CH 157.1

Chapter 157.1. Intruders On New Year’s Eve

-?’s POV-

Snowflakes fluttered down from the cloudy sky. It was powdery snow. On New Year’s Eve, as the night curtain had already descended, the Imperial

Capital began to be enveloped in silence to match the accumulating powdery snow.

It was still early for the countdown to the New Year, and people who would perform the countdown were either holed up in their homes or enjoying the year-end at izakayas.

People ate New Year’s Eve soba, drank sake, and relaxed, hoping the coming year would be a good one.

The Imperial Capital was shrouded in a relaxed atmosphere, and everyone believed that nothing would happen today, so they spent their time laughing.

The nobles were also quiet on New Year’s Eve, thinking this year come to an end.

Well, most of them. In other words, some individuals were not planning to end the year quietly.

Takano County mansion was located in the center of a vast estate befitting the 36 noble families. A well-maintained garden was in front of the main entrance, and the back gate was surrounded by trees that seemed like a forest.

The trees were now covered in white as if sprinkled with sugar. The snow absorbed the sound, creating an atmosphere of tranquility and serenity.

The ground had already accumulated several centimeters of snow, and it seemed that tomorrow would be a snowy New Year’s Day.

Even the monsters seemed to shrink and hide in this cold, quiet world, but there was a sense of incongruity.

The falling snow would rise and blow away at a certain point. The scene of the powdery snow falling and blowing away despite the absence of wind was extremely strange.

And upon closer inspection, you would notice that the powdery snow was accumulating in an empty space.

It was accumulating in the shape of a person. Numerous snowflakes were piling up in the form of human figures.

“Kazuta, there’s another reaction.”

“Can you handle it?”

“Leave it to me.”

Short lines could be heard, and with a quiet sound and a shimmering space, several individuals appeared.

They wore what is commonly known as a ninja outfit. It was a typical ninja outfit that had been used extensively in anime and novels, but they wore armor on their chests and shoulders, and they all wore masks resembling the faces of old men used in Noh and Kyogen performances.

They were wearing Magic Armor called Tsukezaru. It was an infiltration-specific Magic Armor equipped with [Stealth] and an electronic camouflage system, designed to suppress mana to the maximum and not be detected by the surroundings.

Twenty people appeared on the scene, and several took the lead while one person took out a device the size of a radio and began operating it. The man standing beside him took a scroll from his pocket and unfurled it, chanting a spell.

Soon after, a crisp cracking sound echoed, and the magic-sensing surveillance cameras installed among the trees sparkled and ceased to move.

Smoke rose from the branches, spreading a burnt-like smell.

“It’s taken care of. No problem.”

“Good, let’s move on.”

Upon hearing the report, the man who went by the name Kazuta, a captain-level figure, nodded slightly, waved his hand, and signaled to the others to start walking.

Strangely, the soft snow that accumulated on the ground didn’t leave any footprints from the men. Upon closer inspection, their feet were hovering a few centimeters above the ground.

They used the magic [Float]. Moreover, their [Float] magic wasn’t ordinary but modified. Instead of merely floating, they created footholds in space that allowed them to move matching their physical abilities, compensating for the weakness of the [Float] magic, which was its slow speed.

This was no ordinary equipment. If the security personnel were to find them. They would undoubtedly raise the alarm as intruders.

“Again? This time it’s just the [Intrusion Detection] Seal.”

The man at the front, who had been on guard as a scout, sighed and reported, prompting Itta to click his tongue in frustration.

“How many seals is this now? Too many.”

“It’s Takano County of the 36 clans. It’s only natural for them to be cautious, right?”

“Takano County are wind users, not onmyojis. Do they usually have this level of seal-based security?”

While his subordinate tried to destroy the seals with a scroll in his hand, Kazuta glanced sideways at him and spoke with exasperation.

“They probably hired onmyojis from outside. It means there are as many assassins like us, right?”

The men were members of the assassin organization called Takusaru, which had a long history of gathering information, assassinations, and sabotage.

Kazuta, known as the upper-level shinobi who commanded this unit, had infiltrated to assassinate every member of the Takano family.

“How many people did they hire? That’s the 5th seal!”

He showed a small, sharp anger toward his subordinate, who spoke as if it were a matter of course. While he didn’t raise his voice, he scolded him, wondering if he didn’t know the basics of onmyoji arts.

“Unlike mechanically operated [Magic Sense] magic tools, the user control the [Sense] seals themselves. If they have set up numerous seals at such intervals throughout this vast estate. It means there aren’t just one or two onmyojis. It would imply there are dozens of them!”

“I see… In that case, we might be greeted by dozens of onmyojis at the estate. That’s not good.”

The subordinate imagined a scene where onmyojis holding seals lined up to greet them. Kazuta wore a bitter expression.

“It’s not realistic. If they had so many onmyojis under their employ, it would’e been mentioned in the request, and our comrades who conducted the preliminary investigation would have noticed.”

“Could it be a bluff? That the seals are just convincing fakes with no actual power?”

Kazuta leaned closer to his subordinate, glaring at him as if saying, “Don’t joke around.”

“Do you think a bluff like the [Intrusion Detection] with those seals would consume so much mana and make us use [Dispel]? Are my subordinates that incompetent?”

Finally breaking the seals, Kazuta pointed at his shaky subordinate. The unexpected placement of the seals consumed a considerable amount of their mana.