29 Crazy Train

Amon slowly got up on his feet and entered the car separating him from Ven. Luckily, the doors weren't locked, and he was able to enter without a problem. Inside were several rows of crates neatly lined up. The interior wasn't lit up, and only the only source of light was the opening created by the door that Amon opened.

He quietly entered the car and closed the door behind him. He had no idea where the Holy Knights would be, so he had to be particularly careful of falling into an ambush. If he had to face The Lion and Stormbringer by himself, he most likely wouldn't last long.

He drew his retractable sword and sent the electrical current flowing through it as he moved towards the rows of crates. He carefully advanced through the car when he heard a slight shuffling sound from behind the stacked boxes to his left.

Amon silently traced back his steps and entered the pathway created by the boxes to his left to investigate the sound he had heard. He was careful not to make a sound, and after a few seconds of perfect silence, he saw something move amidst the darkness.

The movement was extremely subtle, and only someone with Amon's sharp eyesight would have been able to detect it. The other figure couldn't react to the blade that came its way and froze when it felt the cold metal resting against its neck.

For a few tense moments, Amon and the concealed individual stood in silence, waiting for the other party to make a move. Amon wasn't nervous about the situation as he had seized the advantage and was in full control of the situation.

Finally, the darkness-clad figure let out a small sigh and said in a low voice. "Would you mind not scaring me like that? I almost had a heart attack when you put that blade to my neck."

The voice tinged with annoyance undoubtedly belonged to Ven. Amon released his sword and hung it back on his waist.

"Sorry for that, but we can never be careful enough. How did you know it was me?

-The Holy Knights would have killed me on the spot.

-I guess that makes sense. Where do you think they are?"

Ven stopped to think for a moment and said: "They are most likely at the front of the train, in the locomotive. It's the only car in a merchandise train that has seats. I doubt they would want to stand for the whole trip.

-That is an unexpectedly mundane reason.

-Not everything has to be complicated, said Ven with what Amon assumed to be a flirtatious smile."

The two Ravens left the car they were in and headed towards the front of the train. It took them nearly fifteen minutes to reach the locomotive. In front of them stood a heavy metal door. As soon as they opened this door, they would come face to face with the Holy Knights once more.

However, the arena for their fight would be much different. To fight in a moving train required both parties to be especially careful. One wrong step could send them flying towards the ground. At the speed of the train, that would spell certain death.

Amon readied his sword, and so did Ven. The two stood on either side of the door, and Amon prepared to open the door and barge in.

Stormbringer wriggled in his seat in a futile attempt to find a more comfortable position. The interior of the locomotive was spacious, with a large control panel and a window at the front. On the side were lockers with various tools for maintenance.

Stormbringer and The Lion were seated in the two chairs facing the front of the train and were discussing in a low voice. The two Holy Knights had a terrible appearance, even worse than when Amon had last seen them.

Stormbringer's left arm hung limply by his side, with peculiar burn marks, typically received after being struck by lightning. His face was ashen, and a solemn expression was plastered on his face. His clothes were torn in multiple places from the injuries that Ven had inflicted.

The Lion wasn't fairing any better. On the surface, he didn't look injured, but his confrontation with Bel took a heavy toll on him. He suffered some hard hits to protect Stormbringer after Bel's enhancement. He was proud of his defence, but Bel's strength left him feeling like a fragile piece of paper facing a terrible storm.

"Are you sure it was the right choice to detonate that weird orb of yours? Without it, your fighting capabilities will decrease quite a bit.

-That might be true, but at the end of the day, it was only a tool. Tools are replaceable, but a fighter like Bel is an invaluable asset for the Ravens. With him out of the picture, our goal will become that much easier.

-You knew who that raging madman was?

-We faced once before, but he didn't erupt with such explosive strength. He's rather well-known as a sadist and a ruthless killer. For the Ravens to send him to stop us, they must think highly of us.

-Their strategy wasn't in vain. They were able to kill The Undying.

-That fool was too arrogant. He relied on his regenerative capabilities too much. That being said, it is indeed a huge loss for the Order.

-So, what's the plan now?

-We crippled the Ravens' operations in New-Paris, even though we couldn't get rid of all the vermin. Right now we need to regroup with another Holy Knight. If I'm not wrong, the Order should have sent Samael to London."

When he said Samael's name, Stormbringer couldn't help but grimace slightly. The Lion had a similar expression. Samael was a powerful Holy Knights, maybe even one of the strongest, but he was overzealous.

To him, the greater good of the Order was more valuable than any individual. That principle led him to take some extreme measures in the past. The two were about to continue their discussion about their plans when The Lion heard a strange clicking noise.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was out of place and made him weary. He looked around to see what could have caused the noise. When his eyes wandered towards the door, he saw that it was slightly ajar. It took him half a second to process this information, and when he was done, he jumped to his feet.

He yelled a warning at Stormbringer and took out his sword just as the door opened violently.

Amon barged in the door, with Ven following closely behind. The interior was spacious, but it was still cramped if four individual engaged in a fight. Amon immediately charged towards The Lion as he seemed the bigger threat at the moment.

Amon noticed that Stormbringer wasn't currently in fighting condition and disregarded him. Using nanotechnological augmentation took a toll on the body. In Stormbringer's current condition, it would be a miracle if he was able to produce even a tiny wisp of electricity.

As such, Amon focused his efforts on The Lion. Ven also engaged the ageing Holy Knight who immediately fell at a disadvantage. He also knew that Stormbringer couldn't be of much help in his current condition. The Lion stepped forward in an attempt to protect Stormbringer and faced Amon and Ven by himself.

The Lion's shield had been destroyed by Bel, so he was now using two blades. This came in handy as it allowed him to manage his two opponents more easily. However, he was still outnumbered and was slowly pushed back.

Amon and Ven coordinated their attacks perfectly. Despite having never fought together before, they were able to play off of each other. After a powerful blow that sent The Lion reeling in shock, Amon afforded himself a look at Stormbringer and was surprised to see him meditating with his eyes closed.

There was an aura of static electricity quietly forming around him and Amon immediately understood what he was doing. Even though Stormbringer was too weak to send powerful streaks of electricity, he still had enough strength to influence the electrical currents around him.

This wouldn't normally be a major problem, but they were currently on a train powered by electromagnets. If Stormbringer was able to disrupt the train, Amon couldn't predict what sort of outcome would occur, and he wasn't willing to find out.

Amon wanted to finish the fight as soon as possible to eliminate Stormbringer, but The Lion was proving a tough opponent, even in his weakened state. Amon gritted his teeth, and his eyes showed a firm resolution. He reached to his vest where he picked one of his last knives.

In a smooth and decisive motion, he violently shoved the knife in his flank, where his vest wasn't protecting him. A stinging pain invaded his body, and he felt the world around him slow down to a crawl.

To the side, Ven was initially horrified by his action, but then she recalled the conversation they had in his hotel room. She remembered him saying something about either pain or anger triggering his enhancement. This meant that Amon had decided to end the fight quickly and trigger his boost in power by severely injuring himself.