Magia, Pacem, Bellum Terrarum - False Synthesis

The Zealots

Elise de Lamarliere and Zealot Tian pressed their backs against the walls by the door linking the First Class car to the dining car. The French Carissima held her heavy greatsword with one hand while the Zealot from Shanghai cradled her hatchet made of cards close to her heart as the two of them stayed absolutely still.

Elise closed her eyes and tried to listen to the scene beyond the door. She could hear a myriad of footsteps along with the unmistakable cocking of even more C96 Mauser pistols. The French girl took a peek through the small window of the door and she saw eight more assassins wearing the same blue Republic of China army uniforms. They assassins must have overturned tables and were taking position behind them.

Elise then whispered to Zealot Tian beside her,

"It seems there aren't any patrons in the dining car - just eight more assassins with guns pointed our way."

Zealot Tian's brow furrowed as she asked,

"Haven't the other patrons and the train staff heard any of this? Two grenades already went off and lots of gunfire! The train should have stopped after something like that!"

"Perhaps the assassins placed some sort of magical barrier to block out the sound. But we can think about that later. For now, we have to somehow break through those defenses and get through to Serafina's crate in the next car over."

The Zealot then hummed and then summoned a new deck of cards as she said,

"I think I have an idea."

"Be my guest, Zealot Tian."

The Zealot opened the door to the dining car and then threw her deck of cards to the ground. The playing cards then coalesced into a human-like facade that ran out of the door and into the dining car.

The assassins were startled by the hulk of cards flying towards them and shot at it with their pistols. Elise and Tian rushed out from their cover with their magical weapons in tow and charged at the distracted assassins.

Elise tore whole limbs off of the assassins with her heavy greatsword while Tian struck them with vicious strikes of her card-hatchet. It was a relentless assault that saw the last two conscious members of the inspection team systematically killing off their foes. Elise took down foe after foe without a second thought while Tian felt as if she was feeling less and less remorse with every strike of her axe.

Blood spilled all over the posh dining car, soiling the carpets and streaking on the walls and the hardwood furniture and Zealot Tian felt her fear turn into exhilaration. Before she realized it, she and Elise had killed and brutalized all eight of the assassins who were reduced to nothing more than bloody messes.

Zealot Tian was panting and her hatchet-wielding hand was shaking but her heart wouldn't stop racing. She was disgusted at herself for all the blood she had shed but she couldn't seem to get enough. The Zealot then said,

"What's this feeling? I'm supposed to hate this, aren't I?"

Elise turned to the shaking Tian with a sympathetic eye. The sight of Tian torn between remorse and thrill reminded Elise of herself from not too long ago. The similarity, however, didn't make the French Carissima happy one bit, so she laid a hand on the Zealot's shoulder and said,

"Come on, Zealot Tian. Let's get moving. The other girls still need that medicine in the crate."

Zealot Tian heaved a long sigh and managed to calm herself down as she thought about her team. She then nodded to Elise and the two of them were about to head over to the door to the cargo car when the sound of a teacup settling on a saucer echoed throughout the empty dining car.

Elise and Tian whirled around and looked for the source of the sound. There weren't supposed to be any more people in the dining car, after all.

However, right in the middle of the blood-stained dining car, there was a lone unturned table where two young girls in travelling cloaks were seated with cups of freshly brewed tea.

The first girl was a tall and husky Han Chinese girl who was holding up a teacup to her lips as she drank. The Han girl had long, black hair that covered her ears and her frame was so large that she was hunched over on her chair and would have made even the statuesque Serafina Larivenko seem like a minnow.

The second girl was a brown-skinned Afghan with straight, dark brown hair tucked behind a light-blue hijab, emerald green eyes and a knowing smile on her lips. The Afghan girl had just set down her cup as she snickered and greeted them,

"Salaam alaaikum, Carissima de Lamarliere, Zealot Tian."

She then set her hands on the table and continued in English,

"How did you like the tea? I made it myself, you know. Inshallah, I'd be happy to make some more! To serve a Carissima is a high honor after all, isn't it? Don't you just love how it spreads all throughout you to soothe the soul?"

Elise furrowed her brow and then held her greatsword with two hands while Tian gripped the handle of her card-hatchet more firmly. The French girl then pointed the edge of her greatsword at the Afghan as she growled,

"Who the hell are you two!?"

The Afghan girl was unfazed by Elise's roar and simply scoffed as she said

"Still belligerent, I see - I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are the right hand of Lorelei Sankt, after all."

Elise stomped her foot and rattled the dining car as she demanded,

"Answer my question!"

The Afghan girl heaved a sigh and said,

"Fine then, allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Ridwan al-Bamyani, the most senior Zealot of the Hsinking Chapter of Salvae. This large lady with me is Jiang Guan, is also a Zealot of Hsinking."

'Zealot Jiang' simply replied with a grunt and didn't seem so interested in the conversation at all, sipping her tea at her own pace.

Elise stole a sidelong glance at Tian, but the Zealot from Shanghai shook her head. Zealot Tian didn't recognize either of those two people seated there before them. Despite that, Zealot Ridwan wore a sugarcoated smile as she continued,

"As the two of you may have already figured out, Zealot Jiang and I are here on orders from Carissima Lianmeng Hou - and I am in charge of this operation today. We were told to give the Inspection Team a 'proper welcome', but the two of you proved to be much more of a challenge than we had anticipated. I mean - look at this bloody mess you left behind with just the two of you!"

Zealot Ridwan then set her right arm on the table and rested her cheek in her hand as she spoke with admiration,

"We all knew that Lorelei Sankt would send at least a Zealot to investigate us. But to think that we would meet a Carissima - let alone the right hand of Lorelei Sankt herself - here on the way to Hsinking! We were only supposed to drug the Inspection Team and keep them as hostages, but that had to change when we realized that you - Elise de Lamarliere - were accompanying them."

Elise adjusted her grip on her greatsword as she snapped,

"Just what is that supposed to mean!?"

The Afghan Zealot heaved another sigh and said,

"My brew was strong enough, after enough cups, to take down trained Aspirants of Salvae - proficient Witch-hunters too, if my records are correct. Had Zealot Tian here taken a few more, I'm sure the drugs would have gotten to her as well."

Zealot Ridwan then glanced at Tian and her smile turned into a smirk,

"Actually - maybe it already has."

Elise turned again to Zealot Tian and saw that the Shanghai girl's face was flushed and her grip on her card-hatchet was shaky. Her footing and stance were both turning sloppy as well. The French girl clicked her tongue with frustration. Zealot Ridwan had been talking in circles to buy more time for her drugs to affect Zealot Tian.

The Afghan Zealot then said,

"Things were supposed to have flowed smoothly if you weren't here, Carissima Elise de Lamarliere. We were hoping that we didn't have to fight - but we knew that someone like you would be able to withstand the drugs and the hemlock and fight us like you did. You even refused the tea at first too, I hear! That's why I decided that we ought to 'liquidate' everyone instead."

The Afghan girl laughed as she added,

"Wasn't that nice of me? That's how much I respect you, Carissima Elise - your very presence and the threat you posed made me decide to kill twenty-one girls instead of taking them hostage. It would send a much bigger message than what we had originally planned to do after all. Plus, I got to treat myself to seeing you kill Puella Magi too - it was like a work of art!"

Zealot Ridwan then spread her arms out like a curator showing off a painting in a museum a she said,

"The Massacre at the Asia Express, by Elise de Lamarliere! Yet another masterpiece from the most proficient killer of magi in Salvae, Terrae Magicae! Ah~ how nice it must be to be part of this masterpiece! The the thought of being cut in half and spilling my blood all over this soiled scene of decadence sends a shiver through my very soul! Especially, if it's by your masterful hand~!"

She then smirked at Elise and said,

"But sadly, that cannot be. After all, I have decided to be part of a much larger and more majestic picture than this. Zealot Jiang has too - and so have the girls of Hsinking. Well… most of them at least. You two are here to investigate the disappearance of Puella Magi, aren't you?"

Elise shook her head. She couldn't stand to listen to the Afghan girl's insane drivel any longer. She then telepathically spoke to Zealot Tian beside her and said,

"We need to get the medicine. Let's end this. Now."

Zealot Tian nodded and adjusted her grip on her hatchet as well as she could. Then, before Zealot Ridwan say any more, Elise and Tian charged towards the table with their weapons ready to strike.

The placid Zealot Jiang of Hsinking then suddenly sprung to life tossed her teacup at Zealot Tian. The Shanghai girl struck the teacup and shattered it with a swipe of her hatchet. All of the sudden, the blade of Zealot Jiang's menacing guandao halberd appeared with a flash of green light and then shot out from behind the veil of porcelain shards and spilled, opium tea.

Zealot Tian tried to dodge the strike but the blade of the guandao caught her arm and cut a deep wound. However, she only felt a dull, numb and shallow pain that felt unreal to her and made her head spin.

Elise tried to help Zealot Tian, but the halberd-wielder swung her weapon and forced Elise to block with her greatsword. Steel clashed against steel and caused sparks to fly between Elise and her opponent. The French girl struggled to push back against Zealot Jiang's guandao but the halberd-wielder was unbelievably strong - much stronger than any of the Zealots that she had met around the world.

As all of this was taking place, Zealot Ridwan remained seated behind her table as she watched the battle with glee. Just how confident did was that Afghan Zealot? Elise could only wonder.

Elise quickly glanced at Zealot Tian and then redoubled her efforts to push back against Jiang's strength. There was no way she was going to overpower Jiang with just her greatsword, so she looked for another opening. The French girl managed to find one, so she summoned the metal gauntlet of her magical attire. She then stepped aside, dissolved her greatsword with a flash of lilac light and then threw a haymaker punch at Jiang with her gauntlet.

Zealot Tian likewise joined in and swung her hatchet at the distracted giant.

Elise's haymaker landed squarely and dislocated Jiang's jaw. Tian's hatchet struck Jiang's exposed back and dug deep through skin, muscle and bone alike. However, the giant Jiang didn't flinch at all. Jiang snapped her jaw back into position and flexed the muscles in her back until it shattered Tian's hatchet.

Zealot Jiang then dissolved her guandao and grabbed Elise's outstretched arm and gauntlet with one hand. Then, she threw a backhand elbow at the dazed Tian that knocked her out cold.

Elise tried to fight back, but Jiang squeezed the French girl's gauntlet like a vice grip. Jiang's grip was so strong that it warped Elise's metal gauntlet and threatened to break her wrist from sheer strength.

The French girl wailed in pain as steel shards of her gauntlet cut into her skin. However, she was immediately silenced when Jiang started throwing punches at Elise's face with the force of a sledgehammer. Every vicious strike rattled Elise to the very core, but Jiang didn't seem to show even a shred of remorse or hesitation.

In spite of this, Elise caught Jiang's bloodied fist with her free hand and roared as she shored up her strength. Jiang, however, struck Elise below the ribs with her knee and knocked the wind out of her sails. The French girl coughed out blood and her vision was becoming a blur.

Zealot Jiang then manhandled the weakened Elise and then threw the Carissima down back-first onto the unconscious Tian. The Han Zealot then whirled her guandao and pointed its edge at Elise and Tian below her. Elise could hardly move her body anymore but she still defiantly faced Zealot Jiang with what little of her waning strength she had left.

All of the sudden, the distant crack of a rifle reached Elise's ear and the glass of the window behind Zealot Ridwan shattered. A bullet then tore through the side of Ridwan's hijab as it passed by her and then grazed Jiang's cheek. The bullet blew Zealot Jiang's long hair to the side and revealed her dragon-shaped earring from where her green Soul Gem hung, nearly hitting it.

Elise saw the gem behind the blown hair and realized that the hidden gem was the shooter's target.

Zealot Ridwan clicked her tongue with frustration as she looked out the shattered window and said grimly,

"Jiang. We're withdrawing."

Zealot Jiang turned to Ridwan with a look of curiosity, but Ridwan replied,

"Twenty one corpses won't make a difference. We need to get rid of the evidence too."

Jiang obediently dissolved her guandao glaive while Ridwan adjusted her ruffled hijab. The Afghan Zealot then stood up from where she sat as she turned to Elise and smiled again,

"It's a shame that we couldn't play longer than we have, Carissima Elise. We'll take good care of the Ukrainian's crate for you - those were gifts for the Hsinking Branch after all, aren't they? But don't worry - we won't be leaving you two empty handed."

The Afghan Zealot then dug into her traveling cloak and then brought out a black Grief Seed that was pulsing with dark energy. A wicked smile grew on Ridwan's lips as she looked at the Grief Seed and said,

"You were here to look for the missing girls of the Hsinking Branch, weren't you? Well, I'm saving you a little bit of trouble - I have one of them right here with me. Isn't that nice?"

Ridwan then tossed the heavily corrupted Grief Seed and said,

"You can thank me in hell, Carissima Elise. Khodahavez~!"

The Grief Seed landed on the polished, albeit bloodied hardwood floor of the dining car as tendrils of darkness started to spill out of it's black shell. Elise watched the tendrils swirling and spreading across the dining room while Ridwan and Jiang walked out of the dining room towards the cargo car. The two Zealots then closed the door behind them and locked it with a flash of powder blue light.

...

Elise blacked out as she felt the dark energies take hold of her and Zealot Tian, dragging the two of them into a strange new world - the barrier of a manifesting Witch. The French girl fluttered in and out of consciousness as she felt the dining car melt away around her.

The Carissima couldn't make out the strange world that had formed around her and dragged her in, but she could hear the distant cries of the Witch and the shuffling of minions and familiars around her and Zealot Tian. She couldn't tell how much time had already passed, but Elise felt that those creatures would descend upon them at any moment. Tears then formed in Elise's eyes as she ruefully prayed,

"Lorelei. Serafina. You'll avenge me, won't you?"

Suddenly, Elise heard the crack of a rifle again - the very same rifle that she heard in the distance just a while ago. She heard five shots fired in quick succession that tore through what sounded like metallic minions. Those minions started scrambling away from the scene, but the strange presence of the a stronger familiar remained.

Elise, with great effort, opened her eyes again and then saw the back of a metallic beast squaring off against a girl with bolt-action rifle in her hands and an odd sword and scabbard at her hip. The girl slung her rifle over the shoulder and then extended her hand forward, casting bright turquoise blue light to wrap around her. The light coalesced into a long, Japanese naginata polearm and transformed the girl's traveling clothes into a beautiful blue kimono with patterns of morning glories.

The girl then gracefully lunged forward and thrust her naginata into the torso of the metallic familiar and cut straight through. The familiar then stopped moving and then came apart.

Elise struggled to get off of Zealot Tian and then managed to face the girl who saved them. Her ash-green eyes met with the naginata-wielder's deep brown ones and the two girls knew that it was a fateful meeting.

It was the day that the French knight first met the Girl in the Blue Kimono.

To Be Continued