Chapter 37

EP.37 On the Train - 2

Aria was shocked to the point of being speechless as she watched the girl fall out of the train. She couldn't even scream.

She was certainly surprised, but the unreal violence that unfolded so naturally and confidently left her no time to scream or even tense up.

“Le...! Leo!!”

“Yes, Miss.”

Wiping the blood from his fist, Leonardo looked at Aria.

“Why...? Why did you suddenly hit her?! It feels good, but... this isn't right!!”

Aria, overwhelmed with shock, inadvertently revealed her inner thoughts, but Leo's expression remained unchanged as he pointed to the fallen person with his finger.

“Take a good look. No matter how hard you hit, a person's face shouldn't change like this.”

At his words, Aria cautiously looked over the fallen girl from behind Leonardo's shoulder. Her face of shock naturally twisted into one of disgust.

It couldn't be helped.

“...A man...?”

The girl's face was nowhere to be seen, and a middle-aged man with a dirty beard lay on the ground, his face half-crushed.

If it were a completely different person, the man's flowing dress would have been an unpleasant clue.

“Polymorph, a kind of transformation magic.”

A spell that allows one to transform into another being or creature, it's an intermediate-level magic that requires at least a 4th Circle to cast. As long as mana remains, the transformed appearance will continue to be maintained.

[...This guy is that level?]

The Sage looked at the cross-dressing man lying pitifully and asked in return. Even a wise Sage would find it hard to accept immediately.

“Of course, he's not a 4th Circle. If he were, he would have immediately countered with magic.”

However, there were various applications of the Polymorph spell. Some of these could be used by lower-level mages.

“Probably an intermediate or advanced mage cast Polymorph on him first. And they replenished the duration with their own mana.”

This way, one could transform without knowing the 4th Circle's mana and spell formula, and multiple people could change their appearance for a long time.

“...How did you... know?”

“Well, there were a few things.”

The first suspicion arose when he lifted the suitcase.

“It was heavy. Too heavy for someone of that build to lift.”

While it was understandable to push the suitcase, the person tried to lift it to put it on the shelf. Although he failed due to his short height, it meant he had enough strength to lift it.

“...Just that...?”

“Of course, there was more.”

The next thing that raised suspicion was the hand that held the suitcase.

“It wasn't a girl's hand.”

“There were no scars...”

“No, the size of the arm and hand didn't match.”

The proportions of the arm and hand were awkward. In a rush to erase the scars, the Polymorph spell was applied too thickly, making the hand swell and appear larger.

If you didn't focus, you might not notice, but with extensive knowledge of human anatomy, you could detect the inconsistency.

“Of course, that alone wasn't enough to be certain. It could have been a physical characteristic or a kind of illness.”

That's why Leo tried to find evidence to turn his suspicion into certainty.

“Remember when I removed the leaf from his head?”

“Huh? Oh...”

He couldn't forget. It was a scene that still made him angry when he thought about it.

“At that moment, I lightly scratched his face with my aura-coated fingernail. It wasn't deep or large, but enough to cause bleeding and pain.”

And then the suspicion turned into certainty.

“Even though I scratched him, he didn't bleed or even show pain. He should have at least frowned.”

This was another weakness of Polymorph. Since the face was covered with magical clay, the transformed area would naturally be less sensitive to sensation and pain.

“So I hit him. Polymorph usually breaks with a strong impact.”

Thanks to this, the results were clearly black and white.

When he explained his quick and detailed deduction, everyone was amazed and shocked.

[Did you used to work for a detective agency?]

<Well, there were times when I needed to deduce things as a mercenary. I learned from bounty hunters.>

[No wonder you, a bastard, are strangely good with women.]

<What? How is this seducing anyone?>

The Sage was silent because he knew Leo wasn't just being brazen to show his intentions.

<‘Not knowing that is also a kind of ability... ability...’>

Regardless, now that he had demonstrated such deduction, the next step was to uncover the criminal's intentions and the details of the case.

Leo began to search the unconscious man's body.

“Leonardo, we should tell the conductor or the crew first...”

“I would, but that option is risky.”

While removing hidden weapons and items from the dress, Leonardo began to explain.

“There might be accomplices among the crew.”

“...Among the staff...?”

The contents of the bag would need to be seen directly, but based on the weight and circumstances, it was likely a terrorist bomb.

<So, Sage, please check that.>

[Alright, I will.]

A ghost was the most suitable and convenient for such tasks, as it could pass through anything.

The Sage immediately stuck his head into the bag to check its contents. It was a bit creepy, but this method was the most reliable.

Leonardo took out a small silver ornament, like a pocket watch. When he opened the lid, a mirror that illuminated the surroundings was revealed.

“There it is.”

Though it looked like a mirror, this was a communication magic tool. Not a toy from the magic tower's souvenir shop, but a professional communication device used by soldiers.

[...Crazy bastards...]

The Sage, pulling his face out of the bag, cursed repeatedly.

<Why are you saying that?>

[...These bastards plan to use this train as a ritual site.]

“...A ritual site...?!”

[It's the first time I've seen it, but I understand. It's a gas bomb. They plan to fill the train with poison gas. These bastards.]

Leo quickly stripped the man to reveal his back.

“Damn... why... of all places...”

Even considering Aria's presence, he couldn't help but swear.

The tattoo of a snake with nine heads on his back was the symbol of a black magic organization, the [Hydra].

“...A black mage...?”

“Yes. I've seen this tattoo before.”

Of course, it was from his previous life, but he couldn't explain the source in detail.

“...What should we do?”

“...We need to use our advantages.”

While touching the communication magic tool, Leonardo cleared his throat. Aura surrounded his vocal cords, gradually changing his voice.

***

In that situation, the other compartments were in complete panic. The reason they were so quiet was that the black mages' mental magic was specialized for such terrorist operations.

“How's it going, Daraan?”

A man in a black suit glanced at the terrified passengers and asked. They had lost their will to resist due to the mental attack magic.

“It's fine. We can start the ritual once we secure the first-class compartment.”

The man in the thick robe explained, and the suited man frowned in annoyance.

“Moan, what's that pervert doing? Hurry up.”

“He's a pervert who paid his way in, what else?”

Just then, the communicator began to vibrate and emit a receiving sound.

“What is it?”

“Sounds like Moan?”

“Ha... he's quick to contact.”

With a gruff response, the suited man answered the call.

“Hey, it's me. What's up?”

[...Hurry... call for backup... cough...!]

The sound quality was shaky, but Moan's voice was unmistakable. Such a raspy, distorted voice couldn't be imitated.

“What's wrong?”

[There's a knight and a mage in the first-class compartment...! We're in a standoff, and we need backup. At least a 3-star knight and a 2nd Circle mage...!]

“...Damn... where are you now?”

[I'm in the corridor, in a standoff... I'm a bit injured. I need as much backup as possible. How's the situation elsewhere...?]

“We've secured everything except you. The sacrifices are all prepared.”

[Then come to the first-class compartment... it's better to start the ritual in one place...!]

“Got it, shut up. I'll set the bombs and come right away.”

He then cut off the communication unilaterally.

“We need to call the others.”

“What? Can't we just go ourselves?”

“A 3-star knight and a 2nd Circle mage are a tough combination. We need to call everyone except the person guarding the engine room. If things get bad, we can detonate the bombs remotely and use gas masks.”

This was the safest and most reliable option for them.

There were no experts among the passengers under the influence of mental black magic who could defuse the bombs, and this poison was a new model.

‘Even if they remove the bombs, we can make them self-destruct immediately. They won't know how to neutralize the poison.’

Thinking this, the man in the robe contacted all the black mages who had infiltrated the train.

***

Upon receiving the call, the organization members gathered in front of the compartment beyond the first-class section.

The sound of the train's rails and boiler prevented them from hearing the exact sounds from the other compartment, but this made them even more cautious.

“Everyone, get ready.”

The apparent leader, a black mage, grabbed the doorknob and counted down with his fingers.

As he counted down, he kicked the door open with his foot.

“...?”

But there were only two people in the compartment corridor.

One was their fallen comrade, and the other was a girl with blue eyes and white hair.

The other first-class compartments, as if on command, were tightly locked, and the occupants were holding their breath.

“...What? Did that kid...”

Before he could finish, Aria charged. The narrow corridor was an advantage only she could use.

Bang!!

The leading black mage was immediately subdued by the sword still in its scabbard.

No matter how strong a mage, in such a confined space, they couldn't use area or ranged attacks.

“This brat!! Everyone, put on your gas masks and release the poison!!”

Of course, they had their own confidence.

The mages put on their gas masks and released the poison gas created by black magic.

Without their gas masks, the gas would cause immediate death or at least unconsciousness.

“Gah...!”

“Kill her... ugh?!”

Due to the gas acting as a smokescreen, the black mages couldn't find Aria hidden in the poison fog and fell one by one.

“...How...?”

The last remaining black mage looked at the girl in the slightly cleared poison cloud.

The girl already had a gas mask on her face, which she had clearly taken from one of his fallen comrades.

“Then...”

He had no choice but to attempt the ritual now, even if it was incomplete. If he could massacre most of the passengers and set up a small ritual site, he would definitely become stronger.

“Aaaaaa...”

Forcing out mana and magic energy, he formed a purple magic circle in his hand.

“It's about to...!”

Aria rushed over and broke his wrist with her sword.

“Now!! Detonate!!”

But Aria didn't notice the spell the fallen man had activated due to the poison fog.

“We won!! Noble evil!! Grant us power with the sacrifices...!!”

With a fanatical cry, he gathered magic energy in his hands.

“...What...?”

But it was strange. There was no explosion, no screams from the passengers caught in the blast, no writhing souls in pain.

“...Lucky. Leo was much faster.”

Saying this, she struck the remaining enemy and knocked him out.

The remaining poison gas escaped through holes in the ceiling, a passage Leo had secretly created to approach the front compartment.

Meanwhile, Leo, in another compartment, was handling the last bomb. The disassembled bomb stopped working.

[But how did you know how to disarm this?]

<This is a new model, but in my time, it was an old model from over ten years ago. I could disarm it with my bare hands, and now with magic, it's even easier.>

The knowledge of a reincarnated person shouldn't be underestimated.

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