CHAPTER-87

The bullet train tore through the rails at max speed. Inside, chaos was building.

Daigo was passed out, arms crossed, snoring slightly.

Yeaga was casually scrolling his hologlass, feet kicked up.

Reika sat by the window, silently. For a moment… it reminded her of the days when she used to ride the train to school. Back when life was simpler. Back when she was still pretending to be normal.

Ishigo noticed. He gave her a calm smile.

"Wanna eat?" he asked, holding up a stick of mochi.

"I'm good," Reika replied, her voice barely audible.

"You always look so damn nonchalant. You never smile," Ishigo said, leaning forward.

Reika didn't reply. Just kept staring at the window.

Yeaga glanced up. "You two—Reika and Yeji—you've both got that 'dead inside' expression all the time."

"Be chill, bro," he added with a small smirk. "We ain't dead yet."

Souta sat near the back, staring out the window in complete silence. His reflection in the glass looked like a ghost.

Then it started.

A man suddenly sprinted toward the front of the train, screaming.

"HELP! HELP—!!"

Before anyone could react, a crackling electric wave surged through his body. He screamed, convulsed—then exploded into ash.

Panic erupted.

Passengers screamed. The train lights flickered violently. The air grew heavy. A second later—more lightning arced down the train car, randomly zapping seats, windows, even the luggage racks. Smoke filled the aisle. People ran.

Reika froze, heart hammering in her chest.

She'd seen death. She'd delivered death.

But this was something else. It was sudden. It was merciless. It was a message.

Souta stood up.

"Everyone! Start saving civilians!" he shouted, voice sharp like a blade.

"Phoenix Blaze: Domain."

With a sharp motion, he summoned a grey flaming aura that wrapped around the train in a protective cocoon. The electric energy crashing against it sizzled, nullified.

"GO!" he barked.

Yeji bolted into action, snatching two kids seconds before another wave of electricity would've fried them.

Daigo grabbed a woman and an elderly man, yanking them toward the safe side of the train.

Then… they felt it.

A shift in the air. Like the oxygen had been vacuumed out.

From the rear car—she appeared.

Kamishime Ayano, Zai (7), the Electric Shikiban.

Lightning sparked off her bare arms. Her body was wrapped in loose baggy pants and black-and-white bandages that didn't even try to hide the madness in her aura.

The passengers couldn't see her. But the Kageshiki could.

And she was grinning.

Souta cursed under his breath. "Damn it... This domain's feeding on panic. If I go full-power here, the backlash'll nuke the whole train."

He turned sharply. "Kaname, Yeaga, Ishigo, Yeji—you four fight in here. Daigo, activate Cryo Wolf Shield. Protect the passengers."

Everyone tensed.

"Reika. Miyuki. Top of the train. You two take down Ayano before she can amplify."

Miyuki's face turned serious. "Copy that."

The two girls sprinted. They shoved the emergency hatch and burst through the rooftop, boots slamming against the speeding metal. The wind roared. But above them? No stars. No sky. Just crackling electric clouds, swirling in an artificial dome.

Ayano was already standing there.

Arms raised. Lightning dancing around her. Her long silk hair whipping like a flag in the storm.

"Ooh? Kageshiki on the rooftop? That's cute," she grinned. "I wonder what screaming sounds like when it comes from elites."

Reika's hand slowly moved to her katana.

"What's your name?" she asked.

Ayano tilted her head. "Huh? You don't know? Girl, I'm trending in hell."

She grinned wider. "Kamishime Ayano, sweetie. Voltage Queen. Zai Number Seven. And tonight?"

She summoned a weapon straight from her palm. It wasn't even a blade—just raw current shaped like one.

"Tonight's dinner is you."

"Reika Kagetsu," Reika answered, drawing her katana. "Let's skip to the dying part."

Ayano vanished.

Instantly.

Reika didn't even blink—her katana came up just in time. Sparks exploded as she blocked a lightning-fast slash.

Ayano twisted, brought her blade around in a sweeping arc. Reika ducked, but the shockwave still fried a part of her jacket. It burned.

Miyuki stepped in, arms glowing.

"Glass Prison: Split Chamber!"

A dozen razor-thin mirrors shot out of the rooftop. Ayano's body got caught between two—SLAM—slamming her inside a cube of shattering reflections.

But she smiled inside the trap.

"Ohhh, you do tricks! I love that."

BOOM.

She sent a surge through the glass, cracking the whole cage in a second.

Reika moved in again. Shadow Burst Step. She zipped forward, slicing down with black-flame energy on her katana's edge.

Ayano parried, flipped mid-air, landed, and laughed.

"You're actually fun, Kagetsu. I think I'll keep your eyeballs."