Chapter 15

Carl's group deliberately derails a train by detonating explosives, leveling up and triggering a boss battle. They interrogate Gore-Gore, the mantaur train engineer, learning crucial information about the end of the line and escape routes before accidentally enraging him into combat.

After detonating explosives to derail the ochre line train, Carl and his group descend into the smoke-filled platform to investigate. They encounter Gore-Gore, a level 40 mantaur engineer—a bizarre creature with two human torsos stacked vertically. Though Gore-Gore initially thinks they are passengers, Carl uses Donut's high Charisma to extract vital information. Gore-Gore reveals that the train ends at stop 435, where employees take a portal back to the depot operated by creatures called the Kravyad. The engine car passes through an "abyss gate" and teleports to the depot, where the engineer sleeps for eight hours before the next run. The passenger cars undergo deep cleaning and reset. Gore-Gore explains that no one can ride in the engine car except engineers—it is an absolute rule—but if they could, they would survive the gate transport. Accessing the engine car while the train is moving requires an engineer's key, which Gore-Gore possesses. However, Carl realizes crashing trains to obtain keys would strand the line. He considers alternative routes: using the Nightmare Express to jump ahead and catch non-derailed trains, or attempting the employee portal despite its memory-loss risks. After Gore-Gore exits to Club Vanquisher, a ram-headed cleric emerges and apparently reveals to Gore-Gore that they crashed the train. Gore-Gore returns enraged, declaring himself an adherent of Grull the war god and initiating a boss battle. During the fight, Carl's gauntlet—which has a cumulative chance to summon Grull—accumulates an increasingly dangerous probability (reaching 10.5%) with each punch. The battle is brutal: Katia loses part of her arm (revealed to be metal), Mongo takes a heavy hit, and Carl is severely injured by Gore-Gore's blades and choking grip before using Protective Shell to escape. Both are thrown into the wreckage below the platform. Gore-Gore falls into the space between crushed train cars. Carl executes a drop kick, launching Gore-Gore onto the electrified third rail, which kills him via electrocution from the short circuit. The battle concludes as the Grull summoning timer expires. Carl receives notice of a sponsorship from the Valtay Corporation.