Midnight Disturbance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Otagi Yuka sharpened her senses to their limit as she listened to Eve’s voice coming through the comms device in her ear.
—There’s another intruder besides us.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t detect even the slightest trace of the intruder. Whatever trick they were using, it was enough to fool even a vampire’s keen senses.
—It’s not Kurotsukido, so don’t worry. Looks like another night thief, just like us.
When Otagi Yuka started scanning the area for the intruder, Eve’s voice came again. Good. At least it wasn’t Kurotsukido. A mere thief wasn’t worth getting worked up over.
Having two thieves hit the same night was terrible luck for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It wasn’t a huge problem for Otagi Yuka, but if they were after the same item, she needed to move fast. She spoke into her comms.
“Where’s the thing we’re after? We might be competing for it, so let’s grab it quickly.”
—Hold on…! Checking the CCTV footage and the museum blueprint… It’s on the second floor. Go up the stairs, turn right, and keep going straight.
Otagi Yuka took the stairs five at a time, her incredible physical ability letting her reach her target in the blink of an eye. Inside a glass case stood a golden sword.
Up close, she could tell for certain—this golden sword had been prepared just for her. As she drew nearer, the blade glowed with a blood-red light, as if declaring that it was a weapon meant for a vampire.
Just as Otagi Yuka raised her hand to smash the glass case—
“Ah!”
A voice cried out from behind her. She abandoned the idea of touching the case and spun around. Two women wearing VR-goggle-like equipment and blonde hair stood there.
“Do you really need that? We were after it too…”
The thief with the brighter platinum-blonde hair asked. Her face was hidden behind the strange goggles, but her voice sounded a little awkward. Otagi Yuka answered with a firm expression and tone.
“This sword is mine.”
“But still…!”
When the platinum-blonde thief tried to argue, the golden-blonde one grabbed her shoulder to stop her and whispered something in her ear. An ordinary person wouldn’t have heard it, but as a vampire, Otagi Yuka caught every word.
“When that woman got close, the sword stopped glowing. Maybe it’s better if she takes it.”
“So you’re saying it’s right for that redhead to have it?”
“Probably…”
They muttered something about light that Otagi Yuka didn’t quite understand, but she could tell the two blonde thieves had decided to give up on her golden sword. That was a relief. No need to shed blood over something that wasn’t Kurotsukido.
“We’ll leave the sword to you, but don’t touch the glass case yet. Even though we blocked most of the security, each of these cases has its own independent power sensor. If you mess with it, the security company will swarm in. We still have a lot more to steal. We’ll open it for you, so just stay put.”
The golden-blonde thief raised her hands in a gesture of peace and slowly approached. Otagi Yuka stepped back from the case, giving her room to work. The golden-blonde thief fiddled with the case for a moment, then cut one of several hidden wires beneath the decorative base.
“There! Now you can take it however you want. Smash the glass or carry the whole case—your choice.”
At her words, Otagi Yuka shattered the glass case without hesitation. With nothing left to block its path, the golden sword flew through the air like a magnet and landed perfectly in her hand. It was a massive greatsword, yet it felt perfectly balanced in her single grip, almost weightless. Anyone watching would have thought she was its true owner.
“Looks like it really does belong to you. We’ll go collect the rest of our haul, then.”
“Got it~! If you don’t have anything else to steal, you should head out. We’ll grab our share and leave too…!”
BOOOOM!!
A tremendous crash erupted from the first floor in the middle of their conversation. All three of them froze and stared at one another. Eve’s voice came through Otagi Yuka’s earpiece.
—It’s Kurotsukido! He’s never fought at night before, but the fact that he came looking for you now means he must have gotten some new weapon.
“It’s fine. With this sword, I’m not afraid of anything.”
Otagi Yuka replied to Eve before turning to the two blonde thieves. Since this was happening because of her, she felt they deserved a warning.
“The noise from the first floor is probably because of me. Don’t get involved—just run.”
“We can’t do that. We’ve got some items marked on the first floor too.”
The pair of blonde thieves refused to flee and followed Otagi Yuka down to the first floor.
A black SUV had smashed through the museum entrance, and dozens of Muyoungdae grunts in tactical gear stood with guns raised, covering the area.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The moment Otagi Yuka, who had taken the lead, appeared, a hail of bullets rained down on her. Until now, she would have had no choice but to dodge the silver bullets, but she simply snorted and swung the golden sword in her hand.
Akagamikiba Style – Chiyahan-kyo (Thousand Arrow Reflecting Mirror)
Otagi Yuka swung the blade so fast it looked like a spinning disc, deflecting every bullet. The ricocheted rounds flew straight back at the Muyoungdae grunts. Their tech armor prevented serious injury, but the sheer skill of reflecting bullets like that was astonishing.
Having deflected every shot, Otagi Yuka charged forward at terrifying speed and slashed vertically. A mix of golden and crimson blood aura cleaved one of the Muyoungdae clean in two.
While the two blonde thieves were distracted by Otagi Yuka, they tried to cross the stairs toward their own targets, but the Muyoungdae must have mistaken them for allies—bullets poured toward them as well.
“Tch!”
The body suits the two blonde thieves wore must have had incredible defensive power; even after taking several hits, they showed no sign of pain or injury.
“Eat this!”
The platinum-blonde thief hurled a small black disc that looked like a hockey puck. It landed among the clustered Muyoungdae and exploded with electricity.
More than ten grunts were instantly electrocuted and collapsed. As Otagi Yuka cut down two more, the rear door of the black SUV that had been sitting quietly after smashing through the entrance finally opened.
Muyounggui stepped out, dragging a massive steel coffin behind him. Everyone in the museum—without exception—couldn’t tear their eyes away from him and the black coffin. It radiated an overwhelming sense of dread. Even the two blonde thieves, who had been about to throw another disc and flee, stopped in their tracks and stared.
That was when it happened.
Wee-oo, wee-oo, wee-oo, wee-oo!
The sound of police sirens rang out, followed by the noise of people pouring out of vehicles. Someone must have reported the SUV that had rammed the museum entrance. Soon after, a voice boomed through a loudspeaker.
Muyounggui let out a small, mocking laugh at the police outside. Then, from within the black fog, he snapped his fingers. One of the fallen corpses rose to its feet. It was one of the men who had been electrocuted to death. The corpse raised both hands as if surrendering and walked outside.
BOOOOM!
An explosion rang out a few seconds later. Everyone except Muyounggui and his grunts widened their eyes in shock. Soon after, the corpse whose neck Otagi Yuka had severed stood up and walked out as well. Another explosion followed. Once the roar and vibration died down, laughter echoed from the black fog surrounding Muyounggui.
“Khehehe… Now that the pests are gone, shall we begin again?”
Muyounggui’s laughter was an eerie sound that shook the soul. He opened the coffin with a grating, unpleasant creak. Inside lay a corpse that could only be described as a knight—clad in black helmet and black armor.
“Rise.”
At Muyounggui’s command, the black knight lying in the coffin stood up. Black fog similar to the shroud surrounding Muyounggui leaked from the gaps in its armor, giving it an intensely ominous presence.
A blue glow ignited behind the closed visor. The knight lifted the massive sword that had been resting inside the coffin and pointed it at Otagi Yuka. She refused to back down, raising her golden sword into a high stance, ready to strike at any moment.
“Kill her.”
Following Muyounggui’s order, the black knight charged at Otagi Yuka with heavy, thudding footsteps. Though each step sounded dull and ponderous, they were unbelievably fast. This was no enemy to take lightly.
“While he’s busy, shall we clean up the small fry?”
“Small fry?! We are the world’s greatest phantom thieves, Francois!”
“Hiding in the fog like that—you must be ugly as hell!”
When Muyounggui pointed his giant scythe at the two blonde thieves—no, the phantom thieves Francois—and called them small fry, they shouted back in annoyance. Realizing they couldn’t avoid a fight, both drew the pistols holstered on their thighs.
“Let’s see who the real small fry is…!”
“And while we’re at it, let’s find out what’s hiding in that fog!”
The two phantom thieves Francois aimed their pistols with practiced ease.
-----Unused Otagi Yuka Illustrations
No matter how many times I labeled it “gold sword,” only a regular sword appeared, so I failed to illustrate it properly. (┬┬﹏┬┬)