Christiana fought against Explo while John fought against Crow.

They were all professionals. Whenever Explo swung at Christiana with the cannon’s sharp edges, she would avoid it thanks to her superior dexterity.

*Voom!* Christiana was already prepared for Explo’s red magic beam. “You can’t break my shield!”

However, this time the shield broke and Christiana was forced to dash away. “Was she holding back when she fired at the two kids?” she wondered.

“Are you okay?” asked John.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Christiana made a stairway of shield to gain some altitude, then jumped back down to fight Explo.

Next to them, Crow was having trouble avoiding John’s needles. John used his manipulation magic to control very sharp black needles. They weren’t poisonous but moved extremely fast.

Crow still kept his calm, assessing the situation.

A bit farther, Aaron and Rico ran as a hole in the wall slowly came into view.

“What’s that?!” suddenly asked Rico.

A turret appeared in front of them and mounting the turret was the illusionist.

“ZOMB! Rico, we can’t avoid it, charge forward!” Aaron hoped it was an illusion, but just in case, he finally activated his magic.

A green light came out of his eyes.

Rico felt a strange sensation. A new wind pushed him forward, doubling his speed. He followed Aaron.

*WOOSH* Zomb felt humiliated. He didn’t even have the chance to fire at them.

Passing by, Aaron turned his head towards him. He grinned.

“FUUUCK!”

A few seconds later, Aaron and Rico arrived at the other train. It was even older than the other one. It seemed to belong to the early 20th century.

As they climbed inside, Zomb could only look at them from afar, feeling powerless.

When all hope seemed lost, he remembered what Jacob had told him and the others earlier. ‘Don’t kill Rico, and if you get the chance, tell him about the traitor.’

‘It's worth a shot’ he thought.

Zomb spoke loudly. “RICO!”

Rico looked back.

“Jacob wasn’t the one who wanted to kill you when your bus was attacked! It was a traitor! Come back to us! PLEASE!” he begged.

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Rico, who thought that he had been betrayed, felt like he had gained some sense of authority once more. He liked the feeling and wanted more of it.

“Rico?” Aaron was confused.

His little brother turned his head, making eye contact. Rico’s face was filled with disgust and wickedness.

*Slash!*

“G-Ghaugh… argh…. W-why…” Aaron struggled to breathe because of the wound on his neck. Blood gushed out of it. He desperately tried to stop the outpour with his hand but to no avail.

“Is this how I die, murdered by my own brother?!” Aaron’s body was now laying down inside the train. Blood still flowed out abundantly. Aaron’s time was running out.

Rico stared at his brother, contented. He had been in on the coup d’état the whole time.

When they lost contact and the bus incident happened, he thought Jacob had betrayed him. Now that he knew the real reason for the incident, he had no reason to play the innocent little brother anymore.

“Heheheheh- Huh?”

*Poof* A man’s boot appeared in Rico’s view. Rico stopped laughing immediately.

“What in the world is happening? I came to save you both, but I guess I can only save one,” declared a man in his forties.

Rico’s expression adjusted itself. He abruptly took an innocent allure.

“Yes, my brother is almost dead, but I am still alive! Please, save me!”

The man laughed, “You fool, I’m not talking about you. I am saving Aaron. With the Tremblay guild’s advanced healing techniques, he might still have a bit of hope left.”

The man aimed his shotgun at Rico.

*Bang!*

Rico was propelled backward and fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry you had to go through this. It’ll be fine now. I didn’t expect such a thing to happen…. Let’s get you to your new home.” said the man.

Before losing consciousness, Aaron managed to catch a glimpse of the man’s appearance. He wasn’t particularly elegant, but his very white skin and short grey hair contrasted each other. His long face and big nose delivered an expression of boldness.

Aaron closed his eyes.

About 50 meters afar, the four experienced magicians were still fighting. A voice suddenly appeared in their heads. “Hey, guys, we’re departing!”

Zomb was sitting on the ground and meditating. “Phew, I saved Rico. I made the illusions just in time. He’ll be invisible for a little while,”

“I just need to hold on a bit, I can’t let the illusion disappear.” The illusionist was getting more and more exhausted. He didn’t have the time nor the mana to hide himself, just Rico.

Zomb had made two illusions. One for hiding Rico, and the other one as the decoy. Rico was not hurt at all.

*Spchh!*

A black needle pierced through Zomb’s head. Blood splattered.

“Huh…” Zomb was puzzled. His mind went blank.

It was John’s needle that killed him. Christiana and John had made their way back to the hole in the wall. Following closely was Crow, and a bit farther was Explo who tried to keep up but failed. Crow was still getting slowed down by the needles.

“Shield!”

As soon as they both passed Zomb’s corpse, Christiana set a shield to keep their enemies out by blocking the hole. It would only last temporarily, but it was enough to escape.

*Crash!*

Crow’s sword finally managed to break the barrier. “We’re too late. The train’s already gone.”

“Zomb seems to be dead. Let’s bring him back anyway. I doubt they are going to try to revive him though,” suggested Explo.

Indeed, Zomb had committed too many mistakes. But at least, he managed to save Rico.

Rico came out of his hiding spot. In an authoritative voice, he ordered, “Hey! Take me to Jacob.”

End of Part 1 - Coup d’État