"WAAAH—!"

  The sound tore through the air.

  "!"

  Every monster froze.

  Dozens of heads snapped back in unison. Eyes flared bright again, all of them locking onto the same spot: the corner where the group was huddled.

  'F*ck!'

  Asher cursed.

  The girls stiffened, horror draining the blood from their faces.

  They quickly placed their hands on Asher's shoulders, pouring the last dregs of their own Arcana into him, fueling the rune. The barrier brightened, solidifying for a precious few more seconds.

  Asher's eyes shot to Ryn.

  'Shut the kid up!'

  Ryn looked from the advancing horde to the wailing child. He turned to the grandmother.

  "Grandma. Is this your child?" He whispered.

  The old woman, sobbing now as she tried to muffle the toddler's cries, shook her head frantically, whispering back. "N-no! I found him alone, crying in a compartment… his parents were dead… I couldn't leave him!"

  "I see." Ryn stepped forward. "Please, let me hold him. I'm good with kids."

  Terrified and confused, the grandmother reluctantly handed the squalling, thrashing toddler over.

  Ryn took the child, holding him against his chest for a brief moment, as if to soothe him. Then, in one swift, shocking motion, he dropped to a knee and pinned the toddler firmly to the floor, a hand covering the child's mouth and nose.

  The grandmother cried out. "W-what are you doing—?!"

  The toddler's cries cut off into muffled, frantic grunts.

  But what happened next made her scream die in her throat.

  The child's skin, where Ryn's hand made contact, began to bubble and warp, turning sickly green.

  Its wide, tear-filled eyes flashed with a malevolent, intelligent yellow light that was utterly inhuman.

  "Grrr!"

  A low, guttural hiss emanated from its tiny form.

  "N-No way."

  Understanding hit all of them at once.

  This thing wasn't a human child at all!

  It was a mimic monster!

  It was the source of all their troubles!

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  'How?' Asher gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached. 'How could I have missed it?! I let a monster right into the middle of us!'

  But a shred of clarity cut through the self-blame.

  "Ryn!" He shouted, his voice strained from maintaining the barrier. Freeing his left hand, he hurled his silver-tipped spear across the shimmering dome.

  Ryn caught it without looking, his grip firm. In the same motion, he reversed his hold and drove the point down into the center of the writhing, half-transformed mimic monster.

  The creature let out a piercing SCREEEEE that bypassed the ears and stabbed directly into their minds.

  The effect was instant.

  Clara and Maya's eyes rolled back, and they collapsed, the flow of their Arcana cutting off. The old woman slumped silently beside them.

  The invisibility barrier shattered like glass, dissolving into motes of dying light.

  The mental assault also affected Asher.

  He felt his consciousness tearing loose from its moorings.

  'Urgh!' He bit down on his own lip, drawing blood. He forced himself to stay upright, to stay awake, even as his vision swam and the world tilted sideways.

  'Don't black out. Don't—'

  Yet, the darkness still came.

  Crawling in from the edges. Swallowing sound. Swallowing thought.

  'Is… is this it…?'

  His knees gave out as the last of his strength bled away.

  'Is this how I am gonna die?'

  "GRRR!"

  The gathered horde of monsters, their guiding beacon gone, now stared at the exposed group.

  'I couldn't do it…'

  'I couldn't change my fate after all…'

  A weak, broken laugh escaped his throat as everything went black.

  "…Haha."

  _____ ___ _

  '...He's crazy,' Ryn thought, hearing Asher's faint laugh before he passed out. Who laughs when they're about to die?

  If there wasn't something fundamentally wrong with him, there was no way he'd laugh in a situation like this.

  Well, at least he wouldn't.

  'Hah.' Ryn then exhaled through his nose.

  Anyway, that didn't matter anymore.

  Because now, he was left all alone. Everyone else was unconscious. The barrier was gone. The horde was right there.

  Yeah, he was already in the worst possible situation.

  If his parents saw this, they would definitely pass out from shock and never let him leave home again!

  Thankfully… he already knew how to get out of it.

  In a 'perfect' way, even.

  "ROOOAR!"

  The monsters were already lunging, claws and teeth inches away.

  Ryn closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

  "...Just a little more."

  He pretended to be struggling, in pain.

  "Now!"

  He snapped open his eyes.

  In an instant, the world folded.

  Then, they all vanished.

  The monsters crashed forward, smashing into each other instead. Bodies slammed into walls, claws skidding across metal, jaws snapping on empty air. Several tumbled across the floor in a mess of snarls and screeches.

  Confusion rippled through the horde.

  They looked around wildly, sniffed, searching.

  But found nothing.

  Their prey was nowhere to be seen, heard, or smelled.

  "GRR…"

  Only irritated growls echoed through the carriage.

  ______ __

  Thud-!

  In the next carriage, five figures slammed onto the floor in a heap.

  Ryn hit last.

  He rolled once, coughed, and spat blood onto the metal. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked around.

  Asher and the others lay around him, still breathing with no serious injuries, which meant they were safe.

  His 'perfect plan' had worked.

  "...Good."

  A faint smile tugged at Ryn's lips.

  'This much should be enough, right?'

  He collapsed against the floor using his bag as a cushion, closed his eyes, and went straight to sleep.

  ______ ____ _

  Meanwhile, in another train, the air hung heavy with the thick scent of blood.

  The scene itself was a nightmare of carnage.

  Countless monster bodies were piled high.

  They were stacked like cordwood, limb over limb, forming a gruesome mountain of black scales and severed claws.

  In the center of the graveyard stood a beautiful girl.

  Her silver hair was pulled back into a high, sharp ponytail. It shimmered under the flickering emergency lights. She reached up and wiped a streak of blood from her lips. Her expression remained cold and unflinching in the face of the horror surrounding her.

  Only after confirming every monster was dead did she turn toward the exit.

  The door was locked tight.

  "..."

  The girl frowned. She raised her hand, and energy gathered in her fist.

  Swoosh!

  With a single, heavy punch, she shattered the reinforced metal lock. The door groaned and flew open.

  She stepped through the wreckage and left the silence behind.

  Unaware that someone was watching her and everyone else.