The Final Desperation

Following Celine's advice, Genji arrived at a run-down train station. The tracks were still operational, though maintenance was clearly not a priority. The train only ran once a week, and Genji had arrived just in time for its departure. He showed his badge to the workers and was allowed on for free.

Genji entered one of the cars and sat down on the worn-out seat cushions. The acrid smell of burning coal faded from his senses, replaced by a musky stillness. A few other passengers were in the vicinity, but everyone kept to themselves. The world situation was oppressive enough, so they didn't want to add more things to their plates.

Genji closed his eyes and began meditating while Astros peered curiously out the window. After another 30 minutes, the train began moving as a low whistle sounded from ahead.

Whisps of black smoke brushed past their windows, slowly collecting on the crevices. With enough time and some help from the weather, these dust particles would form a mucky, tar-like film over the windows, requiring a deep cleaning to remove.

Time quietly passed. After 4 hours, the attendants rolled out a cart of stale food and drinks. Genji politely rejected the rations and brought his own. The sun soon set, and the train sped up. This was a necessary safety precaution since they needed to avoid the nightwalkers wandering the area.

Deep into the night, the train jostled unstably, as if traversing a rough, uneven road. Beneath the hum of machinery, Genji heard soft crunches below. It was quite faint and could have been easily overlooked if it weren't for his sharp senses.

Genji glanced out the window and noticed beads of a thick, black liquid rolling off the frames. It seemed like there was more to the window staining than coal fumes. A bit of mangled flesh flew past the window, disappearing just as quickly as it appeared. Genji averted his gaze and continued meditating.

After a few more hours, the early rays of dawn peaked through the horizon. A tiny station resembling that of a bus stop also appeared by the tracks. The train decelerated and eventually came to a stop beside this station. The doors slid open, and some passengers disembarked.

But before Genji could follow them, a jarring gunshot sounded from outside and a passenger dropped dread with a hole through his head.

"Damn it all! It's an ambush!" Genji heard someone exclaim from a cart further up the train.

The thuds of running footsteps echoed from ahead. After a few seconds, the inter-car door slid open, and a group of armed guards rushed in. They ran down the central aisle and continued to the next cart, leaving two men behind.

The remaining guards quickly took charge and addressed the passengers. "Alright now, everyone, stay calm! We got it handled. Get down low and keep clear of them windows, y'hear? We'll do our best to keep y'all safe," one of them called out while casually fiddling with the latches of a nearby window.

Then they pushed the windows open and returned fire at their attackers. Genji conjured a rifle beneath his cloak and copied their actions. The guards gave him a second look between reloads, but refrained from any comments.

Bullets riddled the station walls, but their attackers remained carefully out of sight. They had clearly put a lot of thought into this ambush.

'Wait, something doesn't add up. Why did they attack now, of all times? If they wanted to kill the people getting off, they should have waited until the train left, so they wouldn't have to fight the guards. Because we're just at a standstill, right now. Nothing's happening. It's almost like they're stalling.'

Genji's eyes widened as a sense of premonition washed over him. Without hesitation, he grabbed Astros, created a crystal shield, pulled open the door, and jumped out. The shield blocked the incoming shots as he rolled across the ground and dived behind a wall.

The person hiding there instinctively aimed his firearm at Genji, but a bloody spike pierced his neck before he could become a threat. Genji then darted out, putting a safe distance between himself and the train before stopping to assess the enemies' positions.

A minute later, a large explosion engulfed the middle of the train, toppling it. The attackers had buried several crates of dynamite beforehand, and it finally took effect.

Genji used this explosion as a cover and began assassinating his targets. Due to his skills, the opponents didn't notice anything until they left their covers to surround the train. But by then, it was already too late, as a storm of bullets soon submerged them.

Genji confirmed there were no stragglers left and approached the aftermath. Of the twelve cars making up the train, three had been caught in the center of the explosion, killing everyone inside. The middle of these three cars had shattered, splitting the train in two.

The front half, comprising five and a half cars, fared slightly better, as the weight of the engine kept that section mostly grounded. The other half, however, had overturned several times before coming to a stop. The closer a car was to the explosion, the more it tumbled. Genji's original seat had been in one of these cars.

Glass shards and metal fragments were scattered everywhere, remnants of the destruction. A few guards crawled out through the shattered windows and cautiously scanned their surroundings. Once they confirmed it was safe, they signaled to their partners below and began tending to the unconscious and injured.

Genji approached his original car and pried open the deformed door. A guard, supporting a passenger with a head injury, slowly walked out. He settled the person beside a rock and backtracked.

"You knew 'bout the explosion?" he asked Genji as he passed by.

"No. Something just felt off about the situation," Genji replied.

"I see. Sharp instincts ya got there."

"I've been told that," Genji said as he followed the guard into the car. "So what's the deal with these attackers, anyway? They even dared to target an official vehicle."

"Tis yer first time out here?"

"Been mostly wandering in the west. A friend recommended I go this way," Genji admitted.

"Yeah, I can see why. You seem plenty capable. Fanatics—that's what we call 'em. They follow the witches' will, do whatever they're told. Better than bandits, worse than lapdogs. Hell of a way to live... if you can even call it that."

"Then why do they obey?"

"Cause they ain't got a choice. Either they do it, or they end up as test subjects. Ain't no in-between with them crazy bitches. Welcome to the Frontier—the dividing line between human lands and the forsaken wilds. Ain't like the West, where the hunter headquarters are. Out here, we ain't got near enough folks. Everyone's on their own."

"Can I ask how the other witch hunters operate?"

"Operate? Heh," the guard scoffed. "They'd be lucky not to get hunted down the moment they poke their heads out, let alone go chasin' after them witches. Ain't got near enough lives for that kinda fantasy."

"And if I insist?"

"Well, good luck with that. I ain't gettin' mixed up with no suicidal fool."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Genji helped the guards with the remaining passengers in the car before departing with a short "Thank you for the information." Genji plucked a strand of curse energy from the corpses and fed it into his compass. After a short moment, the compass locked onto its target, and they went on their way.

Two hours later, Genji arrived at the side of a waterfall. He probed the surroundings and eventually settled at the center, halfway up the wall. Astros jumped off, Bruce returned to sheath form, and Genji leaped up toward the entrance. A cocoon of cutting intent enveloped him, blocking the incoming water.

On the other side, they found a passage leading downward into the mountain. Genji masked his presence and slowly descended. At the bottom of the tunnel, he found a workplace with inverted colors. The areas meant to be dark had glaring white walls, while those illuminated by light displayed various shades of gray. This was not a normal room.

Genji grew more cautious and peeked around the corner, spotting two gargoyle statues in the middle of the hallway. Genji considered his options and took out some vials. After a short mixing, toxic fumes began to fill the still air. Genji backed off, intending to come back at a later time when the air suddenly broke behind him.

Genji instinctively spun out of the way, driving a backhand dagger through the head in passing. However, his weapon passed right through his attacker. Genji felt the lack of impact and dived to the ground, dodging a gleam of light.

He looked up at his attacker and immediately understood why his counterattack had failed: she was transparent—in other words, an apparition without a physical body. Unlike the ghost of Old Bill's lover, however, this one had a face warped with agony.

The muscles in her neck were tense, and her mouth hung wide open, as if amidst a silent scream. Unbridled rage and resentment oozed from her being, revealing a bitter grudge against the world. This was the tortured soul of an innocent woman, now twisted into an abominable weapon by her captor.

The apparition lunged at him again, swiping her clawed hands. Genji easily sidestepped the attack and conjured a miniature vortex between his fingers. Then, with a flick of his fingers, he shot it through the forehead.

The vortex twisted the surrounding body, forming a screw-like pattern around the wound. The apparition's head snapped back as it soared through the air, crashing backward into the wall in a daze.

This was an improvised attack. Under any other circumstance, it would have merely tickled his opponents despite carrying the soul-injuring properties of Shadow Devour. It's important to note "any other" here, because apparitions only have a soul body, making them especially vulnerable to such attacks.

Genji was about to step past the apparition when a playful voice echoed across the room.

"Awwww, I was hoping that would be enough. Why do you have to be so difficult?"

It was impossible to determine where the voice originated from.

"And I was hoping you wouldn't come out. Why do you have to make my life so difficult?" Genji retorted.

"Oh? Aren't you calm? Then what about now?" *Snap*

11 more apparitions suddenly appeared inside the room, each radiating more malice than the previous one. In addition, heavy thuds and loud flapping of wings sounded behind him. From the corner of his eyes, Genji noticed the gargoyle statues come to life and stomp toward him.

"If I said I was scared, would you retract all of this?" Genji asked casually.

The voice disdained to answer, instead letting monsters pounce on him.

'I'll take that as a no. Sigh. I was hoping to stall a little longer.' Genji thought wistfully as he burst into action.

His body turned into a black blur as he raced down the hallway, easily slipping past the gargoyles. Explosions and other traps triggered behind him to no avail. Soon, he reached the end of the hallway, entering a room with a white altar.

A silver globe of energy swirled above the altar, its edges flickering like smoke. A crescent arc slashed down through the globe, but the altar remained unscathed. Then the energy globe reformed, appearing no different than before.

"That's it? That was your plan after running so far?" The voice taunted. "Then you're better off slitting your own throat because that's not doing a thing."

"You're awfully talkative for something so irrelevant," Genji fired back.

"Fine! Have it your way! Be ripped to shreds!" the voice fumed.

The enemies blocked the only exit, cornering Genji. They slowly closed in on him, but Genji remained calm.

"But you know," Genji began, "talking to you isn't so bad. Refreshing, even. It's been a while since anyone played along with me. So let me ask. What were you stalling for? Because I certainly wasn't talking to you for fun."

"KILL HIM!" The voice shouted with a trace of unease.

But before the monsters could carry out the order, the voice broke into a coughing fit, and the surroundings shattered like glass. The colors returned to normal, and cracks spread across the gargoyles.

A fair-skinned, well-endowed beauty appeared in the corner of the room, though her looks were marred by her ominous black eyes and streams of blood running down her chin. If anything, she resembled a newly turned zombie in the apocalypse more than anything else.

The apparitions tried to pounce on him but were swiftly repelled by a vortex sphere to the head.

"You! What did you do?!" The witch demanded with a gasp.

"Oh, nothing. Just the usual poison," Genji answered, waving a mostly empty vial. "Now, please die. Thank you."

Genji threw the remaining liquid on her face, igniting a chain reaction that dissolved the flesh. More accurately, the witch was being eaten from both the inside and outside by countless bacterial strands. A harrowing scream reverberated throughout the room as Genji turned his attention to the altar.

Now that the visual interference had faded, Genji could see the altar for what it was: a construct made of decaying bones—or rather, the bones of twelve women. The globe above it was an agglomeration of resentment and curse energy. It was the source of the apparitions' misery, now their salvation.

Genji slashed down again, and the altar easily disintegrated. The apparitions grew more transparent and faded from existence. A trace of relief flashed through their eyes as they regained clarity in their last moments. Then, as if in sync, they vanished along with the screams.

[You have slain...]

[Your maximum energy has increased by 55 points.]

[You have obtained 343 realm coins.]

[You have obtained...]

Genji waved his hand to disperse the foul odor. Immediately after, all the newly released curse energy rushed to his waist, entering the [Essence Distilling Prism]. When the last strand vanished, the prism pulsed with a purple light and grew blistering hot.

Genji detached it from his belt and held it out. The prism was undergoing a major refinement, which continued for fifteen minutes before the changes subsided, leaving behind a tiny black octahedron and a newly emptied prism in his hand.

[You have obtained a Solidified Energy Diamond (Curse Energy).]

[Solidified Energy Diamond (Curse Energy)]

Rating: Legendary

Type: Energy source

Description: An energy crystal condensed from refined cursed energy. Its bonds are very stable and can be stored for a long time without loss.

Note: The first of hopefully many. May you keep working hard.

Genji was traveling through the night when he came across a pond enclosed by tall cliff sides. Moonlight reflected off the water, casting a prominent glimmer between the walls. As he looked closer, Genji spotted several bushes with lush red berries.

A few crushed berries were scattered around the base of the bushes, releasing a tantalizing scent. The grass in the vicinity was also more vibrant than that of the surrounding areas, with a deeper shade of green and greater height.

Based on his knowledge of plants, Genji hypothesized that these berries had medicinal properties and prepared to gather some. With a basket in hand, he approached the closest bush, plucked a single berry, and squeezed it between his fingers. The berry burst like a water balloon, and he brought it up to his nose.

After a quick sniff, he felt his blood flow slightly faster, confirming his hypothesis. He then constructed a berry comb using his energy, allowing him to harvest an entire bush with just a few strokes. He poured the berries into his basket and moved on to the next one. Within two minutes, he had cleaned out most of the bushes.

Just as he was about to leave, a furious roar echoed from a cave in the cliff walls. A giant grizzly bear charged out, its eyes red with fury. It was clearly not pleased with Genji's plundering of its territory.

Genji reached for his weapon in preparation for the confrontation, when Astros suddenly jumped off his shoulder.

"Yip yip yip yip!" The ferret squeaked loudly, gesturing wildly to the bear.

The bear's eyes grew calmer, and it slid to a halt before Astros. "Rawr?" It voiced, seemingly confused by the ferret's sudden appearance.

"Yii yii." Astros jumped up and down, trying to reach eye level with it.

The bear crouched down to ease his efforts and made a series of throaty growls. They went back and forth a few times before Astros jumped on Genji's shoulder and asked for some food.

Genji took out a stick of jerky, but Astros shook his head. After a few tries, Genji pulled out the leftovers from tonight's dinner. Astros nodded and pointed at the bear. Genji understood his intentions and threw it over. Then, following Astros's gestures, Genji added a few more days' worth of food.

The bear looked at the pile of meat before it and sniffed it carefully. Astros jumped off again, scurried over, and encouraged the bear to give it a try. With a hint of doubt in its mind, the bear took a small bite from a buffalo rib-eye. Its eyes immediately lit up and began chomping down.

"Roar rawr rawr!" The bear gave a muffled response, its mouth stuffed full. Realizing it might be hard to understand, the bear changed his method of expression and pointed at the remaining berry bushes, as if encouraging them to take more.

The negotiation had been a success.

However, Genji had collected enough of a harvest. The remaining amount wouldn't make a difference, so he left right away. The bear looked at them with a slight disappointment before returning to its meal.

"Good job," Genji praised Astros as he scratched the ferret's neck. Astros purred with enjoyment and wrapped himself around Genji.