Thud! Prince grabbed the Hellhound's front paw with one hand, pinning it to the floor. Though he appeared to be a small boy, his physical strength was not inferior to that massive chimera. [And this, I brought it because you asked, but.] Prince took off the Crown he wore on his head and dangled it from his index finger. It wasn't a replica made with Prince's power, but the real Crown the original owner used. [Are you really going to use this?] "!" The moment Simon saw the Crown, his eyes tensed, and his fingertips trembled. He had hoped the addiction would lessen after such a long break, but it was still as strong as ever. Simon gave a wry smile and replied, "I want to avoid using it as much as possible, but just in case." While Prince and the Hellhound were locked in a power struggle, Blood Zombies were pouring into the cabin. Lete immediately reacted, about to use divine magic, but Simon raised his arm to stop her. "It's fine." "Huh?" Prince had put the Crown back on his head. Flash! Prince's eyes turned golden. Then, the dozens of zombies rushing in paused, and their eyes also turned golden. Soon, they changed targets and began climbing onto the Hellhound's body. "What? Why are they doing that?" Lete lowered her arm, looking bewildered. "Prince is controlling them." The Hellhound shook its body and wildly swung its other front paw, but the zombies stubbornly clung to its neck and various parts of its body. Next, Simon extended his right hand. Zombies controlled by the Legionized Prince could be detonated by the Legion Commander using Corpse Explosion. 'Corpse Explosion!' KWA-AAAAANG! The zombies exploded one after another, causing the Hellhound to let out a painful cry and thrash about. In this opening, Prince straightened his knees, leaped up, and punched the Hellhound in the face. CRACK! The massive Hellhound's body flew back, smashing through a tattered wall of the train and falling outside. Simon and Lete gasped simultaneously. Prince held onto his Crown to keep it from falling and landed on the floor. [Oh~ You can use Corpse Explosion without the Crown now?] "I learned a lot from my father during vacation." The two lightly bumped fists. Then, Prince belatedly noticed Lete, who was clinging to a seat like a wary cat. [But who's she? Isn't she a Priest?] SLAP! As soon as Prince took a step closer, Lete slapped his cheek in disgust. "You crazy! Don't come near me!" [Ow!] Prince flared up. [What the hell was that, out of nowhere?! Simon! Can I kill her?] "Hold it in. Try to get along." Lete scrutinized Prince from head to toe with a serious expression. "......The aura I feel is definitely undead, but how can it speak?" "Prince is an Ancient Undead." At Simon's explanation, Lete gasped in surprise and turned to him. "You're also a Legion Commander......." "Yeah. I told you before." Lete had never seen a Legion Commander in person, but she knew of them through rumors. The greatest obstacles hindering the Dark Alliance's conquest. They were said to be monsters who could command hundreds of thousands of undead armies and control unknown beings called Ancient Undead. Lete's eyes sparked. 'This guy, he's a bit ahead of me, isn't he? Ah, I need to become a Holy Maiden quickly.' Prince glared at Lete once, then turned his back. [Let's go.] The three quickly pushed through the train. With Prince, it was a piece of cake. He put on the Crown and controlled the zombies, turning them into his own troops. The unsuspecting cultists were struck from behind by the betrayed zombies and fell. As they continued to advance through the train, a problem arose. KWA-AAAAANG! One side of the train wall was torn open, and the Hellhound, which had been pushed out of the train earlier, re-entered the cabin. It had caught up to the train by running. [You're persistent!] Prince took off his Crown, threw it to Simon, and said, [I'll handle that. And a word of advice, it's better for your mental health not to use it if possible.] "Thanks for the advice." Simon received the Crown and immediately put it into his subspace. Prince and the Hellhound, two monsters, clashed, continuously erupting with roars. In the meantime, Simon and Lete moved to the next car. "Ah! Just how many of these things are there?" Blood Heaven Cultists had built barricades with beds and were firing blood magic. Behind them, zombies swarmed, waiting. "This is going to take some time again." "We can't keep dragging this out. Let's split up." She tilted her head at Simon's suggestion. "Split up?" "You keep pushing through the front and rescue the hostages. I'll run straight to the engine room by climbing onto the train roof. After I clear the engine room, I'll attack them from behind." Ultimately, both Lete and Simon would meet in the middle after defeating their respective opponents. Lete nodded. "It's not a bad idea if it means we won't both be wasting time." The strategy changed. Simon opened the cabin ceiling and climbed up. Clatter-clatter! A strong headwind swept in with the resonant sound of the train colliding with the tracks. Simon covered his face with his arm and looked around. Blood Zombies were still running across the field, and zombies and cultists were continuously being summoned from the magic circles drawn on the train's walls. 'Let's move for now. I'll find out what's going on when I get to the engine room.' Simon began to run. "Intruder!" There were also a few Blood Heaven Cultists and zombies guarding the top of the train. Simon extended his right arm as he ran. His subspace opened, and skeleton bones burst out, seamlessly covering his arm. <Bone Armor - Handgun Mode> It was a new skill he had developed during vacation. Simon extended his arm and aimed at the approaching zombies. Whirrrrr! The middle of the handgun rotated like a wheel, and bones shot out like bullets from the muzzle above Simon's wrist. Thud! Crack! The zombies hit by the incredibly fast bone bullets fell backward or were flung off the train. 'It's my first time using it in a real fight, but it's pretty good. Reload!' Using the skeleton restoration technique, the bullets could be recycled. The fired bullets returned and clicked back into place between the handgun's wheels. Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba-bang! He poured bone bullets onto the swarming zombies as he ran. Shouts from the cultists could be heard from various places. "This guy! He's a Necromancer!" "Surround him!" As the cultists surrounded him, Simon stomped his left foot hard on the ground. This time, Overlord's blades swung, sending all the surrounding cultists flying off the train. "Haaah! Phew!" Fighting frantically like that, he finally reached the front of the Divine Train, near the engine room. Simon cautiously descended to the train's wall like a spy, broke a window with his feet, and entered. He rolled once and quickly stood up, looking around. "......Ah." This was the crew lounge, and the Divine Train's crew members lay dead, covered in blood. Simon rushed to the engine room beyond. 'I'm too late.' The Chief Engineer, the only person who could control the train, also lay as a cold corpse. At this rate, there was no way to stop the train. Simon looked around, hoping to find any clues. Then he found a map lying on the floor. It was a common map showing the train stops, but a part marked 'C' in red letters caught his eye. This map only showed it as a forest, but someone had drawn a line with a red pen, extending it. 'We've entered this C route.' Simon's gaze followed the red line. The last mark visible was an 'X'. He didn't know what that place was, but it seemed clear that the culprit behind this incident intended to take the Divine Train and its passengers to that destination. That's why they had sent cultists and zombies to clear out any resistance on the train before it reached its destination, intending to capture the passengers who couldn't escape the train. 'But still.' Simon crumpled the map into his pants pocket, frowning. 'What are the Inquisitors doing while things have gotten this bad?' It was hard to believe that such strong Priests had already been defeated, but given that he hadn't encountered them yet, it was possible they had already been annihilated. Simon exited the engine room and walked. From the engine room to the crew lounge, and from the crew lounge to the Inquisitor's lounge. '......Ah.' Simon gasped in surprise. Five Inquisitors lay dead, sprawled in chairs with holes in their chests. They were all familiar faces from his interrogations. 'This clearly means someone inside betrayed them.' Just then, a painful groan was heard. Simon turned his head in surprise and saw one dying Inquisitor at the end of the wall, bleeding profusely. It was Metin, who had persistently tormented Simon. 'He's still alive!' Simon approached and examined his wounds. He placed his left hand on the severely injured area and used Heal, while also pulling out a potion from his subspace and putting it to Metin's lips. Both internal and external injuries slowly began to recover, and Metin's breathing gradually returned to normal. 'This should save his life.' Simon finished the treatment and stood up. "......Why." As he was about to move to the next car, a faint voice came from behind him. "Why are you saving me? I was......." Simon didn't answer and kept walking. Metin spoke again. "Beware of very small blood droplets. They're smaller than you think." Simon stopped. "......The Bishop of the Blood Heaven Cult is on this train." Simon stared at Metin. Metin, as if he had said all he needed to, rested his head on the floor again, gasping for breath. Simon absorbed the information and headed for the next cabin. Clatter! Clatter! There must have been a big fight here, as the wall was broken, and the wind howled through the gap, making the sound of the train running clearly audible. This place was also covered in blood. 'Doesn't seem like there are any clues to salvage.' As Simon cautiously moved towards the next cabin. '......!' He saw a tiny red blood droplet floating in the air, almost invisible if not looked at closely. Simon quickly stomped his foot and retreated. BOOM! The blood droplet exploded with immense force. As Simon retreated, he saw blood droplets splattered on the floor and walls. He gritted his teeth and rolled on the floor. BOOM! BOOM! Simon, having narrowly avoided the explosions, gasped for breath and stood up. "Good reaction." A man was walking from the opposite cabin. A man with reddish-brown hair and red eyes. He wore tattered clothes, but it was unmistakably an Inquisitor's uniform. "A sudden masquerade......." The man laughed, looking at the mask Simon wore. Even without prior information, Simon knew this man was the Bishop of the Blood Heaven Cult. He simply felt powerful. "I am Aloken, Bishop of the Blood Heaven Cult. You seem to be a Necromancer, why are you attacking us?" Simon's eyes hardened. "Are you saying a Necromancer should help you?" "Not necessarily, but we've met in enemy territory as fellow Necromancers. Wouldn't it be good for us to help each other, as kin?" He raised his arm. "The Inquisitors and Priests we've eliminated here, they would all become a burden to the Dark Alliance if a war broke out. In terms of war, we've achieved a great victory......." "That's only true in wartime." Simon cut Aloken off, his expression enraged, and lowered his stance. "You're just a terrorist."
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