Chapter 60
'What?!'
Kairon—or rather, the possessing sorcerer who had taken over his body—was flustered.
His vision had suddenly twisted as he walked toward his compartment, transporting him to a place he had never seen before.
'Teleportation?'
As far as he knew, there was only one power capable of causing such a phenomenon.
Teleportation.
But how?
Teleportation magic was quite a tricky form of magic.
Moving people or objects elsewhere was naturally difficult, so it was classified as high-level magic.
But what was even stranger was—
'There were no warning signs.'
That was right. There had been no warning signs.
The sensation of space being connected by mana just before teleportation began usually made people feel something similar to motion sickness.
Even if he had possessed the body without taking complete control of it,
how had he been transported without even sensing the warning signs before the teleportation magic activated?
It was a phenomenon that even people who had only just awakened their mana should naturally have been able to feel.
"Well, welcome."
Just as he was struggling to process the sudden change in circumstances, he heard a man's voice.
Kairon turned his head and looked at a man walking toward him.
Grayish hair reminiscent of cigarette smoke.
He was a man who looked barely old enough to be an adult, with decadent eyes and a cigar in one hand.
He had seen him before.
No, he had not merely seen him—this was the person judged to be the greatest threat to them at present.
The individual considered the most dangerous among the ability users who were so vile that devouring them would not be enough.
'Abel...'
"Who are you?"
Kairon was momentarily flustered by Abel's sudden appearance, but he immediately began acting.
In the memories of Kairon that he had seen upon possessing the body, there had been no record of ever meeting Abel.
Since he knew nothing about him either, the correct response was to act as though he were facing a complete stranger.
"What is this sudden stunt?"
His voice was nothing but rough, like a wolf growling.
But despite that voice, Kairon's mind was as cold as ice.
Abel looked at Kairon as though he found him ridiculous, lightly exhaled cigar smoke, and opened his mouth.
"Ah, my name is Abel. You've heard of me, right?"
"Abel...?"
Act as though you have never seen him before. That will be enough.
I had obtained information on that man long ago. He was said to have become the legitimate heir to House Nebula, wasn't he?
The owner of this body was the heir to House Stellheim in the north.
There was no way Abel would act without certainty, so all he had to do was deny it.
That was what Kairon thought.
"No, that's a name I've never heard before."
"Hmm, really?"
"Yes. You'd better explain properly. You kidnapped me out of nowhere, after all."
Abel silently stared at Kairon.
He looked every bit like a noble who had suddenly been teleported here and was thoroughly displeased about it.
"Puhahahahaha!!!"
"...What?"
"Ahahahahaha!!!"
Abel suddenly burst into laughter.
Kairon looked displeased and drew his sword from the ring engraved with subspace magic, his expression like that of someone watching a truly amusing comedy.
Ssshing.
A peerless sword forged from the northern coldsteel, radiating a chilly aura, was leveled at the laughing Abel.
"Stop laughing and release me. This is your last chance."
He held the sword in one hand while keeping his other hand behind his back, an unusual stance.
It was close to the basic stance of the knights.
In this world, where guns had appeared, it was more efficient to fight with a sword in one hand and a gun in the other rather than hold a sword with both hands.
"Puhahaha... haah... pff. Really? Your last chance?"
"..."
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I laughed too much."
Abel said that, but his expression did not look apologetic in the slightest.
Kairon had been acting angry at Abel's attitude, but he could not help freezing at Abel's next words.
"You're good at acting, huh? Even though you're not really Kairon."
"...What are you talking about?"
"You were wondering why I was laughing, weren't you?"
Abel cut Kairon off.
Using the smoke that had spread discreetly throughout the surroundings, he revealed what he had learned about Kairon.
"How could I not laugh at you desperately suppressing the tremor in one hand, shaking like you have palsy?"
***
Did you think I called this guy here without any certainty?
I had told Bellias to just go ahead as though I were joking, but I had already finished checking several times.
No, perhaps because Kairon's original self-awareness was so strong, he had actually been easier to distinguish.
"What are you talking about?"
Look at him even now. He was using all his strength to suppress the trembling of one hand while answering calmly.
"Well, you don't need to know."
Even if this was all the result of my misunderstanding, there was nothing I could do about it.
[Crocus Academy] exclusive train assault incident.
If I said I had moved hastily to prevent this unprecedented incident—the first of its kind—from occurring, who could fault me?
The justification was already on my side.
With that thought, I inhaled the smoke from the cigar in my hand.
"Let's just say I went crazy and attacked you?"
Isn't that simpler?
As I spoke, I sent a sword made of smoke flying at Kairon.
"Damn it!"
Kakakang!!!
.
.
.
'Madman!'
The entity possessing Kairon could not help thinking that as it looked at Abel before it.
What?
He was just going to declare himself crazy and say he had attacked me?
I knew he was a madman, but I never imagined he was this insane!
Sshhk!
At the same time, Kairon sliced through Abel's smoke with a graceful movement.
"Are you insane?! You?!!"
As he did so, Kairon continued acting as though he had been shocked by the sudden attack.
No matter how he had been teleported, he had realized long ago that this was inside the train.
Judging from the surrounding engines and other equipment, he had probably been teleported into one of the train's many engine rooms.
'Then there must naturally be cameras recording this!'
As if to prove Kairon's thoughts correct, a glinting object appeared in his field of vision.
A camera.
"Stop this right now!!"
After confirming the camera, Kairon began shouting as though he were truly being wronged.
Everything was being recorded.
Even if I were captured later, it would clearly be extremely difficult to undo the possession.
Even if Ariel, who was aboard this train, was cooperating with Abel.
If the footage from that camera established Kairon as the sole victim, it would surely take the Saintess time to intervene as well.
'I only need to take complete control of the consciousness in the meantime!'
If that happened, even the Saintess's divine power would not be able to break the possession.
Kagagakak!!!
He continued talking without pause while parrying the countless smoke attacks, which lashed out like tentacles, with nothing but a single sword.
"Please, stop!"
Kagakang!!!
He was pretending to be at a disadvantage. No, he really was at a disadvantage.
The possession had not been completed properly, and Kairon's strength had been insufficient to begin with, nowhere near Abel's level.
But every bit of justification was flowing in Kairon's favor.
"What do you stand to gain by attacking me?!"
Crunch!
"Guh!"
When Abel's smoke struck Kairon in the solar plexus, his body slammed into the wall with a rush of air escaping from him.
However, the performance of the entity occupying Kairon's body did not stop.
"Cough! Guh... What on earth...?"
It was a performance worthy of heaven.
He wore an innocent expression, as though he had no idea why he was being attacked.
It was acting so convincingly that anyone in the world would see Abel as the villain.
"Hey..."
Abel opened his mouth as he approached Kairon.
Smoke began to pour from the corner of Abel's mouth and envelop him.
"Just in case, let me tell you something."
I know you're planning to kill me, right?
'...'
What?
Kairon blankly lifted his head and looked up at Abel, who was smoking a cigar.
What did he just say?
As though he had read Kairon's thoughts, Abel wore a chilling smile and pointed at the camera hanging from the ceiling in the distance.
"Don't tell me you confronted me thinking this?"
He won't kill me.
Then let's have that camera capture my grievance.
"This?"
Abel looked down at the seated Kairon as though he were an idiot, his expression incredulous.
Cigar smoke began to cover Abel's face.
It was a chilling sight, like a demon, with only Abel's eyes occasionally visible through the smoke.
"But why are you assuming you'll survive?"
Snap!
A simple finger snap.
At the same time, the ceiling camera that had been functioning normally suddenly began emitting a rainbow-colored light.
"Now, let's think about this simply."
Abel began speaking in a gentle voice, as though teaching a foolish student.
"You were suddenly kidnapped through teleportation. But there's no way the camera would be functioning normally at the place you were kidnapped to, right?"
'!!'
The man possessing Kairon's body was momentarily flustered by Abel's perfectly obvious statement.
That was right. Abel was the one who had teleported him here.
So it was only natural that the camera would not be functioning normally.
"Faking it is simple. Kairon died in an unfortunate accident. Simple, right?"
It's House Nebula.
And two members of the duchy’s most elite assassination unit, [Shadow], were aboard this train right now.
Surely that would not be beyond them.
"You... bastard..."
Having realized that, Kairon's face instantly changed from that of a wronged victim into one glaring at something hateful.
At Kairon's change, Abel lightly smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah. That's it. That's the face you should be making."
How could trash that had dared to steal someone else's body and was scheming to survive pretend to be the victim?
"Now then, nameless extra who stole the body of Kairon, a man I've never even met."
Vrrrrrrm.
"Now we should have a proper fight. Don't you think?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the smoke around Abel began gathering in one place.
The small ball of smoke behind Abel eventually began firing hundreds of weapons at Kairon.
"Damn it!"
Kairon moved with a shout that was almost a scream.
Sshhk!
Kairon immediately rose from the floor and began slicing through the countless attacks flying at him with nothing but a single sword, his movements graceful beyond comparison to before.
His movements were so different that it was impossible to believe he was the same person who had been driven onto the defensive by Abel moments ago.
"You damn ability user!"
'I'll kill you. I'll tear you limb from limb and kill you!!'
Only then did the entity possessing Kairon realize it.
Judging from Abel's words just now, if he had killed him without asking any questions, he would have had nothing to say for himself.
If he had been killed instantly by the ambush when he first arrived in this space, he would certainly have died just like that.
But Abel had not done so.
Why?
Abel had kept showing him the answer.
Through his sudden burst of laughter and the way he continued to calmly face him while laughing.
He was playing.
He was playing with me right now!
He was not even using his full strength. He did not even recognize me as an enemy.
Everyone sent into this operation had put their lives on the line.
It was called possession, but the mind itself had been extracted from the body.
If I were captured now, my flesh might rot away, leaving only my mind behind.
And after we volunteered for this operation at such risk, he treated us like this?
It was humiliation. Utter humiliation!!!!
"I'll kill you!!!"
.
.
.
Hmm...
A damn ability user.
I quietly analyzed the words spoken by the unidentified entity possessing Kairon, who was neutralizing hundreds of attacks with nothing but a single sword.
"Hmm, what?"
In truth, this had been a half-intentional train of thought.
I had tested what would happen if I mocked and looked down on the enemy, treating them as something not even worth recognizing as an enemy.
I was not sure, but some people considered that sort of treatment humiliating, so I had tested it. I was surprised by how well it worked—far beyond my expectations.
"That guy."
Everything was to get even the slightest grasp of the true nature of that unidentified organization.
Bellias had said that they had tracked the organization alone without any support, yet had failed even to catch its trail. I had acted to learn even a little about the organization's tendencies.
At the very least, I did not know what the organization's overall purpose was,
but if I could understand its members' tendencies, I could roughly determine what kind of organization it was.
And the tendency I had identified in that organization was—
"They were ability-user haters?"