Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 204 Infinite Train

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of train wheels colliding with the rails echoed through the tunnel, which stretched for thousands of meters. A ray of light shot out from the deep, dark tunnel, illuminating the earth adorned with the night sky. The blazing yellow light and the crimson moonlight complemented each other.

The locomotive was the first to burst out of the tunnel, dragging its long carriages back into the crimson moonlight.

tread!tread!

Eric walked along the aisle towards the back of the train. The crimson moonlight shone through the windows, casting a hazy crimson cloak upon him.

"Eric!"

Deacon Ikonser quickly caught up from behind. Seeing Eric still heading towards the rear of the carriage, a sense of foreboding washed over him, and he immediately shouted an alarming command:

"Stop! Your carriage isn't here. Where do you want to go?"

While Iconser tried to distract the other person with words, he was also secretly reaching for the revolver at his waist.

That was another sealed artifact under his control.

Ember's reminder, along with Eric's unusual behavior, had already put him on alert.

Snapped!

Eric suddenly stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned his head and looked calmly at Ikonser behind him.

"you……"

Ikonser's breath hitched. As Eric turned around, he didn't see Eric's face clearly, only a cold, gray mask with a mouth that stretched almost to his ears, as if it wanted to devour everything his eyes could see!

"There's nothing strange about that; it's just an ordinary mask."

"Eric just needs to talk to Bruce about something, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Forget it, why should I care about these things? I'd better go back and get something to eat."

Even though Eric didn't say a word, Ikonser's expression softened. He waved to Eric and turned to leave.

Eric, wearing the 'Gluttony' mask, didn't say anything, turned around and continued walking towards the back of the car.

Along the way, he encountered several extraordinary individuals from the Mechanical Heart on night duty. Without exception, they didn't even need to exchange words; they simply made way for Eric, allowing him to reach the twenty-fourth carriage at the rear of the train without any hindrance.

Eric stopped again and looked ahead.

Unlike the open doors at the connections between the other carriages, the twenty-fifth carriage, connected to the twenty-fourth, had neither doors nor windows. It consisted only of thick, airtight armor made of silver-gray metal. It was as if this carriage had never been designed to be opened.

But if they forcibly destroy it, the commotion will be considerable, which is not what Eric expected.

Fortunately, Eric was not surprised by this; he had anticipated such a situation and had already prepared corresponding strategies.

He reached into his right hand and pulled out a simple, antique bronze key from his side pocket. It was about half the width of his palm and almost as long as his palm.

This isn't some powerful magical item, but in certain situations, its abilities are far more useful than other powerful extraordinary abilities. This is because the extraordinary pathway it corresponds to is a 'door'.

Eric placed the key against the silver-gray metal armor of the twenty-fifth carriage. With a gentle twist, the thick silver-gray metal armor rippled like water, opening an invisible 'door' in the hard armor.

Eric stepped forward and passed through the 'door' made up of layers of ripples.

Contrary to Eric's expectations, it wasn't completely dark behind the "door." Inside the carriage, which was completely enclosed from the outside, there was still a faint yellow light, allowing Eric to see the entire carriage in its entirety.

Unlike the other carriages, there were no rows of seats, no compartments separated by walls, and not even anyone.

The tidy carriage was completely empty; under the dim yellow light, you could see straight to the end—there was nothing there. Eric hadn't found anything of value, much less their target.

This made Eric frown slightly, but he quickly remembered that there were three such carriages in total.

Eric's eyes flickered slightly as he strode towards the rear of the carriage, arriving at the junction with carriage 26. Just like before, there was no door at the connection between carriages 25 and 26, only thick, silver-gray armor.

Eric did the same thing again, pressing the key against the metal armor of the carriage. With a gentle twist, he felt as if he had entered water, creating ripples that spread throughout the carriage.

Then, the entire view of carriage 26 came into view—

Just like carriage 25, there are no seats or compartments here, it's completely empty.

Eric's expression changed slightly as he finally realized the problem. He quickly rushed towards the last carriage, the 27th carriage, which was also the very last carriage!

Unsurprisingly, Eric easily passed through the thick armor and entered the 27th carriage.

Just like the two carriages we passed earlier, this place was also completely empty, with nothing at all.

Eric's expression was uncertain. He went back to the rear of the 27th carriage and pressed the key against the armored wall.

Theoretically, this is the 27th and last carriage.

Next should be the locomotive—

This is a double-engine train, with another locomotive at the rear.

Without the slightest hesitation, Eric turned the key and passed through the car as if he had disappeared into water.

But what came into view was not the locomotive he had imagined, but a silver-gray carriage exactly the same as the three carriages he had passed earlier!

The dim yellow light illuminated the thick, silver-gray armor. The carriage was empty, with neither seats nor compartments, so empty that you could see from one end to the other. Yet, this very emptiness made Eric, a saint, feel as if he had fallen into an abyss, his whole body turning ice-cold.

He should have been in the locomotive, but now he's in a carriage, in a non-existent 28th carriage.

But Eric clearly remembered that this train only had 27 carriages!

Inside the dining car of carriage number 6.

Audrey was elegantly cutting her steak when she suddenly caught a glimpse of Iconseen walking towards her from the opposite carriage.

Good evening, Miss Audrey.

Iconsel noticed Audrey's gaze, smiled and nodded slightly, then sat back down in the seat opposite the aisle, casually stuffing a piece of steak into his mouth and chewing it with obvious enjoyment.

A hint of doubt flashed in Audrey's eyes as she carefully asked:

"Mr. Iconsel, have you confirmed Mr. Eric's identity?"

"certainly."

While chewing his steak, Ikonser mumbled a reply, "There's nothing wrong with Eric's identity. You're just overthinking it. Anyone qualified to board this train for the pilgrimage to Trier is a devout follower of the Steam Church. There won't be any problems."

"Pilgrimage?" Audrey murmured the word.

For major churches, pilgrimage is not a rare occurrence.

For example, St. Samuel's Church, as the largest and holiest church of the Church of the Night in Backlund, receives countless worshippers every day. Some extremely devout believers even make a special pilgrimage to the church in Wintershire.

The tradition of 'pilgrimage' also applies to evil gods.

For example, Mr. "The Hanged Man" mentioned an extreme follower of the Aurora Society who took his child "Jack" on a voyage to search for the divine kingdom of the "true creator." And according to Mr. "The Sun's" description, the child named "Jack" did indeed successfully reach the Forsaken Land.

The sanctuary of the Steam Church is located in Trier, the capital of the Republic of Intis, so it's not surprising that the Kingdom of Rune would organize pilgrimages to Trier...

For some reason, Audrey always felt that this pilgrimage was not entirely pure.

Ember looked at Iconsel, who was stuffing himself with food, and suddenly asked:

"Where is Eric now?"

Iconsel paused for a moment, then subconsciously replied:

"He went to find Bruce..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ikonser suddenly paused.

Because he saw a familiar figure appear in front of him—Bruce, who had boarded the train at Constance Station.

Ikonser's thoughts were briefly disordered; the chaotic and conflicting ideas made it difficult for him to sort them out. He simply couldn't help but ask:

"Bruce, has Eric come looking for you?"

Bruce paused for a moment, then asked in confusion:

"Who? Eric? I've never seen him before. Why are you asking?"

Ikonser's thoughts were still in disarray. He opened his mouth but forgot what he wanted to say, and he didn't even know what he should do.

Just then, he heard a clear bell ringing in his ear.

He subconsciously turned around and found that a delicate and intricate holy bell had appeared in Yu Jin's hand at some point.

Along with the sacred bell, a holy light, like ripples on water, slowly spreads out.

Ikonser's thoughts exploded in an instant, then returned to normal in an instant, his brain resumed functioning, but his expression also changed drastically in an instant.

"Something's happened!"

Ikonser quickly searched his mind for relevant information and said in a deep voice:

"Extraordinary individuals with high-sequence 'audience' pathways have infiltrated the train; their target is likely something inside the carriages!"

He had previously fought against dream walkers who passed through Sequence 5, but even Sequence 5 combat hypnosis couldn't easily hypnotize him when he was already alert and there was no external interference. This meant that the "Eric" he encountered was at least a Sequence 4 Saint!

Bruce's expression changed as he realized the seriousness of the problem.

He couldn't think of anything else besides what was in those three carriages that would warrant a Saint of at least Sequence 4 infiltrating their two special trains!

Even if they realize this, they are powerless to do anything about it.

Both he and Ikonser were only Sequence 6 deacons, and even though they could fight against Sequence 5 Beyonders with the sealed artifacts they controlled, they were utterly powerless against a Saint who was at least Sequence 4. Ikonser's previous encounter with Eric, where he was hypnotized without even realizing it, was the best proof of this!

Ikonser clearly realized this as well, which made him instinctively turn his gaze towards the embers—

If anyone on the train could stop that Sequence 4 Saint, perhaps only Ember would.

But he was an outsider, and besides, given the amount of time that had passed, the saint who happened to be passing by might have already entered those three carriages...

If we ask Yu Jin for help, wouldn't that mean we also have to let him into those three carriages?

After much hesitation, Iconser gritted his teeth and made a decision, saying in a deep voice:

"Mr. Ash, we need your help. Please do your best to stop that saint who infiltrated the train. We will reward you accordingly upon arrival in Trier!"

Iconsel took a deep breath. Whatever the consequences of his decision, it was better than waiting to die!

Bruce opened his mouth, but chose not to speak up to stop them, because they felt there was really no better way at the moment.

Instead of responding to Ikonser's request immediately, Ember asked:

"Didn't the Steam Church send anyone to guard those carriages?"

"have."

Ikonser hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "There is a saint in charge of guarding it."

-

"trap?"

At this moment, Eric, who had passed through several carriages and was now in carriage '131', frowned deeply.

These carriages are clearly abnormal, having exceeded their intended length. This may be due to the extraordinary power of the 'sealed artifact' stored inside, and perhaps it is precisely because of this special nature that these carriages, constructed from special materials, are needed.

The problem is that Eric, now that he's in the thick of it, doesn't know how to get out.

He tried returning to carriage '25,' but no matter how many carriages he passed through, he always ended up in the same empty carriage—without seats or compartments. He seemed completely trapped in these silvery-white carriages, unable to return to carriage 24, and forever unable to escape!

Eric's eyes flickered, and he suddenly strode to the middle of the carriage, his gaze falling on the side wall—

No matter how many carriages a train has, or how infinitely long it may be, its width is always finite.

Without hesitation, Eric pressed the key against the car wall, gave it a gentle twist, and passed right through it.

In Eric's mind, he should have appeared outside the speeding train, under the thick darkness of night. But when he opened his eyes, all he saw was the silvery-white carriage, empty and silent.

Eric's eyes turned cold; his patience was wearing thin after repeated attempts.

Without hesitation, his back hunched slightly, and his body visibly swelled. His pupils then narrowed, turning from pale blue to golden yellow, and his face, the backs of his hands, and every inch of his exposed skin grew grayish-white, stone-like scales.

His body expanded rapidly, transforming in an instant into an exceptionally large monster. Except for his head, which retained a human form, the rest of his body had completely mutated, resembling a gray-white dragon that had not yet fully evolved and whose body had not yet fully grown.

This giant dragon has two gray, skin-covered wings on its back, and its limbs are quite thick. The gray-white scales on its surface are engraved with complex and three-dimensional mysterious symbols that extend into its flesh and blood and outwards into the surrounding void, as if they are intertwined to form something that does not belong to the real world. Just looking at it can drive people crazy, distort their thoughts, and taint their spirits with all sorts of seemingly heartfelt ideas, making them want to tear themselves apart or destroy themselves.

"Dragon Transformation!"

An incomplete mythical creature form!

Eric is not willing to remain trapped in this bizarre "loop" any longer; he intends to break free by force!

There's nothing that mythology can't solve!

(End of this chapter)