The Villainess Returns with a System-Chapter 122: Four-Minute Problem

"What is the meaning of this?" asked the first masked man as he approached the center of the room, where the warm body of their fellow Enlightened lay.

"We found him," Amos replied, with a heavy tone in his voice.

"And why did you kill him?" asked another masked man, this time seeming more nervous than the first.

"We found him like that," Amos replied calmly, moving his eyes left and right, analyzing every reaction from each Fellow Enlightened.

"You expect us to believe that?" asked the first masked man, this time standing and facing Amos with deep tension as the latter spared him no glance.

"Why wouldn’t I, sir?" Amos replied, glancing around the room before focusing on the man. "The orders were to bring him in alive. We found him dead. So, unless you’re directly accusing me of killing him, I believe we can discuss this calmly, if you please."

It is all clear now. The situation is dire, and the one thought to be the traitor is, in fact, a blameless victim.

It didn’t need a genius to put two and two together and point fingers at the remaining group. One of them is the true traitor.

"Who are you suspecting, sir?" Amos turned to Woodman.

Woodman thought for a while, hit the floor with his cane, before speaking his mind:

"The Fellow Enlightened and the Initiated Disciples patrolled the building together, but only the Enlightened know how to access the corridors."

After hearing that, there was no way to suspect a disciple; it was part of the reason why Woodman kept them out.

"We found the murder weapon."

But then, Vivian dropped a bomb that the others didn’t expect. They all looked at her in utter silence, but it was Amos who stepped ahead, walking to the corpse of Mr. Walden, and removed the side of the robe the dead man was wearing, then took out his dagger from its scabbard.

Here came the surprise; the knife on Mr. Walden was bloodied red, painting a clear image of what the traitor had in mind.

By swapping the two blades, which were identical like all the equipment used by the Fellow Enlightened, he wouldn’t be caught red-handed... or red-bladed in his case. It must have occurred to him/her that Woodman would make them all present their blades for inspection, and the owner of the blade with the tiniest blood trace on it would be the prime suspect.

Vivian stepped ahead, taking the blade from the hands of Mr. Amos and speaking:

"This leaves us with a problem. The real killer, the traitor, possesses the blade of Mr. Walden. So, if we only have five minutes left before the defenses crumble..."

"Four," Amos corrected her.

"... I know how to reveal the killer," she said and turned to Mr. Woodman, "May I?"

Trusting the word of an outsider over his subordinates was a real test for Mr. Woodman, who wore a grim face that could be perceived even with his wooden mask on. He tightened his fist and let out a long breath.

"What will you do?" he asked.

"A simple test," she replied, "While they look similar, no blade is really identical, even if you cast them in the same mold. Each scabbard is made for its blade as a specialty work; otherwise, you would cause damage to both the blade and the scabbard. If the blade is wrong, it can either be too tight or too loose."

As she said so, Vivian looked at the men with a devious smile.

"During my work with metallurgists, I picked up a trick or two. So I am confident at matching the scabbard with its own blade," Vivian said before turning back to Mr. Woodman, "If you allow me, I want every subordinate of yours to come at me with their blades and test each one on the scabbard of Mr. Walden’s. If they match, we will have our traitor."

Her suggestions raised some eyebrows and stirred many emotions at the same time.

"This is reckless. I can’t allow it," Amos Morgan stepped in right away.

"He is right, Miss Vivian." Even Mr. Woodman was inclined to agree.

Vivian looked at the two men and pursed her lips into a cunning smile.

"So, you are now faced with two choices. First, either we all stay here and fight the people who are about to come in three minutes, or you, dear Mr. Woodman, take me and Professor Amos along with you, leaving your men behind."

"..."

Seeing how silent the room became, Vivian’s smile didn’t fade away.

"Fine, we have three minutes. I expect that everyone here will comply," Vivian said, and stood at the center of the room after picking up the scabbard from the corpse. "I will go stand at that corner. I want Mr. Woodman to take that corner to the right, and the Professor to take that corner to the left. The rest of you, go with Professor Amos, and one by one, I want you to come towards me, test your blades, then move on towards Mr. Woodman. For this to work, all of you must be as silent as the late Mr. Walden right here, are we clear?"

Her words left a lot to complain about, but Mr. Woodman found no other way but to trust her.

"You heard Lady Vivian," he said, and was the first to move to his designated corner.

Professor Amos followed suit and also stood where she pointed, wearing a grim expression.

As for the rest of the Enlightened, they were hesitant, but as they were under order from their Sage, Mr. Woodman, they all complied.

As for Vivian, she took her own corner, and rather than facing the room, she faced the corner and left a five-foot gap. Once the first Enlightened arrived, she told him to stand with his back to the corner.

Rather than showing the others her face, Vivian’s front was completely obscured to those behind her, but they all thought that she did that to protect herself, so that when the traitor is revealed, she can’t be cornered or taken as hostage.

The first Enlightened had his blade drawn, and once she offered him the scabbard to sheath his blade in, it did so without a hint of resistance.

After a few seconds’ pause, the man returned the scabbard and started walking towards Woodman while stealing glances back at Vivian.

Only he now knows what she is planning; only he now knows the bluff she orchestrated.

She lied to their faces so naturally, tricking both Woodman and Amos at the same time. She wasn’t doing any blade inspection or anything; in fact, most of what she said is a hoax.

She was playing a mind game, a trick.

Once one of the men faces her, she glances at the blade before making an expression of surprise.

She was merely acting; she knew nothing of blades or scabbards, despite her claims.

She acted like she discovered the traitor only in front of the traitor, putting expressions of fear, confusion, and shock in a single mold.

When he got his blade inspected, he thought that he was suspected, but as he remained silent and showed no emotion other than confusion behind his mask, Vivian cut the act right away and told him to move on.

But just as he stood next to Woodman and turned around, something happened.

The second Enlightened walked towards Vivian, his steps were muffled by the carpets but still had an even yet eerie rhythm. Amos took note of that as he was watching from behind like a hawk.

Vivian extended the scabbard once more, the man extended his blade, and once it clicked, their eyes met.

As the blade reached for the scabbard, Vivian tilted her head slightly by just a fraction, then came her expression. Lips parted ever so slightly, eyes wide as if struck by realization, breath drawn in as if she was about to gasp.

She clutched the scabbard a little tighter; since it was made of leather, it tightened on the blade inside.

The man’s hands shivered right at the same time, his head turned back and forth between the blade and Vivian.

That behavior of panicking, just too perfect to be a mistake.

Mystery turned to thriller, drama turned to action.

The man violently yanked his blade off the scabbard, tried to retake it, but Vivian simply let go, and he overshot, hitting his hand on the corner wall behind him.

He attempted to jolt forward immediately, not to kill her, but to grab her as a hostage, yet when he reached for her arm, everything blacked out in a single second.

Vivian’s fist—reinforced with aura—found its way to the man’s chin. She punched him with an uppercut that sent him up then down, face first to the floor.

"Well, well, well."

Vivian turned to the man now lying on the ground and trying to crawl to the knife that was just to the side.

Click!

He looked behind as a barrel was pointed at his face, held by the very hand that punched it to oblivion.

"My hand is quite itchy, so... be a good boy and say your prayers."

"P... Please..."

The man raised his hand facing Vivian, but as he looked around, he found himself surrounded by the other Kabalists in the room.

"Eli," Woodman spoke, asking with obvious bitterness, "Why?"

"Lord Woodman, I am really sorry..." The traitor called Eli spoke, "I didn’t mean for this. I was meant to keep you from escaping... then they’ll release my family."

"God in Heaven!" Woodman turned his face with obvious dejection.

"We don’t have time, sir. We must evacuate," Amos said.

"Then grab the important things and gather in the back room. The rest of you, tell the disciples to retreat," Woodman said so.

"And him?" Vivian asked, still keeping her gun on the traitor.

"We will interrogate him," Woodman replied.

"So you’re still taking him with you?"

"Yes."

"No, thanks."

BANG!

Squeezing the trigger, Vivian left a hole where there wasn’t in the traitor’s mask, splashing a familiar pigment of red all over the floor.

THUD!

The man crumbled down lifeless, everyone retreated, and Woodman, who took out his sword in a fast, lightning manner, seemed to have missed hitting Vivian’s bullet by the width of a hair.

Vivian and Woodman locked eyes; Vivian wasn’t an ordinary girl, and Woodman wasn’t ordinary either. Vivian didn’t even see his sword moving, and he couldn’t catch her bullet, something he seemed proficient in.

"Why?"

On the side, Amos howled, seeing that Vivian spared no glance at the man she had just murdered in cold blood.

"He saw my face, Professor. He killed too; I can’t risk it," Vivian replied.

There was no time to argue. She was right, she can’t risk it, and there is no guarantee they will all escape.

"To the escape room, all of you," Woodman spoke and opened the way to the Chamber of the Automaton, but as they moved, Vivian halted her steps and looked at the far-off wall.

"Too late," she said and immediately ran behind cover.

Not a second later...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

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