Looks like this is the end of my path...

Gritting her teeth, Philrain operated the train's lever. The train began to decelerate with a heavy creaking sound and sparks shooting from the wheels. After several minutes of slowing down, it eventually reached a halt in the middle of the tracks. Breathing through her protective gear, Philrain looked at Alice, who was cowering, pressing against her right eye.

"Master Alice… it's no good. I succeeded in bringing it to a stop, but the only thing we can do now is to walk…"

After saying that, she stopped speaking. Panting, Alice stared at the front with a haggard expression on her face. Her body, along with her clothes, was emitting a thin light.

"Master Alice!"

Being called out in a panic, Alice hurriedly looked at Philrain. Although the bleeding in her right eye had stopped, her eyeball and eyelid had been destroyed into a mess. Frowning in pain, Alice staggered to her feet.

"Y-Yeah… I understand. We have to move now…"

"Please wait for a short… while."

Biting her lip, Philrain approached Alice, retrieved a roll of bandages from the first aid kit, and applied gauze to her right eye, binding it tightly.

"It's first aid but…"

"Thank you… Quickly… to Jack and Iberis' location…"

After a coughing fit of blood, Alice staggered off the train. Behind her, Philrain followed, carrying a mobile device and a light.

"The shelter is just around the corner. If we walk about ten minutes, we can reach…"

"Let's go."

With a firm voice, Alice started walking with a slight limp.

Shortly after, the barrier of the shelter came into view, and Philrain operated the touch screen to open it. She got inside the airlock and removed her helmet, and they proceeded to the back.

Then Alice entered the hall near the train departure station and stopped. It seemed that there had been a horrendous explosion. The floor and walls were shattered in various places.

The debris was still falling down. All around was the smell of gunpowder. The electrical system of the lamps on the wall was flickering intermittently as if it was about to be disrupted.

"What… is this…?" Alice muttered in a shaky voice and scanned her surroundings. It seemed as though it had been destroyed by a bomb. The ground had caved in, revealing the sewage channel far below.

"Jack…?" Alice stumbled towards the pile of rubble, calling out Jack's name. "I'm… here? Jack… where are you…?"

In the distance, the sound of collapsing debris could be heard.

Alice shouted in a weak voice. "Jack! Reply to me! Where are you? Where are you!"

–It was obvious.

Something catastrophic had happened. To anyone who saw it, it was evident.

Philrain paused as she approached the screaming Alice. And then she withdrew her outstretched hand and lowered her head.

Jack also…

Even Iberis didn't seem to have survived.

"Jack…"

There, Alice stumbled over the debris in the blind spot of her right eye, which was crushed in her attempt to run, and fell heavily. She screeched and winced, grabbing the soil at her feet and gnashing her teeth.

"I… I…"

"…"

Philrain clammed up, not knowing what to say.

"Did we… not make it in time…?" Asking lightly, she bit her lip and then uttered in a tight voice. "Let's try to search for them…"

Alice directed her fatigued face to Philrain.

The priestess nodded and took Alice's hand.

"We are talking about that stubborn Master Jack and Lady Iberis. They may have defeated the Nightmare and are taking refuge somewhere…"

"…"

"Let's go together. Perhaps they've already escaped on a different track."

Alice winced, tears streaming from her remaining left eye.

"Yeah… I guess so? That's what happened, right…?"

She wiped the tears away with her hand and staggered to her feet. Then she walked off, hand in hand with Philrain.

The surrounding area was a terrible sight to behold. The hall was shattered and tattered; the shelter was a crumbling pile of rubble.

Apprehensively, the two girls walked through them, shivering slightly. Pointing her light at the path blocked by the fallen ceiling, Philrain stopped in her tracks.

"… Looks like this is the end of the path…"

After a long time, she muttered softly. Alice looked around the collapsed shelter in a daze.

She didn't seem to have the energy to speak anymore. Philrain looked down and bit her lip hard.