Yushai opens his eyes.
Right on time.
A faint metallic sound echoes somewhere above.
…scraping.
Slow. Uneven.
At first, no one notices.
People are still arguing. Shouting. Trying to make sense of the message.
Then the sound comes again.
Louder.
Closer.
Someone looks up.
"…did you hear that?"
Another second passes.
And then—
Something slams against the roof of the train.
The entire carriage trembles.
A scream cuts through the air.
"What was that?!"
More impacts follow. Heavy. Crawling.
Not random.
Moving.
Saigid's gaze sharpens.
The sound… it's not outside.
It's right above them.
The metal ceiling dents inward—
just slightly.
Then again.
Harder.
"Move away from there!"
Too late.
The steel buckles.
And something breaks through.
A jagged limb punches into the carriage—long, segmented, black metal glistening under the flickering lights.
It twitches.
Then pulls itself forward.
A massive centipede forces its way inside.
People freeze.
For half a second, no one understands what they're looking at.
Then someone screams.
And everything collapses into chaos.
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
"It's inside—!"
"RUN!"
Bodies crash into each other. Someone falls. Someone gets trampled.
The creature lets out a sharp, grinding hiss.
Its head lowers.
Searching.
Saigid doesn't move.
His eyes flick once—to Yushai.
Still calm.
Still watching.
Like he expected this.
"…so this is it," Saigid mutters under his breath.
The centipede lunges.
Straight into the crowd.
A man doesn't react fast enough.
A wet, tearing sound—
Blood splashes across the floor.
Screams erupt, raw and uncontrolled.
People scatter in every direction.
Nowhere to go.
The exits are blocked.
The windows don't open.
They're trapped.
Saigid takes a step back.
Calculating.
Distance. Speed. Direction.
Useless.
Too fast.
Too strong.
This isn't something you outrun.
Another impact.
Another scream.
The creature turns—
and for a brief second—
it faces him.
Its eyes lock onto his.
Saigid feels it.
That moment.
That instant where something decides—
target.
Behind him, something shifts.
Too close.
Too sudden.
He doesn't even have time to turn—
And then—
A flash of gold.
The air splits.
A blade appears out of nowhere—
clean, precise—
and cuts straight through the creature's body.
Silence.
For half a second, everything stops.
The centipede freezes.
Then—
it splits.
Cleanly.
The two halves collapse to the ground with a heavy, metallic thud.
Black fluid spreads across the floor.
Dripping.
Still.
Dead.
No one moves.
No one speaks.
Saigid exhales slowly.
"…I didn't even see it move."
He turns.
Yushai stands there.
A faint glow fades from his hand.
His expression hasn't changed.
Not even slightly.
Like this meant nothing.
Like it was expected.
Like it was easy.
Around them, people stare.
Shock replacing panic.
Fear turning into something else.
Something heavier.
Saigid watches him carefully.
"…what are you?"
Yushai doesn't answer.
He just looks past him—
toward the ceiling.
Toward the sound that's still there.
Still crawling.
Still coming.
More than one.
"Get ready," Yushai says quietly.
Not a warning.
A statement.
Above them—
the metal begins to crack again.