"Answer me!" Alice raised her narrow voice and became agitated. Upon observing this, the Jabberwock stopped grinning, gritted his teeth, and dropped his hips.
"Who are you talking to… little girl…?"
There was a sound like air rushing around them. What the…? Before she could even consider it, Alice repelled the object that flew at high speed with her hands.
It was only a piece of stone that was repelled by the Bandersnatch concentrated on the back of her hands. It shot out of the Jabberwock's hand like a reverse armlock. However, it blasted off the top of the train, which was running at a ferocious speed, and pierced the wall of the tunnel, shattering a portion of it.
There was a cloud of smoke billowing behind them. Then the train began to slow down. It seemed that Philrain had operated the train to a halt.
The train's lights switched on, illuminating the surroundings. As the train slowly came to a stop, Humpty peered around with a sly grin on his face.
"So you have stopped it… Well, that's a fair judgment…"
Then the rear door of the train opened and Philrain, wearing a mask and hazmat suit, climbed onto the roof, shotgun at the ready. Standing beside Alice, who was bending over at the waist, she cocked her shotgun. Then she looked at the Jabberwock and arched an eyebrow.
"A Nightmare that we've… never seen before…?"
"Jabberwock. He is what they call as the magical beast." Alice said in a suppressed voice. She then shoved Philrain, who was holding a gun, away with her hand. "Start the train."
Philrain opened her mouth, stunned to hear that.
"B-But…!"
"I'm fine. I have to hurry up and save Jack and Iberis…" Alice gritted her teeth and stepped towards the two Nightmares. "I don't want to be stranded here with these guys interfering with me."
Philrain felt a shiver run down her spine as she spoke coldly as if her personality had undergone a change.
–I can't do this.
I'm not going to let her do this alone.
"I will also…!"
I will fight too! Philrain was about to shout that, but she swallowed her words. There was the sound of air rumbling. A sharp sword-shaped Bandersnatch had extended from Alice's body to brush against her chin.
"Back off. You're in my way."
Hearing Alice's icy tone, Philrain took a step or two back. Her eyes sparkled as they became dark, pitch-black holes.
It may not be the right word to describe the blackness. But they were sparkling.
It was jet black.
The place where the eyeballs resided was glittering in black color. With that inhuman face, Alice howled.
"Start the train! While I can still be myself!"
Philrain backed away and climbed down the ladder. She tumbled into the train, trying to restrain her body as it began to shake unconsciously. Humpty, who was watching this with a grin, took a cigar from his pocket and put it to his mouth.
"Oh… is this fine? Are you certain you want to withdraw her participation…"
"No problem. The only thing that matters is that I turn you both into corpses right away." Alice remarked in a strained voice and walked haphazardly onto the moving train.
"I am being underestimated…" The Jabberwock said, moving his body in his suit and walking towards Alice. With his arms crossed, Humpty watched on.
Eventually, on top of the running train, Alice and the Jabberwock glared at each other. The girl, who was half her size, looked up at the monster with her eyes blazing black.
The Jabberwock raised his arm… and swung it at Alice with all his might. The attack, like a giant arm mallet, was accurately shot down at Alice. However, the girl lifted her arm and… repelled it to the side with her shining body, with a large amount of Bandersnatch clinging to her body.
The Jabberwock's body seemed to be subjected to a terrific pressure as it was repelled by the slender arm, and he staggered heavily and tumbled on the train. As he fell, he grabbed the roof and pulled himself back up. Then he dented the roof of the train and charged at Alice, screaming as he ran.
Without even looking, Alice snapped her arm again, this time with her fist. The Jabberwock was flung away and stuck into the wall of the tunnel. As his huge body settled into the wall with a cloud of smoke… the monster dug his feet into it and began to run. Then he effortlessly caught up with the train and leaped onto it.
Soaring through the air with the same momentum, he slammed his heel into Alice. Alice lightly twisted her body and grasped the foot that had been launched. Then, with one hand, she swept the Jabberwock's body around and used the momentum of his kick to send him crashing into the ceiling of the tunnel.
There was a roar and a plume of smoke. With a sound that could no longer be described as a voice or a cry, Alice hurled the Jabberwock again and again in all directions of the tunnel. A few seconds later, Alice threw the ragged, black, bloody Jabberwock… down in front of her like a piece of garbage.
The Jabberwock fell to the rear of the tunnel, out of her view.
"Ullr… Ullr… Ullr…"
She let out a string of words that were now devoid of even meaning and stepped towards Humpty, who was glaring at her with his arms folded. Her hair was upside down and her eyes flashed jet black. Rainbow-colored smoke was constantly escaping from her mouth.
Her appearance was beyond what could be termed human; it was truly a devil.
The appearance was that of an evil spirit.
"Hm…"
Taking out a match from his pocket, Humpty lit it in his curled up hand and shifted the flame to his cigar. He inhaled the smoke, exhaled, and then turned to Alice.
"I am about to be swallowed up huh."
"…"
"It's a good thing, too, but it's not exactly the future I had in mind. Besides…" Humpty chuckled and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "If you can't assess the situation in a calm manner, how can you…?"
At the following moment, a tremendous force was applied to the back of Alice's head. Her small body couldn't withstand it and she was sent flying to the front of the train. As such, Alice flew like a bullet and was thrust into the wall of the tunnel with a thunderous roar.
The Jabberwock, clad in a tattered suit, pounced on her and landed a kick to the back of her head.