**#277. Sky Train (1)**
—
The sudden explosion threw the passengers in the cabin into confusion.
“What was that? Wh-what’s going on?”
“It definitely came from the front, didn’t it?”
But that wasn’t the only abnormality.
Soon after, the train began to gradually decelerate, and then came to a complete stop on the elevated track high above the ground.
Looking out the window at the buildings and streets below, Ray whispered to Joshua seated beside him.
“Judging by how people are reacting, this doesn’t seem like a common occurrence.”
“It’s definitely not. I’ve never heard of a sky train stopping on the tracks.”
With a serious expression, Joshua, who had momentarily fallen into thought, muttered,
“Could it be… No, it couldn’t be.”
“You have a hunch?”
“It’s just a possibility…”
According to Joshua, the current state of the city was one of the most intense factional struggles between mage towers in history.
In recent months, things had escalated rapidly, to the point where the situation now resembled a battlefield.
“So these kinds of incidents have been happening a lot lately. Like a particular mage tower being attacked, or spies infiltrating a tower getting caught, or key figures being ambushed.”
“You think this train might have become a battleground in that power struggle.”
In other words, it could’ve been hijacked by some faction.
“Exactly. If that explosion we heard came from the engine room, it would explain why the train stopped. But again, it’s just a possibility. Even if it is a hijacking, the situation will likely be resolved quickly.”
Joshua spoke reassuringly as he cast a trusting gaze at the crew members calming the passengers.
“To even qualify as a sky train crew member, you need to be at least a 4th-circle mage. That’s not unheard of, but for most people, it’s a level they’ll never reach in their lifetime. It’s the standard for being recognized as a powerful mage.”
Given the massive number of daily passengers, sky trains always had multiple staff on duty to prepare for any kind of emergency.
“Our personnel are currently moving toward the front compartments. Once we understand the situation, we will take immediate action, so we ask all passengers to remain calm and wait.”
The crew’s firm tone—and perhaps the reliable image they had built over time—quickly soothed the chaos within the cabin.
But then—
*Bang!*
A gunshot shattered the settling anxiety and fear.
*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Chaotic voices and footsteps erupted from the compartment directly ahead, and before anyone could react, the door burst open.
“Level 1 emergency! Subdue them with full force—”
*Bang! Bang!*
The crew members collapsed helplessly, blood gushing from their heads.
Men in masks poured in through the now-open door.
“Damn, impressive. They took down 4th-circle mages in one strike.”
“Where the hell did the boss get weapons like this?”
Chuckling darkly, the masked men held various types of firearms.
Mana coursed down the barrels and into the magazines, forming dozens of bullets.
“Heard he bought them from that crazy scientist. Used all the profit from our last job.”
“Well, can’t complain it was a waste. How else could we take down a 4th-circle mage?”
Ray noticed three glowing circles on each of their chests.
“Enough talk—let’s get to work. Let’s finish quickly and move on to the next job.”
“Yeah, this is the last compartment. No doubt they’re here.”
*Bang! Bang!*
They fired toward the ceiling.
“Kyaaah!”
“P-please spare us!”
Seeing the passengers duck and tremble in fear, one of the masked men grinned.
“Alright, folks. We’re soft-hearted guys—we don’t want unnecessary bloodshed. We’re only looking for one person. Once we find them, we’ll leave. Got it?”
Unlike the others, Ray remained upright and murmured softly,
“Lies.”
“Wh-what? Ray—! Keep your head down! They’ll see you—!”
“They’re going to kill everyone regardless of whether they find their target or not.”
Joshua hastily pushed Ray’s head down, but he didn’t budge.
Fortunately, it seemed the masked men hadn’t heard him. They continued issuing threats.
“Whoever is McQueen, head researcher of the Wid School, step forward. Now.”
A heavy silence followed.
The masked man raised his gun toward the ceiling.
*Bang—! Bang—!*
“Eek!”
“God, p-please protect me…”
More gunshots echoed, but no one named McQueen came forward.
Once the echoes faded, the masked man snarled,
“Fine. So no one’s going to come forward. Looks like we’ll have to waste even more time. Start the sweep.”
“This is such a pain.”
The other masked men began moving through the seats, grabbing passengers by the hair and lifting their heads.
“Urgh!”
“Check them carefully. They could be using illusion magic or fake skin.”
“N-not me!”
“Damn it, not this one.”
“This woman’s not it either.”
The search drew closer and closer to where Ray and Joshua were seated.
Ray, still with his head raised, quietly asked while eyeing the masked men.
“It’s fine if I kill them all, right? I might not be able to hold back.”
“Wh-what? What are you saying…?”
At that moment—
Across the aisle from the two boys, a middle-aged woman sat.
Beside her was a briefcase secured with multiple locks, and her eyes flickered with indecision.
“This is your last chance. If no one comes forward before the sweep ends, we’ll kill everyone in this compartment.”
That threat sounded sincere.
Just as she was about to stand—
“…?”
She saw something unexpected.
A hooded boy had stepped out into the aisle.
“What the—? Kid, do you have a death wish? Huh? Don’t you understand what’s going on? Or do you really need to go to the bathroom?”
The masked man blocking the path was flustered.
But he quickly gathered himself and barked harshly, while the others snickered.
“Bet he’s about to piss himself.”
“Yeah, let him go. I don’t want to smell it.”
But then—they noticed something odd.
The boy’s expressionless face showed no fear, no panic.
In fact, his cold eyes seemed to pierce right through them.
*Click.*
“If you want to die, I’ll oblige.”
The masked man pressed his gun to the boy’s forehead.
Yet the boy didn’t flinch.
He was simply annoyed.
Because the arrival of these intruders meant a delay in reaching his destination.
“How many of you are there?”
“What…?”
“I need to calculate how long it’ll take to put you all down.”
“You little—! Die!”
*Bang—!*
The masked man, unable to contain his dread, pulled the trigger.
But the instant the shot rang out, the boy had vanished.
*Crack!*
The masked man’s neck was twisted and snapped between magically enhanced arms.
*Thud—!*
Before his body even hit the floor, Ray was already charging the next target.
“Shoot! Shoot him!”
“He’s a reinforcement-type mage! Don’t let him get close!”
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Ear-splitting gunfire and a hail of bullets.
Ray twisted his body, tracking the muzzle directions, and closed the distance in an instant before throwing a punch.
“He can’t break through the defense barehanded—”
*Crunch!*
The punch shattered the protection and smashed the man’s face.
“H-he’s a monster! I didn’t hear anything about someone like this being on guard!”
“R-run for it!”
The remaining masked men tried to flee, but Ray caught them all and twisted their necks from unnatural angles.
*Thud—!*
After felling the last one, Ray immediately opened the door to the next compartment and moved on.
“Who… was that boy?”
“Wh-who could he be?”
The remaining passengers, overwhelmed with relief, also felt a mix of gratitude and bewilderment.
That included the middle-aged woman who had been the target—McQueen.
‘All the bullets landed on the floor in the aisle. He even controlled everything to make sure no passengers were harmed…?’
Goosebumps rose on her skin.
Reinforcement-type magic was harder to control the stronger it got.
Yet he displayed such precise movement at that speed?
Even in the Enforce School, known for the pinnacle of enhancement magic, no one could exhibit this level of mastery.
Who was he?
What was his identity?
Even if he was a shadow operative, someone of this caliber couldn’t possibly remain unknown.
Then came a voice.
“Ray… just what are you?”
It was Joshua, too stunned to close his mouth.
‘Ray.’
McQueen silently repeated the name.
She had the strong sense she would hear it countless more times in this city from now on.
*
*
“P-please spare me!”
“Stop him! Stop him!”
“Open the window! Use the parachutes we brought! Jump—! Aaaagh!”
Behind Ray’s path of destruction, only cold corpses remained.
Of course, they were all the masked men’s bodies.
“D-die!”
*Bang! Bang!*
Their mana-powered firearms were powerful weapons, but they were useless against someone they couldn’t hit.
Magic was no better.
He tore the elements apart before they could even be invoked.
Some attempted ambushes after gathering intel via radio.
*Crack! Thud!*
But it was futile against Ray, who could see their circles through walls and barriers.
He raced forward without stopping and finally arrived at the door to the engine room at the front of the first compartment.
**\[Authorized Personnel Only]**
“……”
Ray grabbed the doorknob and paused for a moment.
Beyond the door, he saw multiple circles.
Estimated headcount: ten.
According to a surviving crew member he had encountered earlier, the engine room was connected to the forward cabin.
One of them was the engineer, taken hostage.
The rest were all enemies.
Having reached a conclusion, Ray flung the door open and charged in without hesitation.
In the blink of an eye, he took in the scene.
—”Fire!”
—”Kill him!”
Masked men aimed their guns at him from all directions.
‘No angle to dodge.’
It didn’t matter.
There were plenty of other methods.
Ray compressed the ambient mana into bead-like spheres and embedded them into the muzzles of each gun.
And the moment the masked men pulled their triggers—
*Boom! Boom! Bang!*
“Aaaagh—!”
“My hand! My hand—!”
The masked men collapsed, clutching their bleeding hands.
Immediately afterward, Ray struck them all with lightning and knocked them unconscious. Then he slowly walked toward the one masked man who hadn’t fired.
“Are you the leader?”
“Y-you… what are you? A monster like this existed in the Wid Tower?”
“I’m not affiliated with the Wid Tower.”
“T-then why… why are you interfering with our work?”
“You’re the ones who caused the interference.”
*Click!*
“Don’t come any closer! I-I’ll shoot if you do!”
“Try it—if you’re confident your wrist won’t get blown off.”
“……!”
The masked man couldn’t pull the trigger even as Ray approached right in front of him.
*Plop.*
“Uugh…”
He dropped to his knees and collapsed.
In the terrified eyes of the man, Ray’s slowly approaching hand reflected like a nightmare.
*Crack! Thud!*
The body hit the floor.
Ray picked up one of the masked men’s guns, inspected it briefly, then turned toward the engineer lying in the corner.
The back of the man’s head was soaked in blood—likely struck with a blunt object.
*Bzzzt.*
Ray used a simple healing spell, then shook the man’s body to wake him.
When there was no response, he immediately conjured cold water and splashed it on him.
“Guh…!”
“Wake up.”
“Cough, cough…!”
“Wake up.”
“Stop—p-please stop…!”
The now-conscious engineer looked around, dazed.
“You… no, sir, did *you* do all this?”
“I did.”
Ray briefly explained the situation, then asked,
“Can we depart right away?”
“I’ll have to… check the engine first.”
Staggering to his feet, the engineer approached the massive machine in the center of the room.
“Oh my god…! They smashed the mana tank. With this kind of damage, we’ll be completely stranded here until the repair and support teams arrive.”
“How long until they get here?”
“At our current coordinates… even at the fastest, it’ll take at least thirty minutes.”
Thirty minutes—far too late.
Ray thought for a moment, then asked,
“So in the end, it’s because you don’t have enough mana to power the engine, right?”
“Yes. Even if I, the crew, and the passengers all worked together to supply mana, it wouldn’t be nearly enough. It takes an enormous amount of mana to move this massive hunk of metal.”
“Then there’s no need to wait.”
“Sorry?”
“I said, there’s no need to wait for someone to come help.”
Mana, vivid green and yellow, surged violently in Ray’s clenched hand.
It was the mana of the two gems—like infinite wells, never running dry.
