Westminster Bank

It was a colossal, pitch-black goat monster.

It had the head of a goat and a huge, bizarrely malformed body that looked like a cross between a human and a wild beast. Its yellowish-green eyeballs were the size of dinner tables, but they rolled about erratically—one moment on its face, the next on its hands. It was reminiscent of a monster from Japanese mythology that uses its hands to see.

In the Demon Hunter training courses the captain had once taken, all Black Goat monsters had a specific designation: Rotting Demon.

Or rather, all Black Goats were classified as Rotting Demons.

"Oh my god..."

The people in the remaining half of the carriage watched as the Black Goat plucked a surviving Old Race from the sundered section with its fingers. Amidst the Old Race’s frantic struggles, the monster shoved him into its mouth, chewing on the human as a goat would chew on water weeds. Blood splattered across its face as it gave a disturbingly human-like, delighted smile. The onlookers’ hearts were filled with nothing but terror.

Some with weaker constitutions even threw up on the spot.

"Fuck, what kind of goddamn capture mission is this... I’m done."

Overcome by the fear in his heart, the Demon Hunter captain fled to the carriage in front without a second glance. After getting inside, he even remembered to close the door.

As the Demon Hunter captain fled, the passengers in the remaining half of carriage nine completely broke down and surged forward after him.

The narrow carriage instantly became jam-packed.

But the only result was an even tighter squeeze, because the Demon Hunter captain hadn’t just closed the door—he had locked it.

The Bloodless and the Old Race were plunged into despair.

’Are even the Law Enforcers abandoning us?’

"Look... those goats are catching up again!"

Someone suddenly pointed behind them. Everyone looked. In the fog-shrouded darkness, several bright yellow lights appeared. Behind the countless smaller lights, the brightest and largest one undoubtedly belonged to the Corrosive Demon.

It was now running across the fog-covered land, and as it ran, it tilted the half-torn carriage in its hand toward its mouth, pouring human bodies into it like potato chips from a bag.

The chewing sound was like a guillotine slicing through meat.

"Get inside! Get inside!"

The remaining people in carriage nine went mad at the sight, using brute force to squeeze their way in.

The Old Race and Bloodless from carriage nine flooded into carriage eight.

The middle-class Old Race didn’t even have time to curse at these paupers and Bloodless for daring to enter the carriages they had paid a high price for, because they saw the flock of goats surging up from the darkness behind them.

"Demons... It’s Demons..." the middle-class Old Race cried out in terror.

But before they could finish speaking, they were pushed to the ground by the passing Bloodless for blocking the path. The crowd was moving so fast that the fallen middle-class Old Race had no time to get up before they were trampled, one person after another.

Some were trampled to death by the fleeing crowd before they even encountered a Demon.

Baron and Jack were also swept forward by the crowd. To protect the little girl, Vivian, and Dunbar, the two of them pushed against the human tide, one in front and one behind.

Jack looked at the still-bewildered passengers in carriage eight and roared, "That bastard didn’t even warn these passengers when he ran! And what about the Demon Hunters they mentioned on the broadcast? Is the Demon Hunter Association full of useless freeloaders?"

"They know there are Demons around, and with something like this happening in the back, someone should at least come and check on the situation."

It was rare to see the usually unscrupulous Jack this furious; clearly, the scene before him had angered him immensely.

Baron said calmly, "Perhaps they already know everything that happened back there. They’ve simply made their choice."

"What choice?"

Baron glanced at the panicked crowd around them. "To sacrifice the pawn to save the king."

As the carriages behind them were gradually swallowed by darkness, the great army of refugees flooded through one carriage after another.

There was no resistance; any who tried were simply crushed by the tide of people.

By the time Baron and the others reached the first three carriages, reserved exclusively for high-ranking government officials and the Old Blood Nobility, less than half of the original group from carriage nine remained.

The survivors were now a mixture of Old Race from various carriages and social classes, all crammed together. The previous scene of "the rich versus the poor, the Old Race versus the Bloodless" was gone.

’The books were right. Most humans only find true equality when faced with a common danger.’

The refugee army was stopped at the entrance to carriage three, blocked by several Demon Hunters armed with knives and swords.

"Old Blood carriage! Do not approach! Trespassers will be executed!" The one leading them was none other than the captain from the Bertelili Demon Hunter Association who had fled earlier.

The arrogant conductor and transit police were there too, shouting at the chaotic crowd. "Do you people have a death wish? If you keep causing a ruckus, you’ll attract the Demons before they’re even ready for you!"

"But the Demons are already here! They’re right behind us! Carriages eight and nine have been torn apart by Demons, and everyone inside was eaten... Can’t you feel it? What about the Demon Hunters you promised? Where are the Demon Hunters?!"

The crowd was in an uproar.

The conductor retorted, "The Demon Hunters were all hired by the Old Blood Nobility in the front carriages. You didn’t pay them, so why should they be responsible for your safety? Besides, you bought twilight tickets on a ’Foggy Day’ announced in the papers. Weren’t you just trying to save money?"

"You were warned about the risk of death when you bought the tickets! We told you to buy insurance, but you didn’t. Now that something’s actually happened, you’re blaming us!?"

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Then someone in the crowd threw something at the conductor and yelled, "Fuck you! What the hell do you know about whether I bought insurance or not? Brothers, charge!"

The situation devolved into chaos once more.

Baron and Jack exchanged a look. Baron asked, "Notice anything?"

Jack replied, "On the way here, only one person had some kind of Taboo Item in their pocket."

...

’So Jack really isn’t a proper containment specialist at all,’ Baron thought. ’He’s just a common Taboo Item Thief. It’s incredible that Governor Howard was willing to give Jack the position of containment specialist for Westminster Cathedral.’

Baron said, "Haven’t you noticed that our progress has been a little too smooth? Logically, every carriage should have Demon Hunters on guard. No matter how strong the Old Race and Bloodless are, they can’t possibly stand against Law Enforcers who have signed the Professional Law."

"But all the Law Enforcers we encountered along the way, however many there were, were killed before they could affect us... The problem is, even I couldn’t tell who did it."

"Are you saying that besides the Demons outside, there’s another threat inside the train?" Jack said. "In that case, I really need to stay away from you. Your luck is just too damn bad."

Baron sighed. "I was thinking the same thing."

In Carriage 1, which had its own independent generator, it was as bright as day.

Inside, the three most distinguished Old Race were seated separately, discussing the riots in the rear carriages and how to deal with the onslaught of Demons and Beasts that came with the fog.

The pot-bellied Third Elder of the Medici Clan waited for a Maid to pour him a glass of red wine. "So, the rear has erupted into chaos... Just as I expected. These lower bloodlines are so easily driven by their survival instincts."

Anke, the commander-in-chief of the Demon Hunters on this train, gazed at the dense cluster of Eyes of the Demon outside the window and said in a low voice:

"The number of Demons in this fog isn’t right... I can already smell the auras of three high-ranking Bronze Tier Demons... If they all attack at once, I can handle one at most. The other Demon Hunters can handle another, which leaves one..."

"Didn’t we already decide? We’ll gather all the Demon Hunters in the first three carriages. As for the one remaining Demon we can’t handle, we’ll use the people in the six rear carriages to distract it. Just have the train master decouple all carriages after the third one in a bit."

The Third Elder said dismissively, "They’re just a bunch of mongrels anyway. They’re nothing compared to the Dragon Crystal we’re transporting. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Hestie."