Chapter 152: The Steward's Identity
Without a doubt, the Ancient One had seen through the nature of the shadow clone—it was clearly some kind of projection.
She was the first person so far to recognize that it wasn't John's true body.
However, she didn't realize just how unusual John truly was. She simply assumed this clone was the result of some unique spell John possessed that allowed him to create magical duplicates.
"Don't worry, I don't mean anything by it. I'm just curious about your magic," The Ancient One smiled gently, noticing John's slight unease.
John gave a dry laugh but didn't say anything.
Meanwhile, Raymond in the back of his mind was getting ready to pull out again.
He had only stepped in to make sure everything was going smoothly.
If John had gotten stuck, Raymond might've shared extra information to help out.
But from the looks of it, while the Ancient One was even more powerful than expected, she wasn't hard to talk to.
As long as John didn't push his luck too far, things should be fine.
Back on the plane, they were already in the air.
When Raymond opened his eyes, the flight attendants in first class were walking around asking passengers about dinner choices and dietary preferences.
He casually picked two dishes, then stood up to head to the restroom.
But just as he got up, he felt a gaze from the front left.
Looking over, he saw that it came from a male flight attendant.
When the man noticed Raymond looking his way, he gave a polite smile and nodded.
Raymond glanced over him briefly, then looked away—but something felt off.
"That guy's here to kill someone," Tao Pai Pai's sub-personality said with absolute certainty.
Just like the Exorcist had a keen instinct for sensing demons, Tao Pai Pai—Dragon Ball world's top assassin—had unmatched sensitivity to killing intent.
Raymond had sensed something strange but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Tao Pai Pai, however, recognized the murderous aura instantly.
"No way, seriously?"
Raymond's first thought was to connect the assassin to Mia—his sister's new friend.
His gut told him the target was likely her.
With that in mind, Raymond sat back down.
He wanted to see how this would play out.
An attempted murder on a plane—he'd only seen that in movies. This would be his first time dealing with it for real.
The male attendant noticed Raymond's motion—standing then sitting again—but didn't think much of it.
He simply picked up a tray and headed straight toward Mia.
"Just as I thought…"
Seeing that, Raymond felt sure of his suspicion.
That flight attendant was definitely after Mia.
Still, Raymond didn't act right away. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on.
What if it was all just a misunderstanding?
If he jumped in too fast, he'd only make a fool of himself.
Besides, he had no real connection to Mia. Lending a hand was one thing—if he didn't make it in time and something happened, he wouldn't beat himself up over it.
It wasn't like this was about Clarice. No reason for him to worry too much.
Just as the flight attendant was about to reach Mia, one of Mia's two "invisible bodyguards" suddenly realized something. He jumped to his feet and shouted:
"Stop!"
But he was still a second too late.
The moment his voice rang out, the attendant lunged forward like a lightning bolt and grabbed Mia by the throat.
"Nobody move!"
He barked at the bodyguards.
Most of the first-class passengers were frozen in shock, and one of the flight attendants even screamed.
Clarice and Lorna were stunned too. After a moment of panic, both turned toward Raymond.
They knew this was the kind of thing Raymond, being part of S.H.I.E.L.D., would know how to handle.
Raymond shook his head slightly, signaling them not to act yet.
One of the guards growled, "Do you know what you're doing? If you don't want to die a horrible death, let go of Miss Mia right now!"
"Even if I let her go, do you really think you'd let me walk away?" the attacker said with a crooked smile.
"I swear, if you release Miss Mia, we won't hold it against you—" the other guard said firmly.
"Please, you're just a lowly count. You think you're in any position to bargain with me?" the man sneered.
"Who are you?!"
Hearing that, the bodyguard's expression changed.
If this guy could casually call out their rank, he clearly knew what he was doing—and that meant this situation was far worse than expected.
"Count, huh? Tch… so they really are vampires," Raymond thought, fully convinced now.
Those two bodyguards—and Mia, whom the man had by the throat—were obviously vampires.
That kind of aristocratic title—count, duke, etc.—was something only vampires, who saw themselves as real nobility, would use.
Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, Baron… and from what the attacker had said, both bodyguards were vampire counts.
For Mia to have two vampire counts protecting her in secret… her identity had to be something special.
Raymond rubbed his hands together, analyzing the situation.
But if this man dared to come alone and attack Mia, he clearly wasn't normal either.
Raymond didn't know exactly how vampire titles correlated with power levels, but a count had to be middle or upper-tier.
And this guy didn't look like some suicide attacker. The fact that he hadn't killed Mia right away meant he had confidence—he wasn't afraid of those guards at all.
"Come on, little girl… with that weak power of yours, you're not hurting me anytime soon," the man chuckled—But suddenly, a blue glow burst from his hand.
Mia had transformed—bat-like wings sprouted from her back, her teeth sharpened into fangs, and she lunged toward his arm, trying to bite him.
But her fangs struck a glowing blue armor. She didn't leave a scratch.
"That light… it's you?!"
Both bodyguards turned pale as if they'd seen a ghost.
"Hahaha, so you do recognize me now?"
The man laughed loudly, enjoying the shock on their faces.
"Namor, have you no shame? Miss Mia is just a child!"
The guard who had made a promise earlier shouted in fury.
"But she's the daughter of Ventrue, isn't she?" Namor sneered.
"Blame your beloved Duke Ventrue. This is the price for his sneak attack on me!"
Namor… Ventrue…
"Emmm… Namor? As in that Namor, the 'King of the Seas'?"
Raymond's mind flashed to a familiar name.
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