"Why did you kill him?"
I whispered almost to myself, forgetting all my previous fears and concerns.
"He was just a normal person that was being controlled, did you have to kill him? Did you have to kill them?"
My consciousness seemingly shoved the images of the train forcefully into my mind. The silent shuffling, accompanied by low growls, the sound of flesh being torn, bones getting smashed apart, and blood splashing all over the cold metal floor.
The old man had ruthlessly killed every single passenger on the train, all normal people who were just trying to get home with not even a flinch or frown on his face.
I was sure, I would never forget this memory as long as I existed. The terror and anger I felt at that moment were so surreal, I never thought I would ever experience such strong emotions in such a complex mix.
If it wasn't for the fact that my fear completely over-shadowed whatever indignation I felt, I would have spoken up much sooner but then this happened. In such a quiet environment even.
Maybe it was because there was no apparent threat to our lives or unforeseen danger that made this seem a bit too much but I had to know.
The old man tilted his head and gave me a glance before lifting his briefcase suddenly and then snapping his fingers before I could register what was happening.
We suddenly appeared outside the restaurant, floating meters above the ground where we could look down on the whole city.
BOOM!!!
The restaurant suddenly exploded before I could register my surroundings again. Fragments of wood and metal shot everywhere like pieces of shrapnel. A few unlucky touts around the area were peppered with them and dropped to the floor in a bloody mess, most likely dead.
WHIIIII!!!
Another loud siren erupted from the center of the city and I noticed the host of people that had previously gathered at the train station now turned their attention here. The various lights that were previously floating above the station turned in our direction with their powerful beams.
The old man was unperturbed by the attention and was staring closely at the ruins of the restaurant. He put his hand into his trench coat and brought out a small glass bottle filled with tiny round pills that glowed a mild yellow.
I watched as he took out a glowing pill and pop it into his mouth before swallowing. He promptly put the bottle back before clearing his throat.
"People controlled by that power are dead, their souls ejected from their bodies, and the remaining life essence in them is forcefully controlled to simulate a living being."
The old man calmly started explaining to me before suddenly spitting. A black-colored liquid came out of his mouth and fell towards the ruins below.
"That is why they all have bloodshot eyes. Their bodily functions are mostly dead and asphyxiation is already setting in. Even under the control of something powerful, they would still drop dead in a few hours. A body can't survive without a soul."
He said the last part with a sense of finality.
A hand burst out of the ruins below us, charred and bloodied but still moving. The body of the waiter tore out of the debris followed by three more bodies that I could only guess to be other staff of the restaurant.
All of them lifted their heads to stare in our direction with eerie coordination before opening their mouths wide and letting out sharp cries that resounded around the surrounding area.
WUIIGGHH!
The people gathered at the train station seemingly heard the sound too as they finally seemed to react. They were slow to act when it was only just the old man floating in the sky but when they heard the screech, several people suddenly shot into the air and rushed in our direction with haste.
Another larger group of people coming from the city center also appeared on what I could only recognize as large beetles scuttling through the sky. The giant beetles seemed to be walking on air with their spindly legs covered in their hard exoskeleton.
Their color was a black that shined even in the darkness and the long, pointed horn in front of their heads would have seemed threatening enough if it wasn't covered by a large fuzzy-looking ball on top.
Although I could find the beetles almost comical in a certain sense, this group of people seemed to warrant the attention of the old man at least and he frowned when he saw their approach.
"They really dragged the beetles out immediately?"
He muttered to himself in obvious discontent before lazily waving his free hand downwards.
I hadn't noticed it before but one of the charred figures had leaped up with unrealistic agility and strength, soaring through the air towards our location.
The old man's lazy attack sent a boulder hurtling in its direction, smashing it into a bloody pulp on the floor.
As for the remaining three figures, they had launched themselves towards the limp figures of the people who were taken down by the shrapnel from the explosion. If they weren't dead before then they were definitely dead now. The three figures tore at their flesh with incomparable viciousness.
The people coming from the train station arrived at this point, hurling different forms of attacks at the zombie-like figures but it was too late. I saw the bloody forms that were previously laying still on the floor suddenly flip out of the way like seasoned acrobats, effectively dodging the attacks.
There were eight of them now. Four split themselves into the surrounding areas while the other four leaped towards their attackers in the air. They were quickly taken down of course but the people floating in the air were still anxious as they hurriedly chased after the four that had disappeared into the darkness.
The old man was completely ignored as he stood there watching the beetles coming closer by the second.
Most of the beetles veered off in chase of the four that has escaped but three of them approached our direction.
"Sir, identify yourself before the Steel Corps!"
The figure in front commanded.
It was a woman who unlike the two men behind her wearing robes, was wearing a fitting piece of armor made out of some type of bendable metal. It covered every piece of her body except for her joints and head and was dyed a glossy black, just like the beetle she was riding.
Her short black hair was tied in a small knot behind her head and her eyes were a frosty blue, set deep into her well-carved face that had the steely expression of someone who lived a militaristic lifestyle.
The old man didn't reply and just looked at the woman calmly while muttering to himself. I could tell he was weighing his options by the way he looked at the three of them who were now right in front of us.
He glanced towards the direction the remaining people had run off, it seemed they were doing terribly by the screams and explosions that could be heard. The zombie-like creatures seemed to have reached a location with a lot of people and from what I saw previously, I knew that wouldn't end well.
The old man finally rested his gaze on the snow mountain far in the distance with a calculating gaze but by this time, the woman's patience had run thin.
"No answer? No matter, capture him for now and we'll question him later when we finish dealing with those vile creatures. One of you should try and track the dog from the Order that set them loose."
Her voice was firm and brooked no arguments.
"Yes ma'am!" the two men answered.
One of them rushed over with his beetle while the other one brought out a slab of glass from his robes or at least what resembled it.
The old man's gaze snapped to the rushing beetle and a few earthen spikes appeared around him and were launched at the beetle.
The man on the beetle scoffed, his pale green eyes showing disdain. The spikes seemingly disappeared once they neared the beetle as if they were swallowed by the air itself.
The man retaliated by waving his hands after a short chant and a large phantom palm appeared above him swirling with air currents. The palm reached for the old man who responded with his own palm made of earth.
PAT!
The two palms grabbed each other like they were about to arm wrestle before the earthen palm shattered the man's attack with a powerful clench. The phantom palm dispersed into the air and the earthen palm continued reaching for the beetle.
The man took his defeat in stride and started preparing another attack totally ignoring the earthen palm aiming at him.
His confidence was well-founded, the earthen palm started disintegrating once it reached near him as if it was getting parts of it bitten off by some invisible entity.
"The Steel Void beetle's ability to manipulate space will always be impressive!"
The old man muttered to himself in awe before extending his free hand and twisting it.
The earthen palm suddenly spun on an axis with extreme speed and drilled forward like a blur. The man on the beetle was caught off guard as the remaining piece of the palm smashed into him and the beetle.
BANG!
ERRIEEE!
The beetle let out a loud screech as it flew into the distance with the man saddled on it looking rattled but otherwise unharmed.
The woman who had been silently paying attention to the area with loud sounds and explosions in the distance by the side narrowed her eyes when she saw this.
"That was a very high-level technique, who are you really?"
Her tone contained a hint of wariness.
The old man chuckled to himself.
"I feel a bit disappointed that you can't recognize my face, little hydrangea."
The woman frowned as she took a closer look.
The fires and explosions from the battle in the distance were emitting a very bright light and some of the lights from the train station were still focused here.
She looked at the old man with his soft brown eyes, short gray hair, and long beard of the same color for a moment before gasping. I could see the look of realization slowly cover her face before it became masked with horror and anger!
"Master!"
"What!?"
The man who had been staring intently at the glass slab in his hands snapped his gaze towards the old man before also gasping in realization.
"I- It's really the o- ol- It's the old…...!"
He stuttered a few times before his deep blue eyes suddenly widened in fear.
"Foutier!"
BOOOM!
WUIIIIIGGHH!!!
A large explosion followed by a very disturbing screech came from the distance. I turned my focus in that direction and what I saw horrified me.
It was a giant worm!
A giant worm made entirely out of corpses!