Chapter 177
"Blood? You smell blood?"
Lete sniffed the air herself as she echoed the question.
"I can't really tell. I smell something fishy? But it could just be the smell of food from another compartment."
"..."
While Simon stood up with a grave expression, Lete continued speaking.
"I don't know about the smell, but the train did slow down all of a sudden. It's rattling like crazy now, the ride quality sucks… Huh, huh?"
Lete's eyes, which had been gazing out the window, widened in shock. She shot up and pressed herself against the glass.
"What the hell is that!"
From the vast grasslands outside the train, hordes of blood-red zombies were rushing toward the train, bleeding as they came.
And that wasn't all.
A sudden thud! hit the window they were looking through. Lete let out a shriek and stumbled back, ending up in Simon's arms.
"What the hell! What are all these things?!"
—Keeeeeaaaahhh!
A zombie clung to the window. Judging by the distant screams, the same thing was happening in other compartments as well.
The zombies, riled up at the sight of living humans, screeched and pounded on the windows with their fists. Some of them were even crawling onto the roof of the train.
"Lete, just a moment."
Simon boldly walked up and pressed himself against the window full of zombies.
'When did they draw that?'
Through the gaps between the zombies, a red magic circle could be seen drawn on the side of the train's body. That was where the zombies were being summoned.
Crash!!
Just then, a window in the back shattered, and zombies poured into the first-class cabin like a bursting dam. Screams of horror erupted in all directions as the scene descended into utter chaos.
"Tsk!"
Lete was the first to dash out into the hallway, raising her fingers. From the magic circle that appeared in front of her index finger, countless Holy Arrows surged forward, piercing into the zombies' hearts and skulls.
"If these red zombies are what I think they are, then it's them! Blood Heaven Sect!"
Thwack!
Simon appeared, kicking away a zombie that was aiming for Lete's neck.
"That heretical sect that's been causing trouble lately?"
"Looks like it, sir. They use their own modified undead called Blood Zombies. They even have resistance to purification magic, so they're tough to deal with."
While unleashing a barrage of Holy Arrows, Lete pushed off one of the cabin chairs and leapt into the air.
Her skirt flared as she smashed the head of a zombie in front of her, then used the momentum to leap again. She quickly spotted ten zombies crawling on the ceiling and drew a holy sign.
Fwoooosh!
Thud! Thud!
The zombies on the ceiling were skewered by holy spears that rose from behind them and collapsed. A Holy Magic Circle had already been drawn on the floor.
Bang!
Beyond the collapsing zombies, another one flew several meters and slammed into the wall with a wet splatter.
"Whew."
As Simon calmly walked down the corridor, zombies screamed and rushed at him from both sides.
With three blessings cast upon himself, Simon swung his fist. With a heavy thud, one zombie's face was crushed and sent flying out the window.
—Keeeeeaaaahhh!
—Kiiiieee!
The zombies shrieked more violently and charged. Simon's arms cut through the air like blades.
Crack! Snap! Thud!
A zombie's leg snapped, another's jaw shattered and went flying. One zombie managed to bite into Simon's thigh from behind, but its teeth couldn't penetrate his skin thanks to
Simon smashed its skull with his elbow.
'No need to rush. Just keep your breath steady and take them down one by one.'
No matter how many swarmed in, Simon's movements were clean and efficient. Watching him fight, Lete tilted her head.
"When did I ever teach you Holy Combat Studies?"
"This is Magical Combat. Punching's punching."
Paft!
A swift jab lashed out like a bolt of lightning, making a zombie cough up blood and stagger back. Following through, Simon stepped forward and landed a deep straight punch with his right hand. The zombie crashed into others and collapsed into the cabin.
Thanks to the duo's efforts, the situation rapidly stabilized. Other priests, who had only been running around with shields up, started regaining their composure and fought back.
Among them was Ellen, who was recklessly casting large-area holy spells.
"Ellen-senior!"
Lete shouted.
"Everyone will end up crowding into the first-class compartment where the priests are! Please take charge and protect them!"
"O-Okay! But what about you two?"
Simon and Lete exchanged glances and nodded. Simon spoke.
"We're going to the engine room."
"That's too reckless! To get there, you'd have to fight through who knows how many—!"
Squelch!
A zombie was crushed to the floor, its brain splattered, by a punch Simon threw without even looking.
"We'll be back, Ellen."
"Hold this place!"
The two strode confidently into the next compartment.
Second-class was in total chaos, as expected. Terrified passengers were crying and running from second-class into first-class where Simon and Lete had just come from.
The two of them moved sideways, keeping low, passing through second- and third-class, and entered the general compartment. This section, densely packed with only seats and no beds, held the most passengers.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"S-Someone! Grrk!"
Because there were more people here, it was even more of a hellscape. Zombies and humans were tangled together. People were being bitten, falling in pools of blood, and—some were restrained, wearing things around their necks.
And near them, men and women in red robes.
'Who are they?'
Simon's eyes turned icy. These people weren't being attacked by the zombies and wore long, flowing red robes.
"Stop resisting and put on the collar."
"Once you wear this, you become a member of the Blood Heaven Sect."
They were tossing red dog collar–like objects at the people. Once someone put it on, zombies stopped attacking them, just like with the red-robed individuals.
"You too, stop struggling and put on the collar."
A middle-aged man, bitten in the leg by a zombie, was resisting while bleeding.
"Y-You bastards! I'm a follower of the Goddess…!"
"Bullshit."
Thwack!
A Blood Heaven Cultist kicked the man in the jaw.
"Then hurry up and pray to your precious goddess. Beg her to save you, to smite us with divine punishment! Doesn't work, does it? Think for a second! If your great and almighty god exists, why isn't she saving you—!"
Squelch!
The man's face caved in, and the surrounding cultists gasped in shock.
Lete, having floored one cultist with a flying kick, muttered coldly.
"Yeah, here's your damn divine punishment, just as ordered."
"You bastard!"
A Blood Heaven Cultist swung a club-like weapon at the back of Lete's head as she landed.
Thunk!
Simon, appearing just in time to block in front of Lete, raised his arm to catch the blow.
'Fast!'
Simon grabbed the cultist's wrist and yanked, then followed up with an uppercut to the jaw. The cultist's body went flying, and with that as the signal, Lete and Simon kicked off the ground simultaneously.
Blood splattered, bones snapped, and faces were smashed.
The two tore through the train compartment, darting across every direction. Wielding Magical Combat and Holy Combat respectively, they struck down both cultists and zombies without pause.
"Ah, don't come this way! You're getting in the way!"
Lete said as she drove her foot into a cultist's stomach.
"That's already the third time you almost kicked me."
Simon replied while dislocating a cultist's arm joint.
The other passengers could only watch the fight in a daze. Little did they know, these two were Keyzen's Special Admission No. 1 and Efnelle's Top Selection No. 1, each representing their respective factions.
"Please, save me!"
"There are undead coming from the rear too!"
The real problem was the people fleeing from other train cars. With people and zombies all mixed together, it was almost impossible to tell friend from foe while fighting.
Lete's Holy Spears often faltered mid-cast because of civilians screaming and running into her line of fire.
"This won't do."
Lete said.
"I'll switch to support. You handle the fighting alone. Can you do it?"
It sounded reckless at first, but Simon smiled as if he'd been waiting for it.
"Perfect! I was about to suggest the same."
"Ugh, this bruises my pride."
She muttered, then dropped to her knees on the spot.
She drew a holy sign, erected a barrier around herself, and brought her hands together in prayer.
Woooooooom!
A burst of holy energy erupted from her center.
'Having Lete go into support is huge.'
Even while studying white magic, Simon had lost count of the times he was amazed by her skill.
Soon, a brilliant lightstorm raged around her, unleashing a barrage of blessings.
Fwaaaaaah!
It exceeded expectations. Countless white magic circles appeared on the ceiling of the train, showering the passengers with radiant light. The fleeing civilians were instantly buffed with high-level enhancements.
Their running speed surged. Even when bitten, the zombies' claws and teeth couldn't penetrate their magically reinforced skin.
The zombies' attacks were no longer threatening. On top of that, mental calming white magic was applied. Watching the chaos subside in an instant, Simon couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Now came the healing and purification spells. Zombie bite wounds healed cleanly, and even infection symptoms from venom were gone.
Even more, Curse Break affected those wearing red collars. The powerful purification shattered the cursed red necklaces.
Simon shouted,
"Everyone! It's safe now, move in an orderly line and get out of here!"
With Lete switching to support, casualties were virtually zero. Simon guided the people while continuing to fight the Blood Heaven Sect.
Crack!
Simon's fist smashed a zombie's face. At that moment, a cultist at his side completed a Bloodshot spell and fired.
Thunk!
Lete's barrier appeared like a painting before Simon and blocked the projectile. Simon nudged a water bottle on the floor with his foot, popped it up, spun his body, and kicked it hard.
Right as Lete dropped her barrier at the perfect moment, the bottle smashed into the cultist's face with a loud whack. The cultist screamed and rolled across the floor.
"What's all this noise?!"
"Can't even secure a single train car?"
More cultists from the Blood Heaven Sect were entering from the rear. Just then, a white magic circle formed beneath Simon's feet.
Fwaaaaaaaah!
A gust of divine wind wrapped around Simon's body. Indoors, his hair and clothes flailed wildly in the surge.
Simon grinned and lowered his stance. It was a special blessing of Lete's, brief but extremely potent.
'With this—!'
Simon charged toward the rushing cultists. His body blazed forward in a dazzling green streak.
He kicked off the ceiling, floor, and walls like a madman, sending any cultist in his way flying before he finally landed on the floor.
As soon as he hit the ground, five cultists were already coughing up blood and collapsing around him.
"Haah."
Lete brushed her sweat-drenched hair aside and lifted herself over a train seat.
"All cleared out, sir?"