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.
"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.
"I see… and since those Hojo clans made a coup, the agreement didn't have any effect on the Hojo clan since the Hojo aren't the ones who made the agreement."
Roaaaarrrr!
While Gluttony and the manager chatted, treating it as if it were someone else's matter, a thunderous roar resounded as one of the Oni climbed up the building and rushed toward Daniel, brandishing its large steel club aiming at Daniel's head.
Bang!! Bang!!
Two gunshots fired, the first one obliterated the Oni's head, and the second pierced the Oni's heart, creating a large gaping hole that one could see through to the other side.
"Is this… Kuroda, the people from the Hojo, or are they the Hojo clan subordinates?" Daniel asked.
"Err… Yes… Lord Kuroda is one of the Hojo Clan's staunch supporters." The manager answered truthfully.
"I see… It seems that these people have come for me… I'll go out and meet them." Daniel said, turning toward Pride and Gluttony.
"You two, can you help me look after my apprentice? If it's not too much, help protect these people too, in case there are some stragglers. I'll give you something nice later." Daniel said to the two Witches before he walked toward the hole that the Shikigami made and jumped down to the ground below.
After witnessing Daniel's descent, Pride was initially startled, but she quickly remembered that he's one of the most powerful mages in the Curtained World, and she calmed down.
She then walked slowly toward the hole in the wall, attempting to be inconspicuous. It wasn't that she was worried about him or wanted to cheer him on; she just wanted to study his fighting style and understand his trump card if he were to use it. Yes, that's it! She just wanted to study him!
"Ohh? What have we here? A love-struck fool who wants to cheer on her man?" Gluttony teased with a mischievous smile.
"Sh.. shut up, Gluttony! I... I just want to study him, his fighting style, and also his weaknesses! Since he's that woman's lover! Sooner or later, I'll need to fight against him if he dares to help that woman reclaim Texas!" Pride explained quickly, her face still blushing amidst the adoration of the yakuza and the Syndicate Union branch executives who understood English.
'C… cute… this witch of Pride is too cute!' 'Is this the legendary tsundere!? Oi! This is the real-life tsundere!' The men in the room who understood English were thinking.
"Yeah yeah, convince yourself of that," Gluttony quipped.
As Daniel descended to the ground below, where the Oni group had been summoned to attack the hotel, he witnessed numerous Oni climbing the building. Quickly, he dispatched them with his trusty high-caliber handgun.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With each shot, the lifeless bodies of the Oni fell to the ground below. As he accelerated towards the ground, Daniel changed his tactic as the number of Oni began to rise. He released a horde of blade drones from his universal pocket, sending them toward the Oni, shredding them to pieces.
"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.
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