The wrinkles on Shaan's forehead became even more obvious as he listened to these words. For some reason, it always felt like every time Nalira spoke, Shaan had to be extremely patient waiting for every word to come out of her mouth to understand what she was truly trying to say.
"However, if I ever catch you trying to attack or betray us, I will not hesitate to attack you." Nalira looked at Shaan with a cold gaze.
'Nalira seems serious about her words.
"Of course, that's not a problem for me," Shaan said without any hesitation at all. "So, where is the location of the dark creature that rules this place? Have you guys figured it out yet?"
"We haven't been able to confirm the whereabouts of the dark creature that caused the midnight gate portal to appear." Chelsie gave a short explanation. "However, when I tried to use Carmen's power, she said that she could sense the existence of an enormous power at the end of these railroad tracks." Chelsie pointed at the railroad that was opposite the railroad on which Shaan was traveling. "That's why the two of us decided to follow this track—and ended up running into you from the opposite direction purely by chance."
"Alright, I understand."
"However, while we were traveling along this railroad, dark creatures kept appearing and their numbers kept increasing." Chelsie let out a long sigh. "It feels like if we continue like this, we won't be able to reach the end of this railroad in time."
"We need to find something that can take us past these train tracks." Nalira cast her eyes around. "The longer we stay here, those creatures of darkness will easily attack us from all directions."
"Yes, I agree. However, so far we have found absolutely nothing that can lead us, Nalira."
"Wait a moment. I think I know what we need."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Come with me, I'll show you something."
After several minutes of walking, Shaan finally arrived in front of an old train he had briefly spotted earlier while making his way along the railway tracks. At a glance, the train's exterior looked rather fragile. Parts of its surface were rusted, and there were several claw marks on one of the train cars- undoubtedly the work of dark creatures. Even so, the train's body was still complete, and it seemed to be sturdy enough to be used.
"Uhm... Shaan, but are you sure this train still works?"
"I don't know, I can't be sure about that either." Shaan shrugged his shoulders. "But we'd better check it out first and hope this train is still working."
The three of them decided to walk closer to the train until they were right in front of the entrance of the train car. Shaan then told Chelsie and Nalira to wait outside while he tried to get inside and check the inside of the train. He just wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be any dark creatures that might be hiding inside this place.
"Hmm... so far, so good." Shaan pushed aside the cobwebs that were right in front of his face. "Although this place is very dusty and filled with cobwebs."
"Hey, Shaan, how is it?" Chelsie shouted from outside, waiting for Shaan, who was wandering around inside the train car. "Are there no dark creatures in there?"
"It's safe. I didn't sense any presence of the dark creatures around here," Shaan shouted back in response to Chelsie.
"All right then. We will go inside."
The three of them then began inspecting the front section of the train—the locomotive. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place. Everything looked just like a typical train, and there was no visible damage anywhere.
However, there was one thing that made this train feel distinctly different from ordinary trains. Right at the control panel, strange symbols had been written in a red fluid that looked disturbingly like blood.
"I've never seen these markings before," Shaan said as he leaned in closer to the control panel. "What about you two? Have you ever seen anything like this?"
"Uhm… no. I've never seen anything like it at all," Chelsie replied, shaking her head immediately. "What about you, Lira? Have you seen markings like these before?"
"I have," Nalira answered as she slowly stepped closer to the controls. "These are special incantations written in an ancient language."
Nalira placed her hands on the steering wheel and began to chant the spell. She placed her hand directly on the control panel and began to chant the inscription. Shaan, watching in silence, had no idea what she was saying. Somehow, the language didn't sound like a normal human language.
"It's done. I've recited the incantation," Nalira said calmly. "Now we just have to wait for it to take effect."
"Wow, Lira, I had no idea you could read those strange markings." Chelsie looked genuinely surprised. "But… how? How could you possibly understand that writing?"
Nalira was silent for a moment. "I only read about it in one of the books in the reading room."
"Oh...okay."
'My goodness… I never would've guessed that Nalira had such extensive knowledge about things like this.'
Only a few seconds later, a strange vibration pulsed through the entire train. At first, Shaan thought it might be the dark creatures hiding in one of the rear trains. But oddly enough, after checking, he found no trace of it—just a few wooden crates. Strange… what was going on?
"Uhm… I think you should take a look at this." Chelsie's eyes widened as she called out to Shaan, her voice trembling. "Sh-Shaan… th-the train… It's moving."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Shaan quickly turned to look out the window—and his face immediately went pale. He hadn't realized it at all, but the train was now moving forward, rolling down the railway tracks ahead of them.
"Oh my god, b-but how is this possible?" Chelsie quickly turned her gaze toward Nalira, who remained seated calmly. "Why is the train moving on its own? Where is it taking us?"
"A movement incantation," Nalira replied calmly. "If someone successfully recites the spell, the train will immediately start moving toward the desired destination within this place. I wished to find the source—the dark creatures that caused this portal to open—so the train is heading there now."
She looked at the others, her expression steady. "Be prepared… because we have no idea what we're going to face."