CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD

CH.5 'WORLD OF RUST'

The group weaved through the dead of night, eventually finding a slightly more managed stretch of street. Andrei blinked as his worn shoes scraped across level ground, and he couldn't help but look down at the lack of debris. Still at the rear of Ban's group, the boy was last to see the warm flames of burning barrels in the streets, and concrete barricades that had been quite well-worn began to become more apparent. He looked up at the sky, as though this new sight was some kind of dream... but when it apparently wasn't, he noticed the twinkling stars overhead.

Returning his gaze to the Earth, he looked ahead, watching as Ban waved towards a wall of steel sheets lining cars. Two people in attire similar to Zeshin's group waved back, and a mechanical gate swiveled open with a shrieking metallic sound. Looking back, Ban's smile no longer glimmered in the sunlight, but barrelfire glossed his teeth. Removing his glasses, he flicked them closed and tucked them onto the collar of his shirt. With a huff, he approached Andrei, his trio of soldiers marching off without their leader, entering what looked to be a sprawling metropolis in comparison to the surrounding Tokyo ruins in comparison. Andrei's eyes were caught on neon lights and several-story buildings made of scrap, and as his eyes adjusted to the light, he began to notice more people moving inside of the walls.

He was dragged back to reality by Ban, who snapped his fingers and wrapped an arm around Andrei's shoulder, walking him towards the gate. "C'mon kid, big day! When you wake up, you're gonna' have to get a real run-down of our operation... you get me?" Ban held out his free hand as he spoke, as though envisioning some grand plan with Andrei.

As they took their first steps into Andrei's first taste of a human civilization, Phanes appeared from the unzipped lid of his backpack to admire the neon signs hanging from makeshift buildings welded together rather haphazardly... though nothing fell, so it at least put Andrei's mind at ease. As they strolled through the gate, they passed two connected buildings, bound by an overhead bridge... turning to look back, they were connected to the wall, and most likely some sort of guard post. Returning to face forward, Andrei watched as he came across a tight-knit series of shops on the first floors, each lined with neon and dim lights, accompanied by the occasional lantern, or a barrel of fire in the walkway. "Ban... What is this place?" Andrei couldn't help but ask.

"Already told ya' kid, we're Scavver's Guild... biggest organization in all of Tokyo!" He had a light-hearted tone, understanding of the boy's shocked nature of it all. He must've been out there in the wasteland for a good long while, presumably alone, since nothing too small made it for so long, and he had that cat alongside him... though then again, Ban had to remind himself that he was dealing with a half-Chimera, and they were unpredictable at best. "Don't let it overwhelm ya' though... you've got old Ban watching your back!"

With an exasperated huff, Andrei felt his worries only build up, though even still, they felt less pressing with Ban's reassurance, even if they were slowly piling. They both walked, and Andrei looked up to the upper level of the Guild settlement... it seemed to be housing on top of the stores... people navigated on tight bridges and leapt across gaps, and a few others sat with fires on their raised porches, drinking or smoking the night away after having retired from whatever duties that they may have had before. Even still, Andrei noticed an especially large building in the distance, one that was at least four stories tall, and twice as wide as any other around the shack town.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to need to ask about it, because Ban was already walking that way. He blinked in awe of the structure... Just days prior he couldn't imagine a single thing built by a living human being as large as it, let alone this whole village in the bones of an even older city. As they neared the building, the smell of food wafted up from fire- and neon-lit carts. It was something unheard of... food, just at the ready like that? Even though he had feasted on canned goods, he couldn't help but feel his stomach preparing itself for a future meal. Phanes seemed to feel that same sense in his gut as well, the cat's stomach rumbling in the bag and leading to him moving around, eventually climbing out of the leather backpack and onto Andrei's shoulders. Eventually, Ban came to a halt, and Andrei blinked. The two traded a glance, and Ban couldn't help but chuckle. "Say... before I get your back, how about we get you a better outfit? Those rags're barely hanging onto you already!" Snapping his finger again, he pointed towards a place that seemed to open late. A number of people inside, all wearing rather well-constructed leathers and clothes looked over from the open-air entryway.