Drowned

The train's incredible speed was closing in on the station, but once they would have arrived, Timothy and Alpha didn't have a clue how they'd proceed from there.

Timothy and Alpha were seated in the same room as the foremost agents keeping guard at the door. "Hey, psycho-guy! I heard your boss speaking to another dude over the phone. Care to give us some info for what's to come?" asked Alpha, hoping to gain a response, but for a few seconds, nobody did.

Parth sighed, shutting his eyes to prepare an explanation. "If you heard him on the phone, I suppose there's no point hiding it. We're heading for an island we call La Cadena de Narón, for short Naron Chain. It's an island where the forbidden chain lies, keeping the door to the "other realm" intact." And despite sharing that information, Parth carefully guarded the door to the next cargo, preventing Timothy and Alpha from coming in contact with Chiaki.

"Since you're practically new on the Vast Expanse, considering that you've only sailed for a couple of months, you probably wouldn't know about it. La Cadena de Narón is another company owned by the world government. It acts as a secondary execution site for cases like these. In a scenario where Vendurn got breached, attacked, or shut down, we use the underwater railway and change course to head there. We unlock the forbidden chain and use the otherwordly dimension to throw any spirits behind the gate. It's a less-messy method, but it does the job."

Timothy shivered for a moment, thinking about Chiaki getting thrown inside and killed. "You're saying that as if there's nothing wrong with it. You're taking orders from your boss like you're happy to kill innocents. It sickens me to think about what would happen to Chiaki behind that gateway. But the moment I have the chance, I'll save her." Timothy confirmed, yet the foremost agents were unfazed.

"I suppose you still don't understand what our role is. We're high-ranked agents of the world government, a title we earned from doing good deeds. We must obey our orders if we want to keep the title and our job. You know what they say, orders are orders." But Parth pressed harder. "If you were planning to infiltrate the world government's base, why wouldn't you have come with your crew? You didn't disband, now have you?"

Timothy shared eyesight with Parth but didn't answer and yawned, "Figure it out yourself. You're acting smart anyway." He finished their conversation as Parth looked at Naeve.

More and more minutes passed, and the train was quickly approaching the La Cadena de Narón station. "I don't know if you realized or not, but your information won't stop me from saving Chiaki." Said Timothy trying to receive more data.

"I realized. Nevertheless, be aware that your prospects of success are slim. Without a crew to support you, you are easy prey for the foremost agents and the island's soldiers. Admittedly, I can't say the same about the head agent of La Cadena de Narón, but keep in mind that you chose to target a closely guarded society."

Timothy and Alpha became intrigued. "What's that supposed to mean? Your threats won't work. I'll tear through anything you throw at me." Parth shook his head, sighing in the process. "You don't know who you're messing with, white-haired pirate. Once we reach La Cadena de Narón, it's the end of the road for you two."

The train was closing in on the La Cadena de Narón, which was only another 100 kilometers away from arriving. Alpha and Timothy remained still.

Parth looked at Naeve and hinted to her of something. She looked behind Timothy and Alpha and stood up, stepping behind Parth. She crouched and reached for the door but soon stood up.

She exchanged views with Parth and showed a thumbs up. "Good to go..." She whispered. Parth turned around and created a psychic portal that connected both cargoes.

Alpha didn't waste one bit, she stood up and grabbed the hilt of the sword. "What do you think you're doing?" she wondered, gaining Timothy's attention as well. "We're about to detach this cargo and move inside the third. If we're overweight for much longer, the train will break down. I advise you to come with us." He told, but Timothy and Alpha couldn't trust him.

"Yeah, right. How stupid do you think we are? That portal could lead anywhere. Like hell we'll trust you." Timothy and Alpha didn't lower their guard until Parth stepped out of the way. The portal showed the next room of the cargo. "As you can see, this portal leads to the next. If you don't believe us, we'll go first." Naeve stepped through the portal, followed by Parth. They ensured that Timothy and Alpha saw it for themselves.

"While we could detach the cargo and let you behind, there's no point in doing it now. So, are you coming or will you accept your faith and fail to rescue your friend?"

Timothy and Alpha had no other choice but to trust them, and it took them a few seconds to decide. When Timothy was about to proceed, Alpha stopped him. "Wait... let me go first... If I make it through, you can follow." Timothy agreed and observed Alpha stepping through the portal. To their surprise, the foremost agents didn't lie and allowed her to enter without trouble.

Alpha raised her glance at Parth's eyes. "Like I said. It's not dangerous." Alpha was awfully close to Parth but in case of danger, she continued to hold her sword's hilt.

Timothy followed behind, but before he could step through the portal closed. "Wh-What?! Hey!" Alpha was astonished, looking behind her to see if he was alright. "Now, Naeve." Commanded Parth.

"With pleasure..." She chuckled and raised a device in front of her with a red button. "What the hell is that?!" Alpha wondered, anxious and uncertain. Timothy tried to move on to the next cargo, but he couldn't due to the water blocking the door. If he opened the door while underwater, it would instantly flood the entire cargo.

"It's a device. You're not blind, are you, demon?" Alpha braced herself for danger in case it came. "Yeah, but what does it do?" But Naeve laughed and grabbed her cheek. "Why don't you find out for yourself, flattie!" she giggled cutely and instantaneously drew Alpha's gaze behind.

Naeve pressed the button, and before Alpha could stop it, the cargo's door exploded in Timothy's face. It detached the rest of the train from it and blew it up to pieces. "Tim!" Alpha shouted as she saw his eyes opening wide.

His body was thrown into the ocean. The thunderstorm above the surface flashed the nighttime atmosphere as the waves were heavy and swift, causing a catastrophe.

Timothy was quickly sucked into the deep ocean currents and driven out into the distance. His mouth had already begun to bubble, "Damn it," Alpha shouted and immediately started holding her breath. She let go of her swords, opened the train's door, and leaped without hesitation into the water while Naeve and Parth moved on to the next cargo.

Chiaki seated in the first cargo noticed Timothy's body pulled deep into the ocean with the corner of her eyes. It didn't make her think twice. She instantly stood up and opened her eyes. "Tim! N-No!" with shock and fear, Chiaki pounded the glass while Riley sat confidently, "Looks like that's been taken care of..." Claimed Riley and looked behind him. He saw Parth and Naeve enter the same room while Chiaki's eyes began watering. "What did you do?!" questioned Chiaki, looking at them.

Naeve approached her, leaned closer to Chiaki's face, and reached for the bottom of her chin. "Worry not, sweetheart. Those two meanies got what they deserved." Naeve laughed, kissing Chiaki on the cheek.

Chiaki was frozen, unable to think or understand. She couldn't even speak. "... n-no... you..." She didn't finish.

All she could think about was her possible loss.

To be continued...