Kajika paced back and forth anxiously, clutching the bamboo canister Mumei had just handed her.
At that moment, Ikoma, Kurusu Konochi, and two bushi entered the carriage carrying a bruised and swollen man, tossing him aside like a bag of trash.
"Ikoma, over here!"
Kajika waved and hurried forward, holding out the bamboo container. "This is the lunch Mumei asked me to give you. She said Kabaneri can no longer eat human food."
"What?!"
Ikoma looked at the bamboo canister in shock. His nose twitched as he caught a faint scent of blood in the air. That scent acted like a switch, triggering a primal craving within his body. Before long, his throat felt parched with a burning thirst.
Konochi cast a surprised glance at the container but remained silent.
Dazed for a moment, Ikoma realized someone was missing and quickly asked, "Where is Takumi? I don't see him."
"He went with Araka Kibito to help start the crane at Yashiro Station. I'm not sure what the situation is like now," Kajika replied, her voice laced with worry.
"Kibito went too?!"
Konochi couldn't sit still. He grabbed his weapon and sprinted toward the exit.
"Wait, I'm coming with you!"
"Hurry up if you're not afraid to die! they need backup!"
Ikoma quickly checked his Piercing Gun. Once confirmed it was ready, he chased after Konochi's retreating figure.
"Please come back safely..."
Kajika watched them disappear, praying for everyone in her heart.
★ ★ ★
Yashiro Station sat atop rich mineral deposits, and its people relied on trading ore for food and resources. After years of excavation, a deep mine shaft remained at the center of the station. Over a dozen elevated gantries spanned the pit, supporting iron tracks that led in various directions.
At this moment, within the pitch-black mine, countless red dots like ants swarmed up the walls at high speed. They soon neared the central boiler room.
"The Kabane have been alerted!"
"Takumi and the others are in danger!"
Konochi and Ikoma's expressions darkened as they witnessed the scene. They exchanged a nod before charging together toward the boiler room to support the team deep inside.
Inside the boiler room, dozens of Kabane corpses littered the walkways, staining the floor crimson.
"It's no use! There are too many Kabane below. Killing the ones in here won't change anything!"
By the window, a bushi lowered his telescope with a grim look. Mumei, panting heavily as she tried to recover her strength, felt a surge of panic. Araka Kibito and the others looked equally grim.
The worst-case scenario had arrived.
"I-It's fine... I'm strong... No matter how many come... I can take them..."
Mumei raised her hand, trying to explain herself with a guilty conscience. She looked like a child who knew she had done something wrong, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
In the original plan, to ensure safety, Ayame and the others decided to take a longer, more arduous route that would minimize combat. This would allow them to enter the boiler room safely, ignite the steam boiler, and power the central crane.
However, Mumei had acted on her own, choosing the shortest and most dangerous path. Though she had wiped out every Kabane entrenched in the boiler room by herself before Kibito could catch up, the noise of the battle had inevitably awakened the unknown horde within the mine.
"Calm down! The priority isn't how many Kabane we kill, but moving the obstacles blocking the tracks!"
Kibito cut her off. He turned to the trembling Takumi and commanded, "Get the boiler started! We're in a race against time now!"
"Y-Yes!"
Takumi flinched, swallowing hard to suppress his fear. He stepped forward and flipped the corresponding switches in sequence. As the indicator lights turned from red to green, a heavy roar echoed from deep within the room, making the floor vibrate.
"Everything's set! We'll escort you to the crane now," Kibito said, turning to the group. "Everyone, prepare to break through!"
"Ready!"
The team braced themselves.
"Stay sharp! Don't count on luck. Mika-sama isn't a prophet who will always appear at the perfect moment to save you."
After warning the men, Kibito looked seriously at Mumei. "Mumei, can you still fight? We need your strength!"
Mumei, clearly reaching her limit, gritted her teeth. She forced her body upright and nodded stubbornly. "I'm fine... don't underestimate me...!"
As a claw of the Hunters, her mission was to slay Kabane and bring victory to Amatori Biba.
The law of the jungle: the only way for the weak to survive is to become strong. She believed that the weak had no right to live. This was the lesson her brother taught her.
She was strong. While she couldn't compare to Misono Mika, she was stronger than anyone else on the Kotetsujo! She was not one of the weak her brother spoke of; she had the right to live!
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Seeing Mumei was ready, Kibito wasted no more words. "Everyone, break through!"
The Kabane climbing from below swarmed toward them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Successive gunshots rang out as Kibito's team tore a hole in the encirclement. They sprinted through the gap, racing toward the crane.
Countless Kabane clung to the steel supports like a black sleeve, rapidly scaling the structure. The sight was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Ikoma and Konochi struggled to clear the Kabane crawling up from below. In a momentary lapse, a Kabane grabbed Ikoma's ankle and lunged with its maw wide open.
"Ugh... Damn it!"
Ikoma stumbled in pain. Looking down at the Kabane clamped onto him, he dropped into a crouch, pressed his Piercing Gun against its heart, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Foul blood splattered across Ikoma's face. The Kabane went limp, and he kicked it off the ledge.
Konochi cut down a Kabane in front of him and looked toward the central boiler room. His pupils shrunk as he saw the state of the battle across the gap.
"Ikoma, we have to move faster! Kibito and the others are about to be overrun!"
Konochi shouted through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with desperation and worry.