The Nue's monstrous shriek reached the ears of everyone inside the train. Confirming that the intrusion of the pigeon familiars had ceased, the passengers finally lowered their guards and began to catch their breath.
[A portion of the train's third carriage has sustained damage due to artificial magecraft interference. With the death toll at two, which falls within our projected margins, we will realign the tracks and depart within three hours.]
"Two deaths, and they call it 'within projections'..."
"We have essentially intruded upon the territory of the White Wing Lord. We should be grateful the entire train hasn't been reduced to splinters."
As Waver spoke, irritably biting into a cigar, I felt one of the magical energy paths connected to me snap.
"The Nue has been shot down. Far faster than I anticipated."
"...Wasn't that Phantasmal Beast supposed to be reasonably powerful?"
"Even if its combat capability dropped because I was remote-controlling it, its level of Mystery was on par with Lugh Beowulf. It seems one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors has directly intervened!"
Since I had been bombarding the area using the Nue's shared vision without a clear line of sight, I couldn't be certain. However, in its final moment, there was the sensation of being sliced by something impossibly elongated.
"Lou-lou Lilliy only fights with magecraft or spider legs. It was likely the work of Enhance or Fina-blood Svelten."
Unlike Enhance, who might be an ally, or Lou-lou Lilliy, whose abilities I could somewhat surmise, Trismegistus and Svelten were high-priority threats.
Trismegistus, said to be on par with Gransurg Blackmore, and Svelten, a member of the 'Undying Ancestors.' While Nrvnqsr Chaos was effectively a natural counter to the likes of Shiki Tohno and Arcueid Brunestud, an opponent whose abilities remain unknown aside from a single Reality Marble offers no opening for a counterstrategy.
"Rozay-en, what are the odds if we face Fina-blood Svelten?"
"...Impossible. With Sumire, there might be a chance, but alone? Out of the question."
"Even if you use the Mystic Eye Projector?"
"Damn it, do you have any idea how much those cost?! Besides, that guy is a captain who leads a fleet of ghost ships!"
Rita Rozay-en, who had activated her rose-colored Mystic Eyes—a hue swirling with blood and pink—began to vent her frustrations.
As the Nue fell, the enemies seemed to prepare for another assault. The scratching and pounding against the train's windows and entrances resumed. Now, it wasn't just pigeon familiars; ghouls and vengeful spirits—the likes of which Kayneth once manipulated—were closing in.
"They're coming in waves... there's no end to them."
"Rodin! Can you identify any other Dead Apostles?!"
[My deepest apologies, but the fog is currently making visual confirmation impossible. Shall I project the Mystic Eyes of Farsight?]
"Yes! We can't afford to be picky! They're not even Noble Colors anyway, so just use them!"
As soon as Rita Rozay-en gave her consent, the name 'Rail Zeppelin' proved it wasn't for show. A surge of magical energy radiated, and the surrounding fog began to peel away.
The Mystic Eyes used in the Projector were consumed as disposable items, but they produced effects several to dozens of times their original potency. I never imagined that Mystic Eyes below the rank of Noble Color could exhibit such sheer power.
"Waver, and you other magi, keep focusing on replenishing your magical energy! They control the supply lines and the leylines. If you just fight blindly without mana, we'll be the first to run dry!"
"Karma, how long until you can summon the next beast?"
"Three minutes is plenty!"
Coinciding with my answer, I hurled a napalm canister out of the train. A pillar of fire erupted like an overflowing sauce, incinerating the familiars in its path.
Already, my main body—the Human Path—along with the rest of my puppets, excluding the Animal Path and the Preta Path, had moved to the exterior and the roof of the train to join the fray. The Asura Path, anchored to the ceiling, was raining down shells using the magical energy being funneled into it by the Preta Path.
"Tch, it seems an Ancestor-class is personally hiding and tanking my attacks!"
"What?"
"It's the only explanation! Do you think any ordinary Lord-rank magus could withstand my bombardment?"
"I can't deny that. Identify the type!"
"It's not Enhance. It's likely Trismegistus... wait, the familiars are circling around. Target: the rear of the train... Rozay-en, seal the exits!"
"I already did! They're just pushing through the Bounded Fields!"
At that moment, the vision of the Asura Path, serving as a fixed turret on the roof, caught a glimpse of a pale silhouette.
A figure with white hair in a white suit. He brandished a cane like a maestro conducting an orchestra. The pigeon familiars floating around him lunged toward the rear of the train in unison, like an ensemble following the beat of his baton.
"Trismegistus confirmed! White suit, white hair, carrying a cane! He's the one controlling the pigeons. That's him, isn't it, Rozay-en?!"
"That bastard is Trafim! You absolute son of a... I helped his faction so much, and now he's trying to wreck my collection?!"
Enraged, Rozay-en's rose-hued Mystic Eyes flared as she let out a scream. Moments later, a heavy impact echoed, followed by the sound of something shattering.
The sound of the approaching tide was a cacophony—the squelching of tentacles, the rustling of feathers, and the dragging, irregular footsteps of an undead horde.
"Since the train is stationary, it seems he intends to use attrition warfare with ghouls and familiars. An efficient tactic. While we have to hold this position for at least three hours without resupply, they have the home-field advantage of this territory and an infinite supply of meat shields. A threatening strategy, indeed."
Waver completed his analysis.
But despite the grim conclusion, a smirk played on his lips.
"However, using ghouls and dead familiars for a numbers game... they must not have realized. We have three specialists in warding off demons right here."
He gestured toward Kirei Kotomine. Kirei quietly tucked his Black Keys into his robes and instead pulled out a rosary and a small vial of holy water.
"Step aside, Vampire. It would be more appropriate for us to handle this from here on."
"...Hah, you're right. When it comes to the undead, the Holy Church is the most efficient medicine!"
Ignoring Rozay-en's cheers, the two Executors stoically applied holy water to their fingers and foreheads. Kirei tilted the remaining water and poured it over his daughter. Caren, closing her eyes to savor the sensation for a moment, stepped forward with a resolve that belied her young age.
Wrapped in the Shroud of Magdalene like a sash around her waist, she began to recite an incantation—a song of purification.
[Life burns, man sickens, flesh and bone shatter, and even wisdom dissolves. Salvation lies within the earth; rest is my true home.
He who burns with passion and achieves enlightenment finally realizes the void. One generation passes and another comes, yet the earth remains forever. The sun rises and sets, hurrying back to where it rose; all is weariness, beyond what words can describe.
The wise and the foolish, the strong and the weak, all shall be forgotten.
As it was before, so it shall be hereafter. All die, all return to nothingness, all return to dust, and fall into the possession of the Merciful One...
Futile, futile, all is futile—Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas.]
As Caren finished her prayer and caught her breath, Kirei Kotomine placed a hand on her trembling shoulder and took up the chant.
Unlike her melodic but strained voice, his was powerful and unyielding—the voice I remembered. Each syllable acted as a hammer, crushing and exorcising the wraiths and ghouls surrounding the train.
[I speak.
I kill and I give life. I injure and I heal.
None shall escape my hand, and none shall escape my sight.
Be crushed. I call upon those who have lost and those who have aged.
Devote yourselves to me, learn from me, and follow me.
Do not forget rest, do not forget the song, do not forget the prayer, and do not forget me.
I am light, and I shall make you forget all burdens.
Do not feign. Vengeance for forgiveness, betrayal for trust, despair for hope, darkness for light, and dark death for life.
Rest is in my hands. I shall pour oil upon your sins and leave my mark. Eternal life is granted only within death. I offer forgiveness here, and as one incarnate, I so swear...
*Lord, have mercy—Kyrie Eleison.]*
Having drawn his Black Keys, Kirei began to carve through the ghouls that were either shivering or frozen stiff by the sacrament.
It was a magnificent sight—dozens of ghouls being diced by a single stroke. Even as the range of the Baptismal Sacrament expanded, its potency never wavered. The wraiths had long since vanished. The weaker familiars and ghouls simply crumbled, while those that faltered were swiftly decapitated by Kirei's blades.
Yet, even this devout Executor had his limits. As the range of the sacrament filled the entire train, his strength began to wane. Finally, Karabo Frampton, who had been observing the father and daughter's struggle, stepped in, brandishing his own Black Keys and beginning a different prayer.
[His anger lasts but a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it proclaim your faithfulness? For He looks down from His holy dwelling to observe all the inhabitants of the earth. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love. To deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine, to heal the sick and raise the fallen...
*That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life—ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλὰ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.]*
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 108
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T