Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei were in a dangerous situation. The tunnel entrance had collapsed due to an explosion, blocked by huge rocks.
Although breaking through the rocks at the entrance wouldn't be difficult for Inaba Tsukiyo, she was very tired and needed a good rest.
She didn't use her Herrscher power to get new clothes, mainly because there were too many Kabaneri corpses here.
Having dealt with so many Kabaneri, if her clothes weren't stained at all, people would definitely become suspicious.
Although she looked terrible, no injuries could be found on her.
Even though the inside of the cave was pitch black, neither Mumei nor Inaba Tsukiyo were ordinary people; they could see things even in the dark.
"We've been trapped here for hours. Do you think the Iron Fortress people abandoned us?"
"No, they wouldn't. While you were unconscious, the boiler room exploded, and a terrifying monster appeared near the tracks. The Iron Fortress people need our strength to leave Yatsushiro Station."
The giant monster couldn't be harmed by the samurai's reinforced steam guns and blades; they had to rely on her and Mumei's power to defeat that Kabaneri.
Furthermore, given Shikomorikawa Ayame's personality, she would certainly not abandon those who had helped them. It was likely that the Iron Fortress people were already carrying out a rescue operation outside the cave entrance.
As this thought emerged, the sound of falling rocks came from the blocked area, and faint voices could be heard.
"Really, they really came to save us."
"Yes, that's right. But don't appear too weak. We don't know if the samurai coming in are the kind of guys who have issues with Kabaneri."
Even if Inaba Tsukiyo's words had a slight impact last time, she believed that some people were still afraid of Kabaneri.
If they discovered Mumei's weakened state, they might take the opportunity to act.
Mumei nodded. When those people tried to detach the last car last time, Mumei saw their true nature.
Ultimately, there were very few people who could be trusted; at least, those samurai couldn't be trusted.
After all, people like Inaba Tsukiyo, who would even harm her Original Body to save others, were too rare.
Facing danger, the first thing people thought of was how to survive, and that's what humans thought about.
Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei walked hand in hand towards the cave entrance. At this point, with the samurai moving the rocks, light from outside could be seen through the crevices.
Through the rock crevices, the samurai outside could smell a very strong scent of blood coming from inside.
They were samurai who had experienced battles and knew that this smell of blood must have come from Kabaneri.
But how many Kabaneri Original Body would it take to create such a strong smell of blood? What exactly happened inside?
The rocks were completely removed, and the exit was finally opened.
However, the samurai outside raised their blades, looking nervously at the situation inside.
If any Kabaneri appeared, they would attack immediately.
Soon, Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei arrived at the entrance. The smell of blood on Inaba Tsukiyo made the samurai at the entrance change their expressions, and they couldn't help but tighten their grip on their weapons.
"Stop! What are you trying to do? We're here to save people, what do you want to do?"
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, a tall figure emerged from among the samurai. It was a samurai who followed Kujin Kurusu, whose name seemed to be Aragaki Kibito.
He sternly ordered the surrounding samurai to put down their weapons. Although he was also very nervous, he had not lost his reason.
Moreover, conflicting with Mumei and Inaba Tsukiyo was very unwise. Not to mention dealing with two at once, even Mumei alone could potentially wipe them all out.
"I thought you would abandon us. I didn't expect you would still come to save us."
Standing before Aragaki Kibito, Inaba Tsukiyo said teasingly.
"Indeed... some people didn't want to risk coming to find you. But Ayame-sama ordered that you must be found."
Aragaki Kibito didn't lie. Initially, some samurai didn't want to come to rescue them, but under Shikomorikawa Ayame's command, people still came.
Leaving the dark tunnel, in the open space outside, there was a huge, worm-like monster.
It was emitting a large number of golden light spots, moving rapidly underground.
"Is this the guy that left huge attack marks in the industrial area? With this size, destroying the observation deck would indeed be easy."
Thinking the monster was going to attack them, everyone rushed towards the Kabaneri.
The samurai stood nervously by the railing, aiming their steam guns at the monster, ready to attack immediately if the monster made a move.
However, this monster didn't attack them. Instead, it went underground and absorbed all the Kabaneri Original Body.
It even reached into the cave and pulled out the corpses of the dead Kabaneri, increasing its already enormous size.
"Its size is still increasing. What exactly is going on with this monster?"
The monster before them was completely beyond their comprehension. They had never seen such a creature.
"A Biba Gattai, formed by a special Kabaneri as its core, gathering swarms of Kabaneri into one giant entity, constantly absorbing humans and Kabaneri to grow."
Mumei explained. Even she was seeing a Biba Gattai for the first time; this special Kabaneri was a very terrifying existence.
Some of the Kabaneri inside were already dead, and some Kabaneri still had some mobility even when separated from the Original Body. It would be difficult to eliminate this special Kabaneri.
"How can we destroy this monster? Although it has no intention of attacking now, we were almost attacked by this guy when we were on the tracks. To safely leave Yatsushiro Station, we must destroy it."
"Inside those Kabaneri, there's a Kabaneri that acts as its heart. If we just deal with that Kabaneri..."
"I see... coincidentally, the Iron Fortress people found a Type 48 Fortress Cannon on the platform at Yatsushiro Station. If we just use the Fortress Cannon to pierce through that Kabaneri, that should do it, right?"
When Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei fell earlier, the Biba Gattai attacked the Iron Fortress.
When the Iron Fortress retreated to the station, they found a Type 48 Fortress Cannon there.
If they could find the Kabaneri that served as the heart, they should be able to eliminate this special Iron Fortress.
"No, that Kabaneri must be surrounded by many other Kabaneri. To get to that spot, we have to use artillery fire to destroy the Kabaneri on the outside before we can find an opportunity to kill that Kabaneri."
"..."
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't speak. In fact, there was an even simpler way to deal with this monster: transform into a Heroic Spirit and blast it into dust with one shot.
However, such words definitely couldn't be said. Not to mention whether they would believe her, she didn't want to reveal the power of her Heroic Spirit to others so quickly.
Ikoma, who had been shirtless since boarding the train, wearing only a cape, lifted the collapsed observation deck. The Iron Fortress then quickly started its engine, preparing to leave Yatsushiro Station.
Just then, the Biba Gattai, which had been still, suddenly erupted, moving at an extremely fast speed onto the tracks, approaching the Iron Fortress at a pace that belied its massive body.
Due to extreme tension, Biba, acting as a gunner for the first time, fired prematurely, hitting the Biba Gattai's left face.
A large number of Kabaneri flew out, with some Kabaneri falling onto the Iron Fortress.
These Kabaneri that fell onto the Iron Fortress were dealt with by the samurai on the train. Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei were both waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a chance to strike.
"This feeling… it's a bit exciting, isn't it, Mumei?"
"Why aren't you tense at all? Aren't you worried the Biba Gattai will catch up?"
Mumei looked at Inaba Tsukiyo beside her in confusion. Since just now, Inaba Tsukiyo had shown no intention of attacking.
It was as if she were watching a disaster movie, calmly observing the scene of the Biba Gattai, as if injected with adrenaline, charging towards the Iron Fortress.
"You say I'm not tense, but you're not completely unfazed either, Mumei. I don't want to be told that by you."
Shaking her head, this Biba Gattai was an unbeatable existence for ordinary people, and even for Kabaneri.
But she wasn't afraid of this monster. A monster that exposed its weakness like this was easy to deal with. That blue spot was simply too obvious; it was hard not to notice it.
The Biba Gattai approached the Iron Fortress a second time, even kicking off the last car of the Iron Fortress and climbing onto the second car.
The moment the Iron Fortress raised its left hand, the weakness on its left side was completely exposed.
Biba, having made one mistake, wouldn't miss this good opportunity. He blasted open half of the Biba Gattai's body with a single shot.
As the weakness was fully exposed, Mumei took a running start on the roof of the car, then leaped fiercely from the edge towards the weak point.
That special Kabaneri was female, and she let out a piercing roar the moment Mumei appeared.
Mumei didn't hesitate; the blade in her hand pierced through the core, killing the Kabaneri that served as the core.
After the core was killed, the Biba Gattai let out a mournful roar, its body swelled like a balloon, and finally, a violent explosion occurred.
Accompanied by the storm of the explosion, a large number of Kabaneri flew out, falling to the ground like rain.
Also flying out at the same time was Mumei, who had killed the Kabaneri.
Ignoring how the Biba Gattai disintegrated, Mumei came before Inaba Tsukiyo, flashing a V-sign with a grin, seemingly showing off her achievement.
'She's still a child, after all.'
Shaking her head, Inaba Tsukiyo nodded, praising Mumei's performance.
As the Iron Fortress rounded a bend, the inertia generated by its high speed caused it to subtly show signs of derailing.
"Everyone! Please lean to the right, in the direction of travel! If this continues, the Iron Fortress will derail!"
Shikomorikawa Ayame in the driver's cabin calmly gave the command. Everyone on the train quickly gathered on the right side of the Iron Fortress, changing its center of gravity to get the Iron Fortress back on track.
However, even with everyone's weight concentrated, the Iron Fortress's tilt was not significantly alleviated, and it still showed subtle signs of derailing.
"Using this much force should be enough, right?"
While Mumei and the other samurai pushed against the right wall, Inaba Tsukiyo calculated the force and raised her small pink fist.
[Boom!]
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed. A large dent appeared in the wall hit by Inaba Tsukiyo, and Mumei, standing nearby, was startled.
But it was also under the power of this punch that the Iron Fortress, subtly tilting to the left, suddenly lifted and tilted to the right.
Realizing she might have used a bit too much force, Inaba Tsukiyo went to the left side and punched again. In this way, she seemed to repeat adjusting the amount of force, controlling the Iron Fortress's tilt.
Finally, under the deterrence of Mumei and the others, Inaba Tsukiyo stopped.
Although the Iron Fortress had recovered, the wall of this last car was battered beyond recognition.
If they hadn't witnessed Inaba Tsukiyo's actions firsthand, they would never have believed that the seemingly delicate Inaba Tsukiyo possessed such immense strength.
'Perhaps… I should be more careful in the future?'
Thinking of her previous actions, Mumei felt fortunate to still be alive.
If that punch landed on someone, even a Kabaneri would probably lose half her life.
If it was like that for a Kabaneri, there was no need to mention how much damage it would cause if it hit a human.
At least those samurai who wanted to cause trouble no longer had any intention of provoking Inaba Tsukiyo.
Even bare-handed, she was so formidable. Even armed with steam guns and katanas, they probably couldn't kill her.
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