Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 59: Japan Branch (7)

Dragon Raja 3

“So that’s why it’s been getting so hot. It was getting irritating. But hey, what luck! We get to move to the VIP car and have free afternoon tea!” The high school girl exclaimed excitedly.

“Quick, let’s go grab a good seat with a view. We’re about to cross the gorge bridge.” Her boyfriend whispered to her.

Everyone was thrilled to move to the VIP car. The seats were wider and more comfortable, and the price was three times that of the regular car. The passengers got up in groups, took their luggage, and headed to the VIP car, leaving car number eight almost empty.

Akira sat still. His hearing was far more sensitive than that of an ordinary person, and he could hear someone walking on the roof of the train. Who could walk atop a moving train with such calm, measured steps? Danger was closing in from all directions. Even before the announcement, car number eight had already been heavily sealed off. The enforcers had caught up to him; he could sense their presence. They were like elite golden retrievers, armed with claws and fangs like leopards. The air conditioning hadn’t malfunctioned—this was a trick by the enforcers to clear the car. They usually carried out their operations away from the public, and if it was an execution, they would destroy the body perfectly afterward, as if the target had never existed. This train car was where the enforcers had chosen to carry out the execution. Akira had no way to jump off the train. The tracks led through desolate areas, making it an ideal hunting ground for the enforcers.

His only option was to fight them to the death. The defeated would die! Though the car remained stifling, Akira felt his body growing colder inch by inch, the chill biting into his bones.

He clenched the pressure injector hidden in his sleeve—the last dose of Molotov Cocktail, a deep, dark purple. Once he injected this final dose, he would undergo a complete purification and enter a new world. Akira had never dared to inject this last dose into himself, as he lacked just a bit of courage, but now he had no choice but to evolve—only by evolving could he hope to fight against the Enforcers. However, evolution required time, and did he have enough time? Akira sniffed the air desperately, trying to detect any unusual scents. What would an Enforcer smell like? Blood? Rust? Or the stench of decay in the dark? All he smelled was a faint floral fragrance.

“Senpai? Senpai, are you okay?”

Akira’s entire body tensed suddenly, like a startled hedgehog raising its spines. Everyone had left, leaving only Akira and Maru in the car. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, dust particles swirling in the beams. Maru’s eyes were full of concern.

“Senpai, are you sick?” Maru asked.

“Why didn’t you go to the VIP car?” Akira asked hoarsely, staring directly into her eyes. If he saw even a hint of danger within them, he would pounce immediately, tearing her throat apart!

“Because Senpai didn’t go either.” Maru’s voice was soft.

Akira stared into her beautiful yet empty eyes, and his tense body slowly began to relax. This late-blooming, simple-minded girl really had a bit of a crush on him… Three minutes had already passed, and the Enforcers had not yet appeared. Akira suddenly understood—it was because Maru hadn’t left car number eight. The Enforcers didn’t want to harm an innocent person. The prey he hadn’t been able to attack had become his tool for buying time, albeit only a few minutes. But those few minutes were crucial for him! He broke the seal on the vial. The pressurized air propelled the liquid through the injector, and the serum dripped into his veins.

Hope rekindled within Akira. Perhaps he still had a chance. If he completed his evolution, would he be able to defeat the Enforcers? If he broke out of this car, he would have eternal freedom!

“I don’t like crowded places… they scare me,” Akira said softly.

The Molotov Cocktail coursed through his veins like an unleashed dragon, triggering incredible chemical reactions and biological evolution within him. Heat surged to his head and the ends of his limbs. He heard his bones growing and reshaping, and his pupils reflected a fierce golden flame. That feeling of ruling the world and being invincible returned; his confidence swelled madly, and his fear of the Enforcers began to fade. These were the people who had imprisoned him for seventeen years—now it was time to tear their chests open with his hands and pull out their hearts in revenge! Just a few more minutes, and he would complete his evolution. After that, the first thing he would do was to grab Maru by the neck and rip her apart in the sunlight. Her pure white body would look like a sacrificial lamb—it would be perfect!

“Senpai, why are you afraid of crowded places?” Maru asked.

Damn it! Why ask questions? Just keep talking about your stupid cat! As long as you keep talking, the Enforcers won’t come in! Don’t ask questions, don’t ask anything—you’re going to die soon, and you don’t need to know anything! Akira’s face twitched; the enormous strain and intense pain from evolving pushed him to the brink of collapse. Saying even one more word was a struggle. But he had to answer, as the Enforcers were undoubtedly monitoring him. The entire train car was under their watchful gaze. If they realized he was in the middle of evolving, he would be finished.

“Because they will… kill me.” Akira struggled to make his voice sound less strange. He had unintentionally spoken from his heart—deep down, he was terrified of the Enforcers. They lurked in unseen corners, and they were experts at killing. When Akira was still a good boy in the Enforcers’ eyes, one of the more laid-back Enforcers had casually mentioned that they once locked a rampaging target in a freezer and filled it with tons of liquid nitrogen. The target struggled desperately in the nearly minus 200-degree liquid before eventually becoming a gray-white statue, slowly sinking. That night, Akira felt as if the entire world was freezing, as if he were that gray-white statue submerged in liquid nitrogen, sinking slowly, his heart even freezing over.

For years, he had lived in fear, feeling as if he had a demon growing inside him. When that demon awakened, it would devour him and take over his body, and that day would be when the Enforcers executed him. He tried his best to appear normal, but all the reactions the Enforcers looked for on their evaluation forms—he had experienced them all: the unexplainable restlessness in the middle of the night that made him want to run; following behind Nami, watching her hips sway in her one-piece dress; bowing deeply one moment to apologize, only to erupt in rage the next, wanting to grab the PE teacher who bullied him and throw him against the wall… He never told anyone; instead, he would sneak into the shower at night, turn the water on full blast, and use cold water to cool himself down, suppressing that burning fire inside. He would huddle in the corner of the shower, silently crying, listening to the cawing of crows outside. It felt like the world was filled with the roars of monsters, with everyone wanting to kill him.

“Senpai… could it be that you also have autism? It seems similar to when I had my episodes…” Maru said, standing up and bending over to look at Akira.

Damn it, damn it! Don’t come near me! Not now! Akira roared internally, raising his hand in fear to cover his face. As Maru bent over, her uniform collar fell slightly, revealing her white bra strap. For Akira, who was struggling under the effects of the Molotov Cocktail, it was a fatal temptation—a poison. The scent of a young girl on Maru was more intoxicating than any aphrodisiac, and this flawless prey was right in front of him, yet it wasn’t time to hunt her down.

Maru cautiously placed her hand on Akira’s forehead. Akira desperately leaned back, but the chair restricted his movement. The effects of the Molotov Cocktail stirred up his deepest desires like dark ocean waves, and at this moment, any skin contact was a fatal temptation. His body burned painfully as he stared at Maru’s petal-like lips, like a starving man ready to pounce and devour.