“Woah!” Park Noah managed to hold onto the dangling iron bars and steadied herself. Whether Muell’s concentration was thrown into disarray, the invisibility spell that clothed her body has disappeared. 

Park Noah struggled to recover her balance, muttering profanities. “Kyle Leonard… I won’t let this go. The train’s not speeding yet? Moderate exercise helps you improve your physical strength? Damn you…”

As she groped for the child, a series of gunshots continually resonated from below. What is going on down there?

Fortunately, Muell wasn’t carried away very far by the strong winds. As Park Noah crawled four steps, a pair of arms grabbed her leg. 

“Mu, we have to go to the ninth compartment, the ninth!” Park Noah shouted over the clanging railroad, breathless; the bellows of her heart had gone silent in her ears. As they may say, adrenaline rises rapidly in crises. 

I think it would be better if I bend my body… Lower your body and crawl, Noah!

It was quite a smart idea. Her squirming body began to move with more stability, and she could sense Muell in the same position beside her. 

Little did they know, danger awaited them ahead.

Bang! Bang!

Park Noah whipped her head in the direction of the shrill sound and saw three bullet holes on where she was about to crawl over. The bullet penetrated the train’s roof at a terrific speed and soared into the air. 

Bang! 

Her body instantly froze as another bullet flashed past her leg. “Jesus Christ! You maniac! I’m up here! What the hell are you doing down there?”

Perhaps aware of the disturbance in the room, the attendant’s voice echoed in the entire train on a loudspeaker. “Passenger, please take your seats. I’d like to remind you once again. All passengers…”

Strangely, the attendant’s voice was calm. Park Noah felt a momentary wonder, but shrugged it off, and moved again without further thought. They had to hasten her pace and reach their destination before a bullet hole pierced their bodies.

Park Noah sported a look of triumph as they drew nearer, only three blocks of the train’s roof left. However, fear instantly replaced euphoria as a fat man with a braided beard poked out his head from the vent.

“I found you, Eleonora Asil!” He roared.

She stared at the man, blinking blankly, and breathed a sigh of relief. The man kept screaming profusely, unable to chase after them. It seemed his round stomach had him stuck in the narrow vent, which Park Noah barely pulled herself out. 

That’s right. Keep screaming like that.

However, her composure soon enough shattered. The fat man disappeared, and instead, a slender man climbed out of the vent.

“Stay there!” He swiftly balanced himself against the strong winds and began to sprint towards them. 

Considering we are on a speeding train, his sense of balance is commendable. Is he an acrobat?

“….!”

The man spread out his arm and recited a phrase quickly. Then, inscriptions glowed blue in his palms. It was magic. At the same instant, another man appeared from the ventilation shaft, clutching a shotgun.

As Kyle Leonard pointed the gun towards the slender man, about to pull the trigger, Park Noah snatched Muell’s body and urgently commanded. “Mu, fly!”

Bang!

Another gunshot rang. The slender man fell forward, blood spurting from his shoulder. 

Up in the sky, Muell’s wings flapped along with the wind. The train continued to speed before them as they hung suspended in the air. Three compartments passed, and finally, just before the ninth compartment, the locomotor of the train to Battuanu, appeared in sight. 

Please, there, land on that railing, please!

Park Noah loosened her grip on Muell as he started to descend and shut her eyes. Then, a tremendous sense of fall enveloped her whole body. 

Boom!

“Ugh…” Luckily, she plummeted behind the very railing she had targeted. Enduring the searing pain on her shoulders, she heaved her body up, and as she glanced at the compartment before her, a pair of violet orbs met with hers.

“Ky-”

The moment she opened her mouth to call him, she felt a heavy weight collapse on her. For a brief moment, Park Noah thought it was a dead body until she saw a curly-haired boy. 

As she steadied herself and helped Muell, she heard an admiring voice.

“You’re quite athletic, Miss Noah.”

“I…file…complaints…I…must…”

The man who squatted so stably on the speeding train laughed. Then, he pulled out a revolver.

“Do you know I almost departed from this world when you shot earlier?” Park Noah yelled in between her deep breaths.

“Well, I still see you,” Kyle Leonard retorted with a smirk.

Then, he pointed the gun at the railing where Park Noah stood and spoke in a low voice. “Miss Noah. See you at Battuanu Station at noon in three days.”

Bang! Bang! Two gunshots rang in a row. The chains binding the two trains broke into pieces and bounced into the sky.