"Who are you?!"
Dr. Shoei forced himself to remain calm with the rationality of a 'Black' biochemical scientist, his face dark as he stared at Laskey. Behind him, the two young researchers were already trembling in fear.
"Let's introduce ourselves."
"My name is Laskey, a special investigator for the World Government. We've been observing you for some time and would like to invite you to accompany us to Mulu Base."
Laskey straightforwardly revealed his identity, though he opted for a simpler term to avoid the hassle of explaining Cipher Pol.
"And you?"
"I—"
Dr. Shoei stared at him in confusion, thinking to himself, "What is the World Government?"
"It's Dr. Shoei's location!"
"Hurry, hurry! We can't let anything happen to the doctor!"
Just as he was about to give his name to buy time, a group of black-clad soldiers from another carriage came running over at the commotion.
"Annoying!"
Laskey's expression turned cold as he turned his head. Suddenly, he lifted his right leg clad in black dress pants and delivered a powerful kick toward the carriage missing its iron door.
[Whoosh————]
The next moment, Dr. Shoei and the two researchers watched in shock as a crescent-shaped blue blade of light materialized in the air, slicing through the dozen or so charging black-clad soldiers at waist level with terrifying speed. The sickening thuds of severed bodies hitting the ground echoed one after another, and the blade even cleaved the iron door of the carriage behind them in two.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"My intestines————"
"No, I don't want to die!!"
Laskey didn't spare another glance at these 'dead men,' turning his dark red sunglasses toward Dr. Shoei, whose face had gone pale. He smiled. "Dr. Shoei, please stay close to me from now on. It'll be easier to ensure your safety."
"Did you just generate that Wind Pressure with a mere kick?" Dr. Shoei pressed a hand to his wildly pounding heart, suppressing his astonishment as he asked.
Laskey chuckled. "Oh? You could discern the principle behind it with just a glance? Truly worthy of being a scientist valued by the Biochemical Research Institute."
"It's real?"
"But how is that possible? The strength required to produce Wind Pressure of that magnitude—are you a Kabaneri?" Dr. Shoei found it utterly unbelievable.
"No, wait—even a Kabaneri couldn't accomplish something like this. Unless... you're a 'Nue'!"
"Oh? What exactly is this 'Nue' you speak of?" Laskey asked curiously, wondering if this world also had combatants with Douriki nearing four or five hundred.
"Hmm..."
Dr. Shoei fell silent. Unbothered, Laskey smiled and said, "In that case, let's first—never mind, it's better if you stay here. It's even more chaotic outside."
Outside, they would undoubtedly face attacks from more black-clad soldiers. Laskey wasn't worried for himself, but who knew if a stray bullet might find its way to the doctor? At least inside the carriage, the iron plating offered some protection, making it easier to keep him safe.
[Whoosh!]
At that moment, a blur streaked into the carriage with a sharp whistle—yet Laskey made no move in response.
Instead, it was Zhuang Wei and the other two who were left dumbfounded as a stunning blonde woman in a black dress suddenly appeared beside Laskey, leaving only a blurry black shadow on their retinas.
"How's it going?"
Marta replied succinctly, "Amatori Biba killed the station chief and the Warrior commander here and just returned with Yomogawa Ayame."
"And now?"
"Now he's taken that short-haired blonde woman to the front of the train. As for Yomogawa Ayame, she's been detained. Also, I saw the Hunter Group slaughtering Iwato Station Soldiers trying to board the train to escape!"
"Marta, keep an eye on Dr. Shoei here—oh, and these two researchers, though they're not important. Kill them if they try anything." Laskey commanded coldly.
"What about you?"
"I'm going to capture Amatori Biba and wait for the other teams to arrive!" With that, Laskey turned and left, quickly disappearing into the train car.
Neither he nor Marta noticed the anticipation and mockery in Zhuang Wei's eyes.
"Go ahead. Pegasus should be awakening Horobi right now. Though these two strange individuals seem strong, the power of 'Nue' is clearly far more terrifying. It seems I'll soon have even more interesting test subjects!"
Laskey moved swiftly, but when he reached the front of the train, he realized Amatori Biba's presence wasn't there.
Instead, a blue-clad Warrior was swinging a glowing longsword, deftly dodging Steam Rifle shots while cutting down the black-clad soldiers blocking Yomogawa Ayame and Yukina.
"Kurusu! Be careful!"
Seeing this, and recalling that Yomogawa Ayame was also one of the targets the base had ordered to protect, Laskey vanished from the roof of the Steel Fortress.
The next moment, he appeared right in front of Yomogawa Ayame.
"Shigan: Huang Lian!"
His sudden appearance left the surrounding Hunter Group soldiers no time to react. Under a flurry of Shigan afterimages, they were pierced with bloody holes, collapsing to the ground with agonized screams.
"..."
Yomogawa Ayame and Yukina—both barely adults—were completely stunned. Though both were brave by nature, they were still ordinary people at heart.
From their perspective, a black afterimage had blinked into existence before them, followed by a blur of motion spreading outward. Then, the soldiers around them fell, spurting blood.
Only when the men lay dead in pools of blood did the two finally get a clear look at the figure before them—a towering man dressed in Western-style clothing, his most striking feature being the pair of glittering blue diamond earrings on his ears.
"Go to the fourth car. There are people there who will protect you."
Hearing such a direct order, Yomogawa Ayame nervously asked, "Ah, um... may I ask who you are?"
"Lady Ayame!!"
The blue-clad Warrior named Kurusu had already dealt with the black-clad soldiers around him. He hurried over, gripping his longsword—its blade layered with Kabane Heart Membrane—and warily studied Laskey's face.
He had, of course, witnessed Laskey instantly take down seven or eight soldiers. Truthfully, he hadn't seen much, but that very fact made him certain this man was dangerous.
And this dangerous individual was now standing right in front of Ayame, the woman he secretly adored!
"Your sword is decent."
Laskey could roughly understand Kurusu's willingness to die for the woman he loved just by looking into his eyes, which made him somewhat admire the young man.
Because they were the same kind of people.
"But you're too weak. If you want to protect your woman, you'll need to become much stronger!" As Laskey walked past Kurusu, he heavily patted the latter's shoulder.
Kurusu had instinctively wanted to dodge, but the former's hand was too fast—before his body could react, the weight of that palm pressed down upon him.
This made him realize just how vast the gap in strength was between himself and the black-clad man before him. Yet his shock was instantly thrown into chaos by the man's next words.
"Ah!"
"N-no, what nonsense are you spouting?!" Kurusu's face flushed crimson, his eyes darting about in flustered confusion.
Yomogawa Ayame also froze for a moment before staring blankly at the young Warrior who had always protected her.
"ROOOOAR!!!!"
Suddenly, a beast-like roar captured everyone's attention. Behind his dark red glasses, Laskey's sharp eyes narrowed.
He saw a massive black monster howling toward the sky near the city gates.
"Is that the 'Black Smoke' Dr. Fritz mentioned?"