In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

Luo Wei covered his forehead and answered with certainty.

"However, since you're not going to strike first, then I won't hold back. In short, if you're going to succumb to your pipe dream, I advise you to wake up sooner rather than later. Who do you think I am? Those guys who are captivated by your face, whose little heads control their big heads, and who yearn to sleep with you? I even rejected invitations from the most domineering and ancient fat tiger in history, and the queen who rules over a certain underworld. What do you think you are compared to them?"

As he spoke, Lovi slowly raised his middle finger toward Rita in front of him.

"Oh, by the way, even those guys who are eager to sleep with you would probably lose all interest in you after seeing you like this, right?"

"Hahahahaha..."

Instead of going berserk because of Lovi's sarcasm, Rita covered her face with her right hand on the train and burst into laughter. It was an extremely manic laugh, and the red light that erupted from the Demon Eye between her thumbs shone brightly in the night.

“Interesting, very interesting… This is the first time I’ve been praised like this. Although I’m annoyed, I feel a sense of novelty. This is the first time I’ve experienced this since I inherited this position. You really make me happy. I’m growing to like you more and more, Magician… no, Rowe Crowley.”

"It's decided. I'll make you my servant, and then I'll command you to sing praises of my beauty every day!"

After saying that, his smile abruptly stopped.

Immediately afterwards, Rita's smile vanished, the madness on her face completely gone, replaced by an elegant and noble aura. Along with this, a terrifying crimson magic swept across the entire train.

Even those inside the car felt a shiver run down their spines the moment this aura appeared.

It was a feeling that originated from the human bloodline, like being targeted by a natural enemy, making one feel uncontrollably fearful.

※※※※※※※

……

……

Today is the Lantern Festival, and I drank with my elders until I passed out.

So the update is a bit late.

Chapter 140 The Twenty-Seven Ancestors of Dead Disciples

As Rita stopped smiling, or rather, revealed her true form, the dark red magic seemed to gain substance and began to condense continuously at the top of the train. A terrifying pressure emanated from above and began to reverberate throughout the train, both inside and out.

Rita, who had been wearing a maniacal smile, had completely reverted to her appearance from when they first met. What followed was an unease that came from her very blood, and the demeanor of the beautiful noblewoman before her, just like when she first appeared.

Because the difference in his behavior before and after was so great, it was really hard to tell what kind of personality this capricious guy really had.

However, although her posture had returned to its original state, Lowe could sense that there was clearly something different about her.

This feeling was just as strange as when she first met the Gemstone Elder, except that the Gemstone Elder felt like a few grains of sugar added to hot water, while she felt like a few drops of ink added to milk. It was a feeling of 'foreign substance' breaking through the shackles of the body and emanating from within.

The Gemstone Elder genuinely rejected that 'foreign element,' while she undoubtedly chose to embrace it, so there is a fundamental difference between the two.

However, it is certain that she is not human at this moment, but some kind of terrifying monster that transcends worldly understanding.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the bright moon overhead on the speeding, dark train seemed to be tinged with a scarlet hue, its surface shrouded in a thick layer of haze.

"Insignificant and fragile humankind, prostrate yourselves here, kneel down and know my true name!"

With a wave of her hand, she dispersed the mist surrounding her, then declared forcefully yet authoritatively—

"Knowing death, kneeling before the unknown, my true name is Rita Rogan, the true master of the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, and also the immortal and noble being who holds the fifteenth seat among the twenty-seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostles!"

Her voice was powerful and her name made the entire mystical world tremble.

To escape death goes against the laws of nature.

Invaders who drive out humanity and destroy the human world.

—These are the Dead Apostles.

Since ancient times, whenever a large-scale war occurs, there are always ferocious monsters on the battlefield that do not distinguish between factions and only seek to kill and fill their stomachs, thus taking advantage of the chaos.

At the same time, strange rumors about vampires or various monsters often circulate in remote villages or towns.

Although modern secular circles define them as unfounded folk tales and superstitions, these are not all just baseless rumors.

There are many related accounts in at least the Bible that Lowe studied.

Such monsters were encountered when the Roman Catholic Church sent out the Crusades to begin the Eastern Expeditions. They had appearances indistinguishable from humans, had scarlet eyes, preferred to move at night, were extremely bloodthirsty, and hated all humans and living beings.

The pope at the time named it "Dead Apostle".

In modern times, Aleister also made records of it in his journal.

He once said that when he was young, he searched for traces of the Horusian era in Egypt, where he encountered a monster that kept countless wild beasts inside its body and fought against it.

At that time, he was very interested in its existence, so he thought of subduing it and then studying it. But unfortunately, his magic was not complete at the time, and he also misjudged the monster's vitality, so he was lucky enough to let it escape with the river, leaving only some fragments for further research, and he even wrote the research results into his own anecdotes.

It wasn't until later that he learned the other party was actually one of the highest-ranking Dead Apostles, a monster known as immortal. However, the other party's appearance did not arouse much interest in him. He only dabbled in this aspect of research, giving the other party the title of 'enemy of humanity' before not continuing.

As for whether the monsters that appeared at the time were too weak to arouse his interest, or whether Aleister had already foreseen the fate of the Dead Apostles and therefore did not take them seriously, it is now impossible to know.

As expected, among the numerous vampire species in the world, the Dead Apostles are the most numerous and the most powerful race overall, undoubtedly a dominant force. Their method of developing their race does not require reproduction like humans; they only need to infect others through special means.

Therefore, their existence violates human ethics, common sense, order, and even the truth of life and death; even the gods would find it difficult to tolerate their existence. It is for this reason that the Church received divine revelation countless years ago, and countless clergy members took it upon themselves to hunt down vampires. Many famous stories of vampire hunters originated from this.

The 'Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles' mentioned by Rita are among their greatest enemies.

In the eyes of the world, the existence of Dead Apostles is already an unimaginable monster, an existence that cannot be deduced by common sense. However, few people know the terror of the pinnacle among Dead Apostles, the so-called 'Twenty-Seven Ancestors of Dead Apostles'. Compared with ordinary Dead Apostles, the difference in their strength and life form is simply like heaven and earth.

And the woman before us, possessing mythical beauty, Rita Rogerian, is one of them.

Although she appears to be the fifteenth seat among the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles, a seemingly unremarkable position, the ranking of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles is not based on strength. Therefore, her strength could be among the top, or it could be among the bottom.

However, although there's no detailed information about her, Luo Wei still feels she clearly belongs to the latter category, at best somewhere in the middle. Among the top-ranked individuals, ORT is undoubtedly number one, along with the Primate Killer, the Jewel King, the White Winged Lord, and the Black and White Princess—these are all ultimate beings whose strength far surpasses hers.

However, even though she was at the bottom, the fact that she was able to take over fifteen seats and remain so for so long is enough to demonstrate her strength. She is still an absolute monster.

After all, the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles are far more prestigious than the Lord of the Clock Tower, and are still the epitome of the world of magic (on the surface).

"..."

On the train, Luo Wei watched her performance with a blank expression.

If any other magician were to see that the owner behind the famous Magic Eye Collection Train was actually a big shot like the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles, they would definitely be shocked, but it doesn't seem to be a big deal to him.

Since the answer was completely predictable beforehand, there was nothing surprising about it.

Rita Roggean is at best an acceptable figure.

I really wish I could make him tremble like this guy said...

Then let's call ORT over?

He'll definitely be trembling with headaches by then.

If all else fails, calling Eltrauge over would actually make him a little nervous.

However, if other magicians were here, besides the option of trembling with fear, they might actually bow down before her, hoping to receive her favor.

Because human energy and lifespan are finite. On the path of pursuing magic, the human body becomes the biggest stumbling block. Therefore, some extreme magicians will shout the classic line, "I'm not human anymore!" in order to gain a stronger physique, and then voluntarily become Dead Apostles in exchange for a long lifespan and energy. Kiritsugu Emiya's biological father was targeted by Bartholomew because of this research.

However, most magicians remain extremely resistant to this, mainly because they cannot guarantee that Dead Apostles will not be rejected by the Root. Moreover, the current Department of Law and Politics has an extremely high level of hatred towards magicians experimenting on becoming Dead Apostles; anyone who dares to voluntarily become a Dead Apostle will have their entire base wiped out the next day.

Unlike the Church's mission-like hunts, Barthemello's family had a deep grudge against the Dead Apostles, so she often led her troops to carry out large-scale exterminations of the Dead Apostles. Even though she was busy with her work all day, she would still take time out of her busy schedule. Her dedication impressed even the Church.

"..."

Sometimes, the worst thing is an awkward atmosphere.

Aren't you surprised at all?

Looking at Lo Wei, who remained calm and whose expression barely changed, Rita Rojaan, who had just finished her opening remarks, felt like a clown performing a one-man show on stage.

She frowned slightly, then asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you? Why are you still so calm even though you know my real name?"

"Ah...should I be surprised? Oh, you're right, I should be surprised."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wei nodded, feigning sudden realization, then gasped, "Hiss... I didn't expect it to be the 27th Ancestor of the Dead Apostles. The power behind this Demon Eye Collection Train is truly unimaginable. I've really kicked a hornet's nest this time! ...By the way, what seat were you again?"

"You bastard..."

Seeing Lo Wei's exaggerated acting skills, which were comparable to those in a model opera, Rita Rojaan was completely angered by this guy. Her originally sharp aura was completely broken at this moment.

But her inner voice kept telling her: 'Stay calm, stay calm... Once I turn this guy into a familiar, I can train him however I want when we get back. There's no need to get angry now.'

So she took a deep breath, then looked at Luo Wei with an elegant smile again, and spoke once more.

"If you surrender now, I won't mind sparing your life."

"No, even though you are the 27th Ancestor of the Dead Apostles, if you want to recruit me, you should at least have Altruchi come and invite me in person. Your obscure background is a bit too low-class."

Luo Wei shook his head and answered calmly.

"You bastard... you actually picked on me! Altruchi didn't! And whether you agree or not, I'm going to grab you today and tear your mouth apart with my own hands!"

After a less-than-pleasant exchange, Rita no longer wanted to say another word to this magician whose words could choke anyone.

Perhaps it was because she had been too judgmental of appearances before that she failed to realize that this guy was even more infuriating than Aozaki Touko.

I tried to talk to him nicely, but he was completely distracted from beginning to end. He didn't even speak to me properly, and the contempt in his attitude was almost overflowing.

He probably thought he was the Twenty-Seventh Ancestor, and that he was the magician in dire straits.

Therefore, Rita didn't want to waste any more words with Lovi. She decided to take action directly to subdue him, and then return to the train to lead her pre-prepared Dead Apostle squad to seal away Aozaki Touko.

"Tsk, actually I don't mind Arcueid at all..."

Having heard Lovi's interruption, Rita lost all desire to continue the conversation. With a gentle wave of her hand, a vast amount of magical power emanated from her body.

The next moment, the shadow overhead suddenly pressed down, as if dark clouds had covered the night sky.

The darkness surrounding Luo Wei seemed to materialize the next moment, twisting without warning. Then, several thorny rose vines sprouted from his feet and wrapped around his legs, making it difficult for him to move.

Furthermore, this magic was activated without any warning or trace of magical fluctuations; even Rowe didn't realize when it was being used on him.

However, after glancing at Rita's jewel-like magical eyes that shone like gems in the darkness, he probably already knew the answer.

So, does that pair of demonic eyes possess the ability to bind enemies and forcibly render them unable to move?

Moreover, in the next moment, he saw many rose figures appear before his eyes, attempting to engulf his will, but to no avail.

Rowe didn't move, and Rita didn't press her advantage, seemingly giving Rowe time to adjust.

But is she really that kind?

Of course not, because this is just a precursor to an attack.

Boom—!!

With a loud explosion, the rose vines that had been wrapped around Lovi blossomed into several beautiful and dazzling flowers. Then, with Rita's gentle blink, they burst into a blinding white light and exploded on Lovi's body without warning. The rolling magical flames instantly engulfed half of his body, radiating an incomparably scorching temperature and terrifying magical power.