Chapter 508: Assassination
After noticing that Vania might be in a peculiar situation, Doro immediately took control of the Small Zombie Puppets scattered throughout the train, making them fly to appropriate positions to observe Vania, who was waiting to disembark. From a third-person perspective, Vania appeared to be fine, but when Doro opened her Spiritual Vision, she discovered something strange.
‘Vania is… possessed by a Spirit? When did this happen? How did she allow herself to be controlled without any power to resist?’
Seeing the abnormal spiritual phenomenon surrounding Vania, Doro quickly assessed her condition—another spirit was currently attached to her, controlling her actions. Vania was not acting under her own will. At the realization of this outcome, Doro couldn’t help but frown, fully understanding the seriousness of the current situation.
‘Vania is being controlled by someone else; they used some method to make her lose consciousness temporarily and then manipulated her actions through possession… Is this some kind of ability from the Path of Body Reliance?
‘It’s certain that there is a group controlling Vania’s body, intending to do something at this critical moment during the welcoming ceremony. Although I don’t know their specific purpose, it is undoubtedly not a good thing; I must stop them…’
Standing in her carriage, Doro pondered while putting on her outer coat. She then began to use the Zombie Puppets to search the entire train and surrounding areas to confirm if there were abnormalities elsewhere. Are the behind-the-scenes manipulators nearby? Do they have other schemes? However, as she saw that the train was about to stop and Vania was about to step out to join the welcoming ceremony, she realized she didn’t have time to do more and had to act immediately. Consequently, Doro quickly controlled her Zombie Puppets to prepare for the expulsion of the spirit attached to Vania.
Meanwhile, Vania, currently possessed by an hostile spirit, stood at the door of the carriage, quietly waiting for the train to come to a complete stop. As the scenery outside the train’s window gradually came to a halt, the long train finally stopped. The attendant beside her immediately stepped forward and opened the door. When the door was opened, a carpet had already been laid out, flanked by a crowd of people waiting to welcome her. At the end of the carpet, a group of Kankdar elites, led by Robert, was waiting.
Upon seeing the door open, Robert smiled and led the esteemed individuals beside him toward Vania, among them was Mazale, who appeared distracted and lost in thought.
Inside the train, upon seeing Robert and the others approaching, a faint smile appeared on Vania’s face. She stepped forward, walking onto the carpet amidst the jubilant welcome, while her hand slipped into a small bag at her lower back, gripping something tightly.
The moment Doro sensed the touch from Vania’s hand, she immediately identified the object in the bag and realized it was a critical moment; she decided to take immediate action.
On the carpet in front of the train, Vania, gripping the handgun in her bag, intended to draw the firearm and sh**t at the crowd ahead. However, at that moment, she suddenly felt her entire body stiffen, rendering her unable to move.
Standing frozen in place, the extraordinary soul within Vania suddenly realized that the body of the nun she controlled seemed to be subject to another power, her actions began to deviate from her will. The nun’s entire body remained locked in place, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move.
‘Move! Move! Hurry up and move! What’s happening? Why isn’t this nun’s body moving?’
At this moment, the extraordinary soul inside Vania was filled with panic. Just as things reached the most crucial moment, the body of the host was immobile, leaving her at a loss for how to proceed. Many onlookers, including Robert, were also puzzled by Vania’s sudden stillness.
At that moment, from within the train, behind an open window, a figure hidden behind a curtain threw two small projectiles toward Vania. Upon closer inspection, the projectiles were two crumpled paper sigils!
The sigils ignited in mid-air, burning at a distance not far from Vania, unnoticed by the crowd. Only Robert and a few individuals nearby noticed the thrown paper sigils. Just as some of them attempted to act, the sigils had already burned away, unleashing an invisible wave.
These were Exorcism Sigils! They were remnants collected by Doro after she remotely guided Gregor and Adele to defeat Atif, the leader of the Northern Ufeiga treasure thieves and his subordinates. The spoils were split between Gregor and Adele, and the remainder was sent to Adria, where they ended up in Doro’s possession while she was in Iwig. Among them were these Exorcism Sigils.
Exorcism Sigils emit a form of disturbance that ordinary people cannot detect, but it possesses a strong disruptive capability against abnormal entities. This wave has a powerful expulsion effect on unusual spirits. Generally, stray souls can be expelled in groups by such a sigil, and although Doro worried that the power might not be sufficient against the spirit possessing Vania, she used two of them in one go.
‘Huh… This is… Exorcism!’
Indeed, upon being affected by the Exorcism Sigils, the spirit possessing Vania suddenly felt a wave of disarray, and its condition became extremely unstable. The intense discomfort prompted the spirit to seek an escape from Vania’s body quickly.
Yet, she was no ordinary spirit; she was the soul of an extraordinary being. Even with the combined effect of the two Exorcism Sigils, she managed to endure and did not immediately get expelled from Vania’s body. However, her control over Vania weakened significantly. Seizing this opportunity, Doro pressed her attack, further seizing control of Vania’s body using the living puppets.
Previously, Doro’s control only allowed her to stop the possessed spirit from acting, preventing it from drawing a g*n to k*ll. Now, due to the weakening of the possessing spirit from the Exorcism Sigils, Doro gained the upper hand in the contest for control over Vania’s body. Taking advantage of this moment, Doro guided Vania to make additional movements. Though limited, it was enough for Doro at this moment.
Under Doro’s control, it seemed as if the frozen Vania slowly opened her mouth, her lips trembled as she whispered words inaudible to anyone but herself.
“The Holy Mother is also the Cup Mother. I emerged from the womb of the Holy Mother, just as I emerged from the womb of the Cup Mother. The Holy Mother gently taught me, just as the Cup Mother gently taught me. Thus, the Cup Mother is the Holy Mother, the Holy Mother gives me life, and the Cup Mother teaches me…”
The blasphemous words flowed from Vania’s lips like a whispering thread, even those nearest her could not hear her clearly. The only ones able to hear, apart from Doro, were the spirits attached to her, who reacted violently upon hearing these profane words.
‘Ahhh!’
The poisonous words of the blasphemy eroded the spirit’s sanity, causing it to tremble violently. An indescribable sharp pain pierced through every inch of the spirit’s senses, and vivid crimson spread before her eyes, plunging her into a struggle.
‘No, this can’t go on!’
Realizing the danger of continuing to possess Vania, the attached spirit decided to abandon ship. The invisible entity, unseen by ordinary people, drilled out directly from Vania’s body and twisted as it struggled to fly away rapidly. As the spirit left Vania, she almost fell to the ground, but fortunately, Doro managed to stabilize her, preventing her from collapsing completely.
“What’s wrong with that little nun?”
The onlookers expressed curiosity and worry regarding Vania’s abnormal situation. Mazale, not far from Robert, looked at Vania and felt a wave of suspicion. Robert, witnessing this, revealed a concerned expression; however, a sense of gravity lingered in his gaze.
After the expulsion of the spirit, Vania’s consciousness gradually began to clear. The narcotic that had plunged her into a deep sleep had diminished in effect, as it was now well into the night, and she had been unable to wake previously due to the spirit’s suppression. Now, with the spirit expelled, she started to awaken slowly. As her consciousness returned and she saw her surroundings, a sense of bewilderment filled her.
“Eh… What happened? Why are there so many people?”
“Be careful! Someone is trying to control you for a public assassination. The masterminds might still be nearby!” Facing the slowly awakening Vania, Doro sternly reminded through their communication link. Upon hearing Doro’s warning, Vania froze, beginning to look around anxiously.
At that moment, several attendants standing behind Vania turned grim as they saw her situation. One of them glanced toward the nearby window and saw, to their horror, that the train window had been thrown open. A figure quickly climbed through; upon closer inspection, it was a cleric from the Envoy Group, Ched, wrapped in bandages around his wrist! Doro realized he was also exhibiting signs of possession!
‘d*mn! There’s more than one!’
“Watch out for the right side! That one called Ched is going to attack the VIPs at the welcoming ceremony!”
Seeing Ched’s state, Doro quickly alerted the still-dazed Vania. Vania promptly turned her head toward the direction Doro indicated. At that moment, Ched had already pushed through the crowd and entered the carpet area, staring coldly at Robert and the VIPs ahead, drawing a handgun aimed at them while loudly proclaiming.
“Glory to the Lord!”
As he shouted, Ched began to pull the trigger to unleash a b*llet. Just then, Vania spun around and dashed in front of him, skillfully knocking Ched’s handgun away. Using her tremendous strength, she seized his arm and swept his feet, toppling him to the ground and pinning him down. The entire process was quick and clean, earning loud cheers from the onlooking crowd.
The moment Ched was apprehended, a flicker of surprise crossed Robert’s face, quickly replaced by a hint of shadow. He subtly glanced at the attendants behind Vania, who, upon catching Robert’s fleeting gaze, sprang into action.
At the moment Ched hit the ground, with the audience still processing the situation—most of their attention focused on Ched and Vania—one attendant, stationed at the doorway of the train, pulled out a handgun from beneath his uniform and aimed it at the VIPs at the end of the carpet, firing and shouting.
“Glory to the Most Holy!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
While virtually ignored by the audience, in Doro’s view, the attendant showed no signs of possession, almost exuding no presence at all. Yet at this moment, that seemingly insignificant attendant, handgun in hand, recklessly sprayed bullets toward the front of the carpet. Amidst the thunderous gunfire, high-speed projectiles raced across the ground, striking the VIPs.
Amidst the audience’s screams, bullets pierced flesh—the overweight Mazale, due to his size, was hit twice in a panic and fell to the ground wailing. Robert, at the front of the line, also fell as he was shot in the chest, clutching his bloodied torso in pain as he collapsed. Additionally, stray bullets struck a noblewoman and a gentleman, both falling to the ground before everyone’s eyes.
“Apprehend the assassin! Protect the nobles!”
As panic swept through the audience, the captain of the city guard, originally maintaining order, shouted orders, prompting a swarm of guards who quickly split into two groups—one rushed to protect the gathered VIPs, while the other charged toward the train entrance to capture the assailant.
As chaos unfolded within the carriage, Doro furrowed her brows deeply upon witnessing the scene and murmured softly.
“This is… reckless…”
