Just moments earlier, everyone had been busy with their assigned tasks—maintaining order, gathering supplies, and organizing the survivors.
Then the ground began to tremble.
At first, it was faint—just enough to make them glance around. But within seconds, the vibrations grew stronger, halting all activity.
Outside the train, people froze as a column of black smoke began rising from the direction of the boiler area.
"What's going on!?"
"What the hell is happening!?"
"Send word to Lady Ayame!"
"Grab on to something! Quickly!"
They clung to anything they could reach as the shaking intensified.
DOOM!
A thunderous sound split the air, and all eyes turned toward its source. What they saw made their blood run cold.
"What is that!?"
"My god!!"
"It's the black smoke!!"
"That thing!?"
Panic spread like wildfire.
Those who had once suffered at the hands of the black smoke instantly recognized the monstrous form, while others—those who had only heard rumors—were frozen in terror.
The Yashiro survivors broke down. Some cried, others simply stared, their minds refusing to believe what they were seeing.
They had thought the monster had already left—after destroying their homes, after killing their families. But no. It had only gone underground.
Was it waiting for us this whole time?
We're all gonna die…
Hundreds of hopeless thoughts ran through their heads. The arrival of the people from Aragane Station had reignited their will to live—just for it to be snuffed out again in seconds.
"Heh… hehehahahaaa!" one man suddenly cackled, dropping to his knees in despair.
"We were never gonna survive to begin with!"
While the Yashiro survivors were mentally collapsing, the people from the Koutetsujou were holding on better—barely.
"Hey man! Pull yourself together!" one shouted, gripping the shoulder of a trembling survivor.
"We're gonna survive this! Trust me, we will!"
"Yeah! No matter what happens—we'll live!"
One by one, others began to raise their voices, shouting words of encouragement into the chaos.
Even though they were scared too, the Aragane soldiers didn't forget about one person.
"Yeah? And how do you think we're gonna survive? We're all gonna die—that includes you too," one of the Yashiro survivors snapped, his voice shaking between fear and bitterness.
"D-don't worry about that," one of the soldiers replied with a small grin, trying to ease the tension. "How do you think we managed to survive this long? We've got Kami-sama with us."
The other soldiers quickly chimed in, eager to spread their faith.
"Yeah! Kami-sama's gonna deal with that monster—just watch!"
"He's gonna pummel that thing real fast!"
"Kami-dana's the strongest!"
Their words, filled with confidence, almost seemed to push back the fear hanging over them.
But the survivor just stared at them blankly, listening to their voices mix together in this desperate cheer for a god he couldn't see.
"Kami…?" he muttered under his breath, his tone hollow. Then he gave a small, tired laugh. "Ah, I see. You've gone mad too."
The light in his eyes dimmed, but strangely, the despair he felt began to ease. Seeing others lose their minds before him… somehow made him feel calmer. Pity replaced panic.
He stood up slowly, walked over to the smiling soldier, and pulled him into a sudden hug.
"Stop. Just stop," he murmured softly. "You don't need to go so far anymore."
"…?"
"I know you might have it rough, but it's gonna be alright," he said with a shaky smile, patting the soldier's back like one would comfort a dying man.
"???"
The soldier froze—completely thrown off. One moment he was trying to cheer someone up, and the next, he was the one being comforted.
Something's seriously wrong here…
It suddenly clicked—this guy must have thought he'd gone insane. Talking about a god saving them in a time like this… of course it sounded crazy.
Panicking a little, he pulled back and waved his hands. "No, I mean it! Kami-sama's real! Believe me!"
The survivor just gave a tired smile and shook his head.
"Stop it, please. You've already said enough. It's time to let it go."
The soldier just stood there, mouth half open, unsure if he should laugh or cry.
"Seems everyone's getting along well."
Off to the side, Ayame and her group stood watching the crowd of survivors and soldiers trying to comfort each other.
The scene was heartwarming at a glance—but the stiff smiles on their faces said otherwise.
They had originally been inside the train, discussing where to find more supplies, but after feeling the tremors and hearing the commotion, they came out to see what was happening.
"I don't know about that, Lady Ayame…" Kurusu replied with a sigh, scratching the back of his neck. "If we tried to do the same, they'd probably just start pitying us."
Ayame gave a small, forced laugh. "You may be right."
Kurusu wasn't wrong. If they had tried to cheer up the panicking survivors, they'd likely bring up Kaelis—Kami-sama—and somehow make the situation even more awkward.
"But what is that thing anyway?" Ikoma suddenly asked, eyes fixed on the massive smoke-like creature in the distance. "You know anything about it, Mumei?"
Mumei, who had been standing beside him with arms crossed, tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing as she studied the dark shape rising over the ruins.
"I've heard stories about something like that," she said, her tone unusually serious. "But I've never seen it myself. That thing… it's not a normal Kabane."
The faint tremor in her voice made it clear—whatever that monster was, it wasn't something even she wanted to deal with.
"Yeah. It's a 'colony.'"
"A colony?" they all echoed, puzzled.
"Yeah," Mumei said. "It's kabane piling onto one another to make one big kabane."
Silence. Four sets of blank faces. That actually explained a lot.
"A colony, huh," Kurusu murmured. The idea of dozens—or hundreds—of kabane combining into one giant thing sounded ridiculous.
Ever since he'd left Aragane Station, he felt like a frog in a well, stunned by how much he didn't know. He sighed.
Thinking it through made him worry. "Hey, Mumei—how do you kill one of those? Do we have to target every single heart?"
The others' faces went pale at the thought—if they had to pick off each kabane individually, they might as well commit seppuku on the spot.
"No, actually," Mumei said, cutting through the panic. "It has a heart like any other kabane. The only difference is the size."
Ikoma frowned. "So we just hit its heart then?"
Mumei shook her head. "If only it were that easy. It's buried deep, and the whole thing defends it. There's a dozen or more kabane surrounding its core, we'd have to break through them to get to it. But if we can break through and hit it directly—just once—the whole colony will collapse."
BANG!
Chapter 22 end.