Chapter 275
Chapter 275
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: ACT.55 Obstruction with Obstruction (3)
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“You think I’ll be an ally… What makes you say that?”
The folding fan tapped, tap, tap, against his palm.
He’s testing me.
I was happy to oblige.
“First. All the onmyoji of the Yamato Guild belong to the Shiranui Unit. Among them, only two are S-rank or close to it: the captain, Mayuri, and the vice-captain, Iwato. You can’t be Mayuri. You’re a man.”
“Couldn’t I be a unit member who’s hiding his power?”
“Hiding your power?”
A soft chuckle escaped my lips.
It might sound plausible to him, but not among ‘players,’ at least.
As long as the Yamato Guild had a considerable number of players, it was fundamentally impossible for Seimei to hide his power and blend in.
I composed my expression as if I hadn't just laughed and continued speaking.
“Anyway, second. If you came to attack us, you wouldn’t have come alone.”
Since achieving a pure mana stat of 90, the range at which I could sense my surroundings with mana had doubled.
Even when I extended my senses beyond a 100-meter radius, there were no players who seemed to be Seimei’s allies.
“Unless one can sense a wide area, that's an unreliable judgment… but the movement of mana just now was considerable. You have grounds to speak with confidence. Quite impressive. If it's to that extent…”
“And finally, the third reason.”
His eyes widened slightly, as if to say, ‘There’s more?’
I planned to drive the final nail in here.
“Seimei. Because you’re someone who despises the Yamato Guild.”
“…”
The folding fan stopped moving.
After a few seconds, he tucked the fan into his sleeve and spoke.
“…To be precise, it’s not that I despise them, but rather that I dislike their direction. Their goal of protecting Japan from the monsters of another world is the same, after all.”
It was a different kind of smile from before.
The kind of smile you'd have after going to help a child with a difficult problem, only to realize they were much smarter than you.
This time, it was Seimei who closed the distance.
“How did you know who I am?”
“I did a lot of research before coming here.”
A clash with the Yamato Guild was inevitable.
Naturally, it was best to have as many cards as possible to use when fighting them.
‘Besides, I knew of him because he was a character in EOA.’
The greatest onmyoji in Japan.
He was a character you were bound to meet while progressing through the main quest, so I couldn't help but know him well.
At a glance, the situation in Japan was similar to that in the United States.
A massive power exercising a dictatorship, and smaller factions opposing it.
The only difference was whether the dictatorship was overt or not.
Seimei had gathered the onmyoji not affiliated with the Yamato Guild and was active under the name ‘Geon-gon-il-cheok’.
“Then this makes things simple.”
Seimei took out a single talisman and let it drift from his fingers.
Fwaaa!
The moment the talisman touched the ground, a circle of light spread across the floor, projecting an image of a certain location.
The location wasn't what was important.
It was the fact that the people there were none other than Iwato and the rest of the Shiranui Unit.
The fact that this was possible meant Seimei had already finished preparing to strike them.
I glanced up at Seimei, and he opened his mouth as if he'd been waiting.
“We are about to deal a blow to the Shiranui from which they cannot recover. Will you join us?”
“…Goes without saying.”
It was what I was planning to do anyway.
There was no reason not to, now that I had an accomplice.
“What about you, sir?”
“I decline. I’m targeting the ninja unit.”
“It will be very difficult on your own…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll provide support for that.”
I had already planned to pin down the Shirokage with Zeta and the other assassins.
If he had been watching the Shiranui this whole time, he must have seen Han Hyeok-jun and me clashing with them earlier.
Seimei would be well aware of what kind of power I possessed.
“Understood. Then let us move. The location is not far. You, sir, please be careful as well.”
Han Hyeok-jun nodded and left first.
By the way, the others are late.
Did something happen to them?
‘They’ll be here soon enough.’
The Crow was in that area, after all.
There was no way anyone could be in danger.
I scratched Rasty’s head with my finger and followed Seimei.
***
“The Yamato Guild was engaged in a certain business.”
Seimei said while organizing the talismans in his hand.
“They joined hands with the oni, who, despite being human-like, harm people. It seems they negotiated with the oni, aiming for the fine equipment passed down from ancient times. Thanks to that, not only did we face a numerical disadvantage, but there was also a gear gap. Our side suffered considerable damage.”
So this was what happened in Yuldoguk.
I listened in silence.
“But for some reason, that gap suddenly closed.”
Tap.
He gathered the talismans into a single stack.
“It was a good opportunity, so while we launched a counterattack, I immediately began an investigation. To find out who, besides us, was interfering with the Yamato Guild.”
“It couldn’t have been hard to figure out it was me.”
“Correct. In fact, we have a spy inside the Shiranui. I also knew they were planning to attack you the moment you arrived in Japan.”
“Really? For someone who knew, you didn’t seem inclined to help.”
“Not at all. I was planning to strike from behind once the fight truly began. If anything, you could say our plan was the one that was disrupted.”
The open folding fan covered Seimei’s mouth.
His eyes were clearly smiling, but there was no way to know if his mouth was smiling as well.
It was a habit of Seimei’s that came out when he wanted to hide his expression.
I continued, pretending not to care much.
“So, it looks like they’re about to make their move. When are you going to start?”
“I was just about to do so.”
Seimei waved his folding fan.
At that, the men who were chanting mantras to activate some sort of spell formula suddenly began to vomit blood and collapse.
“Keoheok!”
“Krrrk…!”
Interfering with their spell formulas and twisting them to make their mana flow backward.
Because he knew the Shiranui would come here, Seimei had set a trap by placing talismans all over the area beforehand.
“Now is the time.”
I moved before Seimei even finished speaking, instantly weaving through the enemies.
Panicked and fear-stricken faces surrounded me.
Chwaak!
Each time the Black Moon Divine Sword flashed, fountains of blood sprayed into the air.
‘They’re too weak.’
They were weaker than I thought, making it difficult to control my strength.
Considering I’d eventually need even their meager strength to stop the disaster scheduled to appear in Japan, I had to subdue them without killing them.
Especially the onmyoji.
I clicked my tongue and sheathed my sword.
This should work somehow.
“K-Kim Se-hyeon!? How are you here!”
“I’ve entered into a cooperative relationship with him.”
“Seimei…!”
Iwato ground his teeth, glaring at Seimei.
“Kim Se-hyeon-nim. I apologize, but would you mind leaving that man to me?”
I nodded.
The matter between Seimei and Iwato had existed as a sub-quest.
The others had already been subdued, and the other onmyoji of Geon-gon-il-cheok were on standby, so Iwato couldn’t escape.
“So our spell formulas backfired because of you! You set traps while we were fighting him!”
“With your attention diverted elsewhere, the job was a bit easier. Now, that’s that and this is this. The time has come to put an end to our long, ill-fated connection, Iwato. No, traitor.”
Seimei’s eyes gleamed coldly.
With most of his face hidden by the fan, anyone would flinch from the stare of his narrowed eyes.
Iwato clenched his jaw and glared at Seimei, but he couldn’t hide the trembling in his eyes.
“I followed the greater cause! You’re the fool for not seeing the signs of the times!”
“I see. You still have no intention of changing your mind.”
“The one who needs to change is you, Seimei! Have you already forgotten how much damage your stubbornness has caused!”
“That, Iwato, happened because you betrayed us, did it not?”
A blue aura began to emerge around Seimei.
Iwato also drew upon his power as if not to be outdone, but even from a glance, the difference was clear.
“Still, we were comrades who worked together for a long time. I was giving you one last chance…”
Thousands of talismans floated into the air.
Each one contained a considerable amount of mana.
As if sensing the difference in their levels, Iwato’s face stiffened.
Kwwaaaang!!
The talismans rained down like hail and exploded.
Iwato managed to create a shield by layering talismans, but it seemed he couldn’t block it completely, as he staggered with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
This was Seimei, known as the greatest onmyoji of the modern era.
There was no way Iwato, a mere vice-captain and not even the captain, could be his match.
“Since it has come to this…!”
Iwato quickly formed some kind of hand seal.
“That’s…!”
Seimei narrowed his eyes.
Drrrrr…
The mountain trembled.
It was different from an earthquake.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, I drew my sword from its sheath, and Iwato shouted in desperation.
“An evil spirit is sealed in this mountain. I’ve just broken its seal! I, and all of you, will be buried here!!”
“Iwato, you really…!”
Seimei, his fists trembling, turned his head slightly toward me.
“My apologies, Kim Se-hyeon-nim. Things have become a bit complicated.”
“Is this evil spirit that strong?”
“It’s an evil spirit that a great monk of the distant past barely managed to seal. They say just hearing its voice can make you lose consciousness and your life… Iwato intends to take us all down with him here. No, not just us. The spirit will move toward where people live, which means the residential area will also be in danger.”
Seimei said with a grim face.
From what I remembered seeing on the way here, the Roppongi residential area was not in good shape.
The number of players stationed there was small, so if such an evil spirit were to run rampant, the area would surely be annihilated.
‘I left it to him because he asked.’
I clicked my tongue and unsheathed my sword.
The one strange thing was that I’d never heard of this evil spirit.
The possibility of it being a hidden boss was low.
I had hunted every single hidden boss that existed in EOA. I’d even confirmed it with an achievement.
Could it be a new hidden boss added when the world became reality?
“H-Hahahaha. Kim Se-hyeon. The same goes for you. The price for messing with the Yamato Guild is your life!”
“Iwato!!”
A new person appeared.
Her dark blue hair, tied to one side, swayed.
She immediately grabbed Iwato by the collar and lifted him up.
“What have you done!? Do you even know what you’ve done!?”
“C-Captain… This is for the greater cause. A small sacrifice for the greater good!”
“What? A small sacrifice?”
The captain of the Shiranui, Mayuri.
Her face twisted fiercely as she shoved Iwato away.
Iwato let out a small scream and collapsed to the ground.
“There’s no such thing as a small or large sacrifice. And you have no right to sacrifice others.”
Kuuuuu…
The ground split open, and from the cracks, something dark purple oozed out from all directions.
The aura was so thick with killing intent and malice that it reeked, and I couldn't help but scowl.
This is a bit much.
“It’s dangerous! The spirit is about to take form!”
Seimei shouted, holding talismans in his hand.
At that, Mayuri also took out some strange-looking tools.
“I’ll apologize later. Can you help me stop that thing?”