Meanwhile, Isolde turned toward Arceus, her expression halfway between frustration and disbelief, as he was about to step outside of the cabin. "Wait, don't."
Arceus coldly replied, "I can defeat them by myself. And we aren't close enough to worry about each other's lives or even actions..."
However, that reply only frustrated Isolde. "Do you think we can't defeat them?" she hissed quietly. "Why do you think I held back earlier? I didn't stop him from grabbing Elysia. I didn't stop him from shooting me, even though I was close enough to knock him out cold."
She placed a steadying hand on her sister's shoulder while her own breath still carried the faint tremor of pain from the earlier wound. "There are other hostages in this train. We don't know how many enemies there are, how many cannons are pointed at innocent people. Your reckless attack will end, god knows how many lives. The smart thing is to stay silent. These terrorists aren't looking to slaughter everyone. They merely want leverage to negotiate."
Ayush swallowed hard, sinking back into his seat. His thoughts were in the same line as hers. Arceus didn't respond at first. His expression hardened, but he slid the daggers back into his clothes.
Xerx didn't react outwardly, but his eyes flicked between Isolde, Arceus, and the corridor where the masked villain had disappeared.
He then averted his gaze toward the holographic screen where the Quest asks him to defeat them. But he hesitated.
*
Meanwhile, the sudden hijacking of a special cross-continental train sent shockwaves across several nations, but nowhere was the panic more apparent than in Eclantis, where the incident had taken place. The moment the train's emergency signal cut out, government lines exploded with frantic activity. After all, this is the train filled with potential heroes of the future.
Local police sealed off the desert perimeter, surrounding the halted train from a distance while drones hovered overhead like restless hawks. Media crews were pushed back behind barricades, desperately shouting questions for no one had answers for.
Negotiation teams were summoned. Tactical squads scrambled. A crisis room was established within minutes.
While the desert boiled beneath the sun, the entire nation seemed to hold its breath.
Alsacian Federation Special Forces – Sector 14;
Far away in the towering cityscape of Central City, at the headquarters of the Alsacian Federation Special Forces, Sector 14, alarms blared through metallic halls. Inside the war room, a holo-table projected maps of the hijacked train's location, blinking red on a desert stretch between two borders.
Lt. General Bernie Hart, one of the Federation's five highest-ranking officers, strode into the room with heavy footsteps, his expression carved from stone.
"Call Wave Rider's team. Now," he ordered.
Within minutes, six figures filed into the conference room—five B-class Heroes in uniform armor and one A-class Hero whose calm charisma seemed to shift the atmosphere. This was Wave Rider, a veteran hero known for many successful operations.
Bernie Hart wasted no time.
"This incident could go south any moment," he began, gesturing sharply to his assistant. "We don't have the luxury of waiting for demands. We have to act as early as we can, while the negotiation team keeps them in a loop."
The assistant tapped on her tablet, and the projector flickered to show a single profile photo.
A scarred man with cruel eyes.
A bounty notice.
Luther Brain – Leader of the Scorpion Bandits.
Bounty: 2,200,000 Zeni.
Wave Rider's jaw tightened. "Thought he was hiding near the western routes."
"He was," Bernie Hart replied. "Now he's here."
The assistant continued, pointing to thermal scans sent by the Eclantis police. "We detected at least 28 armed individuals moving through the carriages. More might be disguised as passengers. They all have energy cannons, and their positions change frequently."
"28 isn't small," Slime Queen muttered, her voice muffled behind her mask of green jelly armor. "What do they want?"
"We don't know yet," the assistant said. "But considering Luther's history, the demand is predictable. His younger brother, Kruger Brain, is in our maximum-security prison." She adjusted her glasses. "Last year, Kruger massacred the entire Clain family. The court acquitted him on technicalities, but evidence surfaced afterward. He was then sentenced to death."
Bernie Hart slammed a fist against the table. "There is no way we're releasing that monster."
The heroes exchanged glances.
After a long breath, Bernie Hart gestured to the assistant.
She switched the screen.
Two faces appeared.
A blonde girl with glasses. A messy black-haired boy with striking features.
"Divinia's Crown Prince and Princess," Bernie Hart said. "Students on that train."
Slime Queen raised a brow. "Divinia doesn't even have political authority anymore. Why risk our team for them?"
The A-class Hero answered for the Lieutenant General, just one word. "Arcanite."
Everyone understood in an instant.
Almost 40% of the world's Arcanite—the metal essential to magical technology—came from Divinia's mines. If relations soured, if Divinia declared an export ban, the Federation's strength would collapse in months.
Bernie Hart nodded grimly. "Wave Rider, your mission is to extract the prince and princess before the villains identify them. The Centauri squad will handle the direct assault. You move silently. You don't engage unless absolutely necessary."
He looked each of them in the eye. "Time isn't on our side."
The heroes rose as one.
"Yes, sir!"
Bernie Hart pointed toward the teleportation chamber. "Prepare for departure. The formation will open in ten minutes."
The heroes marched out, armor clinking softly. As the doors slid shut behind them, Bernie Hart stood alone in the war room, fists clenched.
"This time," he muttered under his breath, voice thick with old anger, "I won't let another innocent die because of the Brain brothers."
*
Back in the train, far from the cabin where Arceus and the others sat, another scene played out in a part of the train that ordinary passengers never saw.
Inside a two-sleeper cabin of the Business class Carriage, a burly man in a jet-black suit lounged back comfortably as if he were dining in a luxury restaurant instead of sitting atop two corpses. His massive frame barely fit the cushioned seat.
Two bodyguards lay motionless just outside the cabin with their throats slit neatly. The villain didn't bother covering the bodies. They were merely part of the décor now.
Across from him sat two teenagers—twins, a boy and a girl, both with matching dark hair and pale eyes. They were the same age, yet couldn't have looked more different at that moment. The boy sat straight-backed, confidence radiating from every movement, his gaze steady and unafraid. The girl, meanwhile, trembled subtly, her hands twisting together in her lap as she tried not to look at the dead men outside.
The villain cut another slice from his steak, the knife scraping lightly against the ceramic plate. The sound felt too loud inside the tiny cabin.
Only a small piece remained on his plate. He cut it cleanly in half and popped one piece into his mouth. Then he looked up at the siblings with a bored expression.
"I'm almost done with my meal," he said casually, as if discussing the weather. "Should I take it that neither of you intends to give me your names?"
The girl swallowed, voice trembling as she parted her lips. "Ah, that—"
But the boy stopped her with a raised hand and answered himself, tone sharp as a dagger. "That goes without saying."
The villain's eyebrow twitched upward. "So you have no qualms about me killing your sister here?" he asked, voice dipping with amusement, as if eager to see the boy's composure crack.