Pam Gets Petted Like a Cat by Little Gojo, and the Conductor Loses All Dignity

Pom-Pom had just raised the broom over its head.

Its mouth was wide open, but the scolding had yet to make it out of its throat.

On the leather sofa, Little Satoru Gojo's eyes suddenly lit up.

Like a wild child who had spotted a new kind of candy.

Boom.

A muffled blast sounded in the air.

The white-haired little girl vanished from the sofa.

She had launched herself so fast that the air around the sofa was sucked away, briefly creating a pocket of low pressure.

The glass of water on the coffee table rocked in the rushing air, its base clinking against the tabletop.

Only one little leather shoe remained, bouncing twice on the leather cushion.

Then it rolled onto the red carpet.

It left a small dent in the carpet's pile.

A tenth of a second later.

Pom-Pom felt something cold press against its back.

A pair of slender, deathly pale hands slipped under its arms from behind and scooped it up.

"Wow! So soft!"

Little Satoru Gojo's excited, childish voice burst beside the conductor's ear.

Pom-Pom's two long, fluffy ears were seized and tugged.

Su Chen buried his face in the soft fur without a trace of restraint and took a long, eager sniff.

The pleasant scent of cotton dried in the sun filled his nose.

Pom-Pom shrieked in fright.

"Let go of the conductor, pah! You ticketless passenger!"

Its short legs kicked wildly in midair.

Its little black shoes whooshed through the air as it tried to kick the person behind it away.

Its two white-gloved hands pushed back desperately, trying to pry away the face coming toward it.

But its paws stopped dead half an inch from the little girl's nose.

It was as if they had struck an invisible rubber wall.

Limitless completely locked down every bit of space Pam needed to exert force.

Even its struggles slowed to a crawl.

Like a fly trapped in a pit of thick tar.

The harder it struggled, the greater the resistance of the space around it became.

The pads of its paws rubbed comically against that spatial barrier without making a sound.

Su Chen paid none of it any mind.

Nothing he had ever felt petting a ragdoll cat in his previous life came close to this.

He kneaded Pam's face with both hands as though it were dough.

The conductor's red-and-white uniform, usually pressed without a single crease, instantly looked like a crumpled rag.

The fabric was yanked back and forth so roughly that it gave a strained ripping sound.

Its black bow tie twisted all the way around to the back of its neck.

One of the row of gold buttons on its chest even popped off.

It landed on the wooden floor with a click and rolled into a corner.

"Mmph, pah... let go..."

Pom-Pom's face was squashed flat, its voice muffled by white fur.

The dignified conductor of the Astral Express had no dignity left.

It had become nothing more than an oversized plush toy to be squeezed and kneaded at will.

Its signature conductor's hat also fell to the floor with a plop.

March 7th stood beside an armchair.

Seeing Pam bullied like this, her eyes reddened at once.

Her short pink hair trembled as she shook.

She instinctively took a big step forward, wanting to snatch Pam back.

But her toe caught on the carpet fringe.

She pitched forward.

A rough, large hand caught her arm.

Welt hauled March 7th back.

His grip was frighteningly strong, making the bones in her arm ache.

She sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

"Uncle Welt..."

March 7th kept her voice low, but she was plainly on the verge of tears.

She bit down hard on her lower lip.

Even when she tasted a faint trace of blood, she did not let go.

Her slender, pale hands gripped her camera strap so tightly that her nails nearly dug into her palms.

The camera body pressed against her ribs, leaving a red mark.

Welt did not look at her.

His gaze stayed fixed on the little girl frantically kneading Pam.

Cold sweat ran down his temples.

It dripped onto his suit collar, staining a small patch of it dark.

Don't move.

Reason gripped his nerves like a rusty wire drawn tight.

All he could see in his mind was the little girl tearing a warship apart with her bare hands.

How could I save Pam?

Against a monster who could erase the origin point of space at will, no attack could touch a hair on her head.

If he dared unleash the Star of Eden, the entire carriage would be swallowed by an artificial black hole the next second.

Sacrifice everyone to save the conductor?

Welt's knuckles had gone deathly white from the force of his grip.

His cane pressed a deep dent into the wooden floor.

He even slowed his breathing on purpose, afraid of provoking the slightest hostility.

Dan Heng leaned against the metal wall beside the Data Bank door.

He drew a deep, ragged breath, his chest heaving.

The fingers of his right hand curled, reaching toward empty air in a spasmodic motion.

It was the opening movement for summoning the Cloud-Piercer spear.

But he forced himself to stop halfway.

Vidyo-Dhara dragon blood surged through his veins, bringing painful waves of palpitations.

Every instinct screamed a warning.

If he dared bring out his spear, his neck would be the next thing twisted into a knot.

Dan Heng lowered his head and stared at the grain of the floorboards.

Sweat dripped from his chin onto his shoes.

His airway felt packed with sand, dry and raw.

The helplessness of not even having the chance to fight back was worse than being killed outright.

Himeko stood behind the bar.

The edge of the rosewood counter creaked faintly as she gripped it, the wood beginning to splinter.

Splinters dug into her fingertips, but she seemed unable to feel the pain.

She watched Pam's utterly defeated expression.

Her heart ached as if it had been steeped in icy water.

Pam was the heart of the train, family to every one of them.

Yet Pam was being handled like a cheap toy.

And all she could do was watch.

Himeko turned away and closed her eyes, forcing herself not to look.

The smell of coffee still lingered in the carriage, but now it only made her nauseous.

Her stomach cramped, and she pressed a hand against it.

Su Chen finally had his fill.

He held Pam up like a cat fresh from a bath.

Pom-Pom had given up struggling.

Its large, furry ears drooped limply, covering half its face.

Two trails of tears ran down its round cheeks.

The tears were stopped in midair by the Limitless Cursed Technique.

They became two clear droplets suspended there.

The droplets caught the light with a faint glimmer.

Pom-Pom had been petted until its eyes brimmed with tears.

It lay limp in the little girl's hands, all four limbs dangling.

Lifeless and utterly defeated.

It could not even manage its signature "pah" anymore. All that remained were faint sobs.

The atmosphere in the carriage was oppressively sickening.

The members of the Astral Express Crew stood frozen, not daring to shift their heels even slightly.

It was torture without a shot fired.

The crushing frustration of the weak facing an overwhelming power beyond their comprehension.

Then, amid that agonizingly awkward silence.

An ear-piercing alarm suddenly blared from the quiet rear of the carriage.

Beep—

The sound was deafening, like a red-hot steel needle driven straight into everyone's eardrums.

It came from the direction of the Data Bank.

The alarm was so shrill it seemed about to tear the speaker apart.

Dan Heng whipped around toward the Data Bank door behind him.

The heavy metal door had not closed completely, leaving a narrow gap.

Blinding golden light poured wildly through it.

The light flashed so rapidly that it was hard to keep his eyes open.

On the Data Bank terminal's enormous main screen.

Several golden sigils representing the Path of Erudition appeared out of thin air.

Those intricate, ancient lines now resembled a tangled mass being scorched by flames.

They flashed and twisted wildly across the black screen.