Westminster Bank

The clatter of the train on the tracks grew much quieter, likely because the settling fog had slicked the rails with moisture. A glance out the window revealed that the shadowy figures were gone, leaving only hazy moonlight diffusing through the mist like water.

The Demon Hunter frowned. "Are you... planning to assault a Law Enforcer?"

"L," Jack said, looking at Baron. "Here? Are you sure you want to do this here?"

Baron ignored him and said, "Sir, do me a favor and let him go. We’re all just ordinary people trying to survive. No one’s done anything wrong."

"Do you a favor? Who do you think you are! And... you, a lowly degenerate willing to associate with those tainted by Demon’s Blood—"

The Demon Hunter sneered. With a shake of his arm, his Spiritual Power flared as he tried to break free from this Old Race member who dared to defend someone infected with Demon’s Blood. He intended to teach him a lesson in the process.

Yet no matter how he struggled, the youth’s grip remained firm, his face still an unreadable blur. The Spiritual Power he unleashed toward the young man vanished like a stone in the ocean, causing not even a ripple.

"Let go," the Demon Hunter said.

"Let them go."

"I said, let go!" Enraged, the Demon Hunter’s Spiritual Power pulsed, and he threw a punch straight at the young man’s face.

But as the punch flew, the Demon Hunter suddenly felt something was wrong. The young man’s reaction was far too calm. He remained perfectly still, his grip unshaken, as if certain the blow could do him no real harm.

The Demon Hunter captain realized something was wrong.

’I’ve run into a tough one.’

The thought had barely formed when he felt his fist connect squarely with someone’s face.

Accompanied by an equally clear "Oof!", everything went dark.

No, it wasn’t the sky. The lights inside the train car had gone out. Everything was abruptly plunged into an eerie stillness, the only sounds the passengers’ breathing and a dense patter of footsteps outside!

"It’s... the Beasts and Demons... They’re here..."

An Old Race member in the car spoke up. "I knew they were coming. The power always goes out whenever they get close to my house on a foggy night."

And so the train car, which had been silent and holding its breath in the Demon Hunter’s presence, erupted into a cacophony of fear.

The Demon Hunter captain roared, "All of you, shut up! Are you lowly ants trying to make sure the Demons find us?"

The car fell silent again.

The Hunter’s Eye on the captain’s face lit up, but he didn’t look out the window first. Instead, he checked on the two Demon Hunters beside him.

One of them was on the floor, clutching his face. He had clearly taken the captain’s earlier punch.

Dunbar, whom they had been restraining, had vanished into the darkness. The little girl, Vivian, was gone too.

The young man in black had also disappeared.

Turning, he caught a glimpse of several figures disappearing deeper into the train car.

"Get up..."

A furious anger flared in the Demon Hunter captain. He viciously kicked the Hunter on the floor. Just as he was about to order him up to help find the escaped Dunbar, he suddenly froze.

He wasn’t the only one. All the Old Race and Bloodless facing the same direction as the Demon Hunter captain were frozen stiff as well.

Shards of light sliced in through the windows, flashing across them frame by frame, like a series of spotlights hitting actors on a stage.

Demon.

The Demon Hunter captain’s expression instantly grew grim.

In that brief flash of light, he had seen a colossal pupil emerge from the sea fog and sweep past the window. If not for the pale cyan iris at its center, one might have mistaken it for an orange moon.

Any Beast of that size was, without exception, a Demon that had been touched by the Law.

"Demon Hunter, sir... please save us! Sir, you have to save us!"

The people in the crowd who had seen the giant eye erupted into a panic, pleading with the Demon Hunter captain.

"Captain, what do we do?" his two Demon Hunters asked.

The Demon Hunter captain said, "Dammit... Looks like a Bronze Tier Demon... You two, head to the rear of the car. I’ll hold the front."

Watching the backs of his two subordinates as they headed toward the rear of Car 9, the Demon Hunter captain pulled a communicator from his coat to report to the train crew.

"Demon outside Car 9. Requesting backup—"

His words cut off. The colossal eye outside the window was now pressed flat against the glass, a massive, luminous mirror illuminating everyone inside the car.

In the darkness, the train continued its quiet clatter along the tracks. The car was more silent than ever, so quiet you could almost hear the frantic beat of your neighbor’s heart, the blood freezing in your veins, the whisper of your own hairs standing on end and brushing like needles against your clothes.

The immense Spiritual Pressure was so overwhelming that for a moment, the Demon Hunter captain even forgot how Dunbar and his companions had vanished right under his nose.

And then...

BANG!

A thunderous impact came from the rear of Car 9. The carriage shook violently, and some of the Old Race were slammed hard against the walls before they could even react.

A frigid wind howled in from behind as passengers broke into unrestrained screams and sobs.

The Demon Hunter captain looked toward the chaos. In the darkness, several massive, grotesque silhouettes were clutching the back half of the train car—which had been instantly severed by some sharp instrument—and were gnawing on it.

The last image he saw was of his two subordinates scrambling from the wreckage, screaming at him in terror, before the largest of the dark figures snatched one and devoured him in a single gulp.

It was only in that moment that he finally got a clear look at the dark figure’s form.