My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 30: Southern Railway Battle

When they reached the station, a crowd of passengers poured off the train—everyone from office workers to hunters ready for duty. All of them carried weapons because dimensional rifts could open at any time in the southern region, just like the one that had appeared on the school’s front lawn. After that, new passengers filled the car where Dennis and the others were sitting, dressed in all sorts of attire. Once the doors slid shut, the train started moving again, continuing its journey toward the eastern district.

The atmosphere inside the car became a bit crowded and noisy, making Dennis, Daisy, and the others feel a little uncomfortable. Quite a few people had to stand because they couldn’t find a seat, while others gave up their spots for the elderly or pregnant women who had just boarded. Olivia, who was sitting at the end of the row, swapped seats with Jason, while Daisy swapped with Kimberly. Dennis and Daisy were now sitting across from each other instead of side-by-side.

"If I knew it was going to be like this, we should have just taken a ride-share, babe," Olivia said to Gary.

"But this is the fun part, isn’t it? Don’t worry, you’re safe next to me," Gary said.

"Yeah, this reminds me of going back to my mom’s place in the west," Kimberly remarked.

"Oh, your mom lives in the west, Kim?" Dennis asked.

"Yep, I grew up surrounded by cornfields and rice paddies," Kimberly answered.

"Hmm... as for me, I grew up in the central city. I’m a city boy, but Kimberly’s place is great—it’s so chill there," Jason said.

"Same here, me and Dennis too, right hon?" Daisy said to Dennis.

"Something like that," Dennis replied.

Suddenly, "boom," the train lurched. The standing passengers shifted and grabbed onto whatever they could to keep their balance. Naturally, this caused Jason and Gary to slide, slightly pinning Olivia and Kimberly in the middle. Then, the screeching sound of brakes echoed through the car. Daisy was thrown from her seat toward Dennis, who caught her. Once the train came to a halt, Gary stood up and turned toward the front of the train.

"Hey... what’s going on?" Gary asked.

Dennis opened the window and leaned his head out. His eyes widened. There was a massive dimensional rift far ahead on the tracks. He saw several hunters jumping off the train to take down the monsters emerging from the vertical tear in the air.

"Groaaaaaar," a thunderous roar erupted.

A giant humanoid monster appeared—a headless mass of muscular flesh with large insectoid eyes in its chest. It had arms like a praying mantis, four tentacles resembling giant dragon-snakes sprouting from its back, and its body was draped in algae like tattered clothing.

Emerging with it were five Tusk Crawlers and about ten ordinary Crawlers. The monsters charged toward the train while the hunters braced themselves in front of the cars to block the path.

"Whoa... looks like they’re outnumbered at this rate; there are so many enemies coming out," Gary said, finally joining Dennis to peer out.

"Seems that way. So, what’s the move, man? You’re the leader, you call it," Jason said, also taking a look.

"Should we head down and help them?" Olivia asked.

"But is that allowed? I mean, we’re in our school uniforms," Kimberly questioned.

"That’s exactly why we should. Well, Captain? Do we help or not?" Daisy asked.

"Let’s go. We’re getting down too," Gary declared.

"Haaah... alright, let’s go everyone," Dennis added.

They finally hopped off and ran to the front of the train to join the hunters already stationed there. As it turned out, there were also kids from other schools helping out, wearing different uniforms and standing right alongside them. They stood in the middle of hunters whose faces were tight with anxiety and fear—some were even muttering prayers under their breath.

The crawlers sprinted toward them while the tusk crawlers and a massive monster called the Hydra Mantis walked casually behind. From the dimensional rift, a swarm of crawlers continued to pour out, charging straight for the train.

"Shooters, get on top of the train!" a hunter yelled.

Jason immediately leaped back onto the roof of the train along with the other snipers, dropping to one knee to aim at the crawlers. A chaotic roar of gunfire followed, with glowing tracer rounds whistling toward the advancing monsters. Even as some fell, they didn’t stop, charging brutally toward the train. The melee hunters braced themselves as the enemy closed the gap. Dennis saw the sheer panic on their faces, especially with the giant monster looming behind the front line as it advanced slowly.

"Alright, let’s use that," Dennis said in his heart.

"Graaaaaaaaah,"

Dennis let out his war cry, and every hunter and student from other schools nearby received a buff—it was as if their bodies were wrapped in a red glow. Of course, they were confused and turned to look at Dennis, but this time their faces changed. They were no longer anxious; instead, they looked energized and ready to fight to the bitter end. Daisy, who was standing beside Dennis, immediately grabbed his hand and gave him a nodding smile.

"Charge!" Gary shouted, leading the way.

"Uooooooh,"

The gunfire stopped, but the hunters who were previously on the defensive now sprinted forward, greeting the crawlers head-on and killing them with ease. Daisy leaped onto Dennis’s shoulders and "bwooosh," she spewed fire like a flamethrower from her mouth to clear a path while Dennis charged through.

The two were followed by Gary, Olivia, and Kimberly—who was firing blindly with two machine guns—with the other hunters trailing behind. Dennis kept running, both hands gripping Daisy’s twin katanas, slashing left and right, hacking through the ever-mounting swarm of crawlers.

The sea of crawlers filling the tracks seemed to part like a divided ocean with Dennis and Daisy at the very front. As the time was almost up, Dennis used his war cry once more so the hunters’ buff wouldn’t fade, because he understood this wasn’t a simulation—if something went wrong, it would be fatal.

But it turned out the other hunters weren’t weak either, and with Dennis’s buff added, they could keep up and even slaughter every crawler they passed. Finally, Dennis, Daisy, and the group arrived in front of five disgusting tusk crawlers, which immediately fired spines from their bodies at the team.

Olivia stepped forward, spinning her spear rapidly to create a barrier shield that protected the entire team, while Kimberly opened fire on the tusk crawlers and managed to kill three of them. After that, the remaining two tusk crawlers were finished off with headshots from Jason, who was also behind them. Gary immediately advanced with Dennis toward the Hydra Mantis, ready to strike. Daisy leaped down from Dennis’s shoulders as he continued to charge forward with Gary.

"Graaaah,"

The Hydra Mantis attacked Dennis with its two scythe-like hands. "Clang," he parried the strike with the katanas in his left and right hands, while Gary leaped up to smash the four dragon-snakes attacking Dennis, spinning to cut all four at once. But suddenly, "krieeeeeek," the Hydra Mantis took a step back. Dennis was shocked to see a hole in the monster’s belly, right below its two eyes, and it looked like something had been pulled from inside its body.

Dennis looked back and saw Daisy number five holding a beating organ in her hand, then storing it in her dimensional storage. Sensing she was being watched, Daisy number five turned to see Dennis staring at her with a tired, panting face.

Daisy number five pretended to hide her slimy hand behind her back and gave a wide grin; her face seemed to say, "I don’t know anything, don’t look at me like that, hon." Dennis could only shake his head at the sight. Then Gary stood beside him.

"Oi dude, what’s up with the monster?" Gary asked.

Dennis turned back and saw the Hydra Mantis looking like it was in absolute agony until finally, "blugh," it fell flat on its back, blocking the train tracks and crushing the crawlers swarming behind it to death.

"The monster is dead, man," Dennis answered Gary, but he also glanced at Daisy beside him, who was pretending to whistle while looking the other way, even though no sound came out.

"Hey... why are you guys just standing there? We have to close the dimensional rift, move it!" a hunter shouted as he ran past them.

Shortly after, many hunters rushed past them, killing off the remaining crawlers as they headed toward the rift to seal it. Meanwhile, Dennis shot a look at Daisy, who was still faking a whistle; Gary and Olivia were hugging nearby, and Jason and Kimberly were panting for breath behind the four of them. The six of them stood frozen, leaving the rest of the job to the hunters and the students from the other schools.

Then Daisy grabbed Dennis’s shoulder, pulled him down, and leaned her face close to his ear.

"Sorry hon, I needed its heart. I think I can use it later, hehe," Daisy number five whispered.

"You’re something else. What if someone saw you?" Dennis said.

"Don’t worry, you’re the only one who can see, because you’re my husband, hehe," Daisy number five replied casually.

"Fine then. Just be careful next time and don’t be reckless," Dennis said.

"I will, hon. I love you," Daisy said, hugging Dennis’s arm.

"I’m going to have a heart attack, and not from fighting the enemy. I’m having one because I’m terrified of my wife doing something crazy... man, it’s a real hassle having a wife with cheat," Dennis said in his head.