*Chapter 35: The Cage*

A dark room, but too much brightness.

A girl was there. Short hair. Her hands and legs were tied and stretched in an X shape against some kind of wooden structure. Her wrists were bound with ropes, tight enough to leave red stripes on the tied skin. Her mouth was sealed with duct tape. Her eyes began to open.

It was Sao Yaome.

In front of her was a woman with silver hair. It was Jokirin, undressed. She came close. Sao was still hazy, sweating. Jokirin leaned in and licked the sweat from Sao’s neck. Then she touched her.

She struggled and tried to scream, but only a muffled “Mmmph! Mmmph!” escaped through the tape.

Jokirin bit her red ear with her teeth. It bled. Sao tried to say stop, but her voice couldn’t come out.

“Not so hurried… I’ve been watching you…” she whispered into her ear. “You are mine.”1

Jokirin pulled out her hands as Sao’s exposed body collapsed.

But it wasn’t enough. Jokirin stood, moved back, and opened a metal cage. It was a big dog. Thirsty. It fell upon Sao.

Sao screamed yet jolted awake.

It was just a dream.

Her chest heaved. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her throat.

What was that…

She blinked rapidly, trying to orient herself.

Inside an underground drain connected to the old underground railtracks. The air was damp and cold, carrying the smell of stagnant water and rust. A narrow walkway ran alongside the tracks, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

And she was being carried.

Sao’s eyes slowly focused. She looked up.

Jokirin’s face was directly above hers, calm as always. Silver hair swayed gently with each step. She didn’t seem tired at all. She looked down, noticed Sao’s open eyes, and smiled warmly.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Jokirin said softly.

Sao stared at her.

Jokirin stared back.

Sao’s eyes were wet from the remnants of the nightmare, the sweat still clinging to her skin, the humiliation of being carried like some helpless princess.

Jokirin tilted her head slightly, confused by Sao’s expression.

“Seems like you were having a bad dream,” Jokirin observed.

Sao’s face twisted.

Then she realized the position she was in. Jokirin’s arms were under her knees and behind her back. Her head was resting against Jokirin’s chest. Like a bride being carried over the threshold.

Her cheeks flushed bright red.

“W-Woaa… GET OFF ME!”

Sao thrashed violently, twisting her body and kicking her legs. Jokirin, caught off guard, loosened her grip. Sao tumbled out of her arms and hit the ground hard.

THUD!

“Ouch—!”

The concrete was cold and rough against her skin.

Jokirin just stood there, staring down at her. Her expression was genuinely confused, like a puppy who didn’t understand why its owner had suddenly pushed it away.

As Sao stood up, brushing dust off her knees, a sound reached them from far down the tunnel.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR…

A low rumble, growing louder by the second.

Sao’s head snapped toward the noise.

“What the—”

Before she could finish, something burst out of the darkness ahead.

WOOSH!

An orange freight locomotive just rushed past them at full speed. Its headlight cutting through the tunnel like a blade.

It was gone as quickly as it appeared, vanishing into the darkness.

Sao stared after it, blinking.

“What was that thing?” she said, her voice flat with confusion.

“A head without the body indeed,” Jokirin replied calmly.

Sao glanced at her, one eyebrow twitching.

”…What?”

Jokirin just kept staring into the darkness, as if the answer was obvious.

Sao shook her head and turned away. Then something clicked. She looked at Jokirin again, her eyes narrowing as she remembered something.

“Anyway,” she said angrily. “Why did you knock me out back there?”

“It was necessary…”

“Huh?”

Before Jokirin could answer, a sound echoed from far behind them. It was deep, low, and continuous.

BOOOOOOM…

The ground trembled beneath their feet. Dust and small pebbles rained down from the ceiling of the tunnel.

“What the hell is going on back there?” Sao demanded, looking toward the direction they’d come from.

Jokirin tilted her head.

“You don’t know?”

Sao gave her a confused look.

“Know what?”

Jokirin studied her face for a moment.

“…I see,” Jokirin said quietly.

“See what?” Sao snapped.

“It’s a punishment,” Jokirin said.

Sao frowned.

“Huh?”

“For the leaker…” Jokirin continued. Her voice was calm as always.

“Recently, someone inside the Abyss has been continuously leaking information about our plans onto the internet. You probably heard about that, right? So that leaker also leaked the location of the ESC this time… but unfortunately, only the higher-ups and the soldiers assigned to the ESC knew about the operation. It became obvious that someone among them was the traitor. Renji couldn’t let that go unpunished.”

Sao just listened, unaware of where Jokirin was going with this.

“The soldiers assigned to the ESC were given special tactical gear. I heard you were the one who distributed the gear,” Jokirin explained.

“Yeah, that was me. So?” Sao replied, still clearly upset that her master Renji hadn’t given her any of the special gear.

“But inside the gear, there were hidden and undetectable remote-detonated explosives.”

Sao stared at her.

“The soldiers didn’t know,” Jokirin continued, glancing toward the direction of the explosions. “And that’s that.”

“And the NSIA officers were trapped there to blow up with them, huh?” Sao said, an evil smile slowly appearing on her face.

“Master Renji…” Sao breathed.

Her eyes began to gleam. A slow smile spread across her face.

“I knew it,” she said, her face turning red. She grabbed her face tightly with both hands like a maniac. “I knew it! Master Renji is so amazing! So that’s why he didn’t give us those filthy special gears. How amazing!”

Jokirin watched her in silence.

A faint flutter echoed through the tunnel.

Sao glanced upward. A few bats were circling near the ceiling before disappearing into the darkness.

“By the way… what happened to the transportation?” Sao asked.

“You mean the children?” Jokirin replied.

“They were rescued.”

“WHAT!?” Sao snapped. “Are you being serious!?”

Jokirin didn’t answer immediately. She simply stared at the bats flying through the darkness.

“Sometimes, you can’t cage a caged bird…” she said quietly. “They were meant to fly, as long as they still have their wings.”

The bats flew across the tunnel and disappeared into the darkness.

A few minutes ago…

Inside the train were Eyepatch, Tokio, and Blade.

Eyepatch was driving the locomotive while Blade leaned back against the seat, his eyes closed. He looked completely exhausted.

“Man, you look exhausted,” Eyepatch said, glancing at him.

Tokio pulled out a bottle of Oracle Juice and handed it to Blade.

“Here, take this, junior.”

Blade opened his eyes slightly and took the bottle.

“Thanks, dude.”

He took a sip and leaned back again.

Tokio looked out through the window. The old underground railway stretched into the darkness, its walls worn and stained from years of use.

“This place is so dark… worn and used,” Tokio muttered.

He continued staring outside for a moment before his eyes suddenly shifted toward the rearview mirror. He saw two figures in black outfits as the train passed by.

“Is it me, or did I just see someone outside?”

Eyepatch glanced at the mirror.

“Huh? Probably saw a ghost.”

Tokio stared at him.

“Ghosts don’t exist, you see… They’re unscientific.”

Eyepatch shrugged and continued driving.

For a few seconds, only the sound of the locomotive filled the cabin.

Blade suddenly opened his eyes.

“Hey, how’s Anya?”

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Tokio replied. “Our dear old boss lady just happened to kidnap her from the kidnappers.”

“Who said I’m old!?”

A voice suddenly crackled through the Wokitoki. It was Shina’s voice.

Tokio froze. His eyes widened.

“…”

Eyepatch slowly looked toward him. Blade opened one eye. Tokio stared at the Wokitoki sitting on the deck.

It had been on for a long time.