Tower of God: Part 2 - The Hell Train

ARC The Hell Train Tower of God: Part 2 - The Hell Train is the third part of the second volume of the Tower of God series.

It features Team Tangsooyook as they prepare to challenge the Hell Express and take down Beniamino Cassano. The story begins one month after the events of Tower of God: Part 2 - The Workshop Battle from the 191st chapter onwards.

Prologue
Leesoo and Koon briefly chatted about things and, after their conversation ended, the latter thought deeply about important matters concerning his enemies. Elsewhere Yihwa received suspicious words from Hwa Ryun that made her question whether to stay with her team whilst Beta was asked to join Ran's team in order to help them take down Cassano.

Later on, during the team's conference, Hwa Ryun explained the Hell Express to the group and also suggested that Wangnan's team split from Viole so they could gain sufficient strength for the Hell Express. Both Wangnan and Koon agreed to her suggestion, with Hwa Ryun correctly noticing why Koon agreed so calmly afterwards. Meanwhile, Rachel's group were preparing something devious so they could also board the Hell Express...

Revolution Road
Yuri Zahard and Evan Edrok visited Repellista Zahard's vacation castle after the latter had called Yuri. Despite being called, Yuri was forced to subdue the suspiciously-acting Royal Guards protecting the castle before she met up with her younger sister. While Evan confronted his fellow family member about his actions, Repellista gave Yuri an Express Ticket and told her that she would board the Hell Express since the boy she was looking for would be on it in a year.

On a private train for Regulars going to Train City, Boro sat alongside his 'students' Hanool Kang and Felix. A blue-skinned Regular then arrived in their carriage, revealing his two Express Tickets. The Regular then attacked Boro after finding out that Boro held an Express Ticket, knocking out Felix in the process, but Boro eventually killed him. Boro then became aware that the Regular had used Emile to find out about his Express Ticket. Later, Boro went to another carriage and encountered a mysterious person who asked him if he held an Express Ticket because he was looking for people to join him in the tournament at Train City. Meanwhile, on another private train for Regulars, Ran's team re-group after ruthlessly searching for Express Tickets. Learning about the tournament being held at Train City, Ran decided that their team should join in order to get Beniamino Cassano.

After being questioned, Baam detailed to Boro, Hanool and the young lady why he was joining the tournament announced by Emile whilst Ran decided that their team would join the tournament, regardless of whether it was a trap, in order to capture Cassano. Elsewhere, a strange cloaked Regular, who is a member of Rachel's group, finished his merciless killings of the Regulars in his train carriage and sat down, eagerly waiting to arrive in Train City.

Baam was able to ally himself with Boro, and they met up with Hwa Ryun and Rak at the Hell Train's first station. Ran and his team also arrived, yet decided to fight the Mirotic guardian, a device that protected the Hell Train before boarding was allowed. They were unable to defeat it, but did encounter the strange cloaked Regular from Rachel's group, Daniel Hatchid.

The mysterious tournament soon began, with the Baam/Boro team being matched up with newcomer, Ha Yura, and her team. Yura gained the advantage early on using her suitcase, which in fact contained a powerful Lighthouse. However, Baam was able to overcome her through sheer persistence (and some of the Thorn's power), forcing her to tell him the location of Rachel. Yura revealed that the tournament was a mere diversion and that Rachel's group would be stealing the Hell Train itself while the battles went on. She then escaped, aiming to join Rachel on the train.

Rachel's group bypassed the Mirotic guardian by using the remote to turn it off and travelled to the train platform. It was revealed that they had enlisted the aid of Poro Poe, who had given them the remote along with access to the Train. However, Baam's team, along with Boro, Ran's team, and another Ticket Holder's team (Aka's) caught up with Ha Yura but had to engage the Mirotic guardian when she switched it back on.

After Baam and Hwa Ryun bypassed the guardian and briefly caught up to Yura again, Daniel Hatchid confronted Baam, whilst Boro (who also got past the guardian) fought against a swordsman recruited by Yura. Boro won his fight and saw Daniel fighting Baam, which shocked him; Daniel then fled with Baam and Boro giving chase. Another member of Rachel's group, who had just defeated and then captured Hwa Ryun, fled with Daniel, but Baam, enhanced by the Thorn, continued to give chase.

Just as Yura had arrived at the platform and Rachel's group was readying to depart, Koon Aguero Agnis arrived, along with Yeon Yihwa and Ja Wangnan, and they began fighting Rachel and Cassano. Then, Daniel and Angel appeared with Baam arriving right behind them.

Upon seeing Rachel, who acted coldly to his presence, a heavily confused Baam became enraged, causing the Thorn to go berserk. When Rachel's group then began trying to escape, Baam attacked with immense new powers eventually forcing the Mad Dog to hold him off. Although the Mad Dog was very powerful, Baam forced him back and was on the verge of either capturing or destroying Rachel's group. Now airborne, when Rachel spoke to him again, shocking him so much that he stopped his attack long enough for her to push him into freefall. As Baam was falling, Koon launched his special blade into the open Hell Train door just before Rachel's group got inside and Beta caught Baam.

Once inside the Hell Train, Rachel's group quickly came across the first set of train guardians whilst Koon and the others returned back to the stadium to sort everything out.

Hoaqin
Daniel Hatchid and his allies began their journey on board the Hell Train whilst Koon and his teammates readied to catch up to the Hell Train in order to subdue Rachel and Cassano. Afterwards, Team Tangsooyook took on the 35th Floor test and successfully passed at the cost of Baam passing out after an impressive display of power.

A month later, Team Tangsooyook took on the 36th Floor test and Baam passed out again. As the team mused on his condition, Ha Jinsung appeared. Meanwhile, on the train, Rachel's group overcame a before defeating a guardian and unsealing Hoaqin's first part. As Jinsung inquired as to what happened to Baam, Hoaqin got acquainted with the people around him. Jinsung told Tangsooyook they should not pursue the train and then escorted them away. On the train, Hoaqin and Rachel's group encountered Yeon Yihwa and Ja Wangnan and captured them after a minor altercation.

While Hoaqin and Rachel's group passed the train's 36th Floor stage test, Koon executed a plan that allowed Team Tangsooyook to escape from Jinsung and head for the 37th Floor station.

Wooden Horse
Boro and his allies reached the 37th Floor station, Wooden Horse, and rendezvoused with Aka Williams and Sachi Faker there whilst Team Tangsooyook rushed to get to the station as fast as they could. Meanwhile, Rachel's group got ready to board the station.

At the station, Boro, Sachi and Aka's group, as well as the other Regulars waiting to board the Hell Train, witnessed Hoaqin's mercilessly overwhelming power. Later, as the train was soon to leave, the locomotive was halted by lightning raining down from above whilst Boro, Sachi and Aka's group were rushing to board the train. Baam, Rak and Koon then appeared and a fight broke out between the two Slayer candidates and their allies.

The fight was cut short when they were all teleported to the Train conductor's office, who then informed the Regulars of an upcoming game on the train in a month that would decide who would become the true Slayer candidate between Hoaqin and Viole. Elsewhere, Wangnan and Yihwa met a surprising person...

A Month
After the Train conductor teleported the two opposing groups to different parts of the train, Hoaqin began seeking his other parts while Baam readied to train to face Hoaqin again. To that end, Hoaqin briefly reunited with Vicente but the reunion was cut short by Wangnan who sealed him within Koon's blade and escaped; Baam encountered the "god" of guardians who took him to undergo "Revolution".

Yuri and Evan entered the Hell Train, headed to the conductor's office and inquired about the location of a particular Regular. Elsewhere, Vicente allied himself with Wangnan's group and they moved towards the 4th stage. Meanwhile, Baam finished the first part of "Revolution" but headed off before he could completely finish the process so his group could get to the 4th stage in time. At the 4th stage, all the teams arrived and got ready to begin the game.

The Dallar Show
Poro Poe announced the game, "Dallar Show", to the Regulars and then explained the rules. Watching from the office, the train conductor revealed to Yuri that the Regular she was looking for was actually Jyu Viole Grace and Slayer candidate of FUG. At the train conductor's office, Pedro admitted that he was hiding something, revealing that the two white Regulars below were actually two parts of the infamous FUG Slayer White. Evan called him out on the ridiculousness of the previous bet between him and Yuri, but Pedro coolly replied that it was alright and that the only people violating the rules of the Tower were them. Yuri managed to expose Pedro's schemes to the Zahard Family with the aid of Jaina Repellista Zahard's Opera. Having the tables turned, Yuri then declared that she would crush Pedro and goaded him into fighting back.

During the events of the Dallar Show Jyu Viole Grace defeated Hoaqin with the aid of Hoaqin's final clone. Floating above the boiling acid, the defeated Hoaqin reminisced to the time he encountered his father, Arie Hon, and told him of his ambition to surpass him. After showing him the Arie Family Altar, Hon told Hoaqin that no matter how hard he tried, Hoaqin would never surpass him here and if he wanted to do so, he would have to leave and return as a demon.

Suddenly, boiling acid burst through the roof and fell into the arena, surprising everyone and interrupting Koon's interrogation of Rachel; Rachel then told her opponent that FUG never had any intention of letting them escape and finished by saying she would go to the Floor of Death to recover a piece of Enryu's Thorn. Ha Yura then shifted into action leaping up and getting ready to teleport away with Hoaqin, Rachel, Cassano and the Traveller. Rachel revealed to Koon that the Dallar Show was rigged in order to melt Viole and Enryu's Thorn altogether, as the core rapidly began to fill with the boiling substance. As Rachel and Yura were about to escape, Baam called out to her but she told him that when they next met, they would be enemies.

As the remaining Regulars in the arena headed towards a crack in the ceiling where the boiling acid was pouring from, the situation worsened until Yuri suddenly appeared, praising the group for their efforts. At that, she created a shinsoo bubble and escaped with everyone to safety. With everyone wondering who Yuri was, Baam asked how the Princess managed to get inside the Train. Yuri merely hugged him in response and congratulated him before telling him to take a break, which Baam acknowledged.

Yuri Jahad
With Baam revealing his past to Yuri, Yuri declared she would go back to the Floor of Test to sort Yu Han Sung out. However, Baam stopped her, saying it was an unnecessary endeavour. Yuri agreed, complimenting how mature he'd become. Koon then said they would be travelling to the 43rd Floor to catch Rachel, but Yuri replied that they couldn't go there because of how dangerous the place was. Affirming their convictions, Yuri said she'd accompany them on the Floor but only if they proved to her that they were capable of challenging the Floor. At that, the group took on the 39th Floor stage test to continue the journey on the train. Meanwhile, Ran's team arrived at the Name Hunt station, where members of Leesoo's team observed them from inside the station.

The 'Name Hunt' Station
Team Novick proceeded further at the Name Hunt station whilst Leesoo's team observed from inside and got ready to move. Inside the Hell Train, Baam's squad passed the 38F stage test and successfully moved onwards whilst Rachel's team did the same elsewhere in the train. As the Regulars waited to arrive at the next station, Yuri revealed their intentions of going to the Floor of Death and also her plan to test them to see if they were strong enough to go there. Baam also remembered to head back to the Rice Pot to finish his training. There he was told about the true nature of his power.

At the station, spurred by Androssi's loss of her name to Kaiser, Leesoo managed to make Baam assume his Jyu Vioe Grace identity once again; this led Kaiser to challenge the Slayer candidate to a duel. This fight was interrupted by Androssi and the different teams eventually joined together to hunt down the Ten Bosses. Eventually, Baam managed to take Kaiser's name and get back Androssi's very own.

In the mean time, two Regular Princesses of Zahard made their debut, revealing Koon Maschenny Zahard as their incredible High Ranker backer and another Princess as a future ally.

Yuri was then informed of the failure of her plan to take back Baam from FUG once and for all; a little later on Maschenny challenged her to a deadly bet, wagering her Yellow May against Yuri's Green April.

Finally, Karaka exited the Hell Express to take on Yuri in a fight to the death and prevent further meddling with White's resurrection. However the Princess proved too powerful for him and he eventually had to resort to a very special technique in order to escape her wrath; but not before being informed of the existence of another ring bearer and subsequently deducing the survival of his brother.

Wangnan
On the Hell Express, after the deaths of Prince and Hon Akraptor, Wangnan reluctantly joined Rachel's group. In the meantime, Team Baam trained hard in preparation for the Floor of Death. With the train passing the Mushroom Farm station, Hockney joined Baam's team. With their training complete, they all got ready to enter the 43rd Floor.

The Floor of Death
Reaching the Floor of Death, both Baam's group and Rachel's group delve inside the Floor after a brief altercation however, during their descent, Baam and Hockney get separated from the rest of their group. While Koon and Yuri's group made their own way into the Floor with the help of a Red Witch, Baam and Hockney were let in the front door where they soon met Garam Zahard, who took them to North City.

Karaka met with Hell Joe while the Red Witches requested that Yuri liberate South City from Hell Joe. Meanwhile, Garam informed Baam of the creation of Zahard's Princesses, the hidV|den Irregulars and the story of Enryu's slaughter of the 43rd Floor Guardian. Catching wind of intruders, Hell Joe made a Floor-wide announcement that he had one of the Thorn fragments, eliciting the action of Koon and Yuri's group.

While Garam took Baam to Grand DeJah's castle, in South City, Yuri and Evan started the charge against Hell Joe's commanders and Koon's group went to free Grand DeSah. Elsewhere on the Floor, Karaka told Hoaqin about the Spirit Room and Rachel's group headed there. However, Rachel rushed off first and encountered Baam at the castle; the two conversed briefly before meeting with Grand DeJah, who told the two that the foretold saviour that defeated Hell Joe would receive the Thorn hidden in the Spirit Room. Grand DeLee took them to Hell Joe's fortress via a secret path. Meanwhile, an annoyed Karaka got ready to forcefully extract information about Rachel's whereabouts until Urek Mazino arrived and nonchalantly suppressed him, but not before Karaka escaped with Hoaqin in tow.

Rachel, Baam and DeLee reached the corridors of the Red Fortress with Baam showing his power by killing Fabregas. Outside, Hell Joe made his appearance, asking for a possessed Yuri's help. However, Garam arrived, trying to suppress the entity but was only successful when Baam suddenly appeared, returning Yuri to normal. Infuriated by it all, Hell Joe utilised the Red Thryssa's power and attacked. Driving them into a corner, Hockney revealed his foresight to the group, eventually enabling Urek Mazino to enter the fray and counter Hell Joe's wild powerful attacks. With Urek (and Baam) combating Hell Joe, Koon's group eventually found DeSah's prison and freed him with Hwa Ryun obtaining the Soul-Stirring Ladle in the process.

Urek (with a little help from Baam) defeated Hell Joe and tore the Red Thryssa from him, killing it. With the tyrant down, Joe lamented the power he had lost as well as Urek for taking it from him. Meanwhile, Karaka and Hoaqin reached the Spirit Room and Hoaqin absorbed the souls held there, causing the inhabitants of the Floor to fall. At that, Karaka and an empowered Hoaqin fled but soon encountered Po Bidau Gustang at the exit to the Floor. Noticing, the souls he had absorbed, Gustang said Hoaqin was free to leave before watching the latter fail to do so due to the original spell's effects. Patronising Hoaqin for being weak, Gustang removed the souls from him just as Urek and the others arrived. Gustang then chastised Urek for playing around before personally talking to the "son of Arlen".

Gustang told Baam that he needed him to do a favour in exchange for a Thorn fragment: enter the Hidden Floor and retrieve "it" from the data of young Zahard. Agreeing, Gustang then healed Rachel. Meanwhile, in the Hidden Floor, a young Zahard spotted Rak. With everyone leaving the Floor of Death and returning to the Hell Train, Gustang wiped the memories of all the Floor's inhabitants as Urek looked on bitterly.

New Power
On the train, the crew reunites while Karaka tells the ones with him that he would use them as bargaining tools. Baam conversed with Rachel regarding their excursion to the Hidden Floor and how it would affect who would gain ownership over the Thorn fragment. However, Androssi cannot take Baam's actions and decided to "test" Rachel herself.

Notes and Trivia

 * For this arc, SIU admitted he was inspired by the manga Galaxy Express 999. It was a great influence when he was planning Tower of God.

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