As the train moved forward, a heavy silence filled the cabin. It was so quiet that Shaan could hear the wheels grinding against the railway tracks. The three of them didn't exchange a single word, each lost in their thoughts.
Chelsie sat by the window, gazing outside in silence. Across from her, Nalira sat with her arms folded, saying nothing. And Shaan, who happened to be near their seats, finally gathered the courage to approach them.
"While we're here, how about we get to know each other by introducing ourselves and each other's daemons as well as the special abilities we've acquired."
"That sounds like a good idea," Chelsie said with a nod. "It would help us when we face the creatures of darkness out there. What do you think, Lira?"
"Yes."
"Then, I'll start the introductions first," Shaan said with sincerity and confidence. "My name is Shaan Devansh. I have a Daemon named Robin Hood who is the enigma of Honesty. As of now, I still haven't discovered my special ability—at least, not yet."
"Robin Hood..." Nalira nodded her head. "Prince of Thieves?"
"That's right. That nickname does belong to Robin Hood."
"Alright. I understand."
"Okay, then it's my turn," Chelsie began. "My name is Chelsie Vireline. You can call me Elsie, and I have a daemon named Carmen. Carmen is one of the enigmas of the Charity class, and she is a Daemon who cares about me a lot." She smiled. "As you know, you must already be familiar with my special power, but I'll explain it once more. My special power is healing. I can heal all kinds of wounds by using my mana."
'The power of healing is indeed a power that is a step to acquire. Certainly, having such power requires a lot of mana, and it's no wonder that Chelsie's mentor had said that.'
"Lira, it's your turn."
"My name is Nalira Aurelise, but you can call me Lira and Daemon-"
'Aurelise?' Shaan was silent for a moment. 'I've heard that name before, one of a fairly famous family that suddenly...'
"What's wrong?" Nalira furrowed her brow, seeing Shaan's tightened expression. "Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Huh? No, not at all." Shaan shook his head. "When I heard your name, I just remembered something. I'm sorry, please go on."
Nalira didn't say a word and continued speaking. "My Daemon is Satan. He's one of the Daemons classified as an enigma of Honor, and I have the special ability to control fire.""Satan?" Chelsie stroked her chin. "I've never seen that Daemon before. Does he look like a spirit? A demon?""Yeah, something like that.""Interesting. I'm curious about the form of your Daemon, Lira," Chelsie said enthusiastically."Alright, I think we've all introduced ourselves, and that's—"'Grrrowwl…''Oh, damn.' Shaan immediately held his stomach. 'I haven't eaten all day, but why does my stomach have to growl right now?'
"Here, take this." Nalira pulled out a snack bar from her pocket. "I'm not hungry yet, you can have it.""Uh… alright. Thanks.""Elsie, what about you?" Nalira took another protein bar from her pocket. "Do you want one too?"Chelsie slowly shook her head. "No, thanks for the offer, Lira. I'm still full," she pulled something out from her pocket. "Besides, I already brought my protein bar.""Oh, alright then."'Wow, these two women are smarter than I thought. I never even considered something like this before.'
"I think I'll check the back carriage and see if we can find anything," Nalira said, standing up from her seat and walking to the back carriage.
"Lira, wait. I'm coming." Chelsie quickly caught up with Nalira, leaving Shaan alone in the passenger seat.
"Alright, since those two ladies are gone, it's time for me to eat."
With enthusiasm, Shaan unwrapped the protein bar and took a bite. Honestly, it still tasted bitter as before. However, this was the only food available, and whether he liked it or not, he had to get used to eating protein bars if he wanted to avoid starving.
"Ah, that's a relief." Shaan finished the protein bar in no time at all. "At least now my hunger has disappeared, and I should look for Nalira and Chelsie in the back carriage."
He decided to check the back carriage once more and saw Nalira and Chelsie standing in front of one of the open boxes. The confused expressions on their faces were clear as they looked inside the box. Strange — what exactly had they seen?
"What's wrong? Why do you both look so confused?" Shaan slowly walked toward them. "Have you found something?"
"Yes. A box full of explosives," Nalira said, pulling out one of the explosives from the box. "Here, you can see—""Woah, Lira, slow down. Please put that back," Shaan said anxiously. "I just don't want this thing to blow up the whole train.""Uh… yeah, Lira, it's better if we close the box and don't mess with it anymore.""Alright, if that's what you want." Nalira carefully put the explosive back and closed the box tightly. "Done."Damn. What's wrong with this woman? Is she not afraid of dying at all?"Ah, that's better." Shaan sighed in relief. "Wait a minute. So all these boxes…" Shaan glanced around the carriage. "All of these boxes are filled with explosives?""Yes, you could say that." Chelsie nodded. "That's why Nalira and I were quite shocked when we found out."Just one box already contains a large amount of explosives. And all these wooden boxes in this carriage are full of explosives? Crazy, this is insane. Why would something like this be on the train?"Exactly. I think whoever stored this many explosives probably plans to blow something up." Nalira stroked her chin thoughtfully."I agree, what Lira said makes sense," Chelsie added. "But, for what purpose? Is there—"
Suddenly, the train stopped abruptly, causing the whole train to sway. Thankfully, Shaan and the others grabbed onto the wooden box inside the carriage before they fell.
Chelsie rounded her eyes, her face turning pale. "Wait, what happened? Why did the train suddenly stop?"
"I have no idea, but I think we should take a look and check what exactly happened."