SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant Chapter 600: Cargo Breach

The route to the cargo wagon was more perilous than Trafalgar had anticipated. This was a significant statement, given that the train had already subjected him to sleeping gas, deceased individuals, a tempest, and so much ineptitude from armed assailants that he questioned the very planning of the entire operation.

He and Caelum advanced through the connecting passage in silence. The pilfered masks concealed their identities, and the attire procured from the attackers afforded sufficient anonymity when viewed from a distance. The train emitted a low groan, its external structure shuddering with each sideways gust of the storm. Ahead, metal shrieked as if something vital had been forcibly deformed.

Truly wonderful.

The closer their proximity to the cargo section grew, the more pronounced the destruction became.

Scorched marks streaked along the lower sections of the walls. Several mana lamps flickered erratically with a sickly blue luminescence, barely functional yet stubbornly refusing to extinguish. A trail of blood, smeared across the floor by someone dragged while still conscious, led from one wagon doorway to the next.

Trafalgar briefly followed the grim path with his eyes before resuming his progression.

At the passage's terminus, the mithril-reinforced cargo door materialized into view.

It was an imposing structure, its silver-white plating layered over dark steel, bearing runes meticulously sealed across the seams. Or rather, they had been sealed. Now, a significant portion sparked erratically, compromised by explosives planted with far greater expertise than the blundering individuals in the passenger compartments had demonstrated.

So, Merisse truly was familiar with this train.

Beyond the breached door, the cargo wagon had been transformed into a chaotic battleground.

Eight guards occupied the near side.

These were train security personnel, not mere hired thugs. Their uniforms were tattered, masks fractured, and blood seeped from beneath the armor plates of more than one individual. One guard knelt behind a shattered crate, a hand pressed to his wounded ribs. Another, his eye swollen shut, still gripped a mana pistol with both hands. Implausibly, they had managed to prevent the attackers from fully securing the cargo.

Trafalgar had to acknowledge their resilience.

Opposing them stood ten adversaries.

Nine attackers were dispersed throughout the wagon, utilizing sealed containers and alchemical crates for cover. And near the compromised lock, positioned as if the surrounding violence had been orchestrated for her convenience, stood a woman clad in a black coat.

She had short red hair and narrow eyes. Thin metal wires were coiled around both her wrists, extending between her fingers. Small vials dangled from her belt, interspersed with capsule charges, needles, cutters, and an array of tools too delicate to be anything benign.

Merisse Varn.

Her appearance bore no resemblance to Selara’s descriptions, which, paradoxically, made her seem even more formidable. Trafalgar had envisioned a disturbed genius, perhaps with wild hair and a laugh suited to a lair filled with illicit biological experiments. Instead, Merisse presented a composed, focused demeanor, seemingly vexed that her predetermined schedule had been disrupted.

That particular archetype was usually the more perilous kind.

One of the guards detected Trafalgar and Caelum’s entry from the rear.

"Who in the blazes are you?"

Caelum offered no reply.

Trafalgar summoned Maledicta, its form solidifying in his hand.

That was response enough.

Merisse turned her head.

Her gaze swept over him, lingered on the mask, then the borrowed attire, and finally settled upon the sword. Recognition did not dawn swiftly. It emerged gradually, piece by piece, until her expression underwent a subtle transformation.

"Ah," she stated, her voice light and almost casual. "So the passenger sweep proved unsuccessful."

Trafalgar entered the wagon.

"One could certainly interpret it that way."

Merisse’s eyes briefly flickered towards the crimson stain on his sleeve.

"How many?"

"Sufficient."

She clicked her tongue. "An evasive answer. How very honorable."

Caelum shifted slightly beside him, his daggers concealed once more but held close enough that any prudent individual would already be incapacitated or in retreat.

Merisse offered a faint smile. "And the attendant. This significantly inflates the cost beyond the initial contract's estimation."

One of the attackers near her registered a frown. "Merisse?"

She raised a single finger, not deigning to look at him. "Concentrate on the lock."

The man complied.

Trafalgar's attention surveyed the interior of the wagon.

Thin wires traversed the floor in various locations, practically invisible in the dim light. Three capsule charges were discreetly placed amongst the cargo containers. A misting device emitted soft pulses near the far wall, likely dispersing additional gas towards the adjacent compartments. Two attackers diligently worked on the mithril seal, employing tools that appeared to blend alchemical and mechanical properties.

The guards remained pinned, their advance blocked by the omnipresent threat of hidden traps.

An irritating woman, indeed.

Merisse widened her stance slightly, the wires glinting between her fingers.

"You are not my intended quarry, Trafalgar du Morgain. Depart now, and I shall continue to treat this situation as a professional undertaking rather than an inconvenient heroic intervention."

Trafalgar’s gaze fixed on the partially breached seal.

"You attacked a train filled with students and innocent civilians."

"Correction. I attacked a train filled with wealthy alchemists, guarded merchandise, and individuals so influential that any mishap would cause widespread panic. The students were merely unfortunate bystanders."

A guard coughed up blood onto the flooring. "You murdered passengers."

Merisse regarded him with casual indifference. "And your point is?"

Trafalgar ceased to listen.

He initiated his movement.

[Severance Step] altered his trajectory across the carriage; his form became a blur as he navigated past the initial wire, reappearing near the assailant closest to the cargo's secure lock. The man attempted to lift a hammer-like implement. Maledicta intercepted his hand before the tool could ascend past his chest, and Trafalgar drove his knee into the man's abdomen with sufficient force to buckle him onto the ground.

A small capsule activated near Trafalgar's foot.

He contorted backward just as emerald smoke billowed upwards. The ground beneath the vapor hissed, metal darkening where the fumes made contact.

Corrosive. Naturally.

Merisse twitched two fingers.

The wires sprang to life.

They lashed out from the floor and ceiling, converging on Trafalgar's limbs, neck, and legs. He severed three with Maledicta, dodged under another, and employed [Crosswind Edge] in a swift cut that propelled a concentrated stream of mana through the closest cluster of wires. The wires snapped and recoiled, emitting sparks as they were deactivated.

Caelum advanced through the opening Trafalgar had created.

An assailant positioned near the guards suddenly sported a dagger embedded in his spine. Another turned, only to receive a blade thrust beneath his ribs. Caelum maintained no prolonged proximity to either fallen foe.

The guards identified their opportunity.

"Advance!" one commanded.

Four of them charged from their cover, mana pistols firing. The carriage thundered with sound, shots impacting crates and alchemical barriers. Two attackers fell. One guard was struck down by a projectile through his shoulder but managed to crawl behind a crate before succumbing.

Merisse appeared unfazed.

With a flick of her thumb, she released a vial from her belt, crushing it between two wires. A dark foam spilled across the floor, expanding into a viscous sludge that engulfed the boots of two charging guards.

"Remain there," she stated, her tone almost gentle.

Trafalgar used [Arc Slash], channeling a dark-blue energy wave through the expanding foam. The mana cut forged a pathway, and one guard ripped himself free with an expletive.

Merisse's eyes gleamed through her evident annoyance. "Oh, that blade truly is problematic."

"You converse excessively for someone losing their operatives," Trafalgar retorted.

"I am multitasking."

She snapped her wrist.

A wire coiled around a suspended cargo hook overhead and yanked sharply. The hook descended, bringing a chunk of metal plating with it, hurtling toward Trafalgar. He sidestepped, but the impact triggered two more capsules. White sparks erupted across the floor, scuttling like vermin towards the guards and Caelum.

Trafalgar's jaw clenched.

This woman had transformed the carriage into a treacherous, confined puzzle.

He raised Maledicta.

[Morgain's Linebreaker] imbued the blade with concentrated mana as he surged forward in a direct assault. The cutting wave preceded him, pulverizing sparks, wire anchors, and one attacker who failed to evade its path. The man impacted the wall with enough force to fracture the panel behind him, and the disabling curse from the strike left two others staggering as if their legs had betrayed them.

Merisse finally retreated from the lock mechanism.

Her wires coalesced around her, resembling a metallic web.

"Be cautious," she advised, her smile narrowing. "Damage the wrong element, and we shall all discover the sensation of mithril shrapnel."

Trafalgar halted before the next line of wires.

She had him cornered.

A full-powered strike within this confined space risked damaging the cargo, the seal, or the train itself. He could achieve victory through brute force, undoubtedly. Conversely, he might reduce the cargo car to costly debris, earning him endless derision from Selara until they reached Aurevane.

Caelum materialized beside one of the remaining antagonists and slit his throat before withdrawing.

The numbers had shifted drastically.

Then, the roof above the far end of the cargo wagon fractured with a precise flash of pale light.

Not an explosion.

A clean cut.

White-gray lines traced through the air, spreading across wires, active charges, spilled blood, fractured runes, and the compromised mithril lock. They highlighted every dangerous point within the carriage as if the entire space had transformed into a schematic drawn by an exceedingly stern deity.

Merisse's composure finally faltered.

"Oh, this is most inconvenient."

A figure descended through the opening.

Eldric au Veyr landed upon the cargo floor, his coat fluttering once in the frigid air cascading from above. Behind him, silhouettes of others, weapons prepared, moved across the breach.

His steely eyes surveyed the carriage, noting the strewn bodies, the hidden traps, the guards, Merisse, Caelum, and finally, Trafalgar.

He then spoke, his voice resonating effortlessly through the damaged car. "By the decree of the Council of Sages, all hostile actions cease this instant."

The ethereal white lines in the air tightened their grip around every wire and concealed charge.A profound silence enveloped the scene, with no one daring to stir. Trafalgar's gaze met Eldric's, a silent exchange passing between them. Unseen by the two, a damaged cargo seal, positioned behind Merisse, emitted another flicker of sparks.