The sudden slash forced Aesc to temporarily halt her Water Mirror spell.
This strike...
So Karabo in the lounge car was under hypnosis?
"My, what a failure of intelligence," Trisha remarked with a smile, watching as Aesc ceased her spell due to the interruption. "Had I known a Caster was here, I'd never have walked right into the lion's den."
Aesc reached out, catching Gray mid-air. They exchanged a glance and a nod.
Gray slipped out of Aesc's embrace, unfolded Add, and stepped forward.
At the same time, Aesc retracted her staff and leaped backward, vanishing into the shimmering water mirror that had just materialized.
On her way, she made sure to sprinkle a bit of water over Karabo's head in the lounge car.
"Who would've thought the Servant I crossed blades with that night was a Caster," the armored woman mused, catching her shortsword with her uninjured left hand. She swung at Gray, steel clashing violently against scythe, all while her eyes darted around, searching for Aesc.
Huh? Where did that Magus who was right here go?
"Behind you!" her Master shouted from the rear.
Impossible!
The armored woman whirled around just in time to see Aesc, half-emerged from a water mirror, thrusting a long spear toward her Master.
Her eyes narrowed sharply as she flung her Master behind Aesc.
For a moment, Aesc's movement froze, like a film paused mid-frame.
Seizing the opening, the armored woman tried to leap out of the encirclement.
But in the next instant, Aesc's spear drove forward, unimpeded.
"Magic Resistance?! A Caster with Magic Resistance?!"
"Who knows?" Aesc replied lightly.
It's not just because of that 'Artoria face,' is it?
Meanwhile, Gray, gathering all the ambient mana into herself, swung her scythe with full force at the armored woman.
Riiip—
Spear and scythe struck true at the same time.
Blood gushed from the armored woman's body.
Still, she managed to break free from the encirclement, though not without cost.
As she leaped away, her lips moved faintly.
"What exquisite coordination," Trisha remarked, sounding genuinely impressed, as though her life hadn't just been on the line. "Truly masterful."
"Passable," Aesc replied, turning as she drew her staff back out from the water mirror. The mirror glowed, ready. Gray stepped in front of her. "But why risk approaching us? Even if I weren't a Caster, I might still have seen through your disguise."
"Not immediately, though. I came to find your Master, and if possible, eliminate him. I hadn't expected Lord El-Melloi II to summon a new Servant. It seems you even turned my own plan against me."
Trisha glanced at the fake Command Spells on El-Melloi II's left hand.
"Realistically, even for a Caster, it took you... about 30 seconds to detect my disguise. The plan was sound in theory."
Bullshit!
'That's only because I was chatting with Gray! Sure, I let my guard down knowing the story, but who'd have thought you'd make a move this early? This was supposed to be Trisha's grand monologue moment!'
Muttering inwardly, Aesc expanded the water mirror, sending jets of water shooting toward the heads of Trisha and the armored woman.
"Using that slash again?" El-Melloi II, dragging an unconscious Olga Marie further away, speculated aloud. That sudden slash was troublesome.
"Actually, I've set up quite a few inside the room," the armored woman admitted, grabbing Trisha and leaping aside to evade the water jets. The motion didn't seem to hinder Trisha's ability to speak. "But I wouldn't dare enter a Caster's workshop."
Oh? Not running away, but approaching me?
Aesc swung her staff, and the entire corridor became lined with water mirrors, gleaming with contained power.
You've chosen death.
Wait—what is she chanting?
Aesc noticed the armored woman, suspended in mid-air, grinning wildly as her lips moved in a low, guttural murmur—
An incantation?!
Not good!
Instantly, Aesc teleported Gray and little Habetrot back into the room.
At the same time, she enveloped herself in layers of water mirrors.
"Hecate, guide me—!"
Crimson lightning erupted around the armored woman as she hung in the air.
The next moment, she slammed into the ground like a thunderbolt.
BOOM—
Countless red lightning bolts exploded outward, lashing like serpents against the water mirrors and the bounded field outside El-Melloi II's room.
She's a magus too?!
Dammit! In the original story, Gray countered her before she could show this. Intel on her magecraft is seriously lacking.
Whether it was purely for retreat, or because continuing further would mean all-out war with the train, the crimson lightning wasn't followed by another attack.
Once the red arcs faded, Aesc dispelled the water mirrors.
The two in the corridor had vanished without a trace. Only a faint rumble of thunder could be heard outside the train.
People nearby seemed to have noticed the commotion and were starting to approach.
Aesc shut the door, turned, and stepped through a water mirror, returning to the lounge car where she had last seen Karabo.
Karabo had shifted position, now soaked to the bone, but his eyes remained dazed and distant.
"Karabo."
Aesc stepped forward and gently shook his shoulder.
Karabo trembled, then slowly lifted his head—
Like someone roused from a deep, deep sleep.
"What... what happened to me?"
"Do you remember what you were doing just now?" Aesc pressed, not giving him time to gather his thoughts.
"I..." Karabo clutched his forehead, straining to recall the recent past.
It should have been fresh in his mind, something that had just happened.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember what he had been doing—not even what occurred last night before returning to his room.
Watching his struggle, and recalling those mysterious slashes, Aesc understood everything.
His current state… it seems he was hypnotized last night, too. Trisha must have been killed then as well.
"You were hypnotized and manipulated."
Leaving those words behind, Aesc turned and stepped back through the water mirror, returning to El-Melloi II's room.
A warning should be enough for an executor of the Church.
Inside the room, El-Melloi II was hunched over in his chair, inspecting a crystal ball.
Gray was gently rubbing the spot on his back where little Habetrot had kicked him.
Olga Marie sat slumped in a chair opposite El-Melloi II, seemingly still in shock.
"Are you alright?" Aesc asked, putting away her staff as she sat down beside the dazed Olga Marie.
Olga Marie looked up blankly, taking a moment to focus.
"Trisha, she…"
She trailed off, recalling her attendant's earlier actions, and whispered in disbelief, "That was a Ghost Liner? How… she never told me…"
"I'm afraid, madam," El-Melloi II said, rubbing his lower back as he walked over—Habetrot's kick had been stronger than it looked, "the Trisha by your side was likely replaced some time ago."
Judging by the reaction of this daughter of the Lord of the Department of Astromancy, she likely wasn't in league with the false Trisha.
Aesc hadn't overheard the information exchanged between Olga Marie and Trisha when they first boarded.
Which meant the switch must have happened last night.
And that Servant's attire just now…
El-Melloi II pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.