Aziel had already sensed the moment that foul stench struck him back at the platform. A sickly smell, like rotting blood mixed with mold and death. It was then that he knew with certainty … Demons were after him.

Seated inside the train, he replayed the events in his mind and began to deduce the situation. That demon worshipper he had met in the sewer district…

Could it be because of his death?

The words the man had muttered before dying still echoed in his ears …

“I know a great demon who can make you emperor.”

It meant that somewhere within the Empire, a high-ranking demon existed. A demon powerful enough to change the imperial bloodline, and fate had confirmed that those words weren’t just some dying man’s delusions. Whether the man had been a worshipper of such a being or the demon itself cloaked in human skin ,  that was unclear. But one thing was certain: if that being possessed the strength to crown a tyrant as emperor…

Then it could very well be a Legion Commander, or perhaps even something higher. In any case, that demon and all who served it now posed a direct threat to both the Empire and Aziel.

They needed to die.

However, in a fight with demons, he knew he couldn’t protect all the Intelligence Bureau agents … Nor did he intend to.

A heart that falters over saving everyone would never be strong enough to carve out the rot in the Empire.

He was not a saint.
He was a tyrant.

As the train’s wheels clacked in a steady rhythm, Aziel began to circulate the fire that dwelled within his heart throughout his body. 

The fate-warping points and mystic points he had been accumulating were now abundant. He divided the warp points across fire, wind, shadow, luck, and physical power.

The mystic points, however , those he saved. He had another purpose for them later. The flames swirling in his heart grew even larger, amplified by wind as they swelled and danced across his veins. He compressed that fire through the channel of shadows, at each beat of his heart, the intensified scarlet flame pulsed, surging through his entire being. And the moment the demon appeared before him …

“THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.”

His heartbeat roared through his head. The scarlet fire, which had flowed so smoothly before, now rushed wildly, as if excited to meet its prey. It rose in waves from his scalp to his toes.

The greatsword Breaker, fed by the fire, began to spin violently in place. He unwrapped the shadowy bindings from the blade , and flames erupted along its edge, pointing toward the oncoming demon. Its fangs, and Breaker’s jagged teeth, an even match.

“Burn. Burn. Burn.”

Perhaps sensing something was wrong, the demon cocked its head, and then it let out a feral shriek.

“BURRRRN!” … Before lunging at him, its body stretched and sharpened, forming a single piercing point.

As Aziel stepped to dodge and raised Breaker to counter, the demon’s hair burst open, sprawling outward and obscuring his vision. Its leaking black-blue blood and shrill sounds dulled his senses. He realized that dodging wouldn’t create an opening.

Aziel instead angled Breaker and began parrying the demon’s attacks, one after another, as he analyzed its attack patterns.

Each clash rang with a brutal clang, and after several intense exchanges, Aziel found a moment of weakness.

“Let’s do something about that ridiculous mane of yours first.”

As the demon backed off and its hair flared outward again, he flicked a flame from his fingertip.

“SZZZZZT!”

The fire streaked through the air, caught in the strands, and the entire mass of hair went up in flames. The demon tried to douse it with its own black blood, but the scarlet flame only raged fiercer, using its blood and body as fuel.

“KIEEEEEEEEK!”

Screaming, the demon thrashed and shattered parts of the train. 

Aziel launched more flames after it, laughing as he did. The howling screams, the smell of burning flesh  … It was exhilarating. But then the demon suddenly stopped. It had realized something , that it had to kill Aziel to extinguish the flames. Its twisted limbs twitched, and then, 

“KIIIIIIIIEK!”

It spun violently and launched itself toward him. Flame, blood, and its blade-like claws shot toward his body in a full-blown suicide attack.

“Ugly and ill-tempered too, aren’t you?”

Aziel pulled forth more fire and swung Breaker. The greatsword ripped through chairs, lights, and steel plating, consuming everything in its path. And then,               it devoured the demon, piece by piece.

“SKRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIK!” 

It flailed in desperation, slashing with limbs and teeth. But every time it touched Breaker or Aziel’s flame, chunks of its body were sheared away. Only its head remained, bouncing across the floor.

“GNARL-GNARL-GNARL!”

It ground its teeth as if to express rage and injustice.

“Finally, we’re at eye level.”

Aziel lifted Breaker, and smashed the creature’s head. Only once the fight had ended did he begin to hear the battle cries again:

“KIEEEEK! KIEEEEK!”

Far away, combat still raged.

Sol and Andre’s fates remained stable ,  but the approaching fate toward the train itself grew louder.

[Target Fate Observed! The fate of the train is heading toward Overturning, Destruction, and Halting!]

Immediately, 

“CRASH!”  Aziel slashed open the roof with Breaker and leapt out.

Beneath him, fire and wind surged, landing atop the train’s torn roof, he surveyed his surroundings.

“So many… like maggots.”

All around the moving train , swarms of creatures trailed behind. They weren’t even true demons , just demonic filth. But there were so many… they were dangerous nonetheless.

“Commoner! Lamp post! Still fighting?!”

“Your Highness! You’re safe! We’ll meet you up front after clearing the rest!”

“Aahhh! Your Highness! They just keep coming!”

With their leader dead, the monsters had no order. They were nothing more than rabid beasts now, and then ,  the lesser demons began slamming into the train cars, exploding on contact.

“Everyone to the front! We’ll sever the rest!”

From the far dining car, a mix of light and shadow began to approach.

Sol and Andre were leading the surviving agents.

 In that small window of time …

“Hey!”

In the engine car, Aziel spotted the train conductor, trembling and covering his ears.

“P-please! Spare me!”

“Hey, conductor. Look at me.”

Aziel shook him until the man opened his eyes.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Push this train to its max speed. Now.”

“Y-yes! But with all the cars attached, it might …!”

“I’ll sever them. Move or die. Unless you want to get ripped to shreds.”

Seeing a snarling monster clawing toward the cabin, the conductor paled and nodded furiously.

“BWOOOO! BWOOOO!”

The train screamed and picked up speed.

Aziel’s vision filled with alerts.

[Fates of Andre, Sol, and the agents have shifted! Fate-warping points acquired!]

[You face a Major Fate: Confrontation with Evil. Demon defeated , points acquired!]

He poured every single point into one action … 

[All fate-warping points invested into the Train’s Fate! Speed increased to the maximum!]

If the train failed , none of it would matter. Fueled by warp points, the train blasted forward with a deafening roar.

“Your Highness!”

Andre’s voice called from the first car. Aziel looked , and saw Andre and Sol leaping to the front. Behind them, the other cars were crawling with monsters.                Light, shadow, steel, and fangs, chaos reigned inside.

While the agents retreated into the first car, Sol and Andre fought to hold the line.

“Cut the coupler as you jump!”

As Andre landed, he slashed the connection with his blade.

“CLANG!”

The cars separated, the ones now filled with monsters drifted away.

“Hey, no free rides!” Andre quipped.

The lesser demons echoed him … 

“No free rides! No free rides! No free rides!”

Their train car grew smaller and smaller as it was swallowed by their own kind.

“Your Highness! Are you safe?! Where are you?!”

“Up top.”

Through the torn roof, Andre spotted Aziel standing.

“You’re safe… Thank the gods!”

Sol popped up next to him, beaming.

“Combat status?”

“Ready!”“Still holding strong!”

Aziel nodded once.

“They’ll be back. All combatants, prepare.”

He scanned the group, among them, 

“Quite lucky, aren’t you?”

“Ashamed to admit it…”

The very agent who had initially greeted him , the Bureau chief , had survived.          If he lived, then he would be put to use.

Aziel looked down from the roof.

[Fate of the Location: Maximum-level invasion forming.]

[Fate of the Location: A small passage has opened.]

He pinpointed where they’d breach next.

“Commoner. Lamp post. Guard the rear and keep them out.”

“Yes!”

“Orders received!”

Sol and Andre moved into formation … Of course, the most dangerous place was … 

[Fate of the Location: Malice, Death, and Destruction are concentrated here.]

As the now-lightened train rocketed forward, the wind atop the roof screamed.

“FWOOOOOOOSH.”

Aziel’s flame-kissed hair flew wildly.

The north was drawing close. He didn’t know how much longer until dawn. But until the sun rose, they would keep running, grasping the tail of this endless night.