After a few minutes of undead slaughtering, Kaelis turned his attention to the stunned crowd.
His blades still swirl, cutting down any monster coming in the area.
"Hello there! Fun party we got here!"
He floated down in front of them, grabbing their attention.
Several of the men drew swords and guns aimed at him, their arms shaking and knees looking like they're about to give out.
"Woah-woah-woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves now." He playfully teased.
"Wh-who… what… Where did you come from!?"
A young man whose hair was tied up, questioned the new arrival.
He was currently in front of a young woman who was likely an important personnel, assuming a defensive stand.
"Me? The names Kaelis… Kaelis valeblade. And you, good sir? What's yours?"
The young man's stance softened when Kaelis neither showing hostility nor drawing a weapon, though he still held his ground.
"… I-im kurusu… konochi. Sworn to the Yomogawa family, and my duty is to lady Ayame, whom I protect as her personal bodyguard."
Kurusu introduced in a formal tone, but there was a slight slip due to his nervousness.
Now knowing who he is, Kaelis looked behind him at the young lady he was guarding, presumably the 'Lady Ayame…
"…Enough of this! We should use this chance now that the kabanes are dealt with to get to the 'Koutetsujou!'"
…As he was taking in her appearance, a middle aged man dressed as an official, shouted up, reminding people of their current situation.
"Yeah! Let's go before more kabane comes!" Another official agreed.
The began shoving the few in their way with the soldiers who regained their bearings following closely behind.
"Um… Mr Kaelis, we have somewhere to be at the moment so if you excuse us… Lady Ayame, let's go."
Kurusu turned quickly and pulled Ayame along with him.
Hmm. Not even a thank you? Kaelis began assessing the group as they left.
Usually one would expect to be shown some semblance of gratitude for saving their lives, but it seemed to not have registered within their minds yet.
'Oh! Maybe they don't know it was me who did it.' It just clicked to him: it might be that they don't expect anyone to be capable of such things and have likely assumed it was god's grace.
It doesn't seem that there are any type of supernatural phenomenons in this world other than the dead rising up.
So anything of this nature will definitely be slapped with the "Divine Favor" label.
"Maybe I should pose as god and see where this goes… or maybe god's messenger would be more believable?"
He began mumbling, not paying attention to the girl who was watching him and left.
"Grrrrrrrr…"
"Raaaagh…"
"Hey—" Kaelis spoke up in mild annoyance only to realize that it was kabanes that interrupted his thoughts.
"Ugh. You things are so annoying." He glanced at the horde forming then at their chest.
"I don't know what benefits I'll get from studying your heart membrane but the way to increase my strength in this trash world," his voice trailed off a bit.
The swords previously summoned began floating around him before disappearing leaving only a glowing long sword radiating holy properties.
"… is to play around within its scraps!"
He disappeared from his standing point at sub relativistic speeds.
With his mind made up, his only goal in this world was to find something entertaining and study its best materials.
••••
Arriving at the koutetsujou, the surviving group saw people already boarding the train.
Ayame immediately began trying to direct what little people her voice could reach.
"The passenger cars are in the depot! We won't leave until everyone's safely aboard, so please don't push!"
Though nobody seems to be listening or paying attention to her.
She then turned her attention to her guard.
"Kurusu. Do you think that person's gonna make it?" She asked her body guard.
"That Kaelis person? I…I don't exactly…"
That Kaelis person was unusual.
They are in the middle of a crisis, people are getting killed—devoured but Kaelis was behaving as if he was on a stroll.
It rubbed him the wrong way.
Say less of the fact that he appeared during the time those swords were slicing the kabanes.
"Well. In any case, you should get to safety first before worrying about a stranger, Lady Ayame."
She looked at him before nodding and was about to head inside the koutetsujou when she saw the young girl who was clearing a path for them before.
The girl was currently conversing with two guys she recognizes.
"Huh? Isn't that the person you locked up today, kurusu?"
"…!…" Kurusu looked over and immediately went to confront him.
"You! What are you doing here? I thought I locked you up!" He questioned sternly which he immediately got retorted sarcastically.
"You sure did! And it almost killed me!"
This earned him a snort from kurusu. "Hmph! Looking at you, I can't tell if you're dead or not."
He raised his gun at him. "How else could you have escaped your cell?"
That's when the girl who was clearing a path for Ayame's group spoke up.
"You can calm down. He's not a kabane."
"What are you saying, mumei? How could you be so sure and why should I believe you?"
Seeing someone defend him, the guy spoke up. "I'm not a kabane!"
"Cmon ikoma! Calm down, will you! You're gonna get yourself killed!" His buddy, a chubby person, tried to calm him down.
Yes, this person is ikoma. The one who Kaelis has met and spoke to with the holding area less than an hour ago.
Judging by his current appearance, he has not had a great time since he left his cell.
He looks ragged.
"Yea. This guy's not a kabane." Said mumei.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Ayame spoke up and reminded everyone to hurry and board the train.
Everyone dispersed, with ikoma already deciding to go all the way to the back because he wanted to be near the boiler room.
In the meantime, inside the engine room…
"Wait till the engines in its prep stage and then light the fire." A man instructed.
Currently a red headed woman was prepping up to get the train moving.
"Got it. Miss Ayame, when you're ready…"
She turned to with a determination and faced Ayame, who was stepping down into the engine room
"Oh, uh… Good."
She pulled a key out of her collar and off her neck, opened a latch and placed the key inside the key hole before turning.
"Master key confirmed." The red head spoke.
"Boiler lit!" Worker 1.
From there, someone started up the train.
Ssshhh… puff-puff-puff
The train started moving with a low hiss and then began connecting each section fully.
"Cars are engaged. Well done."
"We can't leave yet! Are there any signs of father?"
Ayame spoke up and asked someone who was scouting the surrounding area with binoculars.
"Not yet. I'm sorry." He replied.
"Kabane! The kabane are coming!" A bushi reported.
A ways away, there were kabanes witching the hundred of thousand sprinting their way towards the train area at max speed.
The red head immediately got the train moving.
Chapter 4 end.