A thousand misfortune befell the Kagatsean traveller on his current voyage, as a brutal jolt threw him against the side of the train! Alicia sat limp; the shadow spell that bound her earlier was cancelled at last. The agents marched towards the shinobi, who was still braced against the train wall.
“Easterners are sure annoying! I knew their despise of our blessings was just a tough façade! But, o how I never expect the news to spread there as swift as Thunderkeeper's lightning, man!”
Mass panic occurred because of the loud thump. The passengers on the train burst out of the carriage with curiosity. But the shinobi was unfazed by their raucous mutters. This was an advantage. It bought him time to prepare another surprise attack while human traffic was agitating the Roman agents. Leaning back in serenity, he removed his gloves and sliced his thumb with the fang of his mask, using his blood to paint Kagatsean calligraphy on the ground, then performed a series of Ninshu hand gestures.
“Ninpo: Kuchiyose!”
He tapped his hand on the blood-red calligraphy floor, turning it into a pitch-black hue. Strange symbols appeared and scattered around it.
“Saa, karera o kizande miro yo, Toragaro! Sore ga ranchi da ne!”
A colossal puff of magic smoke burst out of the inscription. A sudden roar of a beast alarmed the whole station, causing everyone to be rowdy and the second wave of panic was set in place. Bringing monsters into the public depot was never good for business. They should have just displayed it at the circus.
A foot came out first from the plume of smoke. A yokai, in the form of a white tiger named Toragaro, appeared from nothingness.
Alicia was about to witness the handicap match between the Arts of Ninshu practitioner alongside Toragaro, versus four agents of Roma, practitioners of Western-rite Sorcery. With all being said, she had already secured her VIP seat. What a time to be alive!
The swedge began! Toragaro pounced on one of the agents straightaway, spittle drooling from its jaw. The other two agents overran the yokai tiger, but they had to deal with the only part of the tiger that did not look organic at all—its segmented tail, with each segment that could separate itself to extend the attack range. Each grotesque tail part had double-sided razor blades that could grab and slice the magi without a sweat. But despite its efforts to bite the ensnared agent, Toragaro was unable to penetrate the protective circle created by him.
Right on the other side, the furious head agent confronted the shinobi. The shinobi took a small scroll under his jacket and opened the scroll that displayed some sort of encryption in Kagatsean characters. He did the same instruction to summon his yokai and behold, a short blade—a ninjatō—came to the world's surface, from an abstract painting manuscript!
“A sword? Poor choice, man,” sneered the arrogant chief.
Having the impression that the Roman agent might be on the good side, Alicia dared to speak up. “Be careful, good sir! It’s not just an ordinary knife, It’s a ninjatō! A Hana-no-bunretsu ninjatō!”
“Hannah—what?” replied the head agent in bewilderment. “Lady, what are you talking about? Stop interrupting us already!”
“But that ninjato...”
The agent fired several magic shots from both his magic circles, which the shinobi’s sword easily slashed as he ran.
“...can cleave spells...”
The chief agent gawked! That short blade was splitting magic? He was either senile or ignorant. He had no idea that crafting weapons by implanting amulets to prevent supernatural powers had become part of Eastern mystic arts custom. But was that not common in the West, too? The sorcerer should have known better, but it seemed that the Crimsonmane girl was ahead of him in magical knowledge.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
But back to the match. The shinobi approached the sorcerer, cutting him several times while the agent was activating his shield magic. However, the shinobi was more agile. He managed to slash the unit leader in blind spots, then kicked him in the jaw until he collapsed to the ground! The Kagatsean Ninja seemed superior in this round.
While the head sorcerer sank into a deep stupor, and the other agents were occupied taming the loose tiger, he laid his eyes on the audience. The only audience who was not sensible enough to escape when the opportunity presented itself, and instead watched what she called the world-class "mixed mystic arts" fight. An initiatory step towards the bolt-lightning rush and the lass jumped out of her skin.
She immediately took out Orb out of reflex, attempting to temper the shinobi’s movements with Arcane might. His motions faltered. But alas, performing a telekinesis of sentient beings was a hundred times more arduous than putting together the rubble of graves back in the olden days! Before long, the shinobi managed to escape from the azure energy's influence and drew nearer. His hand barely touched Alicia’s strands of hair when his motions were arrested again, this time by porcelain tiles fusing with his feet. He turned his head. The prone chief agent was the culprit.
Alicia seized the moment by erupting Orb’s plasma at the shinobi, dislodging his feet from the stubborn tiles and hurling him against the pillar.
When the shinobi's palm leaned upon a cement pillar nearby, the agent rose and sank the shinobi's hand into its support with a spell.
“Abducting underage girls in the Western lands, man?" He approached the shinobi. "Real daredevil you are, you filthy Kagatsean—“
The Kagatsean still managed to demolish the concrete pillar and freed his hands, making a circular slash in front of the finical sorcerer. The head agent still found his head intact thanks to Alicia’s force field, which not only prevented him from being split in two but also broke the Kagatsean’s magic-splitting blade. O, how disbelief was his mien when his trustful ninjatō was as worthless as split metal scraps compared to the Divine Grace!
The shinobi jumped back in retreat. On the other hand, the other three agents managed to confine the tiger with multiple chains emerging from magic circles in all directions. Toragaro was quite overwhelmed, but the beast itself had been sealed with a worse spell. Toragaro roared; it was so ferocious that the magical aura in its voice sent the three magi into disarray. With the sharp blades of its tail splittings, it cut all the artificial blue chains and jumped to the side of its master. A roar of shock waves was emitted to prevent those from moving an inch closer. The shinobi sheathed his broken sword and tucked it under his noragi jacket. No lunch for Toragaro.
“I guess someone else will be looking for you, brat! But I can’t guarantee they will be more generous as I am.” The shinobi performed a single Ninshu gesture and the sentient pair vanished inside the wisp of white smoke.
The sorcerers regrouped. The head agent saw Alicia quickly stuff Orb into her bag. She did not try to flee, however. She knew there was no point in running away from the Eternal Empire personnel.
“‘I guess someone else will be looking for you?’ Wow, a sweet lady like you sure likes to find enemies, huh?” said the head agent with a grin.
Alicia gasped. “I-I don’t know what to say about it, sir—”
“Just call me Kirillios.” said the agent. “And your name is…?”
“Alicia. Alicia Crimsonmane, sir Kirillios.”
“Ooh… Crimsonmane...,” Kirillios responded in a tone of pretentious admiration as he turned to his colleagues. “I thought so, by your hair. A Crimsonmane, huh? A famous wizarding house from Caledoniascire. I heard that the one living in Trinketshore is the Crimsonmane who can’t do magic.”
Alicia was triggered by those words. “A-all the members of the House of Crimsonmane can do magic!”
“Hey, that’s what the rumor is flying around, okay? And it seems…,” Kirillios pointed to her knapsack. “I guess all the Crimsonmanes do have magic. By the way, is it yours? Its essentials are pretty much the same as what we have in Eternal Roma.”
The girl stuttered when Kirillios asked such a thing. “Ah, you mean Orb? I-I found it. Or… it chose me, to be precise. B-b-but I can explain everything to you if you’re kind enough to g-give me a moment.”
“Lady, I really wish we could do that over a nice evening tea. But how The Divine has cursed us, our time here is very short. How about this?” Kirillios grasped Alicia by the hands, and the magical handcuffs were fastened on her wrists by his agents, emitting a magic signal that cut her connection with Orb in an instant.
“What the—”
“Alicia Crimsonmane! By the blessing of the Emperor of Eternal Roma, and on behalf of the Magisterium of Arcane Plane, you have been arrested for illegally possessing and abusing the source of pure Arcane, without reporting or receiving the good blessings from the Eternal Empire! You have the right to present your defense against the Magisterium through magic court proceedings at Eidyn’s District Court Office! And you are going to Eidyn, right now!”
Alicia could only gape.
“H-huh?” []