Mr. Pike: It seems that someone out there is causing some interference.
Of the mystical kind.
That is what that white light was.
Kirk: And that does what, exactly?"
Mr. Pike: Long story short, it disrupts the powers of Sorcerers.
You should have noticed a few new faces here and there.
Those were the Shirogane Sorcerers who remained invisible until the Art that allowed them to do so was interrupted.
Rose: One of them had been following me.
She’s undoubtedly one of them.
Mr. Pike: It might be that the heroes have obtained something to counter the Romano Sorcerers, but as a consequence, the Shiroganes were affected as well.
Rose didn’t believe she understood the entire story, or even a part of it. She had heard rumors and whispers about the existence of Sorcerers before, but this was her first time taking on a job that involved them. Nevertheless, the only thing she needed to know was that there are no invisible people anymore. Now that she didn’t have to worry about them, her confidence about finishing the job reached a new high.
The first thing she did after grasping the situation was take off her high heels. The dress she wore, purple in color, of course, wasn’t as much of an inconvenience due to how easy it was to move around in.
One detail she had noticed during her first visit was how spacious the hallways of the white mansion were. There were enough decorations and pillars to hide behind, but moving between them proved to be one of the most harrowing experiences one could get through.
Even with the updated map Finn provided her with, which tracked the position of the people in her surroundings in real time, she still had trouble getting to the western side of the mansion. Fortunately, the security seemed a lot more relaxed over there. She came across a few black suits on the way, but most of the time they were running in the direction of the stairs to the upper floor, their expressions showing their reluctance to join the ongoing battle.
After the first five, the bursts of light coming from the lower floors ceased. Knowing that meant the eastern Sorcerers would be able to use their invisibility Arts, Rose felt her anxiety rise once more, making her wish she could use something similar. Instead, she was stuck climbing pillars and hanging from arched colonnades to evade being spotted.
If this were a movie, she could have made use of the chandeliers hanging everywhere, but there was simply no way doing so would go unnoticed, even if those things could support the weight of an adult human.
Thankfully, her luck seemed to get better as she approached the collection room. The area had been almost entirely abandoned, with only two of the Stahlkorps remaining to guard the entrance. To top it off, they seemed to be distracted by something, which allowed her to take them out without being noticed.
"... huh..." When she finally got to see what distracted the two guards, Rose was more than a little disturbed. As it was a severed arm the owner of which was missing, she found it perfectly understandable that the two guards had lost their composure for that short moment.
Finn: You need to hurry.
The door to the collection room appeared to be made from wood at first, but that only went for the outer layer. Underneath it was another one of the blastproof alloy gates the hotel makes use of on the other floors, only several times sturdier. Obviously, it required a special key to unlock, but thanks to Finn, it was already open by the time she took care of the two guards.
[Finn: The room only has one exit.
There is no way you’re making it out of there without being noticed.
The guards outside are a dead giveaway as well.
Whoever is heading in your direction will instantly know that you are there, and they won’t just let you escape.
Having made her way to the back of the room where the Moon Dagger was, Rose stared at the relic for a moment, her lips pressed into a line.
[Rose: Guess I need to fight my way out.]
That seemed the most likely way forward. Her fellow crewmates were supposed to make a distraction if things came to this, but from the looks of it they were unlikely to make it out in time.
Leave the relic for the time being.
Find somewhere to hide.
The door began to open just then so she never had the time to take the relic to begin with. Having decided on a hiding spot beforehand, Rose slipped behind one of the display cases and held her breath. The sound of footsteps soon reached her ears, and through the reflection of a nearby glass display, she was able to see who it was that decided to visit the room at such a time.
To her surprise, it was none other than Klaus Stahlwölfe, along with the head of security and a few of his bodyguards. Strangely enough, the way they were behaving didn’t suggest that they suspected an intruder had made it into the room. They made no effort to look around and simply followed behind the rich scion as they headed to the back of the room.
Rose was forced to move from her hiding spot as they approached it. As she continued to watch from behind a different display case, she could only wonder what they were doing at such a place at such a time.
"Sir, are you sure about this?" Shirogane Ushida asked with a grave tone.
"I have never been more sure in my entire life." Klaus, on the other hand, sounded rather cheerful, so much so that it was impossible to guess that he was being targeted by a coalition of police and BEO forces. "I have been eager to reveal the results of our collaboration to the world, and what better time to do so than an unprovoked raid led by those who lead the current market?"
"Are you concerned about the Mana disruption deployed earlier?" Klaus interrupted. "If that is the case, then there is no need to worry." Having reached the wall at the very back of the room, Klaus reached out and pressed his hand on its surface. "I have already accounted for that."
Just as he said those words, the area under his palm began to glow a faint green, and a second later, two lines spread from it, one reaching for the floor and another for the ceiling. Before she could wonder what was happening, the two more lines appeared a short distance away and the wall began to split at the center, revealing a door hidden so well that it was doubtful anyone could notice its existence without being shown that it was already there.
[IMPORTANT: If you enjoy this book, please consider supporting it on P.A.T.R.E.O.N.com/Nomanalive]