With a hellish sight of the ruined castle in front of them, Auren stares into the distance.
Ten more minutes pass without any unexpected events happening. Auren, Larazul, and the butlers manage to catch a few more stragglers, but overall, things remain quiet on their side.
They're still blocking the path leading down the mountain without any trouble.
Finally, Larazul says, "I'm going in. Will you butlers be fine without us?"
Us?
"Of course. Please help the Masters," one of the butlers replies without hesitation.
"You coming along, kid?" Larazul asks Auren, his eyes calculating.
"Fine, let's go!" Auren answers.
Let's see if I can find the King's office and steal his valuables!
Larazul dashes toward the broken castle. Auren, hesitating only slightly, follows him.
They quickly reach the castle walls—the large doors are shattered and wide open, giving them easy access.
As the two assassins enter the courtyard, Larazul announces, "I'm going this way," before rushing toward a side building that looks relatively intact, only hit by a few dozen of Zeno's Aura projectiles.
Auren, however, chooses to head toward the main building.
Approaching the heart of the castle, he can't help but stare at the destruction surrounding him. Collapsed structures lie everywhere, and the ground is riddled with massive holes.
Dragon Dive is truly one of the most devastating Hatsus. Its only goal is to cause maximum destruction over a massive area. This is the silliest skill for an assassin, but I can't help but be jealous.
Auren finds an entrance on the side of the main building and silently slips inside.
He activates Zetsu and makes sure to move silently through the corridor.
The interior, particularly on the lower floors, is in better shape than the walls and small buildings outside. Dragon Dive is a devastating ability, but its projectiles can only pierce a few levels and can't really breach the heavily fortified roof.
As he advances, Auren sets his course for the entrance hall, hoping it'll lead him to Kolmata's private quarters.
Suddenly, he spots a few soldiers up ahead. Auren ducks behind a piece of rubble. He waits, patient and calm, until they pass—and then ambushes them from behind. He swiftly drives Eternity into one soldier's heart, pulls it free, and immediately does the same to another.
Only after three of them collapse do the last two react. Auren beheads them one after the other, killing them before they can even raise their rifles.
My speed really has improved. I need to get more used to this.
Deciding to move faster, Auren pushes forward. Gunfire echoes throughout the halls, though he can't pinpoint its exact origin.
Following the hallway, he reaches the main foyer. Despite the damage, it still holds an air of grandeur, adorned with staircases, portraits, and even a few ornate statues of nobility.
As he ascends the stairs, Auren finds a woman sitting on them—her leg bleeding heavily.
Looks like she's injured.
He approaches, drawing Eternity, and holds it close to her face.
"Tell me where Kolmata's office and private quarters are, and I'll spare you," Auren says, letting a bit of Aura leak out.
The woman begins trembling violently. Her voice cracks as she answers, "Please… I'm just a maid… I'm innocent!"
"I asked a question," Auren replies calmly.
"G—go up two floors… th—then it's the central office. His p—private quarters are right next to it," she stammers.
"Thank you," Auren says, picking her up and briefly checking her for weapons. Finding none, he carries her with him.
He follows her directions and soon spots a large central office door. He tries to kick it open—but it's locked.
Not unexpected.
Auren doesn't waste time. He turns to the right and kicks open the door to the private quarters instead.
"Okay, I'd suggest locking yourself in the bathroom. There should be some medical supplies there too," he says, dropping the woman onto the floor. Despite her injuries, her face shows a hint of happiness, and she quickly crawls into the bathroom, doing as instructed.
Auren activates En and scans the room.
He quickly notices an odd empty space behind a painting. Slashing it apart with Eternity, the canvas tears easily, revealing a large, deep safe embedded into the wall.
How do I open this? I suck at looting. I should have come better prepared.
Auren activates Limitless Waters, his katana, Eternity, now surrounded by spinning water. He channels all his Aura into the blade, using a variation of Ko, but keeping up Limitless Waters, and slashes at the safe with full force.
To his surprise, the safe visibly dents—his strike almost cut through it entirely.
Two more powerful slashes—and the safe is completely destroyed.
Auren pries the wrecked safe open and looks inside in anticipation.
To his slight disappointment, he finds a large row of gold bars stacked neatly inside.
Gold, huh? Nothing too exciting… but let's see.
Looking around, he grabs a large duffel bag from one of the wardrobes and begins stuffing the bars inside. As he fills it, his expression changes.
These are one-kilo bars! At least a hundred of them! That's insane! This has to be worth over a billion Jenny! I'm rich!
With the bag full, Auren slips out of the room and makes his way back to the main entrance.
On the way back, Auren encounters a few more soldiers. Without slowing down, he silently and swiftly eliminates them by spitting two Water Bullets from his mouth. Their heads explode in a grotesque, bloody mess.
Once back on the first floor, Auren finds a quiet corner next to the main door. He places the duffel bag on the ground, grabs a medium-sized piece of rubble, his arms bulging, and carefully places it on top. Then he sprinkles smaller debris over it.
Good! Let's head into the office.
Auren returns to the locked central office. Using En, he immediately senses a few people inside.
No time to hesitate. I better do my job!
He draws Eternity and slashes down in a single decisive movement. The door, though made of high-quality, reinforced wood, can't stand up to Auren's Aura-enhanced strikes.
After three powerful slashes, he kicks through the mangled entrance and steps into the office through the large hole he just created. Inside, he sees that two soldiers are crouched behind the massive central desk.
They open fire, but Auren reacts instantly—jumping off one wall and then another. He lands silently and performs Rhythm Echo. The soldiers panic, firing wildly at his illusions.
Without mercy, Auren activates Limitless Waters and releases a wide Aura slash and combines it with emission slicing through the soldiers with deadly precision. Both of them collapse.
One more man remains—cowering on the floor.
Auren recognizes him instantly. Among the materials handed out during the mission briefing, this man was listed—a particularly cruel General.
Without a shred of sympathy, Auren draws his blade again. The general tries to plead, "Please, I can give you money, power! Spar—"
Auren silences him with a clean beheading.
He quickly searches the body and takes the man's wallet for identification, slipping it into a small pouch attached to his waist.
He moves on to ransack the desk—finding expensive antique pens, fancy ink bottles, and a few books. Nothing of value.
However, opening another drawer, he spots something far more intriguing—a warped, twisted knife. Its blade is curved on one side and jagged like a saw on the other.
This design… I can feel the Aura… I know it by now!
Auren activates Gyo and sees the number: 267.
Unbelievable. My luck is incredible… could it be that twisted dictators also appreciate these knives? I might want to keep my collection a secret in the future, as I don't want to be associated with these lowlifes.
He takes the knife and moves on. Gunfire still echoes in the distance.
Walking through the corridors, Auren encounters more soldiers and dispatches them with ease.
But suddenly, something feels off—like he's being targeted. He stops moving and activates En.
My En now covers a radius of 22 meters. I should be able to detect threats like this.
As he approaches a corner, he spots someone around it—clutching a large piece of debris, ready to strike.
Auren walks forward as if nothing is wrong. Just as he's about to turn the corner, he veers sideways and suddenly leaps to the side—executing a powerful overhead slash at the man.
Caught off guard, the man desperately raises the stone to shield himself.
To Auren's surprise, his blade doesn't cut through the stone.
A Nen user!
Auren quickly jumps back and fires two Water Bullets at the man's unprotected legs.
Both projectiles pierce through, making him scream and fall to his knees.
Auren seizes the chance and goes in for another strike with Eternity.
But the man touches the wall, and suddenly, a massive stone hand stretches out, blocking the slash once more.
Moments later, a vaguely humanoid figure made entirely of rock forms in front of the man.
He can create rock golems? That's incredible, however…
The golem punches at Auren, but its attack is slow and easy to predict. Auren dodges, activates Limitless Waters again, and leaps off the wall—bypassing the golem entirely.
The enemy's eyes widen in horror. He forms a fist and swings desperately.
Auren ducks under the punch and drives Eternity straight into his heart.
The man collapses instantly, and the golem behind him crumbles into a heap of shattered stone.
Auren checks his pockets and finds another wallet, which he quickly stores in his pouch.
He continues down the hallway—until suddenly, loud noises erupt. These aren't gunshots—they sound more like explosions and massive impacts.
Sprinting ahead, Auren arrives at a vast indoor garden.
There, he spots Silva and Zeno engaged in a fierce battle against multiple enemies—clearly Nen users. After a quick count, Auren counts nine of them, alongside four dead people, lying next to Zeno. In the center of their defensive formation, surrounded by loyal guards, stands the dictator and self-proclaimed king—Kolmata.
Despite facing Zeno and Silva directly, Kolmata appears calm. Smug, even, as if this is nothing to be afraid of.
However, the same can't be said for his defenders. The Nen users in front are sweating and visibly exhausted. In contrast, Zeno and Silva still look composed—barely affected.
Several soldiers are firing at them from afar, but none of the bullets land. They're being blocked by some kind of invisible barrier.
Auren frowns.
What…? They're shooting nonstop and still haven't hit once?
Activating Gyo, Auren's eyes widen in realization as he spots the truth of what is happening.
There are two Nen barriers!
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