Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Rescue mission
As Owen learned of Ayame's capture, the Kokujou had come to a halt, refusing to venture farther from the station. This halt would have appeared peculiar under ordinary circumstances, but within the train's confines, where Biba was situated, something significant was unfolding.
"Horobi, come here" Biba summoned Horobi with a voice that carried both sorrow and detachment. In the dimly lit confines of the train, he readied an empty syringe, its purpose soon evident as he extracted a mysterious liquid from a peculiar, softly glowing blue heart. Horobi, compliant to Biba's call, approached him. Standing before him, she awaited his next directive as he held the now-filled syringe in his hand.
"Are you trembling?" Biba inquired, holding the girl in his arms, who quivered with fear, though she denied it with a shake of her head. Her voice, strong and resolute, belied her true emotions.
"No, just the bullet wounds from my failed attempt to kill the daimyo," she replied, both of them understanding the falsehood, yet choosing not to acknowledge it. Without hesitation, Biba raised the syringe, prompting Horobi to lean back, her heart pounding against her chest. In an instant, Biba injected the contents of the syringe into her veins.
"I always feared you would be afraid of me," Horobi uttered amidst violent spasms within Biba's firm embrace, which remained unyielding.
"Me, afraid?" Biba questioned, his expression tinged with both confusion and surprise, as he gazed into Horobi's eyes, wherein a radiance outshone mere loyalty—a light he had perpetually failed to perceive, even now.
"You're always afraid—for me, for others, for yourself. You never cease to be afraid," Horobi continued, her spasms intensifying. Without a word in response, Biba carried her towards the exit of the train car. There, he promptly cast her out over the elevated tracks, where she descended into a gathering crowd below.
At that precise moment, the effects of the syringe manifested, as a strange blue substance began to emanate from Horobi's body, cascading outward and enveloping her falling form. Simultaneously, her heart quickened its rhythm, while her eyes glowed with an eerie blue hue. As she descended into the panic-stricken crowd below, their screams pierced the air, their terror palpable. Yet, this chaos seemed merely the calm preceding the storm, for scarcely five seconds later, pandemonium erupted in full force.
The blue substance erupted from Horobi's body in undulating waves, ensnaring the surrounding crowd and pulling them into its growing mass. Their terrified screams were quickly drowned out as more and more people were drawn in, becoming part of the expanding amalgamation. Some were dragged in and stacked upon others, while others were engulfed by the rapid growth, their bodies overtaken in an instant. Chaos ensued as the once-terrified screams gave way to a new panic.
The amalgamated colony swiftly swelled to an astonishing size of 20 meters, voraciously consuming and assimilating any human it encountered. In many instances, victims were not granted the mercy of death; instead, they were compelled to join the grotesque mass, their bodies torn apart by the relentless advance of the peculiar blue growth. Their agonizing screams echoed through the chaos, a testament to the harrowing ordeal as the creature relentlessly expanded, its hunger insatiable.
At a certain juncture, the artificial black smoke ceased its efforts to absorb and began a rampage of destruction, heedless of the feeble attempts of guards whose guns proved as inconsequential as mere flies. Their futile resistance only served to fuel its wrath, spurring the creature to exert its massive form in a relentless assault, obliterating everything in its path.
The guards, undeterred, prepared a cannon and unleashed its fury upon the creature. Despite creating a massive cavity in its form, the attack amounted to no more than a flesh wound. Within moments, the creature regenerated its mass from the surrounding corpses. It retaliated by launching dozens of kabane at the cannon, overwhelming its defenses in a swift and deadly onslaught.
While the colossal humanoid wrought havoc upon the city, Owen stood frozen next to Ikoma, watching in disbelief. Suddenly, Owen gritted his teeth and broke into a sprint towards the black smoke, much to Ikoma's surprise. Despite Ikoma's attempt to halt him, Owen disappeared from sight, leaving Ikoma stunned. However, realization dawned on Ikoma, who without hesitation dashed in the opposite direction towards where the Koutetsujou was stationed.
Mumei on the other hand soon found herself confronting her brother who stood on the front of the train watching the black smoke wreak havoc.
"Brother, wasn't the purpose of opening the gate to let the Koutetsujou in?" Mumei inquired, her face betraying a multitude of emotions, primarily sadness, as she gazed at her brother, whose expression remained stoic and cold.
Her brother, without immediately responding, turned towards the direction of the black smoke, which had just punched a large hole into the wall surrounding the station, ensuring that the place would be less likely to recover.
"Look, Mumei," he finally said. And look she did. The devastation surrounding them was nothing short of tragic. Even from their vantage point, she could see the corpses of children and men strewn about like broken dolls. Some even rose again as kabane to feast on the remains of those who never returned.
"This is the world of fairness and equality we have been striving for" Thats all he said as he soon began to walkway leaving mumei stuck standing their staring at the devastation she had a hand in making as all she could do was watch as her brother took himself back into the train followed by mumei who had no other choices but to follow.
Back on the streets, Owen dashed through the flood of kabane, his resolve unwavering as he dispatched any undead threats that dared cross his path. Simultaneously, he ensured the safety of civilians, guiding them towards refuge with unwavering determination. Despite the apparent disintegration of the black smoke, with chunks of its mass falling away, Owen pressed forward undeterred.
He now found himself standing before the mass of the black smoke which was now completely broken down, but what clawed its ways out of it was just as bad.
Horobi, once a radiant young woman, had now undergone a grotesque mutation, her form twisted into that of a monstrous creature. Large swathes of her body were encased in the blue material that now served as armor, enhancing her already formidable presence. As her gaze fell upon Owen, her eyes locked onto him with an intensity that sent shivers down his spine, but he soon readied his spear and shield ready for combat
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BIG 50 boys!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone