"Do you have enough potions?"
"I already used up what I brought long ago, but I have newly crafted potions."
Potions made from monster byproducts were still under developnt. Naturally, they couldn't be as effective as the original potions developed by the best magical pharmacologists over dozens of years. Moreover, potions had reduced effectiveness on ordinary people who weren't mages.
Esperanza took out a potion bottle from her inventory and poured an entire bottle over the engineer's wounds. The unconscious engineer still writhed in agony as his flesh sealed and organs filled back up.
Esperanza winced. Even though she lived a life accustod to others' pain, it wasn't pleasant to watch. Still, this pain was relatively better. At least it ant he was getting better.
"Leave that and look here."
Cider pulled Esperanza over.
"It seems we might have to take the wheel."
"Does that make sense?"
"It doesn't make sense, but what choice do we have?"
"I have no idea what I should grab or how... You're not telling
to do it, are you?"
Cider looked down at the instrunt panel without answering. The speedoter was still tilted to the right, and a fork in the tracks was visible at the edge of his vision. Looking back and forth between Esperanza and the collapsed engineer, he sat in the driver's seat.
"Do you know how to drive a train?"
"How would I know?"
"...Even if you don't know, try it! It'll be better than
doing it."
Still, since it was made for people to operate, there were things that looked intuitively obvious. Cider tried pulling a lever. The entire train jolted.
"Ugh!"
As the floor tilted, Esperanza quickly grabbed the back of the driver's seat and let out a sigh of relief.
"What did you do?"
"I don't know. For now, let's try to wake up the engineer."
The engineer could barely open his eyes. Esperanza put painkillers and water in his mouth. As the pain seed to lessen slightly, his hands that had been clawing at the floor stopped.
"Are you okay? Can you drive?"
The engineer shook his head. So it really wasn't possible.
"Then my husband will drive, but could you help us with words?"
His eyes wavered.
"You just need to help with words. We have no experience, so if we leave it like this, the train might derail. Monsters like the one you saw earlier are spread throughout the entire train now."
The engineer, gritting his teeth, slowly nodded. Esperanza turned around with relief.
"I'll go to the front cars. To prevent monsters from getting through. And if monsters appear here..."
"I'll at least scream, so don't worry."
Cider, gripping the steering wheel, said. Esperanza nodded firmly. The role division was complete. Now they could only hope for the boss monster to appear as quickly as possible.
Esperanza, who had opened and secured the locomotive door, moved to the first passenger car. The potion maker introduced by Cider had also made incense to lure monsters. Esperanza unhesitatingly took out the incense and lit it.
"The effect wasn't that great though..."
Better than nothing.
The car that the incubus had swept through was desolate. As if death lingered there. The gloomy sll of the luring incense stung her nose. She thought it would be nice if it at least slled like Paoran.
A giant minotaur fell from the ceiling. Esperanza crouched low and aid her gun.
Minotaur. Chira, crocotta, fenrir—monsters pouring out without any pattern. Esperanza glanced at her status window.
It should be about ti for it to appear...
Just as she thought that and drove a bullet into the last monster's forehead, a new ssage appeared in the status window.
[Dungeon Boss 'Jormungandr' has appeared!]
With a massive vibration, a giant serpent pierced through the train. Its enormous head filled the entire car. She couldn't see where it ended. It seed to span at least six or seven cars. Deadly poison flowed from its mouth.
Esperanza quickly drew out a shield and gas mask. Smoke was already rising from the floor where the poison had dripped.
'I need to finish this quickly.'
Of course, there was nowhere to retreat. Esperanza, wearing a bitter smile, readjusted her grip on the gun.
"Big thing—lots of places to shoot, that's good!"
The place to aim was clear. The mouth spewing suffocating poison. She raised her magic power to maximum. A small chanical sound tornted her ears. It was a signal that the magic stone had reached its capacity limit.
Couldn't be helped.
The giant serpent twisted its body toward Esperanza. There were screams from far away, as if hit by the snake's body. Esperanza pulled back and fired wildly.
About half the magic bullets bounced off, and about half left black scorch marks on the scales.
Fighting like this, even battling all day wouldn't give them a chance of winning. The snake was diligently smashing the train while twisting its body, which was slightly thicker than the train doors. At this rate, the rear cars might be destroyed. The safety of the people naturally couldn't be guaranteed.
Black poison seeped out from between sharp fangs, lting the floor and gradually approaching Esperanza. Esperanza stepped back two paces.
'A thod...'
No matter how tough its scales, the inside of its mouth would be soft, so attacking inside the mouth would work. But as if it knew this, it rarely opened its mouth. Just with the poison seeping through its teeth, the car floor was already soggy, and pipes and chanical structures were beginning to show.
The poison flowed right up to Esperanza's feet.
'Or the eyes?'
That wasn't viable either. If it just closed its eyelids, steel-like scales would protect its eyes. Besides, even if the snake went blind, it wouldn't die.
Waste of magic power.
Esperanza, reaching a firm conclusion, readjusted her grip on the gun.
That's when it happened. The snake opened its mouth wide and thrashed about. Crash—the giant head struck the ceiling, shattered lights fell in pieces, and as the long body heaved, the wall was torn away in a line. Sunlight poured through the wall torn like paper. While she squinted montarily, the snake's opened mouth closed again.
What was that just now?
Esperanza thought while keeping the snake's movents in check with warning shots. Still not cald down, the snake threateningly writhed its body.
It would be good if it opened its mouth once more.
She recalled the scene from earlier in her mind. It definitely looked extrely painful. That pain wasn't sothing Esperanza had inflicted. Probably... probably...
"Do what you did earlier once more!"
She shouted as loudly as possible. She didn't know if it was heard. There was no imdiate response. Still, she couldn't think of any other thod.
Esperanza roughly threw away her shield and drew a long sword from her inventory. She put the scabbard back in and held it upright before her eyes. The blade was long, pointed, and above all, thick. It was the thickest sword Esperanza owned. Being that heavy, her body's center subtly twisted.
Jormungandr was clever. The giant snake charged toward Esperanza's feet. Esperanza quickly leaned against the wall.
The snake's fangs were as long as Esperanza's height, with black liquid dripping from the tips. Her skirt corroded from the poison that splashed on the hem. The light petticoat she had brought to feel like traveling helped at this mont. She wasn't particularly curious about what it would feel like if the poison touched her skin.
Esperanza's bullets couldn't even scratch the giant snake's scales. Bang, bang—a few more shots were fired, but the scales only scorched a bit more and remained intact. But for so reason, it reacted to attacks from other cars. She guessed there might be wounds on those scales. If so, there was no reason not to utilize that.
Esperanza gritted her teeth and waited for the right timing. Preferably when the snake's body was in a straight line. And when Esperanza was standing right in front of it.
With one thrash of the snake, the single wall separating the corridor and compartnts ca crashing down. Esperanza leaped over the snake's body to avoid the collapsing wall.
"Ugh!"
Thud—she slipped on the smooth scales and tumbled down. Her body, roughly hitting the floor, stung, but there was no ti to dwell on the pain. Esperanza got up and fired bullets toward the snake's eyes. Blue magic power, cold enough to make her eyes sting, filled her vision. The snake slowly retreated.
This area had no place to stand as the floor had completely lted. Esperanza, stepping on the pipeline exposed beneath the corroded floor, held her breath. Until the snake's long body ford a satisfyingly straight line.
"Now!"
The voice that burst out was louder than ever. Even Esperanza felt as if it wasn't her own voice. It echoed thunderously through the cars. This much would definitely be heard. It should have been heard...
Hissss! The snake's maw opened wide. Its body thrashed wildly. The car shook so much it was hard to maintain balance. Esperanza lifted her body entirely. And drove the sword vertically into the snake's mouth. Blood dripped from the opened mouth.
Jormungandr's poison began corroding the sword. There was no ti to delay. The parts inside the gun spun wildly. Rough vibrations that could be felt even in the hand gripping the trigger. It was the maximum magic power she could muster.
A long stream of magic power pierced through the snake's throat.
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