The night train moved forward between distant lights and darkened fields.

  Its steady rattling filled the nearly empty car, blending with the soft sound of rain tapping against the windows.

  “So… this is it?” Irina asked, leaning toward the glass. “Kuoh.”

  Xenovia didn’t look up from the book resting in her hands.

  “Yes,” she replied. “According to the report, confirmed demonic activity… and a clear trace of a Sacred Sword.”

  Irina smiled, turning in her seat with almost childlike energy.

  “What a coincidence! Just when I was getting bored.”

  Xenovia closed the book carefully.

  “This is not an excursion, Irina. It’s a correction.”

  “I know, I know,” Irina replied, clearly unfazed. “I’m just saying… Japan always has interesting things.”

  Xenovia rested the book on her legs and stared ahead.

  “The report mentions survivors of the Sword Project.”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Irina stopped smiling.

  “Survivors…?”

  “One confirmed. Reincarnated as a demon.”

  Silence settled between them.

  “That shouldn’t be possible,” Irina murmured.

  “It shouldn’t,” Xenovia agreed. “But it happened.”

  The train entered a tunnel. For a brief moment, the reflection in the glass showed something different: two still figures, heavy, as if carrying far more weight than their slender bodies should allow.

  “And the sword?” Irina asked, more serious now.

  Xenovia turned her head slightly.

  “An Excalibur was used. Not recovered. The wielder is dead… and the blade remained active longer than it should have.”

  Irina pressed her lips together.

  “Then someone else saw it.”

  “Or touched it,” Xenovia said.

  She paused, just briefly.

  “And it’s not the only signature. There’s another sacred presence within the perimeter.”

  The tunnel ended. The rain returned to the landscape.

  Irina leaned back in her seat, staring at the ceiling.

  “It’s always the same, isn’t it? When swords are drawn… nothing stays intact.”

  Xenovia closed her eyes for a second.

  “Our mission is clear.”

  “Yes,” Irina replied. “Confirm. Recover.

  And eliminate whatever should not exist.”

  Irina swallowed.

  “And if they don’t want to let it go?”

  Xenovia opened her eyes.

  “Then we’ll confirm that faith can cut as well.”

  The train’s speaker announced the next station.

  Kuoh — next stop.

  Irina stood and stretched, regaining a hint of her usual tone.

  “Well then. Time to see what kind of demons live here.”

  Xenovia picked up her coat.

  “And what kind of mistakes.”

  The train began to slow.

  Still far from the Occult Research Club,

  far from Kiba,

  far from the full truth…

  But already in motion.

  And once Sacred Swords began to move,

  it was never just an encounter that followed.

  It was always a wound.

  And someone always ended up bleeding.