The dust from the explosion settled, thick and choking. Uurgh. Shaa. I came to on my hands and knees, shaking a blanket of debris from my back. My body was unharmed. The sturdy coat I’d worn had held, its fabric unpierced by the shrapnel. A good thing I’d prepared for the worst. The once-solid corridor wall was simply gone, blown away into the night. Through the gaping hole, a wind that scoured the snowfields outside lashed my face, sharp as a blade. I had thought it was a simple robbery. But common thieves didn’t wrap themselves in explosives and detonate them the moment they were cornered by a spell. No, this was something else entirely. It was fanaticism, a willingness to die and take everyone with you. Were they remnants of the Prince’s faction from the kingdom of Hwa-seong? Unlikely. They were too busy hiding. These bastards were different. Frustrated, I swept a hand across my face and sighed, feeling the torn, synthetic skin hanging loose. No wonder the wind felt so sharp. Expensive, too. What a waste. Riiipp. I peeled off the ruined camouflage mask. The blast and the flying debris had shredded it beyond use. The disguise—a man in his forties, complete with wrinkles and a beard—was gone. With no reason to keep it, I tossed the mask out into the roaring wind. I thought this train would be safe. I hadn't counted on this. Come to think of it, where was he? Si-woo. The man who’d said he was headed to Cheon-gwan Academy to be a professor. I couldn’t see him anywhere. The realization hit me a moment later. He wouldn’t have had time to react to the explosion. He must have been swept away. The blasted-out wall offered no clues, no trace of him. I leaned my head out into the gale and looked down. A sheer cliff dropped into blackness. Far below, a raging blizzard churned, swallowing the cliff's base in a sea of white. He was dead. Anyone would have been caught off guard. A man you think is a simple robber suddenly becomes a bomb. Without warning, there’s no time to prepare a spell. The unexpected always happens. A pity. To die on the very day he was to become a professor at the famed Cheon-gwan Academy. I offered a small, silent prayer for the repose of Si-woo’s soul. But this was no time to relax. Knowing these weren’t ordinary robbers raised my alertness to a new level. If they were all willing to blow themselves up when things went south, this train, for all its magical protections, could still be derailed. Perhaps that was their real goal. Time to go. With that decision made, I headed for the next compartment. Sraak. The door between compartments four and five slid open, revealing a conductor, his face a mask of tension. “Oh, sir, are you all right? Wh-what on earth is happ—” His words faltered as he took in the sight of me standing alone in the ruined corridor, the side of the train ripped open to the elements. “A robbery,” I replied calmly. “They have explosives. I was nearly caught in the blast.” “I… I see.” “I think they’re focused on compartment one. We should move back.” “Oh. I was just about to evacuate the other passengers to the rear.” “That’s a relief.” I closed the distance between us, a look of reassurance on my face. As soon as I was within arm’s reach, I grabbed the conductor’s collar and slammed him to the floor. Baam! “Argh! Why—why are you doing this?” “Did you really think that pathetic act would work on me?” “P-Pardon?” he stammered, looking up at me with a face of pure confusion. Anyone else might have been fooled by his victim-in-distress expression, but I wasn’t buying it. Something had felt wrong from the start. A Magic Engineering train, protected by powerful defensive spells and embedded magic stones, shouldn’t be so easy to board. And for raiders to appear just as we were crossing the rugged Baek-un Mountain, as if they were waiting for us… “Wh-what are you—” “It’s impossible without an inside man,” I said, cutting him off. “Unless, of course, someone turned off the protective magic that should have been running.” In that instant, the conductor’s expression shifted. He moved, his hand darting for something inside his coat, but I was already a step ahead. I pressed the tip of a sharp knife under his chin. “Stay still.” “Urgh.” “You’re quick on your feet. As I thought, this isn't an ordinary robbery. So, who do you work for?” I paused. “Or don’t. It’s your choice.” I wasn’t particularly curious anyway. I hauled the man to his feet, the knife still at his throat. If I was right, something had already happened in compartment five, where he’d just come from. “Move.” With the knife in my right hand and his arms twisted behind his back with my left, I forced him forward with a kick to the legs. “Uurgh.” He clenched his teeth, resisting, but a sharp twist of his arm got him moving. He should have just complied from the start. “How many of your friends are on this train?” He remained silent. “You won’t talk? Then I’ll have to make you.” Just then… A sound came from compartment five. It was faint, almost lost in the howl of the wind rushing through the broken car, but my senses were honed. My ears caught it perfectly. Click. A familiar sound, one I knew too well. Metal on metal. The cocking of a rifle. I threw the conductor forward and dropped flat to the floor. Ratatatatatatatata! A storm of bullets ripped through the door, right where my head had been moments before. The conductor I’d just shoved forward was riddled with holes before he could even cry out, his body jerking like a puppet. Debris and dust filled the air. I covered my head and glared at the bullet-torn door. The gunfire showed no signs of stopping. A machine gun? They came prepared. Which meant I had to act accordingly. As I considered my options, the shooting stopped. They must have thought it was enough. They’d gunned down their own man without a moment’s hesitation. No signal had been needed. The conductor, now a bloody rag on the floor, must have had a contingency plan. If I don’t report back, assume I’ve been caught. Open fire. First suicide bombers, now this. They were all insane. Why did this have to happen on my train? I pushed myself up, sighing at my rotten luck. Shaking the dust from my coat, I fixed my eyes on the door. A moment later, it burst open, and three bulky men charged into the corridor. “What? There’s still someone alive?” “We fired that many rounds, and he’s not dead?” “Who are you to decide whether I live or die?” I said, my voice sharp with irritation. They exchanged a look, then advanced on me, their expressions ferocious. The corridor was narrow, wide enough for only one to pass at a time. If we fought, it would have to be one on one. They were clearly bigger and stronger than I was. I didn’t want a fight. A pointless struggle in a place like this was the last thing I needed. But surrender was not an option. One look at their faces told me they had every intention of killing me. No amount of talking would change their minds. They had no intention of letting me live. “I have one question for you.” My cool tone seemed to offend them, but I couldn’t help it. It was just my nature. “What? Going to beg for your life?” “Hardly.” “Who do you work for?” I asked. “Attacking this train is a death sentence. The rescue teams will be here soon.” “Ha! Is that supposed to be a threat? How pathetic.” The man in front snorted and drew a sword that matched his massive frame. He apparently didn’t think my question was worth answering. “I’ll cut you in half.” The big man stalked toward me, and I slowly backed away. But the damaged train car offered little room to retreat. Soon enough, my heels met empty air. Any farther, and I’d fall out of the train entirely. “Heh. Nowhere left to run.” “So it seems.” If I jumped, I’d end up just like Si-woo. But to move forward, I had to get through them. “I’m in a hurry, so I’ll make this quick!” he roared, lunging. But I had already invoked the spell. Boom! The air crackled. The man swinging his sword was blasted backward as if shot from a cannon. Thump, bam! His two companions, caught completely by surprise, were knocked off their feet, tumbling over each other in a heap. “Uuuurgh. Wh-what…” “A wizard?!” It was a powerful spell, but they were sturdy. They were already shaking it off. No, it wasn't just them. They were wearing something under their clothes. Protective gear of some kind. Fine. A stronger blow it is. I drew on my mana, weaving a new sorcery. A three-dimensional pattern bloomed in the air, coalescing into a spell. In an instant, a gale-force wind erupted in the corridor, lifting the men into the air as they tried to stand. They thrashed about, clutched by an invisible giant’s hand. “Oh, ooh?” “Let—let go of me! Put me down!” “As you wish.” I guided the wind, and them with it. Out the gaping hole in the side of the train. “Sa-save me, please! I beg you!” Their desperate cries echoed as they fell, but I felt no pity. They had attacked this train intending to kill everyone on board. Any mercy I showed them would be rewarded with a knife in the back. Their screams faded into the distance. Tsk. With the attackers gone, I pulled a tie from my pocket. My hair, neglected and overgrown, had fallen into my face during the fight. It was getting cumbersome. I gathered the dark strands and tied them back at the nape of my neck. Much better. As I prepared to move on, the door to compartment three opened, and new figures appeared. It never ended. One group down, another took its place. This was exactly why I’d wanted to leave. “What the—” The men who emerged from the third compartment froze, their eyes locking onto me, standing alone in the half-destroyed car. Their leader’s face hardened. “Kill him!” he bellowed. At his command, the men behind him raised their rifles. I barely suppressed a sigh. Right. What choice did I have? Now that I was in this deep, I might as well see it to the end. “Shoot!” The captain gave the order. His subordinates pulled their triggers. Nothing happened. Clack! Clack! “Huh?” “What are you doing?” “The—the guns are jammed!” “What?” While they panicked, I prepared my next spell. With them all bunched together, it would be easy. But there was one thing I had overlooked. Among them was another wizard. Shooo! My spell dissolved mid-air, canceled out. The enemy wizard stared at me, his wand leveled, his eyes wary. “I didn’t know there was a wizard among the passengers,” he said. “No matter. You’ll die with the rest of them.” As if he hadn't planned to kill me from the start. These men were terrorists. Talking was pointless. I pulled my watch from my pocket and checked the time. Not even ten minutes had passed since the first attack. There was still some time left. The bleak, frozen landscape rushed past the gaping hole in the wall. Through the window, it had looked beautiful. Now, it was just a terrifying drop. The train had not yet cleared Baek-un Mountain. It would be a while before any rescue team could arrive. I had no choice. Considering the train’s location and the time elapsed, I had five minutes at most. Five minutes to hold them off.

Chapter 3: Shrapnel and Snow