After flying the Chimaera GZX for several hours, they finally located a large settlement near the coast. It was ringed by a concrete wall and the jungle-covered wreckage of old buildings, suggesting the town was once a sizable city with tall, but not skyscraper-level, structures that had long since crumbled. They carefully laid the Chimaera GZX down in the ocean right in front of a high cliff and secured it to the rock face using branches from Cyrus's limbs to prevent the strong, crashing waves from washing it away.
Then, Cole transformed and made a high leap using his legs, which now resembled a frost giant's, carrying Celes and Charlotte. Calista transformed, then flew up, carrying Cyrus in her legs, to the top of the cliff. "Tap," they all landed on the high ledge and looked down at the Chimaera GZX lying motionless in the water.
"Okay, it's safe for now," Cole said.
"Yeah, no one will find him down there," Calista replied.
"Bye-bye, Chimaera GZX, we'll be back," Cyrus said.
"Are you saying goodbye to a friend or something?" Charlotte asked.
"Well, he is my friend. I was alone inside him for five years," Cyrus answered.
"So what are we wearing? We can't go into that town like this," Celes asked, pointing to her body, which was still only in underwear.
"How about this: you all wait here. I'll go get some clothes and bring them back, and then we'll all go into that town together. Sound good?" Calista asked.
"Okay, we'll wait right here, but don't take too long," Cole replied.
"Got it, relax," Calista said, giving Cole a hug.
"Hey, hands off, Calista," Celes shot back, wrapping her arm around Cole's.
Calista immediately stared at Celes, who glared right back. The two instantly engaged in a fierce, battle-ready staring contest.
"Stop it, both of you... this isn't the time to fight," Cole said.
"Okay, wait for me, Cole," Calista said, giving Cole a peck on the cheek.
"Hey... me too," Celes replied, grabbing Cole's cheeks with both hands and kissing him on the mouth.
"Ugh, seriously... you two haven't changed since childhood, have you?" Charlotte said, shaking her head.
"I don't get it," Cyrus replied next to Charlotte.
"Hahaha... okay, I'm gone," Calista said.
She immediately transformed, then shot off, flying away while Celes continued to stare after her with a pout.
"Come on, let go. I'm getting hot here," Cole said, pulling his arm free from Celes's grip.
"Be quiet," Celes snapped, hugging Cole's arm even tighter.
"Why do you two always fight over Cole? It's been weird since we were kids," Charlotte said.
"Hah... you were always clinging to Calvin, so don't judge others when you're the same way," Celes retorted sharply.
"Uh," Charlotte immediately looked away and crossed her arms over her chest, her face red and pouting.
"What exactly is going on here?" Cyrus asked, confused.
"Just relax. We'll wait for Calista here," Cole said, sitting down, followed by Celes, who was still wrapped around his arm.
Finally, Charlotte and Cyrus sat down as well. Although Cyrus was still confused and wanted to ask what was really happening, he couldn't get the words out.
***
Meanwhile, "plop... plop... plop," Calista landed at the edge of the town, between stretching fields of wheat. She immediately changed into her human form and ran toward the settlement ahead, which was surrounded by a concrete fence that seemed to act as a fort wall. Just as she was about to step inside, she suddenly covered her nose.
"Ugh... that smell... Draugr?" Calista asked in her thoughts, stepping inside.
Once inside, Calista was stunned. She saw a male Draugr, with blackish-gray skin and entirely black eyes, walking with a human man. The Draugr was wearing human-like clothes, and they were interacting normally, socializing just like anyone else.
Calista glanced to her right; many kids were playing soccer in a field, some of them clearly Draugr children who had horns on their backs. She looked another way and saw groups of high school students in uniform, some of them were also Draugr.
The village or small city looked like humans and Draugr were living side-by-side without any discrimination at all.
"Ho... how is this possible? This town is strange," Calista said.
Calista immediately stepped onto the sidewalk, walking, as cars and motorbikes were still passing by on the street, although most residents used bicycles and horse-drawn carriages for transport when carrying a lot of cargo.
Calista continued walking. She saw rows of four-story buildings with shops on the ground floor. She also saw a few tall office buildings, though not skyscrapers, and noticed several men in business suits carrying coffee cups and checking their watches—both Draugr and human.
Finally, after walking around for a while, Calista reached the edge of the town where some seemingly abandoned houses stood before her. She immediately walked into the area and saw that a few of the homes were still occupied. When she stopped in front of a house that smelled of cooking from the kitchen, Calista paused for a moment.
"Klek," the door suddenly opened. Calista immediately jumped into the ruins of a nearby overgrown, broken-down house, continuing to peek at the occupied house in front of her.
"I'm heading out now," a male Draugr said, kissing his wife's forehead and rubbing her pregnant belly as she came out of the house with a bicycle.
"Yeah, be careful, and don't come home too late, I'm cooking tonight, and don't go drinking with your coworkers," said the pregnant wife, who was human.
"I know, I know. You don't overdo it, and call me right away if anything happens," the man said.
"I know, babe," the woman replied.
"Alright, I'm off," the man responded.
The man immediately got on his bicycle and rode away, then turned to wave at his wife, who waved back. After the wife went inside, Calista sat down among the overgrown bushes.
"It's truly nothing like the city where I woke up... Humans here are living with Draugr and even building families. A human pregnant with a Draugr's child... what kind of baby would that be? A chimaera?" Calista asked in her thoughts, pinching her nose closed. "Ugh, I don't have time for this. I need to get clothes for them, and then they all need to see this town," Calista said.
Finally, Calista ran back toward the shopping area to buy clothes. She reached into her jeans pocket and saw a debit card and some cash.
"Okay, now to buy clothes, just something simple... good thing I managed to grab some cash from a few Draugr back in my city before I left and remembered everything," Calista said in her thoughts, looking at the debit card and money in her hand.