"Hahahahahahahaha!" Gallagher suddenly burst out laughing, making Sunday, who was standing opposite him, frown.
"You've got guts. Impressive! Not bad, I underestimated you too much..." Gallagher took two steps forward and stood in front of Sunday, looking down at the head of the Oak Family. "I admire you. But so what? Does this prove that I was the one who killed your sister?"
"This proves that you and the Memetic Entity of the Remembrance 'Death' are birds of a feather. That's enough."
Sunday looked at Gallagher, his gaze turning dangerous. "Listen carefully, I don't care how you did it... Right now, I only care about one thing, the answer to one question..."
Sunday's voice gradually became restrained and irritable. He practically squeezed the rest of his words out through clenched teeth. Even if he punched Gallagher in the next second, it would not have been surprising at all.
"You bastard, damned stray dog, why did you kill her!?"
But in the end, Sunday still did not make a move.
Gallagher looked at him and gave a snort, then slowly walked toward the back and sat down on the sofa...
"The person in the middle of the situation is blind to it. People cannot see the serious sand, they only know that the sand is there."
The fictional security officer took out a lighter and held one hand over the dancing flame. The shadow thus seemed like some writhing, strange tentacle, stretching into the places where light existed.
"You want an answer? I can give you one. It all happened because of that damned fate playing tricks on people."
Almost as soon as Gallagher's voice fell, a shadow suddenly lengthened and grew. The darkness gradually emerged, and a broad wing blade pierced through Sunday's chest in an instant.
The next moment, the upright body of the head of the Oak Family fell down and shattered into countless Memory Bubbles, which then scattered into the air and disappeared.
The huge body of Something Unto Death appeared here, roaring at Gallagher. Its voice sounded strange and unpleasant, but it did not seem to show any aggression. Instead, it carried a hint of affection.
Gallagher raised his head, just about to say something...
Suddenly, a net emitting a faint blue light shot out from behind a pillar in the distance. The net rapidly expanded and caught Something Unto Death.
The next moment, at the instant the edge of the net hit the ground, the entire net, along with the trapped Something Unto Death, instantly changed from three-dimensional objects into a two-dimensional plane. They were printed onto the floor in an instant, like a sticker pasted onto the ground.
The sudden turn of events startled Gallagher. He stood up and first looked toward the direction from which the strange net had flown, but he heard nothing. The next moment, he heard a buzzing sound and immediately turned toward it.
A sticker of a Hidden Night Thrush was pasted on the windshield at the front of a small silver car model. The model was moving on its own, and a silver arm reached down and picked up the little car.
A storage compartment slowly opened on Tiliandes's shoulder. He placed the little car model inside, then the knight looked toward Gallagher, his eyes flashing with a faint blue light.
The Mechanical Knight spoke calmly, the sound of vibrating reeds mixed into his voice. "Don't worry. It's just a simple two-dimensional and three-dimensional conversion technique. It's still alive."
Gallagher frowned at the suddenly appearing Tiliandes...
He had not noticed at all when this knight had appeared.
Why did it seem like the Knights of Beauty were everywhere? How could he run into them wherever he went?
Even Gallagher could not help making such a complaint inwardly at this moment.
Because before this, he had already encountered Knights of Beauty everywhere.
Before he came here, even before the Astral Express crew had encountered him, back when he had still been legitimately working as a security officer, he had felt that he could practically run into one or two Knights of Beauty no matter where he went.
And moreover... these knights would even squat down and spend two hours praising a manhole cover.
Gallagher really found it difficult to understand what kind of existence the Knights of Beauty were... He even felt that these fanatics of Pure Beauty should not be regarded as human beings.
However, Gallagher did not say these complaints out loud, because through his repeated, seemingly casual encounters with the Knights of Beauty, he had gained a certain understanding of this group.
He was quite sure that if he asked, then the Mechanical Knight in front of him would definitely say, "Because Pure Beauty is everywhere."
On the other hand, though, because the person who had arrived was a Knight of Beauty, Gallagher felt somewhat reassured.
After all, the Knights of Beauty were far too proper in their conduct. He believed that if he explained everything clearly, these kind-hearted people in the universe would choose to help his side.
Tiliandes watched the changes in Gallagher's expression and spoke again.
"It looks like you have already made your decision. Then, may you explain everything to me now?"
As he spoke, Tiliandes extended a hand. The two-dimensional capture net and Something Unto Death on the floor gradually rose.
The next moment, the capture net transformed into some kind of energy particles and was collected by Tiliandes, while Something Unto Death returned to normal.
The Memetic Entity let out a roar, protecting Gallagher behind it, and gave Tiliandes a series of low growls.
The next moment, Something Unto Death charged forward.
One second later, Something Unto Death was lying on the ground.
Tiliandes clapped his hands. "Please forgive me. I didn't want to hurt it, but its reaction was somewhat excessive. Perhaps I shouldn't have given it its freedom just yet."
Gallagher, who was watching this scene: "..."
The fictional security officer who called himself an old dog narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Something Unto Death. Now, it seemed that its... head, at least, was finally of normal size.
"I can tell you this. I believe in the virtues of the knights," Gallagher sighed.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Tiliandes said.
Unfortunately, because this Mechanical Knight had displayed such great strength beforehand, his gentle and polite response now did not sound gentle at all. It sounded more like a smile hiding a knife.
"However, before I say anything, we'd better not stay here. The Family might come over at any moment." Gallagher said, "Shall we move somewhere else?"
"As you wish."
———
[12 System Hours Before The Opening Of The Charmony Festival, Aboard The Astral Express]
The male voice on the broadcast was enthusiastically describing the Charmony Festival, the grand event of Penacony.
Under the Family's deliberate control, the incidents that had occurred in Penacony seemed not to have spread uncontrollably to the outside world yet.
[News flash: The Penacony Charmony Festival has entered its countdown stage. Accompanied by the ticking of Clockie, 12 system hours from now, this grand celebration will officially open...]
However, the atmosphere inside the train at this moment was not very peaceful.
In the observation car, Dan Heng stood where he was, frowning at the uninvited guest before him.
He was a cyborg. He was grinning, a confident and arrogant smile on his face, with the revolver in his hand aimed at Dan Heng.
Beside the two of them, Pom-Pom's eyes were wide open, his mouth hanging open as he stared blankly at the scene, feeling the heavy and oppressive atmosphere of the Galaxy Ranger.
Yet amid this tense atmosphere, there were also several little things that had appeared at an inappropriate time.
A cat cake that looked like popping candy stood on the windowsill, watching the two confronting each other. Little Aha, controlled by Aha, kept cheering. "Fight! Fight!"
A little farther to the side, Little Yaoshi, who looked very soft and sticky, watched this scene with barely contained eagerness, while the blueberry-flavored Little Lan stood on the raised platform leading to the driver's cabin, looking down thoughtfully.
The uninvited guest who had suddenly broken into the train, a cyborg who looked like a cowboy, glanced at Little Aha in the distance and could not help muttering, "What in the baby's name is this little cutie!?"
However, given the atmosphere at present, obviously no one could answer him.
Conductor Pom-Pom was somewhat anxious. He shouted at the cowboy, "I already told you! Whatever it is, we can talk it out!"
Seeing the cowboy's aggressive appearance, Pom-Pom felt that it was best to say a few words, at least to make him improve his attitude. It could also count as saving a life, which was better than building a seven-story pagoda.
Even though the other party had suddenly broken into the train and was pointing a gun at Dan Heng, Pom-Pom still cared very much about him.
Mainly because, although most of the passengers had gone to Penacony, the Dan Heng passenger who had stayed behind on the train and those... "pets" Nero had brought aboard were not easy to deal with either.
Pom-Pom had never asked too much about Dan Heng's past, but it had a very deep understanding of just how much power Nero's "pets" possessed.
Putting aside the one that liked joining in the fun and the one that liked breaking up fights, that blue one had actually fought the giant beast that attacked the train.
Pom-Pom remembered it very clearly. That little blue thing had flicked its tail, sending out a beam of light that made the giant beast howl in pain.
Boothill did not understand Pom-Pom's deeper meaning, but his attitude was still fairly good at the moment.
"Sorry about this, little furry fella. I've got something mighty important to take care of, so I had no choice but to ask you for a little favor this way."
Although a gun was pointed at him, Dan Heng remained very calm. Having regained his memories as the Imbibitor Lunae, he was very strong, and he was a good person.
"Since you know what you're doing, then I must also remind you of the risks of doing this."
"Brother, why make things so tense? Pulling this thing out doesn't mean anything more than saying hello, does it?"
Boothill did not seem to think there was anything wrong with pointing a gun at someone. Dan Heng felt that this fellow might be like the Knights of Beauty. In some respects, his understanding of things went against that of ordinary people.
"For the last time, state your identity and purpose," Dan Heng said seriously.
"My name is Boothill. I'm a Galaxy Ranger."
"Galaxy Ranger?" Dan Heng was somewhat stunned.
"Is it really that surprising? You're looking at me like you've seen a ghost. You thought we'd all died out, didn't you?" Boothill said. "Haha! That's what happens when you disappear for too long."
"A chivalrous group of the Hunt would not hijack the Astral Express," Dan Heng said.
"I haven't hijacked it yet, have I? Does talking to someone while holding a gun count as hijacking?"
"Probably counts..." Pom-Pom was somewhat embarrassed. It also felt that this Boothill's understanding of things went against that of ordinary people.
Little Aha watched this scene. "Aha the heck, I think it counts too, so are you guys going to fight or not?"
"Baby damn it, you little thing, don't copy the way I talk!"
"Aha the heck, who said I'm copying you!"
Little Aha clearly wanted to stir things up, but although Boothill had "baby" on the tip of his tongue and had pointed a gun at someone the moment he arrived, he was quite clear-headed. At most, he would bicker with it, but otherwise he completely ignored it.
"To be frank, there are many rumors in the galaxy about the current state of the Galaxy Rangers, but none of them are pleasant stories."
"I find it hard to believe you." Dan Heng looked at Boothill as he said this.
Boothill, however, laughed out loud. "Hahaha, I'm dying. The dumbasses making up these stories are getting more and more ridiculous."
"They even say all the Galaxy Rangers were turned into baboons by the Primitive Doctor and are swinging from vines in some mountain ravine."
"Of course, I know you won't believe it. So likewise, I can't simply trust that you're really Nameless."
"See the bullets in this gun? Nine millimeters, a timeless classic. Right now, I need the Astral Express's help, but if you guys are a bunch of fakes like that guy... tsk, this bullet might end up lodged in my forehead."
"I can't let myself get into danger. That's just common sense, right? So you have to prove yourselves first... Hey, where are you going?"
Boothill was still speaking when Dan Heng expressionlessly turned and walked over to a table nearby.
Then Dan Heng pointed at the Alliance Jade Token on the table. "Recognize this?"
"Huh? This is..." Boothill froze when he saw the emerald tiger tally. "Baby damn it, an Alliance Jade Token?! The Xianzhou really gave this thing to you?!"
"B-Baby...?" Pom-Pom stared at Boothill in shock. It seemed to have finally realized that this Galaxy Ranger's way of speaking was rather strange, with "baby" and "baby" filling his every sentence...
"This is a jade token General Jing Yuan of the Xianzhou Luofu gave to the Express. With this object aboard the train, it serves as the Xianzhou Alliance's recognition of the Astral Express's identity," Dan Heng said calmly.
However, in his view, even without this thing, it would be difficult for the Xianzhou Alliance not to acknowledge the Astral Express.
Although he was no longer one of the Alliance's people, Nero clearly held a relatively important position within the Alliance. In a sense, the Express could even be considered to be helping the Alliance raise a child.
Of course, at this moment, this jade token could not be more suitable as proof of identity.
"Is this enough?" Dan Heng looked at Boothill.
"...All right, kid." Boothill sighed, then put away his revolver.
"No matter how vast the galaxy is, all you need is a light grip to summon tens of thousands of Cloud Knights... Baby bells, that must be quite a sight."
Boothill spared no praise for the Alliance Jade Token, but the expressions on Dan Heng and Pom-Pom's faces changed slightly.
Dan Heng thought of Nero's influence and ability to rally people on the Luofu... He had a feeling that if Nero spoke, perhaps it would work even better than the Alliance Jade Token...
Thinking back to the Luofu's self-initiated action during the time of Phantylia's invasion, Dan Heng became even more certain of this idea.
Summoning tens of thousands of Cloud Knights was certainly cool.
But what if saying just "Help me" directly summoned one-sixth of the Xianzhou Alliance?
'Wouldn't that be even cooler?'