The beast's claws scraped across the steel walls, shrieking sparks into the stale air. The sound cut through the carriage like a blade, making every passenger flinch.
It was pacing now. Molten-yellow eyes tracked Ravi with animal precision, but it did not rush. It was waiting testing him, circling as if savoring the kill.
The other passengers stayed pressed against the far end of the carriage. Some sobbed quietly. Others stared in frozen silence. The air reeked of sweat, blood, and the acrid stink of the beast's saliva.
Above their heads, the timer ticked mercilessly.
[Time Remaining: 26:42]
Ravi stepped forward. His grip on the pipe was firm, movements deliberate, every gesture measured. Calm was the only weapon he had left to show.
"You," he said suddenly, without looking back. He pointed the pipe toward a man clutching the fire extinguisher near the emergency exit. "When I give the signal, spray it in the face."
The man blinked at him, stammering. "I-I can't"
"You can," Ravi snapped, never taking his eyes off the beast. "Or you'll be next."
The beast roared. Its breath filled the carriage with heat and the copper tang of blood. Then it lunged.
Ravi sidestepped at the last second. The pipe whistled through the air and smashed into its flank with a hollow crack. This time, bone fractured. A small victory but a victory. The beast reeled, roaring in pain.
It swung a claw at his head. Ravi dropped low, heart hammering."Now!" he barked.
The sharp hiss of compressed gas erupted. White foam blasted into the beast's face, coating its molten eyes, clinging to its nostrils.
The thing howled a sound of fury and agony that rattled every window in the train. It staggered, thrashing blindly.
Ravi didn't waste the chance. He lunged forward, swinging the pipe upward with every ounce of strength.
CRACK!
The blow connected with its jaw. Bone splintered. The beast collapsed to its knees, foam bubbling from its ruined mouth.
Text flared across his vision.
[Target HP: 12%]
He didn't hesitate. "Keep hitting it!" he shouted. "If you stop now, it heals!"
For a moment, no one moved. Then something changed.
A woman at the back the same one who had screamed about morale earlier snapped out of her paralysis. Her handbag swung in a desperate arc, the weight of a hidden brick smashing against the beast's skull. A man followed, stabbing at it with the jagged end of a broken umbrella. Another brought down a length of steel piping from the luggage rack.
The carriage filled with frantic cries and the sound of improvised weapons slamming into flesh.
The beast shrieked one final time, its body convulsing under the onslaught. Then it collapsed, lifeless, onto the floor.
Silence.
Then text scrolled before them, glowing cold and merciless:
[Main Scenario #1 Completed.][Calculating individual rewards…][Player: Ravi Sharma — Contribution: 72%][Reward: 500 Coins]
A soft chime followed.
Ravi exhaled, shoulders finally loosening. He stared down at the carcass. The beast's body twitched once, then stilled completely.
The system text flickered again. Letters warped before reforming into a private message only he could see:
@Unknown_Origin: Better. But not enough.
Ravi's jaw clenched. His hand tightened on the pipe."Not enough for you, maybe," he muttered under his breath. "But for me… it's a start."
The blue barrier sealing the carriage dissolved with a faint ripple, releasing the stale air. A gust of real wind swept in from the platform outside, carrying the faint scent of rain. Passengers gasped, stumbling toward freedom.
Ravi stepped over the beast's corpse without looking back. The others stayed behind, still shaking, still catching their breath.
None of them noticed what he didn't see.
At the far end of the station, just beyond the crowd, a shimmer of distortion flickered like heat-haze. Hidden in plain sight, cloaked by shadows, a figure was watching.
Watching him