Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: An Unavoidable Clash
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They were all enveloped in Convection.
The Seekers of the Accountability Division instinctively moved with the atmospheric flow.
Their steps, which had naturally begun to mimic his, were now completely synchronized with Loan's.
They lifted their feet as one and set them down at the same time.
Even their breathing became unified.
It was a strange moment.
As Loan scanned his surroundings within his domain of synesthesia, his team members, like extensions of himself, shared the feeling.
It was easy to mistake it as such.
For they had already sensed the presences in the forest before hearing Loan's mental message.
It was a strange sense of déjà vu that surpassed their own abilities.
-We'll keep moving forward for now.
Loan gave the order, and the group moved as one, without a hint of disarray.
In response, the dark clumps of mana in the bushes matched their pace.
Faced with this new development—
Loan continuously considered the possibilities, factoring in every variable from start to finish to expand his options.
His thoughts expanded endlessly, yet it felt like trying to count marbles multiplying inside a box.
The conclusion he reached was this.
‘Given the nature of the operation, revealing my face has already set a clear limit. I shouldn't get too greedy.’
This conclusion was based on his theory that the chances of someone with his exact appearance showing up again were exceedingly slim.
Unless the Nostra and the Vassini family were fools, it was clear that at some point, they would identify them by Loan's face and Garcia's build alone.
He had only hoped to delay that moment as long as possible.
To do that, he needed to prepare.
What could he do without arousing the suspicion of those watching them?
‘Plenty.’
His options were broad. It was because he hadn't wasted his time until now.
Loan sent a portion of the thick mantle of Convection enveloping the group up into the air.
With the amount drawn by his Circles, plus the necklace, his mana was more than sufficient.
Thanks to this, Loan was able to spread a formless cloud of mana over a wide area far above their heads.
By Loan's standards, who could see mana, it was an altocumulus cloud that was gradually expanding.
He also tried to create gaps and extend the layers vertically, which, if he wished, could be condensed into a cumulonimbus.
Just as they passed the halfway point to the mansion, suddenly.
[The important thing about a suit isn't actually the physique. It's the attitude.]
A voice drifted from the forest.
It was Donna's voice, but Donna was not there.
‘Is that it?’
The lion-head ornaments that served as boundary markers along the path.
They held a subtle magical power, appearing to be magical tools.
They seemed to have a function similar to a carrier pigeon, transmitting Donna's voice from a distance.
Donna's voice, sounding almost drunk, continued to flow out.
It was hard to understand what she meant.
[Attitude. Ambition. Forging one's own path in life without hesitation. Paying no mind to the gazes of others, social norms, or conventions. A true barbarism that reveals unvarnished desire without reservation.]
He listened, wondering if there was something meant to distract the mind, but that wasn't it.
Loan and his seniors walked on, listening silently, and the dark mana in the bushes moved along with them.
Donna's voice continued.
[I'm not just talking about the disposition of masculinity. I mean a primeval instinct.]
"What is she talking about?"
Sienna looked like she was finding it very hard to endure.
She vented her frustration at Loan's back.
"Is she insane?"
"She's probably stalling to propose something. It seems like some kind of procedure, but like you said, senior, it doesn't seem normal."
The words that followed were even more chaotic, so Loan's assessment was accepted as the prevailing theory among the Union members.
Sienna couldn't hold back and interspersed her comments with curses.
[I madly love that moment when, concealed within the angled shoulders and the silhouette that falls with nonchalant grace, a refined attitude is revealed.]
"What a load of bullshit."
[And the moment one can no longer hold back, when it manifests as violence. Each and every drop of blood spattered on those clothes feels like an accessory.]
"That crazy..."
[So, to wear my collection, you must reveal that kind of nature... Huh? What's this? Who? Are those them? Huh? The Union?]
Donna's words suddenly became jumbled.
And at the moment her words abruptly stopped.
"..."
The cloud floating in the sky was quickly faced with a situation where it had to produce results.
If Donna's voice was in real-time, it meant they had just identified Loan's party.
Furthermore, urgent movements suddenly arose from the forest.
They weren't directed at Loan's group, at first.
Straight ahead.
One person sprinted toward the Vassini mansion at an incredible speed.
And before they could figure out why, those remaining in the forest burst out.
This time, they were headed for Loan's group.
They came with sword strikes filled with clear killing intent, but Loan condensing the cloud was a fraction faster.
Once it had reached that stage, no matter how fast they were, could they be faster than lightning?
Flash! A pure white light erupted to the left and right of the procession, followed a moment later by the sound of thunder—*kra-krakow!*
The reason for the attack didn't matter.
These people, whether Nostra or Vassini, had launched a murderous attack on Loan's party—who, on the surface, were Prince Roy's retinue, sponsors of the Zenya Guild, peacefully walking after being invited to the mansion. The prince's party had simply exercised their right to self-defense.
Despite this, the formation did not break.
Lightning striking from a clear sky was certainly shocking enough to knock one over, but they had felt a sense of déjà vu, as if they'd expected it, so the shock was lessened.
However, they paused for a moment to look around.
*Szzzzzle—*
To their left and right were figures who had fallen in heaps, now burning.
Their clothes were burnt, making it difficult to identify them clearly, but judging from the remaining scraps of fabric, they were definitely Nostra.
The lightning had also destroyed all the lion ornaments, so Donna's voice was gone.
After a brief silence.
-It's about to begin.
Loan warned, not letting his guard down.
It was obvious that reacting to the lightning strike would be faster than the man who broke away to deliver information to the mansion.
As expected.
In the distance, the mansion gates swung wide open, and a large group poured out.
They were still far away, but at the center was a familiar white horse, suggesting Donna had rushed out again.
Just as they were about to stop and assess the situation.
Loan felt a sensation from afar, as if the very air was being split apart.
A subtle rift that only he, who was breathing in sync with the world, could perceive.
From that, there was only one possible conclusion.
‘Luciano.’
All this happened in a flash.
But Commander Garcia's reaction that followed was even swifter.
It was as if he, too, shared a part of Loan's domain of synesthesia.
*Kwang—!*
With a loud bang, he kicked off the ground, his body erupting in a brilliant light.
It wasn't a sign of mana rampage.
If Loan drew in mana with his Circles and necklace, Garcia seemed to draw in 'wills and intentions that opposed him.'
Like a candle flame luring a moth, Garcia's ultimate technique, which precisely drew a designated target into his grasp, had been activated.
As if in response.
*Fwoooooosh—!*
'It' approached so fast he couldn't even blink.
Its form was invisible, but in that instant, he had a premonition that if he lost his train of thought, his heart would surely be pierced.
Garcia thrust one palm forward and, with his other hand, grabbed his index finger and bent it backward.
*Crack—*
As the finger broke, a massive giant erupted from the ground in front of Garcia and charged forward.
*Grrrrrind!*
The sound of an arrow trying to pierce the giant's rock-like body. But unable to overcome its strength, it embedded itself in the giant's form.
Garcia shouted.
"Charge."
He now led from the front.
Loan followed closely behind him. A reliable wall.
The Commander's shoulders seemed exceptionally broad and tall.
The moment Loan thought they had to reach that spot, he felt a foreseen phenomenon from the side—something cutting, or about to cut, through the air in a long arc.
There was no time to speak.
Again, incomprehensibly, as if sharing Loan's senses, Garcia took a step to the left and bent his middle finger backward.
*KRA-BOOM!*
The arrow collided with the giant that had shot up, and both the giant's body and the arrow exploded and shattered.
He confirmed it in that instant.
It was definitely an arrow.
An attack that would have been unbelievable if he hadn't heard about it beforehand.
Having blocked the formidable attack with two of his fingers, Garcia let out a roar that echoed all around.
"Accountability Division! Spread out!"
A declaration of all-out war.
It was a cry filled with the resolve of the Union's Commander, designating the opponent as an enemy to be annihilated.
Seeing the enemies pouring out, it was a very natural development.
Simultaneously, with Garcia as the apex, the Seekers of the Accountability Division shot forward to his left and right, spreading out like wings.
It was a formation only possible because they trusted implicitly that the Commander would draw Luciano's arrows, even as they fanned out.
"Three more shots! Get there!"
It was unclear whether Garcia had three fingers left to use, or if he had determined that Luciano had three of his ultimate shots remaining.
Loan felt a warmth spread through his chest as he followed behind the curtain his seniors formed before him.
He felt like he understood their intentions without them needing to say a word.
‘It means I should break through with all my strength and get inside.’
The most important mission given to Loan was now to secure evidence. Specifically, to find the 'black box' presumed to be a magical tool.
The moment he understood this.
*KABOOM!*
Another giant erupted from Garcia, and an explosion followed in its wake.
The closer they got to the mansion, the more powerful the attacks seemed to become.
Adding to that were the men in suits who continued to pour out.
The Nostra, who at a glance looked like Soldatos, didn't seem to be the least bit careful about revealing their relationship with the Vassini family.
No.
Seeing Donna of the Vassini family running as if leading them, it seemed they were now proclaiming themselves to be a community of shared interests, or perhaps that they had been one from the very beginning.
Moreover, Donna herself was not ordinary.
She didn't show any aggressive magical power, but her voice was incredibly loud and still as eccentric as ever.
"You! You should have just worn your Union uniforms!"
Her words, their true meaning hard to discern, echoed through the air amidst the explosions and shouts.
She was probably speaking to Loan and Sienna.
"And I didn't even know! I was going to dress you in my clothes! But you're just as barbaric! Maybe it's still okay? I brought it just in case!"
Donna lifted a suit high with both hands, then wrapped her arms around herself and writhed.
It was such an unsightly display that he wanted to stop her.
If that was how Loan felt, what must Sienna have thought?
With almost superhuman strength, she shot through the Nostra like a thunderbolt, surging forward.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Reading the flow of the swords coming at her, she planted her foot on the flat of a blade and leaped up—
"Huh?"
Appearing before Donna's eyes in an instant.
The hem of her dress had been torn long ago.
*Shhhlick!*
The twin swords strapped to Sienna's thighs were drawn and crossed simultaneously, slicing off Donna's head.
And so the melee began.
Garcia, having broken all five of his fingers, immediately launched himself toward the very top of the mansion—undoubtedly where Luciano was nocking his arrows—while the seniors of the Accountability Division fought to secure a path from the entrance into the interior.
As the Vassini and Nostra became a jumbled mess, creating chaos among themselves.
Loan suddenly felt a strange sensation and looked up at a closed window on the third floor of the building.
‘There.’
The place where the black box was likely to be.
The feeling it gave off reminded him of when he met the guardians in Schwerin's magic tower.
It was similar to the feeling of a phenomenon and its other side coexisting.