Carriage 5 was like a cold iron grave.
No emergency lights were lit here. The only source of light came from the flashes of lightning outside the window that occasionally illuminated the carriage interior. Every time lightning struck, the shadows of objects inside the carriage stretched out, creating silhouettes of dancing monsters.
Kavian stepped carefully. His shoes squeaked softly on the sticky floor.
The smell was different. If Carriage 6 smelled of metallic copper—blood—Carriage 5 smelled of burnt flesh and ozone.
His Inner Sight, still active, swept through the darkness. There were no monster Status Windows. There were only corpses of passengers lying in strange positions—not torn apart, but seemingly "sucked" dry. Their skin was wrinkled, clinging tight to their bones.
"Hhh... Hhh..."
The sound of heavy breathing came from the end of the carriage. Not a monster's sound. It was a human sound.
Kavian approached, hiding behind a seat back.
Near the connection to Carriage 4, under the flickering lightning, Kavian saw a figure standing tall amidst a pile of dead cat-sized monsters.
The figure was holding a long iron bar—a commuter line handrail pole that he seemed to have ripped forcibly from its welding with his bare hands.
Crackkk!
Lightning struck again. White light spotlighted the figure's face.
Messy buzz-cut hair. A defined jawline. A flannel shirt with torn sleeves, revealing tense arm muscles smeared with black blood—monster blood.
Kavian's eyes narrowed. A status box appeared above the person's head.
Name: Arka Wisesa
Rank: 9 (Awakened)
HP: 85%
Status:Battle Trance (Combat Focus)
"Arka?" Kavian called out softly, stepping out from his hiding spot.
The figure spun around quickly, the iron bar in his hand swinging toward Kavian's neck.
The movement was too fast. Kavian's reflexes, with an Agility value of 5, were not enough to dodge. The wind from the iron swing brushed his face.
But the bar stopped exactly two centimeters from Kavian's temple.
Arka's eyes, previously wild and empty, slowly returned to focus. His breathing was heavy, hot steam escaping his mouth into the cold carriage air.
"Kav?" Arka's voice was heavy and hoarse. He lowered the iron bar. "You're still alive? I thought you died in the back carriage. I heard weird hissing sounds."
Kavian let out a long breath, adjusting his glasses which had gone askew from the shock. "Almost. There was a Flesh Walker back there. But, seeing you rip out a public facility's iron pole like this... I assume you also got a 'gift' from the system?"
Arka stared at his hand gripping the steel pole. The iron was slightly bent from his grip.
"I don't know," Arka replied flatly. He pointed to the pile of carcasses at his feet. Corpses of rat-like creatures but with bald heads like babies. "These things... when I hit them, I felt like I liked it. And every time blood touched my skin, my body felt lighter."
Kavian activated his Inner Sight again, looking deeper into his friend's status.
Arka Wisesa's Attributes:
Strength (STR): 8 (Very High)
Constitution (CON): 9 (Extraordinary)
Potential Path: Asura / War God
A physical monster, Kavian thought. While he had to rack his brain just to survive 10 minutes, Arka seemed to have just slaughtered a platoon of small monsters alone. This was the Tank Role he needed.
"We don't have time for a reunion," Kavian cut in quickly. He pointed toward the rear carriage door which was starting to dent from the Flesh Walker's pounding. "Chasing me is a Rank 8. Pure physical monster. Your iron pole might not be effective if you just swing it blindly."
Arka turned to the shaking door. He didn't look afraid. Instead, the corner of his lips lifted slightly. A thin, terrifying smile.
"Rank 8, huh?" Arka tightened his grip on the iron pole. "If I beat its head into pulp, it dies, right?"
"Theoretically," Kavian replied. "But if it touches you first, you become the pulp. I need you to be the shield, I'll find the opening. Understand?"
Arka nodded briefly. As friends since their freshman year, he knew that if Kavian gave a tactical order, it meant their chances of survival increased drastically.
"Where's Clara?" Kavian asked suddenly, realizing one variable was missing from their Trinity. Usually, Arka and Clara went home together.
Arka's fierce face instantly turned anxious.
"Carriage 4," Arka pointed behind him with his thumb. "She... she's acting weird, Kav. She fainted when the lights went out. When I carried her here, she was mumbling to herself. Her body is freezing cold, like ice."
"Spiritual coma?" muttered Kavian.
Bam!
The connecting door between Carriage 6 and 5 gave way. The steel hinges snapped. The door was thrown flying and smashed into a row of seats, crushing them.
A two-meter-tall figure stepped inside.
It was the Larva from before, but now its form was denser. Its legs had grown longer and more muscular. Its skin had thickened into layers of grey chitin. Its face, destroyed by Kavian's fire extinguisher, was now beginning to regenerate, growing disgusting new membranes.
[Enemy Warning]
Entity: Flesh Walker (Mutated)
Rank: 8
Condition: Regenerating (50%) - Enraged
The monster "sniffed" the air. Its heat sensors might be damaged, but its sense of smell was sharp. And in this enclosed space, the smell of two humans' sweat was like a beacon in the night.
It turned directly toward Kavian and Arka.
"GROOOOAAAAAHHH!!"
Its roar vibrated the glass windows.
Arka took a step forward, cracking his neck. He raised his iron pole like a war club.
"Kav, fall back to Clara," Arka ordered, his voice calm but laden with violence. "Let me hold off this ugly bastard."
"Don't die, you idiot," Kavian retreated steadily toward Carriage 4. "I need 30 seconds to analyze its attack patterns."
Arka didn't answer. He exploded forward, sprinting to charge the Rank 8 monster head-to-head.
Iron met hard flesh. A brutal battle began.
Kavian, while running backward, kept looking back. His eyes glowed a faint blue behind his cracked glasses.
Data... I need data. Regeneration speed, fulcrum points, and armor gaps.
In the midst of this apocalypse, while Arka fought with rage, Kavian fought with calculation.