Kristoffer Pauly
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MADMAN APOCALYPSE - Chapter -135
🕑 Added 2024-10-27 23:54:58 +0000 UTC-Previous chapter-
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Finally finished editing on Isekai Exorcist Book 1 today, so I have a lot more time again suddenly... Until I need to start editing the next book <.<
Anyway, sorry for the one day delay!
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Chapter -135
“Three more to go,” Panda said encouragingly as I arrived in carriage number 7.
“I have to finish the 9th carriage as well? Thought I only had two more to go…”
Chris arrived in the air above me and I caught him in my arms like a damsel in distress.
Our eyes met and his expression was a mix of disgust and embarrassment.
“Uh… Please put me down,” he requested.
“No need to be shy,” Panda teased, even though the guy still couldn’t hear him.
I scanned the interior in front of me for what felt like the hundredth time, while Chris moved down towards the back exit.
“It’s too many carriages,” I grumbled.
“It kind of lost my interest after the first three,” Panda chimed in.
“You’re not even contributing…”
“Mascot, remember?”
“You can’t just decide on your own that you’re the mascot. That’s not how it works.”
“Meow.”
“Exactly,” I replied.
“What did that little creep say about me!?” Panda demanded. “I just know he’s talking shit about me!”
“He actually said that I’d be lucky to have such an adorable mascot as you,” I translated.
The plushie paused. “Wait, really?”
I chuckled. “No, of course not. He said he’s the true mascot of the team.”
“Uh, Gambit?” Chris said, but I ignored him.
“And you agreed with him!?” Panda replied, clearly taking this topic very serious.
“Listen, Panda—”
“Gambit!”
“Not now Chris,” I replied, annoyed at being interrupted. “To be a proper mascot, you have to be supportive.”
“And!? What are you trying to tell me!?” Panda shot back.
“You’re a downer. You always—”
“Gambit!!” Chris urged.
Panda and I both turned to look at him. “What!? Can’t you see I’m talking!?”
“Behind you!” he yelled.
I spun around, just as an enormous double-jointed arm was three inches away from grabbing my head with its seven-fingered hand. It had entered through the frontmost right-side door without me even noticing.
“Oh shit, Anomaly!”
I ducked low and half-crawled half-ran along the metal floor towards the back exit, while the arm suddenly picked up speed to try and grab us.
Chris pulled the door open and I leapt through.
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Correct!
Anomaly Found!
Entering Carriage 8/9…
---
I landed hard on my stomach in the second-to-last carriage, quickly rolling aside just as Chris appeared above me and belly-flopped onto the floor as well.
“Ugh!” he exclaimed loudly.
I got up and began the search anew, running through my mental checklist, while also scrutinizing the doors and windows. As before, the anomalous carriages were of little concern and my true worry was with getting false negatives, but, with time quickly slipping away as the Metro Train thundered towards its destination, I didn’t have the time to investigate too deeply either.
“Candy wrappers, check!” Chris said out loud.
I glanced across the floor, but then shook my head and decided to trust him on this, while scanning the posters.
“Posters clear,” I said.
Chris ran past me, stopping by each of the monitors above the doors.
“Doors look ‘normal’,” he then said.
I counted the ghosts, checked the benches, and spun around a couple times to see if anything stood out to me or not.
“I think there’s no anomaly here,” I then said.
“Me too,” Chris agreed.
We both moved to the front exit and I went through first.
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Incorrect!
Anomaly Not Found!
You have lost a life!
Lives remaining 1/3!
Returning to Carriage 8/9…
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“Son of a!”
Chris landed next to me. “Damn! I thought for sure we had it!”
“It was probably the candy wrappers,” Panda commented.
“Are you trying to sow discord between me and my best friend!?” I accused the plushie.
Chris cast me an uncomfortable glance, but I assuaged his worries by running Brock along his cheek.
“Brock’s ya best pal!!” the balloon gauntlet squealed in protest.
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Warning!
Arriving at destination shortly!
Hurry up or be devoured!
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The timer on the screens above the doors stated there were only 2 minutes left.
“We’d better hurry,” Chris said.
I shook my head with a smug grin on my face. “I’ve got this.”
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BAD CATCHPHRASE!
You have taken 1 point of damage.
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“Ow.”
“You’ve gotta stop saying that,” Panda scolded me.
“What do you mean?” Chris asked.
“Just watch. Dungeon-Break.”
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ERROR!
Player Abilities and Passives are disabled for the duration of the Mini GAME!
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I frowned.
“Dungeon-Break,” I repeated.
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ERROR!
Player Abilities and Passives are disabled for the duration of the Mini GAME!
---
“…Maybe I’m pronouncing it wrong.”
“Gambit! It’s clearly not working, face the facts! Also, it’s still on cooldown, so it’s pointless!” Panda yelled.
I frowned.
“Alright, we might be fucked. If we get it wrong again, I’ll actually die…”
“Good thing this one’s an anomaly then!” Chris exclaimed, pointing at the floor near the front exit, where a large dark hole full of teeth was coming towards us, swallowing up the benches and the apparitions sitting on them.
“Lucky break!” I said as we ran towards the back exit.
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Correct!
Anomaly Found!
Entering Carriage 9/9…
---
I landed on my feet.
“Just one m—” Panda started to say, before yelping in surprise at the figure awaiting us.
Chris landed next to me, then yelped as well, though his reason seemed to be due to what was at the front of the carriage.
“The Cold-hearted Survivor and Glitched Prophet arrive at last,” Nina remarked, her neon-green hair moving around atop her head as though alive.
The title she used for me was surprising, but my immediate concern was the thing she was standing next to: a quivering cube of purple brain matter hovering between the walls, floor, and ceiling, while spinning slightly. Two-thirds of the carriage was business as usual, but where the brain cube hovered was fully organic, with the benches and other things gone and replaced by a windowless fleshy interior with no exit.
I walked up next to her. “Do you want me to do the honors?”
She nodded once.
I squeezed my gauntleted fist and Brock let out a little happy squeal. Then I rammed him into the cube.
Hitokui Chika, the Human-eating Metro Train, arrived at the Madeville Subway Station, sliding into the only track available and coming to a rest. No sooner had it parked itself, than Steve, Chris, Nina, and I all leapt out of the doorway that’d opened in the side of its ‘head’.
As we all rolled across the tiles of the platform and hurried to find cover, I ran behind one of the pillars, while Nina raised a wall of neon-green energy in front of her and Chris, and Steve used an ability I hadn’t seen before.
“Birthday Table!”
A long wooden table appeared in front of him, covered with a plastic tablecloth in a myriad of colors and decorated with pictures of balloons, presents, and sprinkles, for some reason. Atop it was a big birthday cake with a candle shaped like the number ‘47’ and there were disposable plates and plastic utensils placed at even intervals atop it, with enough for a party of fourteen people to attend.
I had no idea what the purpose of the ability was, but, regardless, Steve flipped it on its side, spilling cake, plates, and utensils onto the floor of the platform, before hiding behind it.
Then the Metro Train exploded.
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