Chapter 276
Chapter 276
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: ACT.55 Hindrance for a Hindrance (4)
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‘So that’s why I haven’t seen him.’
The number of unit members was smaller than I knew, and the captain had been nowhere in sight for a while now.
Many of these things were the doing of the vice-captain, Iwato.
And he did it all while bypassing his captain, Mayuri.
‘Given Mayuri’s personality, she doesn’t really fit in with the Yamato Guild’s way of doing things.’
She probably wasn’t in favor of the Oni business, either.
That must be why Iwato took the lead back then.
‘Come to think of it, does the Shiranui unit not have a Progressor?’
If you know anything about Onmyojutsu, you’d know it’s not something worth choosing as a speciality.
It takes a long time to become self-sufficient, and its potential isn’t very high.
On top of that, it specializes in defense over offense.
“What do I get for helping?”
“Anything I can do.”
“I’m not on good terms with the Yamato Guild. You don’t need to go that far, do you?”
“It’s more important that innocent people don’t get hurt. Your bad relationship with the Yamato Guild means nothing.”
Her eyes showed not a hint of wavering.
Suddenly, I thought she would get along well with Jeong Ha-yeon.
She was the captain of the Shiranui, after all. She must have some authority and a voice.
If so, I could at least get what I wanted.
“It’s coming!”
Simultaneously with Seimei’s shout, the energy gathered in one place.
[Grrrruuuhhh…!]
Malice took form and appeared there.
The moment I saw it, that thought came to mind.
“To think I’d see in person what I’ve only heard of in legends…!”
“Such immense malice. If something like this is unleashed, it could become more than just a disaster.”
They were right.
Pure malice.
Hatred for all living things.
However, apart from that, I could see the evil spirit’s weakness.
‘Is that all there is to it?’
There was nothing but malice.
Considering its power alone, it was even weaker than a Sandworm.
Their reaction was like they were facing at least an S-rank monster.
[Energy… I lack energy…]
The evil spirit writhed, twisting its head bizarrely.
Those caught in its gaze were terrified, scrambling away on all fours. No one even thought of fighting back.
Judging by the looks of it, was I the only one who noticed something was off?
[It's been weakened by a long sealing. If it recovers its original power, it possesses abilities that would be quite troublesome, just as those humans said.]
‘Then I have to defeat it before that happens.’
This was why it couldn’t even be considered a hidden boss.
Unless someone trolled like this and awakened it, then left it alone until it recovered its power, even a hundred of these evil spirits couldn’t defeat the main character at the point they arrive in Japan.
I let out a short sigh and moved.
“We’ll restrict the evil spirit’s movements first! In that opening, Se-hyeon-nim will…”
*KABOOM!*
An explosion erupted.
The evil spirit, most of its form blown away by a mana-infused sword strike, made a gurgling sound and staggered before vanishing completely.
Hidden bosses usually grant an achievement.
Seeing as there was no achievement, this evil spirit was indeed not a hidden boss.
I spoke to the two who stood there, stunned, holding their talismans.
“What are you staring at? Restrain Iwato first.”
“Ah, ahh. Right. Iwato, you!”
Iwato was just as dumbfounded.
In his mind, it was a trump card meant to create an opportunity for a counterattack, even at the cost of his own life, but the situation ended one second after I moved.
He had achieved nothing, only succeeding in ruining his own reputation.
“Your actions almost got your unit members killed. You drove your comrades into a death trap! Don’t think you’ll get off easy.”
“…”
Iwato’s face turned pale.
As Mayuri spoke, the other Onmyojutsu practitioners of the Shiranui glared at Iwato.
It was understandable, since they all could have died.
After binding Iwato tightly with a talisman, Mayuri approached me and bowed.
“I’m sorry. And thank you. This could have turned into a huge incident, but thanks to you, it ended without any casualties. If it weren’t for you, there would have been quite a few victims just among our unit members…. I’m so relieved.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t do it to hear your thanks. More importantly, I’d like you to keep the promise you made earlier.”
“Okay. Tell me. What can I do?”
“I want you to feed the Yamato Guild some false information.”
“False information…?”
Mayuri’s expression turned troubled.
“I’m sorry, but if it’s something that would harm the guild, I can’t easily agree.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like that. Just report that I had a different objective, that I went somewhere else. That’s all.”
I glanced around.
I had already used my mana to block out the sound, but I did it just in case.
“If it’s just that, I can do it.”
“Good. Then I’m counting on you. If possible, tell them I’m heading toward Osaka.”
Zeta and his assassin squad, along with Han Hyeok-jun, were handling the Shirokage.
They’ll be annihilated beyond recovery by the end of today.
One side won’t receive any information, and the other will receive false information.
I could buy at least a day or two.
That was more than enough time to achieve my goal.
“I’m leaving. What about you?”
“There might be other adverse effects from the backlash of the sealed evil spirit being released. I’ll check on that first, so let’s meet again later.”
Seimei gave a faint smile and waved.
He’s achieved one of his goals, so there’s no need to rush.
I couldn’t take Seimei with me to meet the Prophet either, so I nodded.
“Grrr…”
Rasty let out a low growl.
Its face and posture showed it was wary of something.
I shifted my gaze in that direction, but I didn’t sense anything in particular.
If I had to point out anything unusual, it would be the place where the evil spirit’s seal was broken.
But the evil spirit had already been vanquished.
“What’s wrong? Is something there?”
“Kkyu…”
But Rasty just tilted its head as if it didn’t know, then went back inside my clothes.
My mana detection didn’t pick up anything either.
I felt a very faint, alien presence, but it wasn’t enough to be concerned about.
Could someone skilled enough at erasing their presence to evade my detection be tailing me?
‘Let them try and follow.’
I smirked and instantly picked up my pace.
Then, the alien presence disappeared.
***
“Damn it…!”
Himura cursed under his breath.
It was a total wipeout.
Besides himself, no one could even stand against them.
‘To think that even their individual soldiers have gotten stronger than before…!’
Himura broke out in a cold sweat, warily scanning his surroundings.
He was still being pursued.
He had to somehow shake off the pursuit of the Death Walkers and that half-crazy, fire-wielding man.
‘Iwato, that useless bastard, isn’t responding. Did he get taken out too?’
I didn’t expect him to defeat Kim Se-hyeon.
But I thought he could at least slow him down, yet he failed even at that.
In Himura’s mind, his trust in Iwato plummeted to rock bottom.
‘I need to change the plan.’
Himura’s mind raced.
“Their destination must be where their objective lies. Shinjuku… The Prophet? If that’s their goal, then there’s no need for me to intervene.”
Himura chuckled softly.
Because even if he were to be taken down here, Kim Se-hyeon’s future was obvious.
‘Going to meet the Prophet means naturally making enemies of those monsters.’
***
“!”
Her eyes shot open as she sat up, clutching her chest.
Without even thinking to peel the hair stuck to her neck with cold sweat, she tried to catch her breath.
It was a reaction one might have after a simple nightmare.
However, if it was her, the story was different.
The Prophet, Takanashi Rei.
Because the dreams she had were always visions of someone’s future.
To her, a nightmare was seeing someone’s unfortunate future.
‘That…’
Rei’s eyes trembled with anxiety.
In the near future, many people would be brutally slaughtered by monsters.
And at the center of it all was the person who had been appearing frequently in her dreams recently.
The young man who led a jet-black army, trampling his enemies.
She knew through her dreams that he had already defeated many disasters.
But, to think that even he would die, unable to stop the cataclysm that would follow.
‘I have to change it.’
Rei’s delicate hands clenched.
She absolutely could not let him die.
***
The Prophet’s house itself was ordinary.
The house itself, that is.
However, it was surrounded by an artificial forest, and there were no other houses within a 500-meter radius.
“How is this any different from quarantine?”
I passed through the torii gate that stood in place of a main gate, making a brief comment.
I was wearing the Goblin’s Cowl, so I was invisible.
Even if the Sword Saint’s family was protecting the Prophet, it wouldn’t be easy for them to find me.
Actually, the house wasn’t that ordinary either.
She lived in a small shrine, after all.
*Fzzt!*
As I got closer to the shrine, something like an electric discharge came from the Goblin’s Cowl, and my invisibility flickered on and off repeatedly.
So they did have countermeasures.
I took off the cowl without a second thought.
“I have been waiting for you.”
As I walked up to where the offering box was, the paper screen door suddenly slid open.
Her long, shimmering hair, so well-cared-for it seemed to glow, caught my eye.
One of her eyes was completely white, as if she couldn’t see out of it.
That was the proof of Future Sight, the EX-rank unique ability only the Prophet possessed.
In other words, the woman with Future Sight was the Prophet.
“Did you know I was coming?”
“I had a vague idea. There’s no one else here right now, so we should have time to talk. Now, this way.”
The Prophet led me inside.
As if prepared just in time, two cups of steaming hot tea sat on a round table.
“I assume you already know who I am, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Takanashi Rei. I have the ability to see the future. Um… may I speak first?”
She spoke up right after I took a sip of tea.
Takanashi Rei. So that was her name.
“Go ahead.”
“A while ago, Kim Se-hyeon-ssi, I saw a future concerning you.”
Rei’s hands fidgeted with her teacup.
She hesitated for a moment as if it were difficult to say, but soon opened her mouth again, having made up her mind.
“It was a future where you died surrounded by countless monsters, along with your companions. You fought bravely, but the enemies were too numerous and powerful.”
“…”
Rei kept glancing at me, trying to read my expression.
It must be hard not to be cautious after telling someone you saw their death.
I laced my fingers together and met her gaze.
“When and where was it?”
“I don’t know for certain. However, I could tell it was in the not-so-distant future.”
“So it’s an ambiguous future?”
“Future Sight isn’t an ability that lets you see exactly what you want to see. Especially when my power is weakened like it is now…”
So, the Prophet was waiting for me not just because she knew I was coming, but because she saw my death.
The fact that she told me about this future meant she didn’t want me to die.
Her power being weakened… was probably because she used it too much when helping Ain.
‘Future Sight shows the most probable future among many possibilities.’
In other words, there was also a possibility that I didn’t die.
It wasn’t a fixed future, but one that could be changed depending on my actions.
I unlaced my fingers.
“I see. I’ll be careful.”
Rei placed a hand on her chest and let out a light sigh, as if a weight had been lifted.
But my next words made her freeze.
“Now then, my purpose for coming. Ain. And the EOA Project. I want information about what happened to you regarding these things.”