AStoryForOne
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Chapter 568
🕑 Added 2025-07-12 04:57:27 +0000 UTCI looked at Ciel for several moments. To have been able to ‘kill’ her once, presumably, was no small feat. Granted, I could make some guesse
I looked at Ciel for several moments.
To have been able to ‘kill’ her once, presumably, was no small feat. Granted, I could make some guesses that she isn’t the most on guard due to her own immortal nature. Even still, she was not a pushover, and at her best, I would have to put in effort to beat her.
Frankly, I wasn’t one hundred percent convinced I could kill her.
I had some ideas, but that’s all they were at the moment.
That being said, Ciel was pissed, and I felt like she was blaming me in her head.
For whatever reason, I don’t know why, but if her glare could kill, I’d probably also be experiencing what she went through.
Though, I think once she finally noticed the other corpse, her anger abated just a bit. Granted, her anger didn’t disappear, but she wasn’t…irrational.
Luckily, she wasn’t actually a believer; otherwise, I’m sure we’d have already started fighting.
Now, it was a strange standoff.
Even if she was with the Church for her own reasons and not out of faith, it would be correct to still call her an enemy. If I remembered correctly, she still despised Magi, even if it wasn’t the same as the normal fervent hostility that Church Executors normally had.
I pulled away and focused back on the corpse.
She could scowl and huff all she wanted; if she wasn’t going to do anything, my attention was focused elsewhere.
“Waver, what are your thoughts?” I asked, taking our Mirage and stabbing it into the floor, letting it begin analyzing the room.
Waver looked at my sword with eyes dilating for a moment, and he wasn’t the only one staring. “No forced entry. No witnesses. No signs of struggle. No one else was seen in the hallway at the time. No obvious signs of curses. No obvious signs of poison. But her head is missing, so I can’t rule out these possibilities completely.” He spoke in one breath.
Waver was good; that was already known to me. He would call himself a second-rate mage, but his knowledge and wisdom were something that even the highest of Magi would envy.
“However, in cases involving mages, the context of how is often irrelevant compared to the why.”
I nodded, understanding his logic. “It could have happened a thousand different ways with people like us; normally, it would be a dead end to try and figure out how when discovering the motivation is usually a much more logical course to follow.”
“Miss Burial Agent, is there something you want to say, or are you just going to glare at us the entire time?” I finally addressed her.
Waver, wisely, took a few steps behind me. And out of the corner of my eye, I also noticed most other people taking steps back almost unconsciously.
Burial Agency, that was one of those phrases that made Magi weary and cautious.
I don’t want to toot my own horn, but if I wasn’t on the train, the moment they found out that she was here, I imagine a great many of them would have taken the first chance to leave.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I will take over investigating the one responsible.” She finally opened her mouth.
I felt my eye twitch. I gave only the most polite response. “Fuck off.”
I don’t think she expected that from me, judging from her expression.
“Fuck off?” She repeated, stomping towards me, her face inches from mine. “You fuck off.” She growled. “We’re taking over; you Magi can stand to the side.”
“Hoh, so you want to stress test your ability to respawn, huh? Alright, I’m feeling confident; let’s see if I can kill you for good.” I didn’t back down in front of her.
She didn’t seem to take my threat at face value; maybe she’s heard that a bunch of times at this point.
I wasn’t taken aback by her being completely unreasonable; it was probably the smart thing to do in her position. She was on a train with what she could call enemies; being unreasonable was a means of survival, or not, in her immortal case.
If she showed weakness in a group like this, it would not only look bad, but it could also cause her problems with her higher-ups in the future.
“Ahem.” A polite throat clearing grabbed both of our attention.
I recognized the man approaching, clad in a priest's garb, but he was distinctly keeping a distance from the other church members that had boarded the train.
“Perhaps we can reach an agreement? I would not mind acting as a neutral party.” The priest stated.
I raised an eyebrow. “The church member wants to be a neutral party in a matter involving the church?”
“Yes, it sounds odd when pointed out like that.” He admitted. “But Lady Ciel can confirm that I was not part of the contingent of Executors that followed her on board. I’m here for my own selfish goals. I believe I can act as a mediator, considering I retired not long ago.”
I glanced at Ciel, who seemed to lose a lot of her fighting spirit. She just gave a curt nod, not even bothering to speak a word.
“In that case, why are you on board?” I questioned, curious about this man at this point.
“I’m afraid that’s a long story. To make it simple… I wished for the owner of the train to extract my Mystic Eyes.” He said a genuinely warm smile. “Ironically, they would be rather valuable in this situation. I can use them to glean some potentially valuable information from the victim.”
I didn’t demand to know what his Mystic Eyes did; I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get much of an answer. That’s the sort of thing that you keep close to your chest regardless of the circumstances.
However, I didn’t get much of a chance to answer because another heartbreaking scream echoed through the corridor.
Olga stood there, peeking out from behind Venelana, seeing the corpse of Trisha.
Immediately, tears welled up, and she ran to the corpse, letting out pained sobs.
It was the sounds I most didn’t want to hear, but I knew they were going to be coming eventually. I just at least wanted to get some groundwork done so I could give her some hope before she saw.
The old priest looked down solemnly. “The longer we wait, the higher the chance that any clues will disappear.” He said quietly as Olga clutched the corpse of her close companion.
I didn’t know what relationship she had with Trisha, but it looked close. A mentor, a sister, or a parent of some variety—only Olga could answer that question, and even she may not know. But she cried all the same.
The old priest seemed to take my silence as agreement, and he moved to smack her on the back of the neck.
I snatched his hand before he could hit her, giving him a glare.
However, his eyes dilated, and they flashed a rainbow hue.
That’s when I felt it.
Ddraig opened his eyes.
Musū Tengai opened his eyes as well.
The Spear inside my ring vibrated.
[How marvelous.] Musū Tengai spoke up. [There are still so many wonderful and interesting things in the world]
Ddraig snorted in annoyance. [You know, I looked down on these whole ‘Mystic Eyes’ and didn’t even care about them. Yeah, sure, you got Balor’s eyes; can’t talk much shit about them. But I’m finding it really hard to stay disdainful.]
They felt it and understood what was happening just as I did. Maybe if it were someone else, they may not have understood what was happening. But due to Musū Tengai and Ddraig, and the fact that I was so attuned with my soul, I could understand.
No wonder he had so much confidence in his eyes.
He was able to peer into my past; I could feel it because when touching me, he used my soul as a springboard to do so. That’s how his eyes operated; they essentially read the memories of my soul in relation to the world.
It was a feat because I wasn’t from this world.
At the very least, his eyes are Jewel Rank, but I wouldn’t dismiss them being Rainbow Rank.
Particularly, the spear in my ring was acting up, like it had been poked.
I wouldn’t say he saw every minute of my life, but he saw a lot of the broad details. I don’t like when people peek into my personal space, but at the same time, it wasn’t actually his fault.
“Have you seen enough?” I frowned, shoving his hand to the side. “Venelana.” I gently called out.
She arrived quickly, and just as fast, her arms were wrapped around Olga. “Let it all out, dear.” She began to whisper soothing words to Olga, who just mindlessly accepted the hug without any resistance or complaint.
The priest looked up at me, many emotions flashing across his face. “I looked at something I wasn’t supposed to look at.” He muttered under his breath, looking very worried.
“It’s fine, he doesn’t mind; now get in the room.” I pushed him into the cabin.
He looked into me, and he inadvertently looked at Big G.
He must be having some kind of coming-to-God moment or an existential crisis. Hard to say right now, and I didn’t care to ask.
“Waver, inside.” I pointed.
The Magus stiffened but didn’t argue.
“Salem?”
“I’m here.” She walked over, having been giving space before due to Olga’s issue.
“Block off the door, please.” I gave her a smile.
She nodded, casting several spells.
“Hey, what—” Ciel’s voice was cut off behind me via magical means.
The room now became quiet with no onlookers.
“You, what’s your name?” I looked at the priest.
“Karabo Frampton.” He spoke with a noticeable tone of politeness.
“Alright, Karabo, work your magic; tell me what you see.” I gestured for him.
“No, don’t touch her!” Olga all but threw herself in front of Trisha’s body protectively.
I sighed.
I wasn’t frustrated; I understood what she was feeling. I was never good at helping other people through their grief. I didn’t know how to help her here except to find the one responsible.
“Olga, dear.” Venelana whispered. “Let him do his job; there’s a chance that she may not die today.”
I snapped my head towards her, an insinuation that immediately reminded me of an important fact.
“...you want to use one of those?” I asked her.
Venelana gave me a smile. “I have no other use for them than to satisfy my own selfishness.” She held Olga in her arms.
“You can save her? She’s not dead!?” Olga’s expression and demeanor shifted quickly. “W-what do you want? As the head of the—”
“Hush.” Venelana gently hugged her again. “You don’t need to pay me anything. First, let’s figure out what’s going on, okay?”
Little Olga nodded reluctantly, clearly having a lot that she wanted to say.
I watched as Karabo touched the corpse of the woman, staring at her for several moments. There was a strange look on his face. “I can’t see anything.” He admitted it without any fanfare.
And I was skeptical.
I looked back at my sword, grabbing it; the scanning of the room finished. “Spatial disturbances, casualty distortion. Someone breached the Time Axis in their method of attacking.” Which was by no means a simple feat.
I would have trouble doing that.
From what I was able to see, someone manipulated causality to attack from the past.
“What are your thoughts, waver?”
“If what you say is accurate, then we’re not dealing with the average Magus.” Waver replied almost immediately, already understanding fully what I said. “An almost perfect assassination method, leaving no evidence or trails.”
He looked around the room. “Lady Olga, do you know anyone, friends or enemies, who practice such crafts?”
Olga shook her head, doing her best to keep herself from crying again. “If there was someone like that, they wouldn’t be nameless.”
Waver clicked his tongue. “That’s true. If someone had the skill to do something like this, they would be well known. And the targeting of the Burial Agent is…strange.”
“At first glance, it would seem that the person responsible was removing threats. A burial agent would be at the top of the list.” He then glanced at me. “As would a magician.”
I nodded, not denying it. “However, based on the clues left, the one responsible could perhaps assume that I would be able to detect a similar method if he tried to kill me.”
Waver nodded, accepting my explanation. “Then why did he attack her?” He whispered, looking down at Trisha.
I looked at Olga, who was quivering her lip still. “Trisha here possessed a type of Mystic Eyes of Clairvoyance.”
Waver tilted his head. “So she would be a threat. However, as this is my first time hearing about this, I assume it was a secret?”
Olga nodded. “Not many people knew.”
“Yet the one responsible knew.” Waver spoke in return.
I admit, even with all these clues, I’m still utterly baffled at what happened and why.
This was turning into a mystery.
However, I immediately threw those thoughts to the side and grabbed Waver’s clothing, pulling him back. He shot me a startled look, but I held up my finger to quiet him.
Very carefully, I reached out and poked at a spot in the air. I didn’t notice it until he almost walked into it.
There was a reverberation, like someone tossed a stone into a calm lake, only over a sort of…bubble that was utterly unnoticeable until it happened.
“Someone tore open a bubble of Imaginary Space.” I said.
“That must have been Trisha!” Olga blurted out but quickly fixed her anxious tone. “H-her element is Imaginary Numbers.”
Imaginary Space, that was basically what my storage ring was. But it’s a practice not widely known here and a bit more difficult for most Magi to accomplish.
Well, it could be different depending.
But guess what was inside.
It was almost certainly her head. Just to be sure, I pressed both my thumbs and index fingers together, making the shape of a square with my fingers. I then used the Kaleidoscope to take just the tiniest peek inside; with the previous calculations, my sword ran.
It only took the first glance to understand the situation, and my eyes lit up.
“We’re in business.” I clapped my hands, cancelling what I was doing and thankful I was being careful. “Waver, I need time of death on the body.”
Waver didn’t question me, perhaps noticing the urgency in my tone.
He had one of the widest breadths of magical knowledge within the Mages Association; he could cast several diagnostic spells with ease. “Roughly seventeen minutes and forty seconds.”
“Venelana, what’s the time frame for your Evil Piece?” I asked.
“Evil Piece?” Olga looked up.
“The sooner the better. Anything past twenty minutes and it’s highly improbable that it’ll work, but past ten minutes, and it’s very unlikely just as well.”
Olga looked like she was about to cry again. She probably didn’t understand what was going on, but contextually, she could understand that chances were slim of things working out in her favor.
“What if the soul hasn’t left the body?” I asked.
Venelana perked up. “Then we should have some more wiggle room.”
I looked at Olga. “Your friend is very skilled. Do you know the theory of Schrödinger's cat?”
“The cat in the box?” Olga whispered in confusion.
“Is the cat alive or dead?” I asked her rhetorically. “Trisha here, her head is technically still alive. Despite being ‘dead,’ the world hasn’t acknowledged her death yet.”
Which meant that there was wiggle room to pull some bullshit.
“Now, you need to make a decision, Olga.” I hated to put this weight on her shoulders. I hated those things, those Evil Pieces. I hated what they represented, but I could acknowledge that for some people, they were a miracle, a saving grace. Mozart made his choice knowing full well what I meant, meaning I had no right to criticize. But here and now, Trisha couldn’t speak for herself. “Venelana.”
Venelana, who still had Olga in her arms, gently fixed the girl’s falling bangs. “There’s a way to save her, but it’s not without a cost. If you accept, she won’t be human anymore, and I will become her master.”
“W-what would that mean? Would she be forced to do things she wouldn’t? Would she become a monster?” Olga looked concerned.
I glanced at the priest, who didn’t say a word. He knew what we were talking about too; he saw a lot of my ‘memories’ through his bullshit mystic eyes.
He stayed completely silent, and there wasn’t an ounce of judgement in his gaze.
“If I told her to jump off a cliff, she would have to follow my orders.” Venelana said in her same cheerful and warm tone, despite the morbidness of it. “She would be mine forever; she would have to stay by my side.”
Maybe Olga didn’t understand all the implications of what that meant; maybe she was just blinded by her own selfish desire.
But that’s also what made her human. “...would you treat her well?”
“You may never see her again.” Venelana warned.
Olga’s tears started up again. “It’s okay if you can save her and treat her well.” She tried to wipe away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.
Venelana gave her a kind kiss on the forehead. “You’re a very sweet girl, you know that? Don’t worry, I was exaggerating. I wouldn’t take away your important person.” She gently set down Olga, who was having trouble articulating her feelings right now.
It seems like everyone made their decisions.
Without hesitation, I tore open the bubble of errant space, catching the severed head of the woman.
There was a spell on her, a last ‘breath’ inside that she preserved. A warning, a name, a word of peace for Olga, who would have most likely been the one to find her?
Whatever it was, I unfortunately had to stop it.
I slapped a talisman onto her rather rudely, but I couldn’t afford to be gentle. That last ‘breath’ still retained would help the resurrection process.
Olga looked like she wanted to throw up or cry, or both. The reveal of her close person’s head was…traumatizing in its own way, but again, time was of the essence here.
I gently laid her head against her neck where it should be, lining everything up as best as I could.
Venelana then held between her fingers a glowing red bishop piece.
Most devils treat their Evil Pieces as sacred, something they would fight to the death to protect. The value of which couldn’t even be properly stated in monetary terms.
Yet here, Venelana was casually using one just to save Olga the grief of losing something important to her. A young girl that she had met but hours ago, and she was willing to sacrifice something so valuable.
If I hadn’t already, I might have fallen for her right at this moment.
Without a word, she pushed it into the chest of the Magus.
And this world welcomed its first Devil.
@***@
A/N
Creating a new devil on a train full of church people, nothing could go wrong!
Comments
striker James
I kinda wish whilem would get his own evil pieces
AStoryForOne
His Magic Resistance pushes off anything that can't affect a God. His Mystic Eyes are genuinely that bullshit, they're either Jewel or Rainbow Rank. To put into perspective, at a minimum, their on the level of Medusa's eyes.
Dracola
The fuck?! Isn’t William magic resistant high enough to brush off the effects of the eye of the priest? Even if not he have like three powerful entities in his soul and no one can block this shit this is bullshit. I always hate how many nbc’s and other unknown characters always have something inside there bag that is somehow is so powerful but no one knows about it in the story or it isn’t mentioned in the canon.
Belly
Kind of disappointed in Wil this chapter tbh. He not only let thr church push him around, he was kind of out of character to go for violence immediately. Then he proceeded to forget that Smolga was nearby so he didn't have time to investigate more and gently let her know, and also let the guy touch him to gleam information off of him. He kind of dropped the ball here
