Reign brandished his dagger, flicking off the foul black blood that clung to its blade. The miasma absorbed the droplets, hissing quietly as the train moved steadily along the tracks.
Thinking the danger had passed, he turned to head back inside. Just then, a low vibration hummed through the air. Reign spun around, eyes narrowing behind his blindfold as the miasma above the train parted.
From the swirling darkness, a disgusting mass of corpses emerged, bound together by a twisted force. Countless eyes dotted the monster, each one glowing a menacing red. It floated above the train, hovering its massive body over him.
'How can this thing even fly?' Reign muttered, puzzled by the absence of wings. 'Does it have a jet engine at the back? '
The abomination hovered, defying logic. Reign focused, trying to discern how it stayed suspended. The miasma swirled around it, almost supporting the creature like water.
'It's the miasma,' he realized. 'It's using it to float like it was in water.'
'What a unique ability. How did it do that?' He began studying the creature more closely, but before he could get any answers, he was cut off .
"EEKKKK!"
A chilling screech pierced the air as the abomination's many eyes locked onto him with murderous intent.
Suddenly, the creature's lower half convulsed violently. The shaking intensified, accompanied by a sickening ripping sound.
A tear appeared in the abomination, revealing a creepy and horrifying sight.
From the ragged, pulsating opening, new monsters emerged, covered in slick, black ooze. Their countless eyes glowed sinisterly, and their mouths gaped open, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
Reign watched everything unfold, patiently waiting as their numbers grew. He wasn't in a hurry, and the sight didn't disgust him.
The newborn creatures slithered onto the roof of the train, their bodies slick with dark ooze. They wiggled and squirmed, struggling to find their balance on the moving train.
Limbs twisted and flailed, trying to gain a foothold on the smooth surface.
The dark ooze dripped from their bodies, leaving a sticky trail behind them as they wriggled closer to him, who stood casually.
SLASH!
With just one slash, all the effort the flying corrupted spent was reduced to nothing. Reign's blade cut through its spawns like they were made of butter.
And from within his feet, he absorbed their corpses, earning himself a huge chunk of Dark Points.
"Don't worry. It was just a unique corrupted," Reign said nonchalantly. His tone conveyed how insignificant the beast had been in his eyes.
"What !" Lucas's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "A unique corrupted?" he repeated, his voice almost a whisper.
He looked at Reign, trying to comprehend the magnitude of what had just happened. A unique variant was something that could make an entire Tier 4 city declare a state of emergency.
"Do you understand what that means?" Lucas asked, his voice rising "A unique corrupted could decimate a city. It could... it could..." His words trailed off as he struggled to find the right way to express the potential catastrophe.
Reign smirked, clearly enjoying Lucas's reaction. "I know exactly what it means," he said. "And it was just one more monster in my way."
Lucas shook his head, still trying to process it all.
'Maybe it's not that strong? That's right, there's no way he could take out something like that alone, even if he was powerful,' he thought to himself, trying to rationalize what he had just heard.
Reign, on the other hand, didn't really care whether what he fought was considered strong or not. At his level, everything below the Demon Lord Rank was weak.
After calming down, Lucas spoke again. "We need to make sure the passengers are safe and that the filters are working. We can't let our guard down, not after something like this."
Reign leaned against the wall, his demeanor relaxed. "I did my job already. Now it's your turn. "
Lucas nodded, his respect for Reign growing despite his lingering doubts. He felt a pang of guilt for having judged Reign as someone evil and crazy when, in reality, he had just saved everyone.
"I misjudged you," Lucas admitted quietly, glancing at Reign. "I thought you were... well, something else. But you just saved all of us."
Reign shrugged, not looking particularly moved by the admission. "It's all part of my job. Just keep the train moving."
Lucas nodded again, more firmly this time. "Right. We'll do our part."
'You better do your job, or I'll rip your head off for wasting my time,' Reign muttered to himself, not liking the idea of saving humans he barely knew.
As Lucas moved away to organize the crew and check on the passengers, Reign's thoughts lingered on how inconvenient all of this was for him. 'I want to kill everyone and just fly out of here,' he sighed.
Lucas, unaware of Reign's darker thoughts, started working. He quickly coordinated with the crew to fix the filters and ensure the passengers were safe and calm.
As the train continued its journey, the steady clanking of the wheels provided a rhythm to their work.
Lucas couldn't help but glance back at Reign occasionally, grateful for his presence despite the unsettling aura he carried.