Crossing Illusion: Reflection (Book 1) #Wattys2017

Chapter 54: Shadow of the Past

(NOTE: Translation of the Japanese texts is in the author's note)

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The midnight winter air is so cold, leaving white puff in every breath. Footsteps leaves behind the snowy path, and shadowy figures hiding between the trees. Among them, there are men with traditional Japanese triangular straw hats, holding staffs and burning talisman papers. Someone has arranged them and they're well-prepared on not just to fight the living but also the dead. After all, the youkai of Nurarihyon would not discriminate.

"You sure this would worked?" A man in red and black kimono speaking to what seems to be a foreigner, unlike he and his men that are clearly Japanese. Though the man in kimono stand out the most, he dressed in an onmyouji attire.

"Rest assured, Tsukiyama-san. The spirits cannot enter our barrier." Said one of the foreigner with black veil covering his mouth.

"I know about that better than you!" The man in kimono blurted in awkwardly spoken English. "I mean... Masakura clan is so powerful. There's a reason why we cannot ever bring them down. You sure that we can do it now?" His tone lowered again, as he seems anxious.

"Worry not. Your safety is our priority." The veiled one said.

"You better be! We paid you with a load of fortune! If we can't bring down Masakura clan, our business is done for!" The man in kimono went angry again. He speak much more like an overbearing rich landlord than an onmyouji, let alone to be called a holy man. 

"Anyway..." The veiled man change the subject. "We will infiltrate the base. Please launch the attack."

"With pleasure!" The kimono man raised his hands, and the sounds of blades unsheathed comes. "Sentou kaishi!"

A resounding battle cry made and the assassins jumped out from the trees, rushing through the snowy grassland into the village's entrance. The battle begin, and scream heard here and there, while the houses begin to caught in flames.

At the same time, the veiled one vanished into the shadow, and reappearing at the other side of the forest, where his colleague waiting. A young man with in dark, spiky reddish-brown hair, wearing scarlet hood, and eating grilled Japanese snacks on a wooden stick.

"Operation already started, Varain... Finish your food or I'm leaving you." The veiled one said bluntly. His ally doesn't seems to care.

"Hey... Deva.... Who's that guy?" Varain ignored his order and keeps eating anyway.

"Kei Tsukiyama, leader of another onmyouji clan. He's our client, though he's disposable when he's not useful anymore." Deva said in a cold tone.

"Okay, so... Why are we helping them again?" Varain asked, not really motivated and doesn't really care. 

"The scroll is our main objective. If possible, we'll steal it. If not, we should break the seal, at least." Deva rephrased the mission's objective. 

"Riiiight~ The scroll. I'm not interested though. I just want to beat those SPD guys." Varain tossed the empty wooden stick and lick clean his fingers.

"They're not part of our objective. It's purely coincidence that they're involved here." Deva sighed. "But you can kill just anyone here and no exception, since this is not in public. This includes our allies." The veiled one glanced his cold, emotionless eyes to his smirking partner.

"Already planning for betrayal, Deva? Typical of you." Varain couldn't hold back his grin.

"Of course. We only helped Tsukiyama clan because we shared one goal. As long as the scroll can be unleashed, we achieve our goal. It doesn't matter if Tsukiyama clan get wiped or not. Just don't let them took the scroll for themselves."