Chapter 318 Tsundere
?While Daniel listened to Gluttony speech, on the side of Onmyoji one of them was startled as his strongest Shikigami was destroyed the moment it intruded into the Syndicate Union Executive Meeting room.
"What? Impossible!" One of the Onmyoji who attacked the hotel blurted out, drawing his friends' attention. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com
"Might be the mages who are with them in the meeting room," his friend commented.
"Even so, It shouldn't be that fast!" The first Onmyoji retorted, unable to believe that his strongest Shikigami was destroyed in such a short time. It hadn't even been a few seconds since his Shikigami entered that meeting room.
"Those Western mages must have something similar to our sealing ritual that disables all magical effects. Let's not use Shikigami and use our Oni to attack!" Another Onmyoji analyzed and began to summon many humanoid monsters that wore leather rags like pants. Their stature was tall, with the shortest of them being the size of a normal human, while the largest was 4 meters.
The Oni began their attack, rushing toward the hotel entrance, which had now transformed into a small warzone where the defenders, the security force of the Syndicate Union, began firing their weapons at the Oni group.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Ratatatatatata!!
The thunderous sound of gunfire from guns of various calibers echoed around the area, but their weapons couldn't penetrate the Oni's skin. Mostly, the bullets harmlessly bounced off, and the most damage they could do with a larger caliber was just causing some bruises.
— Meanwhile - Executive meeting room —
As the attack raged on and the defenders on the first floor tried to hold their ground, Daniel's group remained calm in the room. The other people were gripped with fear.
While fear permeated the room, Pride spoke toward Gluttony.
"Why does this Syndicate Union branch seem to be very underprepared for an attack? I don't see any branch that is so underwhelming like this one." Pride inquired.
"Yeah, I wanted to know that too. I've stayed here for more than a few years, but I also didn't know why this branch is so underprepared." Gluttony turned toward the manager, signaling that her question was directed at him.
"Yes, even the Tessia Branch, considered to be the weaker branch, still has a few mage hunters stationed there. Why does this branch only have normal humans?" Pride added.
"Well..." The manager stuttered, finding it awkward to answer. "It's because the Tokugawa Shogun didn't want highly efficient armed forces such as Syndicate Union mage hunters within their soil. So we had an agreement that by not bringing such a force here to Japan's soil, they would reduce taxes and make many concessions regarding business and agree not to attack us. I'll let you know, though, we had a magic contract, so the Shogun wouldn't go back on his word." The manager explained awkwardly.
Hearing this, Gluttony nodded repeatedly in understanding.
"What's that!? Is that some kind of self-propelled artifact!? It looks like it has a mind of its own," Pride exclaimed at the extraordinary sight.
"Yeah... I thought so. It must be the same type of artifact like those metal scarabs he has, but this one seems to be solely for combat. That's why it has so much killing power," Gluttony added.
"An artifact like that could sell for a lot in the market, and it even has enough power to cut through those thick monster hides. I wonder if he will sell some of those to us in the Confederacy," Pride mused, thinking about her homeland.
"Heh... will you sell your weapons to your enemies?" Gluttony retorted with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Pride didn't respond or quip back, acknowledging the truth. Technically, she and Daniel were each other's enemies, supporting opposing sides in the war.
As Daniel descended, the blade drones quickly made short work of all the Oni climbing the building toward the ground below, turning them into minced meat and clearing the landing ground for Daniel.
Booom!
Upon landing with full force, using his protective magic to reduce the impact, Daniel quickly fired his bullets at a group of Onmyoji hiding behind a meat shield composed of Oni.
The moment the Onmyoji saw Daniel aiming his gun at them, they quickly commanded the Oni to protect them with their lives. The Oni seemed to resist, but in the end, they were forced to become the meat shield.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Daniel repeatedly fired, aiming at different Onmyoji with each shot in the hope of confusing them. However, the continuous summoning of meat shields by the Onmyoji made it challenging for him to eliminate them.
Bang!
With the last shot resounding before the bullets in his magazine were depleted, the meat shield still successfully protected their masters, albeit forcefully. The Onmyoji survived, but their mana was significantly depleted as they attempted to replenish the number of Oni that Daniel and his blade drones had swiftly eliminated.
As for Daniel, his mana isn't depleted in the slightest, as he only used it to release his blade drone, relying on his remarkable enhancements to boost his physical capabilities far beyond human levels.
"How many more of your meatshields can you summon, huh?" Daniel asked as he dodged an attack from one of the Oni, swiftly using his concealed blade to cut its head in one smooth stroke, killing it instantly. His flexibility and instincts could be said to be beyond the limits of human capability as he moved seamlessly between dodging and attacking.
"This is him! Daniel Emberweave! Our target that both our Shogun and Daimyo want dead! Let's use that! The giant man we captured from the sea!" One of the Onmyoji shouted to his comrade.
"But! That's still not ready! We still can't control him!" another Onmyoji protested.
At this moment, Daniel quickly rushed toward them with a blade in his right hand and a large caliber handgun in his left hand. The Onmyoji didn't know when Daniel appeared amidst their ranks. Daniel didn't say anything; he began massacring the Onmyoji. Both his handgun and his blade were like an efficient killing contraption that had dropped amidst a group of sheep.