Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 98: Mana Rail 17 [4]

[A Few Minutes Earlier]

The front carriage of Mana Rail 17 was calm, almost too calm.

The soft hum of the train echoed beneath the floor. Steady and smooth as it cut across the landscape. Through quiet valleys and mana-charged hills.

Outside, golden grass swayed in the wind. Untouched by the chaos that brewed in other parts of the world.

Inside, everything felt normal.

A merchant wiped sweat from his brow as he counted his ledgers. A mother gently rocked her sleeping child, whispering lullabies under her breath.

A group of students in matching uniforms played cards on the floor, laughing softly.

There was no fear. No tension. Just the gentle rhythm of travel.

In the very front row sat a man who didn’t belong.

He looked like he had stepped out of another world. Clad in a high-collared black coat with golden trim, the fabric too fine, too flawless.

A silver brooch rested on his chest in the shape of a crescent moon. His hair was neat. His boots polished. His posture unnervingly perfect.

He sat cross-legged, sipping tea from a delicate white cup. Steam curled upward in lazy spirals.

His black eyes scanned the carriage without emotion.

Across from him. An old man with a walking cane shifted, blinking awake from a nap.

The noble tilted his head. "Would you care for some tea?"

The old man looked surprised at first, but then smiled kindly. "Don’t mind if I do. Not every day someone offers an old traveler something fancy like that."

The noble nodded once and poured a second cup, offering it with both hands. "Please."

The old man took it and sipped carefully. "Hm. This is... quite good. Floral. Smooth."

"It’s from the southern provinces," the noble replied. "Brewed with spring water. Hard to find these days."

The old man chuckled. "Fancy words for a train ride."

"Some moments deserve a little beauty," the noble said.

The two sat in silence for a while, sipping their tea.

Outside the window. The train passed a quiet meadow dotted with mana-blooms. Birds circled overhead.

Then the noble broke the silence.

"Have you ever thought about how fragile it all is?"

The old man raised a brow. "Hm?"

He gestured loosely toward the rest of the carriage. "This peace. The laughter. The conversations. It’s held together by... threads. Thin ones. A few things go wrong and it all unravels."

The old man frowned slightly. "You sound like a man who’s seen war."

"Not war" the noble said. "Collapse."

The old man studied him for a moment, but said nothing.

The noble continued, "We believe we are safe on a train like this. Moving fast. Guarded by mana. Surrounded by people. But what if the wrong person got on board? What if something slipped past the wards?"

"That’s a dark thought," the old man said, shifting in his seat.

"Dark," the noble agreed. "But true. Civilization is like... A candle in the wind. One good gust, and out it goes."

The old man didn’t answer. He just drank more tea, slower this time.

The noble smiled softly. "Still, I suppose it’s comforting, isn’t it? Thinking everything will be fine. That danger is always somewhere else."

The old man looked at him, uneasy now. "You talk like someone expecting something bad."

The noble finished the last sip of his tea.

Then, gently. He placed the cup into a glowing ring on his finger. It vanished without a sound.

He stood up and adjusted his coat. His voice was polite, almost cheerful. "My stop is here."

The old man blinked, confused. "Stop? We are nowhere near a station."

The noble didn’t answer right away. He reached into his coat and pulled out a wide-brimmed black hat.

With a soft smile. He placed it on the old man’s head.

"Keep it," he said. "It suits you."

Then he leaned down slightly and whispered, "Everything I do... is for the greater good."

Before the old man could respond. The noble turned and walked toward the carriage door.

He paused at the glass, looking at his reflection for a second.

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Everything changed.

It began with a low groan, like wood bending under pressure.

Passengers. Demonic cultist, ordinary looking people. Just seconds ago, began twitching violently.

One woman dropped her bag and screamed as her arms bent the wrong way.

A man collapsed, clutching his head, veins bulging. Their skin bubbled like boiling water, then split open. Tumors burst through cloth.

Bones cracked and jutted outward, forming claws, spikes, jagged limbs.

Their eyes glowed a deep red. Their screams turned into snarls.

Gasps turned into screams. Screams turned into chaos.

People ran. Some tried to push past the monsters. Others tried to fight. A few even activated low-grade spells, desperate to survive.

It didn’t matter.

The twisted ones attacked without mercy. Slashing, biting, tearing through flesh like it was nothing. Blood splattered the walls. Bodies hit the floor.

And then... it got worse.

A strange humming sound filled the air. At the center of the carriage, space twisted like a whirlpool.

A portal opened—glowing black and red, swirling with unnatural energy.

From it came monsters.

Not altered humans.

These were corrupted monsters.

Towering beasts with molten armor fused to their flesh. Crawlers with dozens of legs and eyes. Shapes that made no sense to the human mind. Things that should not exist.

The carriage turned into a nightmare.

Blood sprayed across windows. The floor shook. The screams of the dying were drowned out by the snarls of the creatures.

Through it all. The noble man stood at the carriage door, watching.

There was no fear in his eyes. No regret.

Only a quiet, tired sadness.

As if he had seen this all before.

A figure stepped out of the portal beside him. Cloaked in darkness, face hidden in the shadows.

The noble nodded. "I’ll leave it to you now."

Then, without a sound. He stepped into the swirling darkness of the portal—

—and vanished.

Just like that... he was gone.

———