CHAPTER 203: [THE INFINITE TRAIN] – DEGENERATE’S PART (13)

"Why don’t we just jump in and fight too, William!"

Smith raised his voice and then joined the battlefield. Of course, there were also espers among the zombies, so the battle wasn’t entirely one-sided.

Ron just felt a headache coming on. He should consider himself lucky that Asta and Nyx hadn’t turned into zombies. If they had, this whole train would be doomed.

He lowered his hands as he thought, and the wind around him instantly surged, glowing with a greenish light. Two wind blades gradually expanded, sweeping through the zombies.

[It is now time for ticket inspection.]

The announcement suddenly echoed throughout the train car at that moment, signaling it was time for ticket inspection again.

The crowd almost immediately stopped what they were doing. Some people quickly walked off, pretending to head to the restroom, and others returned to their seats. As for the bloodstains on their bodies, no one paid them much mind — after all, those monsters would ignore them as long as they had tickets.

Clack. Clack clack!

Heavy footsteps of the ticket inspectors rang out. Each carriage had its inspector, though they all looked eerily alike — tall and thin like bamboo stalks, with skin exposed that was charcoal-black and emaciated.

Nyx glanced at William and said with a soft smile, "William, you’re still trembling. Don’t be so scared, alright? You won’t be dragged away this time as long as you have your ticket."

William gave a faint smile but said nothing.

Standing nearby, Smith couldn’t help but feel that the Vice President showed immense tolerance toward William. At the very least, he’d never seen the VP be so lenient with anyone else, especially considering William’s unimpressive performance.

Could it be... A wild, improbable guess suddenly popped into Smith’s mind — could the VP like William?!

Unbelievable! But come to think of it, William did have that rakish charm that could easily catch someone’s eye, and the VP did seem to be into that type! Smith felt like he’d just uncovered the absolute truth!

[Look at Smith’s face. Overthinkers are truly divine, haha.]

[The fewer the hairs, the wilder the imagination, huh?]

[But seriously, isn’t Nyx being too gentle with William?]

[She’s gentle with everyone, okay?]

"Oh, you’re awake? Not dead yet, huh?"

Just then, Asta’s voice suddenly rang out. He wiped the blood off his face, eyes scanning curiously toward William.

Smith and William laughed awkwardly, while Nyx raised an eyebrow. "I still don’t know what you did to my guy."

Asta chuckled, "Hey, don’t look at me like that. He just collapsed out of nowhere, alright? I didn’t even touch him. Anyway, not dealing with you lot — I’m going back to find Aurora."

"That girl’s not as weak as you think," Nyx said, then smiled. "But truly, she’s beautiful and elegant. A person like her belongs with The Graceful Shadows, with me. We’d make a perfect pair."

Asta lifted a hand to his chin, pretending to ponder, "Can we change the name to ’The Graceful Lights’ then?"

Nyx smiled without answering. Asta bounced away cheerfully.

"Passenger without a valid ticket detected. Please come with me."

But Asta had no idea — the ticket inspector had already taken away the girl he was hoping to find.

"Big sis Aurora!"

Lily screamed, tightly clutching Aurora’s hand. Her face was dazed, clearly not expecting Aurora to lose her ticket.

Aurora didn’t look at Lily. She stared only at the child in Lily’s arms. "Make sure to protect the boy well!"

"You should protect yourself! He’s just an NPC!"

Lily shouted in frustration. Aurora frowned slightly, but she was already being dragged away by now.

She didn’t know where the inspector would take her, or what dangers awaited. So she could only entrust her son to Lily, hoping Lily would pass him on to Asta.

At the very least... she hoped that he would be safe...

Lily held the child in her arms, watching Aurora disappear.

Suddenly, the lights on the train flickered, went out, then turned back on again. The light reflected off Lily’s face, and her expression suddenly turned strange.

The once-peaceful train carriage was thrown into chaos in the blink of an eye.

Screams of agony and crying rang out. The sound of flesh being devoured echoed, disturbingly clear — disturbingly clear.

"Sister Aurora..." Lily murmured.

At that very moment, a zombie suddenly lunged at her. This time, the zombie could even jump!

"Oe oe oe oe!"

The baby wailed — the sound was piercing, shrill. Lily instinctively turned to look at the thing descending toward her, already within a hair’s breadth!

"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!"

Just then, a deafening noise rang out. A brilliant golden light erupted from within the cloth wrapped around the baby. At the same time, a rippling shield formed behind Lily and the child — its surface gleamed like a massive gemstone.

Far away, Asta, hurrying back, suddenly froze — and then shot forward at an even greater speed!

How could this be happening?! There were supposed to be no more zombies in the last car — so why was danger appearing again now?!

"Graw, Graw!!!"

The zombies suddenly surged back to life in the shadows. Their surprise counterattack caught the uninfected off guard, who instantly fell into disadvantage.

Now, the zombies moved much faster, and their faces were no longer rotting slabs of flesh — they had begun to form features. It was as if an announcement had been made to all humans and monsters alike: Become human, or become a monster. There are only two paths now.

"You bastards, get the hell out of here!"

Clink!

A gemstone struck the floor. Suddenly, countless glittering crystals erupted from the train’s flooring, sharp and towering toward the ceiling. Using the ground as their base, they pierced through numerous monsters and pinned them to the walls.

Several esper zombies didn’t even have time to activate their powers — they dangled midair, limp like fish hung out to dry.

"A bunch of beasts who don’t understand human speech."

Asta stood atop the sharp tip of a crystal spike, his face hidden in shadow, his expression unreadable. Then, in a blink, he vanished entirely from the scene.

But the chaos spared no corner of the train.

"Splat!"

"Chomp chomp!"

Smith’s eyes widened in disbelief at the scene unfolding before him.

"Will... William! What the hell are you doing?!"

Smith rushed forward, trying to pull William away. But William raised a hand, preventing him from making contact.

"Sleep, maiden of my dreams."

William muttered.

Smith felt his heart skip a beat — his soul felt as though it were separating from his body.

What is this...? What’s happening... this power...

"No way..." was all Smith could whisper before he collapsed entirely, slipping into unconsciousness.

The monsters swarmed in, ripping into him. It wouldn’t be long before nothing was left but a dry skeleton.

"Surprised? Even I was surprised by this explosive power."

William smiled — a striking, elegant smile, so radiant it made Nyx momentarily dazed.

The scene might’ve been beautiful... if not for the fact that William’s hand was now thrust straight through Nyx’s abdomen, with all five fingers visibly protruding from her back.

Suddenly, William lifted his hand.

Nyx’s body rose into the air, legs dangling, unsupported. The pain was too much — she groaned, blood immediately trickling from the corner of her lips.

"Vice President, don’t you want to choose? Someone of your caliber — if you become like me, you’ll be even stronger than I am!"

William said excitedly. His eyes were now a glowing crimson, gleaming like a beast’s. His fangs had grown longer, claws sharper — his true nature fully revealed.

Nyx smiled softly, her hands gripping the arm piercing through her. She said in a low voice,

"My god, this... this version of you is what I always imagined, William. Truly elegant."

William’s eyes widened with excitement, waiting for her answer.

"But... you’ve made me so inelegant, William."

"And I hate that."