I'm bored as hell. Lights flicking because of storm, my internet jumpy as well, here's a chapter that I just wrote. It's filled with boringness.
Just gonna kill off everyone soon and jump to the next world.
————————————————————
"Tch! What are you doing here, Kaelis Valeblade?"
Enoku's tone was sharp, almost venomous, his sword still leveled in Kaelis's direction.
Being called pathetic didn't sit well with him—especially not in front of Biba.
"Do you perhaps know Sir Kaelis, Enoku?" Biba asked, his voice calm but laced with curiosity.
"I met him on the train to Shinamoto—right after we left Hashira Station!" Enoku replied quickly, not taking his eyes off Kaelis.
"Oh?" Biba's gaze shifted toward the man in question.
Kaelis, unfazed, sat cross-legged atop a rock nearby, resting an elbow on his knee.
He looked perfectly relaxed, almost bored—as if none of this tension concerned him in the slightest.
While numerous thoughts ran through Biba's mind—among them being how Kaelis managed to sneak up on them so effortlessly—his train of thought was interrupted by Enoku's sudden outburst.
"You should be careful, Lord Biba! He's not normal!" Enoku warned, his grip on his sword tightening.
"What do you mean by that?" Biba asked, his tone calm but his curiosity piqued.
"I've seen it," Enoku insisted.
"I've seen what he can do. Back at Yashiro Station, he summoned a giant sword—one that completely froze a fused colony in seconds!"
"What?!" Biba's voice came out sharper than he intended, his composure momentarily slipping.
Enoku continued, his tone trembling slightly as if reliving the scene.
"The survivors… they called him a god! They started worshipping him after what he did!"
Each word made Biba's eyes widen a little more.
Those were nearly the same things Mumei had told him before—and now hearing it from someone else only made it harder to dismiss as a childish fantasy.
Before, Biba could easily write it off—chalk it up to Mumei and the civilians being naive.
But Enoku was different. He was a trained warrior, disciplined, not someone who could be easily deceived or swayed by tricks.
So hearing the same story from him… if Biba hadn't been wary of Kaelis before, he definitely was now.
"Are you guys just gonna ignore me?" Kaelis's voice cut through the silence, laced with faint amusement.
Biba decided it was best to ask Kaelis directly. "Is what he said true?"
Kaelis tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "You want a demonstration? I can do that."
Since there was no real downside to showing them, he decided to proceed.
Vrooom—
"Ugh! What's that!?"
"Where's the light coming from!?"
"It's coming from Lord Biba's position!"
Everyone who had a direct line of sight toward the battlefield was nearly blinded by the sudden flash of light.
Behind Kaelis, a black sword with thin red spots here and there—simple, Kaelis-style.
Once the light faded, Biba lifted his head to see the blade and froze.
'It's true,' he thought. 'Mumei wasn't lying.'
Confirmation brought a new line of thought.
'If I can get him to work under me, I could get my revenge — and maybe even take over the world.'
He quickly gathered his composure and quickly offered, "I-I see…well, I would very much like for you to join me. With you on my side, we can shape the world together."
He extended his hand. "So—what do you say? Will you join me?"
Kaelis looked at him for a beat, then replied flatly, "How about no."
Biba blinked, stunned.
"Brother!"
"My lord!"
Mumei and Horobi rushed over as they stopped beside Biba.
"Huh? Mumei? And… Horobi?" Biba blinked, momentarily forgetting about them in the chaos.
"Are you alright, my lord!? We saw a flash of light and ran over as quickly as possible!" Horobi said, her voice tense with concern.
"Brother, what happened?" Mumei asked, eyes darting between Biba and Kaelis.
Then she spotted the sword still gleaming faintly behind him.
"Huh? Kaelis? What are you doing here?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"I was simply showing your brother my power. Nothing else," Kaelis said casually, dismissing the sword in a flicker of light and smiling at her.
"Really? See, brother? I told you he could do it!" Mumei said excitedly, her voice filled with vindication.
"Yes, yes. I've seen it now," Biba said, his expression grim, eyes narrowing slightly.
Not wanting to linger, Kaelis turned and began floating.
"Since you guys are finished up here, I'll be on my way. Ikoma! Let's go!" He used telekinesis to lift ikoma who was watching the whole ordeal and flew off.
He had no clue that someone was watching his figure with a binocular.
"What's this? A new type of kabaneri? I would love to slice it open for research!"
A kabane enthusiast was nearly drooling at the sight.
"I should make a deal with lord Biba, hehehe."
Whether Kaelis knew or not, his actions have set off alarms in people's heads.
'Since you're not willing to cooperate… I'll get rid of you!'
Meanwhile Kaelis has already reached the koutetsujou.
"Any major threats are already taken care of."
He let down Ikoma and addressed Ayame and Kurusu who were at the train's entrance.
"Thank you for your work." Ayame said, leaning forward.
"I didn't do anything really—I just watched."
"That doesn't matter!" Kurusu interjected.
"Sure sure."
Later it was confirmed that Enoku was killed by horobi on biba's orders.
…
A few hours later, night fell.
Quite a lot of things have happened during those few hours.
For one, Biba had offered to escort the koutetsujou to kongokaku to Ayame but she told him that Kaelis was in charge of the train.
Reluctantly he had to offer the same proposal to Kaelis.
Knowing that he was up to some scheme, Kaelis still accepted, as it did not interfere with their objectives.
And so they have joined both the koutetsujou and the kokujou, with the kokujou leading in front.
"I don't know if this was a good idea."
"It's not—At least to anyone else."
Ayame voiced her concern over the collaboration between both groups.
Kaelis just told her the truth.
"What do you mean?" Kurusu asked.
"I meant it was not a good idea for anyone to agree to Biba and only to me it's not."
"Why though?" Ikoma wondered.
"Biba is up to something fishy. I just don't know what it is and even if I don't, he won't be able to do anything."
He's just waiting for him to strike and then he would swiftly deal with him.
Over inside the kokujou, inside a white room.
In the center of said room, was a table with a young girl lying down on it.
"According to our data, the mark is indeed growing bigger. But it's nothing to be concerned about."
The same scientists from before gave a report on the girl's current status.
Hearing this, Biba turned to the girl on the table.
"Are you scared?"
"No, I'm fine. It's not too much longer before you can return home."
She reassured him with a smile.
"You must feel good about that." She added.
"You're very strong, my little mumei." Biba returned the smile. "Would you… do something for me?"
They left the room and went on top of the train where Biba told her.
Get me the master key to the koutetsujou."
Chapter 30 end.