciting.

I never knew this would be so fun!

The slow speed of Earth had dulled him. Every single day, repeating the same boring routine, keeping the road rules. None of those exist in this world. He could go wild.

The first turn appeared in front of him. He eased the gas and pushed the brake, slowing the truck down.

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“WOAH!” Lily yelped. “I know I like going fast, but I don’t like dying!”

“Hold on tight!”

He took the turn at the fastest and safest speed he could. The turn brings them northwest, straight into demon territory.

“Entering demon territory,” Feodora declared, comparing the turns in the road with the markings on the map.

What followed was an odd silence. The light, barely audible hum of the engine being the only sound they could hear.

“Fortresses up north.”

William squinted her eyes. There were several fortresses built by the principality to protect its territory, forming a wide line of defense. It looked somewhat similar to the Great Wall of China, with a group of fortresses standing high on the mountain peaks and roads connecting them, forming a line of defense.

“Demons up front!”

“Demons…?” William brought his eyes to the people that stood before them. They looked similar to normal people, except their skin was dark red. They featured bat-like wings and silver horns. They stood next to the road. They turned their heads toward the incoming vehicle, William passing them before they could get their arrows off. Another group stood farther away, these ones were ready. William swerved to the side, driving dangerously close to the left edge of the road, before driving straight for them.

“William!”

He didn’t catch their expressions as they leaped away. He slammed the steering wheel right, getting back on the road.

“They’re chasing after us!” Feodora yelled.

From the mirror, William saw the two demons storing their bows in between their wings. They extended their hands forward, firing fireballs at them.

“Fire magic!” Feodora warned. William turned the wheel violently, the truck dodging the incoming attack. He slammed the brakes, making a sharp turn at a turn heading north, going further up the mountainside.

Bells started ringing in the distance.

“Here they come,” Lily murmured, the railgun aimed at the distant fortresses. Two fortresses were visible at the top of the mountains, one in front of them and the other further behind. From those fortresses came a group of demons, flying straight for them.

“There’s this many!?”

“I thought they were fighting Domozia!” Lily exclaimed. Feodora quickly checked the map. The location they were in was close to the Domozia Empire’s eastern border, with a town marked not far west.

“Isn’t Domozia the empire to the west? Should we head there instead!?” William asked, dodging an incoming fireball.

“Domozia didn't have a good relationship with Piloto.”

“Yeah, but they’re not fighting, are they?”

“Still not a good idea!” Lily yelled. William decided to trust the local on this and continued following the path.

“Should I fire?” she asked.

“No, Lily! Not yet!”

“Alright!”

“Fork in front, turn right!”

“Right!?”

“Continue on the mountain path. Left heads down to a waterfall!”

William did as instructed, turning right, narrowly avoiding the cliffside. The road became narrower, making driving the truck extremely hard. He hugged the right side as close as possible, a cliff on his left. They continued their climb, going higher up.

‘Where are you?’

A message came. Feodora brought her hands toward the paper.

“Can you afford to attack-!”

A fire spell hit the vehicle, dispersing after it hit the vehicle’s shield.

“I can!” William answered by reflex, not even hearing what the message was about.

“‘Near Ksatu fortress!’ ‘Can you see Xika fortress?’” Feodora read the contents. He couldn’t tell what they were talking about.

“Ah, they’re asking if we could attack an enemy fortress. It’s called Xika Fortress.” Feodora explained. William glanced her way, but there was too much text on the paper for him to read.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ATTACK IT!?” Lily screamed.

“Lily, is everything alright?” Feodora asked, both her and William surprised by Lily’s sudden scream.

“My ear certainly is not!” William quipped, but Lily ignored her.

“Can you see Xika fortress?”

Lily disappeared from behind the door, the railgun moving, aiming toward a single spot in the distance.

“I can.”

“Ktala asked us to shoot it.”

“But why!?” Lily asked.

They had one opportunity, one shot. The truck was moving at a high speed, making it hard to aim. Demons surrounded them. In William’s eyes, this request was unreasonable. He had no reason to waste his one shot on a fortress that they wouldn’t even get close to. Lily seemed to agree with him on this reasoning.

“Why?” Feodora murmured as she used the pen to write a reply.

“Intel said that Domozia forces are attacking the fortress. General Ktala said that.”

“Didn’t you say Domozia and Piloto don’t have a good relationship?” William asked while he made a hard turn to the left.

“Right! Doesn’t mean we’re enemies. Also doesn’t mean that we should just waltz into one of their villages in the middle of a war!”

William then took the road heading west. The attacks on the truck intensified, actively chirping at their shield. Demons flocked around them, some even crashing into the truck’s front. Xika fortress stood proudly far to the west, behind the lines of countless demons swarming them.

“General Ktala said that if we hit it, they could overrun the fortress.”

“... Getting the demons off our tail? Forcing them to retreat? That might work, actually.”

“But can you hit it, Lily?”

“On it!”

The railgun turned, aligning its sight to the fortress.

“Feo, which shell should I use?”

“William, please proceed along this road!” Feodora let go of her seatbelt, and while shaking, crawled to the rear of the vehicle.

“I’ll try to keep us stable!”

It was impossible, though. The uneven roads, the demons surrounding them, their spells striking the truck, all made the truck shake. He did his best to randomize his movements, all while trying his absolute best to keep the vehicle stable.

He could hear her faint murmurs, followed by the sound of a machine whirring to life. They should have loaded ammunition into the railgun before they departed, but each magic shell had different properties. They couldn’t use fire magic to destroy a fortress, and a rock shell wouldn’t be effective against large groups of demons.

Some of the demons tried crashing to the truck’s side, attempting to throw it into the cliff. William adjusted the wheel, keeping the truck on course, his foot planted on the gas.

“Railgun ready!”

“Feodora?”

Feodora crawled back and strapped herself into the passenger seat. She quickly took the map.

“Left!”

They followed the fork that headed downward, away from the mountains. From the rocky mountainside, the fortress appeared.

“Aligning railgun!”

The barrel swerved, pointing right. Its tip began hitting branches from nearby trees. William drove left, giving the railgun some space. The path was too narrow. Not ideal. Trees slammed into the truck’s left mirror. It was a blessing they had Feodora and her shield with them.

He then saw a small space, just a few meters in length. A space where the trees didn’t block the sides. A bridge.

“Opening incoming!”

A small opening, too small to put it up to chance.

“Lily, I’ll stop the truck on that bridge, you shoot!”

“Affirmative!”

William’s left hand gripped the handbrake. He did a quick calculation. He only had one chance. If they fail, the demons may get to them.

The opening came closer. A small space between the trees, a bridge above a river. No chance to reverse, no chance to restart.

Now!

He pulled the handbrake and slammed the brakes. The truck screeched as it pulled itself to a stop. The needle turned left, the speed going down. Ninety. Eighty. Seventy. Sixty.

The truck lost its speed, the attacks on it intensifying. Demons bumped into the rear, hitting the shield.

Come on! A bit more!

William pushed the brakes downward to its maximum.

Come on! Come on!

A light zing came from behind him. The shield shattered, the truck jolted forward, the demons hitting the metal box directly. Sounds came from the truck’s rear as enemy magic began damaging the truck.

Thirty. Twenty. Ten. Zero.

The truck pulled to a stop.

The railgun roared.

Its sound shattered the silent afternoon sky, sending a single projectile straight into the air. It pierced the heavens, glittering in the afternoon glow. It defeated its own sound in the race toward the fortress. Not a second later, it smashed into the fortress walls, sending debris high into the sky. A cloud of smoke hundreds of meters high formed, followed by red and yellow glows. Flames. Fire licked through the fortress’ sturdy structure, followed by secondary explosions.

Two loud explosions followed, then a third one, and the entire structure collapsed.

It was as if time itself had stopped.

William snapped back to his senses. He disengaged the parking brakes and slammed the gas. The truck jumped, leaving the stunned demons behind. They began chasing them again a second later, but it was too late. The party disappeared into the forest below.