The beast's claws dragged along the metro's steel walls with a shriek like tearing glass. Sparks scattered, flashing white against the dim yellow carriage lights. The sound alone sent half the passengers cringing tighter against the doors, some covering their ears, others burying their faces into their knees as though hiding would make them invisible.
It paced now, back and forth, a hunter caging its prey. The glow of its molten eyes never wavered from Ravi. Each step of its distorted hind legs made the metal floor reverberate beneath his shoes.
[Time Remaining: 26:42]
The counter ticked mercilessly in his vision.
Ravi took a measured step forward.
His body was loose, steady. He forced himself into calmness, because panic spread like fire — and he knew from bitter memory that once it caught, this carriage would turn into a coffin.
The system wasn't merciful. It didn't care if these people had jobs, children, or dreams waiting for them outside the metro. If they didn't move now, they wouldn't exist tomorrow.
"You," Ravi said without turning his head. His voice was low, firm, leaving no room for refusal. The iron pipe extended from his hand, pointing at the man gripping a red fire extinguisher as if it might sprout legs and attack him. "When I say, spray it in the face."
The man jolted. Sweat plastered his thinning hair to his forehead. "M–me? I—I can't—"
"You can," Ravi cut him off, voice sharp as the pipe in his hand. His eyes never left the beast, but his tone carried iron. "Or you'll be next. That thing won't give you a second chance."
The beast's growl deepened. Its chest swelled, ribs pushing against the veins crawling over its matted fur. Then—
It lunged.
The carriage floor shook with the impact. Ravi twisted sideways, his pipe coming up in a practiced arc. Metal slammed into flesh with a crack that reverberated through his bones. The impact shuddered up his arms, nearly loosening his grip, but he held on.
The monster's head snapped sideways — then jerked back with a snarl. Barely staggered.
So it's tougher this time.
A flash of memory stabbed through him: last regression, the first scenario, this same beast. He'd swung until his arms gave out. Until his pipe had bent like paper. Until it had taken his throat between its teeth.
This time will be different.
The beast's massive claw lashed outward. Sparks flared again as steel screamed. The door behind Ravi shook, bending inward.
One of the passengers panicked, trying to wedge himself past the blue barrier sealing the exit. The claw swept back before he could scream—
Slash!
The man dropped instantly, clutching his thigh. Blood spattered across the floor in a hot spray. His cries rose shrill above the others'.
[Warning: Party morale is dropping.][Hint: Complete the objective or face elimination.]
The system's cold words hovered in every pair of eyes.
"Morale?!" a young woman shrieked, her voice cracking. She looked around at the faces frozen beside her. "What the hell does that mean?!"
Ravi's lips curled in a humorless snarl. "It means if you don't fight, you die."
And that was the truth.
The beast roared, sound crashing into the carriage like a physical wave. The windows rattled, lights flickered. The stench of rot and burning oil filled Ravi's lungs.
Then it came for him again.
This time he didn't dodge. He stepped into the charge, jamming the iron pipe between its gaping jaws. Teeth snapped shut on rusted metal. The weight of its bite shuddered through the pipe like cracking bone. Ravi twisted hard, muscles straining. The smell of splintering enamel filled the air.
The beast shrieked, staggering sideways, drool sizzling on the metal floor.
Gasps erupted from the passengers. Not hope — just shock.
They still weren't moving. Still clinging to the fantasy that someone else could save them.
Just like before.
Ravi planted his foot against the beast's chest and shoved, forcing it backward into the open space near the end of the carriage. His chest heaved, sweat stinging his eyes, but his grip on the pipe never loosened.
"Form a circle!" he barked, voice cracking like a whip. "If it gets past me, you're next!"
Dozens of wide, terrified eyes stared at him. Not one body moved.
The timer ticked down.
[Time Remaining: 25:18]
A flicker at the edge of his vision.
@Unknown_Origin: Prove you deserved this regression.
His jaw tightened. The fire extinguisher man was trembling so hard his knuckles were white. The woman with the handbag was hugging it like a lifeline. The rest pressed against the walls, praying they could stay background characters in this nightmare.
He'd seen it before. He knew how this ended.
They were lambs in a slaughterhouse.
And if he didn't make them move—he'd end up like before, lying in a pool of his own blood while the timer ticked mercilessly to zero.
Not this time.
Ravi slid his grip down the pipe, feeling the rust bite into his palm. He exhaled once, long and steady. The beast growled low, saliva pattering against the floor in burning droplets.
He muttered, almost to himself."This time, I'm not dying here."
The monster roared, and the second round began.
The beast's roar rattled through the carriage, shaking glass and bone alike. Spittle flew from its jaws, sizzling against the floor where it fell. Its claws gouged deep scars into the steel walls as it barreled forward.
Ravi braced.
The iron pipe whistled through the air as he swung. The impact jolted his shoulders, but this time the creature's head snapped sideways with a crunch. A sliver of broken fang flew across the carriage, clattering onto the floor near the cowering passengers.
It worked.
The beast reeled.
[Target HP: 64%]
Too slow.
"Now!" Ravi snapped.
The man with the extinguisher froze for half a heartbeat, eyes wide as if pinned by headlights. Then, with a strangled yell, he pressed the trigger.
White foam hissed out, engulfing the beast's head. Its molten eyes vanished in a cloud of freezing mist. The monster screeched, thrashing, slamming its claws blindly into the ceiling. Chunks of steel rained down.
Ravi lunged forward.
The pipe came down with everything he had, slamming into the side of the beast's skull. A sickening crack reverberated through his bones. He didn't stop. He swung again. And again. Each strike rang like a warped church bell inside the carriage.
[Target HP: 38%]
The monster staggered, its movements slowing.
"Keep hitting it!" Ravi roared, voice ragged. "If you stop now, it heals!"
The woman with the handbag finally moved, desperation outweighing terror. With a wordless cry, she swung, brick-laden leather bag smashing into the beast's snout.
Another man jabbed with a broken umbrella, tearing shallow cuts into its side.
A third, emboldened, stomped down hard on its outstretched claw, pinning it long enough for Ravi to slam the pipe down once more.
[Target HP: 19%]
The monster shrieked, sound splitting the ears of every passenger. Its body convulsed, trying to rise, to crush them all beneath its weight.
But Ravi didn't give it the chance.
He drove the pipe straight into its jaw, forcing its head sideways against the carriage floor. Then, planting a boot on its chest, he wrenched the pipe free and swung it one last time.
[Target HP: 0%]
The beast collapsed with a wet thud. Its molten eyes flickered, then dimmed into lifeless yellow glass.
The carriage fell silent.
Every breath around him was ragged, terrified, disbelieving.
Then the system's cold voice chimed.
[Main Scenario #1 Completed.][Calculating individual rewards…][Player: Ravi Sharma — Contribution: 72%][Reward: 500 Coins]
The others' eyes flicked as their own screens filled with smaller numbers. A few sagged in relief, some wept quietly, but none moved closer to the corpse.
Except Ravi.
He stepped back slowly, chest rising and falling. The iron pipe was bent at the end, red and black smeared across the rust. His knuckles were torn open, raw.
And yet, he didn't feel relief.
Because he remembered this fight. He remembered how he'd died last time.
This time, he'd lived.
But the message still lingered in the corner of his vision.
@Unknown_Origin: Better. But not enough.
Ravi's grip tightened on the pipe until his hand trembled. His lips curled into a thin, humorless smile.
"Not enough for you, maybe," he muttered under his breath. "For me… it's a start."
The blue barrier sealing the carriage dissolved with a ripple of light.
Fresh air rushed in from the station platform, cool and sharp, tinged with the faint scent of rain. People surged forward instantly, scrambling past the dead beast, desperate to escape the claustrophobic tomb the metro had become.
Ravi didn't rush. He stepped over the corpse, pipe resting against his shoulder. His heartbeat was steady now, his gaze cold.
He walked out into the open platform without looking back.
The scenario was over. For now.
But as he reached the far end of the station, something stirred.
A faint shimmer.
Like heat haze against the wall of shadows.
A figure was there, cloaked in the crowd, unseen by anyone else. Their gaze lingered on him — sharp, intent, unreadable.
And then, as quickly as they appeared, they were gone.