The sun had completely sunk below the horizon, plunging the entire Aragane Station into darkness. On the streets within the city, so households lit electric lamps, while others carried torches, though the overall lighting was quite sparse.
On the city walls, the samurai were quietly eating their rice balls, which were their usual evening al. These rice balls had bits of fish and salt inside to make sure they weren't tasteless. Nearby, Kenshou held a canned coffee, sipping it slowly, while his daughter, Aya, elegantly dabbed her mouth with a handkerchief. As a proper lady, she couldn't eat as casually as her father. At their feet were three empty bento boxes and a yogurt container. The pork cutlet bento they had eaten ca from the food stall at Fujimi Academy's cafeteria, with a full pork cutlet, served over warm rice, and a variety of side dishes. While Kenshou's large fra might not have been completely satisfied, Aya had certainly eaten her fill.
Their new lord, Altair, wasn't stingy either. After they finished eating, he casually tossed Kenshou another canned coffee and handed Aya a yogurt.
Both of them, now used to Altair's ability to produce items from thin air, expressed their thanks and drank up.
Aya finished her yogurt in a few sips, as there wasn't much, but Kenshou took his ti with the coffee, enjoying a few more sips. Altair, anwhile, stood in front of them, back turned, a toothpick in his mouth as he gazed into the distance.
"So, how was the bento?"
"The taste was excellent. Thank you for the al, sir."
"Yes, thank you very much for the al."
The father and daughter quickly thanked him. Though they were the lord and his daughter, and their als were usually of good quality, resources had beco scarce lately. For them, the pork cutlet al was certainly a treat... especially in such a setting, up on the city wall. Otherwise, they would have been eating rice balls like the rest of the samurai.
Altair looked up at the sky, where the stars were now clearly visible.
"The night is dark enough to serve as good cover. It's about ti... Fusoujo should be arriving."
"When Fusoujo arrives, you'll see that everything you've claid is false! My brother would never do the things you've accused him of!"
Mui, who had been left hungry and bound, glared at Altair. Watching his calm and confident deanor irritated her, and she couldn't help but argue again.
"And what if Fusoujo turns out to be exactly as I described?"
"That won't happen! Even if sothing does go wrong, it's only because Fusoujo must've been overrun by the Kabane."
"Is that so? You'll see soon enough."
They didn't have to wait long. Soon, the light of a train appeared on the distant tracks.
"It's Fusoujo! Fusoujo has arrived!"
One of the samurai stationed as a lookout reported as soon as they saw the train approaching. Kenshou imdiately raised his hand.
"I see it. Hold your positions! Do not lower the drawbridge! Make them stop!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The samurai at the drawbridge signaled for Fusoujo to stop, but the train's lights kept moving at high speed, showing no intention of slowing down.
"Yomogawa-sama, they're not slowing down!"
The lookout reported again, concern rising in their voice.
Kenshou could see it for himself and imdiately understood that Altair had been right. He quickly issued new orders to the samurai.
"Prepare for impact! Gather everyone and get ready to fight!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The samurai on the walls and those below quickly gathered to prepare for a battle against Kabanes.
The speed of the oncoming Fusoujo made it clear that the drawbridge couldn't stop it. Even if it did, so of the carriages would still crash into the station, and Kabanes could easily climb through the wreckage into the city. They had to be stopped outside the walls... otherwise, Aragane Station would be overrun.
After issuing his orders, Kenshou turned to Altair.
"Sir, you ntioned earlier that you could prevent the worst from happening."
"That's right. You don't need to send all the samurai up here. They won't be necessary."
"Then I beg of you... please stop Kabanes from breaching our walls!"
Without hesitation, Kenshou dropped to his knees, bowing deeply before Altair. Aya followed her father's lead, kneeling beside him.
From Altair's perspective, Kenshou was a capable lord, both brave and skilled. In the original tiline, when Kabanes overran the city, Kenshou imdiately sent his daughter to the Koutetsujou to organize an evacuation while he led the samurai in a final stand, only to fall and turn into a Kabane himself.
"Stand up. As I said, Aragane Station is my territory now. I'll ensure Kabanes doesn't breach the city. All I ask is that you manage the station well, under my command."
"Yes, sir!"
Kenshou standing with Aya replied. Though they rose, they still nervously watched the fast-approaching Fusoujo, silently praying it would stop in ti.
Altair, however, was in no rush. He glanced at Mui, noticing her watching him.
"Watch closely, this is a power your brother could never hope to match."
Altair reached behind him and, once again, his hand disappeared into thin air. When it reappeared, it was holding a newly modified magic-powered beam rocket launcher. The firing chanism was made of Holydite, while the outer shell was crafted from Altair's own reinforced alloy. The launcher could fire directly, using his magic as a power source.
Once again, Altair pulled an object from nowhere, and this ti, it was a long, iron cannon.
In the stunned silence of the onlookers, Altair hefted the rocket launcher with his left hand, attaching it to the mount on the back of his armor to stabilize the weight, then aid it at the fast-approaching Fusoujo.
With a surge of magic, he fired.
A beam of light gathered at the rectangular barrel, condensing into a ball of energy.
BOOM!
A thick beam shot from the launcher, and the massive recoil forced Altair to brace himself by digging his beam saber into the ground for support. The beam of light illuminated the forest outside the wall and struck Fusoujo, which was now less than 200 ters away. The beam hit the front of the train, knocking it off the tracks.
The derailed engine dragged the rest of the train with it. So of the carriages followed, while others, unhooked by the force, hurtled forward towards Aragane Station. But they were quickly obliterated by the follow-up blasts from Altair's beam.
The impact site swelled with energy, forming a massive explosion. By the ti Altair stopped channeling his magic and the beam dissipated, the explosion had blossod into a gigantic sphere of light, engulfing Fusoujo.
The train was utterly obliterated in the blast.
Blinding waves of light surged into the sky, forcing the samurai on the wall to shield their eyes. When the light finally faded, all they saw were tiny red sparks falling from the sky.
Fusoujo had indeed been filled with Kabane, just as Altair had predicted.
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